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Have you wish that you have been collecting comic books before CGC?

Started by GotToHaveComics,

18 posts in this topic

GotToHaveComics

GotToHaveComics

Posted
Posted

I'm so envious with collectors that have been hunting down near mint key books before the advent of CGC. I started late in collecting books and I wish that I started sooner. I should have saved $$$$ buying 9.4s and up key books I would like to collect and making $$$ flipping some of them!! 893frustrated.gif

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JLA_ALL_THE_WAY

JLA_ALL_THE_WAY

Posted
Posted

You know what they say: "Learn from the past, but don't live in it."

 

I would like to collect and making $$$ flipping some of them!!

 

"Collecting" AND "Flipping" will cost you a little $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$(etc)

 

Rick

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sfilosa

sfilosa

Posted
Posted

I'm so envious with collectors that have been hunting down near mint key books before the advent of CGC. I started late in collecting books and I wish that I started sooner. I should have saved $$$$ buying 9.4s and up key books I would like to collect and making $$$ flipping some of them!!

 

Even us long time collectors didn't always get 9.4 (even though we paid for them). And worse yet, some high grade books that we bought are restored (of course we didn't know this at the time).

 

 

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jhumd-migration

jhumd-migration

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I agree. Though with the advent of ebay and CGC, the comic market has exploded very quickly, people were paying multiples (though smaller) of guide before the advent of cgc.

 

Don't be too jealous of my purple labeled pre-1966 marvels in 9.2 and 9.4 that were acquired roughly ten years ago. Many people spent quite a bit of money on restored books, many of which the sellers may or may not have been aware were restored.

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dam60

dam60

Posted
Posted
I am thinking this thread is all about the unpredictability of this hobby. It's the unexpected that drives it. The only constant, is it goes up.

 

I would say that if there is only one constant it's that we can't predict the future. To paraphrase the constant mutual fund disclaimer: "past results are no guarantee of future performance".

 

Here's just one example of books that have gone DOWN in guide: take a look at the Star Trek books. Hope you didn't bet the ranch on those . . .

 

The only constant is that it's best to be diversifited and that doesn't mean having money spread throughout GA/SA/BA/Moderns/Art but rather something more along the lines of not having more than 10% in collectibles.

 

Even the blazing one, who I would say is probably amongst the top 1% of all comic investors in the hobby has been quoted in national newspapers saying as much:

"It's not for everybody. You shouldn't use your mortgage money so you can buy collectible comic books," said Storms, of Yonkers, an office manager with Verizon who has 25 percent of his financial portfolio tied to comics."

Full story

 

The dam60 advice would be that you should only spend money you can afford to lose on this hobby and shouldn't be buying that hulk 181 to put your kids through college on its future sale but rather that you really would enjoy owning it as a collector.

 

DAM

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garthgantu

garthgantu

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Even us long time collectors didn't always get 9.4 (even though we paid for them). And worse yet, some high grade books that we bought are restored (of course we didn't know this at the time).

 

Boy, that's for sure... even from the most prominent dealers - including a couple who stated "everything I sell is guaranteed Near Mint" and chared full guide value - there was (and in fact, is) always a % of books overgraded.

 

On the other hand, I'm very happy to have started collecting when I did... I wouldn't want to have to pay today's prices for most of the stuff in my collection!

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Aman619

Aman619

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Ive been buying seriously for about 18 years. And I am into some great books for amazing prices given the appreciation since then.

 

BUT - - the biggest negative factor for most of us who started long ago is the tightening of grading standards. The HG book swe bought back then at over guide are 9 times out of ten (or less!) only 8.0 to 9.0 now. Certainly not considerd high grade anymore. And, the price difference between buying what is now a 9.4 Silver age book and what turned out to be an 8.5 ws minimal. It was more like the luck of th edraw. If you saw a HG copy of a book you needed or wanted, you bought it. Very few (the LUCKY few or the smart few) were so 'anal' about condition that they passed on the "run of the mill" nice copy to wait for the perfect one.

 

At least I didnt often enough. But I still completed most runs in high (enough) grade and picked up enough 9.4-worthy books along the way. I just wish Id been pickier....

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clarkkentdds

clarkkentdds

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There are certainly advantages and disadvantages of collecting before the advent of CGC...

 

Having collected for about 16 years, I picked up some nice HG books early on (at the time they were many multiples of guide!). However, these "NM" books have returned from CGC as 8.0s...and their value has consequently decreased! Dealers overgraded more often back then also!...I bought a GA DC "NM/M" in 1997 for about 5 times guide from PCE...It came back CGC 8.0 and is now worth less than half what I paid for it!!!

 

About half of my books have increased in value and about half have decreased since being CGC graded! I've noticed that the books I actually found at conventions and in shops (that I could scrutinize myself) - instead of through catalogs- have been the books that received the CGC 9.4+ nod!

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RedRaven

RedRaven

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I dont think even the most rabid decimal minder could disagree with this

gossip.gif , but I know I'm wrong

...

 

"it is infuriating that CGC will not publish an actual set of grading standards that they utilize when examining books. How exactly are we supposed to comment on the proposed new Overstreet grading standards when we have no idea what CGC is proposing as an alternative? Barring any new standards with which to compare, I would vote that we keep the standards as listed in the 1992 grading guide. If the 1992 guide needs to be revised, then I would suggest working on better picture quality, and better descriptions, so as to clarify the existing standards. CGC then needs to simply start adhering to the industry standards that were in place before they arrived, and stop severely downgrading comics with any of the minor defects listed above. For them to do otherwise would be an unfair reduction in the market value of their customers comics. "

 

...

 

From Jeff Vaughn at Mile High

http://www.milehighcomics.com/tales/cbg34.html

 

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