*#$@&% this market!

[ArAich]

..."I see comics"....

[panhandlefool]

I've just sat down and done the math on this so that we can get an accurate number on the Golden Age collectors on the board that don't exist. For simplicity's sake, I put the "age when you started reading comics" at 10 and pegged Action#1 as the "beginning" of the Golden Age. Working with those numbers, it's plain to see that once one applies "Market pundit" logic to the problem, it's obvious there can't be any Golden Age collectors under the age of about 76.

 

I'm also 33 and collect GA. And I must not exist. And if anyone under 76 can't be GA collectors, why even create a message thread for GA collectors? How many people 76+ even really use the internet and are going to post on a message board regularly??

[FlComicFan]

I think the natural progression is new comics, then you buy back the new comics you had as a youth, then silver/bronze, maybe high grade, gold and the final stage is original art I'm 33 and stopped collecting Silver and Bronze high grade when CGC came out I collect Golden Age now and grab a piece of art every now and then. Golden Age isnt going to die out. Its cool, rare, has historical value and many titles have connections to current books (DC and Timely, Archie etc) I didnt participate in the Mastronet anyone get anything good?

[Timely]

I bid on 117 lots on Mastronet! This morning I was the winner of 2 lots. Crash my a@@.

 

Timely

[rob_react]

I've just sat down and done the math on this so that we can get an accurate number on the Golden Age collectors on the board that don't exist. For simplicity's sake, I put the "age when you started reading comics" at 10 and pegged Action#1 as the "beginning" of the Golden Age. Working with those numbers, it's plain to see that once one applies "Market pundit" logic to the problem, it's obvious there can't be any Golden Age collectors under the age of about 76.

 

I'm also 33 and collect GA. And I must not exist. And if anyone under 76 can't be GA collectors, why even create a message thread for GA collectors? How many people 76+ even really use the internet and are going to post on a message board regularly??

 

Don't ask me, ask the all- knowing "market pundits." They're the ones who talk about the graying of the hobby and the upcoming demise of interest in Golden Age books because Golden Age buyers are (literally) dying off. This is based on the premise that it's IMPOSSIBLE to have real interest in anything that you don't feel nostalgia for from your youth.

[Mephisto]

Just got shut out again on all my bids at Mastronet!!!!! Will all you GA collecting, long in the tooth, baby boomers follow the predictions of all those pundits and retire already, lose interest in collecting, and sell off all of your high grade gold because "you can't take it with you"!!!!! Sheesh.

 

I'm 20 and mostly buy GA stuff now. I was interested in the Tec 66 on Mastronet but when I saw you had to pay $75 just to have the "privilege" to place a bid, I said "Thanks, but no thanks." Not to mention there is a buyer fee on top of that which I couldn't tell for sure if it's the visible amount your next bid would be like on Heritage, or if you have to sit there and figure out what your real bid actually comes out too. Plus the pictures on most of the items sucked and I didn't even see scans for the back of the books.

[joe_collector]

You guys are hilarious, and obviously you realize that the minuscle number of CGC forum members makes up about 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of comic collectors.

 

But keep it up, as I need a good laugh every now and then.

[rob_react]

You guys are hilarious, and obviously you realize that the minuscle number of CGC forum members makes up about % of comic collectors.

 

But keep it up, as I need a good laugh every now and then.

 

The forum population obviously does not represent the sum total of all comic book collectors. You're 100% correct in that. That's a brilliant observation.

 

I'm just wondering why you'd think the forum population wouldn't be a worthwhile cross-section of SERIOUS comic collectors? There are a ton of people, younger than you, who piped up in this thread talking about collecting Golden Age books. Is it your assumption that this cross-section is somehow totally and completely skewed and doesn't count for anything? Might I ask why? Is it just because it goes against your pet "people only collect what they had when they were kids" theory or is it actually based on evidence?

