lhcomics Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 1 hour ago, ender said: So with these prices seemingly at such a high, I would like the ideas from other collectors who "play in this sandbox" way more often than I do: Is this the time to sell any Pre Robin Detectives or buy them before they go even higher, or just wait and watch? Would love to know the opinions of Gotham Kid, Gator, LouFine, Primetime, Dark Knight, WayneTech and you other guys! the time to sell any Pre Robin Detectives. Yes buy them before they go even higher. Yes just wait and watch. Yes but then in a couple years you may ask yourself why did I wait. My even though I wasn't asked by name. ender 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zolnerowich Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 2 hours ago, ender said: So with these prices seemingly at such a high, I would like the ideas from other collectors who "play in this sandbox" way more often than I do: Is this the time to sell any Pre Robin Detectives or buy them before they go even higher, or just wait and watch? Would love to know the opinions of Gotham Kid, Gator, LouFine, Primetime, Dark Knight, WayneTech, lhcomics, and you other guys! 1 hour ago, lhcomics said: the time to sell any Pre Robin Detectives. Yes buy them before they go even higher. Yes just wait and watch. Yes but then in a couple years you may ask yourself why did I wait. My even though I wasn't asked by name. No worries, Leroy! Now you're on the list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.tor Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I sold all mine. I think they will likely still appreciate, but I was not comfortable in this market holding them , so got out bc made sense to me ender 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Knight Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 the time to sell any Pre Robin Detectives - Yes to me! buy them before they go even higher - depends on your priorities. I believe that these books will always remain hot. just wait and watch - If you have are waiving a white flag with current prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) 7 hours ago, ender said: So with these prices seemingly at such a high, I would like the ideas from other collectors who "play in this sandbox" way more often than I do: Is this the time to sell any Pre Robin Detectives or buy them before they go even higher, or just wait and watch? Would love to know the opinions of Gotham Kid, Gator, LouFine, Primetime, Dark Knight, WayneTech and you other guys! So, since I am a deadly slow writer, I will simply copy and paste a post which I had written sometime last week that kind of speaks to this question you are asking here. I have to apologize in advance for the wall of words, so you can simply skip to the next post if you don't want to read it all: On 3/15/2017 at 11:21 PM, lou_fine said: On 3/15/2017 at 8:20 PM, Primetime said: On 3/15/2017 at 4:04 PM, Martin Sinescu said: Just to follow up on my 'Tec question.... 31 vs. 38.... I can't believe Robin's first app wouldn't be the third most important Bat-book and deserving to be on a Top 10 GA books, but there is undoubtedly a cult-like reverence for the pre-Robin days. Which one wins, Bat-fans? 31 wins and it's not even close. From the point of view of the past 10 years, you are most definitely right! For the next 10 years going forward, I believe the 'Tec 38 is going to win out from a valuation percentage increase point of view. I have always held to the belief that the comic book market moves in cycles. And in this sense, the hottest area within the GA market during the past 2 to 3 years has clearly been the classic covers, with 'Tec 31 being one of the key books leading this march. But what is hot right now does not necessarily mean that it will stay hot indefinitely. And right now, I am starting to see some heat turning back up on the long cold dead traditional keys such as Whiz 2, All-Star 3, and the likes. This latest heat was probably ignited by the recent movie hype phenomenon that has swept parts of this market, as evident by the trio of Wonder Woman related keys which are now definitely on fire after being stone cold dead for the past couple of decades prior to this phenomenon. And the embers of this fire is starting to spread back to some of the traditional GA keys, of which Detective 38 is definitely one of them. If you look back to 20 years ago in the Overstreet guide, Detective 38 was either tied for 2nd or at least the 3rd most expensive book in the Batman run of Detective, and always well ahead of 'Tec 31. Definitely not the case anymore as 'Tec 31 is now clearly ensconced in 2nd place, while 'Tec 38 has fallen all the way to #6 spot. Although Overstreet prices are not necessarily market prices as we all know, they are still useful as a guide in terms of relative prices. Collector interest in classic covers is definitely the main factor that has pushed prices up for 'Tec 31, to the point that it is now the 2nd most valuable Detective book by far. Interesting to note though, that it was only 20 short years ago that a survey was conducted by the readers of CBM in which they elicited something like 175 separate votes for the Top GA Cover of all time. Guess what....'Tec 31 received only 1 single vote out of the 175 votes cast, and if I had not voted for it as one of my Top 5 covers, it would have been shutout completely. Definitely not the case anymore as a recent survey conducted by Heritage placed 'Tec 31 now clearly at the top of the poll for Top GA Covers. Amazing how collector interests are so finicky and changeable over time. As the old saying goes, it's best to buy when something is out of favor, as opposed to buying when something is scorching hot and you are going to have to pay top dollar. In this scenario, 'Tec 31 is most definitely scorching hot and it's going to cost you big money to pick one up. Although on a price per point basis, it does appear to have plateaued a bit or not quite increasing at the rapid pace it was. Detective 38, on the other hand, was definitely a relatively cold book a couple of years ago. Doesn't appear to be the case anymore as there are now clear signs of life with increasing price per point being seen on this book over the past year or so. I strongly believe anybody picking up a decent presenting copy of 'Tec 38 in today's marketplace will not regret their purchase in a few years from now as the flames seems to be growing with increasing strength on the traditional keys after having rested in the doldrums for an extended period of time. Although 'Tec 31 will still beat it from an absolute dollar valuation increase point of view due to its current big head start, I feel that 'Tec 38 will win out from a percentage valuation increase point of view going forward. It should be pointed out, however, that the opinion which I had expressed above is based upon my own personal preference for not buying books when they are hot, and instead, trying to buy them when they are slightly out of favor and even more so, when they are seemingly starting to wake up from an extended slumber and hopefully about to go on a long overdue upwards ride. Of course everybody's different as I have always been a long-term collector who doesn't mind holding onto my books for an extended period of time. Probably would not work for many of today's generation of collectors/investors/speculators who seems red hot to buy