Well fell asleep and missed the live bidding for the Blue Bolt 106 that was in this weeks Heritage Auction. There was a small run being auctioned of mid grade 106, 107 and 108 Sci-Fi issues. Already having an 108 in similar grade (5.5) I was most interested in the 106, and put in a GPA level bid (or so I thought).
Long story short, the 106 went for almost $400, while the 108 went for under $300. I paid a little less for half a grade less this past year on the 108, so the pricing was fine, but I was surprised that the 106 went so high.
Census on 108 is 16 Universals in census, with 12 of the issues between 5.0 and 7.0
meanwhile
Census on 106 is 14 in Universal in census with 11 of the copies grouped between 4.5 and 7.5 (a little more spread)
So is the fact that 106 is the "first"of the small run of Blue Bolt Sci-Fi covers? They're all LB Cole covers...and the 107 sold in line for what the 108 did... Maybe just two bidders needing the book. Oh well. On with the show.
In other 50s Sci-Fi action... the last few auctions were flush with Space Adventure Books, though a lot of them were slabbed non-CGC. Which usually suppresses prices for all but the most desirable books...
I missed on SA13 in 9.6 last month on CLINK (went for $300 and I was thinking it was more of a price starting with a 2. But with that info I readied for last months ComicConnect auction. There were a range of pedigrees (mostly Bethlehem and River City) but the grades were mostly in the 7s and 8s, so I planned to pass on them unless they went cheap (they didnt). Was interesting to see the SA27 9.4 Bethleham go for $285 (I have a White Mountain in 9.6, so I was happy to see the result). Early SA books went pricey, SA3 in 7.5 went for $454, SA8 in 7.5 went for almost $200. SA10 in 8.5 with the Ditko cover went for $850 (yowza).
I was only interested in one book, SA32 in 9.4, both the highest copy, and the Bethlehem copy. Knowing the SA13 went for $300, I bid up, but in the end lost cause it went for $353, which again, in comparison to the SA13 was very strong pricing (and made me wish I'd gone harder for the SA13).
So fast forward to this month's CLink offerings, and there was the lovely SA17 in 9.4 from the Bethlehem Pedigree. Knowing recent outcomes I knew that my days of $200 copies were behind me I put my tracking bid, and then once all the tracking bids were in I popped in a big number to see who would follow me. One other bidder joined me in the clouds and put a bid past me, and there I knew my competition. In the end I got the book for $300, which I felt was fair and still a decent deal, in line with the other winning bids in the last few months.