MAR1979

On 5/4/2024 at 9:45 AM, Stefan_W said:

Prior to the pandemic prices were pretty stable with small yearly gains for bigger key books. The trends you mention show massive upward spikes during the comic boom followed by an equally massive drop in price after things largely returned to normal. We are still standing in sand to a degree where new foundations for most books (especially new ones) are not yet set. Having said this, it appears as though the biggest drops for most books are behind us. 

The most troubling part of all of this is buyers are more reluctant to open their wallets and make purchases while there is still instability in the particular segment of the market they are interested in. The way this plays out is people often just sit on their wallets expecting an even better deal on a book to come along down the road. There is less of this now than in 2023, but it is still very much a factor.  

not to mention all those who have exited the hobby to the point that less collectors now than in late 2019. Typical of any bust. Comic hobby as whole is now in an attrition state, in what is likley a permanent paradigm expect the few new collectors entering the hobby to be greatly exceeded by those leaving (regardless of reason for doing so).  The bleeding will not stop only question is; for how long it can be impeded.

Dealers yer salad daze of 2020-2022 ain't a never comin' back in yer lifetime. Now we get to see who actually has business acumen by those who remain standing. Hint those who do have true business acumen are likley not spending time here whining about lower FMV's they are doing whatever it takes to adapt, like the oh so dreaded by the Midus' here action of lowering prices, to ensure steady inbound cash flow...
 

On 5/2/2024 at 5:10 PM, blazingbob said:

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  Big Macs.  

I've had 2 Big Mac's in my life. Yakked/Ralph-ed/Hurled both times within 2 minutes of eating them, similar to the super-size me film.  That's the anthropological reaction the body has when it believes it's ingested is poison. Which in the case of that type of a "burger" is pretty much on point..

BTW:

- it wasn't 18 (that's a modern lie) it was $15 
- it wasn't CA it was CT...
- The $15 it was for what they allegedly call a meal. I say allegedly as french fries and soda pop only constituent a meal to those lacking a 3 digit IQ. 
- Average Big Mac price in CA is currently $5.11 - which IMHO is $5.105 more than it's worth
- Average Big Mac price is higher on Bob's Long Guy-lind  than in CA

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/18-big-mac-meals-see-150028269.html

On 5/2/2024 at 8:16 PM, Stefan_W said:

They certainly do.

As a for instance, I had this ASM 316 go for what was a record price at the time. One sale landed above this in GPA at around the same time, but I believe that one was a news stand that was not recognized as such on the slab or in the notes. 

It is a lot of fun to be on the right side of these sales. 

 

That auction was the reason I decided to submit my Childhood copy... It did grade a 9.8 but as the FMV continues its plummet I'll soon wonder if it was worth the expense to send in....

wanna know why there won't be another comics boom...~67% of collectors are 50+

Exceptions, Outliers, Blue-chips, and Hot item De Jour will always exist but the pandemic was the hobby's last across the board hurrah. The only question is how fast attrition will occur.

Sleeping in their stores is akin to Midas Syndrome.

On 4/28/2024 at 11:50 AM, shadroch said:

Around 1990, I was set up at a NY show, and at the table next to mine was a store owner from Virginia.  We spent four days talking and watching each other's table. He was near Alexandria, and I visited DC often, so a few weeks later, I dropped by his shop. It was a nice enough shop but I was stunned to find out he slept on a mattress in the backroom and showered at a gym.  Living his dream came with a cost.

I know 2 Comic Shop owners who did that except they did not have a gym... The shops were especially ripe in the summer.

There are so many more sound investments than Comics that are far far easier to liquidate with low fees.

On 4/23/2024 at 10:30 AM, ygogolak said:

That 9.8 was a steal. I was getting $50-60 for #23 raw in 2021.

#22,23,24 Population Comparisons

#22 has increased the least, both in # of 9.8 as well as percentage.   #23 population now may be satisfying demand?  Time will tell...


As of April 16 2024

June 29, 2021

On 4/21/2024 at 12:28 PM, Brock said:

I knew that Marvel’s Godzilla books were doing well, but I was just just doing some eBay listings, and I didn’t realize how well Godzilla #23 was doing. It’s a late, (supposedly) low print issue, which feature a battle between Godzilla and the Avengers.

