VintageComics Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The whole Baker thing is really interesting. I think we are likely to experience significant volatility in prices because we have a relatively small group chasing a relatively small number of copies. I think Rick Starr is correct that the CL 25 went low last night because most Baker fans already have one and, unlike iconic books in other genres, Bakers don't seem to have much crossover appeal -- GCE 12 being the obvious exception. Perhaps there is some crossover with crime books as well, which might explain the otherwise very surprising sale of the 6th Street APC 6. In this respect, note that many of the GA boardies never post in this thread and, I would guess, just aren't interested in romance books. I think the floor that may exist for key books in other genres may not exist for Bakers. So, we will have see whether the supply response that is occurring is enough to bring prices down -- at least from 6th Street levels! -- and make it possible to think of completing runs without buying a one-way ticket to the poorhouse. Those with a long enough memory will remember that we've been here before, when scarce Baker romance issues first hit ebay, and a hard core bid up low grade copies to astronomical values. Then things gradually tapered off. CGC/high end copies have brought that intensity back. And as you say, it quickly fizles out when a small but significant number of copies of any given issue are acquired by a tiny romance community of sissy boys. Very good point. Baker prices seemed to hit a peak in 2002 and then a real lowpoint in the 2006-2007 period. And then since 2012, it seems like a new high is achieved almost on a weekly basis. I actually believe that there are much more Baker collectors than are active on this thread. And as we all know, when prices go up, many more collectors/investors are drawn to the excitement. So prices in my opinion can go in almost any direction. As we know, it only takes two to set a new record high. And I suspect there are at least three going after most of the high grade Baker books. I'd say, 2003 was really where this trend towards fantastic prices began. An amazing OO GA collection was discovered by Neat Stuff Collectibles, and auctioned on eBay. There were Bakers that many of us were seeing for the very first time. Many of the late period issues of Cinderella Love, Diary Secrets, Going Steady, and Teen-Age Romances were there, and in solid grades. Fierce competition over those books resulted in then-unimaginable prices. After that, the occasional Bakers continued to trickle in, but prices remained just as strong for the quality items, because the same three or four determined collectors were still competing. (I don't mind owning up to being one of those collectors. Would anybody else care to stand up and identify themselves, Rick Starr and Flex Mentallo?) Yes, all this is partly our fault. I'm sure you guys remember 2005 and 2006... there was no particular shortage of new-to-market Bakers... but they were largely monopolized by a character named Joe Serpico... (at least, that was one of the very similar names he used. We suspected it was probably two or more brothers, working in unison.) I, for one, had a terrible time landing anything, during that period. Joe seemed to want every single Baker that came around, and appeared to have unlimited disposable income to put towards them. All we could do was watch and wait for him to cross off his entire want list. There was actually another fairly large collection of Bakers that was sold on eBay during '05 and '06... but the identity of the seller eludes me at the moment. (Michael, do you remember who that was?) Prices continued to be strong, though. 2006 and 2007, the Crippen Bakers were auctioned through Heritage, and those sold consistently well, but for some reason didn't set any records. In 2009 and 2010, another large batch of graded books sold through Comicconnect, over approximately three different auctions, and many of those set new record prices. I'm really just reminiscing, here, but the overview of past events might be interesting to newer collectors. Quite a history lesson and memory! I think the Ebay auction in 05 and 06 of a mass of Baker books was an Ebay seller Adamstrangearcheologist (spelling?). He sold off an incredible collection. There was a lot of intensity and frustrations with acquiring Bakers back then. Many covers I had never seen before and I have been going to major conventions since the late 1970's. I had forgotten about ole' Joe S. I know Shaun Clancy must have an incredible Baker collection most likely with multiple copies of issues. I remember getting into Bakers roughly circa 2006-2007 and thinking 'my god, why are these books so cheap'. Glad I have most of the books I want. Most but not all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) What happened to the TR9 on ebay? Auction was pulled. The Comiclink=$2,350 Edited February 27, 2014 by Rip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inaflash Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Seems as though every listing from him is gone. ?? Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 What happened to the TR9 on ebay? Auction was pulled. The Comiclink=$2,350 Interesting... the auction was pulled, less than twenty minutes after the Clink TAR 9 sold for $2100. Until I noticed that all of his auctions have been pulled, while "the seller is away on vacation"... I would've been willing to bet that he was going to turn around and relist the TAR 9 with a $4200. BIN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicnoir Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Does anyone remember superninjamaster? I think he was auctioning off Bakers and other stuff in 07/08. I got my TPL 11 from him, plus a few others, but not much, since bidding was always fierce. That's where I first encountered Joanna, since we were bidding on the same books. Then Steve (eccomic) pointed out a Baker romance thread on the boards. I mentioned this to Joanna, she said "that's me, I'm JvR11" and here I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Maybe the Clink auction results convinced him to pull the TAR 9 so that he can have the book pressed and dry cleaned, and then resubbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Mentallo Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Remember what happened to the CL#25 6.0 that went to 7.5 highest graded? I would not be surprised to see that happen to the C'link copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Remember what happened to the CL#25 6.0 that went to 7.5 highest graded? I would not be surprised to see that happen to the C'link copy. What is the subject of your second sentence? (The Clink copy of CL 25? Or, the Clink copy of TAR 9?