Okay, here's a simple question for you all. Comics, annuals, or toy-wise, what's the absolute best item/bargain you've ever discovered in a charity shop or jumble sale? And did you keep it or sell it on eBay for a vast profit?
Go on, spill the details and make the rest of us jealous. You know you want to boast about it.
don't know about how much any of my stuff's worth, I suspect not a lot, but a couple of my favourite charity shop buys are a brilliant Jim Steranko Captain America annual for 20p, the Logan's Run annual for the same, and Jack Kirby's 2001 Treasury Edition for a quid.
ReplyDeletethese days, though, it's practically impossible to get a proper bargain. thanks to the internet, everyone's an expert.
I've got that CA Annual, Joe, and it's well worth 20p - with another few pounds on top. Not a big fan of Logan's Run, but the Kirby Treasury is another cracking bargain.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the staff only think they're experts. They see a vase on Antiques Roadshow valued at £100, and when one bearing a vague resemblance to it (even though it's chipped and cracked) comes into the shop, they stick a ridiculous price on it. They just don't have a clue.
Thanks for commenting - hope everything's fine for you at the moment.
Ever since the economy crashed and their customer based widened, the charity shops here have bumped their prices a lot. You used to be able to pick stuff up for 20p, those days are gone, I was waiting for the price to drop below £3 on a Black Bob anthology, hasn't happened yet. They're even charging £1 for old copies of Look & Learn.
ReplyDeleteI got the first two Willy The Kid books for £3 each in a London bookshop back in October... Is that good?
ReplyDeleteAlso, a small monster toy (from 1992, known as one of the "Bad Eggz Bunch") that I got for 10p from a charity shop later sold on eBay for £102 (!!!).
DSE, I'm not embarrassed to 'negotiate' on the prices that charity shops charge if I feel they're overcharging - after all, charity begins at home. Offer them £2 for the Black Bob book and see what they say.
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THB, you got a bargain on the two Willy books if they're in good condition. Leo Baxendale was charging £50 for the second one when he had spare copies a few years back. The third one is currently on sale on a site for £125. The seller says he was told that only 1,000 were printed, but Bax told me the print run was 10,000. I've alerted the seller to his mistake (not that he'll let it affect the price), so I'll be watching to see if he amends his info on the book.
I got the third book in August for about £38 off eBay - it was probably that cheap because it's missing its jacket (but is otherwise fine).
ReplyDeleteMine cost me about £30 or so, but with a near-perfect dustjacket. Only took me around 31 years to track one down. Take a look at my 'The Mystery of the Missing Willy' post to see what the dustjacket looks like.
ReplyDeleteWilly the Kid books 1 and 2 from a discount shop called 'It's a Gift!' in the late seventies (so not strictly a charity shop) - a pound for both. There was a massive display of them in the shop.
ReplyDeleteAs for charity shops, an original pre-cert VHS of 'Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue' for a quid.
The first two Willy books only cost £1 brand-new, but it was still a good buy. Wonder if they were remaindered copies?
ReplyDeletegames Workshops's original Space Hulk bought for £3, 2 parts missing, bought the parts for £2 on Ebay - then sold the "complete" box for £50 on Ebay. Also..2 (incomplete)copies of GW's Heroquest, bought for £3 each, sold both for £50.
ReplyDeleteThis time next year, Tongalad - millionaires.
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