SS Sales

[s-man]

I have been watching some of the sales threads for SS books and they don't seem to be selling all that hotly, or am I mistaken? Are they selling well on ebay?

[Mephisto]

Over saturation + poor economy?

[Par2ch]

As someone that has an eBay store with 90% of my sales being SS books I thought I would chime in.

 

About 2-4 years ago Signature Series was fairly new and due to this ANY signature series book that was listed for sale was considered RARE and something that collectors of signatures really wanted.

Individuals like myslef who were not witnessess, and didnt go to many conventions didnt really know how to get thier books authenticated through CGC and really wanted to get a book or two in thier collection signed by someone they viewed as important. My first SS purchase was a Uncanny X-men 267 signed by Jim Lee, it was a 9.4 and at the time I paid something like $100 for it. At the time I was THRILLED cause I loved JIm Lees work and wanted a slabbed SS book by him.

 

Within the last year or two there has been an increase (at least from my perspective) of witnessess (including myself). This GREAT AND DILLIGENT group of people are here on the boards accepting submissions, going to shows and accepting submissions. This in addition to the HUGE increase in CGC SS submissions. Every show I have attended this year have had RECORD submissions at the CGC booth for CGC SS books .

So what does this mean? It means that there are more SS books oout there signed by these same artists. In addition GRADE is key, becuase for the most part if you have a Modern in a low grade, it will NOT sell for grading cost.

Now that supply of SS books is much more available, its the SIGNATURE, the BOOK and more importantly WHAT GRADE is it.

 

For example. 2 to three years ago there may have only been 1 to 2 CGC SS Jim Lee books for sale, in a MONTH right NOW on ebay there are 16 auctions for Jim Lee and he is considered one of the more prestigious signatures.

 

So to sum up, sales may have slowed down, but that is becuase there are sellers who have had the SAME book for sale at OUTRAGEOUS prices, but people are still buying SS books, if they didnt I would have NO sales in my eBay store

 

The trend now is IF you are going to want to sell CGC SS books, you have to remember 4 things

 

1. DONT NOT JUST GET ANY book signature seriesed

2. IF YOU WANT TO GET A BOOK signature seriesed make sure it is a high graded book

3. CHECK THE CENSUS/EBAY/GPANALYSIS to see how many of that book have been graded, and what they have sold for

4. If you are just submitting FOR YOUR PERSONAL COLLECTION and dont intend to sell the book then disregard1,2 and 3

 

Remember Signature Series books are FANSTASTIC, truely unique collectables!!!

 

END

 

Dan Partouche

[Turtle]

When the Signature Series label first came out, you could put a signature on any random book and it had a good chance of selling. Over the years, more witnesses have come along to help people get the books they want done. Now the general public expects a better class of book (higher-grade, more than 1 sig), which in turn causes witnesses to step up their game (which is good for the hobby). Now, if you have a typical modern variant graded at a 9.6 with a single signature on it, you're not going to sell it nearly as easily as you could a few years back because people know it won't be long until a 9.8 SS comes along with 3 signatures.

 

Basically what I'm saying is the initial "yellow fever" has passed and it's been gone for several years now. I haven't seen any substantial changes to that recently. You can't just put a signature on a book and expect it to sell because people want the best they can get. However, if I have high-grade books with (a) good, pertinent signature(s), I won't see a slowdown in sales. People are more selective of their SS books now than they were a few years ago, but that's not a recent change.

 

My

[Turtle]

Read through Par2ch's post after I posted mine. I agree 100% with you, Danny.

[Par2ch]

Great minds think alike

[Yannis]

well how about this for rare... there are only 2 SS books by Creig Flessel and neither nor is mine , and he is one of my top 3 favorite GA artists of all time.

[Turtle]

well how about this for rare... there are only 2 SS books by Creig Flessel and neither nor is mine , and he is one of my top 3 favorite GA artists of all time.

 

Did you accidentally post in the wrong thread?

[Yannis]

Nah just wanted to mention something about rarity in ss

[Buck Biggins]

I really don't care about the value as I don't plan on selling. I also tend to only have books signed that are pre1980.

