Hamlet

On 10/13/2023 at 9:32 PM, darkstar said:

If you remove a book from a slab keeping the label with the book does nothing to increase the price at which the now raw book would sell. The book is no longer graded and encapsulated ergo if you are buying a raw book at the market price it commands when graded, you overpaid for the book.

For some reason you are fixated on whether the dealer is reputable or not, which is meaningless to the discussion at hand. 

I wouldn’t say it does nothing to increase the price that the book will sell at.  There is a vast difference between trusting someone grading their own books judgement ( which is almost always flawed ), and trusting that they didn’t damage or switch books.  I trust the vast majority of people I buy from enough to believe they aren’t intentionally cheating me, but I am going to trust CGC’s opinion of a book’s grade a little more than most people selling their own books.

Most people ( including myself ) have a very difficult time objectively grading books that they are selling.  So I am probably willing to pay a little more for a cracked book with the label than I am for just a plain raw book.  I’m not going to pay full slabbed prices, obviously, but I’m going to trust the grade a little more.  

On 10/8/2023 at 11:10 AM, Stefan_W said:

I think ease of re-selling is an important part of investing in collectables.

So you’re saying my strategy of buying long boxes of books for 3/$1 in the hopes of selling them someday as dollar books is a bad “investing” strategy?

I’ve never really collected slabbed books for the sake of the slab itself, which is really what this is at the core.  I was at a comic drek sale today ( 50 cents each or a long box for $100 ), and I noticed they had about 40 copies of X-men 281.  They were all nice copies, so I picked out a few and thru them in my box for old times sake, since it was one of the first books I speculated on right before the 90s crash.

People will buy that book in 9.8 for say $60, but no one is interested in it unslabbed for 3/$1.  I imagine that someone with a good eye could pick a 9.8 candidate out of a stack like that and make a little money.

Me, I’m going to stack the ones I bought in my comic book room until I retire. Then I will start selling at local conventions and someone will hopefully pull them out of my dollar box. 

I was helping my neighbor price a bunch of comics to sell in his mother’s antique shop and he has the cover ( front and back, loosely attached to each other) and one wrap from Superman 3.  
 

Does anyone have even an order of magnitude valuation for something like that?  I have no idea what to tell him.

I finally watched this on Disney+ this weekend.

I didn’t think this was a good movie at all.  It was bogged down with a lot of tedious exposition, and everything else was a worse version of everything we’ve already seen in the 1st two movies ( and all of the other Marvel movies).  The jokes were sometimes funny, but less funny than previous movies.  The music felt forced.  The battles just don’t hold my interest anymore.  They are all kind of the same at this point.

Honestly, I feel like the Marvel movies have run their course.

On 8/18/2023 at 11:33 AM, drbanner said:

The vast increase in value of Marvel Silver and Bronze Age keys over the last 5 years has already unwound, blue chip books like Amazing Fantasy 15 and X-men 1 are currently selling in some grades for barely more than half what they were  selling for in 2021/2022. The only question is will they fall below 2019/2020 (pre-pandemic) levels? We'll see. 

I really should have said more like 10 years.  Think about the demand and price increases since the beginning of the Marvel movies.  The first Iron Man movie came out in 2010.  Most key books today are selling for nearly an order of magnitude more than they were before then.  If interest wanes to something between the interest in Endgame and the interest in Iron Man, we could see a real ugly move downward in prices, especially for books that are not truly top tier, and are super common.

Take a CGC 7.5 Fantastic Four 48.  I own that book.  I bought it sometime around 2005 ( give or take ) for something like $350.  That was a really good deal at the time, but it probably wasn't more than a $500 book.  According to GPA, it was about a $1000 book in 2017.  At the top of the Covid peak it was over $6000.  The last sale was $3600. 

What has changed since 2017 that would triple the value of this book?  Mostly just increased popular demand from the movies.  If that demand fades somewhat, I don't see any reason that this book couldn't drop back down to $1200-1500 again.  It is a super common book in that grade.  Is there a reason that demand for that book will be higher in the future than it was in 2017?  I'm not sure that there is.

On 8/18/2023 at 7:41 AM, whomerjay said:

In the future, what do you think is going to increase more- the demand:supply ratio for Hulk 181, or for Cinderella 25?

