2008 Overstreet Price Guide Comes Out Today!

[valiantman]

I am also frustrated that OS basically leaves the modern market out in the dumps, I don't even know why they bother to put any other comic in the book past 1992. They don't have a clue on how to determine basic good modern books prices.

 

I agree, with respect to certain moderns, but OS only goes up to 9.2 (and "raw" at that).

 

What moderns are selling for any consistent price in 9.2 raw?

 

Moderns worth having are worth having in CGC 9.8, some in CGC 9.6, some in CGC 9.4.

OS doesn't have any of those in the guide anyway.

[shiverbones]

I have been buying them since 1984, I think I missed 1985 & 1990, but otherwise bought them all. I still look forward to it, but I know it's not going to represent reality on 80% of the books. Too high or too low. I like it for what it is.

 

I wish they had better covers though...

[shiverbones]

oh, and I wish they'd drop all the cover price book drek & expand the information on older books.

 

And fix the incorrect Wrightson Attributions in HOM&HOS, which USED to be right, but for some reason switched a few years ago.

[jools&jim]

Haven't bought a copy in five or six years. When I'm buying these days, I don't need it and don't miss it (my budget is my "guide"), and I sometimes use an old withdrawn library copy (from about four years ago) for ballpark reference (along with data from completed eBay auctions) when I'm selling. And don't get me started on the featured articles...

 

I agree 100% that the Market Reports had become the most interesting part by the time I quit buying it, and that the pricing information was usually dated, suspect, out-of-touch, or just completely inaccurate. But with eBay, the various CGC (and related) sites, these boards, and other sources of information, who needs it?

 

It's a shame, too. Like it or not, the OSPG was pretty essential back in the day -- the only copies I've kept are from 1974 - 1985 or so. Now, it's an annual footnote. As I've argued before, a little re-branding and a new editorial vision that embraces the realities of the information age could go a long way towards making it relevant again...

[NewWorldOrder]

I am also frustrated that OS basically leaves the modern market out in the dumps, I don't even know why they bother to put any other comic in the book past 1992. They don't have a clue on how to determine basic good modern books prices.

 

I agree, with respect to certain moderns, but OS only goes up to 9.2 (and "raw" at that).

 

What moderns are selling for any consistent price in 9.2 raw?

 

Moderns worth having are worth having in CGC 9.8, some in CGC 9.6, some in CGC 9.4.

OS doesn't have any of those in the guide anyway.

 

Agreed.

 

I am also not saying that all moderns books should be put in the guide either. Like having space in the guide for ULTRAVERSE comics or a lot of that will never go beyond the .25 cent tables, but I am talking about good modern stuff like:

 

Pre- Unity Valiant

Ulitmate Spider-man

Captain America Vol 5

Modern Variants (ie Civil War, Infinite Crisis, Green Lantern,)

[Aman619]

but what you guys don't understand is all these changes mean WORK - - Lots and Lots of work. Why bother when you can chat with the same 40 dealers once a year and bump up the prices a few percentages or so.

 

I buy it every year and what is says is still valid, but less and less so for many books. And I've posted this same email every year for 4 years now. I expect to keep posting it too.

 

Its always good to factor in the Guide price, if only for tradition, or to compare it with what books really sell for in the real world.

 

 

[FlyingDonut]

At the Overstreet Advisors meeting in August, everyone there said Overstreet needed to get on-line. I have no idea why they haven't.

[NewWorldOrder]

I buy it every year and what is says is still valid, but less and less so for many books. And I've posted this same email every year for 4 years now. I expect to keep posting it too.

 

Its always good to factor in the Guide price, if only for tradition, or to compare it with what books really sell for in the real world.

 

 

how would it require it to be a lot more work?

 

Isn't that their job to provide the best prices they can obtain through hard work, hence why we pay them 25.00 per book?

 

You say that you keep buying the book because its so valid, but its now less and less for many books. That doesn't make the book valid.

[Dollarbill]

At the Overstreet Advisors meeting in August, everyone there said Overstreet needed to get on-line. I have no idea why they haven't.

I got my online last year thru heritage.

[valiantman]

At the Overstreet Advisors meeting in August, everyone there said Overstreet needed to get on-line. I have no idea why they haven't.

 

Perhaps the CompuServe diskettes never arrived.

[Mister_Comics]

Or maybe you'd love to read multiple pages on BigLittleBooks?.

 

Are they still waisting page space on Big Little Books? Someone tell them anyone can see a more up to date website on BLB's on the internet. I say get rid of the BLB's and start adding UNDERGROUND's and INDEPENDENTS comics. Its a COMIC BOOK PRICE GUILD not a BIG LITTLE BOOK PRICE GUIDE.

Now that I got that off my back.

 

One of the reasons I quit buying the OS.

[shadroch]

I bought this one. My first in three years. Haven't read it yet so I can't comment on this years.

[OldGuy]

At the Overstreet Advisors meeting in August, everyone there said Overstreet needed to get on-line. I have no idea why they haven't.

