lou_fine

Most definitely the trend longer term if you are a collector or an investor. Not necessarily the case if your are a shorter term speculator or dare we say a day trader where the prices can drop quite significantly percentage wise during a down period like what we are seeing right now with many of these readily available BA key books, including the Hulk 181's.

I also thought would hit a million. Still a strong price as last recorded gpa sale for 9.2 was shy under 600k in 2019 Well, as we all know here GPA is certainly not the be all and end all when it comes to capturing all of the comic book transaction prices. Although I also thought this was a relatively strong or at least reasonable price based upon the longer term trend line, other boardies/dealers in the know with better connections are hoping this is the rock bottom for AF 15 prices when it comes to the shorter term peak to trough cycle for this book here: Definitely not a good result though if both the auction house and consignor were expecting the final price to be double what the actual realized price was. Then again, maybe a case of not reading the tea leaves correctly from a timing point of view. Especially if a rising tide tends to lift all boats, similarly, a lowering tide makes it just that much harder to buck the trend and keep your boat up there, regardless of how nice it is.

Well, here's hoping the mid-grade issue you have is a PL 17, as opposed to a PL 15 then.

You actually made me go back to take a look as that indeed would have been a super strong and price for a mid-grade copy of PL 15. Turns out this $30K was for a copy of Phantom Lady 17 which then makes a whole lot more sense here, albeit still a strong price.

My bad as I was getting it confused with your former CGC 9.6 graded coy of FC 178 that you had sold back in the summer of 2021. Any idea which one would be worth more in today's marketplace......the single highest 9.6 graded copy of FC 178 or would it be the 9.6 FC 386?

Some of the Nasdaq speculators would kill to have a chart like this, especially since some of those former headline grabbing high flyers have cratered by some 70% to 90% from their highs, with no chance of ever recovering.

Either my memory must be fading or were these private dealer sales as opposed to public auction sales? Can you provide links to these 3 CGC 9.0 sales for over $800K as some boardies besides me also seem to have problems remembering them.

Not the first time that we've seem this kind of anomaly on a Signature Series book, but if you really think about it, probably not that surprising at all. To each their own, but probably nothing more than a case of potential buyers who swim in this deeper end of the pool not really caring too much for "defaced" books that have scrawled handwriting all over the front cover image.

Well, Kemo Sabe................being a long term collector myself, it wasn't that many moons ago that we saw a Hulk 181 sell for $59K on CL and we all kind of thought that was rather since it represented a jump of something like $20K over the previous price points. Then again, YIKES though as that's starting to get a whole lot closer to the original purchase price point of my copy and I certainly wouldn't want to find myself in deep doo doo land and end up losing not only my shirt, but also my pants on this book here.

Didn't realize that this was the featured book on the cover of their catalog, but YES indeed, this would most definitely do it. Being a long-time collector, I actually prefer the old school grading and with this being a CGC 9.6 graded copy done way back in October of 2000 before Heritage arrived on the scene, I am sure this must have been an absolutely beautifully presenting copy in terms of strong colors and gorgeous eye appeal. With the noted defects listed on this copy though, I somehow doubt it would be receiving the same 9.6 grade if certified today with the current grading standards unless some additional money was thrown into the CCS money pit to feed the insatiable appetite of the CCG ownership group: Grader Notes Bottom Spine Small Crunch Front Cover Writing Spine Chip Out Spine Stress Lines

Then again, with the seemingly strong GA results here, maybe this is just a precursor of what is to come during the traditional March to June stronger time period.

With your emoticon here, are you suggesting that somebody who is The Master when it comes to timing their sales is also just as good at timing their purchases? Nah...........couldn't be since this is a piddly CGC 9.4 graded copy and virtually an universe away from your former CGC 9.6 highest graded copy.

Well, at least this copy here on this go round dropped by $6K as compared to the result from last summer. I thought what you would have found even more unsettling is this barely 10-year old book here that took its place at $43,200, especially when there's already 189 of them and still counting in equivalent CGC 9.8 graded condition, with another 279 copies pressing its way through right on its door in CGC 9.6 graded condition : https://comics.ha.com/itm/modern-age-1980-present-/superhero/ultimate-fallout-4-variant-edition-marvel-2011-cgc-nm-mt-98-white-pages/a/7338-92127.s?ic16=ViewItem-BrowseTabs-Auction-Archive-ThisAuction-120115

Although the market on HTF Fox books is clearly still on fire, I believe there were also a few other factors at play here, including the following: 1) Highest graded copy by a long shot at CGC 9.6, with the next highest graded quite a few decrements lower at CGC 8.5; 2) Edgar Church Mile High pedigree copy to boot and need we say anymore; 3) Original label goodness where much of the general consensus held by most is that these books are less likely to have been pressed which increases the marketability of them; and 4) Original label goodness where the general consensus held by some is that these books tended to be graded tougher. Personally, I would agree with the first three points here, but not so much with the fourth point. Especially since I feel that the original label books are not necessarily graded tougher, but really that they've just been graded with different grading standards in place at the time as compared to now. Nevertheless, definitely a very strong result with this copy of The Eagle 1 finishing up at at a whopping $36K.

Well, based upon the results for the first day of the Heritage auction, did you get an sufficient enough of an answer to your question here?

