TOS 39 CGC 9.4 sells for 150K

[NewWorldOrder]

Basically I do not believe in using my own money to buy my comic book collection.

 

 

Agreed. Problem is, I suck at selling comics. Time to find me a rich wife.

 

What is the difference between getting married or a hot escort?

 

One will cost you a hell of a lot more money for her trade in value getting a divorce instead of 60 minutes and closing the door behind you when you are done.

[tth2]

why must there be any correlation between GA prices and SA prices, when in most ways they aren't at all comparable?

Because at this point they are all one and the same. It's not like the old days when those terms were originated and golden age stuff was twice as old as silver age stuff. We are now forty years along and all of the books pre-1965 can essentially be lumped together as far as pricing goes. In fact, relatively speaking, silver age has far outpaced golden age price-wise across the board. Consider that you can now put together a complete run of Whiz in 8.0 (a randomly picked cutoff grade based on availability) or better for less than a 9.0 (see above) run of Fantastic Four. Which age is the "golden age"? By the demand I would say it is probably the early 60's. As far as I'm concerned all pre 1965 books are comparable by price. And price jumps on any book from any of those years will have some ramification on some other book from any of those years. A rise in 50s DC war could have some impact on Sgt. Fury prices which could, in turn, affect other second tier Marvel keys, which could affect Timely prices etc. etc. etc.

 

I tend not to assume correlations unless I can clearly see them, and until recently I never believed there was any correlation between GA sales and SA sales. Obviously I have to change my thinking.

Whether you choose to believe there is any correlation is irrelevant. The empirical data shows that there is.

[COI]

why must there be any correlation between GA prices and SA prices, when in most ways they aren't at all comparable?

Because at this point they are all one and the same. It's not like the old days when those terms were originated and golden age stuff was twice as old as silver age stuff. We are now forty years along and all of the books pre-1965 can essentially be lumped together as far as pricing goes. In fact, relatively speaking, silver age has far outpaced golden age price-wise across the board. Consider that you can now put together a complete run of Whiz in 8.0 (a randomly picked cutoff grade based on availability) or better for less than a 9.0 (see above) run of Fantastic Four. Which age is the "golden age"? By the demand I would say it is probably the early 60's. As far as I'm concerned all pre 1965 books are comparable by price. And price jumps on any book from any of those years will have some ramification on some other book from any of those years. A rise in 50s DC war could have some impact on Sgt. Fury prices which could, in turn, affect other second tier Marvel keys, which could affect Timely prices etc. etc. etc.

 

I tend not to assume correlations unless I can clearly see them, and until recently I never believed there was any correlation between GA sales and SA sales. Obviously I have to change my thinking.

Whether you choose to believe there is any correlation is irrelevant. The empirical data shows that there is.

 

Which is why I have to change my thinking.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Basically I do not believe in using my own money to buy my comic book collection.

 

 

Agreed. Problem is, I suck at selling comics. Time to find me a rich wife.

 

[comicartfan]

The new key price explosion continues...from book to book.

 

Amazing.

 

Unless it's the same guy setting all the records--which I suspect you already believe to be the case.

 

I don't believe at all that it's one person.

 

I had a gut feeling last year that keys were due for another pop when the guide listed them last July with hefty increases. I began buying as many as I could afford after that. Here we are, right on target.

 

(thumbs u

 

I do. I think that's much more plausible. Avengers 4 9.6 for 100K; Avengers 1 9.4 for 100K; AF 15 9.6 for 1 Mil; JIM 83 + X-Men 1 for 100K; TOS 39 for 150K.

 

You see keys going up, I see someone scratching a Marvel key itch.

I doubt it`s one person. It COULD have one person that made some of the initial headline-generating buys, which could have sparked competition with some other deep-pocketed buyers who realized they needed to up their game to snag the books they wanted. I`ve seen that pattern repeated many times through the years.

Pretty soon "$100K is the new $10K" is going to be outmoded and will have to be replaced with $200K is the new $10K". Amazing.

 

Well I wouldn't go that far.

 

Strong sales, but I do not think these sales are shocking except for the Avengers 4 CGC 9.6.

 

The AF 15 $1.1 million sale just proved what one collector/multi-millionaire would pay. Not reflective of the overall market value of the book.

 

I have to wonder if it really is a "collector" and not mearly investor(s). I would love to think that there is some rich dude with a huge "comic room"....but it might be a book that is just buried in a safe deposit box.

[Boboset]

I was/am in the process of gathering some of my collection together to sell in order to get a low/mid grade big key book. First, I planned on targeting AF#15, then that recent sale broke $1 Million and low/mid grade copies shot way up in price.

 

So then I decided to go after a strong mid grade TOS #39 instead. NOW, this sale goes through.

 

This is so frustrating. :frustrated: :frustrated:

 

What book do I go after now? ASM #1, Avengers #1, Daredevil #1?

