WTF? Are these fair prices?

[jbud73]

Gee,...I got a 9.8 #299 back next week,...What should I make the BIN....$800.00?

 

Message those er who bought the copies used as examples ... I'm sure they will pay for yours as well.

[Bronty]

Earth to Bonds! He's a forum member Calling him names is probably

 

Besides from what I can understand he can afford so it so good for him. I mean honestly one look at his username should tell you he will pay for hgc spideys

[Bronty]

I guess I'm not cut out for modern buying.

 

What most of us aren't cut out for is buying spideys in 9.8. Too much competition from too many well heeled buyers. Not worth it in my opinion either but you have to remember that we are talking about what is currently viewed as the premier title in the premier grade.. a lot of 9.8 spideys get silly. $4500 spidey 101 anybody? Or how about the late silver/ early bronze non-key issues selling for over 1k? It isn't confined to this one particular issue

[COI]

I guess I'm not cut out for modern buying.

 

What most of us aren't cut out for is buying spideys in 9.8. Too much competition from too many well heeled buyers. Not worth it in my opinion either but you have to remember that we are talking about what is currently viewed as the premier title in the premier grade.. a lot of 9.8 spideys get silly. $4500 spidey 101 anybody? Or how about the late silver/ early bronze non-key issues selling for over 1k? It isn't confined to this one particular issue

 

I agree. ASM is my favorite title, and I'm far from alone in that respect. But the key difference is that I can understand paying over 1K for a late silver/early bronze 9.8, and I may even rationalize doing it myself eventually if the opportunity presents itself on one of my more favored issues. It would be a nice thing to have in my collection, and worth it for me in that respect. But that's not the same as these modern books fetching these kind of multiples in 9.8. But whether I'm considering the purchase of a 9.8 early bronze, or a 9.8 80's book, there's a threshold to what I will pay. That's true for everyone I suppose. For me, I have a lot higher threshold for an early bronze age book, than I would for an 80's book, for the simple reason that 9.8's are not going to be tough finds for these books. People can talk census numbers until they're blue in the face, but these books exist in NM/MT out there, and there's no comparison to the proportion of 9.8 candidates of early bronze books that may still exist, compared to a late 80's book.

 

Putting aside this sale, and any specific individuals for a second, the whole theory that wealthy people have money to burn, is a myth.Regardless of my finances, my thought process on buying books will not change. In the last few years, I've had more money to spend at times, and things were tight at other times. Either way, my buying strategy stays the same. Wealth does not equate to a free license to spend as you please, and those who are really good at making money, and are truly wealthy, understand this. I'm not speculating on anyone's fincances, but do you really think that Italian treasure's buying strategy was very effective? Regardless of what anyone makes, do they really have money to burn? Ask Mike Tyson, a man formerly worth about 100 million(maybe more) how he ended up with only 5K left in his bank account and a house full of siberian tigers and pigeon cages.

[Bonds25]

Earth to Bonds! He's a forum member Calling him names is probably

 

Besides from what I can understand he can afford so it so good for him. I mean honestly one look at his username should tell you he will pay for hgc spideys

 

Forum member or not, I find it crazy to pay 50x the price for a book that is readily available at every convention, comic store, and on Ebay. I have 2 copies myself that would grade fairly high. I guess if you have the money though and no qualms about overspending, more power to ya!

[Hensley300]

Bonds, before Im sure I speak for the rest of us on this forum that have been called crazy before that what we pay for books and our reasoning is our business. Im sure people have and do call Capt Tripps crazy for spending 20k on x-men 94 in 9.8 and ive been mentioned more than once here. That being said, I did not take offense to your comment but I collect and pay for my own reasons and I do notice on an everyday basis much more extravagance and ignorance of purchase on ebay and the private market than these boards will ever have the bandwidth to hold mention of

[Rickdogg]

I have a 9.6 White that was acquired for under $30

[Hensley300]

Yep Rickdogg, best undervalued deal on the internet right now. Easily obtainable for 50-60 dollars and who knows, one might even get lucky with a 9.8 on a resub

[ist102951]

I wouldn't pay $294.00 for a 294 cgc 9.8 and I collect strictly 9.8 or higher ASM (from 200 up - below 200 I'll take 9.6 up to #50). I've seen 293 sell for a lot less than the one on ebay which is another reason I won;t bid on it unless it comes down. I think that more of these will turn up. I did however put out $105.00 for a #295 and will pay $100.00 for 294 if I find one. 294 & 295 are not that common in high grade, but I've seen some 293's and 292 & 296 are very common. Another one that I've not seen a lot of are 290 & 291. There are some bidders who will pay a high price for some comics - once they get theirs when the next one comes around it's much cheaper.

