Vince G

Well, 10k might only be a few days away so we probably won't have to wait long to see how this shakes out.

Exactly. The velocity has been mind boggling with respect to some of these books. So here’s the question… when are we done? I mean, at some point, I’d think the money that’s pouring in would have to slow down. The 300 sat at around 2k for the longest time then boom - now selling for 4-5x that amount. Does it hit 10k, then 20k, etc? Considering there are so many 9.8s on the census, when does everybody who wants one owns one, regardless of how much they have to pay? It’s questions such as these that have me perplexed right now.

Right there with ya. And to think, I balked at buying a 9.8 copy of 252 for $325 in the fall because I felt the price was high by $25. Now, if I spend 1k, it goes into a lower grade GA or SA book.

That's my only ASM dbl. I'll have to dig for the others. Coolest dbl I have owned was a Tales From The Crypt 33, but I moved that in a trade a while back.

One of mine

Wow! You know, that book was dead for the longest time. insufficiently_thoughtful_person me spent $50 for a copy of that book during the indie craze of the mid-80s, and it wasn't worth more than $50 until what, two months ago??

Great analysis. My biggest question is with respect to the sub 10k books now being sold for 2-3x that amount. The money rolling in on those books is coming from somewhere, and I doubt it's from the average American who has received stimulus money or long time collectors who are schooled in the hobby. I appreciate your comment and find it highly thought provoking.

I don't have GPA either but rely on a few different sources for tracking down most recent sales data. One example from a buy yesterday. Marvel Spotlight 1 in around VF-. Needed a copy to fill a hole in my run so was able to grab it for around $30. Insignificant book right now in the grand scheme of things, but if it goes haywire, I'll sell it for a nice profit. Otherwise, it'll stay in my collection. Another book I picked up for $30 was a mark jewelers VF copy of Hulk 198 (Man-Thing). Again, not all that significant, but I enjoy having a few MJs in the collection. And if Man-Thing appearances go through the roof, I'll sell that too. Bottom line, you can still find books that you want for your collection and are decent additions, but without paying sky-high prices. Unfortunately, the major and minor keys are those I'm not even entertaining right now.

That’s what’s I’ve been doing. If I can find a book I’m looking for at a reasonable price, I’ll buy it. If not, pass. And yes, I bought a bunch of mags fairly inexpensively yesterday to fill in a few holes in my collection. Buy the stuff that eyes are off right now:)

If anything, people have had a lot of time to learn about finances and investing considering everything had shut down a year ago, and remained so for most of 2020.

Yep. Market is at a high, yields on bonds and cash are very low, what do you do with your money? I think that's the key: People looking for other opportunities and with many being stuck in the house the past year, there's been plenty of time to research crypto, collectibles, and other alternative investments. Maybe some of that went to comics?

I agree. DC keys are cheap in comparison. Focusing attention there and on mags is the direction I've set for myself for the immediate future.

Side note. I threw 17 long boxes of what had been considered 'junk' from the mid-late 80s into a recycling center since I didn't have the space to store it, and couldn't get $0.15 a book from anyone back in 2014. I kept the keys but WCA 45 and the ilk, gone. They were all overproduced and because there were so many copies out there, you couldn't give em away.

It's a very bad time to buy hot books, in my opinion

Agreed. I don't have many 9.8s but of the ones I do, some look like 9.4s or even 9.2s. If you're buying this to hold, I'd buy the copy that you feel is the right 9.8 copy. Nothing worse than buying a 9.8 and on close inspection, you find it was overgraded significantly.

