As an auction house, the core part of our business in which we acquire material to sell is by going on house calls. A “house call” is simply when someone makes an appointment for us to come see their collection. If it’s local, (under an hour drive) we typically take the chance sight-unseen to go look, as you never know what people have. However, when it’s a long distance, even just two hours, we like to see something to let us know it’s worth taking a drive for a closer look. As with any business there is nothing more important than time, so that’s why we always ask people to send photographs if they’re a good distance away.
However, there is sometimes that situation where for whatever reason they cannot send photographs. Usually, the person is older and unfamiliar with digital photographs and email. That’s when the trip becomes a gamble. That’s when as an auctioneer and appraiser we need to follow our gut, feel out the phone call, and determine: is it worth it? That’s the decision I had to make before driving almost 5 hours to northern Maine on the Canadian border last week.
The backstory: Last month we received a phone call from a woman with a comic collection in Somerset County Maine. Her husband unfortunately passed away five years ago, leaving her with 21 boxes of comic books and no idea what to do with them. She did not know titles, age, publisher – every detail was a total shot in the dark. The only clue I was given before making the trek was the majority were 10 cents on the cover. That was it – But for me, that was good enough!
Fast forward through six hours of driving and two hours of discovery in the home, and the collection ended up being a treasure trove of Golden Age comics, including numerous E.C. crime and horror books, D.C. hero, and select Silver and Bronze Age keys. The short answer, this collection is awesome!
There was a chance the collection was not going to be good, but it was the complete opposite and better than expected. What once a woman thought was clutter in her home will now be a near life changing financial nest egg. This is just one story of many we encounter and why it is so important to work with a trusted auction house or appraiser when handling collections, items in storage, or items from the homes of loved ones. You always want to make sure you are properly informed on what you have, because sometimes you never know. It only takes one comic book, trading card, painting, etc. to change your life!