in on a particular hot book, but only hoping to discard it 6 months later for the next hottest trend. I guess as the old saying goes: To each, their own. Edited March 22, 2017 by lou_fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gotham Kid Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) 6 hours ago, G.A.tor said: I sold all mine. No parting sorrow ? Deep down sure even a little. Just like with Andre, Brian ... Edited March 22, 2017 by Gotham Kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 1 hour ago, Gotham Kid said: 6 hours ago, G.A.tor said: I sold all mine. No parting sorrow ? Deep down sure even a little. Just like with Andre, Brian ... You have to remember that Gator needs to approach these books from a completely different point of view, as compared to us. Being a dealer and needing to put bread and milk on the table for the family, Gator does not have the luxury of simply holding onto these books like the rest of the collectors here such as you and I. That is why he most likely sells them when he thinks they are hot and holds onto them when he believes they still have a lot more room to appreciate in value. For example, I believe he does not have any AS 8 or any of the other Wonder Woman keys available for sale at his point in time, but he does have quite a few copies on hand in his collection/inventory. As I have pointed out before, the comic book market always moves in cycles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.tor Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 5 hours ago, Gotham Kid said: No parting sorrow ? Deep down sure even a little. Just like with Andre, Brian ... Always miss comics ive sold that enjoyed collecting ... just not willing these days to pay what I consider unrealistic to sustain prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.tor Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 3 hours ago, lou_fine said: You have to remember that Gator needs to approach these books from a completely different point of view, as compared to us. Being a dealer and needing to put bread and milk on the table for the family, Gator does not have the luxury of simply holding onto these books like the rest of the collectors here such as you and I. That is why he most likely sells them when he thinks they are hot and holds onto them when he believes they still have a lot more room to appreciate in value. For example, I believe he does not have any AS 8 or any of the other Wonder Woman keys available for sale at his point in time, but he does have quite a few copies on hand in his collection/inventory. As I have pointed out before, the comic book market always moves in cycles. Market is cyclical for sure and I do recycle money to books to money, etc that said I buy and sell comics because I enjoy it...Its fun, can be profitable and I do try to time the market (or even make a market) if I can But I like the challenge every bit as much ...typically once I've owned I'm ok selling (hopefully profitably, though many times not). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.tor Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 5 hours ago, Gotham Kid said: No parting sorrow ? Deep down sure even a little. Just like with Andre, Brian ... Also remember every other time I sold I then proceeded to successfully put the run back together (I think 4-5x). We all "collect " differently for a myriad of reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gotham Kid Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 11 minutes ago, G.A.tor said: 5 hours ago, Gotham Kid said: No parting sorrow ? Deep down sure even a little. Just like with Andre, Brian ... Always miss comics ive sold that enjoyed collecting ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gotham Kid Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Metro copy SOLD ! http://www.comicconnect.com/bookDetail.php?id=693838 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainmaker Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 the thing about prerobins is that they are the perfect storm of age, rarity, cover appeal and of course batman. as long as there is a comic book hobby these will remain the kings of the jungle. if you are sitting on the sideline expecting the bottom to drop out you will never own a copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 1 hour ago, Gotham Kid said: Metro copy SOLD ! http://www.comicconnect.com/bookDetail.php?id=693838 Did this sale just take place or was announced today. If so, it's almost perfect timing to light a fire under the Detective's that will be coming up for auction today, including their pre-Robin 'Tec's. It would have been perfect timing if they had announced it yesterday in time for the Batman auctions and to also let the news simmer a day for the Detective's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Knight Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 2 hours ago, Gotham Kid said: Metro copy SOLD ! http://www.comicconnect.com/bookDetail.php?id=693838 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gotham Kid Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, lou_fine said: 3 hours ago, Gotham Kid said: Metro copy SOLD ! http://www.comicconnect.com/bookDetail.php?id=693838 Did this sale just take place or was announced today. I had the book under watch. As I had 1 less match from my Want List today ( and not yesterday), the book was taken down today. Guessing purchase happened during this week. Buyer was likely keeping a close eye on the progress of the ComicLink copy. Edited March 22, 2017 by Gotham Kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhcomics Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 5 minutes ago, Gotham Kid said: I had the book under watch. As I had 1 less match from my Want List today ( and not yesterday), the book was taken down today. Guessing purchase happened during this week. Buyer was likely keeping a close eye on the progress of the ComicLink copy. Look for it to not be showing up in my sig line. Nice sale so congrats to both parties involved. That's serious money for a funny book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lou_fine Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Gotham Kid said: 1 hour ago, lou_fine said: 3 hours ago, Gotham Kid said: Metro copy SOLD ! http://www.comicconnect.com/bookDetail.php?id=693838 Did this sale just take place or was announced today. I had the book under watch. As I had 1 less match from my Want List today ( and not yesterday), the book was taken down today. Guessing purchase happened during this week. Buyer was likely keeping a close eye on the progress of the ComicLink copy. Wow, it's amazing how you guys keep on top of all these things here across all of the various auction houses. I guess I just gotta get around to accepting the tech boom, instead of just relying on my fading memory. Edited March 22, 2017 by lou_fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woowoo Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 3 minutes ago, lhcomics said: Look for it to not be showing up in my sig line. Nice sale so congrats to both parties involved. That's serious money for a funny book. I can send u a pic of the book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhcomics Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 1 minute ago, woowoo said: I can send u a pic of the book You don't need one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
