The_Investor

Hi everyone, been reading the blog for a while and decided to write for the first time. I'm really happy that there's a number of people who collect Canadian Price Variants even if most collectors think it's a waste of money and laugh at us. I think it's awesome that we can share via this blog our passion for collecting these 1980's books. I believe that over the next several years the masses will take notice..I believe it's simply a matter of time . We need a catalyst superstar collector who is respected the world over to write a convincing yet EXTREMELY POWERFUL article for the next Overstreet guide! The individual must be a titan in the world of collecting (a household name) that is known across both borders!!! I'm seeking a few key books to buy or trade for. I posted my wants in the "WANTS" section but no one bothered to reply. I know boardies like "SILVER SURFER" ... "RED_ HOOD"... "CHADWICK"...KIMIK"..."FLYINGDONUT"..."THE_BEYONDER"..."DAVIDPG"..."MARTIN SINESCU"..."...and several others might be able to help me considering they probably have multiple copies of each grail ? Which I'm happy for them! Please PM me with any high grade (9.6-9.8) grails that you might have graded or raw in that case i.e., ASM 238...239...252 ... MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL 4 (9.8) NEW MUTANTS 1... TEEN TITANS 44... WOLVERINE 2-4... MARVEL TEAM-UP 141... SECRET WARS 8... THOR 337... SUPERMAN 1... X-FACTOR 5-6... ALPHA FLIGHT 1... WEB OF SPIDERMAN 1... BOOSTER GOLD 1... BRAVE and the BOLD 200... POWER PACK 1... TRANSFORMERS 1... ARCHIE'S GIRLS 320... SWAMP THING 37... LEGENDS 1 & 3... ETC.... Hope to make some sort of contribution on this site in the near future and possibly plan a meet-up group where we can get together once or twice a year over a beer and burgers somewhere here in Canada. I think it would be great creating a brotherhood (Females not excluded of course...it would enhance the group) and chill together with the possibility of displaying or trading books followed by a few good laughs together. The fact that we would all be looking out for one another would be awesome Canuck/US power. I live in the city of Laval (literally attached to Montreal) in the province of Quebec Feel free to reach out to me

Pat, I just sold my copy a few days ago on www.Icomicexchange.com for $695 so I think yours is priced to move quickly! Considering we are both in Canada PM me if you have anything else to sell or trade with.

Just booked my ticket and will be at the con Sunday July 30th. Thanks for responding, I appreciate it.

Thanks Kwan... As for books, I'm looking for silver or golden age keys

You will have both CBCS and CGC at the Montreal Comic con. Grading will be done in Florida! Also, when there you should pass by the panel: "The Ïdiot's Guide to Investing in Comic Books YEAR 4" on Saturday July 8th @ 6:30 pm . Time could change

I'll be in Miami July 30th but I'm uncertain if I should travel to Fort Lauderdale for the SUPERCON on that day. My questions are: 1) Is the Supercon in Fort Lauderdale a great place to find investment graded books at a reasonable price? 2) Out of curiosity, can I find a discount online that beats the 15% off of the $40 regular price with a good price on the hotel as well? I would need to taxi back to Miami the next morning to fly back home, therefore I'm debating if I should book my last night close to the con or simply book it for Miami. Thanks

I'll be in Miami July 30th but I'm uncertain if I should travel to Fort Lauderdale for the SUPERCON on that day. My questions are: 1) Is the Supercon in Fort Lauderdale a great place to find investment graded books at a reasonable price? 2) Out of curiosity, can I find a discount online that beats the 15% off of the $40 regular price with a good price on the hotel as well? I would need to taxi back to Miami the next morning to fly back home, therefore I'm debating if I should book my last night close to the con or simply book it for Miami. Thanks

Is this the great "melt-up" prior to a crash or simply supply and demand ?

Great job Bosco !!! The community appreciates all that you do to inform us of upcoming movies and shows!!! Thank you once again

Given the fact that one or more heroes from the original Guardians of the Galaxy will be introduced in the upcoming movie it will help give a boost to Marvel Super Heroes 18 (their first appearance) Nice to also read that Warlock will be coming as well in the near future... wonderful news...I guess Thor 165 will continue going up as well. I think this should also help FF 66-67 and Marvel Premiere 1

It seems like there's an auction going on all the time...starting to feel the fatigue as well.