 

Perhaps the CompuServe diskettes never arrived.

 

[Aman619]

I buy it every year and what is says is still valid, but less and less so for many books. And I've posted this same email every year for 4 years now. I expect to keep posting it too.

 

Its always good to factor in the Guide price, if only for tradition, or to compare it with what books really sell for in the real world.

 

 

how would it require it to be a lot more work?

 

Isn't that their job to provide the best prices they can obtain through hard work, hence why we pay them 25.00 per book?

 

You say that you keep buying the book because its so valid, but its now less and less for many books. That doesn't make the book valid.

 

 

more work to redesign the pages to handle a different way of treating Moderns: fewer grades, columns etc. Keep in mind than many titles continue through from GA to SA to Modern. Would you organize the book by Ages instead of title? So changing the data for one era woudl lead to a dominoes like reevaluation and redesign of the whole book's layout. Thats what I meant.

 

Your other point is argumentative or just a bit willfully naive. Of course its their "job" to do the work. And they ARE doing their jobs. They put out the Guide each year and change the prices and add tens of thousands of new data. Thats a lot of work right there. And in their defense, each year they must keep deciding thats enough. So far, its still working out okay.

 

But without a near total overhaul the Guide will not regain its status as THE place for comics values. And its never going to be possible again for an annual paper based book to do so ever again. Things move too fast now.

[bronzilla]

but what you guys don't understand is all these changes mean WORK - - Lots and Lots of work. Why bother when you can chat with the same 40 dealers once a year and bump up the prices a few percentages or so.

 

I buy it every year and what is says is still valid, but less and less so for many books. And I've posted this same email every year for 4 years now. I expect to keep posting it too.

 

Its always good to factor in the Guide price, if only for tradition, or to compare it with what books really sell for in the real world.

 

Perfect Analysis (thumbs u

[JazzMan]

At the Overstreet Advisors meeting in August, everyone there said Overstreet needed to get on-line. I have no idea why they haven't.

I got my online last year thru heritage.

Me too. All the same material as the book in a handy PDF format. I hope they do the same this year.

[Mac Man]

I think it's possible to do the hard copy but it needs to change it's intent with supplements added throughout the year.

 

My suggestion would be to begin producing a quarterly online publication for the OSPG. I say online because this would cut down significantly on publication, distribution, and costs. Through a combination of market reports from OS Advisors as well as a partnership with GPA, Overstreet would be able to provide more updated information. For the 4th and final quarter, they could provide the "end of year" report through the traditional hard copy format.

 

I do believe this would be an intensive project requiring both the same "team" dedicated to the production of the hard copy, as well as a second project team whose purpose is to cover the online publication of the OS quarterly reports. Further, by breaking down into an online format, there would be more room to include supplemental information like undergrounds, independent, BLBs, etc, that don't seem to be the right "fit" for many in the regular hard copy. And I think at a yearly subscription price, this would still be a cost effective means of improving the quality of the product.

 

Just my

[Foolkiller]

As another one of the OS Advisors here on the board, let me just say that I completely understand the frustrations voiced by many with the problems with the guide. Knowing the people who are involved, I certainly believe that they work hard, but are using antiquated methodology in tracking the prices.

 

This year, the market reports had a number of reports on the modern market, so John (spiderman on tilt) that sector was discussed. Overstreet has never been used as a benchmark for modern prices because the market is volatile and as someone else pointed out, much of the price fluctuation occurs on 9.6s and 9.8s which OS does factor because of the lack of consistency in the data.

 

As Donut mentioned we ALL raised going to an online guide and the need for more accurate instantaneous price updates. I have suggested that OS buy GP Analysis -- and allow them to do the electronic formating and they provide the historical information. You could do so much: point and click on certain issues to get the information about why the book is a key, even anecdotal stories about certain books could be plugged in and probably a ton of other things could be thought of.

 

The pricing information is then available for 9.2, 9.4, 9.6, 9.8 etc. It would also give OS the ability to say to people like Comiclink etc., who do not share their data with GPA, that they must share it to be an OS advisor. It would certainly give an accurate picture of the market on slabs. Having more accurate prices also means that collectors buying the books are going to be more aware at just how expensive certain books have become and how much they will have to pay.

 

I think the market reports were generally well done: some were same old, same old. Bob Storms brought up a few years ago the need for more foreign dealers to report market trends. I wholeheartedly agree. My market report was pretty weak I felt, mostly because I rushed to complete it.

 

From a financial standpoint for Gemstone, once you buy GPA, why not charge $20 a month or so for the service -- or a flat rate yearly subscription. If the data is current and up to date, plenty of collectors will pay for the service. In terms of raw books data, you can ask for a group of advisors to rotate every month and supply their data (or Advisors can elect to send it in monthly). Another rotating group can give monthly Market reports.

