Zevgoli

So......how about that weather we have been having? Cheers, Howard

Now back to my advice about book investing.... Cheers, Howard

Proudly I might add. Cheers, Howard

Oh just go run around naked outside already I can tell you are Canadian because you cuss politely. Cheers, Howard

Seems everyone here is fixated on books that cost thousands to buy for investment. Too hung up on big "keys" and not looking downward instead of up. I gave sound advice several pages ago for book investing and it seems everyone ignored it. I guess if the return does not promise $30k or better ignore it. But thats good for me actually keep doing that. More books for me. Remember the tortoise wins the race. Cheers, Howard

T If its a modern that doesnt count If you got AF15 for a 1/4 what it's worth, your argument has validity There are heaps of Silver and early Bronze I have bought in NM or close to for a fraction of what they are worth now and in the future on eBay. Just set up your searches properly and away you go. Cheers, Howard

Love it! Cheers, Howard

I'm sorry I am not seeing it. Looking at comic trend.com the only big money for 181 has been with 9.8 and over the past ten years you saw a peak in 09 and then a precipitous fall since to well below 03 levels. Yeah you can argue that 8,8.5 and 9 are doing ok but for what you have to pay for a raw book it's not worth it. I am looking at eBay right now and there is a raw 8 ending in 15 hours already over $1000 and climbing. That is just eating into your profit margins. The philosophy of investing in big key issues for the ordinary joe collector is plain stupid. Sorry guys. They are already too expensive to get a decent copy and in the case of 181 it will never gain the value you need to offset the purchase price. I don't care if you wait a 100 years to sell. The book is over rated and that is already reflected in price fluctuations that are scary at best. Real keys which hardly any of us can afford don't fluctuate like that. That's why buying small and smart like I said in an earlier post is the best way. Plus it's more fun. Cheers, Howard PS let the cat calling begin.

How much was a 181 worth in the nineties. Couple hundred bucks at most? Then the movies came and it skyrocketed to what it is today. You will not see a huge increase in value for this book over the long haul like 20 years or so because it doesn't have the stamina. Cheers, Howard

An approach not mentioned yet but one I am having great success with is instead of buying one or two "key" books at great expense, troll eBay and look for individual books that would appeal to true collectors rather than the fickle movie going public. The value of IH 181 is at least 70% based on movies. If Wolverine never made it there he would be not be considered a key. What I look for are things like iconic first pairings like Detective 395 which I picked up for $20 on eBay got Adams and O'Neil to sign, SSed it and it came back 8.5. This book will only go up especially when one or both are unable to sign anymore. Another I got for a song was Batman 244 again got both Adams and O'Neil to sign and SSed back as a 9.2. Another great category are those seminal single issues like ASM 33 with those fabulous Ditko pages and a cracker of a story. What I am trying to say is don't put all your eggs in one basket. Do the research and go look for the raw books. Most sellers on eBay are savvy and know what they have but there are others that have no idea and don't do the price comparisons to see the value in what they have. I have bought 60 or more raw books for under $30 many under $15 that are in reality worth 3,4,5... times as much just raw. Add a signature or two or just get slabbed and the value goes up hundreds of dollars and that is just today. Twenty or thirty years from now who knows. The important thing is knowing a bit about grading and making sure to scrutinize the photos. Any doubts pass unless the price is like $5. For growth value, I would rather have 50-100 solid books than one key that probably has already reached close to its potential like IH 181. Cheers, Howard

Hi, I was wondering if you could add "Last Jack Kirby Thor" to the label of Thor Vol. 1 179. This is similar to Strange Tales 146 where you have "Last Steve Ditko Dr. Strange". Cheers, Howard

Comics associated with movies are not keys. Cheers, Howard

My scroll wheel broke. Cheers, Howard

I live and breathe SS books but I can see the rational in keeping keys like this clean. If I owned it I would exempt it for SS(gasp). Cheers, Howard

"and put the toilet seat down while your at it!!!!" I always do. Stops the splash back. Cheers, Howard

I posted this in another thread. More than equally applies here. "This is a suggestion for all posters to keep threads cleaner. Don't quote 10 different posts in one. The eyes just glaze over when so much info is presented at once. Paraphrasing is much better. Also reduce the clutter in signatures. Post a couple of your books, images or quotes from famous personages if you must but 10-15? Way to busy. I spend more time scrolling than I do reading." Cheers, Howard

I too have noticed increased TATs. It's discouraging for me because I always choose fast track both there and CGC. I no longer see a point in choosing that as an option as I don't get my money's worth out of it. I'm not angry about it but I do have a hard time understanding why it is seemingly so hard to scale up the business so that these delays can be eliminated. I mean you could quite literally be dead by the time you get the books back. Cheers, Howard

Someone earlier on in this thread mentioned Neal Adams Silver age stuff getting hot. I have been collecting as much of his Silver and early Bronze age on eBay over the past year and a half as I can. I concentrate on raw books for low prices so I can CGC them. Up until 4-5 months ago this was fairly easy but it has gotten a lot harder since then. I am seeing an upward tick in price increases for all of his horror and sci-fi titles like House of Mystery, DC Special and Phantom Stranger. In fact prices in general for these titles are rising quickly. I think they will only get more popular as time goes on. Cheers, Howard

I was wondering why Strange Tales 146 is not hotter than other Dr. Strange appearances. It's Ditkos last appearance drawing him and the cover and story by Denny O'Neil is awesome. Perhaps it is more of a "collector" issue than a speculative one. Cheers, Howard

I have a few one of a kind SS and regular CGC books but I don't want to give anyone ideas. Cheers, Howard

Thank you Sir. I am glad I have arrived. Cheers, Howard

"Well according to his sig line, he is a veteran already since he has 20 posts. Not to mention he has already had at least one FDQ exit moment" "Give me a break, you have 25 posts and are totally ignorant . Jealousy has nothing to do with it, it has to do with experience and insight" Firstly wrong to assume that since I only have 20 odd posts I am not a veteran collecting comic books with a valid opinion. Actually I bought my first DC comic in 1962 and first Marvel in 1964 while I was a lad. Since you seem to like bragging and one-upmanship when did you start collecting? Secondly concerning the FDQ exit moment if you read further down that thread, I apologized for that realizing I was out of line at the time despite due cause. Rest assured, I am not going to troll the Forum looking for dirt on you. I don't play that way. Cheers, Howard PS. At least I don't hide behind a pseudonym to trash talk. Howard is my real name.

I think the 9.9 is just a headline grabber. Whether it's ethical or not is a moot point. It certainly does not seem to hamper sales. Cheers, Howard

I think some of the criticism here reeks of jealousy. 600 100% feedback rating. 5 star seller ratings. Most of his/her buyers are eBay veterans. At least there is disclosure of restoration and trimming. I have bought more than a few books off of eBay where the reality is way different than the listing description. Cheers, Howard

Perfect. Thank you! Cheers, Howard