Hulk 181 is close to being “priced for perfection.” How much more popular can Wolverine get?   There will probably be more people looking to divest than invest. 

Are the current owners of a Cinderella 13 likely to divest? Are those aware of it likely to forego pursuit? Is it likely that more people, once educated about the book, or tired of the lack of challenge in buying SA/BA/CA/MA, will enter the market for a Cinderella 25?

 

 

 

Yeah, I don't think people have realized that there is a potential for a massive fall in common Marvel keys.  We've had an incredible run of sustained, increased interest and demand generated by the Marvel movies.  I believe that peaked with Endgame.  Some of the new movies are doing well, but they aren't the slam dunk they used to be.  I'm actually not bothering to see a pretty large portion of them.  If I'm getting tired of comic book movies as a comic guy, I gotta think there is a real danger that the general public moves on to other things, and that Marvel movies end up being a one every couple of years thing at some point, like other franchises.

The vast increase in value of these keys over the last 5 years could unwind.  Will they?  Probably not, but I would include the possibility in the range of outcomes.

On 7/23/2023 at 10:43 PM, Randall Dowling said:

Fantastic Four 85, VF- 7.5. Another glossy copy with great colors and attractive eye appeal. Always liked this Dr. Doom story arc by Kirby. $40

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On 7/23/2023 at 10:47 PM, Randall Dowling said:

X-men 113, VF+ 8.5. Clean and glossy copy with fresh eye appeal. Conclusion to the Magneto story arc by Byrne and Claremont. First John Byrne cover on the run. $65

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On 6/16/2023 at 1:48 PM, KingOfRulers said:

 

No question that any of the SA and BA Marvel stuff is readily available in essentially every grade. Many GA books aren't readily available at all, and would require a lot of effort to find a copy in any grade. The supply certainly favors GA.

However, I believe it's pretty obvious that demand favor the SA and BA Marvel books but an overwhelming margin. A Master Comics run in 6.0 would be tough to complete. However, the pool of potential buyers that are interested in purchasing Master Comics is dwarfed by those interested in purchasing Hulk #181. And I don't see that changing. What keeps comic books an alive hobby and market is its continued relevance in society. As long as the IP holding overlords such as Disney and WB keep the characters alive on TV, movies, and video games, I think the character's SA and BA material will continue to see demand. However, I can easily imagine the demand for most GA books declining as I don't foresee the majority of those characters holding significance to society going forward.

People aren’t buying Raboy books because they love the GA characters.  They buy them because his covers are some of the best of any age.  The supply is tiny. As long as people collect comic books in any form, a small group of them are going to see Raboy covers and say I want to own that.

I’m not hating on Hulk 181.  I wouldn’t mind owning one.  If I really wanted one though, I could just click on one of the 20 or so copies at MCS and it would on the way.  There are more copies of Hulk 181 current available at MCS than exist of Master Comics 25 ( graded books only )

Honestly, I would be more worried about demand declining for Hulk 181 than most GA material.  GA material doesn’t need much demand, because there is low supply.  It can be a totally niche thing, and prices will be fine.

SA and BA Marvels require that massive demand to maintain their values.  That demand isn’t going away anytime soon, but it may very well have peaked with Avengers:Endgame.  It wouldn’t take all that much decline in that demand to make SA Marvels a lot cheaper.  

On 6/16/2023 at 5:05 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

I understand what you're saying, and I'm not trying to disagree too hard, but my SA / BA Marvel want list is chock full of books that are very tough to track down.  Please let me know when you spot an Avengers #9 in 9.4 that I can snap up (to pick just one example).

I've got the money ... if I could find everything on my want list I would hand it over and complete my quest and figure out something else to do with my spare time.  

There's a reason I'm still hunting, and probably a few years away from completing every upgrade I have in mind.

Yes, at nosebleed grades the early Marvels can be challenging, but it’s still much, much easier than most GA books.  There are 21 copies of Avengers 9 in 9.4 or better on the census.

 There are 18 total copies of Master Comics 25 on the census.  A 9.4 copy hasn’t even shown up on the census.  That is not atypical for the Raboy Masters.  

On 6/16/2023 at 3:46 PM, KingOfRulers said:

Yes, I think the demand for Disney books is fairly safe. While Disney isn't immune to failure, it is a giant, and in general a fairly safe bet as custodian for their IPs.

