lou_fine

Entry level copies are certainly getting more and more expensive as each day goes by. The 0.5 that went back and forth between us seems like a bargain only a year later. Better get one now if you are on the fence. Yes, this trend seems to be taking place with all of the big dollar books, especially in terms of the HTF GA books. For example, even a Poor ungraded 0.5 copy of Action 13 sold on HA for almost $15K. The entry level 0.5 graded copies of Detective 31 now appears to have moved well into the $20K+ range based upon their last few sales. I guess for the collectors without the deep pockets, it's simply a matter of being able to acquire an affordable copy when they do become available in the marketplace.

Well, from the reproduction of the first Overstreet guide, it looks like all of the SA keys were well under the $50 mark. Fantastic Four #1 appears to be at the top of the charts sitting at $30 in Mint condition. Looks like both AF 15 and ASM 1 were tied at $16 a piece, but still not high enough to beat FF 2 which came in at $20. Love the chronology as Journey Into Mystery #1 came in at $14 while JIM #83 managed to fetch only $10 at top of guide. For DC's, it looks like all of the Flash Showcase books came in at the same $12 mark, but still behind Showcase 17, with the first Adam Strange possibly topping the DC SA chart at $16. And for Roy and all of the other Thundra fans, it looks like the first issue of Thundra came in at $30 in Mint condition.

Of course they did, with many people calling it the Overprice guide when it first came out, as it was opined that nobody in their right mind would ever even think of paying $300 for a Mint copy of Action Comics #1. Is $300 what Action #1 listed for in the 1st Guide? Does anyone have one handy to list some key prices? I've got the Overstreet Giveaway reproduction that was done up in 1993. Yes indeed, Action 1 is listed for the outrageous sum of $300 in Mint condition, with 'Tec 27 at $275, and both Marvel 1 & Superman 1 at $250 each. I guess nobody wanted AA 16 in those days since it was listed at only a measly $50 in Mint condition.

Of course they did, with many people calling it the Overprice guide when it first came out, as it was opined that nobody in their right mind would ever even think of paying $300 for a Mint copy of Action Comics #1.

4-5K probably If this Joker cover is going for over 4X condition guide even in restored condition, what would it be going for in unrestored condition?

Wow, looks like there's almost 150 entry level copies (i.e. 0.5 or 1.0 graded) for AF 15 which seems like a surprisingly high number to me. Any idea how the market works for entry level SA books? Do these entry level SA books sell for insane prices relative to their bottom of guide prices, similar to how uber HG copies (or even 9.8 BA books) sell for insane prices relative to their top of guide prices? Especially since the price guide isn't really meant for books in higher than 9.2 condition, and apparently also not for books in lower than 2.0 condition. An incomplete answer to your question: AF #15 in 2.0 is listed at $5500 in the current OSPG. 12 month GPA average is $10,332. For 1.0, 12 month GPA is $6520. For .5, 12 month GPA is $5149. So it seems AF #15 in low grade does better than guide prices. Hulk #1 in 2.0 seems to do well too. FF #1 in 2.0 looks like it sells right around guide. Sold a Hulk 1 in 1.0 today for 4200. That's above guide. I believe 2.0s are going for around 5k. So I concur Hulk 1s are going above guide. Good to know that the entry level copies for some of the SA keys also appears to be moving at a robust pace and at a healthy premium to guide. Any idea if this entry level action is limited to only the SA keys or has it also spread to some of the sub keys or minor keys? Looks like the entry level prices for both AF 15 and Hulk 1 are running around double guide based upon the numbers I am seeing here. Not as bad as the GA books which seems to be running at higher multiples to guide making the barrier even tougher to cross for entry level copies. For example, even CGC 0.5 graded copies of Detective 31 were selling in the $20K+ range for last year when the 2.0 Good price was only at $13K. The most recent sale for a 1.0 graded copy went for over $43K. Same with Action 13 as a 0.5 raw copy sold for almost $15K on HA when the 2.0 Good price was at only $9K. Sad to see that these barriers to entry for even non-key books seem to be getting more and more insurmountable to climb.

What a book was to me is irrelevant because it could have been a higher grade or a lower grade. It's only what it is now that matters to me. And I buy (and sell) accordingly. Makes sense. Makes absolutely NO SENSE to me at all. Sounds as though you guys are saying that we should buy the current label, even if we know the book was graded significantly lower in previous occasions. Doesn't matter what was done to the book as the only thing that is relevant is its current grade. So I guess Roy would have been willing to pay full market price for the Church 9.0 copy of Boy Comics #17, even though it was originally graded as a CGC 4.0 copy and then regraded as a CGC 7.5 copy before finally hitting a CGC 9.0 home run on its third try, all while residing in a blue slab. It makes perfect sense. You have no idea whether a book has been in a higher or a lower grade holder (although you are conveniently assuming it was in a lower grade holder of the sake of this discussion) or if it was ever in a holder at all. Roy; Looks like we are not quite in synch here. I was referring to graded books where we clearly know that it was previously encased in a substantially lower graded slab. Like the CGC 7.5 AF 15 which we all now know was previously a CGC 5.5 copy or the Church 9.0 copy of Boy Comics 17 which everybody knew at the time was initially only a CGC 4.0 graded copy. You seem to be referring to first time graded books or possible previously graded where nobody can trace what the previous grade was. Of course, in this case, I would agree with you in that the grade is the grade as there is no other information to go on.

Nice pre-Robin set of Detective books you have there! Any plans to upgrade any of these copies or to go beyond the pre-Robin time frame?

