Has The Bottom Dropped Out?

[lscomics]

I agree with that, I know shipping rates have increased but there's still a lot of sellers out there that charge WAY too much to ship a single slabbed book.

[the blob]

well, it seemed like a silly premise to be able to take a $3 book and turn it into a $300 book by going to a show and getting a bunch of people to sign it in front of a witness and paying $30 or $40 for that service. many people can do it themselves or figure they can do it eventually themselves. oh sure, you do have to worry about Stan Lee or John Romita Sr. kicking the bucket and no doubt people have their regrets regarding Mr. Turner....

 

I'm not an autograph hound, but I too would like to have been the one getting the auto. Also, I kindah resent that suddenly an auto is "no good" unless CGC says it is. I guess Jack Kirby never signed a book.

[Skynwalker]

I'm not an autograph hound, but I too would like to have been the one getting the auto. Also, I kindah resent that suddenly an auto is "no good" unless CGC says it is. I guess Jack Kirby never signed a book.

I can understand CGCs stand...they can't absolutely guarantee that the sig is authentic unless it's been witnessed by one of their witnesses. There's not a good compromise position on that point. Gathered, most of them are probably authentic, but if you weren't there to see it, you can't guarantee it's authentic. Me, I'd love a CGC SS Kirby, but there's not a good way to do it

[mschmidt]

I'm not an autograph hound, but I too would like to have been the one getting the auto. Also, I kindah resent that suddenly an auto is "no good" unless CGC says it is. I guess Jack Kirby never signed a book.

 

It's no different than any other autographed collectible - CGC isn't making any claims as to whether the autograph is "no good" or not, all they're saying is that if they don't witness it, they can't guarantee that it's authentic. And if they can't guarantee the authenticity, it doesn't get a "signature is guaranteed authentic by CGC" yellow label.

[kidcolt]

As the market becomes flooded the demand for these comics will drop. Rare books and rare signatures will continue to hold their value. There are only so many collectors out there and how many ss books do a person need of most of these guys. I love to collect auto's of the masters like Lee, Todd MAC, Wrightson, Adams, Frazetta, Heath etc...but I don't want auto's of every person.

[lscomics]

Neither do I but you have to remember, there are people out there who are autograph collectors that normally wouldn't buy a signed comic without a way to verify the authenticity of the signature. Granted the majority of those collectors most likely won't become comic collectors but it does open the door for them to add a bit of variety to their autograph collection whether it be an issue of ASM signed by Stan Lee or a Superman 75 signed by Dan Jurgens.

[con]

It's the Economy, it's not getting any better. Wall Street Journal said more people are saving then spending. I am only looking for real good deals at the moment, and hording my money for the Intrest Rate Increase next year to battle inflation. Then going into CD's after I see an 8% increase in the intrest rate, then see if Inflation creeps in then invest in Gold

[lscomics]

I don't think it's that more people are saving rather than spending. I think more people are no longer spending frivolously and racking up credit card debt they can't afford to pay off.

[zuckuss2003]

I was going to start getting into some signature/sketch collecting. I have to say in the past few weeks I have reconsidered and am likely not going to head into that direction. I can;t pinpoint an exact reason, but also my decision is not final. I may get some signatures in Baltimore, not positive yet.

[con]

Hey IS ,

I agree with that also, people paying down their debts and not spending, aka saving

[Mr Mylar]

I'm not an autograph hound, but I too would like to have been the one getting the auto. Also, I kindah resent that suddenly an auto is "no good" unless CGC says it is. I guess Jack Kirby never signed a book.

 

It's no different than any other autographed collectible - CGC isn't making any claims as to whether the autograph is "no good" or not, all they're saying is that if they don't witness it, they can't guarantee that it's authentic. And if they can't guarantee the authenticity, it doesn't get a "signature is guaranteed authentic by CGC" yellow label.

 

 

Well put, I agree wholeheartedly.

[jpolz]

I've been buying a bunch of SS books, but there are SO many SS books out there I won't buy a book just because it's got a sig. Some books / signers are just way over-saturated too.

 

Sig placement matters. Ideally it should complement the art. I've got an Avengers #2 with Stan's sig that really does this. The book's only a 3.0 but it looks great and the sig placement is, imo, ideal.

