kimik

It was for the Iron Man #55 my LCS submitted a couple of months back. The owner and I had it pegged at 8.5, maybe a 9.0. It came back 9.6 which meant monies for him The white cover on that one probably helped. No "color break" on white covers. On the Sandman book in the link, the spine stress is color breaking. No, the IM #55 had great centering so the spine creases were noticeable along the left side of the dark part of the cover image. Every now and then a book slips through and my LCS was fortunate that it was this one in the sumbmission. (thumbs u

Im not a professional by any means but if I got that copy in the mail I wouldn't be happy. Dinged up corner and noticeable spine issues. No chance at that being a 9.8 from even the most generous of graders. Well he only claims it to be a 9.6 but after looking at the scans I don't think even a 9.6 is in the realm of possibility. That's part of the reason he doesn't sell those raw books here with those grades. More suckers on Ebay. That book isn't even 9.4. A 9.2 would be super generous. Quoted for absolute truth...I promised I wouldn't say anything, but I can comment on other peoples posts. I was beginning to think that 4 major spine creases is acceptable in the 9.6 grade. Jim It was for the Iron Man #55 my LCS submitted a couple of months back. The owner and I had it pegged at 8.5, maybe a 9.0. It came back 9.6 which meant monies for him

I was buying these for $1 last year. Seem to be doing pretty good to me. Where were you finding them? I've been watching for them on eBay for well over a year and they don't come up that often in high grade. LCSs that are out of touch with current market values.

Alberta is lower in age than the national average due to the employment market here. Basically, we are attracting a lot of younger working age people from other regions to the province. WRT the supply vs. demand, while there are plenty of collections to be found there are more people looking for books here. The past three years we have had kids as young as 13 buy $100+ high demand/key SA and BA books. There has been a noticeable shift in the average age of people at shows buying books as well - it is probably 10 years younger than what it was in 2007/08.

Snagging collections "for cheap" depends entirely on where you are. Maybe in Canada, but here in SoCal, it's simply not possible. So true, up here I can throw a dead cat and hit high grade collections all day long. I was in California this summer and traveled up and down the coast and there was nothing but garbage to pick at. Mind you, my trip wasn't about finding comics, it was to relax so maybe there is stuff out there but the shops carried rags for back issues and everything was priced the highest I've ever seen. Interesting. We are fortunate here then with Copper and older collections. They pop up on a regular basis. For example, last night I picked up 700 or so book that included a NMish run of Sandman #1-75, a nice run of Swamp Thing #37 - 171, and New Teen Titans/Tales of #1-59 plus a bunch of other nice books (e.g. Transformers #1, 3, 4; Power Man & Iron Fist #56 up, Avengers #190 - 230, some Tecs, GLs, Spideys, etc.) You and I live parallel lives. I can't even get the material to CGC fast enough. For me, it's simply based on not having enough time to process the books and have them ready for submission. There are quite a few of us in town that are actively buying and selling collections. I can tell the health of the market here in Edmonton based on the number of keys/collections that stores are buying and selling as well - even the small ones have picked up and moved one or two nice collections over the past 18 months. My file LCS just landed a nice HG late SA/BA/CA collection that yielded a nice stack of CGC 9.4 - 9.8 late SA through mid BA books (including a 9.6 IM #55, 9.8 Dr. Strange #1, 9.4 Ghost Rider #1, some 9.8 ASMs, etc.).

Snagging collections "for cheap" depends entirely on where you are. Maybe in Canada, but here in SoCal, it's simply not possible. So true, up here I can throw a dead cat and hit high grade collections all day long. I was in California this summer and traveled up and down the coast and there was nothing but garbage to pick at. Mind you, my trip wasn't about finding comics, it was to relax so maybe there is stuff out there but the shops carried rags for back issues and everything was priced the highest I've ever seen. so then why do these books sell for such a fat premium in canada (according to the convention reports here) if they can be found in bulk in every other igloo in the tundra? of course, the frozen lonely nature of igloo life would work well with voracious comic collecting, so, per capita, there may be more collectors up there. probably why there are a fair number up here in the northeast because we have a solid 4-5 months to hide in our homes too. i just don't see how a kid from florida or CA would ever get attracted to it with the lure of the outdoors and sun unless you are allergic to the sun. there are only so many days a year you have to hide in your hurricane (or earthquake) shelter reading comics. Higher disposable income + younger population = a great market for comics up here. We are also seeing a good upswing in young female collectors here as well which opens up another part of the market.

Snagging collections "for cheap" depends entirely on where you are. Maybe in Canada, but here in SoCal, it's simply not possible. So true, up here I can throw a dead cat and hit high grade collections all day long. I was in California this summer and traveled up and down the coast and there was nothing but garbage to pick at. Mind you, my trip wasn't about finding comics, it was to relax so maybe there is stuff out there but the shops carried rags for back issues and everything was priced the highest I've ever seen. Interesting. We are fortunate here then with Copper and older collections. They pop up on a regular basis. For example, last night I picked up 700 or so book that included a NMish run of Sandman #1-75, a nice run of Swamp Thing #37 - 171, and New Teen Titans/Tales of #1-59 plus a bunch of other nice books (e.g. Transformers #1, 3, 4; Power Man & Iron Fist #56 up, Avengers #190 - 230, some Tecs, GLs, Spideys, etc.) If you don't mind my asking, did you acquire these books through the people you know and the connections you made? Someone that dropped by my table at a one day show earlier this year that I followed up with a couple of weeks ago. I came across his email to me while cleaning out my inbox - I had passed on his collection in late July to pick up a 6500+ book collection instead (craigslist find).

