KEY ISSUES Comics

On 8/18/2021 at 10:43 PM, Beige said:

Supply demand.

Price went up - market flooded.

9.8's are just stabilising and are just creeping up ever so slightly.

9.6 + 9.4 are still sliding.

People will stop listing, and off we go again.

I know there are a lot slabbed, but when a live action MM movie gets done - these prices will be cheap ( and yes I do have some for open disclosure)

Yep, that's seem to the cycle with books. Something heats up and the market gets flooded soon after, causing prices to drop. Some time later the same book heats up again and we start the cycle again.

And yes, the next movie, animated or live action, will light the flame once more for UF4. I am however skeptical about how high it can reach now. Soooo many copies are out there and have been graded. I guess it comes down to how slowly the hoarders release copies on the market. That's another aspect of the market: controlling supply.

On 8/18/2021 at 6:03 PM, dikran1 said:

Love that you saw the light after being so bearish on comics during our last pre-pandemic conversation 🥰

The Consortium approves 👍

I LOVE the X-Men and I'm always on the lookout for reasonably (they were at the time of purchase) priced big keys. I can use them to trade for other big books, or sell them when the X-MEN appear in the MCU. I'll keep my highest grade copy for myself (maybe). My opinions about the hobby and market have not changed one bit since the discussion in question.

Sorry to let the consortium down. 

0.4.

Really? Wow.

On 8/18/2021 at 9:01 PM, djzombi said:

This exact thing happened to me very recently.  Two copies of the same book in the same order - one came back 9.8, the other 9.6.  The 9.6 looks better than the 9.8.  
I truly wonder if the labels were accidentally switched.  

Quite possibly, right? Who really knows? That's the problem. 

On 8/18/2021 at 12:11 PM, NewWorldOrder said:

FF 1 and Hulk 1 have gotten a covid bump, not like DD 1 and X-men 1, but yeah I agree there is still room to grow.

Great time to buy in to GSX #1, Hulk 181, and X-Men 1 again.  It's very obvious when MCU announces the casting for the new films the books will heat once again and push higher than May/June 2021 highs.  MCU and Disney have yet to even promote these characters, wait till you see the consumer frenzy when they do.  A lot of green arrows pointing upward on GPA that day! 

I agree. I purchased 3 copies of X-MEN #1 during the recent hype period (I just happened to have the cash to do so and was already in the market for them, so...). I'd be losing plenty of $$$ if I were to sell them today, but I have faith it will look like a good decision once the X-MEN/MUTANTS make their MCU appearance. 

I'm patient. The plan wasn't for a quick flip.

On 8/15/2021 at 10:36 AM, wombat said:

Absolutely. How in the heck would they ever catch the wrong grade label on the same book if they can't even get the right label for the book? I never even thought about that. 

It's something I've been conscious of for well over a decade. I recall getting two copies back of a book (something like a 9.2 and a 9.6) and thinking that the labels were accidentally swapped because the lower grade one looked significantly nicer than the higher one. Ever since then I've had my doubts, given the other mistakes that seem to occur regularly.

On 8/15/2021 at 10:52 AM, MatterEaterLad said:

People can bash the other place all they want, but Borock is on the boards. There's also a company presser posting before and afters on the boards and discussing the process.

THAT is the way to run a transparent business.

On 8/15/2021 at 9:33 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Indeed. All we can do is speculate. The one thing CGC rarely do is explain the aspects that are wrong in their business model. They will never, say, pop on here and explain what is going wrong in their QC model and what steps they are taking to address it. The model, to me at least, always seems to be the same - tout for as much business as humanly possible, make the product look slick and inviting, then ignore all justified criticism when things don't go right. And often, as we have seen with newton rings and case scuffs, try to normalise production failure in a way that would not be tolerated in any other business. They get away with it because they can.

The ten measly books I have in my CGC submission pile - which have been there since before the pandemic - will likely stay there now as I am reluctant to support the current model, even if it means the resale value of my books is diminished. Personally, I don't like how CGC operate. Yes, there are good and friendly people in the business, with whom you can converse. But the collective for me feels like a money making, rule asserting juggernaut with little empathy for the customer and a reducing respect for the product being encapsulated (see calling non-US comics what they aren't). 

I like this forum, the people, the knowledge contained within it and the friends I've made here. I wish CGC didn't own it. 

What you defined above can sadly be said about most large, profitable companies. Money makes the world go around, and despite the bemoaning of many, I'm willing to bet most will continue to submit. Why? Because CGC is the standard that will get them the greatest return when they sell a book. Hey, I'm just as likely to keep submitting for just this reason, unless  they really screw the pooch on my current submissions.

On 8/15/2021 at 9:00 AM, DR.X said:

100% and will go unanswered.

Then it's up to us to cease submitting books and/or go to the competition. Speaking with one's wallet is the most persuasive tool of change.

