camera73

Yes, he literally posed for the pop!

Those bastiches have taken SO much of my money and I'm still one of their most avid apologists: It doesn't really work that way. I have pops that are still in the box that it was shipped in last year (2019) that are selling on feebay for $200+ Some of the older ones sell for that much...loose. This market is curently all over the place. I just started selling them in the past 6 mos and have learned some interesting lessons. Like, some of the exclusive video game-based pops that I thought would have staying power (Overwatch) rarely appreciate, while the Ernie and Bert pops that I bought on clearance in B&N are going for $30-40. And when everyone got their May Covid checks - people were willing to plunk down for BINs, like crazy. It is definitely a market with short-term legs. I don't want to still be selling five years from now. But then, I may not want to be holding the bag with comics 5-10 years from now either.

Hey, blame Batman'66!

I don't know about these particular figures, but any such toys or cards that are/were sold in individual "blind bags" or packs are created as collectibles. They are made and designed with the express purpose of getting kids to buy as many as possible, at the highest possible markup, to "collect them all" and trade the doubles with friends, who will then also get hooked. That's how the thousands of fads have been manufactured for the last 100 years. Even tulips in the 1600s, art in the early 1900s and stocks in the 1990s followed the model, somewhat.

I can actually hear the saliva dripping from the chins of millions of lawyers, right now.

So, to give my : My exGF (circa 2014-2018) used to join me on road trips as I roamed the country, scouring comic shops for deals. Eventually, she started to look around during those 5 hour stints and decided that some Funko pops were worth a gander. She began to buy some for coworkers and then grab all of the musical licences (Beatles, Hendrix, KISS, MJ, etc) and then every character that was meaningful to her. It didn't take long before she had a 100+ figure collection. Now, this was a grown woman, approaching 40yo, with TONS of disposable income, who had never collected anything her whole life. The flood gates were open! It probably took about a year before her collection was pushing 1000 pops and I was getting into them. She quickly transitioned to selling her non-keepers on feebay and I started to pick up characters who were meaningful to me. We broke up almost two years ago, but by then, she had a full online shop and was selling at cons. I now have a collection in the order of ~2000 pops. My current GF is selling them on feebay for me to supplement her income. To address the Beanie Babies question...yes and no. Beanie Babies did not exist as a craze for more than five years. They flamed up, made it onto the news as grandmothers (and everyone else) hoarded them and then they were gone. Besides being cute and a 'great investment' I'm not sure if those people could have put into words why they were buying them. Funko pops, on the other hand, while they do share some characteristics, like cuteness, are demonstrably different. Funko has been around for almost exactly twice the duration of the BB frenzy. It was begun by collectors and for collectors around 2009/2010. Yes, Funko (a publicly traded company) will stoop to the odd gimick, now and then, but mostly they are making what the fans want. Their designers are geeks and they acquire licenses from any sector of society/culture, where there may be demand. Lastly, BBs were a largely pre-ebay phenom, while pops have existed alongside many of the submarkets that grew up as consequences of the online market (vintage video games and sneakers, knockoff handbags, Chinese drop shipments, A Painting A Day, etc). So, they are superficially alike, but largely dissimilar. They are like any other collectible out there. They DO have quite a few features that make them good/bad or similar/unlike comics. Some are: 1) Good - They are fun to look at. Not everyone wants to stare at nude statue or an AF15, but many do. Pops work the same way. There is enough of a market for their esthetic, that people want them in their homes, cars and workplaces. 2) Good - Pops make great display pieces. They show off the owners interests in a way that communicates their likes/ dislikes/ values/ interests/ affinities/ geekdom in ways that are difficult otherwise. A comic collector can wear t-shirts and display comics on the wall, but you have limited ways to do that on the job or in your car. 3) Good - They can appreciate in value in ways that comics cannot. Many pop licences target VERY underserved geekdoms. I won't list them, but there are movies, bands, video games and personalities, that will never get collectible attention EXCEPT as a Funko pop. If you're into that thing, then the market has just been cornered, my friends. A middle-aged fan of a video game, who doesn't collect anything and maybe lives in an apartment with little space, will not blink at the idea of spending $50-$1000 on a pop that can be displayed to show their love for a particular person or character. This is especially true, when a gamer strongly identifies with the character, who they've been playing for years, and then a pop is made of him/her/it. 4) Bad - The can be duds, too. Sometimes the designs, production or manufacture will turn out weaker than the norm. Also, they are oftentimes, so overproduced, that many never achieve scarcity. This results in no value appreciation and gluts of some figures that sit around forever. Many of the pops that I purchased for spec, because I thought the character was popular enough, turned out to be worthless, now that I'm selling them off. Funko does not report numbers when producing most pops (they do have limited, numbers editions), so, you often end up with a pop that may be common and have only sentimental value (not a bad thing, necessarily) forever. 5) Similar to comics - People buy what they like. Sometimes because you like how it looks or as an appropriate gift for a friend or you like its chances of appreciating in the aftermarket. All of the same rules apply. 6) Unlike comics - The comic book market is largely homogeneous and continues to produce work based on the same characters in the same way. Diverging from that model meets limited success. Funko has found some success in diversity. While they did experience a collector/spec spike, when I first got into them, around four years ago, they have levelled out and now most of the demand is returning to brand new releases, that are purchased by fans. There is an aftermarket, but I find that most of the pricier sales still go to that one person who just has to have a little embodiment of one of their favorite things/people/characters. Which is so very different from many comic book collectors, who tend to hoard many books for many different reasons (fave character, spec, run/story, art, nostalgia, etc). I am not the end-all-be-all pro on the Funko pop! market, but I've been in the game long enough to know a couple things. Feel free to correct my descriptions of the way things are or please ask questions about the pop! phenomenon, if you're interested in continuing the discussion.