Excellent synopsis. I agree 100%. Lots of factors but I think many have seriously underestimated the weighting of the investor class as part of the price escalation. We probably won't know much of anything until 2022 at the earliest. Until then, it's all theories

I posted this comment on a different thread but think it's relevant here: ------ My question has always been, where's the money coming from? This has been driving me crazy for the past month or two but I think I partially answered my own question after doing some research. I think part of what we're seeing is the 401k penalty-free withdrawal provision of the 2020 Cares Act. I did not know this, but there is no penalty for withdrawing up to 100k, and you can spread the income taxes on the withdraw over three years. Additionally, if you can pay the full amount you withdrew back, you can claim a refund on those taxes. So, it could very well be that some are pulling money and splurging, particularly on collectibles, but others may be buying with the hope of reselling at a profit, before replacing their initial withdrawal. Then again, maybe it's just all those investors who cashed out on Bitcoin and GameStop then decided to throw some money into comics? If you're interested in a short high-level blurb about the 401k provisions in the Cares Act, here's a link: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/cashing-out-401k-covid-19 ----- In addition, I've talked to a couple financial peeps I know and they tell me that some of their fellow brokers/portfolio managers are telling investors to put about 10% of their portfolios into collectibles as a hedge against the market. Makes sense with the market at an all time high and 1% yields on bonds, that investors are looking for other places to make money (including digital currency). Essentially, comics are now lumped into that alternative asset class of investments, which means speculation becomes part of the game. Definitely a bummer in my mind, especially for me as one who collects for the love of the books, and as one who had hoped to procure a nice gold key or two that have been on my want list forever.

That's a good question. Without a buy receipt, the original sale number is in question. I'm not sure how this is handled with respect to an audit so yes, this is a potential issue. However, I'm going on what licensed professionals have told me and that is, as long as you're reporting an actual gain, the likelihood of an audit is very low. The IRS understands the common taxpayer doesn't necessarily have a record of every transaction her/she has ever made, particularly going back many years when cash was the main method of exchange for goods and services, and in the event of an audit, that scenario would require a conversation with the agent inspecting the return. As I said in my most recent reply post, the can of worms has been opened. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out in 2022.

Understood, and that's what I thought you may have been inferring in your statement. And yes, that certainly can complicate things, particularly when attempting to show that on a tax return. I suspect there are going to be many more questions posted here on the boards regarding this new rule as we get closer to the new year. The can of worms has been opened

Would you care to explain/detail the rationale? Trying to understand your statement.

Welp, it's a 9.8, and everyone is losing their (#$&** over 9.8s these days. Probably

FYI, collectibles are considered other income but are technically treated the same as investment income. You’re either paying taxes at the short term gain or long term gain rate pending on how long you’ve held the investment

You won't. And even if you did, you could fight that. I know this discussion is centered on our hobby but realistically, the issue is all-encompassing. Think about how many people sell things on ebay, etsy, etc. that they have just lying around the house like old hardware, video cameras, furniture, etc.. These days, it's almost everybody. I have no idea how this will all play out in time but I suspect there will be some public blow-back once people start receiving those 1099s. If anything, it'll just give the IRS and tax preparers many more headaches to deal with in 2022, not to mention those of us who do a lot of buying and selling who need to start keeping records of every transaction.

No. You report the profit on the form/schedule. This is a similar scenario to mine that resulted in an over 10k sale. Purchased for X, sold for Y, report Z as profit specifying 'sale of comic book' on the form. In my case, it was a private buy/sell and I had receipts for both. I showed my preparer my original buy receipt and my sale receipt. Those receipts did not need to be attached to the schedule/return but I must keep those in the event the IRS has questions, which is unlikely, but is possible. Perfectly legit and accepted as such by the IRS. Like I said, I've been reporting for the last 5 years so this is how it's done in those situations. In your example, your 4k profit is taxed at the long term capital gain rate of 15% because it is an investment that you've held for more than 1 year.

Definitely not the point I am trying to make or infer. i have been reporting since I've been selling. Just relaying what I've been told by a licensed tax preparer. I certainly understand the issues many of our fellow collectors face, particularly those who do a ton of buying and selling. It's not easy to try to remember what you paid for a book months or years ago or even when you made those purchases without having detailed records. Bottom line, it's technically sale of goods or services on the 1040 so it should be reported.