On 8/15/2021 at 7:50 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

...by not QCing it, perhaps....?

That seems to be the case (pun intended), right? Otherwise those doing it are incompetent. 

On 8/14/2021 at 11:26 PM, Domo Arigato said:

Excuse me......is this CGC customer support?

I wanted to let you know I recently got my 200 book submission back.  There are books in it that have the wrong label.

What was that?........you want to know how many?

All of them.

 

This type of negligence from QC is unacceptable. Seriously, how does one let the example pictured above slip through the cracks? The only skill required is the ability to read to notice that the labels have been assigned to the wrong books.

What really concerns me though are situations where the labels are mixed up during a submission with multiple copies of the same book. Imagine submitting 10 UF4s for instance with the result consisting of copies graded 9.4-9.8. It's not as easy to identify a 9.8 assigned to the 9.4 of the batch, etc. Mistaken labels are less obvious in that scenario and it really makes a buyer question whether or not they are getting what the label claims. I can understand that type of QC slip up, but not the type where it's the wrong title/issue.

I'm truly concerned about my latest submission, as should we all be with our submissions. I'd rather wait another month or two to ensure better QC.

 

Here we go! 

https://130point.com/sales/

Yes, there's a similar thread a few pages back with a site that allows you to see actual sold prices.

(I keep forgetting to bookmark it...)

On 7/21/2021 at 10:30 PM, Cobbledclam said:

Hehe... I was actually going to name my former business Flipper Comics and use a Dolphin as part of my logo.

On 7/21/2021 at 1:12 PM, wiparker824 said:

You’re wrong, I wish you were right but it’s not the case when dealing with moderns like this. A 9.8 raw is not the same as one that is encapsulated with the label, regardless of what anyone’s initial opinion is on it, the slab matters to buyers for these books. It matters a lot less to a buyer of Action 1 assuming someone credible confirms it’s rough grade and that it’s unrestored. This is a horrible comparison.

Right on the money. I agree 100%.

I used to sell LOTS on IG back in the day (3+ years ago), but probably nothing since. So many people selling now that I don't have the energy and time to try and stand out from the crowd anymore. I keep to my own FB page (and local FB pages) as well as some small events. 

Ugh. Most likely damaged in transit. Could it be the store you submitted them through did not package them carefully? 

So sorry.

20 hours ago, Heronext said:

For sure.  I just don't think a lot of Golden Age books are as rare as people think, this one included

I'm curious to see how many come out of the woodworks in the upcoming months.

On 6/30/2021 at 10:49 PM, Heronext said:

I owned 4 different copies of Marvel Family 1 over the last few years and I wouldn't say it is a rare book.  I think you are looking at post-paper drive years and a comic line which was a best seller.  The best I had was a CGC 5.5 I bought raw in a Sunday Heritage auction for $700 and eventually sold to someone here.  Just bought a fifth copy I thought was underpriced.

But it must be "rare" in comparison to SA though CA Marvel/DC books, right? 

On 6/30/2021 at 10:41 PM, FineCollector said:

It's better than at least half of Ditko's Spideys. 

 

I for one don't care for Ditko Spideys in general. I much prefer his work on monsters, sci-fi, and the supernatural. Give me Romita Sr. Spideys instead any day.

On 6/29/2021 at 11:51 PM, Kevin76 said:

The FF 48 cover is awesome!  Just cause it doesn't showcase the character like FF 50 does, doesn't make it terrible.  You don't see the Surfer on the cover but it forces you to use your imagination since something big is coming as they all gather and look up to the sky, mixed with the nice brown/black background color. That's what's wrong with today's comics, they don't let the reader use their imagination anymore by using a key scene in the story, but rather just show off the character instead. Which is pretty boring, unless you own the OA.  

I think it's a terrible cover. The expression on the Watcher's face and his overall body language suggests that someone has reached under his robes and violated him. Not one of Kirby's best in my opinion. It has nothing to do with needing my imagination. 

I'm glad you appreciate it though!

10 hours ago, Timeless icons said:

I would rather have him on cover but as long as the cover art is decent, I don't mind. That's one thing I disliked about a copy of more fun comics 73 that I had. Great book, terrible cover. A lot of people feel that way about Strange Tales 110 too. I'm not a fan of the 110 cover to begin with though. In this case, its different. I do like this one. 

Darkseid and the Silver Surfer are other major characters in the same boat. And man, FF48 is such a TERRIBLE cover. That's why I love FF50 so much. It's the Surfer's first 'real' cover appearance. Yeah, I know he's on the cover of FF49, but he's kind of lost in the shuffle there.

7 hours ago, William-James88 said:

Honestly, for that book right now the only way to know the true fair market value at any given time is to put it up for auction.

Yeah, and those of us with one to sell are waiting for someone else to be the auction guinea pig. 

Congratulations!

One can never regret selling in this hobby, especially if the proceeds went to truly important things, such as those mentioned above.