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~jpolz/images/Avengers2_CGC_3_SS_StanLee.jpg

 

 

Certainly it shouldn't detract from the art. Multiple sigs are cool - but if they obscure the art, then I loose interest. Besides, what are the chances that I'm really interested in getting sigs from 5+ signers who've happened to signed the same book? If I'm not, why would I (or someone else) pay a premium for that? Multiple sigs make sense when there were multiple people at work on the book, like the recent Image United, but I've seen what seem do be random signers. I won't pay extra for sigs I'm not interested in, and there's a chance they'll put me off a book either due to higher starting price or interefering with the book art.

 

 

Book choice & signer choice matters too. There are TONS of very recent books on the 'bay with sigs. WWH, Civil War and even Dark Avengers. Cripes! Some of these books are still on the shelves at my local shop, but they're also flooded on the bay with all kinds of different signers (including Stan - and I've got tons of respect for him, but why on these modern books? Get the writers & artists who worked on these books, get me Stan on the more classic stuff when he was involved with Marvel, please).

 

Anyway these are just some thoughts from somebody who should be saving more but instead is spending way too much on CGC'd books, including SS books.

 

L8R

[Mr Mylar]

I've been buying a bunch of SS books, but there are SO many SS books out there I won't buy a book just because it's got a sig. Some books / signers are just way over-saturated too.

 

Sig placement matters. Ideally it should complement the art. I've got an Avengers #2 with Stan's sig that really does this. The book's only a 3.0 but it looks great and the sig placement is, imo, ideal.

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~jpolz/images/Avengers2_CGC_3_SS_StanLee.jpg

 

 

Certainly it shouldn't detract from the art. Multiple sigs are cool - but if they obscure the art, then I loose interest. Besides, what are the chances that I'm really interested in getting sigs from 5+ signers who've happened to signed the same book? If I'm not, why would I (or someone else) pay a premium for that? Multiple sigs make sense when there were multiple people at work on the book, like the recent Image United, but I've seen what seem do be random signers. I won't pay extra for sigs I'm not interested in, and there's a chance they'll put me off a book either due to higher starting price or interefering with the book art.

 

 

Book choice & signer choice matters too. There are TONS of very recent books on the 'bay with sigs. WWH, Civil War and even Dark Avengers. Cripes! Some of these books are still on the shelves at my local shop, but they're also flooded on the bay with all kinds of different signers (including Stan - and I've got tons of respect for him, but why on these modern books? Get the writers & artists who worked on these books, get me Stan on the more classic stuff when he was involved with Marvel, please).

 

Anyway these are just some thoughts from somebody who should be saving more but instead is spending way too much on CGC'd books, including SS books.

 

L8R

 

I definitely respect your opinion, but I look at it differently. I agree on your statement about sig placement. However, I've had multi-sigs on a few sketch cover books. While every artist that signed is not directly involved with the book, these are still my fav artists and writers that I respect enough to get a sig from.

And I think Stan on Marvel books makes sense. He's the Godfather of the franchise, so any sig from him would draw my attention. My

[Transplant]

When I heard that CGC has stopped authorizing witnesses, I thought it smacked of favoritism/protectionism, etc. I don't think that anymore. I think it was a good idea. If the finite # of SS witnesses out there now can churn out the huge #s of SS books we see, the fewer the better for any SS market.

 

Why have prices dropped? Seems simple to me. Huge increase in supply for most books and leveling/dropping demand. This is especially true in the moderns. It's a classic pattern. 1st 9.8 of a book gets a premium. That premium attracts others to slab. Increased supply = lower prices. Same with SS books. Add in the idea of signature placement, relevance to the book, etc., and it's not hard to see why some books don't sell well.

[Ares]

CGC has stopped Authorizing Witnesses?

When did that happen?

[Lebowski]

CGC has stopped Authorizing Witnesses?

When did that happen?

 

When they saw your application float across their desk? :shrug:

[jonjesper]

Last time I checked it was still going strong?

Maybe I didn't get the memo...

sigh...

[Transplant]

I can't find the specifics, so take it with a grain of salt. I just remember someone asking for a witness in some area (LA?) and someone volunteering that they would become a witness but CGC was not authorizing new ones. If this is no longer/was never true, sorry for the confusion.

 

My underlying point about supply and demand remains.

[Ares]

CGC has stopped Authorizing Witnesses?

When did that happen?

 

When they saw your application float across their desk? :shrug:

 

Thats funny! I never applied to be one!

Your forging my signature again?

[shortstack comics]

Last time I checked it was still going strong?

Maybe I didn't get the memo...

sigh...

 

That's just because I keep buying your SS books!