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Posts posted by blazingbob
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On 5/2/2024 at 5:35 PM, The humble Watcher lurking said:
Yes, but you have great memories with other people. That`s the real key no pun intended.
Most people and I rather be with their family or friends and go to those venues and have great experiences and memories than have New Mutants #98 or other KEY comics slabbed.
So most people rather spend $2000 on great experiences than buy a slab that will sit in their closet.
As Bob Dylan once said the times are changing. haha.
While I have plenty of concert experiences that will stay in my memory forever they never gave me a financial profit.
And if anybody is following the concert poster market I wouldn't exactly call it on fire. More like the Doors classic Light my fire
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On 5/2/2024 at 5:07 PM, The humble Watcher lurking said:
The major factor is the Marvel movie hype is over. A great-looking movie coming out Deadpool and Wolverine, but yet both Incredible Hulk #181 and New Mutants #98 have dropped in price incredibly. The Deadpool and Wolverine movie can`t even move the needle, and actually lower prices show people have moved on. Most people I know want to go to music concerts, sports events and great restaurants and experience good feelings with memories and not collect things.
Hmmm.
Music Concerts aren't exactly cheap anymore. Unless I'm watching a street musician I'm into the stratosphere for a concert.
Sporting Events, Try a NY Knick, Ranger or Yankee game to feel fleeced
Restaurants? Man if you want some inflation try eating out. Better yet head out to California for some $18 Big Macs.
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On 5/2/2024 at 2:06 PM, october said:
Remember to ALWAYS pay less than GPA, thus eventually driving the value of all comics to zero. Smart buyer pro tip.
Absolutely, I use TBF indicator
Toilet Bowl Flush.
Never fails me
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On 5/2/2024 at 12:17 PM, jimjum12 said:
Also, we often forget that past performance doesn't guarantee future results, but why be a pesky buzz-kill? GOD BLESS ...
-jimbo(a friend of jesus)
The GPA store is always open, I often wonder why I can't buy the book that just sold on it?
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On 5/2/2024 at 11:36 AM, jimjum12 said:People should also accept that tier 2 and lesser titles that were published in the BA do not commonly occur in 9.8, and when the occasional example is released, a high price is not necessarily an outlier. Each comic is it's own market, there is no Funny Book Dow Jones, although extrapolations can still be made from sales data. GOD BLESS...
But Jim, the comic masses cry for "real time" pricing, they want the person standing in front of them to be a Gucci dealer selling at Dollar Tree prices.
Youtubers need the clicks, streamers need the eyes and followers.
Where is the RallyD stock market quotes on my shares of New Mutants #98 in 9.9?
AI is coming to the comic dealer convention and no reporting market.
Dealers will be implanted with chips that directly sync with a sales gathering application, It will see us count the cash, accepting the check or watching the venmo etc transaction take place.
You type a comic into a search engine on any device that you are looking for and the AI chip implanted in the dealer will send a signal to the brain that this guy needs this book.
The comic community will be turned into the Comic Borg, you will be assimilated.
Instant gratification for all
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On 4/9/2024 at 9:46 AM, The humble Watcher lurking said:
I only really focus on two markets AI and weight loss diabetic drugs. So far so good.
Of course both are doing well until someone in the AI sector posts a lousy quarter or guidance. And frankly the weight loss diabetes drug bonanza is one class action lawsuit away from disaster since we haven't seen long term effects of using diabetes medication for weight loss which is not what it is intended for. And this is coming from someone who follows the tech sector and biotech sector very very closely.
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On 4/9/2024 at 9:14 AM, The humble Watcher lurking said:I can see your point of view but I feel safer buying stocks.
Not that I'm saying the comic market is safer but the stock market? Lets see, analyst opinions, you own a great company in a lousy sector and the stock goes down, market momentum, interest rate influences, depending on the sector you are in there are government influences that could enhance or crush your position, you could be in a semiconductor company that doesn't serve the new "hot AI" sector. The list goes on and on.