But as mjoeyoung mentioned in his post, Doll Man #37 for example. How many buyers are out there looking for Doll Man books? Forget the general population, but how many hardcore comic book collectors are even aware that Doll Man exists? Even when siphoned down to the subset of "hardcore comic book collectors", I'd say that very few are aware of that character's existence. If I were a collector of GA, I'd be concerned for the longevity of books such as that. I think that most collectors of GA books such as Doll Man or any more obscure character that isn't "current", are mostly older collectors. At conventions, there are plenty of excited collectors that are teens and 20's willing to spend money, but they're all about Hulk #181. Gen-Z isn't hot for Doll Man. How can we change that?

For the most part, people aren’t buying Doll Man #37 because they are looking for Doll Man books.  They buy it because it has an awesome cover. 

On 1/31/2023 at 8:56 PM, Randall Dowling said:

X-men 119, VF/NM 9.0, Nice glossy copy with great colors. $70

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I want to actually sell a meaningful number of books this year, to fund the purchase side of things.  I got the funding part correct last year, but only because an effortless sale of an expensive non-core book in my collection basically came up and bit me on the butt.  I need to actually ship a few boxes off to MCS this year.

I want to attend some conventions and buy some very cool books at reasonable prices, and some kinda cool books at dirt cheap prices.  Since my definition of cool is extremely broad, I’m sure I’ll find a few things to buy.

On 12/22/2021 at 11:04 PM, Hamlet said:

Buy more of the few books that I am speculating on/hoarding.  Buy good deals that I find on books that I think are cool.

Sell enough books to cover those purchases.

 

By keeping my expectations low, I didn’t disappoint.  

On 12/26/2022 at 6:50 PM, Randall Dowling said:

Creepy 34, NM- 9.2, One of my favorite covers of the run. This copy is nice, sharp and glossy with a spine that still has the bounce to it. $50

Back Cover:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

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On 12/26/2022 at 6:41 PM, Randall Dowling said:

Vampirella 14, Former CGC 8.5 OW/W (cracked out), one of the toughest early books to nail down in higher grades.  This copy is very fresh and pretty with only very minor issues.  Awesome Sanjulian cover!  $75

Back Cover:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

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On 12/23/2022 at 2:23 PM, the blob said:

Depends on the dollar box and the dealer, but I agree, over the last 5-8 years that $2-5 boxes are where to look for missed treasure. Of course, 90% of those books (at least in $2 boxes) can be found in the boxes of the $1 guy. I’m just thinking more that with everything being more expensive a price point from 1996 just doesn’t make sense, not where there is a market for them. 

Yeah, I’m not a frequent convention goer, but I’m finding fewer books of interest to me in the dollar boxes these days.  Pre-Covid, there were little conventions around here that had decent dollar boxes, and even some decent 50 cent boxes.  The guy who ran the conventions actually brought a huge amount of drek that he sold 50/$20.  It was unbagged, lots of early 90s stuff, but there was also some okay 80s stuff mixed in.  When prices on most books got beyond what I was willing to pay a few years ago, I would scratch my collecting itch by spending $20 at his boxes.  
 

He hasn’t started them up again here in Minneapolis, I think mostly because he can’t find a room to hold it in at a comfortable price point anymore.  I think the price point of even drek may be moving up a little bit 😀

On 12/21/2022 at 4:10 PM, the blob said:

I just don't see how there is money in $1 boxes with today's costs in doing a show. Sure, if you are able to buy bulk at $20-30 a box and actually move stuff at $1 a pop, but if you bring 10 long boxes and sell 2 that doesn't seem to be a productive use of the table. $2 seems to make more sense.

 

I’ve always assumed that most of the $1 box books at conventions were bought as part of collections where the keys paid for the collection and they were just trying to move the rest as gravy.

I don’t think it would make sense to purposely buy dollar books to sell at conventions.  Don’t most dealers who buy collections just end up with a bunch of dollar books by accident?  Conventions seem like the only outlet for dollar books aside from bulking them out.

On 12/18/2022 at 8:33 AM, GrasshopperFF said:

What IS that? GoCollect has various Peter Parker Spectaculars but this one is not easy to find! 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/donald-glover-to-star-in-spider-man-movie-hypno-hustler-1235283667/

Fantastic Four  151 VF $9
 

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