[murph0]

Well... I'll be damned.. I collect G.A. books too and I'm not 80. Filter, who posted down south in the Marketplace, and owns a 7.0 of Cap 1.. yeh he's in the under age 30 group as well. It's odd that out of all the people on here who collect G.A. books, that most are younger than 35. Must be a coincidence as we all know too well that the Golden Age market is soon to be dead, what with it exclusively being populated by people in their 40's/50's/60's

 

Brian

[joe_collector]

Is it your assumption that this cross-section is somehow totally and completely skewed and doesn't count for anything? Might I ask why? Is it just because it goes against your pet "people only collect what they had when they were kids" theory or is it actually based on evidence?

 

I never said that there were not *some* people who are younger than the standard "collecting demographic" who collect older books, only that as time goes by, the number of "total collectors" will get smaller.

 

Does this mean older comics will suddenly transform into uncollectible trash? No way, as there will always be collectors who are willing to buy the books. All that will change is the price, and with collector/investor demographics getting older and older, I see that going down steadily as the years pass.

 

As I've said many times, the upcoming comic crash/correction will not make comics valueless, but it's more a case of buying a book for $10K at the apex and selling it for $5K a few years down the line.

 

Collectors are getting older every year, and the extremely limited amount of "new blood" jumping in simply cannot even hope to compensate. It'll be supply and demand at its truest, and just because there are a few sub-35 year olds *seriously* buying GA doesn't detract from the realities of our population and the demographics of collectors in general.

[Darthdiesel]

I'm 29 and only interested in the Golden Age books for cool cover art - stories are horrible and a waste of good reading time, IMO. With that said, I would NEVER throw big money at Golden Age books...I'd pay out the nose for decent Bronze or Modern before I consider spending any of that good money on Golden Age Plain and simple, it's just not what "turns me on" - I'm only discovering how fun the art can be because of the Have a Cigar threads and other collectors sharing what they have.

 

The only scenario I see myself ever paying high prices on Golden Age is if I could flip it for a mad profit to one of you GA collectors

[archiefan]

Just got shut out again on all my bids at Mastronet!!!!! Will all you GA collecting, long in the tooth, baby boomers follow the predictions of all those pundits and retire already, lose interest in collecting, and sell off all of your high grade gold because "you can't take it with you"!!!!! Sheesh.

 

I'm 20 and mostly buy GA stuff now. I was interested in the Tec 66 on Mastronet but when I saw you had to pay $75 just to have the "privilege" to place a bid, I said "Thanks, but no thanks." Not to mention there is a buyer fee on top of that which I couldn't tell for sure if it's the visible amount your next bid would be like on Heritage, or if you have to sit there and figure out what your real bid actually comes out too. Plus the pictures on most of the items sucked and I didn't even see scans for the back of the books.

 

The $75 was waved if you told them Steve G. sent ya. I'm not kidding!!!

[stagedoorjohnny]

Is it your assumption that this cross-section is somehow totally and completely skewed and doesn't count for anything? Might I ask why? Is it just because it goes against your pet "people only collect what they had when they were kids" theory or is it actually based on evidence?

 

I never said that there were not *some* people who are younger than the standard "collecting demographic" who collect older books, only that as time goes by, the number of "total collectors" will get smaller.

 

Does this mean older comics will suddenly transform into uncollectible trash? No way, as there will always be collectors who are willing to buy the books. All that will change is the price, and with collector/investor demographics getting older and older, I see that going down steadily as the years pass.

 

As I've said many times, the upcoming comic crash/correction will not make comics valueless, but it's more a case of buying a book for $10K at the apex and selling it for $5K a few years down the line.

 

Collectors are getting older every year, and the extremely limited amount of "new blood" jumping in simply cannot even hope to compensate. It'll be supply and demand at its truest, and just because there are a few sub-35 year olds *seriously* buying GA doesn't detract from the realities of our population and the demographics of collectors in general.