You need to get out of Ontario and hit the CalgaryExpo or EdmontonExpo for quality books. That being said, I have had good luck picking up books via garage sales, craigslist, and connections for the past 15 or so years I have been selling as well as collecting. There are plenty of books to be found if you are patient. If I had a store/more storage space I would pick up more than just 2 or 3 per year.

Snagging collections "for cheap" depends entirely on where you are. Maybe in Canada, but here in SoCal, it's simply not possible. So true, up here I can throw a dead cat and hit high grade collections all day long. I was in California this summer and traveled up and down the coast and there was nothing but garbage to pick at. Mind you, my trip wasn't about finding comics, it was to relax so maybe there is stuff out there but the shops carried rags for back issues and everything was priced the highest I've ever seen. Interesting. We are fortunate here then with Copper and older collections. They pop up on a regular basis. For example, last night I picked up 700 or so book that included a NMish run of Sandman #1-75, a nice run of Swamp Thing #37 - 171, and New Teen Titans/Tales of #1-59 plus a bunch of other nice books (e.g. Transformers #1, 3, 4; Power Man & Iron Fist #56 up, Avengers #190 - 230, some Tecs, GLs, Spideys, etc.)

Right now there is great $$$ to be made from CA books since you can snag collections for so cheap. I am curious to see how things end, but this reminds me a lot of the action on BA books from 2003 - 2005 (maybe starting a bit earlier).

I pvr'd it and watched it tonight and thought it was a good start. They set a whole bunch of things in motion in the pilot which is fine. I have no idea why some of you are so negative - the Agents of SHIELD pilot blew big time compared to this one and it has turned out okay......

Yup. A week ago in Calgary there were not takers on NM copies at guide.

Cover your bases by buying the 1st SA App, SA #1, and then the New Teen Titans/Tales of keys.

You forgot, "the market is primed for a crash" and "it's the 90's again". I didn't forget because that was not my point, I don't think either is true. You can deflect with retorts but the question was genuine, I was actually hoping for an answer. The hobby survived the 90's it will survive this phase. Comics are just following the trend you see in all other hobbies. The key and most desireable pieces increase in value while the common books/cards/stamps/coins/trains/video games/etc. stagnate. How many people are still alive today that saw Honus Wagner/Babe Ruth/Mickey Mantle play ball yet their key rookie cards keep going up? The future of the comic hobby is the same thing - keys will be sought after by comic fans and non-comic fan investors/speculators alike. I am fine with that - both groups use the same color of money and as long as the value of the keys I am accumulating keep going up I do not care who buys them.

I see plenty of younger collectors up here buying BA and SA Batman and related titles due to...................the popularity of New 52 Bat-titles. It will be interesting to see how this carries forward long term. The only consistent Modern Marvel back issue seller is Deadpool (ASM is slower outside of keys or Venom/Carnage appearances), but there is stronger interest for the New 52 Bat-titles, anything Harley (best modern back issue seller from the Big 2), and other new 52 books.

Yup. The late BA and early CA is where the action will be fast and furious.

Looks like the bottom end of the market is firming up a bit. I sold a 2.0 B&B #28 on eBay last night for $1499.99 (new GPA high). B&B #28 CGC 2.0 - $1499.99

I am curious to see how Shazam #28 does longer term. It may pull back a bit, but a new floor will be established. The one thing it does have going for it is that it is not an easy to find issue in the run. When I see Shazam in auction lots or at the LCSs it is ususally issues in the #1-20 range, not the later ones.

Why do you say that? Its a title that most said would fail, but out sells anything, including WD and outcast, that Image puts out. Rivals Amazing Spiderman in sales too. It will only get better, my guess. But why would the price go up is what I'm getting at. There are plenty of popular books with good stories that never go above cover. It is Harley. Deadpool is the same way. I am going to be pricing my new 52 Harley #1 1sts at $15 - $20 this weekend (same with #1 2nd print - it is a better cover), #2s at $10-$12, and subsequent issues at $6 - $10. They will sell. Don't estimate the power of the Dark Side......err, Harley. The funniest thing to watch at a show is a young woman/girl walk up to the table, grab a stack of Harleys, and have her boyfriend pay for them.

Is there any demand for Cry for Dawn and then Dawn? I pulled out a few issues processing a collection I bought a couple of weeks ago.

They are eBay NM then....... Some of them look nice in that pic. (thumbs u

Check out the final prices on these two auctions. The VG went for more than the NM-/NM copy.

There is only one copy currently on eBay. The others that had been posted either ended before the announcement or have been BIN'd since then. Glad I picked up the HG run from Clink a couple of months back. The #28 is a 9.4+ book.

Let's hope a new high for a 9.2 floats the prices up across the board in all grades as well.

It will likely seem some speculative interest like the DD issue (#115?) with the Wolverine panel or Web of Spidey #18. As far as replacing TT #44 as the key 1st Nightwing, not a chance IMHO.