Was anyone else watching this Gaines TFTC?

[mrmitchgro]

I'm on the lookout for these pretty regularly, and I put this one on my ebay watch list the day after it started:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250694330178

 

The seller had it at $999 originally, then moved it up to $1499 after a couple of days. Now with about 2 1/2 days to go he ended the auction.

 

I guess what I'd like to know from any other EC collectors out there is... what do you guys think this book would have gone for if the auction had played out? At $1500 for a 9.8 Gaines, I was seriously considering it (even though it would have very quickly ended my new marriage!). I know the prices on these have come way down in the last few years, but where is the bottom?

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

As soon as the diehard EC collectors die off...and they are dying off....there will be a lot of these books available. Lack of continuous publishing will doom EC, just as it doomed lesser publishers of the past.

 

The only reason ECs have hung around as long as they have is because they were just so gosh darn great.

[mrmitchgro]

As soon as the diehard EC collectors die off...and they are dying off....there will be a lot of these books available. Lack of continuous publishing will doom EC, just as it doomed lesser publishers of the past.

 

The only reason ECs have hung around as long as they have is because they were just so gosh darn great.

 

I see the "die off" argument you're making, but don't you think the TV show has minimized that impact some? Watching it as a kid is what got me interested in collecting these in the first place (I'm in my extremely late 20s).

 

and +1 on them being gosh darn great (thumbs u

[RockMyAmadeus]

Hey, I'm in my late 30's, and I love these books, too...

 

But the real diehards who have locked up the vast majority of these books over the last 50 (!!) years are not going to live forever.

 

Back in the early 70's, there were two things that every comic collector and their mother just HAD to have: Golden Age DCs and ECs.

 

Check out a 70's OPG and compare EC prices to, say, Silver Marvels....

 

Example, from 1976 OPG (#6):

 

Vault of Horror #12 - $150

Amazing Fantasy #15 - $160

 

How's that holdin' up, then...?

 

 

[mrmitchgro]

Wow, that is a pretty telling stat. Just goes to show you how tastes can change over time!

 

So I guess that gets me back to my original question - as these HG copies start coming back into the marketplace, there's inevitably going to be some level of demand. Where does that bottom out?

 

My opinion is that in the age of CGC (where the only part of a slabbed book you see is the cover), the prices of these books will have some legs because the covers are one of the major things people remember about EC. I know every time I've seen a copy of Crime Suspenstories #22 for sale, that baby gets snapped up in a heartbeat, regardless of condition...

[EastEnd]

I think the big issue with EC values was the flood of Gaines file copies that hit the market in the mid-2000s... thank Jim Halperin for destroying the EC market; there was a point where every Heritage auction seemed to have a hundred Gaines file copies. At first prices sky-rocketed... but when the volume of available file copies became seemingly endless and it really dawned on people that there were an awful lot of ultra-high grade ECs in circulation, it took a lot of the luster out of collecting them. I suspect that if Bill Gaines had never put those file copies away, high grade New Trend ECs would still be packing quite a wallop in the market today (though no where near Spidey's first appearance of course).

 

Having said that, I also believe that ECs are wonderful and am VERY SLOWLY (but surely) trying to put together a complete run. I think they will always hold value (and at some point slowly appreciate again) because their place in comic book history is forever assured... but as they're principally anthology books, it would be difficult for them to ever become scorchers again.

[mrmitchgro]

I think the big issue with EC values was the flood of Gaines file copies that hit the market in the mid-2000s... thank Jim Halperin for destroying the EC market; there was a point where every Heritage auction seemed to have a hundred Gaines file copies. At first prices sky-rocketed... but when the volume of available file copies became seemingly endless and it really dawned on people that there were an awful lot of ultra-high grade ECs in circulation, it took a lot of the luster out of collecting them. I suspect that if Bill Gaines had never put those file copies away, high grade New Trend ECs would still be packing quite a wallop in the market today (though no where near Spidey's first appearance of course).

 

Having said that, I also believe that ECs are wonderful and am VERY SLOWLY (but surely) trying to put together a complete run. I think they will always hold value (and at some point slowly appreciate again) because their place in comic book history is forever assured... but as they're principally anthology books, it would be difficult for them to ever become scorchers again.

 

I agree with you there - the glut of HG copies definitely creates a different supply/demand dynamic than what was there pre-Gaines.

 

Any thoughts about that particular auction? As much as I would have loved to buy it, I wasn't going to be able to shell out $1500. Would it have sold? Would it have been higher than the starting price?

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

The EC Archives are beautiful as well, I rather spend my money on those than spend thousands on the originals plus the originals in high grade are not rare,the EC Collectors took great care of thier books, they were hoarded in fact a decade before Marvel took off. So you see,certain comics have been hoarded for over 50 years now and it wasn`t just a 1990`s phenomena.

[Old Fashion PB and J]

I would in 100% honesty rather have a bunch of HG ECs over an AF15. I LOVE those EC covers!

