Before Overstreet, just how were Comic Book Prices determined

[WEBHEAD]

Ok before everyone piles on me, I have been collecting comics since the early sixties, but I really can't remember when comic book prices were set for back issues. Sure there were your friends who would sell or trade with you, the mail order dealers like Robert Bell ( what happened to him? ) and Howard Rogfsky, and the few comic shops/antique dealers who sold books. Now we have so many souces and comic book prices have sky rocketed over the years due to the availablity or the lack there of.

 

When did prices show up and stabilize so you could really understand the value of your Fantastic Four #1 that in 1974 per Overstreet in Mint was worth $70.

 

 

Let the debate begin

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

WEBHEAD

[Rich_Henn]

Chuck and Bob Overstreet would get together after a night of gin & tonic's, toss some figures into a top hat, shuffle, then Steve Geppi would reach in and pull the winning number.

 

Everyone around the campfire on that fateful day back in August 1967 cringed in horror as Geppi, hands still sticky from melted smores (that's his story and sticking with it) , grasped a loose yellow and blue stripped half-sheet of notebook paper and yelled out, "AMAZING FANTASY #15....NEAR MINT $7 VALUE!"

 

In horror, Bob Overstreet pushed Geppi off the woodpile, almost knocking him into the fire, and declared, "You don't know your azz from a hole in the ground, kid! That's FINE PLUS if I ever saw one, and I'll give you 25 cents for it, and you'll LIKE IT!"

 

He then stormed away, mumbling something about "I'll write my own price guide and show you loosers..."

 

Back at the campfire, Chuck Rozanski was hatching a plan.

 

And in one short week, Edgar Church would be dead.

[Comicopolis]

Chuck and Bob Overstreet would get together after a night of gin & tonic's, toss some figures into a top hat, shuffle, then Steve Geppi would reach in and pull the winning number.

 

Everyone around the campfire on that fateful day back in August 1967 cringed in horror as Geppi, hands still sticky from melted smores (that's his story and sticking with it) , grasped a loose yellow and blue stripped half-sheet of notebook paper and yelled out, "AMAZING FANTASY #15....NEAR MINT $7 VALUE!"

 

In horror, Bob Overstreet pushed Geppi off the woodpile, almost knocking him into the fire, and declared, "You don't know your azz from a hole in the ground, kid! That's FINE PLUS if I ever saw one, and I'll give you 25 cents for it, and you'll LIKE IT!"

 

He then stormed away, mumbling something about "I'll write my own price guide and show you loosers..."

 

Back at the campfire, Chuck Rozanski was hatching a plan.

 

And in one short week, Edgar Church would be dead.

 

[Karma23]

I think it was more of a barter system in those days : "I'll trade you a Cap and an Iron Man for that Avengers."

[WEBHEAD]

I think it was more of a barter system in those days : "I'll trade you a Cap and an Iron Man for that Avengers."

 

Amazing you could trade a bunch of silver age stuff for an action #1 if you played your cards right

 

WEBHEAD

[homerwannabee]

Probably word of mouth at the local conventions. It was probably, did you hear what so, and so paid for the first issue of Marvel 1?

[RockMyAmadeus]

Chuck and Bob Overstreet would get together after a night of gin & tonic's, toss some figures into a top hat, shuffle, then Steve Geppi would reach in and pull the winning number.

 

Everyone around the campfire on that fateful day back in August 1967 cringed in horror as Geppi, hands still sticky from melted smores (that's his story and sticking with it) , grasped a loose yellow and blue stripped half-sheet of notebook paper and yelled out, "AMAZING FANTASY #15....NEAR MINT $7 VALUE!"

 

In horror, Bob Overstreet pushed Geppi off the woodpile, almost knocking him into the fire, and declared, "You don't know your azz from a hole in the ground, kid! That's FINE PLUS if I ever saw one, and I'll give you 25 cents for it, and you'll LIKE IT!"

 

He then stormed away, mumbling something about "I'll write my own price guide and show you loosers..."

 

Back at the campfire, Chuck Rozanski was hatching a plan.

 

And in one short week, Edgar Church would be dead.

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

There were "catalogs" back before the OPG was first published in 1970.

