Reprints Rise in Market Value

The market has changed winds and reprints that were once thought as reader copies are now spiking in value. Truth be told, reprints were seen and still valued less than the first prints. The first appearance of Spider-Man, Amazing Fantasy #15 is still the highest priced first appearance of Spider-Man. Facsimiles, reprints, and Marvel Tales of Spider-Man's first appearance have not gone up in value. Then, how come 2nd and 3rd prints of modern comics are rising?

There are a few reasons that can help explain the market change. First, the comic book contains the first appearance of an important character. Second, the first prints are priced out of many collector's budgets and reprints act as a substitute. Third, reprints have a low print orders because comic shops knew reprints are harder to sell. Fourth, reprints containing the first appearance of an important character might have a movie or a streaming series coming. Fifth, reprints could contain the first cover appearance of a significant character.

Five reasons why certain reprints are rising in value:

1. First appearance of an important character
2. First prints are valued out of many collectors budgets
3. Low order reprints produce higher scarcity
4. Movie or Streaming Potential
5. Contains the first cover appearance

A good example of a rising reprint is The War of the Realms New Agents of Atlas 3rd print. It contains multiple first appearances; the print order is less than 1500; there are rumors of these characters entering a streaming series; finally, the first prints are rising in value. It has four of the five listed reasons. 

Now is the time to use comichron.com to research reprints of first appearance characters that are becoming mainstream. You will be surprised by what you find when researching reprints of key characters. 

A good example of this would be the 2nd prints of Amazing Spider-Man 546. It contains the first appearance of Jackpot and Mr. Negative. These two characters are expected to show up in a Sony Stand alone movies; the first print is rising in value, the reprint order is lower. It has 3 of the 5 variables.  The Amazing Spider-Man 546 has not risen in price yet but it could change quickly. They are currently selling for cover price on E-bay.

Another book to watch out for is Spider-verse #1 Enter the Spider-verse 2019 2nd print. This book contains the first appearance of Spider-0 and has a print order under 1,500. It does not have a movie tied to it but that's all it would take for the price to rise in value. These are a few things to consider when looking for a diamond in the rough. 

The Future of Reprints is Bleak

Going forward, reprints will have higher print orders because resellers noticed the rising demand for 2nd and 3rd prints of important characters. This has led to rise in print orders for reprints. Marvel is milking the reprint market and giving comic book collectors a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and even a 5th reprint. The market will be flooded with reprints going forward until everyone stops valuing reprints. I don't know when that will happen but I hope collectors wise up and stop buying 3rd and 4th prints. It will eventually stop when the market has had enough reprints to no longer care about them.