 

I don't mean to derail the thread but this has seriously put me down.

[fantastic_four]

I don't believe at all that it's one person.

 

Why not? I can't remember ever seeing this many top-end keys being bought privately in this short a span of time. Since they're all also from different titles it gives the appearance the same guy is going for a key set by getting Josh, Doug, and Stephen/Vinny to dig up as many of them in the highest grade they can find. That actually is absolutely happening--I just don't know exactly which books are going to that same guy. The smattering of titles and issues suggests all of the record-setters are.

[fantastic_four]

I have to wonder if it really is a "collector" and not mearly investor(s). I would love to think that there is some rich dude with a huge "comic room"....but it might be a book that is just buried in a safe deposit box.

 

It's a collector.

 

But even if it was me, it'd still go into a safety deposit box. I'd never keep books like that in my house. I've got about 50 books in two safety deposit boxes right now, I enjoy them periodically when I go in to swap books around and also via my high-res scans I keep on the web. I've got many hundreds of others at a location not tied to my house...it lets me live and communicate publicly about my collection without worry of being targeted.

[tth2]

I don't believe at all that it's one person.

 

Why not? I can't remember ever seeing this many top-end keys being bought privately in this short a span of time. Since they're all also from different titles it gives the appearance the same guy is going for a key set by getting Josh, Doug, and Stephen/Vinny to dig up as many of them in the highest grade they can find. That actually is absolutely happening and you know it--I just don't know exactly which books are going to that same guy. The smattering of titles and issues suggests all of the record-setters are.

If it IS one collector, his collecting patterns make no sense. He shells out $1.1 million for the BEST AF 15, and then shells out big money for a mere 9.2 X-Men 1 and 9.0 JIM 83?

[fantastic_four]

If it IS one collector, his collecting patterns make no sense. He shells out $1.1 million for the BEST AF 15, and then shells out big money for a mere 9.2 X-Men 1 and 9.0 JIM 83?

 

I thought that too. It would only make sense if he's impatient for some reason. The guy I think it is has been a collector for a while, so if those latter two went to him, it only makes sense if he has a limited time window within which to spend some money and those are the best copies the consignment guys were able to scare up within the last few months. When's the last X-Men #1 CGC 9.4 or JIM 83 9.4/9.4 we saw on the market? Been a bit of time now.

 

Hiding money during a divorce would be my leading conspiracy theory. The thought of it discredits the hypothesis even to me, but I'm left with just never seeing this many top keys selling for record-breaking prices so quickly in private transactions that were subsequently ALL advertised quite publicly. Too big a coincidence to ignore.

[mackenzie999]

If it IS one collector, his collecting patterns make no sense. He shells out $1.1 million for the BEST AF 15, and then shells out big money for a mere 9.2 X-Men 1 and 9.0 JIM 83?

 

I'm unfamiliar with the exact copies in question, but perhaps he's buying the book not the number?

[tth2]

If it IS one collector, his collecting patterns make no sense. He shells out $1.1 million for the BEST AF 15, and then shells out big money for a mere 9.2 X-Men 1 and 9.0 JIM 83?

 

I thought that too. It would only make sense if he's impatient for some reason. The guy I think it is has been a collector for a while, so if those latter two went to him, it only makes sense if he has a limited time window within which to spend some money and those are the best copies the consignment guys were able to scare up within the last few months. When's the last X-Men #1 CGC 9.4 or JIM 83 9.4/9.4 we saw on the market? Been a bit of time now.

The Mound City X-Men #1 was a 9.4, and I believe a 9.2 JIM 83 sold around the time of the MC X-Men #1. That was the last time we saw a few high grade Marvel mega-keys appearing on the market, which was also the first time that we saw $100K confirmed as the new minimum level for the Marvel mega-keys.

 

I`m sure for the kind of money that`s being slung around a 9.4 X-Men #1 could`ve been dislodged. JIM 83 not so much, which illustrates how tough a book JIM 83 is compared to any mega-key except for FF 1 and Hulk 1.

 

[tth2]

If it IS one collector, his collecting patterns make no sense. He shells out $1.1 million for the BEST AF 15, and then shells out big money for a mere 9.2 X-Men 1 and 9.0 JIM 83?

 

I'm unfamiliar with the exact copies in question, but perhaps he's buying the book not the number?

In that case the buyer is very naive.

 

If and when he sells, what do you think prospective buyers are going to focus on?

[blazingbob]

Will you guys start a thread about my X-men #1 9.4 sale for over $100K?

 

My recent JIM #83 9.0 sale for over $40K

 

My recent TOS #39 9.2 sale for $40K

 

All to different buyers.

 

I have standing want lists from multiple buyers looking for high end books. I would retire nicely if I could print most of the marvel keys. Would make my life easier but then what would I do all day?