23 did spike In Feb-March, but in April a multi-year low. Conversely there's the all-time high for #22 ? Prices on Godzilla are simply all over the map as new registry collectors (or hopefuls) have jumped on the bandwagon due to the recent film(s).  Not the recipe for growth that will hold. Too bad as I've multiple 23's in 9.8 but I never ever sell Comics anyway.

P.S. Props to @Xenosmilus who posted the above in the Godzilla thread.

The only issue, and one I've always had, going back 26 years with eGerber is they seldom answer the phone to take an order and their NON "eCommerce" website is circa 1999.  it becomes a week of attempt after attempt on my part. Leaving a message has not obtained me a callback from them in at least 15 years.  They certainly make it very difficult to purchase from them. It's an Odd business model!

Like many Marvel series' "all you need is cash"

On 4/16/2024 at 10:59 PM, shadroch said:

Batman would stomp all over Moon Knight, but Marc would think he won.

Buh buh buh what about the Hippo

On 4/17/2024 at 10:29 AM, Iconic1s said:

This is really weird!  I had a seller once that refused to transfer a book a couple years ago. There were no allegations or theft or anything like that, they just wanted to be difficult.  They had it in one of their competitive sets so I think they wanted to keep it for the points… I suspect they figured I’d buy it but not register it so they could get the cash and “keep” the book. 

 

I have seen that before and it is truly some next level LOSER stuff

On 4/14/2024 at 1:17 AM, kimik said:

I am not sure what numbers you are looking at, but here are the numbers on on Jan 23 vs where things are now:

Dow - 4864.40 on Jan 23 vs 5123.41 yesterday (higher in April)

S&P - 37,905,45 on Jan 23 vs 37,983.24 yesterday (higher in April)

Nasdaq - 15,425.94  on Jan 23 vs 16,179.04 yesterday (higher in April)

Unemployment rate - 3.70 in Jan to 3.80 in March (so a smidge worse as of latest results)

Interest rate (Fed fund rate) - steady since January and not likely being cut until late in the year

Bitcoin - $40,245 on Jan 23 vs $67,170 yesterday

 

We should see a typical seasonal pullback in equities starting in May like usual, so things may change. However, interest rates are not likely going to see any changes until the late summer or fall when we may see an election inspired cut. I do not think it will be warranted as the US economy still has to work through the IRA and CHIPS stimulus packages and those dollars are just now being spent in earnest. The employment market will not see much change either if everything I am hearing from companies across a wide range of sectors continues - higher rates of retirement + more jobs being brought back to the USA should mean a tight labour market for the foreseeable future (the Canadian industry sectors we are involved in at work are already seeing employees leave to the USA and are worried it will increase). Unless we have a Black Swan event, 2024 should be another up year that likely accelerates into 2025 - it takes time to spend $800B in stimulus in the current environment (e.g. it is 8-12 months for major electrical infrastructure components now, the lack of skilled trades means construction delays, etc.). 

Perhaps, Perhaps Not...

On 4/14/2024 at 2:41 PM, MOOSE82 said:

I'm not new to collecting but I am new to cgc so I wanted to pose a question. I'm in several Comic book Facebook groups And I'm seeing a lot of negative comments about turnaround times or comics being graded almost a year can anyone tell me if this is the case or if in fact if we pay to grade our comics if they are turning around in close to the amount of time indicated on the CGC website. I'm curious because I have quite a few civil age comics that have been in storage for about 25 years and some of them I know are worth a little bit of money but in order to realize the full value they need to be graded but I'm an old guy and I don't know if I need to wait a whole year to get them graded any and all comments appreciated this is not intended to offend anyone or CGC I'm just seeking information thanks for any and all responses

In relation to Comic Books, What is "civil age"

On 1/23/2024 at 11:22 AM, kimik said:

FWIW, it does make sense that the comic market is picking up with almost full employment, interest rates holding steady (and possibly being cut this year), and equities and cryptocurrencies hitting new highs. Let's hope things keep up for the entire year. 

Mid April 2024 update; nopes....

On 4/12/2024 at 7:11 PM, GACollectibles said:

C

Can you please define trouble maker?

The answer to that question is always; Look In The Mirror!

On 4/11/2024 at 1:51 PM, kimik said:

I wonder if the crypto bros that were buying ASM 300 CGC 9.8s from a LCS owner friend for $10K at the peak are still holding them?

