ComicFill

I started collecting graded comics 10 years ago. I did a ton of research and basically most people will tell you that the difference between a 9.6 and a 9.8 is a coin flip. 9.8s sometimes go for double a 9.6, maybe more. I'm only buying for myself with no intention of selling, so I targeted 9.6s. I have a little over 400 slabbed books and 70% of them are 9.6. Obviously older books or mega keys are lower grades. But if it is a book where there are plenty of 9.6s and 9.8s I opt for the 9.6 every time.

However, since CGC started offering prescreen I've been getting 9.8s of new books simply because that is all that is out there. So many people send in a bunch of books all prescreened at 9.8 that there aren't any lower grades.

I'm very happy with my choice. I have a buddy that goes after everything at 9.8 and he always talks about how much bigger my collection is. Ya. That's because I can afford 2 or even 3 books for every one he gets.

On 3/14/2022 at 6:28 PM, Mecha_Fantastic said:

What? They're too obviously classic to be classed as classic? What?!? 

Spiderman so obviously makes his first appearance in AF15 that no designation is needed. It goes without saying.

This is almost 100% a scam. However, you don't have anything to worry about. Paypal, your credit card company, and Ebay all have protections in place. If you buy something on Ebay and don't get what you paid for they refund your money. I've bought a thousand things on Ebay and only had issues a few times, but Ebay handled it quickly and simply. Now if you would have bought it through that link outside of Ebay you may have something to worry about.

https://pages.ebay.com/ebay-money-back-guarantee/

On 3/14/2022 at 2:45 AM, Bosco685 said:

This one?

That's the one. Still gives me chills. Although I also love NIN, so maybe I'm partial. 

On 3/14/2022 at 2:39 AM, Bosco685 said:

The wildest trailer!

 

That one's good too, but not the one I'm thinking of. I think it was the teaser maybe. 

On 3/14/2022 at 2:36 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

I happen to think that paying more for the same thing is dumb.

I happen to prefer Dr Pepper. You can tell me Mr Pibb is just as good all you want, but he didn't even go to medical school. 

The 300 trailer with NIN is one of the greatest trailers ever made. I remember seeing it in theaters and being absolutely blown away. Say what you will about Snyder, but the man cuts a hell of a trailer. 

I have an CGC 8.5 Hulk 181. Missing the value stamp / green label.

Obviously a blue label is preferred. But at what point would you take the 8.5 green over the blue? 6.0? 5.5? 5.0? Never?

On 2/27/2022 at 7:23 PM, Yodisd said:

Does anyone have any advice for new collectors? Thanks 

Pick a favorite character or family of characters and try to focus on that. 
If you want a book, buy it. If it's too expensive, get a low grade. If that's too expensive, get a reprint.
Don't get too concerned with grade, you can always upgrade later.
Store your comics properly.
Be organized and make a spreadsheet of what you want / what you have.
Make some place to display your favorite books where you can enjoy them. Accent with pops or action figures or whatever.
Don't ever buy a book that is too expensive for you or makes you nervous. Don't bring stress into the hobby.
Don't compare your collection to other people's. Some people have collections you will never match. That's OK. Collect for you.
Go to shows and cons. Frequent your LCS. Connect on social media. Make friends in the hobby.
 

Congrats on your purchase. It can absolutely be nerve racking buying online. Especially big money. But if someone has 4,500 positive reviews and only one negative it's a pretty safe bet. Also PayPal and Ebay have guarantees in place. If you get scammed you'll get your money back.

Go to an LCS and see what they would give you for it. It'll be on the lower side of a (hopefully) reasonable value and then use that.

On 2/24/2022 at 2:06 AM, GPR16 said:

Do you think $550 is a fair price for it?

Recent sales on gocollect for Star Wars 42 9.2 newsstand edition:
Mar 5: $431
Feb 24: $529 (less Best offer)
Feb 25: $606 (less Best offer)
Jan 18: $640 (less Best offer)
Jan 11: $625 (less Best offer)
Jan 5: $499

Book was going for $750+ over the summer. So it has crashed a little bit.

On 2/19/2022 at 11:33 PM, GPR16 said:

Hey guys,

Sorry if this isn’t allowed, new here.

I’m looking to purchase Star Wars #42 as I’m a massive Star Wars fan and would be an excellent display piece and looking to get your thoughts on a couple of options:

9.4 newsstand edition - $770

9.4 direct edition - $649

9.2 newsstand edition $549

i have read a bit about newsstand and direct edition especially with Bronze Age comics so not sure if it’s worth paying the extra $100 for it

also is it worth considering the 9.2?

 

This is all about personal preference. I couldn't care less about newsstand / direct personally. So I never pay a premium for it. As far as grade, if you are a Star Wars fan, not a comic collector, and you just want a great book that displays beautifully pick which one you think looks better. I mean if you just want it to display an 8.0 looks just as good as a 9.4 unless you're 6 inches away from it. If it's all about wanting the best value based on current sales do an advanced search on ebay for recent sales at each grade. Then divide the average by the price of the book you are looking at. Highest number wins.

