kimik

For a store with only 150 - 200 file customers, an extra case is a lot. As far as the other one, he emptied out part of one storage area and it had 1 long box of NM 98s. How many other copies are still lurking in his overstock? I am not arguing that NM 98 was a dud for a while, just the comment you made that it was not speculated on. I am giving you two cases showing that it was. These stores did speculate on NM 98, and likely along with a ton of others. As the smaller store owner told me, when you can buy them for half cover, at $0.50 per book it was not a huge risk. However, it is also erroneous to say that it too 18 years for it to break out. I can remember it popping when the first Deadpool mini came out, and then later in the 90s when the regular series started. It ebbed and flowed with the popularity of the character, just like any other (e.g. Punisher - dead, hot, dead, hot) The one owner I talked to speculated on NM 98 because it featured first appearances in an X-title with a hot artist. He said that the wholesale discount made it worthwhile to speculate on a case or two of books with a first appearance or new #1 since he could blow them out at cost (what was it back then, 50 cents apiece?) readily if needed. He said he has a case of GR #1 and some other GR issues (early issues with Punisher x-overs and the glow in the dark cover issue) as well sitting in the back along with a bunch of other late 80s through early 90s books. He pulled out a case of Infinity Gauntlet #1s for a recent show, along with another case of McSpidey #1 Silver for a show in September, so I would not be surprised if he has a case of New Warriors #1s sitting in the back as well........ Like I said, he was speculating an all new #1s and first appearances back then since the cost was minimal relative to the potential return - just getting $2 for a new #1 was a huge win at the wholesale costs. How many long standing stores have storage lockers/warehouse areas full of boxes they have not gone through in years? I doubt that two stores in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada are the only ones that have boxes of unsorted spec Copper and early modern books in storage. My current file LCS owner is slowly starting to clean out their back stock in storage. He has barely made a dent, but there were big wins in the first few boxes (these would be the newest books). A few months ago he pulled out a small pile of leftover New 52 Batman #1s and Detective #1s (1st prints) he did not remember he had. Another box had his Saga #1 1sts in it. These are books that are less than 2 years old. Due to costs, store owners do not speculate as rampantly as they did in the late 80s/early 90s ($0.50 or less per copy back then vs. $1.00 - $1.50 now wholesale), but they still have extra copies of most books in storage that they forget about and dig out at a later date.

Oops. I posted the wrong scan. It was supposed the be the other Canadian newsstand copy I have kicking around. I will post some more books later this week.

What would I need to do - survey every store owner that was open back then to see how many copies they purchased to determine whether it was hoarded? Back then any 1st appearance, new #1, or potentially "hot" issue was speculated on by the stores. Were average collectors picking up cases of NM 98? Not likely. However, if two of the LCS owners still standing from the implosion had a case and a long box left over here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, I doubt they were the only two store owners in North America that speculated in volume on this book as well. That being said, as the guy who had the case of NM 98s told me, that case is covering the cost of all of the other 90s #1s and "hot" books he has cases/boxes of sitting in the back from failed speculation.........

I posted this in another thread earlier, but to say that NM 98 was not speculated on in volume is not accurate. It definitely was, but moreso by store owners since the Leifeld NM run was selling well for them. Here are some local examples: 1) The smallest LCS owner in town that was around at the time has been selling off his last case of NM 98s over the past two to three years in dribs and drabs (I started buying them at $50 per book up to $95 per copy recently). He bought it to speculate on the 1st appearances in the book and does not have cases that I know of for the other Leifeld issues. 2) Three or Four years ago one LCS owner had to raise $$$ fast (family illness, I believe) and another one picked up 10,000 backstock CA and early MA books. While there was a lot of , he pulled out a long box of NM 98s in the mix. There were no NM 87s in the stash, though, which backs up the claim that Cable was the big draw. I have seen other smaller hoards of NM 98s (and ASM 300s, etc.) locally as well. While it was not speculated on to the extent that X-Men #1 or McSpidey #1 were, there are still a lot of copies out there.

Put an ad on Craigslist for buying comics and see what happens. It is easy to buy CA collections for $1 - $3 per book (has to have some BA and even SA at the high end) in high grade with all of the keys in them. Case in point, a primarily 3300+ book CA Marvel collection I recently closed on for less than $2 per book with some nice SA and BA ASMs (#100 in VF or better and #121 in VG - looks better but has a piece of tape on the cover ) and X-Men (#96 up with multiples of most). There are tons of collections out there like this - primarily 80s through 90s with some decent SA and BA scattered about - that can be had for cheap as the owners get married/have to clean out space in the house as the kids arrive. Too bad vaillant is in Italy. Then he can put an ad on the Italian/EU version of it for books. There have to be some out there.........

