The Overstreet Price Guide - Obsolete and outdated?

[Jeffro.]

Guys, I have bought every guide since number 3....it is done. Nostalgia won't save it.

 

We don't have a viable replacement.

[greggy]

I will continue to buy it to keep my run intact.

 

Unlike the CBM under the Russ Cochran reign, this is only an once a year expense.

 

xoxo

 

greggy

[Jeffro.]

Unlike the CBM under the Russ Cochran reign, this is only an once a year expense.

 

Did you enjoy CBM under Cochran? I didn't enjoy it nearly as much after Gary Carter left. I thought the mag lost focus.

[greggy]

Unlike the CBM under the Russ Cochran reign, this is only an once a year expense.

 

Did you enjoy CBM under Cochran? I didn't enjoy it nearly as much after Gary Carter left. I thought the mag lost focus.

No, I barely read it and only kept buying it to keep my run intact. I was glad when it got canceled.

 

I loved the original run by Gary Carter and read them to death. Even when he came back briefly, it never was as good as the first run.

[adamstrange]

Unlike the CBM under the Russ Cochran reign, this is only an once a year expense.

 

Did you enjoy CBM under Cochran? I didn't enjoy it nearly as much after Gary Carter left. I thought the mag lost focus.

No, I barely read it and only kept buying it to keep my run intact. I was glad when it got canceled.

 

I loved the original run by Gary Carter and read them to death. Even when he came back briefly, it never was as good as the first run.

 

I don't think I have every Cochran issue and don't care whether I fill in the gaps given how inconsistent it was. Carter's self-published run was phenomenal and even the relaunch went well until he was put under heavy-handed editorial influence from his publisher.

 

I stopped buying Overstreet 7 or 8 years ago, though I did pick up a used copy for one of those years. It's still relevant to the hobby but becoming less so and only minimally so for me.

[jjonahjameson1]

Unlike the CBM under the Russ Cochran reign, this is only an once a year expense.

 

Did you enjoy CBM under Cochran? I didn't enjoy it nearly as much after Gary Carter left. I thought the mag lost focus.

No, I barely read it and only kept buying it to keep my run intact. I was glad when it got canceled.

 

I loved the original run by Gary Carter and read them to death. Even when he came back briefly, it never was as good as the first run.

 

Completely agree with this. The Cochran run was significant disappoint from the Carter run.

 

I will say this about Gary - I submitted a letter (I believe in issue #79 - blue beetle cover) and he was incredibly heavy handed in his editing. By the time I finished reading the published letter, I wondered who actually wrote it.

[Larryw7]

The Carter run of CBM was outstanding. I prefer the earlier issues before the book was cancelled. It then became Overstreet Golden Age Quarterly, and that was pretty good, too. When the mag was revived with issue #22, it was almost as good as the original run; it did start to lose some steam around the sixtieth issue, but it was still always worth reading.

When Cochran took over, the first few issues were good because he was using existing inventory from the Carter era. But it all went downhill when he started to change everything, focus on newspaper strips, etc. There was still a good article on occasion, but it wasn't the same magazine any more. I actively seek out any issue from the Carter era that that I missed(or misplaced). But I couldn't be bothered to buy any of the issues edited by Cochran I don't have(and I have a lot of respect for Cochran because of all he did to keep EC alive and other contributions to comics fandom).

[SAGAT]

Prob is they make way too many errors ie look up top 20 silver age book list- then see the prices in the actual guide. Guess what they don't match on the Hulk 1, JLA 1, JIM83 and a few others. I wrote to Bob Overstreet and my letter was ignored or thrown away.

[Foolkiller]

Last time I checked, my LCS(Fat Jack's) still paid well under 60%. But I haven't sold anything to them for awhile. Maybe Brian/Foolkiller knows if they've updated their buying rates.

 

It's actually only gotten worse. They now only buy books from the 50s and earlier claiming they already have 60s stuff. I asked them what they do about say, FF 1 or ASM 1, and they said of course they'd buy it. When they say on the phone, well, we don't buy 60s books well, guess what, those are 60s books. Who wants that krappy SA?

 

Stores are paying very low and generally have.

 

My friend Ben Lichtenstein of Zapp comics is an exception, but remember, he's buying everything many times, good and bad.

 

I see a lot of talk here about how I would never sell for guide or 60% of guide or whatever.

 

Let me tell you that I have multiple long boxes of stuff, bronze and silver, that if someone offered me 60% on, I'd unload yesterday. If you're talking about your keys, I know of NO dealer who is only offering 60% on keys. You want to sell that Subby 4 for 60% of guide in VG, guess what? You'd take the money and run. Trouble is, no one in their right mind would offer 60%.

 

Remember that a dealer puts in a tremendous of time to get that money out. What are you paying yourself an hour to make that money?

 

While I agree I'm certainly not selling major keys or uber high end books myself... I'll happily sell mid 60s Marvels in VF or less at 60% of guide to any dealer who'd take them. Sadly, I don't think I'd find many buyers really, so I guess I'd be stuck having to put in hours of work in order to extract that small amount of money. Which means if I'm buying for profit, I better be paying 50% or less of guide -- if I want to make any money. This is the reality. You aren't being ripped off when a dealer offers 60% of guide...

[Mark 1]

In today's day and age I just don't get why anyone would sell to a dealer when you can list books here, eBay, CL, and other auction sites.

 

If they are low grade run of the mill books...okay I get it but others are better sold privately for higher gains.