Everything requires work/research and learning. Same with the comic market, same with the stock market. It is all a grind, nothing comes easy
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On 4/8/2024 at 3:28 PM, darkstar said:
Just an all around terrible take and atrocious comparison to the videogame market. This is reactionary nonsense due to price spikes and overall instability in a virgin market. Evidence of an actual pump is nowhere to be found. Where is the hype? Where is the young, outside money moving into the market? There is little evidence of either of those things. Pulp content here on the boards? Nearly non-existent. Same thing to be said about Youtube and your social media platform of choice.
Windy City Pulp was this past weekend, fewer than 5 dealers had graded pulps, and I would estimate 90% of the people in the room were in their late 40s or older. It was the same show that it has always been.
Graded videogames were around for years, being bought and sold for understandable prices by collectors, before any sort of manipulation set in, the market depth and interest simply was not there. That market wasn't seen as an investment opportunity until Heritage made the false press release about the Super Mario Brothers sale and then conveniently announced they would start selling graded games.
I believe the gaming market was a blend of auction houses spiking up prices, grading company "investors" spinning scarcity since no census existed, a hype machine gone wild, "supposed sales" that seems to defy reality and a general lack of transparency into who was really buying this stuff.
With the pulp market it is a niche market, there is a good collector base but lets not forget that once grading starts and $$$ numbers get thrown around reality goes out the window. Like any other asset if the price hits a number that makes you go "hmmmm" maybe sell some of those treasured pulps into the strength.
- WNY and Chip Cataldo
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On 4/8/2024 at 9:24 AM, 1Cool said:High grade pulps have to be as rare as hens teeth so I can see why money is flowing there. Anything that is readily available is not faring nearly as well.
Money flows where the "perception" is that money can be made. Auction houses create "markets", they have a vested interest in seeing strong pulp prices to fuel more auction sales going forward.
Have you met anybody who has said they read a pulp? Its all about the cover, perfect to be graded.
- Randall Dowling, Mr Sneeze, Hepcat and 4 others
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Basically you will see a lot of guys who bought this over the years cashing out. Why wouldn't you?
It was the same thing that happened before comics started getting graded, buyers were buying up raw anticipating the uptick in graded books.
The census will be low on this stuff adding to the "scarcity" until record $$$ numbers start being seen and then magically more copies will come up for sale.
The auction houses now have a new brand of crack to sell - Previously Unappreciated Lipstick Product Sale
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It continues to amaze me how few seem to understand the "cost of capital".
In addition the use of GPA as the negotiator.
While I like GPA it represents a sale to a customer, that customer is no longer looking for the book that created this entry. Each entry in GPA are buyers that are basically no longer in the market. The seller or buyer/dealer is now trying to replicate or create a higher price for the item that just sold in order to negotiate a reasonable buying point. That buyer may or may not exist depending on what book it is. And with the lovely charts that are posted almost weekly on the website why exactly would any dealer be paying close to the last sale?
This brings in Time and cost in order to sell that item.
How many shows, cost to list on ebay, if that is the business model, listing on their website or hopefully they have a buyer already in place.
Everyone seems to love the auction/crack houses where they give advances on your stuff. Of course they have money, this stuff is gone in 30 days. They collect whether you make money or not. They have NO interest in how your books sell, they make money anyway. Their risk is not having enough Crack.
The closer a seller gets to 90% of ask the cost of capital to me is consignment. Why would I pay you 90% if I can pay you when the item sells. While that money may seem important to you so that you are rid of the book it makes NO financial sense for me to pay that right away. This is true of most dealers.
Buying percentages in today's market are driven by what keys they are, not just a key which can cover a wide range of books.
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Per DM I'll Take the Blue Bolt #114
- Dormian, SpideyFein, GACollectibles and 3 others
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I expect that most of the overgraded books already in holders will now become "suspect" supported by my new 25% dealer discount to become customer service again.
