Country Cowfreaks Headshop

A Guide To Underground Comics & Collectibles
(Part 2 - Condition Of Items Auctioned)

In the first part of this guide we looked at photos and their importance on Ebay auctions as a primary indicator of condition of an item, which is elaborated on below:

2) Condition : following on from the points made previously about photographs, condition is everything when dealing with comics and/or books.  If you just want a reading copy, something you can enjoy and not worry about getting damaged, a lower graded item is sometimes preferable to a “Near Mint” comic that will usually cost more.  This said, if you are looking for an item that will hold its value, and not deteriorate to the point where you need to buy another copy, or if you want to build a high quality collection, its always worth paying a bit more.  Older comics and books can only get more rare as time goes by, and owning a great copy of an item as opposed to a poor one can be a wiser investment in the long term.  Ask yourself what you want from an item before you bid.
 
There is a huge list of comic book grading terms and abbreviations for individual flaws and markings on a book, in addition to the separate sub categories for grading, Mint, Near Mint, Very Fine, Fine, etc.  Try and become as familiar with them as you can, it saves you future disappointment when bidding on an item.  Also when buying from a seller remember that these terms are somewhat flexible in that some people will quite literally go over a comic book with a magnifying glass and a checklist looking for minute flaws.  Other sellers will make a decision based more on their overall impression of a comic.

Also, as regards condition, remember to take shipping charges into account and to check whether the seller is willing to combine shipping charges if you are buying lots of comics as the price can soon mount up.  It is worth paying a little more for shipping to ensure that the item(s) arrive in good condition.  Good packaging is all-important.  We have been sent items in manila envelopes, thin card envelopes, padded envelopes, etc with no additional packaging, yet charged 3 or 4 times what the packaging has cost.  Only using padded/card envelopes without additional packaging is not a good idea when sending comics or soft cover books, which can get bent up very easily.  Sometimes the item gets damaged as it is loose and can freely move around within the packaging.  A better idea is to sandwich the items between thick cardboard before even thinking of additional packaging.  Padded mailers are not much protection when they are the only packaging used, they can be bent or folded by postal workers, or end up in the bottom of a postal sack with heavy parcels on top.  It is also slightly laughable when you are charged for packing and/or handling in these cases – for what ! - the sealing of an envelope ?.

Sometimes the mailman will fold items packed as poorly as this to put them in the mailbox.  Packaging should always be clearly labelled “Do Not Bend” or similar.  This at least suggests to the mailman that the items inside are not just junk mail.  You might pay a few dollars for a comic or an awful lot more, but they should be packaged as “bullet-proof” as possible regardless of the final sale price.  Very cheap packaging is false economy, it might save you a few bucks but it will cost you more if the item arrives severely bent and creased.

Be particularly careful when buying a lot of comics, the condition of each comic should be listed, if it isn’t, ask for the details.  There is nothing worse than paying out a large sum of money for a collection only to find that half of them are fit only for the bin – lots for sale that have “mostly in good condition, some in excellent condition” etc, as the only description, don’t cut it in our opinion.

Be wary of lazy sellers, whether they are selling single items or lots – where the description comprises of two or three lines of generalised information - either they can’t be bothered spending five minutes time submitting an accurate description of items for auction or they are actively seeking to avoid stating that they are selling something that is trash.  If they can’t be bothered listing accurately, or to create a listing that consists of more than a couple of sentences with images that are actually of the item for sale, do you think they will take the time and effort to pack your item properly ?.  You decide.

If you want to know more about a seller, it is sometimes worthwhile to check out their “About Me” page as they may have posted additional information there that can be of use to you as a buyer.

We could list and sell a great deal more than we do at Country Cowfreaks Head Shop, the reason that we don’t is because we put a large amount of our time into our listings, photographing, scanning and writing individual descriptions for each and every item we sell.    This is why a large proportion of our sellers are repeat customers – quality items with quality service means customers feel more comfortable dealing with you.

We suggest that you try and develop strong working friendships with sellers that you trust.  It can sometimes help with other matters too.  We routinely answer questions about rare items that a repeat customer wants information about.  Sometimes it can be helpful for both seller and buyer, you might both find out something new.

Hopefully this guide will have given you a few pointers as to what to bear in mind when judging the condition of items sold on Ebay.  In the next part of this guide we will look at the considerations regarding “1 st” editions offered for sale.
 
We hope you have found this guide useful, feel free to view our items for sale.  Our About Me page can also be found here.  If you have any additional questions about any of our items or if there is anything you might want to ask advice about, please feel free to email us.

© Country Cowfreaks Head Shop