 

But I know there are several "real world" problems that are preventing something like this from happening. I'm not sure Geppi is willing to purchase GPA or what the reality is of making a fairly radical change. That being said, to me, I don't think it's really all that difficult to implement something of this sort, and I know that a few internally who work on the guide have brought this idea up as well in some fashion.

 

We will see. Right now, Overstreet is becoming obsolete for high end collectors, and soon younger collectors will rely on online guides like comicspriceguide.com and others if a dramatic change does not happen soon.

[NewWorldOrder]

I buy it every year and what is says is still valid, but less and less so for many books. And I've posted this same email every year for 4 years now. I expect to keep posting it too.

 

Its always good to factor in the Guide price, if only for tradition, or to compare it with what books really sell for in the real world.

 

 

how would it require it to be a lot more work?

 

Isn't that their job to provide the best prices they can obtain through hard work, hence why we pay them 25.00 per book?

 

You say that you keep buying the book because its so valid, but its now less and less for many books. That doesn't make the book valid.

 

 

more work to redesign the pages to handle a different way of treating Moderns: fewer grades, columns etc. Keep in mind than many titles continue through from GA to SA to Modern. Would you organize the book by Ages instead of title? So changing the data for one era woudl lead to a dominoes like reevaluation and redesign of the whole book's layout. Thats what I meant.

 

Your other point is argumentative or just a bit willfully naive. Of course its their "job" to do the work. And they ARE doing their jobs. They put out the Guide each year and change the prices and add tens of thousands of new data. Thats a lot of work right there. And in their defense, each year they must keep deciding thats enough. So far, its still working out okay.

 

But without a near total overhaul the Guide will not regain its status as THE place for comics values. And its never going to be possible again for an annual paper based book to do so ever again. Things move too fast now.

 

I totally understand what you are saying now. (thumbs u

 

I just think its time to shrink the book and get rid of all the worthless modern comics that will never be in demand much more than cover price or below at .50 cent dealers tables.

Is there really a need to put comics or update the OSPG with cra ppy one-shots or books especially from the 90’s that have no foreseeable reason to be in the OSPG? Aka Defiant, Ultraverse, or Marvel titles like Sleepwalker or DarkHawk for some examples because it’s a waste of OS’s time and money to keep updating that stuff.

 

I also see the pattern of books increasing every year at the same rate. For example most Amazing Spider-man especially from #’s 100-200 will go up every year by the exact same amount of either $5 or $10, which may indicate to me they just use the same formula year after year.

 

I am not saying they have to be 100% up to date on everything year after year because I do see it’s hard with all the online auctions and the emergence of CGC, but to still have X-men #1 under 20K for a 9.2 copy (like M-Keys Said) I just have to shake my head at.

 

Does that make any sense to you?

 

[NewWorldOrder]

As another one of the OS Advisors here on the board, let me just say that I completely understand the frustrations voiced by many with the problems with the guide. Knowing the people who are involved, I certainly believe that they work hard, but are using antiquated methodology in tracking the prices.

 

This year, the market reports had a number of reports on the modern market, so John (spiderman on tilt) that sector was discussed. Overstreet has never been used as a benchmark for modern prices because the market is volatile and as someone else pointed out, much of the price fluctuation occurs on 9.6s and 9.8s which OS does factor because of the lack of consistency in the data.

 

As Donut mentioned we ALL raised going to an online guide and the need for more accurate instantaneous price updates. I have suggested that OS buy GP Analysis -- and allow them to do the electronic formating and they provide the historical information. You could do so much: point and click on certain issues to get the information about why the book is a key, even anecdotal stories about certain books could be plugged in and probably a ton of other things could be thought of.

 

The pricing information is then available for 9.2, 9.4, 9.6, 9.8 etc. It would also give OS the ability to say to people like Comiclink etc., who do not share their data with GPA, that they must share it to be an OS advisor. It would certainly give an accurate picture of the market on slabs. Having more accurate prices also means that collectors buying the books are going to be more aware at just how expensive certain books have become and how much they will have to pay.

 

I think the market reports were generally well done: some were same old, same old. Bob Storms brought up a few years ago the need for more foreign dealers to report market trends. I wholeheartedly agree. My market report was pretty weak I felt, mostly because I rushed to complete it.

 

From a financial standpoint for Gemstone, once you buy GPA, why not charge $20 a month or so for the service -- or a flat rate yearly subscription. If the data is current and up to date, plenty of collectors will pay for the service. In terms of raw books data, you can ask for a group of advisors to rotate every month and supply their data (or Advisors can elect to send it in monthly). Another rotating group can give monthly Market reports.

 

But I know there are several "real world" problems that are preventing something like this from happening. I'm not sure Geppi is willing to purchase GPA or what the reality is of making a fairly radical change. That being said, to me, I don't think it's really all that difficult to implement something of this sort, and I know that a few internally who work on the guide have brought this idea up as well in some fashion.

 

We will see. Right now, Overstreet is becoming obsolete for high end collectors, and soon younger collectors will rely on online guides like comicspriceguide.com and others if a dramatic change does not happen soon.

 

Thanks Brian!