Kripsys99

My last auction wins from them a couple of months back took well over a month to ship out, but they eventually arrived without issue.

FINAL BUMP!

Then it's off to eBay, where some 20 year-old crypto millionaire who saw GL#76 on a YouTube video of "hot keys" will snap up my book, and let it gather dust in the back room of his parents' basement. This book deserves a better fate than that!

And no pressure guys, but I already bought the other book, so...

I've purchased a couple of books from ComicConnect lately without issue. That said, I completely agree that their customer service is lacking. I had some questions about shipping for the first purchase, and had to email multiple times to get a response. When I finally did get a response from one of the multiple emails accounts listed on their site (almost all of which I tried in a vain to get a response from), the person responding simply told me to get in touch with another department, without even providing me the email for that other department. Ended up going through with the purchase because I really wanted the book, but definitely left a bad impression.

B U M P # 2 ! 

Just saw that a TEC 400 9.2 went for $1822 on ComicLink the other night.

GPA places a 9.2 in the $975 range (most recent sale was from 2020, but a 9.4 went for $1525 in January). 

DTACollect has an 8.5 for sale for almost $1400.

Any thoughts on the jump in price for this book? Is this just symptomatic of the current hot market?

B U M P ! ! !

FS: Green Lantern #76 CGC 8.0 OW/W

Looking to fund the purchase of a new book, so I have to reluctantly part with this one.

GPA's current FMV is listed as $960 USD - so let's offer a board discount, and call the price:

$910 USD / $1100 CAD

First wins the item.

Payment via PayPal (for your protection and mine) required within two days of purchase. Your PayPal address must be confirmed, and I'll only ship to your confirmed address.

No probies or HOS. No returns.

Shipping via Canada Post Expedited Parcel:

USA shipping ranges from $35-$50 USD / $45-$60 CAD .

Canadian Shipping ranges from $15-$45 CAD.

(Insurance may add a few dollars to shipping costs.)

For reference, my eBay handle is ComicCollector82 (https://ebay.ca/usr/comiccollector82).

Ordered a graded 8.5 OW copy of TEC 411 off Jim last week. Communication was great, payment was a breeze, and the book arrived to me in Canada very quickly, and extremely well packaged. Wouldn't hesitate to buy off this boards member again. Thanks Jim!

38 minutes ago, Randall Ries said:

Agh! I was just looking at that #221 as well! What did you upgrade FROM?

Sorry!

Fyi, there's another 9.4 on eBay for $765 with a "Best Offer" option.

Seller has low feedback, but item is eligible for buyer protection. Seller previously had book listed for $699 and evidently accepted a Best Offer below that price, but the book has been relisted.

I never buy GA, so I'm seldom in a position to have to worry about it, but I'm curious about foxing? Does it tend to self-propagate/spread, or is it a "what you see is what you get" kind of an issue?

On 5/3/2021 at 10:15 AM, William-James88 said:

I dont think talent has anything to do with these hot books, no one is reading them. It's just because Marvel is the one to have translated their Comic Universe into a new medium that is reaching more people than before and becoming a shared cultural phenomenon. 

So the real genius behind the crazy boost is Kevin Feige, not the actual comic creators 

One of my favorite YouTube channels, Nerdstalgic, just did a fantastic video on how DC bungled it's cinematic universe, despite having a perfect blueprint courtesy of the DC Animated Universe. The video also compares and contrasts what the MCU got right versus the DCEU. Link below:

On 5/4/2021 at 9:42 AM, Randall Ries said:

This book is becoming difficult to find in higher grade raw or slabbed for a decent price. It has the same basic bullpen as #227 except for Mike Esposito and Denny O'Neil. Graded higher 9's tier are pushing $1,000 in some cases. I have spoken with a few boardies who adore the cover. It IS a great cover. But nothing spectacular going on in the pages. What gives?

It really is an awesome cover - in fact, I think that it's Adams' best Batman cover: Batman's not bound like he is on the covers of 234 and 251, not in apparent helpless peril like on the covers of 232 and 244, not seemingly flying like on the covers of 241 and TEC 400, in a more familiar setting than on the covers of TEC 404 and 412, and not simply brooding in silhouette like on 227. Incidentally, I love and own all of the above books, but 221 feels more like Batman to me - dark, stealthy, in the city, perched on the side of a building, about to confront foes - and the choice of a red title splash really pops.

