OA Market vs Comic Market in the last several years...

[Hedge Collector]

I am eyeing a few OA in the current auctions and trying to do research on pricing.

 

To all the OA vets, how has higher end OA compared to high grade books the last few years?

 

I know that HG SA has been on a tear the last several years. Has this also been the case for higher end OA?

 

Is there any relationship between OA prices and certain book prices?

[tylerdurden-migration]

I am eyeing a few OA in the current auctions and trying to do research on pricing.

 

To all the OA vets, how has higher end OA compared to high grade books the last few years?

 

 

High end OA has performed comparable to high grade books. They both have gone substantially up in Value. But like anything it depends which apples you are comparing and "High End" is subjective

 

 

I know that HG SA has been on a tear the last several years. Has this also been the case for higher end OA?

 

 

Again, it depends which apples you are comparing. The general direction has been up but it depends what pieces of OA or which silver age books you are comparing

 

Is there any relationship between OA prices and certain book prices?

On the higher end OA pieces the collectibilty of the actual comic is less important. The artist; the particular piece and also the Character are the most important.

 

Strange Tales 110 is the first appearance of Dr. Strange but he doesnt appear on the cover. The OA to the cover would probably be less valuable than the panel page with the first appearance of Dr. Strange in it. But again, it depends on that Ditko was the artist, and it depends on what collectors were bidding on the piece at any given time. Unlike comic books these are 1 of a kind items. If the OA to a really exceptional piece of OA came to market, it what have less supply than say a copy of Strange Tales 110 even in high grade.

 

Desirability is in the eye of the beholder. If you are looking at this solely from an investment point of view then you should know that most of the highly sought after pieces are locked in private collections and not available at pretty much any price. Thats why when some pieces of OA hit the market they go VERY high. High desirability and low supply. Comics is a different equation because the supply/demand curves are different.

[Hedge Collector]

Thanks for the reply. I know each OA piece is for the most part one of a kind, so in my question of comparing it to HG SA, for example, I meant those books that are only a handful at the top grades and low supply like an OA piece.

 

Was there year in which OA really began to take off in price, or has it been a consistent rise?

 

[tylerdurden-migration]

Thanks for the reply. I know each OA piece is for the most part one of a kind, so in my question of comparing it to HG SA, for example, I meant those books that are only a handful at the top grades and low supply like an OA piece.

 

 

 

Hard to say.books like an Allen Town Detective 29 or a High Grade Action # 1 don't come up for auction very often. OA even less. Like High Grade comics, OA find homes in private collections very fast. They are comparable in terms of high demand but as to price its kinda difficult to compare. At least at this stage in the OA hobby because high priced sales arent very well publicized.

 

 

Was there year in which OA really began to take off in price, or has it been a consistent rise?

 

1999-2004 prices started to rise apprecialy compared to where the stuff was priced previously. The Internet had alot to do with that. Most of the stuff wasnt even recognized has having much or any value except to a handful of collectors until the Internet.Consequently, prices in these years were almost parabolic. Ebay had a lot to do with those years.

 

2005-2009 a more developed market with enough prices points were starting to be established where you coulod see moderate quality prices starting to flatline. Quality pieces still were going parabolic even in these years. And still continue to do so.

 

Again, most of these sales are private so its kinda hard to see alot of prices on the really really high grade stuff