 

Not many, and they didn't have much, but they DID exist.

 

(thumbs u

[FlyingDonut]

There were "catalogs" back before the OPG was first published in 1970.

 

Not many, and they didn't have much, but they DID exist.

 

(thumbs u

 

Organized fandom, comic conventions, price guides, and mail order businesses existed throughout the 1960s. There were large scale conventions throughout the country.

[WEBHEAD]

There were "catalogs" back before the OPG was first published in 1970.

 

Not many, and they didn't have much, but they DID exist.

 

(thumbs u

 

Organized fandom, comic conventions, price guides, and mail order businesses existed throughout the 1960s. There were large scale conventions throughout the country.

 

Another question begs to be asked when was the Silver Age name coined?

 

I'm reading the 1974 Overstreet where he refers to the Flash 105 as the start of the "Second Heroic Age of Comics

 

 

 

 

WEBHEAD

[jordanscott]

There were "catalogs" back before the OPG was first published in 1970.

 

Not many, and they didn't have much, but they DID exist.

 

(thumbs u

 

Not quite what you're talking about but I remember going into a used bookstore when I was a kid and the dude had a pile of X-Men that I wanted but they weren't priced.

 

I asked him 'how much?' and he pulls out a comic from that month and started looking at the dealer adverts in there until he found one that had the books listed.

 

I wonder why dealers stopped taking those advert pages. Just priced out of the market or something probably. I used to get a kick out of looking at those when I was a kid thinking man...I have X-Men 94 and it's worth that much?

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

There were "catalogs" back before the OPG was first published in 1970.

 

Not many, and they didn't have much, but they DID exist.

 

(thumbs u

 

Organized fandom, comic conventions, price guides, and mail order businesses existed throughout the 1960s. There were large scale conventions throughout the country.

 

Also true.

 

The first New York Comic Convention was in 1964. It was a bit confused, but it grew from there.

 

Comics fandom flourished in the very early 60's under Jerry Bails and Roy Thomas.

 

Comics contained ads throughout the 60's advertising back issues.

 

But he asked about prices, and how they were determined. I don't think there were price guideS "throughout the 60's."

 

(thumbs u

[RockMyAmadeus]

I don't know about price guides, though. If you have any, or know of any, FD, could you please direct me to them?

[WEBHEAD]

There were "catalogs" back before the OPG was first published in 1970.

 

Not many, and they didn't have much, but they DID exist.

 

(thumbs u

 

Not quite what you're talking about but I remember going into a used bookstore when I was a kid and the dude had a pile of X-Men that I wanted but they weren't priced.

 

I asked him 'how much?' and he pulls out a comic from that month and started looking at the dealer adverts in there until he found one that had the books listed.

 

I wonder why dealers stopped taking those advert pages. Just priced out of the market or something probably. I used to get a kick out of looking at those when I was a kid thinking man...I have X-Men 94 and it's worth that much?

 

 

 

One of my favorite memories was '69 I went into an antique shop in Ossining, NY and found a pile of comics for sale ( ten cents each I think ) I managed to buy a ASM #5 (3.5) which I kept for many years finally got it graded and had to part with it last year. At least I still have the original scans, it was a sad day I had to sell it.

 

 

 

WEBHEAD

[Mutant Manatee]

The early issues of Rockets Blast/Comic Collector (RBCC) were full of extensive ads for comics. I have issues of RBCC from 1964 that have ads selling copies of Amazing Fantasy #15 for $3, or $5 for a "Mint" copy. Russ Cochran was one of the early advertisers in that publication

 

There were also EC fanzines in the 1950's that had ads selling EC comics. Most of them were 25 cents up to 40 cents each. This might be the earliest that comic books actually sold for more than cover price, when EC fans in the 1950's were trying to obtain copies that they had missed on the stands.

[Rich_Henn]

 

Another question begs to be asked when was the Silver Age name coined?

 

 

 

WEBHEAD

 

 

They were refering to Bob Overstreet's wife, at the time.

 

 

BOOM, BABY!

 

And...I'm outta here!

Try the chicken, and don't forget to tip your waitress!

I'll be here all week!

