KCOComics

Wow, that's a great price on JIM83.

And that's how I've always approached this hobby. It's a hobby. And if you have a chance to get something that brings you that much joy, do it. I picked up an incredible hulk 1 in February. Most I've spent on a comic ever. Maybe the most I ever will. I could be kicking myself for buying 10 days before the markets went into a free fall, but I'm not kicking myself at all. I've wanted it my entire life. I saved and waited for the right opportunity. And for what it's worth I'm also putting some cash back into the markets. It might be turbulent for a few months and even years, but it will come back. Its about being patient.

Bingo... I'm 37, which means I was only 25 during the recession and didn't have a real lot of skin in the game outside of my 401k. The last few weeks have hurt, but you only lock in the losses by selling during the dips. Patients and time in the market is the goal. My hope is to put some cash in the market in the next few weeks and hopefully buy near the bottom. Then play the long game for a return. And maybe put a little cash aside incase the GA market does drop.

Take - if not already taken.

In every example you outlined the comic market took a dip when the economy did. It sounds like you have a bone to pick with how information is being communicated, not the market crash itself. This is the nature of investing. Market corrections happen. The key is not to panic and be patient. I don't really think of collecting comic books as investing, but it's the same deal. The market will rise, it will correct, then it will rise again. From an investor perspective, this won't be an easy recovery. Events are shut down, many people aren't working and no one is spending. That's bad news. On top of that the government is trying to stem the tide by spending when we already have record debt levels. That is also bad news. So regardless of if this is a media created conspiracy, the damage is real and it will impact collectibles at least in the short term. PS - if you want to understand if the panic is real, go to a hospital in Italy. That's why the United States needs to take these precautions now.

I'm not a big seller, so I've never sold at any of the auctions (even eBay). But I've always wondered the same thing. With the big buyers premium at heritage, how is the $ divided with the seller compared to the other sites? From a buyers perspective, I like CL the best right now.

What does that mean exactly? He withdrew from the sale?

What's kind of unnerving about it, is I find myself just not looking at CC for big books. Or if I'm really hunting, they are lower on my list than CL, heritage and Ebay. The search functionality stinks. I use to always look at them and CL first.

Hopefully your relationship can be repaired. I'm 37, and though I was never intentionally disrespectful, I certainly lived much of life thinking I knew everything. Kids and career have humbled me. I find myself texting my dad and saying, "gee, remember when you told me X and I did Y? Man, you were right!" I think my generation takes longer to grow up. Hopefully some maturity will help the situation.

If he lowers his price by roughly $440k I'll be all over it! I would pretty much need to find one while cleaning out an attic to ever have a shot at that book in any condition.

Yeah, that does seem like an amazing deal. I'm guessing someone needs some relatively quick cash, but I will be interested to see how quickly it sells.

Maybe it's the kid in me, but I can't wrap my head around thinking of comics as an investment, despite there obvious value. I think it's because I just enjoy them to much lol. The art, the stories, the history. I enjoy investing to... At least I did until the last few weeks. But as my kids school shuts down, there are no sports on and all the cons have been cancelled, I can't think of a better time to break open some 1950s Atlas and EC tales about society crumbling and virus outbreaks... Or monsters.

It's a great summary of how markets ebb and flow. It should serve as a reminder for everyone to be calm and patient. Your only way too lock in losses is to sell during market dips. The same is true with collectibles. Don't panic sell during dips. I think collectors should kick back, be patient, look for good buying opportunities and otherwise enjoy their collection.

Really happy with my transaction with Rick. Great price, great communication, fast shipping and accurate grading.

Just my opinion, but I think we've reached a point where it will take a long time for the economy to recover. Even if the virus goes away with the spring, allot of events and businesses are closing. People not going to work and not going out and spending money. If this doesn't get sorted out soon, you'll see it spill over into comics and collectibles. I spend a fair amount of cash on comics. But cash is the key word. I have savings goals for my family, investment goals and so on. Comics come after those goals. When investments get pummeled you don't panic, but you do get tighter with your cash. Now spending $1500 on Avengers 4 is lower priority than having $1500 available incase poop hits the fan.

I'll weigh in since this thread started before my time on the boards and I love these debates. Personally, I think Batman is the greatest hero of all time. Just look at how iconic the Batman villains are. That said, Batman 1 never did it for me because it's not his first appearance. Don't get me wrong, I would love to own it. But if I had $100k to buy one book, Cap 1 would be higher on my list. Luckily for me, I'll never make such a decision. And I understand Bat1 is a more valuable book. This is just my opinion. PS - TEC27 > AC1... Or is that another thread I'll have to find?

My brother and I spent nearly an hour with him at Boston comiccon probably 5 years ago. There weren't allot of people at his booth which I thought was such a shame, so we talked about Timely in the 40s. He was a very friendly and colorful guy. My son was 2 at the time and he signed a bunch of prints made out to him. His wife (I assume it was his wife?) made him throw in an extra CA print. I'll have to dig those out.

That's a super cool book. Great pick up!

Take via PM! Thanks Rick.

This is what I'm hoping for. A restored purple label. From a value standpoint, I'm not sure if purple or green is better. From a collector stand point, I feel much better about completing the book. I'm working with (or at least getting a quote from) Susan Cicconi to do the work and when I have it graded I'll send a copy of her work in so CGC knows exactly what was and wasn't done. It's a Detective comics 26 by the way.

I had pretty much the exact same situation. My 181 was a 6.5. I wanted to get it reholdered, went to my LCS and the owner was pretty sure a press and dry clean would get a grad bump. My grader notes were very similar. Soiling on the back cover and multiple non color breaking bends on the back cover. I did it through CCS and it bumped from a 6.5 to 7. In my unprofessional opinion, given the graders notes, I think it would help. But it's always a gamble and I wouldn't expect a massive change. So if the upside is a half point change, is it worth the $$ and risk? The most likely downside risk is, the grade stays the same. There is of course the chance you'll move up more than a half point, and there's the chance someone at cgc disagrees with the initial grade and actually down grades you. I've read about both scenerios on these forums.

Not to derail the thread, but if you marry a different front cover and back cover to a coverless book, then pay a professional restorer to reattach the married front and married back cover, is the book still qualified? Or just restored? I've pieced together my first book with the missing back cover in the mail. I would really like to make it a complete book once again and have it done correctly.

I know Adam doesn't have allot of posts, but he and I have had many long exchanges about this book. I found him very forthcoming, transparent and friendly. It's a great opportunity to get an affordable mega key from a long time collector!

Andre sold me a great GA book at an amazing price. Great communication, shipped fast and everything was better than expected. Thanks Andre

Great book. I'll be curious to hear what others have to say. With the missing coupons and mouse snack I'm guessing 1.0, but others are probably more familiar with how those will impact the grade. Still, you can't beat 1930s DC!