Skunkboy

I'd go with 7.0-7.5 as is, with a shot at 8.0 after C&P

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback!  Below are a few additional pics of the bc.  The crease appears to be a printer's crease, which I had assumed wouldn't affect the grade too much.  No rust on the staples :).  Definitely going to send for a press before grading - not sure if non-CCS recommendations are allowed on the forums, but would certainly welcome any .

On 3/30/2021 at 10:09 PM, MPH1964 said:

5.5 - It appears that the bindery perforations on the pages below caused raised areas on the FC that now show some color loss.

Ahhh - that's really interesting, thanks for the insight.  I've seen similar wear before, even on other copies of FF Annual 6. Good to know the cause 

Wow - gorgeous book!  Looks fantastic with the custom label 

Hello!  Let me know what you think - please note the top staple appears to have a bit of rust.

Hello!  Just came upon this beautiful Batman 251 in my LCS and am doing backflips.  Would love feedback on the grade.  Thanks!

!

Just now, apoptosis said:

X-Men #4

. nice grab

2.5

14 hours ago, bubbagump said:

X-Men 4 CGC 9.6 W $115

Take per PM 

Hello!  Picked this up off of the boards a few months back - notable spots include FC wear through to the staple near "Special" on the spine & wear along Annihilus' chin.  Thanks

take GI Joe 4, 5, 22, 26, 27, and 53 per PM

18 hours ago, Kevin76 said:

The wise thing to do would be to hang onto a 9.8, it's going to hit 6 figures sooner than everyone thinks. 

Agreed - much of the new money coming in is from the sports card collecting world, where PSA 10s are king, and PSA 9s are a distant second.  We're already seeing the increased separation between 9.8s and 9.6s on some books, and think it will continue for large keys.

20 hours ago, Darthbryan said:

Over the past three decades of collecting, I’ve spent a lot of time and money in two other hobbies - Star Wars collecting and Movie Prop Collecting.  What some people spend on vintage Star Wars prototypes and /or movie props would make your brain spin.  That being said there are plenty of people who could afford $70k on the highest grade of one of the most important non-Silver Age books ever made. TAnd there seems to be more cross-over in collecting genres these days bringing in more people to the hobby.  There’s plenty of money out there to keep pushing this stuff up especially with the MCU speculation.  I think the faith in what Marvel has done on film with this title in the past, coupled with their current MCU movies, is driving people to invest in these books because they know the brand won’t in any way be diminished through poor quality movies or streaming shows.   My biggest question is what happens to the “yield curve” with this book - does it continue to spike or level off.   I don’t see it dropping significantly.  

 

I’ll also say that what is happening is exciting, unnerving, and to a point sad.  I’ve spent the last few years really investing back in the hobby and acquiring books that I coveted as a teen in the 80s:  FF1, X-Men 1, FF48 to name a few.  And of course a GS X-Men 1 9.6 which I landed a few years ago.  It’s a bit sad to me that even decent quality books in the 7.0-8.0 range are starting to price people out on titles like GSX1 and Hulk 181.  You always want people re-entering the hobby to have hope that they can move the needle on their collections but with what’s going on now that’s going to be tougher for all but the very rich if this continues.  

So much awesome discussion in this thread - this is a great post that nails a lot of important points.  The market shift we've seen has been so drastic and so immediate that it's understandable that many collectors are doubtful as to how legitimate or sustainable it is.  In comics the collector demographic has remained relatively stable for a long time, and now that things have shifted so quickly, many collectors are still applying the old rules or paradigm to the current market, and it's no longer appropriate.  We're still envisioning the longtime collector who's rolling into his/her LCS to pick up their pull list who may splurge on the occasional key - that person has a lot of competition now.

You bring up a great example with prop collecting - there is a whole lot of money out there in the world, and for the lifespan of the hobby, relatively little of it has been dedicated to comic book collecting.  For comparison, have a look at what's gone on in sports card collecting - some of the youtube vids of people who look like they're fresh out of high school flipping $10-50k basketball cards are mind-boggling.  I have a friend who sells vintage jewelry - again, the numbers can be stunning.  How about watches? Coins? From a pricing standpoint, comics are still in the minor leagues. 

I agree, there is definitely a sadness to it.  As prices continue to climb, more and more keys will ascend out of reach.  I'm hopeful that great content will continue to be released and new keys will continue to emerge.  I may have to manage my expectations with grabbing an FF1, however the EOSV 2 I was able to pick up recently isn't too shabby either .

Had a great experience dealing with Bryan - he responded to my WTB thread, and reached out with pics of his copy and his asking price from the start.  Ended up getting a gorgeous 4 figure book that was packed well and shipped immediately.  Thanks again!

Fantastic Four 181 - 9.2 OW $6

Fantastic Four 194 - 7.5 OW $2
Fantastic Four 235 - 7.5 OWW $2
Star Wars 19 - 7.0 OW $5
Star Wars 25 - 8.0 OW $7

take

Hello all!  Title says it all.  Sorry for the glare in the pics - there are some non-color breaking tics and some (I hope pressable) indentations on the cover that I was hoping to highlight, notably at the S and E in Master and the F in Of.  Thanks!