It's all relative. I would never pay more than $20K for a car or more than $300,000 for a house - even if I were a millionaire. But with unlimited funds....I just may consider picking up an FF #1 in 9.8 Ah! First world problems!

I long for the optimism that we shared, just a short year ago!

I found one in my collection, not too long ago. The problem is: what to do with it? There have been about 5 recent sales on Feebay - between $50 and (best offer off of)$1500. There are five copies currently for sale between $250 and $3500(sig series). So, it is difficult to gauge the market for this book and determine whether to sell... and for how much. What would you guys do?

Officially cancelled.

True - it's a bunch of short stories, but there's a bit of a through-line, where some far future reporters are looking back on Superman's history and legacy. I like them all and the overall arc as well.

On the topic of storage and boxes...USPS has a Priority Mail box that is perfect for Treasuries. I'm not sure of the dimensions off-the-top-of-my-head, but they're free and you can fit about 5-10 books in one, I think. If anyone, tries it out I'll be curious to hear whether I accurately remember how well they work.

My ABSOLUTE favorite story, and sadly one that no one has ever mentioned in any Copper thread that I've ever seen is: Superman #400 "The Anniversary Issue" from 1984 I've been reading and re-reading it for the last 30 years and it still gets me kinda misty. For some really fun and off-the-beaten-path stories, check out the Superman Family series...or is that solid BA?

I was following this well-thought out thread intently. I'll mourn its untimely demise.

Arno Stark was a main character in Armor Wars. Covers

Apologies for the horrible lighting! FCBD $1 box: I got there at the very end of the day - the store was closing in less than an hour and the boxes were half-empty. I figured that all of the good stuff had been scooped up.

I like this response and the story as well. My contribution to the OP would be to mention the collectors, who don't purchase and acquire in the ways that most of us do. I have and I know that a few others also have a comic room in the house. That became necessary because of my habit of hitting dollar boxes at every con that I attend. But there are (hard as it is to believe) collectors out there who are able to fit every book they own in a short box. My understanding of these folks comes from this experience: my ex-GF got me into collecting Funko pops. We watched the market like folks here watch comic sales. Every now and then we might notice that a harder-to-find pop figure (let's say Elvis, which was released early and is fairly rare) sells for a crazy amount, like $5000. This of course happens regularly with pops at the $50, $100 and $500 level, too. After spending time in that collecting community and learning how they spend money, it became clear that there are individuals who want just one or two favorites personalities or characters and they are willing to pay whatever amount to acquire the special few. They don't care what the market forces at work are - determining the price - effecting supply and demand - what "paying too much" or "at the peak" looks like - etc. All that they know is that they have a fistful of dollars and they can use it to obtain an item for a certain number at that moment. Extrapolate that to a book like Batman Adventures #12. Imagine a a young person who just got their first well-paying job and loves the character, Harley Quinn. Just like some of their peers may splurge for a $500 or $2000 handbag - that particular fan may shell out the dough for a comic or two that makes them happy. Again, totally ignoring all of the market forces that we spend hours and years studying to speculate, collect, invest and time the market. After the hoopla dies down and the going price of the book drops due to lower demand, do you know what that person is left with...? ...a book that they love and makes them happy to own. Back in the 90s, there were a -load of collectors who would brag about how they just picked up a HOT book and it would make them rich in some undetermined future. I haven't heard anyone talk like that in nearly two decades.

