House of Mystery 179 CGC 9.6 Oakland $15,000!!

[arexcrooke]

Or to put it another way, does anyone out there know of any dealer that would even have the gall to ask that?

Sure, Robert Roter used to pull mess like that all the time.

And still is. Just take a look at his asking prices on CLink for his Pac Coast GL's and other HG GL's

[nik]

He is a future seller, as in about 20+ years from now his asking prices will be just right (thumbs u

[Monstro]

your forgetting about the great comic market crash in 15 years

[the blob]

yes, but it will be followed by a price explosion in hyper-inflated dollars that are 25 dollars to one Euro.

 

I understand the book is tough in grade, but, seriously, I think I picked up a VG+ copy for $2 within the last year. (Yes, that was probably good luck, the # wasn't in the title of the auction) I know, it's the grade on the slab pushing things, but when we're talking $15,000 or even $7,500, shouldn't the underlying book be worth a chunk in a lower grade? (Although it is a very overlooked book and should go for a heck of a lot more in all grades) Like I could see this for a HOS 92, maybe.

[tth2]

I know, it's the grade on the slab pushing things, but when we're talking $15,000 or even $7,500, shouldn't the underlying book be worth a chunk in a lower grade?

Not necessarily. I think that "old school" Bob Overstreet mathematical formula approach is a thing of the past. Some books are just inexplicably tough in ultra-HG and there should be a pricing gap that reflects the fact that a book is hard to find in ultra-HG but pretty easy in lower grades. If there is no genuine demand for the book in lower grades, then the prices for the lower grades shouldn`t be pulled up automatically.

[the blob]

Well, the book ain't going to sell for $15,000, so it's probably a moot point whether it should be a $50 book in VG if it's that much in 9.6. The market decides and there are enough $10 VG copies to satisfy demand.

[precodekeith]

I know, it's the grade on the slab pushing things, but when we're talking $15,000 or even $7,500, shouldn't the underlying book be worth a chunk in a lower grade?

Not necessarily. I think that "old school" Bob Overstreet mathematical formula approach is a thing of the past. Some books are just inexplicably tough in ultra-HG and there should be a pricing gap that reflects the fact that a book is hard to find in ultra-HG but pretty easy in lower grades. If there is no genuine demand for the book in lower grades, then the prices for the lower grades shouldn`t be pulled up automatically.

 

I'm in complete agreement. The old "percentage of NM" pricing system ought to be laid to rest.

 

When there are hundreds or thousands of low grade copies of a book available, their price should not be influenced in any way by the going price of, say, the only slabbed 9.8 on the planet.

[otherworldsj33]

What is this book really worth in this grade?

[sterlingcomics]

What is this book really worth in this grade?

 

I'm willing to pay quite a good price for this book with OW/W pages or better and better QP than this...that is if I had the money. I've DNS forwarded sterlingcomics.com to my eBay store as I start getting serious selling some of my books.

 

I guess it's worth what someone will pay for it...so what would you pay for this book in 9.6? I know me and Redf1shing from eBay have typically been the HOM fans bidding up a lot of these on eBay (although he has been MIA). I guestimate that a HOM 179 9.4 is "worth" anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 and a 9.6 is "worth" anywhere from $2,200 to $2,600. This 9.6 cannot realize full potential though because of the QP and weakness in overall structure. I think this partcular copy is no better than a 9.4 price.

 

Also you should take into account if this is the first or subsequent book in a given grade. While I bid higher for "only and highest" copies, once they are no longer alone I bid lower. Take for example the last HOM 193 CGC 9.8. The last one sold for $1,500....me and redf1...redf1 won. I don't know if I would pay that much now that another 9.8 has surfaced...would I pay big bucks for it--sure...just not as much now. Another example: I bid higher for the "first" Ghosts #4 CGC 9.8 and now it has two other copies at its side. I'm able to win subsequent copies for incrementally less.

 

175,179,187, and 190 are all in my sights for 2008. And if a 205 happens to wander by, I won't ignore that one either.

[Aman619]

are you selling only undercopy dupes? Or are you selling certain titles or issues?

[sterlingcomics]

duplicates...many same grade or lower than mine...but 99.5% are 9.4 or better. I finally got rid of the majority of my 9.2 books last month...It's a great time to pick these up now that Bronze Horror has somewhat subsided. Titles are all over the place, but as you know, DC has been my mainstay...but there will be a few Marvel here and there.

 

I'm going to start getting cranking and submitting to CGC so that I have a regular auction presence at least 3 times a year...kinda like greggy's MO.

[Aman619]

thanx. Id hoped they were just duplicates, and not that you were moving on. As for the the fever having subsided lately, it leaves us interested parties to ponder whether thats only because you and your "co-collectors" have stopped buying, having completed your runs and thereby stopped bidding up the books that appear.. The DC BA horror genre was asleep before you guys began your charge at HG runs... and is alseep again. So it remains to be seen when others will follow your lead, or if the books are scarce in HG or appear that way because they still arent leaking out of collections yet.

 

I want to upgrade my runs and fill in holes, but I hesitate, unsure of the answers to my questions above. Is this a lull, or has the fickle spotlight moved on.

[drbanner]

The DC BA horror genre was asleep before you guys began your charge at HG runs...and is alseep again.

 

Couldn't disagree more...as far as the late silver/early bronze market (through the 52-pagers) anyway. There are so few 9.4+ copies of these books that it only takes a couple motivated collectors to keep the market vibrant. The low-mid grade market was, and has always been, asleep but HG copies have always been pursued. As Sterling notes, the population has filled out a bit more recently so a lot of the "highest/only 9.4/9.6/9.8" copies have been matched (or surpassed) so those prices have come down, but what about the latest "top census" copy?

 

There are (and have always been) plenty of DC collectors, Adams/Wrightson/Jones/Kaluta fans, etc.,. that are after these books.

[sterlingcomics]

Well, everything goes through cycles...this is definitely a downward part of the cycle...will it ignite again? Absolutely. I'd personally like to wait to sell some of my books until then...otherwise I'm sure to take a hit. Luckily, some of these books are not going to get significantly more or less in any part of the cycle, hence my desire to sell them now. Oddly enough one of my "Regulars" just PMd me the other night and just bought 5 Ghosts books...and I do that on a regular basis that the rest of the market doesn't see. I also recently sold 5-6 Witching Hour books for around $1,000...and no one saw that either.

 

No way will I be selling my collection in a massive floodgate...that would truly flood the market in a way that would truly jeapordize my "investment" in these books. If and when I do sell it will be piecemeal. The fact I'm selling 150 dupes really speaks to my commitment to the genre and my willigness to own the best of this genre. I really want to complete the collection, although it appears I've been doing more upgrading and less completing.

 

I collect what I like...and if you like these books....you should too. I'm frankly depressed that Guy Lacey quit collecting...it was a double edged sword with me b/c we both finally got to a point where we tag teamed on books to keep them reasonable...and we both enjoyed talking about it.

 

I agree with Mike...these books are not worth any less b/c there's no demand currently...the good news is that it will only take 1 or 2 collectors wanting a given book to have it realize its value (ie my "invested portion") b/c there are so few of them in high grade in the marketplace.

 

Also, despite rumors that "I'm done"...I still have over 150 books left to go...and many of them are the supposedly "easy" ones. I've also started with other titles now so my collection is ever expanding. I just want to be able to say I've completed a title other than "Doorway to Nightmare"...

[sterlingcomics]

BTW, it looks like the book was pulled from ComicLink, so I guess we can move on now

[MutantKeys]