Curious to see what everyone thinks about the final price for the three books below: 1) Lone Ranger Comics #1 6.5 cr/ow SOLD $1,400 (selling below Overstreet value $2,172) 2) Marvel Mystery Comics #4 2.0 ow/w SOLD $6,095 (1st Sub-Mariner cover) Overstreet value $2,300 3) Pep comics #26 2.0 ow/w SOLD $5,365 (1st Veronica Lodge) Overstreet value $700

Great looking books Skypinkblu! Thanks for the thumbs up. As usual, you are one classy lady!

JANUARY 2017 UPDATE : Recent sales for ALL STAR COMICS #8 ~ 5.5 (Sold in auction for $61,000) minus 10% commission $6,100) Seller keeps $54,900 ~ 5.0 (Sold on the exchange for $55,000) minus 10% commission $5,500 Seller keeps $49,500 ~ 5.5 (Sold in auction for $69,001) minus 10% commission $6,900) Seller keeps $62,100 ~ 4.0 Slightly Brittle (Sold at auction for $31,070) minus 10% commission $3,107 Seller Keeps $27,963 ~ 1.8 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction for $27,485) minus 10% commission $2,748 Seller keeps $24,736 ~1.5 C/ow (Sold on Auction $28,320 minus 10% commission $2,832 Seller keeps $25,488 ~ 2.0 Cr/Ow (Sold via our board for $32,450 ) Sold by Spiderturtle.....sale price needs to be confirmed . November 2016 : ~ 1.5 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction $17,925) minus 10% commission $1,792 Seller keeps $16,132 LAST SALE: January 2017 ~ 1.5 Cr/ow (Auction sale $21,252) CBCS minus 10% commission $2,125 Seller keeps $19,127

Bob: I think the thread is big enough for both pics and stats Having said that, congrats on the book you just acquired.

JANUARY 2017 UPDATE : Recent sales for ALL STAR COMICS #8 ~ 5.5 (Sold in auction for $61,000) minus 10% commission $6,100) Seller keeps $54,900 ~ 5.0 (Sold on the exchange for $55,000) minus 10% commission $5,500 Seller keeps $49,500 ~ 5.5 (Sold in auction for $69,001) minus 10% commission $6,900) Seller keeps $62,100 ~ 4.0 Slightly Brittle (Sold at auction for $31,070) minus 10% commission $3,107 Seller Keeps $27,963 ~ 1.8 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction for $27,485) minus 10% commission $2,748 Seller keeps $24,736 ~1.5 C/ow (Sold on Auction $28,320 minus 10% commission $2,832 Seller keeps $25,488 ~ 2.0 Cr/Ow (Sold via our board for $32,450 ) Sold by Spiderturtle.....sale price needs to be confirmed . November 2016 : ~ 1.5 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction $17,925) minus 10% commission $1,792 Seller keeps $16,132 LAST SALE: January 2017 ~ 1.5 Cr/ow (Auction sale $21,252) CBCS minus 10% commission $2,125 Seller keeps $19,127

Dem1138 I appreciate your response and inaccurate point of view about me. You're passing a judgement call on me without even knowing what facts I'm in possession of I sense that you're a very passionate individual and I appreciate that very much ...you could have simply inquired nicely about my fact- checking or simply send me an PM to further discuss the matter and I would have shared where I got some of my facts. I do agree with you on one thing. I do not know if the buyers were the under bidders from the other auctions. I apologize if I used the word "Certainty" when I was really trying to steer the discussion towards the idea that after an auction there tends to be the same grade that gets posted up for sale days later. The point that I was trying to get across was... without the emotions and pressures of bidding up a book with little to no time to think during the last minutes of an auction the opposite occurs when the same grade comes up for sale with a "Buy it Now" or "Make an offer".Here the book tends to gravitate to a lower price. I offered facts about books that were sold publicly and one on the boards. However, I am also aware of a few other private sales but I did not add them to the list because, although the sources were credible, there was no way I could prove the prices that were paid (4 private sales that I know of- one sold at the average price but doesn't really count because it was traded for cash, books and another collectible ....my friend and I were the ones who paid the cash, books, etc...for it. Another one sold at the average price and the remaining two sold slightly lower). I decided not to post this information up because it would be irresponsible of me doing so without the proof in my hands, however I still took them into account overall. I simply want to share what I know with other good willed board members who can add info and fill in the gaps needed. At least this is what I thought an online community was all about? With the utmost respect, A

