Jesse-Lee

On 10/15/2020 at 7:24 AM, Jesse-Lee said:

Here's a steal for the ASM 300 collector who has it all. Staples are a little loose, according to the seller's listing, thank God they disclosed that...

Somebody paid $105 for it!

1 minute ago, Hollywood1892 said:

I have actually seen a bunch that haven't and believe me I'm watching

New Gods 1

Forever people 1

ASM 41

ASM 46

Zero movement 

I typically hunt for deals pretty hard, and I've gotten some decent deals lately because of stuff that is sitting. Nothing super ground breaking, but still. A lot of DC is fairly cold - I've got 3 of the 4 parts of Batman Year One and I paid less than FMV - and since it's just for me and not to flip, and I don't chase 9.8s, that means I'll be able to put together a set of 9.4s for less than $150 (depending on how much the last one is). I also got a great deal on a 9.4 X-Men 141, which also seems fairly cold to me right now.

5 hours ago, Awax said:

I’m missing those days like candy.  

Maybe not candy, but: I've got good news; that gum you like is going to come back in style.

28 minutes ago, Hollywood1892 said:

I was two

I was, too.

Here's a steal for the ASM 300 collector who has it all. Staples are a little loose, according to the seller's listing, thank God they disclosed that...

2 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

Where at? Not seeing it on the bay or GPA.

Here it is, on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Amazing-Spider-Man-300/293777885690?epid=85528898&hash=item446686c9fa:g:lM8AAOSwyZNfg5bC

It was a $250 OBO, and sold for $240

2 hours ago, Get Marwood & I said:

A bit about why we collectors collect

Collectors of anything--not just comics--collect for several reasons, one reason usually being more prominent than the others. The great thing about comics is that there's an extra dimension to collecting them than, say, when one collects stamps, coins, barbed wire, or beer cans. None of those other things can be read. With comics you get a--hopefully--good, exciting story as well. That's what attracted me to comic books in the beginning and that remains my main source of pleasure in this wonderful hobby.

 

People collect barbed wire?

Cool idea for a thread and congrats to the winners! I might have to seek out a copy of this book now that I'm aware of it; it's pretty neat! And I'm completely serious in this: I'm a writer and also act as editor of a small university publication (not specific to or appropriate for this topic, but just stated to say I have the experience), and if someone every truly wanted to take up the mantle of organizing a second volume or companion to this piece, I'd definitely volunteer to help wherever possible. Thanks again @SOTIcollector!

4 hours ago, shadroch said:

Bisbee- Where everyone wants a job but no one wants to work. It's a magical place.

Professor Gilman? I seen him in Bisbee, he catches stuff...

14 hours ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

$400k kinda sounds like a steal...

Knowing the history of it/meaning behind it, it's pretty neat. But if I saw it without any context at all, I have to admit it's kind of ugly...

Well, a 2.5 sold for $240 yesterday, and a 5.0 PLOD went for $350. So who knows with this book where people's value line is. If a 2.5 is selling at $240 and the GC FMV on a 7.0 is $350, that's a lot of tight price compacting in between.

Honest question - would pressing make the staple area pop-through worse on a square-bound, stapled book like this and other Giant Size books of this era? I'm no expert and relatively new, but I think with the corners as they are and some of the other issues noted this is a solid 8.5, and with the cover overhang on that bottom right front, I wouldn't want to take chances. It's a beautiful book though, congrats!

5 minutes ago, valiantman said:

But seriously - that comment was February 2010 and a CGC 9.0 Hulk #181 sold for $1,050 in December 2009.  Current value would be $5,500.

$1,000 would have bought 3 copies of CGC 5.0 Hulk #181 in 2010.  They are currently $2,500 each... $7,500 total.

Which also calls to question the idea that highest grade is always better - I see a lot of books that see higher overall percentage returns in mid- to mid-high grades. Of course hindsight is 20/20, but I personally like to spread my money across more books in a presentable grade than all in one high-grade basket because of that.

Not to keep hammering home the IH 181 comparisons, but I did find this post from 2010 (from these forums) interesting:

On 2/5/2010 at 9:36 PM, ComicConnoisseur said:

TheDanimal said:

I thin Hulk 181 is a great book to own. Maybe common but definitely not overrated! It's an important book IMO and great cover!

yep but if you buy one copy today for a thousand dollars, the odds are it will still be worth a thousand dollars 5 years from now, the profit for this book is 9.6 and up.

Same thing can be said for Giant Size X-men 1 and X-men 94, you can spend your grand on them now and only expect that same grand back after holding them for the next 5 years. They are great books but the profit has sailed on these if now bought at current market prices.

In 2010, $1,000 would have probably gotten you a VF or 8.0 copy of IH 181. FMV on that copy today - 10 years later - is more than 4x that at about $4,300. That's if you're able to get a copy at dead-on current GoCollect FMV (which, if their FMVs of ASM 300 is any indication, is spotty at best). My point is that this same argument is always made about key books like this that start to catch fire.