Also, this is just a tough book to find period. Every raw copy I find has a rather significant flaw which I think would hold it back from a 9+ grade, and there are only 118 in the census (with only 24 graded 9.4 or above) - they just don't come up for sale that often. I think 221 is more comparable to TEC 404 (163 in the census, 29 at 9.4 and above) than to 227 (1,564 in the census) in this regard, and both 221 and TEC 404 seemingly go for similar prices nowadays.

I don't think that any of 221, 227 or TEC 404 have particularly compelling scripts - I think they're all just exceptionally well suited to slabbing - they're all awesome Adams Batman covers. And while 227 has the cover-swipe going for it, I wouldn't be surprised to see 221 become the "next 227".

4 hours ago, comicginger1789 said:

So umm....if you buy on ebay, yeah, you pay big bucks for certain Marvel books. Buuutttt if you hunt by other means, you can do just fine and continue to accumulate great old Marvel books:)

Out of curiosity, where would one hunt for such books? (Unless, of course, you'd prefer not to say! ) In my neck of the woods, in-person hunting is strictly verboten at the moment, and the usual online suspects (CLink, CConnect, Heritage, Hakes, My Comic Shop, etc, etc.) all seem to have books for sale at prices which are reflective of today's crazy market (and why wouldn't they).

2 hours ago, William-James88 said:

Which books? Which books have a character of similar stature to Peacemaker that have 1000+++ copies in the registry and that go for more than 3500 in much lower grades?

My bad - I meant to write much lower rarity (as you can see by the remainder of the paragraph, that's what I was what I was writing about), not lower grade.

I think Fantastic Four Annual #6 is a decent example/comparison - both books are of a similar vintage (1966 vs. 1968). For FFA6, $3500 will get you a 9.2 (vs. 9.0). However, there are over 1400 copies of FFA6 in the registry (vs. 60), with over 100 graded 9.2 or above (vs. 3). FFA6 features a first appearance by Annihilus - who is probably more well known through comic appearances than Peacemaker, but is now less known to the public given Peacemaker's prominent role in an upcoming tent-pole movie, and a starring role in a self-titled HBO Max show.

I think you will undoubtedly be able to find a few DC books which have seen a marked increase in price of late - comparable to the increases seen across a large swath of Marvel books. However, I think the difference is that for DC, the marked increases in price are the exception - rather than the rule - and the increases which you'll find will generally be on a smaller scale compared to Marvel books. Good if you're holding those books already, not so good if you're still looking to get your hands on them!

25 minutes ago, William-James88 said:

I was thinking of this thread today as I was looking at some DC books and yeah, no. DC keys are crazy expensive too, since they have that added scarcity of key characters being introduced in the Golden Age.

First Penguin? fogetaboudit.

First Two Face? fogetaboudit.

Second Two Face? lol, you mad bro?

First Giganta, that can't be too bad, right? NOPE!

Ok, so let's get out of the golden age, let's get something more recent, how about first Shiva, can't be a 1000$ book right?

Yeesh, what about Peacemaker, has the Cena hype reached him yet?

 

 

I don't think you can compare Golden Age books - particularly first appearances of iconic characters - to anything in the silver or bronze age. It's an apples to oranges-made-of-literal-gold comparison.

I don't think the Lady Shiva first appearance is a great example either - granted, it's a lot of money for a lesser know character, but it's only the 9.8 book that attracts that inflated value (probably because it's a 9.8) - from 9.6 on down, the book is pricey, but hasn't exploded to nearly the same degree (a 9.4 cost $135 in 2019, and $250 today).

Fightin' Five 40 is crazy at $3500, BUT it's a 55-year-old book, with only 60 copies in the registry, only 3 are graded higher than 9.0, Peacemaker is in an upcoming movie and TV show, and that price (for the third-highest graded book) still PALES in comparison to the valuations which much lower-graded Marvel books (with first appearances by characters of similar stature) are receiving, despite some of those books having 1000+++ copies in the registry.

