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Am I missing something on this Valiant auction??

Started by thecomicsheet,

17 posts in this topic

blowout

blowout

Posted
Posted

There was a thread on this phenomenon a few weeks back...it seems pre-Unity Valiant books in CGC 9.8 are seeing some hot price activity. Now what could POSSIBLY be causing that? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

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kryptonitecomics

kryptonitecomics

Posted
Posted

Valiant is hot again with speculators. Although the print runs were small on the early books, a lot survived in high grades. So for right now.....if you want to strike while the Iron is hot..........CGC all of you Pre-unity Valiant's and dump them on Ebay and watch the fireworks 893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif

 

If you think the price on this book is an anomoly, look at completed CGC Valiant auctions for the past couple of weeks and you will be blown away 893whatthe.gif893whatthe.gif893whatthe.gif

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valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted
Isn't this kind of a high price ($148) for this book:

Magnust Robot Fighter #4 CGC 9.8

Or am I missing something here. confused.gif

This is one of those strange combinations of a seller with no sense of reality,

and a buyer with unlimited funds.

Unfortunately, this will just encourage "fredkarger" to continue his selling "strategy".

 

This particular book sold for an average of $58 (INCLUDING shipping)

before the "Buy It Now" price on the auction you listed.

I suspect it will be $58-ish again...

 

One or more Valiant collectors (but, I would bet not more than a dozen)

are looking to put together CGC 9.8 collections...

and since only about 2 to 5 copies have been graded at CGC 9.8,

the prices are outrageous at the moment.

I say "give it time"... and don't think there won't be more just like it.

 

I'm actually hoping the "attention" coming to Valiant lately will bring

the high grade books out of hiding and LOWER the prices on Ebay.

That would be GREAT. grin.gif

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FFB

FFB

Posted
Posted

Here's the real irony. Valiant's early books had print runs higher than the current issue of a lot of books, including Elektra's series, which is being cancelled due to low readership. In fact, all of the pre-Unity Valiants would make it comfortably onto the Diamond Distributors Top 100 list nowadays. These prices have nothing to do with the actual rarity of the books. It's about the "perception" of rarity.

 

Don't get me wrong. I love Valiants. I love them. They were the best books on the shelf back then. And I do not begrudge the sellers their right to get $150 for a 9.8 copy of any of these books. Good for them if someone wants to pay that much for that book.

 

But from the buy side, I can't help but think that the prices that people are paying for them right now are ridiculous considering how many copies of each issue exist (with the exception of Magnus #0(card sendaway) and Harbinger #1 pink and other sub-10,000 copy books), and out of those that exist, the number of them that exist in NM or better condition. I don't generally scoff at people who pay a lot for stuff they like (mainly because I think that people have a right to spend whatever they want on whatever makes them happy), but purely from a supply and demand perspective, I have to think that these prices are driven more by speculation than they are by actual reader demand for the books. For some reason, with Valiant books, that really bothers me because that's not what those books were about when they were first created.

 

On the other hand, maybe Marvel will see how much demand remains for these characters and will buy them with some of the excess cash they have lying around these days (over $100mm in net cash -- almost twice what Acclaim paid for Valiant back during its heyday). If they could get some quality creators to bring back these characters, I'd be thrilled.

 

Valiant is hot again with speculators. Although the print runs were small on the early books, a lot survived in high grades. So for right now.....if you want to strike while the Iron is hot..........CGC all of you Pre-unity Valiant's and dump them on Ebay and watch the fireworks 893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif

 

If you think the price on this book is an anomoly, look at completed CGC Valiant auctions for the past couple of weeks and you will be blown away 893whatthe.gif893whatthe.gif893whatthe.gif

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valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted
I love Valiants. I love them. They were the best books on the shelf back then....

 

I have to think that these prices are driven more by speculation than they are by actual reader demand for the books. For some reason, with Valiant books, that really bothers me because that's not what those books were about when they were first created.

In my view, Valiant offers something for everyone...

 

The absolute best stories are not incredibly hard to find, even as original comics.

The prices are still very low $2 to $25 each.

 

Many of these stories were reprinted in trade paperbacks available in the $4 to $10 range.

 

If you're just looking for a great read... the earliest books will not disappoint,

and they won't break the bank either. Read from Magnus #1 through Unity

and see what all the fuss is (was) about.

 

If you're into "print run numbers", then the gold variant books are limited to 5,000,

with a few other Valiant books less than 5,000... and a few books just over 5,000.

 

If you're a "completist", you'll only need 800 books to have EVERYTHING Valiant.

And at least 500 of those books are pretty easy to round up under cover price.

 

If you're into CGC 9.8's, Valiant doesn't have a ton (yet)...

so it's an exciting thing to watch - even if you don't want to take part.

 

If CGC 9.6's are good enough for you... some Valiant books in CGC 9.6 are

in the $15 to $25 range... that's only about the cost of the slab itself.

 

If you don't like the "uncertainties" associated with buying brand spankin' new comics...

The earliest Valiant books are already thirteen years old,

and a Valiant book hasn't been printed for eight years...

placing them squarely between the "antiques" and the "newstand".

 

...and if you just enjoy making Joe_Collector pull his hair out...

there's no easier way than to mention your affection for Valiant!

(That's a convincing argument on its own!) grin.gif

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blowout

blowout

Posted
Posted

If you're just looking for a great read... the earliest books will not disappoint, and they won't break the bank either. Read from Magnus #1 through Unity

and see what all the fuss is (was) about.

 

893applaud-thumb.gif

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thecomicsheet

thecomicsheet

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Isn't this kind of a high price ($148) for this book:

Magnust Robot Fighter #4 CGC 9.8

Or am I missing something here. confused.gif

This is one of those strange combinations of a seller with no sense of reality,

and a buyer with unlimited funds.

Unfortunately, this will just encourage "fredkarger" to continue his selling "strategy".

 

This particular book sold for an average of $58 (INCLUDING shipping)

before the "Buy It Now" price on the auction you listed.

I suspect it will be $58-ish again...

 

One or more Valiant collectors (but, I would bet not more than a dozen)

are looking to put together CGC 9.8 collections...

and since only about 2 to 5 copies have been graded at CGC 9.8,

the prices are outrageous at the moment.

I say "give it time"... and don't think there won't be more just like it.

 

I'm actually hoping the "attention" coming to Valiant lately will bring

the high grade books out of hiding and LOWER the prices on Ebay.

That would be GREAT. grin.gif

 

I would bet the attention will bring some more high grades onto the CGC market. I'm probably an example, I have a few Valiant's that I never considered getting graded because it wouldn't pay to do so. I'm going to give them another look.

 

For completionists Valiant makes a "doable" collection that you can put together without breaking the bank. I can still pick up a number of these books in the 50 cent bin at my LCS.

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valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted
I can still pick up a number of these books in the 50 cent bin at my LCS.

Most of the 1993 issues are 50 cent candidates...

and it may be decades before they're even cover price again.

 

That's why I guess this seller is looking for other ways to make a buck. grin.gif27_laughing.gif

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Solar

Solar

Posted
Posted

Aug002 is the most insane Valiant fanatic out there. I've sold him over $1000 worth of Valiant and he keeps buying more. I hope he's a fan and not a speculator for his sake. I believe Valiants, especially pre Unity have significant value, but generally nowhere near what he pays for them.

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