Exactly and even to the point that old slow Bob even finally got around to doubling the valuation of FF 212 to 214 over the rest of the Frazetta cover run, after having all of them at the exact same valuation for as long as I can remember. Not sure why he would have 212 in there though, as I feel that 213 & 214 are clearly head and heels over the rest of them, with FF 212 & 215 in a second grouping of their own before you drop down to the rest of the Frazetta Famous Funnies run.

Isn't this really nothing more than just your basic first year economics where supply eventually outpaces demand which can only stretch so far? Especially when you have a scenario where you have multiple copies of the exact same book showing up in various grades across the entire condition spectrum in every single auction with no apparent end in sight. Then again, it makes you wonder what happened to all of those boastful prospective buyers who said they simply couldn't wait for prices to fall so that they can start buying again, or were they the first ones already rushing for the exit doors?

Well, isn't that a drop of 37.5% or at least somewhere in the same ballpark as the rest of the recycled Promise books hitting the marketplace on their second go round in such a short time period?

Well, from a percentage POV, nowhere near as unsettling as the result for this CGC 9.8 highest graded copy of Savage Tales 1: https://comics.ha.com/itm/magazines/adventure/savage-tales-1-marvel-1971-cgc-nm-mt-98-white-pages/a/7338-92132.s?ic16=ViewItem-BrowseTabs-Auction-Archive-ThisAuction-120115# Sold for only $15,600 or a near 60% drop off from the $37,200 which it was able to fetched in a Heritage auction back in November of 2021. Then again, maybe a lot of these record breaking sales from the pandemic time period are really more of an outlier than anything else.

Well, I guess I would have to say that the auction lady finally woke up from her deep snooze and got off her big fat duff to sing loud and clear.

Well, even though the auction lady hasn't got off her big fat duff to sing yet, it looks like this copy of Bat 1 took a $100K bounce up to $280K now.

Well, although the Frazetta Famous Funnies scheduled for Thursday might appear to be on the high side, two of the three scheduled for the Saturday portion of the auction appears to be on the low side as they are barely cracking the $1K mark.

Indeed, you can most certainly say that again. Especially for you, since I think the fingers of your hands must be sweating with great anticipation at the thought of hitting the keys of your laptop when the gavel comes down on this book here: https://comics.ha.com/itm/modern-age-1980-present-/the-amazing-spider-man-667-dell-otto-variant-cover-marvel-2011-cgc-nm-mt-98-white-pages/a/7338-91025.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 Even more so, with this unique artistic masterpiece sitting at a mere $9,250 when Heritage sold an equivalent graded copy for a whopping $43,200 just a few months ago.

Oh, wow.......................you actually made me go back to my old guides to take a look at this. Yes, it looks like you were right as Overstreet did indeed had a section on the "Value Of Restored Comics" in his guide for a few years back then where he distinguished between two classifications of restoration, as follows: "There are two major categories of restoration. In the first category no new elements are added to a comic book. Processes in this category include dirt removal, spine roll correction, whitening, deacidification, tape removal, etc. These processes do not alter the original state of a comic book, and consequently the comic book will reach the value equivalent to books which needed no restoration to begin with. In many cases, the value gain can be enormous." "The second category exists when new elements are added to a comic book where portions were destroyed or damaged. In instances such as repairing missing pieces and tears, touching up colors or replacing missing pages, the current consensus of value is approximately one-half grade less than a book which did not require the restoration." Based upon the sentiment at the time as reflected from reading these two paragraphs above on the value of restoration, it's no wonder why there were so many restored books from that time period. I guess it's rather similar to why we have so many artificially pressed books in today's marketplace, as it's seen as an undisclosed activity that adds value to a book. Not exactly sure why they would have considered whitening and deacidification as not adding something foreign or external to the book back then. Then again, I am also not sure if I am misunderstanding the process or not, but I am likewise not sure why CGC does not consider leaf casting to be restoration since I thought it's also adding something external to a book where there was nothing there before. Not sure if I am interpreting the two paragraphs on the Valuation of Restored Books the same way as you are. The way I read it appears to indicate from my POV that restoration will indeed add value to both categories of restoration back then. In the first category, it will give it full value as it states that the book will reach the equivalent value to books which needed no restoration work to begin with (i.e. an original VG unrestored book improved up to a restored Fine copy will be worth the equivalent of a unrestored Fine book which with my 2023 thinking sounds rather to me). In the second category of restoration, an original unrestored VG book upgraded to a restored Fine copy will be worth one-half grade less than an unrestored Fine copy that did not require any work. So whether it be Category 1 or Category 2, restoration was seen as ADDING VALUE to an unrestored book, with the value being dependent upon the type of restoration work performed on the book.

As far as I am aware, the comic book valuations in the Overstreet have ALWAYS been based on unrestored books right from the get go. I clearly remember in a couple of the guides towards the end of the 70's that Overstreet attempted to come up with some type of unspecified arithmetical calculation and a graphical chart to show the added value of having a book restored. For example, if you have a book that was originally in VG unrestored condition and then you "improved" it through some form of restoration to a Fine unrestored condition, it would now have some unspecified value somewhere above the unrestored VG valuation, but never as high as the unrestored Fine Valuation. Not surprisingly at all, what killed the restoration marketplace was the fact that sellers started to foist their restored books as unrestored copies without even bothering to disclose the hidden work that had been done to them, all in the quest to make more money. Perish the thought that in this day and age, people would actually ever think of artificially manipulating a book to improve its condition and then not even bother to disclose this critical fact when it came time to sell the book.