[RockMyAmadeus]

The early issues of Rockets Blast/Comic Collector (RBCC) were full of extensive ads for comics. I have issues of RBCC from 1964 that have ads selling copies of Amazing Fantasy #15 for $3, or $5 for a "Mint" copy. Russ Cochran was one of the early advertisers in that publication

 

There were also EC fanzines in the 1950's that had ads selling EC comics. Most of them were 25 cents up to 40 cents each. This might be the earliest that comic books actually sold for more than cover price, when EC fans in the 1950's were trying to obtain copies that they had missed on the stands.

 

Yes (and you and I actually discussed this mannnnny years ago), but any pice GUIDES?

 

[cloudofwit]

Apparently, "The Argosy Price Guide" was truly the first comic book price guide (predating Overstreet by 5 years).

 

Bruce Edwards, in a forward to a reprint of the original guide, writes: "I had never heard of The Argosy Price Guide until one was consigned for auction in my Fantastic Mail Bid Sale #18 which closed on July 23, 1994."

 

Bill Schelly, in the introduction of this reprint, writes:

 

"It was the brainchild of the couple who owned the Argosy Book Shop, a small used book store on North Las Palmas Avenue in downtown Hollywood, California (no one has been able to definitely recall their names, but Malcolm Willits remembers them as Dave and Virginia). They saw money being made by the old comics for sale at the nearby Cherokee Book Store and hatched a plan to break into the burgeoning market. Because they knew nothing about comics, Dave and Virginia hired two young comic book fans named Michael Cohen and Tom Horsky to draft a price guide for them. Cohen and Horsky applied the knowledge they had gained from assisting Burt Blum at Cherokee since 1962, and quickly came up with what became the text of this seminal price guide.

 

"The first advertisement for the publication was a full-page in the Rocket's Blast--Comicollector #42 (November 1965) which read: 'New and unique from Argosy--COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE...over 5,000 comic book issues listed! Only 5.00 per copy. A must for all serious comic collectors.' The advertisement asked dealers to send for quantity prices. 'Every comic book buyer is a potential customer.'

 

"Apparently at 5.00 there was very little demand (or someone advised the owners that it was ridiculously over-priced, in a day when fanzines never cost more than 1.00) for in the very next issue of RB-CC, a slightly humbler ad proclaimed 'Price slashed!!!! Now only 1.98.' Even then, it seems that very few copies were sold (and it is therefore incredibly scarce today). As a result, this first price guide had no noticeable impact on the market. Dealers continued to do what they always did, which was price comics by the estimated replacement cost, and according to the prices they could get and what other dealers were asking.

 

"Still, there's no getting around the historical fact that the Argosy Price Guide was the pioneer effort...and accurately reflected the fact that the scarcity and value of back-issue comic books was becoming apparent.

 

"As incomplete as it is, lacking even rudimentary information about comic book grading, APG does list prices quite in line with the market at the time: Action Comics #1: 100.00; Detective Comics #27: 80.00; Showcase #4: 7.50; Fantastic Four #1: 6.00; Amazing Fantasy #15: 5.00. So it's fun to look through, and shake one's head at those early prices. Don't we all wish we had a time machine?

 

"Speaking of prices, I was told that an original copy of this guide sold for a price in excess of $200 recently (this would've been the mid to late 1990s). There may only be a few dozen originals in existence, if that! It's a unique artifact of those early days of comics fandom, which I've dubbed its 'golden age.' As such, its re-publication has real historical significance. Could we ever have been so innocent?"

[RockMyAmadeus]

Yay! thank you, COW!...wait, that didn't come out right...

 

I heard rumors about this, but had forgotten about it until you brought it up...

 

I MUST find a copy!

 

[cloudofwit]

Yay! thank you, COW!...wait, that didn't come out right...

 

I heard rumors about this, but had forgotten about it until you brought it up...

 

I MUST find a copy!

 

 

I'm pretty sure I got my copy via ebay. The copyright for the reprint is 1997 and the publisher is Quasar Graphics, P.O. Box 2227, Louisville, KY 40201-2227. Bruce Edwards, the guy who wrote the forward, was behind the publishing, I believe.