YES! So very great to see Comicfest '93 get the occasional mention. It was the epicenter for a lot of the early-90's phenomena. The Spawnmobile, Alex Ross marketing Marvels, the physical manifestation of the David/McFarlane fued at the Wizard awards and of course the boom-soon-to-be-bust of many properties like the Ultraverse.

There are a couple small items that I would add here. After Chuck's revelation of what a premium comic can be and before the internet, I experienced a couple events that highlighted comics' ability to appreciate in value, that may ring true for some of you as well... 1) The explosion of conventions: I started going to NYC-area cons in the early 80s and then they seemed to be everywhere in the 90s. Seeing sellers ask for way more than cover price for old and new books was enlightening. 2) The listings in Copper Age comics from MHC and New England, among others that listed HOT comics for sale and limited the number that could be purchased was an indicator that certain books were commodities. 3) And lest we forget, Wizard, Hero and a number of other 80s and 90s publications that tried to do what Overstreet was doing, except by highlighting newer comics, artists and the trends of the time.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I understand that Firefly/Serenity is not everyone's cup of tea. However, one way to look at this particular phenomenon is by its overall pop culture impact. Firefly was the natural progression of Joss Whedon's Hollywood climb, beginning at Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which culminated in the creation of the The Avengers, the first installment of a series that just concluded in Avengers: Endgame. Also, the various Firefly series are significant to comics due to its representation of the long partnership between Whedon and Dark Horse Comics. Lastly, its is indeed a small franchise, but a franchise that still brings bodies into cons, which means dollars. I collect old OSPGs and even though I scratch my head at the once-upon-a-time interest in Katy Keene that landed her on a cover - I still get why Bill Woggon was honored for his creation. I for one, enjoy the diversity that the covers tend to represent. I just hope someone can explain why Zorro is fighting frogmen...

Flashback: Stan Lee Offers Love Advice in ‘Mallrats’ The legendary creator of some of the greatest superheroes and villains in comic book history cited Kevin Smith’s film as his favorite in which he appeared https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/stan-lee-mallrats-spider-man-754866/

I want to share this one with the world! Does anyone have a citation? Issue#, month, year? Thanks for honoring The Man!

I was just reading an old book that was lying around...this is why we felt connected to Stan.

My disclosure: I have a book that I've considered to be one of the hardest to find real modern keys: WWLA YA 1 Wizard First CGC 9.5 The Wizard First program was a gimmicky program run in partnership with CGC to get hot-off-the-presses books into slabs and given a uniform 9.5 early in the professional grading game. This example of the 1st app of YA is usually available on feebay but never in large numbers.

I'd say 'Hell No!' to that idea. There are true keys coming out of moderns and collectors with a little imagination and patience are going to reap the rewards. There are first appearances of future stars happening at a rapid rate. Look at Harley Quinn - a huge success twenty years in the making. Funny that Marvel learned the most from the love that she's been getting (Spiderverse and Marvel Rising). One problem with variant speculation is that the values run counter to true price evolution. The real winners tend to be keys (events, 1st apps, storylines, revolutionary concepts) that are discovered over time and see gradual price increases - very similar to a stock chart. Of course, there are (sometimes permanent) downturns, but that is how you know that the collecting masses are solidly behind a book. Quick increases in a newer issue may indicate a flood of money into initial purchases, but does nothing to confirm that the price point is sustainable.