Comic Prices and CGC Graded Books

[delekkerste]

Where is CI when you need him??? I think he might have some, uh, differing opinions on the subject.

 

Gene

[drbanner]

Sounds about right...the CGC market for the real common books (high grade Spideys above 150, X-men above 130, etc.,.) has peaked and subsided, but the rare and hard to find books have continued to appreciate across the board. I wish I still had my 9.6 Cap 110, 9.6 Spidey 97, 9.4 Cap 117, 9.6 Cap 143, etc.,. as they seem to be going for more now than they did when I sold them last spring/summer. But of course if I did still have them, I wouldn't have my (fill in the long list of Golden Age books and Silver Age upgrades I've financed by selling 'em).

[COI]

GP, nice to hear this from a different angle.

 

Your posts confirmed what I already thought, that the rare stuff will only get rarer. For comics, this is definetly true for Golden Age, and pre-66' Silver where supply will never reach demand on most books.

 

As for modern comics, the reason I think so many are slabbed is simply due to making money on the part of the submitter. Everyone I know who submits moderns for sale, can't be rid of them fast enough because they're worried about the bubble, and want to take their profit and run. If a collector likes a certain modern book and wants to buy a slabbed copy, that's fine. But what concerns me are the more naive newbies who are misinformed, and actually believe they are making solid investments. This can end up being very damaging to the individual, and the hobby as a whole.

[GP_]

definately, the modern bubble is a strange thing! With coins the registry sets keep the bubble fully inflated. Unless CGC starts a comic registry, I dont think it will last here. At some point the prices will have to level off, once people realize they are paying too much.

 

Not too say all slabbed moderns sell for too much. I have purchased some CGC slabbed books recently. When I look at them for sale, i consider what I would pay for a nm/m copy raw, add grading fees plus a few $ for shipping and such and thats what I am willing to pay. I buy slabbed books that i want to keep for a long time, and the protection a slab provides is worth it to me. I also have a reader for all the moderns I have slabbed.

 

Of course my buying strategy could always turn out to be a bad idea, maybe some day I could get them for less, but seeing the quality of books I see in stores, I dont think higher grades are going to be available for less in the future, since not all books on the shelves would grade 9.8+. But then again, I am not an investor, I dont plan on making money off comics (or coins for that matter)

 

As for newbies getting taken and leaving the hobby. I dont think it will be a problem. Anyone that is just getting into the hobby, and didnt do their research ahead of time and wants to make money/investments from it, are in for just as rude of an awakening as they would get with any other business or investment platform without doing their research. They usually either have a complete turn around and stick with the hobby, or wouldnt of been a good part of the collecting community anyway.

[fantastic_four]

Yea even though I've always thought the modern ultra-high-grade buyers are a little dim, I didn't think overinvesting would force most of them out. They don't cost enough to put too many people out of house and home.

 

The CCG's web developers are indeed currently working on a comics registry. I posted here offering to create something like a registry a month or two ago, and Architect said that he already had one in the works.