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Mentallo Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 The subject of the post from you to which I just replied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1952 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 And bakerfan's true identity, of course, is Shaun Clancy, a well known name in the collecting community. He's got to be a boardie... anyone know his board ID? A while back, when we were discussing the ultra rare Diary Secrets nn, it occurred to me that Shaun might very well have one. His romance collection must be the stuff of legend. his not in the boards, not only books but he also owns some really nice OA pieces. I stop collecting Baker books and have sold some in the past, I switch to Baker OA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Remember what happened to the CL#25 6.0 that went to 7.5 highest graded? Do we know for a fact that's what happened? If so, how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicnoir Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) Remember what happened to the CL#25 6.0 that went to 7.5 highest graded? Do we know for a fact that's what happened? If so, how? I thought someone pointed out the 6.0 was never on the cgc census due to a misspelling on the label. It is in the census, but under the misspelling. The 7.5 is a different book. Edited February 27, 2014 by comicnoir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Remember what happened to the CL#25 6.0 that went to 7.5 highest graded? Do we know for a fact that's what happened? If so, how? I thought someone pointed out the 6.0 was never on the cgc census do to a misspelling on the label. It is in the census, but under the misspelling. The 7.5 is a different book. You're correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Mentallo Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) Remember what happened to the CL#25 6.0 that went to 7.5 highest graded? Do we know for a fact that's what happened? If so, how? I thought someone pointed out the 6.0 was never on the cgc census do to a misspelling on the label. It is in the census, but under the misspelling. The 7.5 is a different book. You're correct. Okay, that's interesting. Was the 6.0 the highest graded when it sold? Or was the 7.5 already on the census? Anyway, we might find both copies of TR #9 pressed, cleaned and resubbed in a race to see who owns the biggest D*ck. Edited February 27, 2014 by Flex Mentallo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Mentallo Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Has this just gone up? I didn't notice it earlier. http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=121410&lotIdNo=42006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicnoir Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Remember what happened to the CL#25 6.0 that went to 7.5 highest graded? Do we know for a fact that's what happened? If so, how? I thought someone pointed out the 6.0 was never on the cgc census do to a misspelling on the label. It is in the census, but under the misspelling. The 7.5 is a different book. You're correct. Okay, that's interesting. Was the 6.0 the highest graded when it sold? Or was the 7.5 already on the census? Anyway, we might find both copies of TR #9 pressed, cleaned and resubbed in a race to see who owns the biggest D*ck. 6.0 was the highest when it sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Remember what happened to the CL#25 6.0 that went to 7.5 highest graded? Do we know for a fact that's what happened? If so, how? I thought someone pointed out the 6.0 was never on the cgc census do to a misspelling on the label. It is in the census, but under the misspelling. The 7.5 is a different book. You're correct. Okay, that's interesting. Was the 6.0 the highest graded when it sold? Or was the 7.5 already on the census? Anyway, we might find both copies of TR #9 pressed, cleaned and resubbed in a race to see who owns the biggest D*ck. The CGC 6.0 "Cindrella" Love 25 sold in March 2013. I'm not positive, but I'd guess that it wasn't the highest graded at the time. Several other CGC'd Bakers were auctioned by the same seller during the same week, and I seem to recall a few of those were highest graded, and the seller was keen to point that out. But I don't remember anything being said about the CL 25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 This brings me to what I alluded to earlier. The sale of the Cindrella 6.0 at Sparkle in March for $2188 was most probably the impetus for Michael's 5.5 which was graded in May and the 7.5 which was graded in June. The 6.0 went into the hands of a private collector who is more interested now in baseball cards than comics. I think it was a whim from a guy that could afford it. The 7.5 may be along those same lines. A collector, rather than a dealer. If it was a dealer, we probably would have seen it come to market since then. That's why I think that for trading purposes, 5.5 is the highest CL 25 we'll see. Whoever bought it made a wise move. imho of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Mentallo Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 This brings me to what I alluded to earlier. The sale of the Cindrella 6.0 at Sparkle in March for $2188 was most probably the impetus for Michael's 5.5 which was graded in May and the 7.5 which was graded in June. The 6.0 went into the hands of a private collector who is more interested now in baseball cards than comics. I think it was a whim from a guy that could afford it. The 7.5 may be along those same lines. A collector, rather than a dealer. If it was a dealer, we probably would have seen it come to market since then. That's why I think that for trading purposes, 5.5 is the highest CL 25 we'll see. Whoever bought it made a wise move. imho of course! Dont call me "stoopid"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) What happened to the TR9 on ebay? Auction was pulled. The Comiclink=$2,350 Interesting... the auction was pulled, less than twenty minutes after the Clink TAR 9 sold for $2100. Until I noticed that all of his auctions have been pulled, while "the seller is away on vacation"... I would've been willing to bet that he was going to turn around and relist the TAR 9 with a $4200. BIN. Went from 183 listings to none. He didn't know he was going to go on vacation before starting the TAR 9 auction? Seems odd. Edited to add: The cancelled bid link actually says "the seller is away." I hope he hasn't taken ill. Edited February 27, 2014 by Sqeggs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