 

 

[Par2ch]

Submit away sir, submit away

One thing also to note is that there are alot of pre 1980s books/keys that have few SS versions OR are wanted in any condtion of that book, in that case when deciding to SS them you dont have to worry.

I have a Hulk 181 SS 2.0 and X-Men #94 SS 4.5 on ebay right now case in point (free plug)

[Turtle]

Nah just wanted to mention something about rarity in ss

 

Sorry, it just didn't really fit the conversation, so I thought it was an accidental (or maybe drunken) post as does happen here on the boards pretty frequently at night. "Neither nor" tipped me off. My bad.

 

 

[Turtle]

Submit away sir, submit away

One thing also to note is that there are alot of pre 1980s books/keys that have few SS versions OR are wanted in any condtion of that book, in that case when deciding to SS them you dont have to worry.

I have a Hulk 181 SS 2.0 and X-Men #94 SS 4.5 on ebay right now case in point (free plug)

 

I'd expect those to fetch pretty good prices as

1) They're key regardless of grade and

2) Some people will see this as their chance to get an SS copy affordably that would be otherwise unattainable.

 

Good luck with the sales!

[Par2ch]

Submit away sir, submit away

One thing also to note is that there are alot of pre 1980s books/keys that have few SS versions OR are wanted in any condtion of that book, in that case when deciding to SS them you dont have to worry.

I have a Hulk 181 SS 2.0 and X-Men #94 SS 4.5 on ebay right now case in point (free plug)

 

I'd expect those to fetch pretty good prices as

1) They're key regardless of grade and

2) Some people will see this as their chance to get an SS copy affordably that would be otherwise unattainable.

 

Good luck with the sales!

 

I hope so as well. As much as I love SS books, I will only SS lower grade older books (pre 1975). There is just too much of a risk that if you have a high grade key that the book will drop in grade during the signing process.

[seanfingh]

Submit away sir, submit away

One thing also to note is that there are alot of pre 1980s books/keys that have few SS versions OR are wanted in any condtion of that book, in that case when deciding to SS them you dont have to worry.

I have a Hulk 181 SS 2.0 and X-Men #94 SS 4.5 on ebay right now case in point (free plug)

 

I'd expect those to fetch pretty good prices as

1) They're key regardless of grade and

2) Some people will see this as their chance to get an SS copy affordably that would be otherwise unattainable.

 

Good luck with the sales!

 

I hope so as well. As much as I love SS books, I will only SS lower grade older books (pre 1975). There is just too much of a risk that if you have a high grade key that the book will drop in grade during the signing process.

 

I agree with this as it relates to keys and very expensive books. But if you can find raw very high grade bronze books they make fantastic SS. There is nothing like a legendary creator on 9.4-9.8 Bronze book.

[MedicAR]

Here's the view from the other side of the fence, you know....the buyers.

 

It looks like CGC SS sales have tapered off a bit. I don't think this is a particularly big deal, because as noted before, it gets the Witnesses to step up their game which is good for everybody. It's also not a big deal because of the economy, there's less money changing hands everywhere and comics really are most people's disposable income. My wife and I (she's a nurse) have even noticed declines in our respective businesses which is just freakin' weird. How do people stop getting hurt/sick?

 

Also, these boards may hurt sales a little. Now that I know I can find a particular book and get it signed, I'm not at the mercy of eBay as much. Plus, there's a certan thrill of knowing that your book was sent in, handled by the creator/celebrity you admire and is now back in your hands.

 

Grade is important, no doubt about it when it comes to signatures only. On the blank sketch covers, grade takes a back seat to who drew what on the cover. A 9.8 is still great to get, but I wouldn't give up my 9.0 Allen Bellman or 8.5 Ken Kelly for anything in the world. Sure, I wish they were higher grades, but how often do you see a sketch from either of them?

 

I think the slump (if there actually is one) is like the slump across the board on the economy. It's a bad deal, but it's temporary. Once the U.S. hits its stride again, sales will bounce back up.

[s-man]

Thanks for all the info fellow forumites!