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Gaines File copies help?

Started by LordRahl,

25 posts in this topic

sfilosa

sfilosa

Posted
Posted

While I agree there could be up to twelve high-grade copies of Gaines books, there seemed to be only around 4 or 5 graded at this time.

 

And the question of why they sell for multiples of guide (still) is simple. EC are some of the most collectible books from that time period. All it takes is four or five collectors who want high grade copies, to keep the price up.

 

Unlike Silver-Age and up books, pretty much the nicest copies of most GA books are pedigrees.

 

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Aman619

Aman619

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no, you misunderstand. I dont question that they are cool books, some of the highest quality ever made, or that collectors want them. I question why they sell for such absurd multiples when they exist in quantity???? And, why suddenly--- as they were pretty cold for a long long time. CGC has really goosed them up IMO.

 

Dont individual slabbed cioes routinely sell for twice what they did as parts of the runs as they were originally sold.? The runs werenrt cheap - - except compared to th ebroken up slabbed prices they now get.

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Bonds25

Bonds25

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Posted
no, you misunderstand. I dont question that they are cool books, some of the highest quality ever made, or that collectors want them. I question why they sell for such absurd multiples when they exist in quantity???? And, why suddenly--- as they were pretty cold for a long long time. CGC has really goosed them up IMO.

 

Dont individual slabbed cioes routinely sell for twice what they did as parts of the runs as they were originally sold.? The runs werenrt cheap - - except compared to th ebroken up slabbed prices they now get.

 

I don't think the multiples are that high. There might be 20 copies total that grade 9.4 or higher (10 of those are Gaines File Copies), and they sell for 3-5x NM guide. Compare that to the silly multiples being paid for 9.4-9.8 books of Silver and Bronze Age Marvels where there are hundreds of copies in 9.4 or higher grade.

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sfilosa

sfilosa

Posted
Posted

no, you misunderstand. I dont question that they are cool books, some of the highest quality ever made, or that collectors want them. I question why they sell for such absurd multiples when they exist in quantity???? And, why suddenly--- as they were pretty cold for a long long time. CGC has really goosed them up IMO.

 

They sold for 3-5 times guide when they first came out (in the early 90's). They are now selling for the same multiple but they are CGC'd (which adds a stamp of approval to the grade).

 

And like I stated (and Bonds did too), there really aren't too many high-grade copies as almost all the 9.4 and higher are the Gaines File Copies. A lot of the White Mountain and other pedigree copies are not in 9.4 (or higher).

 

 

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lou_fine

lou_fine

Posted
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no, you misunderstand. I dont question that they are cool books, some of the highest quality ever made, or that collectors want them. I question why they sell for such absurd multiples when they exist in quantity???? And, why suddenly--- as they were pretty cold for a long long time. CGC has really goosed them up IMO.

 

Dont individual slabbed cioes routinely sell for twice what they did as parts of the runs as they were originally sold.? The runs werenrt cheap - - except compared to th ebroken up slabbed prices they now get.

 

I don't think the multiples are that high. There might be 20 copies total that grade 9.4 or higher (10 of those are Gaines File Copies), and they sell for 3-5x NM guide. Compare that to the silly multiples being paid for 9.4-9.8 books of Silver and Bronze Age Marvels where there are hundreds of copies in 9.4 or higher grade.

 

That's exactly what I mean. There may be up to 20 high grade copies for EACH INDIVIDUAL issue. That is a lot in comparison to other older GA books. For example, how many high grade copies are out there for individual issues of early Fox, Centaurs, Timelys, or DC's. High grade copies for these GA books are few and far between. In fact, most of these issues probably do not even have ANY high grade copies at this point in time.

 

In addition, the EC's are pretty well interchangeable. For example, if the Tales of the Crypt #26 goes too high, you can simply bid on the #26 or #27 since they tend to be available in grade for all issues. If you can't find any Tales of the Crypt for a reasonable price, you can try for the Vault of Horror since they also seem to be available in EVERY Heritage auction. IMHO

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Bonds25

Bonds25

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I agree that there is a huge supply of high grade ECs compared to other books, but I guess the demand is much bigger too. Plus they've hyped up the Gaines Collection, and most EC collectors would like to own at least one copy in their collection.