 

 

[G.A.tor]

sometimes folks need money "fast" or just don't have the time (or want to take the time to sell themselves)... selling on ebay, clink etc can take time (weeks or more) and even longer most times to get paid... also, selling to a dealer might be an alternative to going through all the work of scanning, listing, shipping, etc

[Larryw7]

It's actually only gotten worse. They now only buy books from the 50s and earlier claiming they already have 60s stuff. I asked them what they do about say, FF 1 or ASM 1, and they said of course they'd buy it. When they say on the phone, well, we don't buy 60s books well, guess what, those are 60s books. Who wants that krappy SA?

 

 

About a year ago when I was contemplating selling some stuff that's what they said to me on the phone. I said my books were from the forties, so the tone changed right away. Happily I decided not to sell to them and still have the books.

 

 

The other thing that strikes me about their attitude is they really don't have everything from the sixties, unless they're hiding a secret stash somewhere. Their selection was ok last time I was there, but nothing to write home about, especially now when most books are available on eBay or the internet.

[ComicConnoisseur]

..UNLESS he gets with the times and publishes online with Monthly or Bi-monthly updates.

 

They did that once.

 

They were great, they came out for about 8 months, and it was a good response to the dynamic nature of the market.

 

Essentially in the internet age, a book published annually is 12 months out of date by the time it hit's the shelves.

Don't get me wrong, I use to use the OSPG as my bible for all information in the comic world, including non-price information. But the timliness of the product is absolutely archaic given where so far into the internet age now.

 

The immediate business model would be to get an internet page, have sublscriptions to pricing content, include all the typical OSPG cursary information as well. The dealers use it, and need to be more actively involved. Thats where Overstreet will excel.

 

Then, getting web 2.0 fully engaged, linking to all the social network sites, and linking into complimantary venues, Comic Geek Speak, and this place, etc.

 

I don't want to loose OSPG, but it needs to move into the modern era, and it's well overdue.

 

 

There are coins and baseball cards price guide sites just like that, I wonder why comics are so far behind the ball on this?

[Jamie Coville]

I think there will probably always be a dead tree version of OSP. Some people just like using a book instead of a website. Also easier to take with you, rather than a laptop and hope for wifi. Also easier for showing people in case an uneducated person has the wrong ideas for the value of their books. They are more likely to trust a book then a webpage on a dealers laptop.

 

Dealers are only a part of who is buying the book, obviously a lot of fans buy it too, folks who are willing to buy it once a year (or every couple of years or so). Those people are most likely not willing to pay for up to date info via the web, as they really don't need to know up-to-the-minute value of their books, or the books they want to get. They just need a guide to tell them what is "too much" so they know they aren't getting ripped off.

 

 

[Foolkiller]

In today's day and age I just don't get why anyone would sell to a dealer when you can list books here, eBay, CL, and other auction sites.

 

If they are low grade run of the mill books...okay I get it but others are better sold privately for higher gains.

 

 

In addition to what Rick said, keep in mind, it's work. Also, keep in mind you may not get the same price a well established dealer will. I've seen it happen many times, so consignment with them is another option.

 

Also, many old timers aren't computer savvy, and want to be paid in a lump sum.

[jjonahjameson1]

I think there will probably always be a dead tree version of OSP. Some people just like using a book instead of a website. Also easier to take with you, rather than a laptop and hope for wifi. Also easier for showing people in case an uneducated person has the wrong ideas for the value of their books. They are more likely to trust a book then a webpage on a dealers laptop.

 

Download to your mobile/BB/iPhone, whatever. The notion of laptop & wifi is as antiquated as the dead tree version of Overstreet.

 

Dealers are only a part of who is buying the book, obviously a lot of fans buy it too, folks who are willing to buy it once a year (or every couple of years or so). Those people are most likely not willing to pay for up to date info via the web, as they really don't need to know up-to-the-minute value of their books, or the books they want to get. They just need a guide to tell them what is "too much" so they know they aren't getting ripped off.

 

Less and less 'fans' every year; more and more turnover, since the dawn of CGC and the need for increased frequency to reflect timely market prices is invaluable and cannot be understated.

 

[Foolkiller]

It's actually only gotten worse. They now only buy books from the 50s and earlier claiming they already have 60s stuff. I asked them what they do about say, FF 1 or ASM 1, and they said of course they'd buy it. When they say on the phone, well, we don't buy 60s books well, guess what, those are 60s books. Who wants that krappy SA?

 

 

About a year ago when I was contemplating selling some stuff that's what they said to me on the phone. I said my books were from the forties, so the tone changed right away. Happily I decided not to sell to them and still have the books.

 

 

The other thing that strikes me about their attitude is they really don't have everything from the sixties, unless they're hiding a secret stash somewhere. Their selection was ok last time I was there, but nothing to write home about, especially now when most books are available on eBay or the internet.

 

Amen. I would almost guarantee many, many folks would pay higher than Fat Jack's would.

 

And you're right, their stock is nothing to write home about and they are missing a TON of stuff from the SA that they could use. It would also help their wall which has gone unchanged for almost 9 months now. Same sad books just sitting there.

[greggy]

[Larryw7]

. It would also help their wall which has gone unchanged for almost 9 months now. Same sad books just sitting there.

 

And some of them had that faded look last time I was there.

[FlyingDonut]

I have 1000s of mid-grade Silver Age books. If anybody wants to give me 60% of Overstreet for all of them, I'll deliver them, bag them, sort them, and make you dinner. (thumbs u