alexanderjk

A first printing of a 9.8 TMNT #1.

I’ve been a high school teacher for 22 years and I’ve had exactly one student — and I’ve had over 3000 of them — who is as crazy about comics as I was when I was his age. There are just too many — and too many more affordable — things for teens to be entertained by in 2019. (The “nerdier” of my students read YA fantasy, play Magic, read manga, and binge on anime on Netflix.) As many have mentioned, it’s those of us who are nostalgic for the SA, Bronze, and Copper (see: TMNT) of our formative years that are driving the back issue market. I’m predicting that when we’ve amassed our slabbed troves of childhood favorites in 9.8 condition, the back issue market will collapse, because when my now-16-year old son is in his 30s and 40s and has income to spare, he’ll be buying sneakers, “vintage” Supreme tees, and NM+ copies of Call of Duty 3 or Smash Bros. That Special Marvel Edition #15 that his dad so prizes will just be a curiosity.

I highly doubt that that issue will ever increase in value. I collect Daredevil (just completed a #158 to #300 issue run), so I’m fairly attuned to the value of the high-numbered issues especially. Only the Typhoid Mary issues go for more than a couple bucks, even in higher grades, so spending $25 on that one, even graded at 9.8, would be a hard pass for me. You could probably flip it on eBay and make a few bucks on that $25, but if it’s an investment you’re after, keep your eyes peeled for something else to come along. Consider, a couple of months ago I bought a pair of G.I. Joe #1s for $50 total. One ended up getting graded at 9.8, and the other 9.6. So there are bargains of coveted books to be found out there. Just takes some patience.

My first ever CGC submission. Bought the pair of G.I. Joe #1s for $50 total. No pressing. The grading notes on the 9.6 #155 mentioned a slightly bent corner. A pressing could have bumped it to a 9.8, I suppose, but I was predicting a 9.4 at best, so very happy with the grade. The #1 9.6 is swimming in oil, it looks like. Didn't really understand what Newton Rings were until I pulled this one out of the bag. Mixed feelings...ecstatic about the 9.8 and the submission process overall, but those rings...sigh.

They must have taken Friday and Monday off too, because still no invoice.

Any idea what’s happening here? Won six raw Daredevils — five commons and a high grade 168 for a decent amount two days ago. Listing said seller would combine shipping, so I’ve sent two invoice requests and a separate email politely asking for a total and an upgrade to Priority as I’m eager to get the books. (a high grade raw 168 is one of my grails). Still no total, and I’m not about to pay $30 in shipping fees (they were gonna send Media, FYI). Am I being unreasonably impatient, or is something amiss? (For what it’s worth, the seller doesn’t usually sell comics, but they had about a dozen DDs.) Is there any way to expedite the process beyond requesting an invoice over and over again?

MOONSTRUCK/VALLY GIRL a Nic Cage, not 2019 Nic Cage!

Name is my name and avatar is Nic Cage from Moonstruck because I get stopped repeatedly by strangers who tell me how much I look like...Nic Cage.

Yawn.

Yep. And 9.0-9.4 are consistently selling for $1000-$1300. Expect another spike once the film reaches Black Panther-level cultural significance.

Isn't Blue Beetle a DC property?

Absolutely. Aiming to complete a 1-300 run of Daredevil so low-grade, low-numbered raw books are the only way I'll be able to achieve it. Once I finish the full run, the next hunt/fun will be upgrading those low-grade issues.

If you do sell it and make $1350, you clearly DON"T suck at "this sort of thing." Yes, it might increase in value, but that $1K+ is still an admirable return for your $350 investment. And even if it does drop a bit, so what? You're still up by a few hundred dollars. But it pretty much boils down to: Do you need the money right now, or not? If not, I say hold onto it. It will always be a highly coveted book.

You're right! Edited my math. My fear is that my OCD will get the better of me and compel me to slab ALL of my Daredevils. That Venom label is pretty sweet.

Looks that way. I've been tracking prices for a number of "commons" to complete a run of the first 50 issues (and 155, which I already have), and every issue except 1 and 21 is inexpensive, even in high grades. Only other exceptions that I'm aware of are the issues with low prints runs, like 2 and 150-155.

Sent in three moderns (no pressing) at the value tier: Received 6/14 Scheduled for Grading 7/8 Grading/Quality Control 7/29 My first ever submission, so I'm excited to learn the results.

Can you elaborate on this? I just got back into collecting after a 20+ year absence. Been shedding parts of my meager collection that I no longer want (mostly minor keys and other random semi-valuable books) to focus on major keys, mainly involving MCU characters. For instance, how did sales of Black Panther's first appearance track from rumor, to announcement, to release of the film? Or for Captain Marvel or GotG? (My apologies if this has already been discussed to death.)

The Walking Dead labels are the only ones I'm 100% sold on. Was considering slabbing my Daredevils -- even the SA ones -- with the new label, but then someone pointed out that 10 labels on 10 books would add $50 to the cost of slabbing, money I'd rather use to fill gaps in my run.

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Daredevil #1 TMNT #1 (1st)

Bravo! This is what I'm working on at the moment as well, but I'm nowhere close to finishing it. I'm closing in on a complete 175-300. I already have a high-grade 131, so the only other key I'm missing is 168. Will slowly pick away at the rest, and plan on making my final buy a mid-grade raw #1 (I won't even consider slabbing any of these until I complete the set). Some truly impressive and humbling runs posted in this thread. My only other collecting goals: Iron Fist 1-15 and MP 15 (because I already have IF 14) G.I. Joe 1-50, 155 (I have all but four random numbers) Elementals (vol. 1) 1-29 and JM Annual (for nostalgia's sake) X-Men 1-94 and GSX (one can dream, right?)

Thank you!

Been lurking and occasionally posting for a couple of months after finally working up the courage to ship some favorites off to Joey, and then to CGC. Since, this board has re-ignited my love of comics and has given me some direction as to what to do with my collection, which, over years of many moves, dwindled from four long boxed to one. (By some miracle, I held onto a handful of keys -- Strange Adventures 205, Iron Fist 14, ASM 238 w/Tattooz) Been paring down the long box even further -- by selling, and donating the many low-value books to one of my comics-obsessed students -- and shifting my attention to high grade copies of favorites I long ago shed, complete runs of favorites (Daredevil 1-300, Iron Fist 1-15, Strange Adventures 205-216, G.I. Joe 1-50 and 155), BA keys and SA "grails" to pass along to my son and his future family.

So I started selling off most of my collection, and my last three sales were to buyers with 0 feedback and unusual, gibberish-y handles. They pay immediately, so what’s their racket?

CARGO pants. And of course his feet were obscured by the counter.