Getoutandstayout

On 9/1/2019 at 10:26 AM, Darkowl said:

Just did a Sold Listings search on ebay for a 7.5 grade. The numbers are not impressive. I'm just not seeing any real growth right now.

How do you do that? I'd like to see what people are actually paying vs. what outrageous prices people are asking.

What's the best price these days online for a GS X-Men #1 in a 4.0 or higher? I haven't seen one for less than $1200.

4 hours ago, MGsimba77 said:

Unless there's something happening on the interior cover like tanning or something it looks like it could have an even shot at an 8.5. It has general edge wear that comports with an 8.5 but the small spine ticks could be what keeps it at 8

What is CGC using - a microscope? I can't believe the microscopic issues I see would drive it all the way down to an 8.0.

4 hours ago, *Bronze age fan* said:

I bought it. 457. Someone bid exactly what the registry points were. What did you pick yours up for? 

$269.00. I thought it was a good deal to be the third issue of Strange Tales.

46 minutes ago, *Bronze age fan* said:

Seeing your post made me think, that’s a cool cover. And I looked at a few eBay auctions. And.....

 

 

It must have sold already. I don't see a 5.5 listed currently on eBay. Did it say how much it was selling for?

4 minutes ago, bc said:

Indeed!

I completed the entire Atlas Implosion to PHM period early last year after almost a decade of hunting. Here's a gratuitous Gallery plug:

 

Out of the 178 total issues, I have 100 slabbed copies with an average grade of 8.0. Need to sell the under copies some day; have multiple sets of AA, AAF, Strange Worlds, World of Fantasy and many extra raw copies of the Big Four titles.

Weird how you can wind up with 300+ books when the complete set is only 178.

Great to see some of the "Founding Fathers" of this thread resurfacing

-bc

 

Would you happen to have a World Of Fantasy #16 4.0 or higher? Hard to find.

Picked up this week. Strange Tales #3.

1 hour ago, mysterio said:

Here are the other contents of the box. Very excited to add all these to the collection, but I will be washing some dishes, collecting aluminum cans, and considering the Seinfeld trip up to Michigan with a box truck full of bottles to return... Many thanks to the boardie who was kind enough to sell these to me, I will let him out himself if he would like!! (Sorry if the image is rotated, damn iPhones...)

*Gasp!*

16 hours ago, bc said:

Found a used copy on feeBay for about $14 with free shipping

Shoulda waited! There's one for $8.98 there now.

16 hours ago, Sweet Lou 14 said:

Here's his blog:

http://timely-atlas-comics.blogspot.com/

Here's his book:

https://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-History-Marvel-Comics/dp/1606995529/ref=zg_bs_4395_66

I read in a Facebook group that this book seemed to be stories of disgruntled artists/writers at Marvel taking pot-shots at Stan Lee and others. Kind of like a "here's the seamy underside Marvel doesn't want to you know" kind of thing. I hope it's not the case.

I thought I would mention that this edition of Overstreet Price Guide (#10) has a significant section in it of the history of Atlas Comics and its implosion (featuring all the pre-hero titles). It was very interesting reading. I had this guide once, years ago, and lost it. It took me forever to find which one exactly had this story (they don't exactly advertise the write-ups in them). This guide should be readily available on eBay.

So what's the highest graded Marvel Comics #1 and who owns it? I'd also be curious as to how often one of these comes up for sale. It can't be that often considering its rarity.

Back in the late 70s, it held the top spot in Overstreet's price guide - $10,000! Wow!

I moved from a large city with several really good comic shops, which had a great selection of Silver and Golden Age comics. I'm now in a smaller city (~75K people) with comic shops that really only sell modern comics and games. My only alternative to acquiring good books is to go to a large comic con several hours away or buy online. Does anyone else face this issue? Has it worked out for you?

12 minutes ago, buttock said:

There are pros and cons to both scenarios.  There are more buyers for a $100 book than a $1000 book just based on price.  However, the $1000 book may have more salability.  The $100 book has more room for growth, but the $1000 book may be more likely to grow.  Ultimately, you should buy what you like.  Parrino was buying in a different market.  

