NP_Gresham

I like the idea as a buyer When the sellers who acuratly grade are selling lower grade books for more money right after a ‘lose grader’s’ books, it will maybe give a hint to those who can’t grade that they need to tighten things up a bit. But why would a reputable seller who knows how to grade want their books mixed in with those who grade like they have been on eBay all their life?

Absoloutly false The purchased item is not the purchasers responsibility until it is in the possetion of the buyer Insurance is purchased by the sender.

On the off chance the market goes south, which book would you be happier with in your collection? Upside is so hard to predict. If you have a book you really enjoy you win no matter what. Enjoyment should not be market dependent.

For me it is Frank Frazetta Game over

My buying has slowed down considerably for 2 reasons. First, the runs I collect are close to completion. What books remain are almost impossible to find ( read: 30/35 cent variants) or impossibly expensive or a combination of both. Second is the hyper- inflation of prices. I can’t help but think that many of those books at the end of the ASM run - the run I abandoned after yet another reboot- will be available much cheaper if I simply wait out the bubble. I doubt the pre- hero Atlas runs I collect will reverse themselves, but the growth curve might flatten a bit and present better buying opportunities. Whenever I think of exiting the hobby I peruse the WTB section. I can’t bring myself to part with books others are after. Hiatus sounds like a good plan

You forgot the “Wizard First” , but then again who would not want to forget that fiasco Are there any “9.5” labels left out there?

Hulk #141 is highly questionable I can think of many first appearances more significant than that

Horrible grading whenever I see ‘strict’ in the title I just keep going They came on here a couple of times and got run-off

Ending Ma Bell’s hold on the telephone sparked countless innovations

Dracula falling into the public domain has not hurt that character Why wouldn’t someone other than Disney not help Spider-man?

Yep, have some 35 cent variants with that store stamp all over it. Helps explain why that shop is no longer is business

True dat After a decade or so of offering a correction to them not listing Marvel Two-in-One #32 as having a 35 cent variant, I gave up on them as completely useless Does anyone who still buys the OSPG know if that was ever fixed?

Sent a few 9.6 to ‘Voldemort’ Their standard ‘drive-by’ grading has converted many to 9.8 That being said if you buy something with a lemon peel exterior why would anyone expect to find anything other than lemons on the interior

It is always ‘different this time’ or there would not be cycles of boom and bust if it were truly ‘different this time’ the cycling would have ended with the tulip bubble The music will stop eventually When ever it ends, we will soon forget our troubles and be blessed with a new age that is ‘different this time’

I assume you tried GPA? Best investment I ever made. While there are very few sales recently or ever, the only place to get your starting point would be here. If you don't have a subscription, it will be worth it to get one. Otherwise, many boardies consider it poor taste to give away information while someone else is trying to make a living by compiling it. Are you keeping it? Then I would guess value only matters for insurance purposes, in which case value it as you wish. Are you selling it? Then the only way to truly gauge value is to put it up for sale at auction.

Just purchased a small stack of books from Frank's latest sales thread. Frank is a real gentleman, and super-tight grader who will go to great lengths to make every transaction a perfect one. Can't wait for your next sales thread!

Pretty much true, but there are detractors to these posts. Marvel started direct editions to comic book shops in 1979, anything with the diamond prior to 1979 was Whitman 3 pack only.

The best thing to happen to comics will not happen for many years yet. These characters need to fall into the public domain. The best thing to happen to comics would be downsizing of copyright protections.

Big differences between sports cards and baseball cards and comic books No one owns the rights to Tom Brady, except Tom Brady. So while 30 companies can print 30 different Tom brady cards, only Marvel can print Amazing Spider-man. So instead of having 30 different competitors trying outdo one another, Marvel can simply rehash the same Krap endlessly.

I am still trying to wrap my head around around why I paid with my taxes for the last bailout. I was literally the last homeowner standing in my neighborhood after the previous 'crisis'. Never saw so many "bank-owned' properties in my life. Never saw so many abandoned new boats either. If I did not hang through, perhaps I would have a new house and a lot more money to spend on funny books and that new boat i never thought i could afford

Or buy the omnibus for even less. So I pay whatever it takes to purchase the run, then deface them beyond recovery. then pay and spend time binding them. Not my cup of tea, but this hobby is bleeding collectors because of Marvel and their "House lacking in ideas". It is good to see different takes on collecting. This seems good for everyone with an interest in the hobby.

There is a theory in retail. Any established product has 3 categories of consumers 1) Heavy users 2) Consumers 3) Non-consumers So with any given product if you want to increase sales you target #1 Consumers under #2 and #3 have their mind made up. They purchase on need or don't use at all. Heavy users will tend to stalk up when a product they really like goes 'on sale" or promotional offers. Disney is simply using this theory. Marvel is a well known commodity. They have deliberately targeted the completionists(Heavy users) who buy books at an irrational rate. If a single cover has 200,000 buyers, then whatever is lost by ordinary consumers losing interest will be more than made up by those who will seek out 20-30 different covers at 4-10 copies each. It is math.

The firesale prices i bought the "hot books" at during the last crisis. ASM #300 9.8 under $600, etc

When i read these threads and the prices of these books, there is no mystery in my mind why the cycle of boom and bust continues in our economy. By and large these books are being bought up by people who have no business spending money like this. Many of these buyers will be living in their car or perhaps a cardboard box (if the car was financed) when the next bust hits.

I have seen that done here before. You only seem to get in trouble if you name the other company. Maybe use the "Voldemort" or other sort of verbiage.