Too many printed & squirreled away in hopes of making a million off of it later for it to have any real value. -slym Yeah I thought that about NM 98 too. As RMA has pointed out in his 50 point thesis, this was not the case with NM 98, which was no more hoarded/speculated than any other second tier Marvel title. Hence we can have Iron Man 282 being worth something as well. A local store owner has been selling off his case of NM 98s the past 3 years bit by bit. He broke out a case of Spider-Man #1 Silver and Infinity Gauntlet #1 for the big local show in September. There are still plenty of LCS owners that have books in storage. WRT NM 98, 3 or 4 of years back one LCS owner had to raise cash fast and another LCS owner helped him out by buying 10,000 overstock books, mostly CA and early MA - there was some in it, but he also cobbled together a long box of NM 98s from it. Remember, the Leifeld run was hot due to the artwork and Cable. There are still plenty of copies out there.

Put an ad on Craigslist for buying comics and see what happens. It is easy to buy CA collections for $1 - $3 per book (has to have some BA and even SA at the high end) in high grade with all of the keys in them. Case in point, a primarily 3300+ book CA Marvel collection I recently closed on for less than $2 per book with some nice SA and BA ASMs (#100 in VF or better and #121 in VG - looks better but has a piece of tape on the cover ) and X-Men (#96 up with multiples of most). There are tons of collections out there like this - primarily 80s through 90s with some decent SA and BA scattered about - that can be had for cheap as the owners get married/have to clean out space in the house as the kids arrive.

That is a risk, but if the max you set your bid at is a significant discount to guide (I usually use 40% of guide on multi-book lots) then it does not matter if they bid you up - you will make money all day long with max bid wins. (thumbs u

Here are a few more for tonight. I can post some Joes and Transformers I just picked up if anyone is interested.......

Care to define significant sum?

I am finding that 6.0 - 7.0 copies of most of the more expensive Copper Keys are an easy move at half of NM prices, maybe a bit more. As long as they present well, there are collectors willing to pay decent $$ for them. Case in point, ASM #300 in VG for $40-$50, FN for $75, VF for $100 - $120, slabbed 9.4s for full GPA.

Interesting that Saga is nowhere to be found on the list above........is interest waning?

There were other books with the insert during the same month if I recall correctly.

No one really bids until the last 10 seconds . . . I do. Seriously - I put in the max price I am willing to pay for a given book/auction lot early and just let it ride. No sense in chasing at the end - my competitive instincts kick in and that thrill of winning at any cost = overpaying on books.

http://cgcforum.gpanalysis.com/cgcforum_thread.asp?pagenumber=392&ThreadID=2486186&forumID=16&threadName=Amazing+Fantasy+%2315+Club

Congrats to the seller. Now let's see if they actually collect the payment.........

Some of the later DC variants had interesting prices:

What is the demand side, though, outside of Greggy and one or two others.......

Here are some I posted before plus a few new ones I snagged at a small local show a week ago. I have some Transformers and Joes kicking around someplace as well that I can post later.

Good point, even though the 100 page Giants are overrated........

No, it is just the first big jump on the book just like any of the other SA/BA/CA/MA (Next Men #21 is modern, right?) books we have seen spike due to a movie or new series in the past. It runs up, plateaus, settles to a higher number than what it used to be at, then slowly creeps up until the next run. The key is to get in before the big jump and either sell on the way up or wait for the pull back and start accumulating at the new higher ceiling for the next run. People keep throwing out print runs, but a year or so ago NM #98 and ASM #300 were easy to find raw at 25-50% of the current prices if you were patient. There are tons of them out there, but that has not stopped them from continuing to rise......

how is it undervalued if it doesnt sell at this price? is it the most valuable Adams Batman with past sales??? I think it is for almost all grade points. The next closest would be Bats #252 or Tec #411, and maybe Tec #400 although it has fallen a bit over the past couple of years. That being said, the 9.6 Tec #411 sold for $3K in September, which puts it well ahead of Bats #227 in that grade........

Love the sales pitch in the item description. (thumbs u Whenever I see things like that I am reminded of the newspaper subscription call with the Seth character in the Boiler Room.

Late October until Xmas is usually a great time to be buying, not selling, on eBay and the auction houses. (thumbs u

I wonder how many long boxes are sitting in the back storage in most comic shops that were around in the day. I can remember snagging a small stack of #282s from two long boxes full at a store in the early 00s.