Just proving that there's so much in this world I know so little about...
I finally (finally!) got up the nerve to sell my old comic book collection! Problem is, I'm not a DC reader, or a Marvel reader. I don't do Spider-Man or Green Lantern or any of that, I could care less about the X-Men.
I read Warren comics. Between 1964 and 1983, the put out (among others), Creepy and Eerie, two of the finest horror comics ever made. Over the years I had collected quite a few of them, and had gotten to the point, about 15 years ago, that I had to make a decision to either finished the collection (I had about half the known issues at the time), or give up and sell them.
Years and years later, they were still sitting in a trunk in my closet. This year, out they go!
Problem is, I know nothing about comic books, other than the fact that certain issues of certain comics are quite valuable to collectors. I had about a dozen of the really good issues of Creepy and Eerie among the 113 issues that I put up for sale, but other than Creepy #1, I didn't think anything else would be considered particularly valuable. So, I would have been thrilled to get any money at all for them, just to get them out of my place.
I started the auction the day after my birthday (Dec 27), no minimum, and (crossing my fingers), no maximum or "Buy it Now" price. I hit the "post" button, and we were off.
My first bid was for $3.00. I figured that would be all I'd get. I check on it again just before New Year's, and it had gone up to $10! Whoa, cool. Still didn't expect anything big.
Right after New Year's I got a note from the then-highest bidder (at $20.00), who offered to buy it for $50 if I stopped the auction right now. I thought it was a generous offer, so I looked to see if it could be done. Well, Meg Whitman didn't become a billionaire by letting sellers come and go as they chose: I was there for the duration. Sorry, chum...
I felt bad about the decision for about an hour, when the bid shot to $42!, the next day it was over $50!
I'll never be good at the stock market, because my gut was telling me this was topped out. I didn't check the auction for a few days, just to give myself a break from disappointment. I needn't have worried: I checked the auction yesterday, and it was up to $95! I was astounded, I had no idea these silly comics would be worth anyone's time or money.
Today was the final day of the auction. When I woke up, the bid was up to $205!
By lunchtime, it was over $300! I could barely concentrate on my work, wanting to peek in and watch the auction. I finally gave in at the last 10 minutes.
14 seconds before the end of the auction, someone put in the final bid: $361.78! That's over half what I paid for my computer! I'm thrilled, but astonished that it sold that well.
I wonder what I'll get for my Dick Clarks? --JB