Of course, the question facing me now is - if I squeeze $4K out of my collection to spend, do I get a high grade tier 2 book like, say, Silver Surfer #1 or #4? Or a 3.0 - 4.0 tier 1 book like, oh, Strange Tales #110 or Fantastic Four #4? What's the buying market like? People going after a good book in high grade, or a blue-chip book in a lower grade? The average Joe buyer will never be able to afford the first appearance of a major character unless it's at the low end, so I think those 3.0 copies will sell pretty well, IMHO. But those high-grade comics are sure easy on the eyes.

Jay Parrino of Heritage Auctions once suggested to coin collectors to sell off their collections of mostly lower to medium-priced coins and with that money, buy a half-dozen really valuable coins in high demand. Of course, if you just like reading your comics, this isn't for you. But if you like to see your comics appreciate in value, it does sound like a strategy worth investigating. I have lots of low to medium priced Silver and Bronze Age comics - I paid anywhere from $100 - $700 apiece for the good stuff, with one at $1400 (I'm rebuilding a lost collection). But if I liquidated the bulk of my collection, I could probably buy three for four thousand-dollar books (or two $2K books - you get the picture).

I don't really care anymore about completing entire runs, nor am I actually reading all those Sub-Mariners that I bought. I'm thinking how nice it would be to display, say, a $2K copy  of Marvel Mystery Comics with a WWII German war cover - or maybe a mid-grade Fantastic Four #4 with the first SA appearance of the Sub-Mariner. I guess the question would be whether a few high-dollar books will appreciate in value more than a lot of medium to low-dollar books in lesser demand.

I'm bound to get someone telling me to just collect what I like. But this thread isn't about that; it's about an investment strategy. Are there better investments out there? Probably. But I love investing in what I know and love - old comics.

On 7/9/2019 at 1:19 AM, jjfversion1 said:

I'm already ahead of you...

I would say, get the best copy of Fantastic Four #1 that $10k could get you. BECAUSE - Disney hasn't yet incorporated them into their movie universe, so the hype hasn't hit the general public yet. Once we see them on the big screen, expect to see it spike like crazy. But for now, it's under the radar. A perfect time to grab one.

Oh - too funny! After posting this, I happened to read the post of World Devourer above mine, and he said the same thing! LOL! I think his advice is sound, just like mine.

On 7/12/2019 at 10:49 AM, Robot Man said:

Let’s just say, the Church copy is the best copy that we have never seen...

Truth there.

On 7/10/2019 at 11:27 PM, N e r V said:

Picking up some assorted early code books from Bedrock next week finally...

 

Nice! All very hard to find books, even online. Don't expect to walk into your LCS and see these.

On 7/9/2019 at 8:22 AM, mysterio said:

Should have a handful of books in the mail here in the next week or so. They’re pretty nice. 

Stop teasing us like that! By George, it just ain't right!

On 7/3/2019 at 10:15 PM, N e r V said:

 

 

 

It’s all lies. The comic book urban legend. Action comics #1 Mile High/Church simply does not exist except in the imagination of some who believe in such things. It’s a fake, a phony, a fraud brought about as one of the great conspiracies in American pop culture. Look for it only in the dark corners of the internet next to unicorns, Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. 

 

I saw bigfoot once in my backyard when I was a kid, so don't be cracking wise about it, see?

It's funny how everybody is supposed to take someone else's word for it that this Action #1 is supposed to be NM. I'd like to see a photo for myself. It's just a big, fat red flag to me that in the 52 years since it was discovered, not one single photo exists of it.

So if the Edgar Church collection was discovered in 1977 (from which this Action #1 was found), and this copy was sold around 1984, that's seven years that it wasn't in the hands of the Dentist. In all that time no one ever bothered to take a photo of it? The highest graded Action #1? Or if someone did, no image survives? Is there a reason for this lockdown of no-photos-allowed?

4 hours ago, Doktor said:

I loved this copy the minute I saw it. It presents great. There’s a little damage in the top corner on the spine where there’s part of the book missing but I don’t care. I love looking at it. 

Yep. It's like staring at a beautiful painting on the wall, or gorgeous fish in a fish tank, or a marvelous sunset. Beauty is appreciated for what it is.