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Guy at a Tampa con told me my Silver Surfer #4 was 'worthless' because of one tiny crease, still thinking about it
About three weeks ago I was at a small comic con in Tampa, just browsing a longbox of Bronze Age stuff when a dude next to me, probably in his 50s, noticed I was holding a Silver Surfer #4. He leaned over and pointed at a small color-breaking crease near the bottom staple, maybe a quarter inch long, and told me flat out that the book was 'worthless' and that nobody would ever buy it in that shape. I said I wasn't planning to sell it, I just like the cover, and he kind of laughed and said I was wasting my time collecting anything that wasn't a 9.0 or better. I stood there holding it while he walked off to another booth, and I could not stop thinking about it for the rest of the afternoon. The thing is, I paid $40 for that book at a yard sale in Clearwater last summer, and it has one of my favorite covers in my whole collection. I get that grade matters for resale, but telling a stranger their book is worthless feels like a weird way to enjoy this hobby. Has anyone else had a random con stranger tell them their stuff was junk, and how do you deal with it?
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eric_carr12d ago
That Tampa guy sounds like the same type who told me my copy of X-Men #12 was "firewood" because of a water stain on the back cover. I paid $15 for it at a flea market in Tarpon Springs and it still displays fine on my shelf, stain and all. A quarter inch crease on a Silver Surfer #4 for $40 is a steal, that book has one of the best covers Marvel ever put out, period. The weird part is these dudes act like comics are only stocks, like nobody ever just wants to own something cool. Grade chasing has its place for resale but it has zero to do with whether a book is worth keeping. That guy walked off feeling like a big shot and you went home with a grail you love, so I'd say you won that round.
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