Saga has had some up and downs before the latest mania. The RRP was always expensive though, which is why (as I was too late), I never bought one. Then when I saw the spike coming in early january, I bought a 9.6 (to at least avoid some of the premium).
I think becuase regular saga slabs never broke through the $100 barrier, people discounted the book as a financial winner. Once the spike started, then everyone who took it for granted that saga was easy to get, scrambled to get caught up/positioned.
Right now that initial spike has kind of died down as lots of supply has come on. A floor is being built, and the supply will dwindle away. 6 months from now, not many people will be selling raw saga sets imo.
I think that makes for a good model for a non-tv show successful modern comic. It will come and go in waves. East of West will have variants, for sure, as other pointed out. The convention will have them. The 1st print will not be a good early flip candidate, many people will try to quick flips them for $10 etc.
The variants will be expensive from the get go, especially if there are only a couple. If the book is a hit (story/art), follow the standard sage advise, "wait for issue 6". By the time, the initial quick flippers will have been run dry, TPB will come out, and prices will start to rise.
My
:cloud9:Thank you, exactly the kind of response I wanted
CBT, it's too logical and therefore wrong....