Wow ! All 3 books sold within hours. I'm certain that the buyers of these books were the under bidders from the recent Comic Connect and Ha.com auctions. Do you recall that the same thing happened with FF 52 (9.8). These are quick and guaranteed sales if the same grades get posted within days of one of big auctions. One thing I did notice is how All Star Comics #8 (4.5) Cr-ow sold at a discount yesterday (- $7,000 ) just two days after the same book sold on CC for a higher price. (And a second larger drop in price for another very recent sale of a lower graded copy on Ha.com) In all fairness, the ComicConnect copy (4.5) that sold December 14th was an Old Label and I'm certain it could get upgraded to a 5.0...and for this reason it went for a little higher. However, the upgrade is not guaranteed...it's still a risk. After analyzing the stats and the individual books themselves I believe that prices for lower to mid grade copies of All Star #8's have hit a plateau (a top) for now. Whether or not prices will continue going down preceding the movie release (which is usually the case) we have yet to see. Summary: 1) Prices for low -mid grade All Star Comics #8 have hit a top for now; 2) Some evidence points to the fact that lower graded copies (public sales and private) have started coming down as of lately with some grades correcting more than expected.

December 16th UPDATE : Recent sales for ALL STAR COMICS #8 5.5 (Sold in auction for $61,000) minus 10% commission $6,100) Seller keeps $54,900 5.0 (Sold on the exchange for $55,000) minus 10% commission $5,500 Seller keeps $49,500 5.5 (Sold in auction for $69,001) minus 10% commission $6,900) Seller keeps $62,100 4.0 Slightly Brittle (Sold at auction for $31,070) minus 10% commission $3,107 Seller Keeps $27,963 1.8 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction for $27,485) minus 10% commission $2,748 Seller keeps $24,736 1.5 C/ow (Sold on Auction $28,320 minus 10% commission $2,832 Seller keeps $25,488 2.0 Cr/Ow (Sold via our board for $32,450 ) Sold by Spiderturtle.....sale price needs to be confirmed . November 2016 : 1.5 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction $17,925) minus 10% commission $1,792 Seller keeps $16,132 December 2016: 2.0 OW/W (Sold on Auction $31,001) minus 10% commission $3,100 Seller keeps $27,900 Second last sale December 14th 2016: 4.5 Cr/ow (Auction price $54,555) Old label...possibility for an upgrade minus 10% commission $5,455 Seller keeps $ 49,099 Last sale December 16th 2016: 4.5 Cr/ow (Exchange price reduced to $47,500) minus 10% commission $4,750 Seller keeps $42,750 _________________

December 16th UPDATE : Recent sales for ALL STAR COMICS #8 5.5 (Sold in auction for $61,000) minus 10% commission $6,100) Seller keeps $54,900 5.0 (Sold on the exchange for $55,000) minus 10% commission $5,500 Seller keeps $49,500 5.5 (Sold in auction for $69,001) minus 10% commission $6,900) Seller keeps $62,100 4.0 Slightly Brittle (Sold at auction for $31,070) minus 10% commission $3,107 Seller Keeps $27,963 1.8 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction for $27,485) minus 10% commission $2,748 Seller keeps $24,736 1.5 C/ow (Sold on Auction $28,320 minus 10% commission $2,832 Seller keeps $25,488 2.0 Cr/Ow (Sold via our board for $32,450 ) Sold by Spiderturtle.....sale price needs to be confirmed . November 2016 : 1.5 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction $17,925) minus 10% commission $1,792 Seller keeps $16,132 December 2016: 2.0 OW/W (Sold on Auction $31,001) minus 10% commission $3,100 Seller keeps $27,900 Second last sale December 14th 2016: 4.5 Cr/ow (Auction price $54,555) Old label...possibility for an upgrade minus 10% commission $5,455 Seller keeps $ 49,099 Last sale December 16th 2016: 4.5 Cr/ow (Exchange price reduced to $47,500) minus 10% commission $4,750 Seller keeps $42,750 _________________________ The_Investor