Again, I don't think DC is immune, but I do feel like the Marvel guys are getting gutted right now in comparison.

Just wanted to share that I stumbled across a good source for MyLites bags and boards in Canada, given that they can be tough to find online North of the border, and shipping from the USA for these things can be a killer.

The website is:

https://www.darkagecomics.com/

The website is straight out of the 90's, but don't let that scare you off. Turns out the owner (Mike) is a collector who has been running his website on the side to fund his hobby/habit for about 30 years. I ordered a bunch of bags, boards, and back-issues a couple of weeks ago. Mike was really responsive, and got the bags and boards to me quickly.

Anyways, thought I'd share since I'm always on the prowl for good Canadian sources of back-issues and supplies.

2 hours ago, skypinkblu said:

I was trying to decide about looking for a copy of FF 49, I've had a few over the years, maybe more than a few, and they have gone up...and then  I saw this on Clink. FF49 has 3833 copies on the census and Adventure 210, has 151. FF 49 is from 1966, Adventure 210 is from 1955. Maybe he won't be in endgame, but I always thought the kid and his dog story was sweet.

Now it's very possible that there will be a new great FF movie (the first ones were not my favorite although I like the series...and then I thought...who doesn't like dogs? and super dogs...even though it would be hard to have a Krypto movie...151 against 3833...

So I upgraded my copy.

I looked at that book myself earlier today. Had I not just grabbed some books myself recently, I would have been bidding you up! Awesome pick-up!

A Superman 233 9.0 White Pages went for $800 in tonight's Comic Link auction. That's approximately equivalent to the current FMV for a 7.5 Batman 227.

1 hour ago, Happy_Thorsday said:

I have a good number of friends that are DC guys and have been for decades but they almost never speak positively about recent runs

I have to admit that I don't keep up with modern stuff - I have literally no idea what is happening in recent runs for either DC or Marvel - I'm still living in past issues which I never got around to reading, and collecting books I've always wanted and never got copies of.

9 minutes ago, Bird said:

how did you miss the chance to say "come to the DC Darkseid"

Damn! So obvious now that you say it! Nice.

1 hour ago, Old Fashion PB and J said:

Wait.... DC is affordable keys? Batman 251 is a nosebleed book, and it's not a key. Batman 232, MGA 80, HOM 174, Swamp This 1, HOS 92. Across the board Dc has exploded. So I am unsure of any logic of going to DC to save anything? My guess would be you are going to keep seeing the carousel of High Price over VALUED keys from Marvel due to speculation from the movies and tv shows. And honestly, the true Marvel keys that have "exploded" were dirt cheap prior to shows (Ex: Daredevil 1, Strange Tales 110, FF 48/49).

I think Batman 251 is an extremely important issue, even if not a "key". While nowhere near Joker's first appearance, it may as well be, as the version of the character it presents differs so wildly from any version presented in the preceding decades, and establishes the core traits of arguably the most recognized comic villain of the next 50 years. There are 2,750 copies of 251 in the census, and the last 9.6 sold on eBay went for a little less than $5k at the end of March 2021. A similar 9.6 sold for $3.5k in 2018 - a relatively modest increase factoring in the recent price craziness. Batman 232 is the first appearance of a popular villain, there are 2,800 in the registry, and a 9.8 sold this month for $6.25k - 9.8s were going for over $5k at the beginning of 2019. I'm not saying that DC is immune to the current market climate, but it sure seems more resistant than Marvel, and even important DC books seem a lot more accessible to average collectors.

5 hours ago, The lips said:

However I’m really happy collecting at the mid key range of around max $350

of course the big keys are special but it’s certainly not all about them for me. 

Yeah, this is a really good point that I think is lost on a lot of the new/speculative collectors. There are lots of awesome books - with great stories, and/or covers, and/or twists - which don't contain "first appearances", character deaths, etc. And some of these books are in much shorter supply than some of the major "keys".

2 minutes ago, kav said:

DCs are less valued because they printed a ton of copies, and they didnt introduce long lasting characters often as Marvel did.  SA DC villains were mostly one issue villains.

Agreed - I don't think DC comics will be hitting Marvel price points anytime soon - thank goodness for those of us who only buy and never sell!