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Bronty

Bronty

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Don't forget that availability can breed demand sometimes. Too rare can be out of sight, out of mind. 20 copies of each issue is not a bad number.

 

Consider. I love wolverton. Chances of finding a Weird Tales of the Future #2 in 9.4? Virtually none. I don't even bother looking, and I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford it anyway. I WISH there were 20 copies of all the wolverton books. I would probably spend MORE time looking for them if there were that many cloud9.gif

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sfilosa

sfilosa

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That's exactly what I mean. There may be up to 20 high grade copies for EACH INDIVIDUAL issue. That is a lot in comparison to other older GA books. For example, how many high grade copies are out there for individual issues of early Fox, Centaurs, Timelys, or DC's. High grade copies for these GA books are few and far between. In fact, most of these issues probably do not even have ANY high grade copies at this point in time.

 

In addition, the EC's are pretty well interchangeable. For example, if the Tales of the Crypt #26 goes too high, you can simply bid on the #26 or #27 since they tend to be available in grade for all issues. If you can't find any Tales of the Crypt for a reasonable price, you can try for the Vault of Horror since they also seem to be available in EVERY Heritage auction. IMHO

 

Quick Points:

 

1) There are not 20 CGC'd high-grade copies for any EC books at this time. In most cases there are 4 or 5. There might be 20 someday, but not today.

 

2) You are basing the market value premium on Overstreet Guide Value. EC guide value would / should be higher because of the demand for these books (they were the quality books of the 50's), but because there is more of a supply, guide value has taken that into account.

 

3) Gaines File Copies are the Mile High's of EC. Yes, there is a pedigree premium attached to the book.

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Aman619

Aman619

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3) Gaines File Copies are the Mile High's of EC. Yes, there is a pedigree premium attached to the book.

 

aye, and theres the rub! The MH copies were one-of-a-kind. When they were found and liberated from the clutches Edgar's greedy heirs-to-be by saintly Chuck The Magnanimous, Blessed Be He, the comics weren't stored 12 to an envelope.... To me thats still the issue with th eprices paid for these 12 of-a-kind rarities. That the market can absorb them now is good, but not a guarantee going forward.

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Henson-migration

Henson-migration

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Another thing to consider is how Gaines file copies affect the price of non-Gaines file copies. At one time, I considered purchasing the Mile High copy of Haunt of Fear 15 (it was $3,000). I decided not to buy it because I wanted to look for a Gaines file copy. I figured the Gaines file copy would have to be in better condition (those never went throught he normal distribution chain). I ended up with Gaines copies of #'s 26 and 28. I never found a Gaines # 15, and now it and the Mile High copy are completely out of my price range.

 

Eventaully I did find a non-pedigree copy of Haunt of Fear 15 (attached below). I'll also one of the Gaines file copies just so you'll see how they look.

 

Haunt15.JPG

 

Haunt26.JPG

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precodekeith

precodekeith

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Hi gang! I'm pretty new here, but I'm really eager to jump in on this thread. I self publish a fanzine called HORROR COMICS REVIEW (click profile) and it contains a column dedicated to back issue market prices. I've been collecting strictly horror comics for about eleven years now, and can safely say that EC's in high grade always bring a premium, if not multiples. Think about this: even if ALL 12-13 copies of every Gaines copy were to be slabbed, THAT would still be a SMALL number! Record collectors pay premiums for rare colored vinyl 7 inches that may have had as many as 500 produced! Back to comics: keep in mind the Harvey horror warehouse find of the 1980's contained as many as 200 high grade (VF and up) copies per issue! There was also a warehouse find of The Thing #16 in high grade, and it must have been quite a few as low grade copies are MORE RARE than ones in high! Another factor: EC collectors are the most DEVOTED fans I have ever seen. They have produced numerous EC fanzines, held EC only conventions, kept the line in print for over 50 years, and more! It should not come as a surprise that these Fan-addicts will pay multiples of guide for what they would consider the "ultimate" addition to their collections.

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