Are comics a good investment anymore?

[harvdoss]

Hello All,

 

I have been buying and selling comics for about 5 years now as a part time/side income. My primary employ is a contracted loan processor. Over the last year I have watched most everything decrease in value from previous points of sale. This is understandable givin the current recession and economic woes... The real question I am asking is whether there is a bottom in sight? I understand that the comics that have movies coming up or real key issues are still in demand. As of August Bernanke said he is ready to print more money if need be, if this is the case the $$$ value will be hit hard. Stagflation looks to be in our near future and with all the signs that are right in front of my face I am wondering how anyone would feel confident in purchasing comics as an investment. These are just my opinions and I would love to hear others thoughts on this as I love doing this but do not want to be in a sinking ship...

 

"In economics, the term stagflation refers to the situation when both the inflation rate and the unemployment rate are high. It is a difficult economic condition for a country, as both inflation and economic stagnation are occuring simultaneously and no macroeconomic policy can address both of these problems at the same time.[1]"

 

"The portmanteau stagflation is generally attributed to British politician Iain Macleod, who coined the term in a speech to Parliament in 1965.[2][3][4] The concept is notable partly because, in postwar macroeconomic theory, inflation and recession were regarded as mutually exclusive, and also because stagflation has generally proven to be difficult and, in human terms as well as budget deficits, very costly to eradicate once it starts. In the political arena a simple measure of Stagflation termed the Misery Index (derived by the simple addition of the inflation rate to the unemployment rate) was used to swing Presidential elections in the United States in 1976 and 1980."

 

[DiceX]

 

 

[Mr. 10%]

 

Yes we are all on a sinking ship. Pull out the chairs on the sundeck while Titanic sinks. I will be holding my dearest books tight to my chest all the way down

[nwpassage]

I have a modest collection, none of which was purchased for investment value. I imagine I'd take a loss if I tried to sell, maybe, but I'd probably just find it impossible to sell them, period.

[comicalgems]

I hope prices are going down...there's lots of stuff I'd like to collect that are just a little too high for me...and I'm guessing that's the "common" notion.

[fantastic_four]

In economics, the term stagflation refers to the situation when both the inflation rate and the unemployment rate are high. It is a difficult economic condition for a country, as both inflation and economic stagnation are occuring simultaneously and no macroeconomic policy can address both of these problems at the same time.[1]"

 

I hadn't heard of this term before, but given that the inflation rate is rather low right now and most of last year saw deflation, I'm not sure why it's relevant.

 

I don't know of any specific reason why comics should be seeing darker days than they have at most other points over the last few decades. I could come up with a laundry list of reasons why they'll go down and have heard hundreds of people list them, but none are new, and they've all proven to not be as detrimental as we feared. I'm not worried until Marvel or DC stop producing monthly comics.

[skypinkblu]

 

Personally, I view comics as a hobby...I don't want to invest more than I could stand to lose if a paper blight made all the paper go away...of course since I buy much more than I sell, I'm sure it would hurt a lot now, but I'd still be able to have food and shelter.

 

I've heard of stagflation, but we don't seem to have the inflation yet. If we did...then collectible prices might inflate as well. No one really knows, or we'd all be doing the same thing;) doesn't look like real estate is going to inflate so fast...and that would be a change...so they will just have to make up a new name for "it".

 

Low grade GA comics seem to be doing fine, I get outbid ALL the time, or things in the marketplace get snapped up before I have a chance.

 

The key is REALISTIC pricing, not wishful pricing...or paying so much that you don't want to "take a loss" so you price it unrealistically when you go to sell the books..

 

[Bunky Brian]

 

Personally, I view comics as a hobby...I don't want to invest more than I could stand to lose if a paper blight made all the paper go away...of course since I buy much more than I sell, I'm sure it would hurt a lot now, but I'd still be able to have food and shelter.

I've heard of stagflation, but we don't seem to have the inflation yet. If we did...then collectible prices might inflate as well. No one really knows, or we'd all be doing the same thing;) doesn't look like real estate is going to inflate so fast...and that would be a change...so they will just have to make up a new name for "it".

 

Low grade GA comics seem to be doing fine, I get outbid ALL the time, or things in the marketplace get snapped up before I have a chance.

 

The key is REALISTIC pricing, not wishful pricing...or paying so much that you don't want to "take a loss" so you price it unrealistically when you go to sell the books..

(thumbs u

[GermanFan]

Collecting for investment purposes today is the wrong approach imo. Collecting fun should be the first motive. Investing in comics worked in previous decades for the clever guys. But now in a matured hobby? I am not a economic insider but what I read about Europe & USA (I was always confident about the american potential of recovery). But the artices I read are so all negative, I lose my optimism (yesterday Ive read about california is a big greece financially spoken).

[Marvelfangirl]

 

Personally, I view comics as a hobby...I don't want to invest more than I could stand to lose if a paper blight made all the paper go away...of course since I buy much more than I sell, I'm sure it would hurt a lot now, but I'd still be able to have food and shelter.

I've heard of stagflation, but we don't seem to have the inflation yet. If we did...then collectible prices might inflate as well. No one really knows, or we'd all be doing the same thing;) doesn't look like real estate is going to inflate so fast...and that would be a change...so they will just have to make up a new name for "it".

