VintageComics

Archie Comics #5 3.0 G/VG OWW pages. Cover detached (it is a single staple book), 1" spine split top of spine, rest of book is complete with gorgeous, supple page quality. Writing on front cover. Early Archie books are extremely tough to find in any grade and this one has terrific eye appeal. Asking $1100

Shipping: Certified books, shipping is included within North America, ROW we split it. Raw books, include $10 for shipping within North America. ROW I will split with interested parties. Who wins: Time stamp seals the deal as to who wins regardless of the form of communication (including PM, in the thread, text or phone conversation). A negotiation is not a deal until both sides have agreed on terms. If there is an unconditional posted (or communicated) it will trump all negotiations unless we have already both agreed to terms before the was posted. In that case, the will have been in vain. Except that it will give you street cred and look cool to passers by. No House Of Shame or Probationary members or any others of ill repute. Returns: I am considered a very good grader among my peers ( Here is a link to my kudos thread ) but since even CGC is inconsistent I will not guarantee a CGC grade. I will guarantee to be within one grade increment in either direction - so if I am calling the book a 9.4 it could go 9.2 or 9.6. If it falls outside of those parameters (and it does happen that they go in both directions), I will offer a refund. But I don't expect anyone to complain if I undergraded it. I will accept returns if item is otherwise not as described. Consider all books pressed. Payment: Paypal, bank wire, check or MO.

Indeed. Have two books ever looked so different though! Makes a mockery of the grading in a way, when you put them side by side: Eye appeal is where it's at nowadays Or someone thought that the 4.5 was upgradeable? In this day and age this should be everyone's first thought, not that a 4.5 is actually 'worth' that much - although it might be.

One or two data points do not a trend make. I wish people didn't look at one or two sales and make a prediction. It just adds to the volatility of the markets.

I don't think the word undervalued means what you think it does.

How can the most expensive Silver Age comic of the last decade be considered undervalued?

That copy was owned by David Arnold.

Yep, that's what I said. You have your unstoppable A game and I have no idea what I'm talking about. Here's a flower.

I still disagree with everything you say but having a debate with you is like playing twister with Mr. Fantastic. You twist and contort and are never wrong. But you are usually wrong.

To paraphrase VintageComics- outliers do not represent FMV. Please don't quote me. I disagree with nearly everything you say (or write). And yes I disagree with you on what you are writing now and an AF #15 CGC 4.5 was a $35K book last summer. That's not to say that prices are tanking. Everyone is over reacting based on one data point / price (which is not how to analyze a market). The fact that people argue over one sale is just nuts and it shows how nuts this market is and how nuts people are to defend their own vested interests.

That's the one. I read that from cover to cover.

If that's why you're collecting you're doing it wrong.

My personal opinion? When an auction is within the upper percentile of it's full market value (in this case the book is north of 80% of it's market value) AND there is abnormal activity, then there is a very likely chance of shill bidding. When I auction my books they don't peak until the last few minutes of the auction ending, regardless of the book being offered. A book peaking in the open days of the auction is always suspect to me.

High grade DC's have been heating up across the board (not just SC #4 or #22) but because supply is so sparse a small demand quickly equals an uptick in price. I have no idea what this book will sell for but I wouldn't be surprised if it did well at auction. It is a highest graded copy of a legitimately tough book and a it is a DC key.

Really? I just did a deal that included several highest graded JLA books and having dealt with some of the biggest JLA collectors in the hobby they have told me the exact opposite. They seem to think that JLA is hot but they may only mean the high end JLA books they're chasing.

This #1 9.6 is a different book than the original 9.6. I've seen both books. As for #2 9.6, there are 5 copies in that grade so it's probably one of the other copies. As far as I know #1-3 are still together (or they were a few weeks ago)

Schmell bought them from a dealer in Kentucky who brought issues #1-3 from an original owner collection. Can't remember who the intermediary dealer was right now (I think there was one). They were the only 3 books to walk in from that collection. Quite a find.

Just read the Wiki entry on Fleisher. I remembered this name as the writer of the Encyclopedias of Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman and wondered if it was the same guy. Apparently it is. I read the Batman encyclopedia from cover to cover as a kid. Loved it. He never did finish the 6 volume set with the other characters (I think Green Lantern was supposed to be one of them, along with Flash and I'm not sure who else) Wiki went on to say that a few people (like Harlan Ellison) said that he was not 'all there' and it affected his career. From what I can see though, he seemed to be highly intelligent and pretty sharp all around.

Mid-late 1988, Mile High was advertising them for $35 (guaranteed Fine). Mid 1990 Crestohl/Ross were advertising Mint for $300 (F/VF $150). I paid around $250 for mine right around 1990 or so.

You're choosing your goal posts to fit your discussion now. Back in the early 90's there were very few books that sold for $5K. Now there are literally 1000's of books that sell for $5K. A 'MINT' Hulk #181 was worth a couple of hundred dollars back then. Valiants were being bought over older SA keys. Advent of online auctions, certification and other factors (influx of speculation due to movie hype) are all going to change dynamics. My point was that it's all cyclical and that very little about the market is absolute.

You are proving that everything is cyclical. Most people, unless they do a little historical digging, have no historical awareness of values. People think that pre-Robin tecs and Showcase #22 are the hottest books on the planet, but there was a time when you could go to a show and nobody really wanted those books. Not that nobody wanted them but nobody wanted to pay Overstreet prices for them so they sat. Moderns were expensive. Then they weren't. Now they are again. Gold and Silver were expensive. Then they weren't. Now they are again. If you're around long enough (or read into the past) you'll see that it's all cyclical.

But an X-men #1 in 9.9 would sell for well over $5000K so comparing apples to oranges isn't really logical.

For the longest time there was only one, lone 9.6 copy. Looks like there is another one now.

The cost. Canadians seems to live in denial because we are neighbors but the fact is that it's a different country and as a Canadian collector you need to factor in the exchange and shipping costs if you want to continue to buy US books. It's what the rest of the world does. Just because we happen to be in North America does not make a difference.

It's no different for Asian, European, Australian or South American collectors. They just suck it up and have come to learn to accept the cost of shipping. I find Canadians complain a lot about it (that and the exchange, I am Canadian BTW) but in reality it's not going to change so you just have to factor it in.