When will the depression hit the comic market.............

[jools&jim]

 

Anyone here old enough to remember the recession of '81-'82 (among several others)? Bad times...lots of doom and gloom. My dad (who survived the Great Depression AND combat duty in World War II) was in the private utility (water) business, so he had good overall job stability, but even his company was cutting back, and my brother was out of work for months and months. But ya know what? It was rocky, but we all survived.

 

I was pretty much out of the comics hobby by then (spent more time chasing girls and playing in my first band), but I remember going to at least one smaller show in the early '80s, and comics were still trading pretty briskly. Of course, I'm pretty sure most everything I saw there was well under $50, with most books priced in the $.50 - $10 range or so. Different times, I know, but still. And of course I bought the vast majority of my original comics collection from 1973 - 1975...another economic crisis period here in the US. Of course, they were all only .20/.25 each at the time...

 

So cheer up, lads. Buy what you can afford; don't buy when ya can't or shouldn't; and enjoy what you already have more.

[lizards2]

I think it is already here.

 

Tons of stuff up for sale the past few months, lots of premium stuff offered without a nibble. Some sellers perhaps getting queasy about quoting GPA, or even Overstreet. Other sellers taking the lead by offering significant discounts on even their HG stuff.

 

I always dreamed of this day , but unfortunately, my pockets were drained within the first couple months.

[NewWorldOrder]

I think it is already here.

 

Tons of stuff up for sale the past few months, lots of premium stuff offered without a nibble. Some sellers perhaps getting queasy about quoting GPA, or even Overstreet. Other sellers taking the lead by offering significant discounts on even their HG stuff.

 

I always dreamed of this day , but unfortunately, my pockets were drained within the first couple months.

 

Where is this? ?

 

All the HG stuff I want it going way over GPA.

[lizards2]

I think it is already here.

 

Tons of stuff up for sale the past few months, lots of premium stuff offered without a nibble. Some sellers perhaps getting queasy about quoting GPA, or even Overstreet. Other sellers taking the lead by offering significant discounts on even their HG stuff.

 

I always dreamed of this day , but unfortunately, my pockets were drained within the first couple months.

 

Where is this? ?

 

All the HG stuff I want it going way over GPA.

 

Linky

[NewWorldOrder]

I think it is already here.

 

Tons of stuff up for sale the past few months, lots of premium stuff offered without a nibble. Some sellers perhaps getting queasy about quoting GPA, or even Overstreet. Other sellers taking the lead by offering significant discounts on even their HG stuff.

 

I always dreamed of this day , but unfortunately, my pockets were drained within the first couple months.

 

Where is this? ?

 

All the HG stuff I want it going way over GPA.

 

Linky

 

Nah... (thumbs u

 

We all get the friendly board discount here.

[cujobyte]

What depression???...

 

Oh, I don't know...this one maybe??

 

IMF: Depression May Have Already Started

February 7, 2009

 

 

No depression yet, but sensationalized fear-mongering is rampant.

Help, the world's exploding

 

Comics are like anything - there are good times and bad. Eventually there will be a gutter, but it's just a buying opportunity for people like me. But I'm also not going to keep all my money tied-up in them for now.

 

"Sensationalized fear-mongering" ?? I dunno, I think 4 million people losing their job's since the second week of November is a bit more than sensationlized fear mongering...

[VintageComics]

Mike I wouldn't call 9.0-9.4 on bronze really premium stuff at a discount.

 

Some guys sell stuff cheap just to blow it out which is what Brian is doing.

 

I'd say that taking Ebay along with all other dealer's and consignor's input would be a fair representation of what is going on out there.

 

I don't think it's fair to take simply one pie slice of data.

 

I'll tell you that high grade SA and BA books on sites like Comiclink sell within hours or days if priced right...and that's not to say discounted...just fair.

 

R.

 

 

[cujobyte]

It already has.

 

Uber keys are the only thing going up. Everything else if languishing at a fraction of guide.

 

Have you checked out eBay auctions lately?

 

J and S Comics had a large lot of auctions ending on ebay last weekend - the books (all late Silver/early Bronze Marvels) were in high grade but none of them were keys. Most of them received crazy high bids, either on or considerably above GPA (all the books were raw) and there were certainly no bargains.

 

I've seen a lot of feeding frenzies like this lately, with new low-feedback bidders entering the fray and beating out the competition. There's a recession / depression all right (and how the British government is keen to let us know about it) but it hasn't hit the decent books yet.

 

I bid on several of their books, and was outbid on every single one of them. They had some great stuff though, IF 14, HFH 1 etc etc. Over 800+ auctions. Wonder where that collection came from....

[Old Fashion PB and J]

Funny thing is when people speak of a depression they automaticaly think of bread lines which is really off base..The breadline depression of the 1930s was a SEVERE DEPRESSION....There are perameters to a depression, such as crossing the line of a severe recession into the beginning stages of a depressionary fase.

The line between a severe depression and a depression is enormous.I feel we are at the recession/depression level ..Severe curtailment of economic activity for a prolonged period of time.

 

Agreed, but I still don't feel we are at the recession/depression level yet.

 

Once I see a 20+ Unemployment rate then I will worry.

 

I am not depressed because I am

 

That level would cause a downward spiral. Think of how many people are in the U.S. and divide it by 20...

 

Also try and think that the average manual laborer works off the books. Since they are effectively off the grid, the numbers are not accurate. The building business has been hit HARD over here and many other places. So again, you may be able to ADD another 3% to that figure.

 

And because you are doing well, does not mean that times are not EXTREMELY tough all over. You just happen to have a little more job security at the moment. If you are not concerned about the future of this country, I suggest you begin. Every class of american is being effected by this recession/depression.

