• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Ask Gator
13 13

Started by Superman2006,

7,544 posts in this topic

Badger

Badger

Posted
Posted

 

G.A.tor, do you have a feel for how many people are willing to spend $1,000 on a comic?

my feeling is it numbers in the thousands for sure

 

Do you feel like you are seeing very many new people coming into the hobby or do you mainly deal with older, established customers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
G.A.tor

G.A.tor

Posted
Posted

 

G.A.tor, do you have a feel for how many people are willing to spend $1,000 on a comic?

my feeling is it numbers in the thousands for sure

 

Do you feel like you are seeing very many new people coming into the hobby or do you mainly deal with older, established customers?

good mixture of old and new
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Badger

Badger

Posted
Posted

 

G.A.tor, do you have a feel for how many people are willing to spend $1,000 on a comic?

my feeling is it numbers in the thousands for sure

 

Do you feel like you are seeing very many new people coming into the hobby or do you mainly deal with older, established customers?

good mixture of old and new

 

I would hate to see our hobby go the way of stamp collecting. :fear:

 

I'm glad you are seeing what I have seen in the last few years. When I went to the Albuquerque conventions this year and last year I saw a number of teenagers and early-twenty somethings spending a couple of hundred a piece on new and kinda old comics.

 

Stamp conventions are old white dude only affairs with the only youngsters being the ones helping behind the tables.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sqeggs

Sqeggs

Posted
Posted

When I first got into comic collecting as a kid in the 1960s just about all of my friends read comics and most collected them as well. Despite my best efforts, my own three sons read comics only briefly -- my youngest son not at all. I can't recall ever seeing any of their friends reading comics or having comics around their houses. All three of my kids like superhero movies but were not motivated to go back and read the comics the movies are based on.

 

You also have to take into account that there are a lot more boomers like me then are in the next generation or the generation after that.

 

Comic collecting may shrug off the double whammy of having fallen out of favor with kids and having the generation where comics were hugely popular (and who own the bulk of the most collectible books) pass from the scene. Hard to believe these factors won't matter, though.

 

On the other hand ... people have been prophesying the end of comic collecting almost as long as I've been involved with it, so who knows?

 

A reasonable conclusion, I think, is that anyone sinking big bucks into books expecting appreciation at the rates we have seen historically is taking on a lot of risk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Badger

Badger

Posted
Posted
When I first got into comic collecting as a kid in the 1960s just about all of my friends read comics and most collected them as well. Despite my best efforts, my own three sons read comics only briefly -- my youngest son not at all. I can't recall ever seeing any of their friends reading comics or having comics around their houses. All three of my kids like superhero movies but were not motivated to go back and read the comics the movies are based on.

 

You also have to take into account that there are a lot more boomers like me then are in the next generation or the generation after that.

 

Comic collecting may shrug off the double whammy of having fallen out of favor with kids and having the generation where comics were hugely popular (and who own the bulk of the most collectible books) pass from the scene. Hard to believe these factors won't matter, though.

 

On the other hand ... people have been prophesying the end of comic collecting almost as long as I've been involved with it, so who knows?

 

A reasonable conclusion, I think, is that anyone sinking big bucks into books expecting appreciation at the rates we have seen historically is taking on a lot of risk.

 

I remember the black and white implosion of the 80's, the massive store failures of the 90's, and Overstreet's "revaluing" in the 2000's. It's interesting to note that while no comic is selling as well as even the minor big 2 books of the early 90's, the industry is shipping more than twice as much product as they were in 1997. http://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html

 

There is far more variety and I think a healthier market than has been seen since the late 40's. I am not saying there are as many comic-book readers but there are more comics published with new distribution models and even I am picking up more digital and collected works than individual new comics now. With more ways to read comics there will always be a small subset of people who want to own the original books that started their favorite characters.

 

We will see more bust and boom cycles but I believe the back-issue market will be here long-term. Then again, my wife says I look at things with Disney-Made glasses.