 

Low grade GA comics seem to be doing fine, I get outbid ALL the time, or things in the marketplace get snapped up before I have a chance.

 

The key is REALISTIC pricing, not wishful pricing...or paying so much that you don't want to "take a loss" so you price it unrealistically when you go to sell the books..

(thumbs u

(thumbs u (thumbs u

[DiceX]

 

Personally, I view comics as a hobby...I don't want to invest more than I could stand to lose if a paper blight made all the paper go away...of course since I buy much more than I sell, I'm sure it would hurt a lot now, but I'd still be able to have food and shelter.

I've heard of stagflation, but we don't seem to have the inflation yet. If we did...then collectible prices might inflate as well. No one really knows, or we'd all be doing the same thing;) doesn't look like real estate is going to inflate so fast...and that would be a change...so they will just have to make up a new name for "it".

 

Low grade GA comics seem to be doing fine, I get outbid ALL the time, or things in the marketplace get snapped up before I have a chance.

 

The key is REALISTIC pricing, not wishful pricing...or paying so much that you don't want to "take a loss" so you price it unrealistically when you go to sell the books..

(thumbs u

(thumbs u (thumbs u

 

(thumbs u (thumbs u (thumbs u

 

 

[TSwift25]

It's hard to mix hobby and business.

 

I think short term there is plenty to like about the right vintage comics. Few other non-traditional investment avenues have outpaced inflation like comic books.

 

Long term is where opinions vary widely.

[Dano]

OA and comics are my hobby. I collect $

 

Dan

[shadroch]

I think comics are a great investment if you buy the right books for the right price and don't need to sell them anytime soon to pay the rent or whatever. I'd have no qualms about buying books to pay for my kids college or braces, but I'd stress you need to buy the right books at the right price. Books that have shown significant demand for the past twenty five years will most likely continue to be in demand in another fifteen years.

[Tralfaz]

Comics are best collected for the love of it. There is so much volatility in prices that investment dependence would have one feeling rather bi-polar. I may sell some issues one day but it would likely be to finance a better copy of the same things.

[Bruce1971]

In economics, the term stagflation refers to the situation when both the inflation rate and the unemployment rate are high. It is a difficult economic condition for a country, as both inflation and economic stagnation are occuring simultaneously and no macroeconomic policy can address both of these problems at the same time.[1]"

 

I hadn't heard of this term before, but given that the inflation rate is rather low right now and most of last year saw deflation, I'm not sure why it's relevant.

 

I don't know of any specific reason why comics should be seeing darker days than they have at most other points over the last few decades. I could come up with a laundry list of reasons why they'll go down and have heard hundreds of people list them, but none are new, and they've all proven to not be as detrimental as we feared. I'm not worried until Marvel or DC stop producing monthly comics.

 

It's relevant when you combine it with his other statement of the Fed printing more money. As an extreme example look at WWII Germany, though they printed so much they had hyper inflation. Remember the US inflation numbers are artificially low due to China pegging the Yuan to the US dollar. Think about it, how can the US dollar lose so much value relative to other currencies in a short period of time and you only have 1.5% or 2% inflation. Also do you believe the numbers the US government feeds you, here is a good article about how the way the numbers have been calculated have been changed since the 80's.

 

http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2008/Pollyanna-Creep-Economy1may08.htm

 

 

Inflation/deflation/stagflation- who knows what will happen. If anyone really knew the answer to that Warren Buffet/KKR and Sovereign Wealth funds all over the world would pay them big bucks to work for them.

 

What I think a lot of these guys know, and are not saying is, the standard of living for the middle class is going to decease in the future. This will probably have a negative impact overall on comics, of course there will always be some exceptions.

[joe_collector]

I'd have no qualms about buying books to pay for my kids college or braces, but I'd stress you need to buy the right books at the right price.

 

But for "investment purposes" the big auction houses and dealers have these jokers paying "new GPA highs" for their "investment-grade collectibles" which will translate into huge losses for the buyers going forward.

 

These investors also don't have the time nor the inclination to look around for deals and usually just "buy what everyone else is buying".

[harvdoss]

Well said

[shadroch]

I'd have no qualms about buying books to pay for my kids college or braces, but I'd stress you need to buy the right books at the right price.

 

But for "investment purposes" the big auction houses and dealers have these jokers paying "new GPA highs" for their "investment-grade collectibles" which will translate into huge losses for the buyers going forward.

 

These investors also don't have the time nor the inclination to look around for deals and usually just "buy what everyone else is buying".

 

 

I honestly don't understand the mentality of buyers who bray about paying new GPA prices for anything. If I can't buy a book for 30-40% UNDER the running GPA average, I'll almost always pass on it. Imagine paying a record price and then getting hit with a 20% buyers premium on top of that.

[fantastic_four]

I honestly don't understand the mentality of buyers who bray about paying new GPA prices for anything.

 

Who "brays" about that?

 

I don't shout about it, but I wouldn't mind at all stating it as fact if it's a rare book. I've paid GPA highs at the time I bought them on dozens of books that I knew were rare.