 

Joe-

 

I always appreciate reading your posts. It's good to hear different viewpoints and you do bring up some very good points throughout all the Kool-Aid drinking on these boards. The thing about it is, there are a finite amount of GA books floating around in grade. So it does not take nearly as much absolute (total # of serious collectors) demand to support pricing in the GA relative to other time periods. Now I'm not saying the market's going to the moon and I do think the market is very strong here and is probably due to plateau or cool a bit. But a lot of times with GA books, it's not about money. And that is the "hook". Look, if I want an ASM #1 or #14, or an AF #15 in high grade, or a Hulk # whatever... If that was my thing, I guarantee you I will own it within 60-90 days. I may overpay through the nose, but I can find one, get one, and own it. But if I want a Tec #33 or #35, or MF #65, or an MM #40 or #44 in VF or better unrestored, I'd be hard pressed to find it because they are simply not available.(On a sidebar if anyone does have one available please PM me!) And, IMHO, there is where you get separation. As far as the collecting base for GA shrinking, I got "hooked" like others here posting got "hooked". And just like us, others will get the bug as well for all the same reasons we did. And it simply just doesn't take that many of us to want it, covet it, own it, to keep the GA market solid and steadier than any other time period. You are absolutely right. It is a numbers game. I know zilch about SA and BA, so your viewpoint may be spot on for those eras. But I just think the GA is a tad bit different. But then again, that could also be me drinking that same ol' Kool-Aid. I always check the threads to hear your viewpont, so please keep posting your thoughts. It's good stuff. By the way, do you collect Gold, Silver, Bronze, Modern, all of them? Inquiring minds would like to know.

 

Stagedoorjohnny

 

[joe_collector]

Excellent post Johnny, and I do agree that if any era has a chance of continued bull market trends, it would be the high-grade GA keys. Then again, I think all comics are over-valued at the present, so be sure to put a lot of sugah in dat 'Laid, ya hear?

[Filter81]

Sorry for getting off topic here but what is this $75 fee I keep hearing about? I registered for Mastronet the day of the auction, bid on some items, and won one, and this is the first I have heard of a $75 fee. Am I about to get hit with it and just don't know it yet?

 

Oh yeah, and as for the topic at hand, like Murph0 said, I'm in my 20s and I collect primarily Golden age books. I think the number of really nice Golden age comics that are available is shrinking faster than the number of people who collect them. Really nice Golden age books are so rare, I think the demand will always be greater than the supply. Now, if you're talking about lesser-known Golden age books like "Mr. District Attorney #14" well.. I'm not as convinced of their staying power in 30 or 40 years down the road....

 

Just my 2 cents..

 

Adam

[murph0]

Yeh, I've seen some of those D.A. books from the MH pedigree.. same goes for that Med book.

 

Brian

[shadroch]

Sorry for getting off topic here but what is this $75 fee I keep hearing about? I registered for Mastronet the day of the auction, bid on some items, and won one, and this is the first I have heard of a $75 fee. Am I about to get hit with it and just don't know it yet?

 

Oh yeah, and as for the topic at hand, like Murph0 said, I'm in my 20s and I collect primarily Golden age books. I think the number of really nice Golden age comics that are available is shrinking faster than the number of people who collect them. Really nice Golden age books are so rare, I think the demand will always be greater than the supply. Now, if you're talking about lesser-known Golden age books like "Mr. District Attorney #14" well.. I'm not as convinced of their staying power in 30 or 40 years down the road....

 

Just my 2 cents..

 

Adam

 

Don't worry about getting hit with a fee.I'm not really sure how it works but some people are told there is a fee and others aren't. I registered and won some books about two years ago,no fee. My buddy signs up for the next auction and they want a fee,he cancels,calls back later and the fee is waived.I think its a matter of who you talk to and what refernces you use.

 

What did you win?

[Filter81]

Great, Thanks for clearing that up. Glad to hear the fee most likely was waived for me then. As for what I won:

 

My Mastronet win

 

I know not everyone is into restored books but I was quite happy to win that book at that price. I stayed up all night ready to bid higher if someone went to outbid me

[stagedoorjohnny]

Filter, congrats. That's a real nice book. I was going to bid on it, but I had a couple high bids out there on those MH pre-hero Adventure's. So I opted to wait those two out instead. Thought I had them and went to bed around midnight only to get picked off in the wee hours, shutting me out completely. I think you got that one at a very good price. And Joe, I drink my Kool-Aid black.

 

 

[Timely]

Congrats!

 

Timely