 

"Gawrsh!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sqeggs

Sqeggs

Posted
Posted
When I first got into comic collecting as a kid in the 1960s just about all of my friends read comics and most collected them as well. Despite my best efforts, my own three sons read comics only briefly -- my youngest son not at all. I can't recall ever seeing any of their friends reading comics or having comics around their houses. All three of my kids like superhero movies but were not motivated to go back and read the comics the movies are based on.

 

You also have to take into account that there are a lot more boomers like me then are in the next generation or the generation after that.

 

Comic collecting may shrug off the double whammy of having fallen out of favor with kids and having the generation where comics were hugely popular (and who own the bulk of the most collectible books) pass from the scene. Hard to believe these factors won't matter, though.

 

On the other hand ... people have been prophesying the end of comic collecting almost as long as I've been involved with it, so who knows?

 

A reasonable conclusion, I think, is that anyone sinking big bucks into books expecting appreciation at the rates we have seen historically is taking on a lot of risk.

 

I remember the black and white implosion of the 80's, the massive store failures of the 90's, and Overstreet's "revaluing" in the 2000's. It's interesting to note that while no comic is selling as well as even the minor big 2 books of the early 90's, the industry is shipping more than twice as much product as they were in 1997. http://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html

 

There is far more variety and I think a healthier market than has been seen since the late 40's. I am not saying there are as many comic-book readers but there are more comics published with new distribution models and even I am picking up more digital and collected works than individual new comics now. With more ways to read comics there will always be a small subset of people who want to own the original books that started their favorite characters.

 

We will see more bust and boom cycles but I believe the back-issue market will be here long-term. Then again, my wife says I look at things with Disney-Made glasses.

 

"Gawrsh!"

 

There's also the disconnect between the content of modern books and the content of pre-1980 books. Of course, with the advent of CGC many people just collect cool covers, so maybe the content won't matter when current buyers think about buying GA/SA/BA books. (shrug)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Straw-Man

Straw-Man

Posted
Posted
Rick,

 

What's your take on the upcoming Sup flick? Will it raise DC from the dead?

snyder and Nolan = ^^

 

nolan didn't produce sucker punch, did he?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
G.A.tor

G.A.tor

Posted
Posted
Rick did you see all those high grade World Finest issues on C-Link? Better jump on them before Parker beats you too it. We know how much he loves those covers :grin:
saw them last night, yes...I only collect 40-80, but a couple would be nice upgrades, however, at those prices, I am going to refrain :o
Link to comment
Share on other sites
G.A.tor

G.A.tor

Posted
Posted
Dear gator,

 

I finally got my Detective comics 193 (eBay yesterday) Do you believe this is the rarest Joker cover? Is it going to skyrocket in price when a high grade copy hits the market?

it is rare in high grade for sure...I have owned numerous 193s, but all lower to mid grade...most all 1950's dc's are "tough" in anything better than gd... but yes, it would be toughest relative to other joker covers, but a high grade copy will not affect price on lower copies imo
Link to comment
Share on other sites
zosocane

zosocane

Posted
Posted
Dear gator,

 

I finally got my Detective comics 193 (eBay yesterday) Do you believe this is the rarest Joker cover? Is it going to skyrocket in price when a high grade copy hits the market?

it is rare in high grade for sure...I have owned numerous 193s, but all lower to mid grade...most all 1950's dc's are "tough" in anything better than gd... but yes, it would be toughest relative to other joker covers, but a high grade copy will not affect price on lower copies imo

 

G.A.tor:

 

Why do you believe 1950s DCs "tough" books to find in mid- to high-grade. Was it lower print runs compared to their 1940s and 1960s counterparts? Collector hoarding? Other?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
G.A.tor

G.A.tor

Posted
Posted
Dear G.A.tor:

 

I am having a real hard time deciding between tec 37 and tec 40. Which would you choose and why?

 

Thanks

kinzebac

tec 37. In general I am a bigger fan of the pre robin stories and I think the cover is cooler!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
13 13
Go to topic listing