lou_fine

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!

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+.

Was this book listed as one of the tougher Fox books to find in a link that was posted here recently? Tried to find that link earlier, but forgot how to get there.

Yes, who cares about WW 12 when the Wonderworld 11 was able to climb by more than $2K in the last 20 minutes of the auction to finish ahead of the WW 12. Wonder what's causing this recent upsurge in interest and the prices on all of the Fox books?

Nope. Dr. Occult was first. Here's the iconic panel from MF 14: Well, if Dr. Occult was the first caped hero in comics, then any idea as to who was the first masked hero in comics?

Do you mean shockingly low since offers in this range would be far down into the small single digit fractions of what an unrestored copy in equivalent grade would be going for?

It was never a 2.0 to begin with. Most assuredly, since an unrestored 2.0 copy of 'Tec 27 would generate offers higher than the $300K range which this copy is currently receiving.

Of the 27-38 run, 28 is the only issue that at present counts more restored than universal copies. 27 has an the number distributed equally. And many consider 28 to be the toughest of the pre-Robin 'Tec books to find. I personally believed that it is probably the most undervalued issue in the entire pre-Robin 'Tec run, considering that it is still the 2nd appearance of Batman, and seems to go for much lower than the other early issues simply because it doesn't have Batman on the front cover.

Not sure why you think it did ok when it sold for only a tiny fraction (i.e. less than 9%) of its condition guide value. Especially when you compare it with Cap 3 or the Wonder Woman 4 which both sold for a premium over and above their full condition guide value, even with restoration work clearly identified on both of these books. I guess I always assume the pre-resto grades for these extensive resto copies is 1.0-1.8. Those have all been selling under $8k. So $10k seemed ok. Not outstanding, but ok. If this Af15 8.5 Extensive had a pre-resto grade of 3.0 or above then it did really bad, Not sure about most of the key SA books, but I thought the entry level low grade copies of AF 15 were selling for over their condition guide values. If this is the case, then there is no point in bothering to get the super low grade copies restored as you would end up losing money on them. I know that the entry level prices for key GA books or the classic cover books such as 'Tec 31, Action 13, and the likes are selling for huge multiples to their condition guide prices, even in 0.5 or 1.0 graded condition.

Not sure why you think it did ok when it sold for only a tiny fraction (i.e. less than 9%) of its condition guide value. Especially when you compare it with Cap 3 or the Wonder Woman 4 which both sold for a premium over and above their full condition guide value, even with restoration work clearly identified on both of these books. Interesting to note that the 6.0 EP restored copy of AF 15 ended up selling within shooting distance of the 8.5 slightly restored copy. I guess the degree of restoration was probably the key factor here. And it looks like the 9.6 NM+ restored copy either did not meet reserve or was withdrawn prior to the actual auction as it shows now as an Invalid Lot. So, it looks like the AF 15's did not do so well in this auction, regardless of whether they were unrestored or restored.

77K That's really low. What did most people think the grade actually was? 7.5? Yep, I have been scratching my head on this one too. Why didn't this book go for 100k+? 9.0s have exceeded 200k recently. So, one would think an 8.5 would be in the 115-140k range. Maybe the red label confused some folks? As gadzukes mentioned, perhaps soft grading. The top front cover has some issues, but nothing extreme. To my eye, it is at least an 8.0. +1 I also believe that it appears from the scan to be within the acceptable range of error when it comes to grading, even if it had been done by CGC. Not sure if this is an indication that AF 15's are not the guaranteed bullet-proof winners they are supposed to be as this one looks like it sold for less than 70% of condition guide value. Especially when it was a signature copy which should have given an actual boost to its final price. Maybe a case of just too many copies available in the marketplace over the past few years. Does anybody remember what the buy-in rates were for AF 15 in various grades that Metro had so boldly advertised several months ago? Wonder if they would still be valid or subject to some change now?

Wow, that was fixed instantaneously! Looks like the description of CGC 9.4 as being the highest graded copy was incorrect.

Appears to be an error on their listing for the Sensation 39. http://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2FAuctions%2Fsearch%2Easp%3FPreviewCode%3D2016aug%26where%3Dauctions%26title%3Dsensation%2Bcomics%26GO%3DGO%26ItemType%3DCB%23Item%5F1136812&id=1136812 The description talks about it being the highest graded copy with a CGC 9.4 NM grade, and yet the picture image is of a graded copy with only a CGC 9.0 VF/NM label. Wonder which is correct here, the written description or the picture image?

Ah........I see that you have answered the question that was posed in another thread a few weeks ago: Yes, it will be very interesting to see where this book finishes up at since it is the highest graded copy to date and with the prestigious and highly sought after Allentown pedigree designation to boot. Any preliminary guesses as to where this book will end up at by the time it's all said and done? Yes, I'll make one prediction with confidence. This book will land in the collection of someone of substantial means. So, you must be the person of substantial means that Cat was referring to in his statement above. Congrats on a superb pickup and you even managed to get it for under the $40K to $50K mark that some board members thought the book would end up going for.

Wasn't this one considered to be probably the toughest of the Xela Wonder's to find back in the day? Certainly a nice bright copy that Richard has here!!!

Good lord. Too bad I sold my 1.8 last year. I wonder who's buying up all of these 0.5 and 1.0 CGC graded GA beater books for what appears to be record sums of money relative to their grade?

The impression I get are that these IGB/Voldy books are being forced upon the market, and perhaps with an exception or two, have woefully under-performed. That is interesting. Do you think IGB are making money? I believe it really depends if you base their time on the going standard rates for restoration work or if you base it on a heavily discounted rate since its their own time that they are putting in, and hence really just more of an opportunity cost to them.