- Iconic1s, mr_highgrade and MAY1979
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On 2/1/2024 at 4:05 PM, LDarkseid1 said:I honestly feel bad CGC is going through this. Tons of great people work there, and pour their heart and soul into the company. It's truly unfortunate, but not a surprise such shady people exist to commit crimes like this. I hope the Terrazas are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and get what's coming to them! They should be blacklisted from everything revolving around collectibles. It doesn't sound like it was a lot of books, I think I saw 23 reported in a youtube video from Swagglehaus. That would make sense I guess, because if you were this grader doing it from the inside over a couple years, doing it too many times would raise even more red flags if you think about it.
This is definitely a challenging time for CGC, but I still think they provide a great service and I plan to still use them and buy graded books as usual. If anything, I think people just need to be more vigilant now a days and look out for each other.
While I agree there are always going to be people inside and outside the business that will try to scam the system.
Clearly there is a breakdown or lack of security follow ups on employees that sell books. Now while they may have gotten permission to sell books it is obvious that what they are selling is not checked by the company. I'm assuming that going forward that will not be the case because frankly these two employees are ruining CGC's business reputation on integrity.
For me I've had issue with "Consultants" who come in and grade and also sell books.
- jsilverjanet, Buzzetta, Cosmic_Shel and 18 others
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I kept hitting refresh over and over again until the page restored.
Powered the PC over and over again just like tech support recommends.
Cleared my cache over and over again.
Powered my router off and on because that is what the problem is.
- greggy, namisgr and davidking623
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Thank you for the people commenting on my consignment service.
My consignment fees are 10% up to $9999, 8.75% up to $99,999, 7.5% over $100K
I do not charge you the seller paypal fees etc.
If you have any questions you can always message or give me a call.
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On 1/8/2024 at 2:34 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:
Do y'all come to Dallas at all? I have noticed maybe the same 6 comic dealers that are the usual, so I assume they get something out of it, while there are only 4 or more that rotate out and or aren't "local" per se.
I was just curious the "climate" of the Dallas area when it comes to comics and cons, or if like New Orleans was on the way out?
My plan for this year is to do Bedrock's texas show in Houston.
- ADAMANTIUM and NewWorldOrder
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On 1/8/2024 at 12:07 PM, ChiSoxFan said:
I completely understand. New Orleans has a lot to offer outside of the show, but if you're looking to make money and you're selling higher-end books, it's likely going to be a loss for someone doing so. I remember you had an amazing selection of books when I saw you at the last show I was at that you were, and I just didn't see buyers like that while I was at the show that would have appreciated what you would have had to offer. As you pointed out, you can sell off of your website easily and not leave your home and make more money that doing all of the work and putting in the expense that setting up at a show requires. If you're setting up at Charlotte, and I end up making that trip, maybe I'll see you there.
I don't know what good the survey they gave is going to do, but I'm guessing based on who I saw wandering the hall this weekend that the vast majority of people who answered put down something other than "comics", It's a vicious cycle, unfortunately -- dealers don't do the show because they're not making money due to a lack of actual buyers, and the potential buyers in the area (like myself) don't go to the show because we know there won't be dealers with actual comics worth buying. I don't know how that changes, unless the show organizers think it's an issue and offer an incentive for more comic dealers to do the show -- which I'm guessing is something that won't happen.
You are absolutely correct. Your post and possibly mine will unfortunately "influence" collectors into not going to a show. I am not badmouthing the show by the way. I like New Orleans but the economic reality is that it is not profitable. There is NOTHING emotional about the numbers. I can't do shows based on HOPE someone shows up to buy what I'm selling. Multi day events don't treat dealers like celebrities, they treat dealers as a economic revenue stream to bring in the celebrities.
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Sorry for my short reply. I loved doing New Orleans but it was always to travel, enjoy the local cuisine and hopefully make some money.
Unfortunately, I don't make money at the show, therefore I don't do it.
If I want to give away $3500 for free I can do that behind my computer and not drive to Louisiana which is what I'm in the hole at minimum to do a show.
It is nice to see that Fan expo finally is asking their attendees why they are there.I would love to see a breakdown of responses to see what percentage of the show is there to buy comics.
Are prices still climbing or have they eased up a bit???
in Comics General
Posted
And while I'm all about the "live" experience I am becoming more and more concerned with backing tracks and are they really singing?
If you can't sing anymore don't play live..