This is apparently Gator's equivalent of what Fantastic 3 is to Fishler.

Wow, looks like there's almost 150 entry level copies (i.e. 0.5 or 1.0 graded) for AF 15 which seems like a surprisingly high number to me. Any idea how the market works for entry level SA books? Do these entry level SA books sell for insane prices relative to their bottom of guide prices, similar to how uber HG copies (or even 9.8 BA books) sell for insane prices relative to their top of guide prices? Especially since the price guide isn't really meant for books in higher than 9.2 condition, and apparently also not for books in lower than 2.0 condition.

I'd take that sale with a grain of salt. Doug factors 'trade value' into the sales price, and trade value can be a grey area. +1 Totally agree with Roy on this point here. Especially when a better looking 8.5 graded copy (albeit by the other company) managed to sell for less than the so-called "full asking price" for this supposedly overgraded 7.5 copy.

What a book was to me is irrelevant because it could have been a higher grade or a lower grade. It's only what it is now that matters to me. And I buy (and sell) accordingly. Makes sense. Makes absolutely NO SENSE to me at all. Sounds as though you guys are saying that we should buy the current label, even if we know the book was graded significantly lower in previous occasions. Doesn't matter what was done to the book as the only thing that is relevant is its current grade. So I guess Roy would have been willing to pay full market price for the Church 9.0 copy of Boy Comics #17, even though it was originally graded as a CGC 4.0 copy and then regraded as a CGC 7.5 copy before finally hitting a CGC 9.0 home run on its third try, all while residing in a blue slab.

9.6s they usually go fer 1 mill a pop right? Wrong, only when there was only 1 9.6 copy on the census, as per the following post below: I believe it would be a bit of a stretch to expect another 9.6 copy to hit the $1M mark in today's market.

Yes. It was reported to me to be an honest mixup , and no way to prove ow so I was just happy I got the books back. No doubt all of the media attention and heightened exposure here on the boards went a long way to helping to clear this mix-up sooner rather than later. Just happy to hear that you got your books back in the end.

Yes, the lowest PPP would be in the mid-grades as these books are sort of caught in a no-man's land. Too expensive for the entry level collectors without the deep pockets and yet, also not nice enough for the high end collectors with the deep pockets.

Any idea if these are consigned copies that Metro do not even have access to since your link to the Metro site only have stock images for these 2 books, as opposed to actual cover scans? I imagine a potential purchaser would like to see real scans of both the front and back covers at a minimum, before putting their dollars down. And in the case of the 'Tec 31, why would the consignor not put it up for auction on the CC website instead? With the dollars that the uber low grade copies of this book are getting on the CC auctions, should a CGC 6.0 graded copy not go for more than the $110K or best offer price which Metro is asking for here?

Rick; With some of the recent record breaking prices being paid for uber low grade books such as 'Tec 31, Action 13, and the likes, do you think these books are being brought for: 1) As entry level copies by buyers without deep pockets who do not want to miss out on owing a copy of said book; 2) As possible parts or pieces to be used by restorers and/or speculators to upgrade their lower grade copies; or 3) A combination of both of the above?

Metro Tec 31 5.0 copy has a BIN of 110K. The 33 8.0 has a BIN of 150K. Do you have a link for these 2 books? It looks like my Search skills on the internet leaves a lot to be desired.

Meanwhile the blue label 33, 2.5 looks to have poofed. -J. Might be transferred to the next CC even auction Or maybe a boardie bought it Reveal yourself Now, that's just being smart by buying at the right time........picking up a book when it's out of favor, as opposed to chasing it when it's red hot and the current flavor of the month. Congrats and well done!!!

Well, it's still not as bad as MA dealers listing their hot current books as being scarce and in some cases, even as being rare.

Meanwhile the blue label 33, 2.5 looks to have poofed. -J. Might be transferred to the next CC even auction Looks like CC is the go to auction site to consign your pre-Robin 'Tec books with all of their record breaking sales across the entire condition spectrum. Eh, pre-Robin Detectives have broken records across the entire spectrum of sales venues. Yes, but CC appears to be leading the way in terms of both volume of sales and prices achieved, with everybody else following in line. I believe they were the first to get over $20K for their Poor 0.5 copies and something like $43K for their 1.0 Fair copies of 'Tec 31.

Meanwhile the blue label 33, 2.5 looks to have poofed. -J. Might be transferred to the next CC even auction Looks like CC is the go to auction site to consign your pre-Robin 'Tec books with all of their record breaking sales across the entire condition spectrum.

Wow! Can't wait to see the actual pix Just wondering if these would be new to the market books or just resales of previously graded and sold copies? Especially in the case of 'Tec 31 since CC had auctioned off a 5.0 graded copy just last September for something like $87K. Looks like it could be a pretty profitable and quick flip since the entry level 0.5 copies seem to be in the $20K price range now.

Which ones of the Wonderworld's are you referring to? It looks like the Weird 18 went for only $766 while both of the WW 11 and WW 12 went for about $2,600+ to $2,700+. He is talking about the last weird 18 that sold (a year ago approx)for 2500 -3000 or so. I think earl shaw sold it raw. My bad then! Congrats on your pickup as it looks like a steal when compared to the previous 2 sales. I guess it's a matter of not only being in the right place at the right time, but also some luck to ensure that others are not there at the same time as you. Either that or the Fox Weird market must be hitting the crapper.

The Clock (1936)? Ah yes......now I remember!