Open discussion of Overstreet GA pricing

[Point Five]

Astonishing #62 GD $12

Man. I still remember where I was when that sale happened.

 

[Forbush-Man]

Astonishing #62 GD $12

Man. I still remember where I was when that sale happened.

 

Probably in bed, sleeping.

[Forbush-Man]

Don't get me wrong, I love the Overstreet. Got a complete run of the books, hardcover. But why keep packing it with Hamburger-Helper™?

 

 

Somebody send me the mailing address you Advisors mail your info to. I want to start contributing.

[lou_fine]

Remember what happened with Mystery Men #1 when Overstreet increased the price to real market value? The books demand went for a nose dive. Having books sell constantly for multiples of guide creates more demand for those books then listing them at true market values and having them sell at guide.

 

Keeping a good portion of the high demand books undervalued creates hype in the market, thus pushing up demand and values.

 

Ahhh......the poster child for the case of an Overstreet price increase gone bad!

 

Yes, Mystery Men #1 was one of the absolute hottest book out there for a couple of years running. Then Overstreet jacked the price up from something like $2,000 all the way up to $8,500 in one shot to try to reflect what was occuring in the marketplace.

 

Needless to say, the demand side just imploded like a pin popping a ballon. Fifteen years later, the demand for this book (and possibly the rest of the run) still hasn't recovered. Not sure of what the market vlaue for these books are nowadays, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if they are running at significantly less than guide.

There are few issues of Mystery Men that I'd pay significantly less than guide for.

Heck, twist my arm and I might pay significantly more than guide for them.

 

Richard;

 

How about Mystery Men #1 since that was the original book under discussion?

 

Somehow I doubt that you would be willing to pay significantly more than guide for a copy of issue #1. Issue #10, yes......but #1, probably not so much.

[lou_fine]

and I spoke at great length with Bob O. about the guide during SDCC, and he confirmed for me that release would be SDCC time from now on...

 

Did he explain why?

due to delay in this year's release, no way he could get next years ready any earlier...he needs that time (thumbs u

 

Rick;

 

Did Bob ever explain why the guide was delayed until SD in the first place? From all accounts, it sounded as though this release date was planned a long time ago and not a result of the book being late.

[JohnT]

They still publish the Guide

 

[VintageComics]

and I spoke at great length with Bob O. about the guide during SDCC, and he confirmed for me that release would be SDCC time from now on...

 

Did he explain why?

due to delay in this year's release, no way he could get next years ready any earlier...he needs that time (thumbs u

 

Rick;

 

Did Bob ever explain why the guide was delayed until SD in the first place? From all accounts, it sounded as though this release date was planned a long time ago and not a result of the book being late.

 

I heard rumors that it was funding problems that caused the delay.

 

Not sure if there is any truth to it at all.

[G.A.tor]

and I spoke at great length with Bob O. about the guide during SDCC, and he confirmed for me that release would be SDCC time from now on...

 

Did he explain why?

due to delay in this year's release, no way he could get next years ready any earlier...he needs that time (thumbs u

 

Rick;

 

Did Bob ever explain why the guide was delayed until SD in the first place? From all accounts, it sounded as though this release date was planned a long time ago and not a result of the book being late.

was told it had nothing to do with finances contrary to rumors....more of time needed to get it right

[Thegoldenage]

Thought it would be interesting to open a discussion on Overstreet Golden Age pricing and how it correlates to todays market.

 

In particular (and I have not had a chance to review these prices), has there been any correction on prices that have been out-of-wack for years? Examples would be books that typically sell for well over guide consistantly, ie Cat-man Comics, GA Phantom Stranger, Phantom Lady, ect.

 

Feel free to jump in.

 

I assume that when you say out of whack for years you mean both too low and too high?

 

Anyway...

 

Overstreet's "market report" and prices have to be kept in perspective. His market reports are so generic that you could cut and past from any of his past guides, change a few dats and "record sales" and put it into the new guide and no one would notice the difference. I find it particularly hilarious that he says the market is in great shape, while the next several advisor reports talk about market weakness in many areas.

 

He raised prices significantly on the few books that probably don't even exist in the 9.2 range. Therefore his price hikes are meaningless. On titles that have performed poorly for years he either didn't raise prices or didn't man up and drop them in accordance with the true market. I would put some examples in here, but I don't want to offend anyone who collects them.

[MrBedrock]

Remember what happened with Mystery Men #1 when Overstreet increased the price to real market value? The books demand went for a nose dive. Having books sell constantly for multiples of guide creates more demand for those books then listing them at true market values and having them sell at guide.

 

Keeping a good portion of the high demand books undervalued creates hype in the market, thus pushing up demand and values.