Please do so and report back. I believe the criteria should be a book that is : 1) From the Golden Age (during WWII) 2) A First Appearance of a major character (Super Hero and not a Villain) 3) "Preferably" the character does not make an appearance on the cover 4) Must have been selling regularly on auction sites over the last year and we must AVOID books that have a pent up demand due to a lack of copies hitting the auction sites and Ebay. History has shown us that pent up demand initially leads to inflated prices and then more copies flood the market and lower the prices. NEVER underestimate two bidders with unlimited money who want a copy at any cost regardless of the fundamentals of supply and demand (i.e. Fantastic Four 52 9.8 selling for $90,000 and a recent copy selling for $60,000, etc...). Sometimes some bidders want to bid their own books up to maximize their profits and ask their friends to do it for them or they do so themselves because they have multiple accounts? Especially if they own multiple copies of the same book. 5) Must have close to the same number of UNIVERSAL copies when adding CGC/CBCS and PGX copies on the consensus. 6) Careful when using GPA because at times I find them to be inaccurate and don't report every sale which can lead to misleading price points!!! 7) The Character must stand the test of time, popularity, historical importance, uniqueness (i.e., Wonder Woman stood for female rights, case studies were based on her character at the university level , etc...) 8) When looking at the stats on GPA, Gocollect, etc...books with similar grades selling for different prices have factors that have not been taken into consideration and people mistakenly assume prices have gone down or up (i.e., why is the price of two books in the same grade different? Might one copy have bad centering, tape on the cover or interior cover that become visible to the eye, bad eye appeal, very small amount of glue on the spine or cover, cover detached, centerfold detached, spin split, different degrees of foxing etc...) 9) Do you see people cos play this character at Comic Cons and Halloween? 10) Does this character transcend it's own title and sells books when appearing in other titles or other non-comic book material? 11) Compare the sale of this comic to a blue chip stock and draw your graphs (do the same for an All Star comics 8 and then compare stats for each book by overlapping them with a common denominator). This takes lots of work but it's worth the time and effort.The stock market reveals more than we think when it comes to collectibles!

That is the question we should all be asking ourselves. I think it's a little early to formulate an answer but I'm thinking a softening in prices MIGHT be around the corner. There are many factors that come to mind: 1) Macro economy (U.S. dollar going up too much so it squeezes foreign buyers); 2) Micro economy (Book has gone up a great deal over the last 1-2 years based on the movie next year... investment-wise it's a BIG BET on whether or not the movie will do well or tank. Movie-wise, Wonder Woman has not proven herself yet as Superman and Batman have already done. Many people question the actress, negative rumors about the movie plot we all read on the net, etc... Once again this could be a good contrarian play (bet) IF AND ONLY IF everything works out well with the movie. Don't forget, the smart money that invested in this book over the years want to bank their 30-500% profit prior to the movie and take no chances because prices ALMOST ALWAYS go down after the movie is released. 3) Many copies have been showing up for sale (Ebay, Comiclink, Comicconnect, Heritage, etc...) At times multiple copies in the same month! 4) All Star Comics 8 is a very desirable book but not Rare by any means 5) We must look at other books in the same category with the same variables and desirability to see if they've been suffering or thriving price-wise. Just be cautious if you spend money you can't afford losing. It's always easy to buy and not as easy to sell when you need the cash.

NOVEMBER 2016 UPDATE : Recent sales for ALL STAR COMICS #8 5.5 (Sold in auction for $61,000) minus 10% commission $6,100) Seller keeps $54,900 5.0 (Sold on the exchange for $55,000) minus 10% commission $5,500 Seller keeps $49,500 5.5 (Sold in auction for $69,001) minus 10% commission $6,900) Seller keeps $62,100 4.0 Slightly Brittle (Sold at auction for $31,070) minus 10% commission $3,107 Seller Keeps $27,963 1.8 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction for $27,485) minus 10% commission $2,748 Seller keeps $24,736 1.5 C/ow (Sold on Auction $28,320 minus 10% commission $2,832 Seller keeps $25,488 2.0 Cr/Ow (Sold via our board for $32,450 ) Sold by Spiderturtle.....sale price needs to be confirmed . Last sale (November 2016) : 1.5 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction $17,925) minus 10% commission $1,792 Seller keeps $16,132

NOVEMBER 2016 UPDATE : Recent sales for ALL STAR COMICS #8 5.5 (Sold in auction for $61,000) minus 10% commission $6,100) Seller keeps $54,900 5.0 (Sold on the exchange for $55,000) minus 10% commission $5,500 Seller keeps $49,500 5.5 (Sold in auction for $69,001) minus 10% commission $6,900) Seller keeps $62,100 4.0 Slightly Brittle (Sold at auction for $31,070) minus 10% commission $3,107 Seller Keeps $27,963 1.8 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction for $27,485) minus 10% commission $2,748 Seller keeps $24,736 1.5 C/ow (Sold on Auction $28,320 minus 10% commission $2,832 Seller keeps $25,488 2.0 Cr/Ow (Sold via our board for $32,450 ) Sold by Spiderturtle.....sale price needs to be confirmed . Last sale (November 2016) : 1.5 Cr/ow (Sold on Auction $17,925) minus 10% commission $1,792 Seller keeps $16,132

Wow...the bid is at a crazy price of $8000, double what I think it should sell for....should not be graded over 0.5 (as some of you mentioned) !!! Comicconnect has graded this raw book WAY TOO HIGH !!! Without a doubt, advantage seller, disadvantage buyer- Hail Mary style!!!