I assume everyone is looking to scam me. I place the highest bid I'd be happy to get the comic for. If I win it for that, I'm happy. If I win it for significantly less than that I'm really happy.

However, I have noticed on ebay over the past couple years that I win auctions for significantly less than my max bid a lot less times than I used to. When it happens I make note of the seller because I assume they are honest at that point.

One thing that occurred to me is that with so many resources out there showing FMV and history of sales a lot more people are probably shooting for about the same target price I am. So it isn't necessarily a scam to have someone's similar bid bump the sale up to my max bid.

On 3/5/2022 at 9:47 AM, Upgrayedd2 said:

I'm inclined to go with the option that the comic you received is not the comic you sent in. As in, they may have given you someone else's comic. 

It was already signed by McFarlane. I can't imagine two people sent in previously signed books where the signature is so similar in color / style / size / location that OP wouldn't notice it was not his book.

On 2/25/2022 at 9:10 AM, mlee17513 said:

I will try to post pictures when I receive my comic from CGC.  I can understand there is a risk of a drop from 9.6 to 9.4 possibly 9.2, but 2 full grades is hard to fathom.

Some things like a small tear can make a grade plummet. It could have been damaged when it was taken out, during handling, or when he signed it. Someone very clearly damaged your book. I'm surprised CGC took any responsibility for it. I'm pretty sure they say there is a risk your book can be damaged when it is cracked out. Good luck with the press.

I respect the innovator. CBCS is just a copycat. I have 400+ graded books and they are all CGC. I can barely handle an old label and a new label being displayed next to each other, let alone a different company. I don't buy to sell, but if I did I'd only deal in CGC. I think there are lots of buyers who don't even look at CBCS.

On 3/11/2022 at 6:43 AM, JJ-4 said:

Super Heroes are as mainstream as any time I can remember (think of all the kids buying comics in the 70's thru the 90's) now enjoying the MCU.  People buying new books, not so much.

On 3/10/2022 at 6:49 PM, comicginger1789 said:

I view my comics as my hobby. Is it nice to know there is value in them beyond what I sent? Sure

But end of the day, my hobby in life could have been golf. I could have spent the money on equipment and games and beers and such. That hobby would never repay itself. It’s about the enjoyment. Comics are the same for me.

Will they crash? Probably some day. But I feel that day is a lot further off than ever before. Those saying comics are hard to get into and expensive are being silly. Enough people out there exist and I think the hobby is growing amongst people aged 20-35. It is not the cheapest to get into but once people hit that age and have money to spend, they are happy to do so to own whatever books they can.

When people talk about being hard to get into, I think they mean for people who want all the keys. 20 years ago if you wanted an AF15, it was expensive but you could save up for it. Now most people never could buy it. The market has gone up so much that those marvel silver age keys are simply never going to be accessible to someone just joining the market.

On 3/10/2022 at 2:31 PM, Rob said:

Guaranteed.  Talking about 2.0's, last April, 2 copies sold for over $10,000.  This past Feb 5 one sold for $9500, then the last sale was $9000.  I would say the decrease has begun.

The entire comic market went nuts last spring / summer. Almost everything was hitting all time highs. Everything has cooled a bit. If mutants are introduced in MoM it will spike again and then it will continue to go up as there is casting news, leaks, set shots, trailers, etc. I don't think X-men 1 is coming down unless the whole comic market comes down.

On 3/2/2022 at 3:04 PM, Rob said:

Nah, it won't stay at $9000.

You think it's going DOWN?

On 2/26/2022 at 11:40 AM, Andhre said:

i dont know much about comics value, is this worth it?

Comics

spawn 1

spawn 1

wolverine 88

wolverine 88

wolverine 88

amazing spiderman 410

amazing spiderman 410

amazing spiderman 410

amazing spiderman 410

she-venom

I've slabbed books that I knew weren't financially worth slabbing just because I wanted them. However I'll assume you're asking for financial reasons.

Wolverine 88 for example goes for $25-$35 for a nice raw.

It'll cost you around $30 to grade it with fees / shipping depending on how many books you're sending in.

A cgc 9.8 goes for $350-$450. A cgc 9.6 goes for $100-$150. A cgc 9.4 goes for $80-$120. A cgc 9.2 goes for $60-$100.

So if you sell that book raw you can expect $25-$35. If you spend $30 to get it graded and it comes back 9.8 you could make a few hundred more than selling it raw. But grade is everything and the difference between a 9.6 and a 9.8 can basically be a coin flip.

Another thing is it will take a year to get this back from CGC. A year from now if there is some info about a Wolverine / Deadpool fight in an MCU movie then that book could be $750-$1,000 at cgc 9.8