 

Ahhh......the poster child for the case of an Overstreet price increase gone bad!

 

Yes, Mystery Men #1 was one of the absolute hottest book out there for a couple of years running. Then Overstreet jacked the price up from something like $2,000 all the way up to $8,500 in one shot to try to reflect what was occuring in the marketplace.

 

Needless to say, the demand side just imploded like a pin popping a ballon. Fifteen years later, the demand for this book (and possibly the rest of the run) still hasn't recovered. Not sure of what the market vlaue for these books are nowadays, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me if they are running at significantly less than guide.

There are few issues of Mystery Men that I'd pay significantly less than guide for.

Heck, twist my arm and I might pay significantly more than guide for them.

 

Richard;

 

How about Mystery Men #1 since that was the original book under discussion?

 

Somehow I doubt that you would be willing to pay significantly more than guide for a copy of issue #1. Issue #10, yes......but #1, probably not so much.

You are correct. I probably wouldn't pay much over guide for a Mystery Men 1 (though if the right book with the right appearance was offered at the right time...who knows). I was more responding to the "and possibly the rest of the run" portion of your quote. You know I'd pay a BUNCH for a #10. I just love that book. And I do think most of the other issues in the run through 10 would sell for somewhat over guide. They are just great books (thumbs u

[MrBedrock]

On titles that have performed poorly for years he either didn't raise prices or didn't man up and drop them in accordance with the true market. I would put some examples in here, but I don't want to offend anyone who collects them.

I doubt that you would be offending anyone who collects those titles. They, more than anyone, know that those titles experience soft sales.

Personally, I'd be curious which titles you would put in that category.

Here's a partial list of books which I usually have to discount to move...

Boy Comics after issue 20 or so.

Daredevil Comics after the Wise Guys took over the book.

Star Spangled Comics from issue 21 - 64

Boy Commandos (and to a lesser degree Young Allies)

Tough Kid Squad 1 (Shoot, I have a nice one and collect Timelys and I know what a dog this book is - we call it Tough Sell Squad!).

Adventure Comics 90-100 (Man I have a tough time finding homes for these)

 

 

 

[esquirecomics]

Tough Kid Squad 1 (Shoot, I have a nice one and collect Timelys and I know what a dog this book is - we call it Tough Sell Squad!).

 

The one GA book I brought to RHG's SDCC festival was TSS #1 CGC 8.0 (Kansas City Copy).

[MrBedrock]

Tough Kid Squad 1 (Shoot, I have a nice one and collect Timelys and I know what a dog this book is - we call it Tough Sell Squad!).

 

The one GA book I brought to RHG's SDCC festival was TSS #1 CGC 8.0 (Kansas City Copy).

A beautiful book but I bet you bought it cheap (thumbs u

[capt_comics]

Feel free to also include SA observations in these discussions. I noticed a few Overstreet Advisors have suggested a lowering of common, mid-grade prices. Personally, I would recommend they freeze those prices from Fine and below until the market corrects........but that just seems like the easiest way to make those corrections.

 

Um, I'm a bit confused here...your initial post suggests that OPG prices on some titles are undervalued against market prices and you want to know if Overstreet 'corrected' them (ie increased the price to reflect the market price).

 

Your subsequent post suggests you would like Overstreet to 'freeze' prices on mid-grade books until the market catches up to the published prices rather than having Overstreet lower the prices to reflect the market, right?

 

It makes sense to me. Overstreet rarely, if ever, LOWERS prices. It was a shocker that they lowered Marvel Comics #1 by 2-3% even though the book has sold for 30-40% under guide for at least 5-6 years. So if they won't lower prices, freezing them makes the most sense.

 

They do raise prices, so using that tactic in the other direction is no big deal.

 

Exactly. I think it was the 2000 OSPG that actually lowered the Good value for a number of SA keys, which was a surprise at the time. Given that most Overstreet Advisors are also Comic Dealers, this would mean a loss of value on their inventory......not popular with them I'm sure. My idea would be to just freeze the Fine & below values until the market corrects itself, causing no loss of percieved value (it either sales at the stated value or it doesn't.)

 

 

I've always been confused by this assertion. Can lowering guide value on books for sale in my inventory, that won't sell at guide prices anyway, actually lower their value?

 

Not in my view. The guide is as relevant now as ever before. GPA is only a tiny fraction of the market and is a tool for that fraction. The rest of the comic collecting world uses the guide as a starting point. Whether a book sells for more or less than the stated guide value is still a relevant discussion and frequent selling point discussion for dealers and collectors alike.