[Point Five]

I have standing want lists from multiple buyers looking for high end books. I would retire nicely if I could print most of the marvel keys. Would make my life easier but then what would I do all day?

Post here?

 

 

[DinnerB-migration]

Anybody think Doug just bought from Doug?

 

Maybe since he bids on his own Grand Auctions sometimes he had a buyer on the phone that just turned out to be his own voice.

 

Doug agreed to buy it from Doug.

 

A win win.......

 

you have my vote.

[DinnerB-migration]

The new key price explosion continues...from book to book.

 

Amazing.

 

Unless it's the same guy setting all the records--which I suspect you already believe to be the case.

 

I don't believe at all that it's one person.

 

I had a gut feeling last year that keys were due for another pop when the guide listed them last July with hefty increases. I began buying as many as I could afford after that. Here we are, right on target.

 

(thumbs u

 

I do. I think that's much more plausible. Avengers 4 9.6 for 100K; Avengers 1 9.4 for 100K; AF 15 9.6 for 1 Mil; JIM 83 + X-Men 1 for 100K; TOS 39 for 150K.

 

You see keys going up, I see someone scratching a Marvel key itch.

 

I've gotten strong prices for some fairly big keys and they are not buying these books.

 

 

Strong prices for keys are one thing, record-setting 6 and 7 figure direct sales with a discernable pattern is another thing entirely. If prices are strong for you, it likely has to do with the bajillion -e comic movies that are just around the corner.

 

 

 

I've gotten record setting prices in the 5 and 6 figure range for books and it had nothing to do with movies. They are just all trending upward.

 

I think it started with a combination of Overstreet Guide prices spiking in July as well as the big GA sales early last year.

 

Once the GA books took off last year ( and across the course of the year with keys like Action #1, Detective #27, Pep# 22 selling several times over), the guide was validated.

 

In order for the relationship to remain realistic between GA and SA keys I believed SA keys would begin to rise. It's a natural relationship. Always has been. Many keys have been steadily rising for the past 6 months in most grades anyway.

 

Bring on a few more record sales (Archie #1 at $167,000, JIM #83 CGC 9.2 for $82K and $75K, B+B #28 CGC 9.0 for $30,000, AF #15 CGC 9.6 for $1.1MIL) and all of a sudden you have a trend that keys across the board are selling for multiples again.

 

Add a dash of spring (hello sunshine) and con season and people are buying.

It's a rising tide and it seems to be happening across the board, not just at one level where you would expect a single, specific buyer to stay at. It's happening at many price points and it seems to trickle down to most books.

 

 

I've never seen a 6 figure book listed on your Ebay site.

 

I can assure you no one is buying high 5 figure to low six figure books at cons.

 

 

[DinnerB-migration]

The new key price explosion continues...from book to book.

 

Amazing.

 

Unless it's the same guy setting all the records--which I suspect you already believe to be the case.

 

I don't believe at all that it's one person.

 

I had a gut feeling last year that keys were due for another pop when the guide listed them last July with hefty increases. I began buying as many as I could afford after that. Here we are, right on target.

 

(thumbs u

 

I do. I think that's much more plausible. Avengers 4 9.6 for 100K; Avengers 1 9.4 for 100K; AF 15 9.6 for 1 Mil; JIM 83 + X-Men 1 for 100K; TOS 39 for 150K.

 

You see keys going up, I see someone scratching a Marvel key itch.

I doubt it`s one person. It COULD have one person that made some of the initial headline-generating buys, which could have sparked competition with some other deep-pocketed buyers who realized they needed to up their game to snag the books they wanted. I`ve seen that pattern repeated many times through the years.

 

Pretty soon "$100K is the new $10K" is going to be outmoded and will have to be replaced with $200K is the new $10K". Amazing.

 

Mega key top census perhaps.

 

[fantastic_four]

Will you guys start a thread about my X-men #1 9.4 sale for over $100K?

 

My recent JIM #83 9.0 sale for over $40K

 

My recent TOS #39 9.2 sale for $40K

 

All to different buyers.

 

If you report it to Scoop or CGC to go in their newsletter, then yes, we probably will. Time to kick the the HighGradeComics.com marketing department guy in the nuts for sitting around idly with his feet up on the desk.

[DinnerB-migration]

I was/am in the process of gathering some of my collection together to sell in order to get a low/mid grade big key book. First, I planned on targeting AF#15, then that recent sale broke $1 Million and low/mid grade copies shot way up in price.

 

So then I decided to go after a strong mid grade TOS #39 instead. NOW, this sale goes through.

 

This is so frustrating. :frustrated: :frustrated:

 

What book do I go after now? ASM #1, Avengers #1, Daredevil #1?

 

I don't mean to derail the thread but this has seriously put me down.

 

DD 1 9.4 for around $12k, only 6 - 9.6 and 1 9.8 higher.