1 hour ago, Wolverinex said:

It just boggles my mind that there are over 23,000 slabs! There are probably just as many raws if not more....

 

Hearing those numbers makes me more of a bear on this specific comic.

I've never been fully on board with the comparison of overall census to value, simply because I feel like the true measure (or at least a large measure) should be current copy supply available for sale. I think if there are 23,000 in the census, but only a few hundred readily available copies at any given time, then the supply of copies vs the demand of people who want them is what will determine the market, not the total of all existing copies.

That's why I made the comment that we're starting to see increased supply on eBay and other auction/sales sites, which to me signals that the price will soon level out or potentially dip. But I still see this as a longer-term hold personally.

2 hours ago, Greatwhite said:

Wow. Who is buying these books at these prices? I think I travel in different social circles because I don't know anyone who can afford these right now. Maybe if I was 30 years younger and I knew I had the time to sit on them for a few decades to accrue value but...

Yeah, it's remarkable, but it's just like anything else really - I'd love to own a Mercedes, but I can't really afford it. But I still have a car. People buy what they can afford (hopefully), and there are a lot of people out there who can afford a lot more than others. And you can say that at any level really; I know a lot of people who would - and do - think I'm crazy for spending $400 on a comic for example.

I would've said Star Wars 1, but that Raiders book would be pretty sweet with those three sigs on it!

I also can't believe that a purple label 5.0 is set to sell for at least $350 two hours from now. Hopefully it's not a less-than-scrupulous buyer who plans to crack it and try to re-sell it raw...

1 minute ago, astrometric said:

Anti-climatic. Pretty much bid up to full value with nearly one hour and a half left.

Hammer = $7,025 (Still a new high) There is a 2X SL/TM listed right now as well but BIN = $9,999

Yeah, I was hoping to see a big run-up at the end, kind of a let down.

7 minutes ago, astrometric said:

Incredible. This book is hotter than Tesla or Amazon stock. I thought for sure this one was gonna be the greatest setup opportunity for me personally and was keeping it quiet. A 24 hour only listing bidding style WITHOUT "SS" in the listing description on a whopping 3X 9.8 SL/TM/DM. Thought I could grab it on the cheap. Well it's about to break $6000 right now with still two and half hours left. Can't wait to see the hammer on this one. 

That's a sweet-looking book. Looks like it'll break $7k...

I'd do a chapter on Plop! and its crossover appeal in the horror and satire genres - DC horror books, MAD, etc. Basil Wolverton is already in there so it'd be a great segue, and "The Gourmet" story from Plop! #1 still haunts me - and that'd give Bernie Wrightson some due props too. This is a super cool book!

11 hours ago, maidenmate91 said:

People are nuts, you can get a stabbed 4.5 graded Showcase #22 for that kind of money. 

I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but I'm just saying that most (newer?) collectors would probably rather buy the first full Venom in a top grade than Hal Jordan's first appearance in a mid to low grade.

4 hours ago, poorcollector said:

I like how you nutshelled your method.  I was thinking something very similar. The thing is with those popular runs (ASM etc.) and older runs it is almost impossible to find ungraded copies of some books in good condition.  I guess I could always crack them if I wanted.  I guess I need to ask what price am I willing to pay for a raw book before I would prefer to guarantee the value by buying graded

Another good rule is "buy the book, not the grade." I have books that I just want to have in my collection that present as nicely as possible, and I don't necessarily care about the grade. Take for example my recent Batman 244 purchase. I'd wanted this book for a while, and I saw an auction on eBay for a 6.5, but this is the book:

There was some sun shadow on the back of the book, on the bottom cover and a bit on the side - apparently CGC knocks that down quite a bit, because it's seen as staining. But the cover presentation honestly looks like a 9.0. As it was, I paid easy 6.5 money for the book, and it's so much better looking in-hand, just a gorgeous copy. I was seeing 7.5-8.5 graded copies that didn't look as good on the front, and I was seeing raw copies going for $120-$140 that easily looked worse. I paid $99. This is one of my favorite covers ever, and the front looks beautiful. So to me, I thought, who cares what the number at the top says? I got a great looking copy at what I looked at like a deal price. And if I ever need to sell, I'm not going to get a blockbuster deal probably, but I should at least break even. So ask yourself if you want a gorgeous book to admire, or need to have the top-rated copy.

3 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

True and if anyone did want to prop up values in 9.8, I just meant that with fewer available for sale, that it's easier to do today than 2 months ago

And I didn't want Jameson to be thrown under the bus, cause he needs to buy now to meet his goal cheaper 

But that was a personal thought that doesnt work well in text form, and I probably should have kept my mouth shut

 

Very true - and I hope he's able to reach his goal - I really do think this is a unique book along the lines of a Hulk 181 and I'll hold to that. But the fact is that all grades are seeing increases and I don't think that can be explained by the fact that 9.8s are moving higher. Partially explained, sure - once 9.8 becomes unattainable for the general collector, they move to 9.6/9.4 and then those start to balloon. But the fact remains that this book is seeing an explosion in all grades that is a little crazy.