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Collection purge: So Long, Old Friends...
Thor_El
Posts: 136
The time has come to part ways with a MAJOR portion of my comic collection, as I'm sure many of you have done in times past. I have an appointment on the 10th to go to Pittsburgh to New Dimension Comics and see what they'll give me for all this...
Honestly I'm not expecting overmuch. They quoted me what they typically give per box if there's nothing real special contained therein, so I'm basing my expectations on their low estimate. Still, even at the low end it should be acceptable.
And though I'm getting rid of a LOT of books, I'll still be keeping a bunch as well...
I've also got three full longboxes full of Thor and Thor-related titles that I'll be keeping in addition to what's pictured above.
Honestly I'll be glad to be rid of them. I've not opened many of these boxes for well over 8 years so I'd much rather get some financial use from them since I'm not reading them any longer. And truthfully, if there are some stories I want I'm sure a trade is available.
Still, it feels... odd preparing to part with them.
Honestly I'm not expecting overmuch. They quoted me what they typically give per box if there's nothing real special contained therein, so I'm basing my expectations on their low estimate. Still, even at the low end it should be acceptable.
And though I'm getting rid of a LOT of books, I'll still be keeping a bunch as well...
I've also got three full longboxes full of Thor and Thor-related titles that I'll be keeping in addition to what's pictured above.
Honestly I'll be glad to be rid of them. I've not opened many of these boxes for well over 8 years so I'd much rather get some financial use from them since I'm not reading them any longer. And truthfully, if there are some stories I want I'm sure a trade is available.
Still, it feels... odd preparing to part with them.
Comments
It may take a day or two to get use to the loss, but I am sure you will feel much more free in the long run.
I am long overdue for the purge as well. I could easily ditch a similar amount to what your photo shows. Just out of curiosity what is the bulk of what you are offloading to New Dimension Comics? If you feel like sharing, please let us know what "they typically give per box" and how it went after they dug through your collection. I would love a ballpark.
I'm getting to the point where I need to make the room, but it just doesn't feel worth the effort to bother to try to sell what I've got. Although I would like to recoup "Something" for all my years holding onto these books.
They did say that they'll write me a recipt and take about a week or so to look through the collection to see if there are any gems. If so, they'll estimate those individually. But truthfully, as I said I'm not expecting anything major.
but totally understandable considering how much deadwood I have in my collection. A bulk sale at 10¢ a book is probably the most hassle free way to deal with all the duds. I know I could get more if I dealt with it myself, although not much, and it wouldn't be worth my time in the end.
Good luck! Fingers crossed they find some real gems in there!
You should really consider selling on eBay if you have any unbroken runs. You'd be surprised what some of them bring in, at least for marquee titles (Amazing Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Men, Batman, Spawn) from the '90s, even if there aren't any key issues in them. Last weekend I sold a run of X-Men vol. 2 from #1-11 for over $20 shipped. Yes, the most overprinted comics ever from the speculation area can still go for over cover price if you have a consecutive run. The stuff is not worthless.
You could also give them to a local hospital/children's hospital.
Or you could donate them to a local middle/high school. As a middle school English teacher, I would love to get a bunch of comics to use in my classroom, or to give to students.
I think with any of these choices, you could write the donation off on your taxes.
I bag and board books, the spine gets bent otherwise. Do people really do it thinking it will increase the value?
I thought of a couple more things you could do instead of dumping them: give out books to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. You'll be the "cool house" on the block for a little while.
If you have a local shop nearby, and if you could wait until May, ask if you could have a table outside where you could give free comics just to children.
No tax benefit for these, but you'll have the joy knowing that your books are likely to be used instead of being put away in another dark basement. You maybe even inspire future generation of artists, writers, film directors, designers, etc.
But truthfully I'm really looking forward to the process. I'm excited to see how it all pans out in the end.
We will happily drive to appraise bigger collections, like @Thor_El, and pay on site if there is a mutually agreeable deal.
I've reserved the U-Haul van and my nephew will be going with me to help out. He's also coming prepared with a list of books he wants to buy from the store when we get there. He's all kinds of excited.
Although, with the Canadian dollar so low right now, a trip to Milwaukee might be worth it for ¢20 US a book!
Now if you all only lived in a line from PA to Milwaukee, @Thor_El could bring the U-Haul and pick you all up one by one, and add to the truckload!
In other news, after successfully delivering them yesterday they told me they thought it would take a week or two to evaluate given the size of my collection. Surprisingly, they called me today with an offer. I don't know if the guy was anxious to see what I had or if they just made an offer based on volume, but they offered me an amount close enough to the ballpark of what I was expecting that I said okay.
My check, as they say, will be in the mail shortly.
So that's that.