This past weekend at Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers we went to Wicked Comic Con in Boston, Massachusetts to finally get back into the convention mix. Needless to say, it felt amazing to be back at a comic con! For a first year, one-day show it was packed with eager collectors and dealers ready to buy, sell, and trade anything on the floor. Further solidifying in my mind how strong the post-pandemic collectibles market truly is. From the time the doors opened at 10:00am you could see comics literally flying off the dealer’s displays, people were spending money. Outside of the buying and selling at the convention, there were a large group of dedicated artists, cosplayers, and parents walking around with their children building the next generation of collectors. So, after giving you the recap, you may now be asking why were we there?
Our booth at the convention was dedicated to advertising our upcoming May 21st Comic, TCG, and Toy Auction. We had a mix of factory sealed Hasbro G.I. Joe vehicles along with a select group of comic highlights. Let’s just say we bring some real eye candy for fans to appreciate. Which even though we had a Marvel Mystery Comics #9 on display worth $30,000-$50,000 the fan favorite that stopped everyone was Amazing Spider-Man #129, the first appearance of the Punisher. Only graded a CGC 3.5 and worth about $800 to $1,200, it stopped more people than one of the rarest Golden Age comics. Just shows how important relatability is to comic collecting. But just as important as advertising our upcoming auction, we were also there to advertise our services, take consignments, and seek out that next great collection.
The undoubtable highlight of the day is when an older gentleman, about 70 years old walked up to the booth with his son to discuss his collection. He had only two sample books with him, a Tales of Suspense #39 and Fantastic Four #2 both in very nice condition, and both high value books. After explaining our service, I tell him that conservatively before grading his first appearance of Iron Man (TOS #39) would be $18,000 to $24,000. He and his son burst out in laughter of joy, as they had almost sold it to a dealer two booths over for $5,000. I went on to review the entire spreadsheet of his collection followed by making an appointment for them to consign. When selling your collection of comics, you never want to sell outright, it is always best to work with an auction house to truly monetize your collection. Putting it through the proper process of cleaning, pressing, and grading is crucial. You do not want to sell yourself short, when the time comes we are here to help.
