Unique Collectibles Auctioneer

Company beginning
twelve years ago a fellow comics collector had tried every avenue to sell his collection, which consisted of over 12,000 american and british comics, original artwork and tv related merchandise.
after sending lists to comic shops, approaching dealers and putting small ads in various periodicals and local newspapers, the results were disappointing. Most people wanted to "cherry-pick" a small number of desirable items, showing no interest in the rest, and a few made derisory offers for the whole lot. When we came to discuss this, i told him id had a similar reaction to a much smaller collection of my own. All perhaps understandable given the financial climate in early 1992.
some weeks later i came up with an idea to try and reach our target audience directly -- we would list the comics in affordable lots and attempt to sell them in the form of a postal auction catalogue. Having nothing to lose, my friend agreed and i set about putting the catalogue together with a few black and white photographs (taken up against our white bathroom wall) and a bidding form in the back which potential customers could detach and send in with their bids before the closing date. We printed 300 copies, did some small ads, and sat back with everything crossed.
three weeks later, we were frantically packing boxes in my friends basement, and waiting in line at the post office with parcels up to the ceiling. Our auctions first catalogue had been a huge success, selling more than 80% of the lots offered, and we were on our way. Over the following five catalogues we offered the balance of the collection and managed to sell the lot
what i did not expect was the volume of other collections which came our way from up and down the u.k., and especially from scotland and wales. We obviously touched a nerve with people who had encountered the same selling problems as ourselves.
a dozen years on, we produce a 32 page colour catalogue with over 3500 customers worldwide, and we are on the internet, as you can see! In the last few years the publicity that surrounded the record prices we achieved for comics, annuals and artwork has helped us considerably, raising the profile of comics generally, and of our company specifically.
as you may imagine, an enormous amount of work goes into the classification and grading of each comic we accept for auction, and given the time and effort involved, it is just as well we enjoy it! The fun part is our customers. Hearing the stories of how they acquired their comics is sometimes stranger than the fiction within the pages. Here are a couple of our favourites:
the small boy who worked in his uncles toyshop in paisley (near glasgow, scotland) during the school holidays, getting extra pocket money and a dandy annual at christmas, since kept in a filing cabinet for 57 years and recently sold by us for £2000 -- it was a first issue.
a southampton lady cleaning out the attic and about to throw out 40 dog-eared copies of the wartime daily mirror, only to find 40 copies of film fun, each one lodged between the centre pages in pristine condition, sold to an american collector for £30 each.
just two stories amongst many i can only speculate about what else is out there. Now where did you leave that stepladder?
malcolm phillips
how to bid
your bids can be submitted by fax, by mail, or by using the secure online bidding form. The completed bidding form must reach us by the closing date stated on the bidding form and on the gray bar at the top of the screen. Be sure to write the lot numbers, description, and your bid prices when filling out your bidding form. Once we have received your bids you may email or call us to check the highest current bids for any lots you have bid on. If any of your bids have been bettered, you may raise them by a minimum of 10% if you wish, as often as you like. All bids are submitted in united kingdom pounds sterling.

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