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Has The Bottom Dropped Out?

Started by MedicAR,

130 posts in this topic

Bonds25

Bonds25

Posted
Posted

I think the bottom is here:

 

I bid on 5 books that ended on Ebay today. All 5 were graded 9.6, and signed by Arthur Suydam.

 

Wolverine #57 sold for $8.50

Thor #1 (zombie variant) sold for $12.50

Moon Knight #18 sold for $12.50

Wolverine #60 sold for $11.60

Ultimate Fantastic Four #31 (variant cover) signed by Suydam and Breitweiser - sold for $27.01

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Turtle

Turtle

Posted
Posted

I don't think these auctions mean the bottom has dropped out. Most people seem to agree that 9.6 moderns are barely worth the cost of grading simply because a 9.8 is readily available. It seems that many people have the mentality of "Why settle for second best?"

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mschmidt

mschmidt

Posted
Posted
I don't think these auctions mean the bottom has dropped out. Most people seem to agree that 9.6 moderns are barely worth the cost of grading simply because a 9.8 is readily available. It seems that many people have the mentality of "Why settle for second best?"

 

Right on the money - we've discussed this ad nauseum previously, and this has absolutely nothing to with the value of SS books, but rather with the fact that:

 

a) the label doesn't say "9.8"

b) these are random modern books from within the last couple of years that really have no value either raw or slabbed

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CollectingStanLee

CollectingStanLee

Posted
Posted

I wonder what the market for these random modern books will be like in 20 years. I had Stan sign every issue from 1-12 of the new hulk series, including most of the variants, just because I like the art so much. I've been lucky with the grades for the most part, but I do have some 9.6s and 9.4s. I don't know how it will translate as an investment, as opposed to the silver age books, which are definitely going up in value. But it sure is cool to have them. Here's an example from that run:

 

hulk2sketch.jpg

 

Bill.

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jpolz

jpolz

Posted
Posted

I don't really think the prices are so low on those 9.6's and 9.4's (maybe a little)... it's that they're grossly inflated on 9.8's. There's just too many 2yr old 9.8 raw books that could at any time be slabbed -- just waiting for customers to come along and request them.

 

Bonds - pretty much all those books are examples of what I said when I talked about book choice & signer choice: modern books with a common signer. Anymore if I see Suydam's sig on a book it says to me "There are a hundred (or more) out there just exactly like this one". Does that guy give his sig away!?

 

I don't mean to threadcrap, but most of the responses have been coming from people who get books signed and I'm a buyer only so I hope my opinions offer another perspective. If you're getting stuff signed because you like the books & the sigs, like Bill (CollectingStanLee) then you can't go wrong. If you're looking to makes sales then IMO go easy on the modern books. Exceptions would be key stories or exceptional covers.

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shortstack comics

shortstack comics

Posted
Posted
If you're getting stuff signed because you like the books & the sigs, like Bill (CollectingStanLee) then you can't go wrong. If you're looking to makes sales then IMO go easy on the modern books. Exceptions would be key stories or exceptional covers.

 

I couldn't agree with you more. I get the books done for myself and only sell them if I am in desperate need of quick $$

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Bonds25

Bonds25

Posted
Posted

Yes, but someone paid $3 or $4 for the comic itself, stood in line or had a witness stand in line to get Suydam's signature, and then paid $20 to have the book graded, including an extra $5 per book for shipping/insurance, etc.

So at a minimum, it costs $30 a book to get it signed and graded.

 

If you're only going to get $10 or $15 on Ebay, then you're out $15 or $20 per book (not to mention all the Ebay/Paypal fees).

 

And since the books are "modern drek" as one poster pointed out, who really cares if they grade out at 9.6 or 9.8? It seems if you're buying these books, you're buying them more for the covers and signatures than for the grade it received.

 

 

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s-man

s-man

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Posted

I don't mean to threadcrap

 

threadcrap! lol

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jpolz

jpolz

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Posted

Bond you're right about the prices involved, but if a certain thing is over-saturated in the market (ex: Suydam SS'd books) then there's a good chance they're going to sell for less than their acquisition cost.

 

I know some sellers would just say "well forget it, it cost me more than that to get it and I won't sell it for less". That's a good way to get stuck with the book forever -- or for years anyway. That's kind of my point - those books have been flooded on ebay for months, but people are still standing on line paying Suydam to sign them and expecting to sell them for a profit? That's unrealistic.

 

I don't mean to pick on Suydam, but because most of his covers are so recent he's a great example. Even if one of his signed books does sell well, all that means is that people go digging out that particular issue, have him sign it at one of the many signing appearances he attends, and then flood the market with that book.

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DrWatson

DrWatson

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Posted
Yes, but someone paid $3 or $4 for the comic itself, stood in line or had a witness stand in line to get Suydam's signature, and then paid $20 to have the book graded, including an extra $5 per book for shipping/insurance, etc.

So at a minimum, it costs $30 a book to get it signed and graded.

 

If you're only going to get $10 or $15 on Ebay, then you're out $15 or $20 per book (not to mention all the Ebay/Paypal fees).

 

And since the books are "modern drek" as one poster pointed out, who really cares if they grade out at 9.6 or 9.8? It seems if you're buying these books, you're buying them more for the covers and signatures than for the grade it received.

 

At one time, yes, but not anymore. Now it's more of an added extra and people will wait for a 9.8 copy to show up. I do, however, think your example applies more to sketch covers. If the sketch is just out of this world, folks will overlook the CGC grade on the book to some extent.

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mschmidt

mschmidt

Posted
Posted
Yes, but someone paid $3 or $4 for the comic itself, stood in line or had a witness stand in line to get Suydam's signature, and then paid $20 to have the book graded, including an extra $5 per book for shipping/insurance, etc.

So at a minimum, it costs $30 a book to get it signed and graded.

 

If you're only going to get $10 or $15 on Ebay, then you're out $15 or $20 per book (not to mention all the Ebay/Paypal fees).

 

And since the books are "modern drek" as one poster pointed out, who really cares if they grade out at 9.6 or 9.8? It seems if you're buying these books, you're buying them more for the covers and signatures than for the grade it received.

 

 

That's the point, though - it makes a huge difference to modern collectors (like me) whether it's a 9.6 or a 9.8 which is why you're seeing these less-than-slabbing-prices on 9.6's.

 

Not seeing that some 9.8's don't sell for rock-bottom prices as well, but for a random modern book in 9.6, you're basically never going to recoup your slabbing cost.

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SignatureSelect

SignatureSelect

Posted
Posted
Suydam is a common sig. So they don't sell because people can get him when ever they want. Now Jim lee, Mcfarlane, Frank Miller, A list Celebrities, and rock stars sell well.

 

Not sure that I would put Jim Lee in that category. His signature doesn't seem to carry quite the weight that it used to.

 

While that is true I don't have trouble selling Jim Lee for cost or above as long as it is 9.2 and up. Now I did have a 7.0 608 reprint sell for 12 dollars once but it was 7.0

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