[EastEnd]

I think the big issue with EC values was the flood of Gaines file copies that hit the market in the mid-2000s... thank Jim Halperin for destroying the EC market; there was a point where every Heritage auction seemed to have a hundred Gaines file copies. At first prices sky-rocketed... but when the volume of available file copies became seemingly endless and it really dawned on people that there were an awful lot of ultra-high grade ECs in circulation, it took a lot of the luster out of collecting them. I suspect that if Bill Gaines had never put those file copies away, high grade New Trend ECs would still be packing quite a wallop in the market today (though no where near Spidey's first appearance of course).

 

Having said that, I also believe that ECs are wonderful and am VERY SLOWLY (but surely) trying to put together a complete run. I think they will always hold value (and at some point slowly appreciate again) because their place in comic book history is forever assured... but as they're principally anthology books, it would be difficult for them to ever become scorchers again.

 

I agree with you there - the glut of HG copies definitely creates a different supply/demand dynamic than what was there pre-Gaines.

 

Any thoughts about that particular auction? As much as I would have loved to buy it, I wasn't going to be able to shell out $1500. Would it have sold? Would it have been higher than the starting price?

 

$1,500 for any 9.8 TFTC strikes me as a pretty good starting price. Don't think I've ever seen a 9.4 TFTC (file copy of not) ever sell for less than $1,000... this one's a Gaines copy to boot. One thing that does hurt resale value a little bit is that the certificate is missing... there are also three 9.8s on the census. I'd expect the book to go for $2,500-3,000... could go higher at Heritage or Clink.

[mrmitchgro]

$1,500 for any 9.8 TFTC strikes me as a pretty good starting price. Don't think I've ever seen a 9.4 TFTC (file copy of not) ever sell for less than $1,000... this one's a Gaines copy to boot. One thing that does hurt resale value a little bit is that the certificate is missing... there are also three 9.8s on the census. I'd expect the book to go for $2,500-3,000... could go higher at Heritage or Clink.

 

I'd love to see somebody with some serious balls start one on ebay for $.99 and let it go!

[RockMyAmadeus]

I think a few things about this:

 

1. I think it's absolutely wonderful that Bill Gaines had the foresight to store perfect copies away brand new. Yeah, so they aren't worth a fortune. So what? The fact that multiple people can own virtually flawless copies of classics from 50 years ago is way awesomer.

 

2. I think it's awesome that the collector market has essentially moved on from these books, because *I* think they're awesome, a radically important part of comics history, and I will likely never, ever own a high grade copy of Fantasy #15, or ANY copy of Tec #27. Those boats have sailed, so being able to get nice copies of ECs is a more than adequate consolation prize.

 

3. I wish comic books weren't so sought after to begin with. But that's just my own whiny gripe.

[hbo_boxingfan]

I think a few things about this:

 

1. I think it's absolutely wonderful that Bill Gaines had the foresight to store perfect copies away brand new. Yeah, so they aren't worth a fortune. So what? The fact that multiple people can own virtually flawless copies of classics from 50 years ago is way awesomer.

 

2. I think it's awesome that the collector market has essentially moved on from these books, because *I* think they're awesome, a radically important part of comics history, and I will likely never, ever own a high grade copy of Fantasy #15, or ANY copy of Tec #27. Those boats have sailed, so being able to get nice copies of ECs is a more than adequate consolation prize.

 

3. I wish comic books weren't so sought after to begin with. But that's just my own whiny gripe.

I would def have to agree.

[HeyMoe]

How much impact have the continous reprints had on the EC market.

 

The Russ Cochran(?) reprints from the 70s became collectibles in themselves!

 

[cheetah]

I think the big issue with EC values was the flood of Gaines file copies that hit the market in the mid-2000s... thank Jim Halperin for destroying the EC market; there was a point where every Heritage auction seemed to have a hundred Gaines file copies. At first prices sky-rocketed... but when the volume of available file copies became seemingly endless and it really dawned on people that there were an awful lot of ultra-high grade ECs in circulation, it took a lot of the luster out of collecting them. I suspect that if Bill Gaines had never put those file copies away, high grade New Trend ECs would still be packing quite a wallop in the market today (though no where near Spidey's first appearance of course).

 

Having said that, I also believe that ECs are wonderful and am VERY SLOWLY (but surely) trying to put together a complete run. I think they will always hold value (and at some point slowly appreciate again) because their place in comic book history is forever assured... but as they're principally anthology books, it would be difficult for them to ever become scorchers again.

 

I agree with you there - the glut of HG copies definitely creates a different supply/demand dynamic than what was there pre-Gaines.

 

Any thoughts about that particular auction? As much as I would have loved to buy it, I wasn't going to be able to shell out $1500. Would it have sold? Would it have been higher than the starting price?

 

I'm guessing the seller panicked with no bids showing up and pulled the auction. $1500 would be a great price, IMHO. Could have gone in the $2500 to $3000 range.