 

Times are tuff for people Pat, but calling right know a depression of any kind is not accurate IMO.

 

I would say it time for our generation to wake the up and stop wasting our money on things we really don't need.

 

If you can't afford to buy comics or an expensive car etc..then don't charge it to get it. We use Credit like its our money sometimes and times that by most Americans way of spending and you have a problem.

 

It's time for this country to clean up it's act and make smarter buying decisions.

 

Glad to see you at the show.

 

 

 

 

 

We have passed this discussion already. Job loss, bills adding up, homes forclosed upon at RAPID rates, unemployment through the roof, more people then EVER applying for welfare. We passed the point of wasteful spending, we are past the blame game, they have to figure how to straighten things out NOW.

 

You are still looking small cale dude. Take a look, major companies are getting put in the krapper, and the worldwide economy is floundering. This no longer has anything to do with a flatscreen or H2.

 

People who have lost jobs from lay offs, and are now losing their homes arent exactly in any position to help themselves.

 

Good example: The newspaper had the other day 1 single row of FT jobs available (avg.pay being $10.00 per hour) which can not help support a household in NJ. On the other hand there has been an average of 8 PAGES of sheriffs sales for homes foreclosed upon.

[Old Fashion PB and J]

What depression???...

 

Oh, I don't know...this one maybe??

 

IMF: Depression May Have Already Started

February 7, 2009

 

 

No depression yet, but sensationalized fear-mongering is rampant.

Help, the world's exploding

 

Comics are like anything - there are good times and bad. Eventually there will be a gutter, but it's just a buying opportunity for people like me. But I'm also not going to keep all my money tied-up in them for now.

 

"Sensationalized fear-mongering" ?? I dunno, I think 4 million people losing their job's since the second week of November is a bit more than sensationlized fear mongering...

 

Agreed 100% . It is hard to grasp the idea of something that hasnt effected you..

[Bronty]

Anyone here old enough to remember the recession of '81-'82 (among several others)? Bad times...lots of doom and gloom. My dad (who survived the Great Depression AND combat duty in World War II) was in the private utility (water) business, so he had good overall job stability, but even his company was cutting back, and my brother was out of work for months and months. But ya know what? It was rocky, but we all survived.

 

I was pretty much out of the comics hobby by then (spent more time chasing girls and playing in my first band), but I remember going to at least one smaller show in the early '80s, and comics were still trading pretty briskly. Of course, I'm pretty sure most everything I saw there was well under $50, with most books priced in the $.50 - $10 range or so. Different times, I know, but still. And of course I bought the vast majority of my original comics collection from 1973 - 1975...another economic crisis period here in the US. Of course, they were all only .20/.25 each at the time...

 

So cheer up, lads. Buy what you can afford; don't buy when ya can't or shouldn't; and enjoy what you already have more.

 

I see that as a good analogy... this is a lot more like 1981 than 1931

[VintageComics]

Yup and I remember 1981 and 1991 quite clearly. They were tough times for many people but not everybody.

 

R.

 

 

[skypinkblu]

The difference in 1980/81, was that the mortgage rates were out of sight, 15-18 %, credit cards cost the borrower a fortune, but bank interest was very high (if you had money to put in CDs)...they even gave away TVs if you had enough (I sure didn't, but I remember;).

 

Unemployment was high, too...higher than now.

 

I haven't bought a single book at a depressed price...I'm not saying that times are not bad, but ...perhaps not for the books I want;)

[Bronty]

yup its an apt comparison in many ways - the 20-25% lending rates choked up the process of lending just as surely as any credit crunch

[Bronty]

The difference in 1980/81, was that the mortgage rates were out of sight, 15-18 %, credit cards cost the borrower a fortune, but bank interest was very high (if you had money to put in CDs)...they even gave away TVs if you had enough (I sure didn't, but I remember;).

 

Unemployment was high, too...higher than now.

 

I haven't bought a single book at a depressed price...I'm not saying that times are not bad, but ...perhaps not for the books I want;)

 

Sure you got good deposit interest, but why? Because a lot of people didn't have anything to deposit! Having lost their shirt on the real estate implosions. My uncle went from seven houses to none when those affordable mortgages became millstones around his neck

[kimik]

The difference in 1980/81, was that the mortgage rates were out of sight, 15-18 %, credit cards cost the borrower a fortune, but bank interest was very high (if you had money to put in CDs)...they even gave away TVs if you had enough (I sure didn't, but I remember;).

 

Unemployment was high, too...higher than now.

 

I haven't bought a single book at a depressed price...I'm not saying that times are not bad, but ...perhaps not for the books I want;)

 

Companies are having to pay those rates right now in a lot of cases to secure debt funding for operations.

[piper]

The difference in 1980/81, was that the mortgage rates were out of sight, 15-18 %, credit cards cost the borrower a fortune, but bank interest was very high (if you had money to put in CDs)...they even gave away TVs if you had enough (I sure didn't, but I remember;).

 

Unemployment was high, too...higher than now.

 

I haven't bought a single book at a depressed price...I'm not saying that times are not bad, but ...perhaps not for the books I want;)

 

Companies are having to pay those rates right now in a lot of cases to secure debt funding for operations.

 

[Dick Pontoon]

When I look at the prices realized on Clink for books I want and then look in my wallet, the depression hits.

[Old Fashion PB and J]

When I look at the prices realized on Clink for books I want and then look in my wallet, the depression hits.

 

[NewWorldOrder]

The one thing I would like to see in the current modern market is for all the companies like Marvel and DC to cut their titles by like 50%.

 

We only need one Spidy and X-men book each month.