That would be very, very sweet!

On 4/9/2024 at 9:06 PM, fastballspecial said:

We are now seeing a generation of collectors that have no idea how many copies are out there of certain books. If you are at a show and you dont see ASM 300, Spawn 1 and Avengers Annual 10 its a really bad show. There are just alot of copies in general. 

and demand is sinking.  ASM Direct Sales 300 in 9.8 will negatively breach 2k before end of year 2024.   2 years ago 9.6 were commanding near 2k.

Spawn 1 what a total frickin' joke. Highest 9.8 and above population ALL-TIME. The 9.8 and 9.9 numbers are staggeringly huge and still growing!!!  There are less grains sand on a beach than copies of Spawn 1 in 9.8+

On 4/11/2024 at 12:26 AM, the blob said:

for a raw, book in hand, trust in condition, don't need to pay for shipping

 

 

Most definitely , however the conversation pertained to slabbed as in the 9.8 All-Star Squadron 47

On 4/11/2024 at 12:26 AM, the blob said:

let's stop harping on this while we have copies to sell please, i have to figure out how to pay for college for two kids (somehow my parents didn't seem to have this problem because it was my problem, but I don't want them saddled with excessive debt)

Not sure how much time you have but if close to a decade, Buffets advice of "put and keep putting everything you can into a solid S&P 500 fund and leave it there" worked for me.

On 4/10/2024 at 9:27 PM, 1Cool said:

It’s the new market value for people stupid enough to auction stuff on E-Bay.  Very, very few new highs being realized currently.

Conversely; unless a rare book (or rare in grade) , only a truly stupid moe ron would purchase stuff at much higher price at shows/cons or other online venue's.

*by rare I mean Gold and Silver perhaps even some Bronze, certainly not high population Copper.

On 4/8/2024 at 6:33 PM, thestephenh said:

Its because of this deal with Omega to grade 500,000 junk slabs or whatever, or so I've heard. I want to know when this is all over with so i can start using CGC again (if ever). The only reason why i use them often is the faster turnaround times than PSA.

Agreed. If one is going to wait more than 30 days it may as well be for PSA. To truly compete with PSA you need to be faster and equally if not more strict with grades. Unless CGC's goal is to remain niche and be known as junk slabber of Omega stuff.

On 4/10/2024 at 7:08 PM, Guitar Hero said:

I wonder if anyone can explain to me how a card with an older registration number (Something in the 37900 range) could get a M+9.5 grade even if it were submitted for regrading. If the card was a GM9.5 originally it would now be a 10. I don't see how any cards that were originally graded a M9 could move up to M+9.5. Anything with two nines would still be a M9. Anything with an 8.5 could move no higher than a M9. I see many cards with old registration numbers that seem to have been reholdered with M+9.5 grades. Am I the only one that finds this confusing?

If this is going on, ultimately the only entity it will help is PSA (who now also owns SGC)

On 4/10/2024 at 4:34 PM, comicartfan said:

I just sold my All Star 47 CGC 9.8 on Ebay for $175. this week. I agree that this is a fair market value. 

 

Is $103 then an outlier or Downward Sublimation to its new normal FMV?

On 4/10/2024 at 3:55 PM, littledoom said:

I've sold raw high grade copies for $100 before...

Yep's and they were flying off the shelves so to speak ,  As recently as Oct 2022 9.8's were commanding 400-450. IMHO $100 is an over-correction. To me it seems like it should be a $175-200 book but the market has spoken.

The one pictured is in the CGC serial range of a huge 9.8 run of All-Star Squadron. I'm wondering if it was Vanes' collection?

BTW littledoom: I was only using your post to demonstrate how much things have changed, nothing deeper and no malice or dig intended.

On 11/3/2021 at 11:30 PM, littledoom said:

It’s not a DC or Marvel case it’s a Todd case. That Infinity Inc run which is drawn by Todd happens to be DC and someone for some reason wanted to contrast the hotness between DC and Marvel. I’m just here talking Todd. But if we’re going there All Star Squadron 47 and Crow 1. Both bananas, both not Marvel. Just quality Todd covers. 

In the when fall the might category....

Quoth the Joker; HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Peeps has been buying these raw for more than than just a few years ago.

I'd say we need a "Copper's Cooling/Selling Poorly on Ebay" topic , but it would encompass too much