 

I've advised Overstreet for nearly two decades and have often made recommendations to lower value on books that just sit in inventory at anything close to guide. Some downward movement in this years' guide is a good indicator that the folks at Overstreet are attempting to more accurately reflect the market

 

If I remember correctly......and please correct me if I'm wrong, he also lowered the Fine price that year. I remember hearing a lot more bellyaching over that than the Good price going down. I remember that turned off a lot of collectors at the time.

 

 

 

 

[capt_comics]

Pep 22-50 are still laughably low in the Guide...

 

 

Still got all the early Peanuts stupid cheap too

 

 

 

 

[tth2]

Tough Kid Squad 1 (Shoot, I have a nice one and collect Timelys and I know what a dog this book is - we call it Tough Sell Squad!).

 

The one GA book I brought to RHG's SDCC festival was TSS #1 CGC 8.0 (Kansas City Copy).

Now you know why so many dealers were flocking to you when you became active in the market a few years ago!

[JohnT]

On a related note, I have always been a proponent of having Overstreet break out and price each golden age comic individually. On most runs, especially in this day of cover driven pricing, it doesn't make sense to price Superman 31-40 for example all the same.

 

 

(thumbs u

 

Long overdue. The days of "batch pricing" a particular run of a title solely based on chronology have passed. The market is way to cover sensitive and sophisticated to speak in such generalities. Take the time and break them out, it should not be too difficult.

 

I'd think moving past the "batch pricing" would actually be very difficult, and I assume it's why it hasn't been done. Think of the information you'd have to gather to pull out "special" issues, let alone assign prices.

 

Don't get me wrong: I think a high quality guide should do exactly this. I realize the guide is a mom-and-pop kind of operation, from what I hear, and therefore has limited resources to work on detail work, but I'd like to see them come up with a strategy to gradually flesh out this kind of information. Maybe they could ask each advisor to name 10 books each year that they'd like to see separated out.

 

On the other hand, as an unfocused cover collector I benefit from occasionally finding affordable hidden "gems"!

[ComicConnoisseur]

On a related note, I have always been a proponent of having Overstreet break out and price each golden age comic individually. On most runs, especially in this day of cover driven pricing, it doesn't make sense to price Superman 31-40 for example all the same.

 

 

(thumbs u

 

Long overdue. The days of "batch pricing" a particular run of a title solely based on chronology have passed. The market is way to cover sensitive and sophisticated to speak in such generalities. Take the time and break them out, it should not be too difficult.

 

I'd think moving past the "batch pricing" would actually be very difficult, and I assume it's why it hasn't been done. Think of the information you'd have to gather to pull out "special" issues, let alone assign prices.

 

Don't get me wrong: I think a high quality guide should do exactly this. I realize the guide is a mom-and-pop kind of operation, from what I hear, and therefore has limited resources to work on detail work, but I'd like to see them come up with a strategy to gradually flesh out this kind of information. Maybe they could ask each advisor to name 10 books each year that they'd like to see separated out.

 

On the other hand, as an unfocused cover collector I benefit from occasionally finding affordable hidden "gems"!

Maybe they could do that with quartely golden age,silver age and bronze age market reports? Seems like baseball cards and coins have extra reports, comics seem to be lacking with only a once a year report.Let`s face it, there is a need for it.

[comicparadox]

Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket...call it the Overstreet Update..that'd go over real well...

 

oh.

already did what?

oh.

nevermind

[JohnT]

On a related note, I have always been a proponent of having Overstreet break out and price each golden age comic individually. On most runs, especially in this day of cover driven pricing, it doesn't make sense to price Superman 31-40 for example all the same.

 

 

(thumbs u

 

Long overdue. The days of "batch pricing" a particular run of a title solely based on chronology have passed. The market is way to cover sensitive and sophisticated to speak in such generalities. Take the time and break them out, it should not be too difficult.

 

I'd think moving past the "batch pricing" would actually be very difficult, and I assume it's why it hasn't been done. Think of the information you'd have to gather to pull out "special" issues, let alone assign prices.

 

Don't get me wrong: I think a high quality guide should do exactly this. I realize the guide is a mom-and-pop kind of operation, from what I hear, and therefore has limited resources to work on detail work, but I'd like to see them come up with a strategy to gradually flesh out this kind of information. Maybe they could ask each advisor to name 10 books each year that they'd like to see separated out.

 

On the other hand, as an unfocused cover collector I benefit from occasionally finding affordable hidden "gems"!

Maybe they could do that with quartely golden age,silver age and bronze age market reports? Seems like baseball cards and coins have extra reports, comics seem to be lacking with only a once a year report.Let`s face it, there is a need for it.

 

The thing is, once they pull a book out once they don't have to do it again. It's a one time adjustment but there's a lot of individual books out there that command more money. Of course they do some of this with the keys, but rarely for great covers.