In August 2008, I started to inventory, organize, and grade my comics, most of which I've had for over thirty years.

When I was 6 or 7 years old, my grandfather sent me the first of several big boxes of comics. Here's the story, as I understand it. These were remaindered comics that retailers hadn't sold, so they tore off the cover to "prevent" their sale and returned the covers to the publishers for a refund. Then they sold the coverless comics to Grampa for very cheap, maybe nothing. I loved reading them, and there were lots of duplicates, so I could trade with my friends while keeping one of each.

Later, whenever I had a little pocket money, I rode my bike to the U-Tote-M store. This was a convenience store like a 7-Eleven. I'd buy as many comics as I could, which wasn't many. They cost 12 cents each. I had to be very selective! I came to prefer DC over Marvel, because DC often gave me one or more complete stories in an issue, while Marvel seemed to always continue the story in the next issue, or sometimes even cross over to a completely different title. I had no hope of keeping up!

I kept my comics with me through many moves, protecting them the best I could, not always successfully. I bought more comics wherever I went, still preferring DC. In the Eighties, I first expanded my buying, since I finally had some discretionary income. But I slowed down again as I realized the publishers were increasing their output. There were more new comics every month than I cared to read! My first child was born in 1989, and it wasn't too long after that I stopped buying comics altogether.

More years and moves came and went, and my comics were in boxes in the closet. My first child turned 20 in 2009! So, after finally finishing the house remodel that was forced on us by a washing machine breaking and flooding our house, I decided to look into selling my comics. (Don't worry, my comics were not damaged.) I immediately felt like Rip Van Winkle! So much had changed when I wasn't looking. Cover prices had shot up like a rocket, but it was easy to get new comics at big discounts. Thousands of comics shops had gone broke, flooding the market with leftover inventory from the 80s on. For back issues, Ebay made it possible to eliminate the middle man. There was this new service called CGC. They grade your comic fairly objectively, but then they slab it in plastic to prove it is still as it was when they graded it. This was all truly new to me quite recently!

When I first started, I used USPS Media Mail. But it is slow and occasionally unreliable. I learned that my employer has a special deal with Fedex which makes it practical for me to use them as my standard shipping method. I can ship a 5 pound box coast-to-coast overnight for about $5. That's how I can provide free overnight shipping on combined orders of $50.00 or more.

This is fun! So fun that I'm always looking for opportunities to pick up more vintage comics I can sell. Even Marvel! So fun that I want to celebrate by offering you the best deals I can.