Collecting vs. Speculating

[fantastic_four]

I would just disregard the eBay fixed price listings. Most of them have no relationship to reality and are more like shop window displays designed to bring in the occasional sucker or a collector such as yourself who finally loses patience.

 

E-Bay blows now that people have little or no disincentive to list stuff at market prices that are 5, 10, 50, or an infinite number of years ahead of their time over and over and over again. Used to be people made an effort to price stuff realistically when they were looking at eating listing fees, but now that E-Bay makes listings cheap or free for long periods of time, I don't even look at it anymore. It's a graveyard of overpriced mess.

[ComicConnoisseur]

Sounds like the discussion has wound down into a disagreement about the meaning of "speculation." To me, speculation involves a forward-looking expectation about shifts in the market price. If somebody thinks that a product is currently under-valued or over-valued, and acts accordingly so that he will make money if his expectations prove correct--that's speculation. So speculation is mainly relevant when something's market price hasn't been clearly established, or when somebody has reason to believe that the previously established market price will soon shift (like in the run-up to a popular movie).

 

Something like Hulk 181--the price has been well established over the years. It may move up or down some over time, but that's a result of supply versus demand, rather than investors thinking that Hulk 181 is about to experience some big shift in pricing. So I don't see speculation being a significant contributor to the price.

Exactly. An example according to the GPA data if you bought one copy of Incredible Hulk#181 CGC 9.0 in 2004-05 it would have cost you about $1000 and if you sold that same copy now you would get about $1000. So really the market has been established for this book. Speculative is you buy a book that is undervalued and then wait and hope it gets hot to maximize profits. Everybody knows about Hulk #181 and the market will still be about the same for this book 5 more years from now. So unless it`s a uber high grade Hulk#181 then your looking at a slow growth for profitability for this book in the future.

[Walls]

fantastic_four.... Your signature graphic.... That's just not right. I can't read anything when that is on the screen. (P.S. Who is that and where is a link to more?)

And for some reason I find the expressions on her face just as compelling as everything else she has on display....

[fantastic_four]

fantastic_four.... Your signature graphic.... That's just not right. I can't read anything when that is on the screen. (P.S. Who is that and where is a link to more?)

And for some reason I find the expressions on her face just as compelling as everything else she has on display....

 

Same, they're half of the effect.