[Rickdogg]

Sadly, after acquiring that one I went into my raw collection of the Kraven's last hunts I had and all were VF to VF/NM based on CGC standards

[COI]

OT:

 

Don't mean to be nosey, but shortly after your Hulk 181 purchase, did you auction off an AFA graded Snake Eyes, and an AFA graded Cobra Commander as a pair? I was watching that auction, and to this day I regret not picking them up. The demand for AFA graded figures has spiked in the last 6-8 months.

 

Check this out:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3176061748&category=2467&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWA%3AIT&rd=1

[Rickdogg]

Dang! That is unreal! I should have left my 100+ joes in their packaging

[Hensley300]

yes, and If i was not in law school right now i would purchase the afa 95 for sale right now

[BachelorOfComix]

Holy ! I have this recorded ebay sale from Nov 2002:

 

AFA 90 MOC GI JOE Firefly $1,325.00

 

Looks like now may be the peak time to sell these slabbed figures.

[Bronty]

Or.... maybe the best is yet to come! These figures are still fairly new collectibles with a fairly young collector base... My understanding is that certain star wars figures are over 10k... I see no reason that couldn't happen with premium Joe figures in time. However, I have to think that 10k is going to be a ceiling for quite some time. Then again, I am talking out of my butt since I do not collect figures

 

B.

[BachelorOfComix]

Or.... maybe the best is yet to come!

Hmmmmm, perhaps I should start pumping some big money into these for potential flips?

[COI]

As you know better than anyone, I've strongly considered that possibility and there are a lot of reasons why that could very well be the case. But here's the thing that makes me a little hesitant to tout these as good investments at this point:

 

First is that whole problem with the o-rings bursting while still in the package, resulting in the figure falling to pieces. Over time, the O-rings become dry and brittle and snap under the pressure. And the shipping around of these figures constantly dosen't help matters. I've spoken to a number of collectors who have had this happen, and on a few instances, they were on much newer figures(mid-90's). Many people feel that regardless of proper storage, it's an inevitability. When the figure is loose, it is easily reparable and no big deal. You can get replacement O-rings all over the place, as it is a common occurence.

 

Secondly, there still isn't an AFA census, and trying to figure out which figures are rare MOC, and which are then tougher in higher grades MOC, is very difficult to do. Comics have been established a lot longer, and there are a lot of long time dealers and collectors who have knowledge to draw upon. And now with the CGC census, and tracking programs, it's even easier to figure out what is tough and what isn't. This is not the case with MOC Joes. A lot of the figures are flipped around quite a bit(especially the more key figures like Firefly, CC, Snake Eyes, StormShadow) so figuring out true rarity and availability is very difficult, and borderline impossible. These toys were made in very high numbers, and atrition rates are almost impossible to even estimate. I try tracking these things, but you're often looking at the same figures being tossed around, and FMV is almost non-existant. You saw my Torpedo auction; I bought the thing for $200, and sold it only a few months later for $475.

 

Bottom line; if it wasn't for the uncertainty of the shelf life of the figures themselves, I'd be all over them. The FMV and scarcity issues can be dealt with, but it will always come down to what will happen when these figures start imploding. So many have already lasted for 2 decades, and they may be able to last another 2. But the uncertainty is just too much of a risk. Everytime I've bought a MOC Joe, I half expect to open up the package and find the figure in pieces, still nicely sealed in the bubble. That constant paranoia unfortunetly outweighs the enjoyment I would get from collecting. That would almost be like buying a CGC graded book that may suddenly suffer a breakout of spine creases, rendering the grade useless.

[TomG]

Or.... maybe the best is yet to come! These figures are still fairly new collectibles with a fairly young collector base... My understanding is that certain star wars figures are over 10k... I see no reason that couldn't happen with premium Joe figures in time. However, I have to think that 10k is going to be a ceiling for quite some time. Then again, I am talking out of my butt since I do not collect figures

 

B.

 

Here is an example of a sale in the past several months of a key Star Wars action figure .

[BachelorOfComix]

Is it just the Joes that have the O-rings? It's the metal ring with the elastic bands tugging on it right?

[TomG]

If I remember correctly the vintage Masters of The Universe figures had elastic type construction in there legs. The Mego 1970's figures are also similar.