Investing in comics?

[Rickdogg]

[ninanina]

Recently checked out price changes in the 25th edition of overstreet and compared them to the 32nd edition that came out last year. What was interesting to me was that the early silver age Justice Leagues in Fine came down in price although Very Fines and Near Mints went up. X-Men showed increases both in Fines (up 144%) and Near Mints (up 224%) Daredevils (checked 10 - 20) Fines were up only 115% while Near Mints went up 148%. For investing, High Grade is the way to go.

 

Herb

[FlyingDonut]

NO!

 

Cleaned and Pressed is the Way to Go!

[ninanina]

How would one go about getting their comics cleaned and pressed? Sorry, I'm new here and just to let you know, I've been told I have a "dry" sense of humor. Actually, has anyone ever ironed a comic's creases out? Or is this some secret thing that only a dealer should know about. (Sorry about being off topic, but maybe someone can answer and get back on topic - Anyone?) I have and I'm wondering if I did anything wrong?

[drbanner]

What was interesting to me was that the early silver age Justice Leagues in Fine came down in price although Very Fines and Near Mints went up.

 

Look for this trend to continue...most silver and bronze books below VF do not sell at guide prices. Most pre-1975 books in NM sell for above guide prices. Low-mid grade golden age are still solid sellers at guide, but after about 1965, Goods, Fines, and most VF's sell at 20-60% below guide. The price spreads on post -1965 books are going to continue to escalate, with NM's increasing, and VF's and lower actually dropping in price (in the price guide that is, "market" conditions currently reflect lower-than-guide prices for low-mid grades).

[murph0]

The interesting thing will be if the prices continue to go lower and lower for mid-grade and below..will that drag high grade prices down?

 

Brian

[supapimp]

if your going to buy stocks, buy GPS stocks.

[murph0]

*cough* or companies that would benefit from a war.. *cough like Rockwell International *cough

just kidding

 

Brian

[Darthdiesel]

The question of holding books is very complicated. The only books I would hold indefinetly are MAJOR Keys in top grades. This means #1's, Major Character first appearances/Origins ...

 

Even Andy is a proponent of Wolvie's mega hit miniseries!!!

[murph0]

Yeh, you're nuts.

 

Brian

[COI]

" The interesting thing will be if the prices continue to go lower and lower for mid-grade and below..will that drag high grade prices down?"

 

No, the gap will continue widening. Mid-grade and lower Silver is too common, even with early Silver. VF should stay solid. It still astonishes me that low grade major keys command the price they do. ASM #1 still costs over 1K, even for a piece of , but there are SO MANY low grades out there. When you consider the ratio of existing low grades compared to high(9.0 up) grades of these major keys, either the high grades should be worth a lot more, or the low grades a lot less. But obviously, the reason this isn't so is because there is only so much buying power among the masses.

[drbanner]

I agree, the gaps will continue to widen, and it's not that lower low-grade prices will bring high grade prices down, but more that Overstreet has systematically pulled low grade prices up when increasing NM guide values. I don't think G's, VG's, etc.,. of post-1965 books ever sold for those prices.

 

As for low-grade keys, they will always be in demand and I would expect that to continue. The number of collectors/completists that can afford G copies of Spidey 1 ($800-1,000?) far exceeds the number that can afford a 9.4 ($70k in the October Heritage Auction). If the guide ever reflects what CGC 9.4's actually sell for, we'll be looking at price spreads of 1:70-100 on most books...

[blazingbob]

If someone came up with some money and said I want to buy Silver Age for an investment I would probably suggest the following:

 

1). X-Men #1 9.0 or better. Still a great key on one of the most popular Marvel Titles

2). Fantastic Four #1 9.0 or better, Should not guide less than a AS #1

3). Amazing Fantasy #15 9.0 or better, The Action #1 of Silver Age

4). Hulk #181, common but it's one of the 3 Bronze Keys, still has legs.

5). AS #4 9.0 or better, one of the toughest early issues, strong demand

6). AS #11 9.0 or better, should not be grouped with AS #12

7). FF #12/13 9.0 or better, the holy grail of FF collectors

8). Battle issues in general, Silver and Bronze, always a favorite among the "Who would win crowd"

9). FF #5/AS #14

10). Journey Into Mystery 83-100, Scarcity and high demand among Marvel completists

 

 

 

[Zonker]

ninanina--

 

Flying Donut was having a little fun (being sarcastic). Nobody (except maybe one nameless soul on this board) really believes "cleaned & pressed is the way to go." But you'll find that phrase popping up everywhere now as a sort of inside joke.

 

As far as what cleaned & pressed is all about, you might find some threads on the grading/restoration forum.

 

And for more on Donut's inside joke, check out the Golden Age forum from just before Christmas day to the day-or-so after New Year's.

 

Cheers,

Z.

[ninanina]

Z

I kinda figured that out but "thanks for the heads up". (I hear that a lot on NYPD Blue) Thanks also everyone for your posts on what's happening in Silver Age. I am going to take Flying Donut's advise and hang on to my collection. Seems that everyone thinks generally that it will all go up as long as it's Fine or better, just that the higher grades will go up faster than the lower grade stuff. Sounds like a healthy market, especially if you're patient.

Where exactly does mid-grade kick in. Someone said mid grade and lower is common. Is that Fine and lower? or is it Very Good and lower? not sure

Herb

PS Thanks everyone for making me feel welcome.

[ninanina]

Or, as High Grade prices go higher it will drag Mid Grade prices higher with only low grade going lower?

H

[awe4one]

Has that really happened yet? If anything I would think the reverse has occurred. FN and lower comics have steadily gone down in price in my opinion as high grade has blossomed.

 

 

Jim

[COI]

I consider Mid-grades FN6.0 to VF-7.5

 

"Or, as High Grade prices go higher it will drag Mid Grade prices higher with only low grade going lower?"

 

With Silver age, no. The reason being that there is a lot of Silver that's nice with a few major defects relegating them to mid grade status. Also, it's been my experience that getting guide prices for Mid grade is hardest. A majority of collectors usually want 2 types of books: Either low grade copies to read, or high grade copies. High grade copies are in high demand for obvious reasons, and low grade are also in high demand, but are much more abundant, making them cheaper. These 2 ends of the spectrum cause mid-grades to twist in the wind.

 

Bottom line: Mid grade is not much harder to find than lower grade, so it is likely that mid grade prices will fall with lower grades, or will distance themselves further from high grade prices.

[ninanina]

As the situation in today's market is what it is I would tend to agree with you. However, I do remember a time when restoring was the rage.Fads in collecting come and go and right now the fad is Near Mint or Good. If silver age "pops" again, making near mints even higher than they are today, or even if there is a series of smaller increases over the next 10 - 15 years; which seems likely, could the Fines finally have their day in the sun? Perhaps this really depends on the ratio that exists between the comics stored away in collections now and new collector's coming on board that might shy away from a $6300.00 near mint journey into mystery (guide) but be happy to spend $1986.00 (Double Guide) for a Fine copy. I know it's not happening now, but trends do change over time. A copy in true CGC Fine is still quite attractive, isn't it? If not enough collectors come on board perhaps the people buying Goods, Very Goods et all would one day want to up-grade to Fine, or at least Fine/Very Fine.

Also, another point. A dealer told me a year ago that for the most part Very Fines are being ignored right now for exactly the reason you stated. People NOW want either Near Mint or Good. This would be the time to load up - when nobody wants them.

I personally feel that as prices for Near Mint escalates, in time Fine - Very Fine will be a nice alternative for many collectors. Either from the ones that are buying low grades now, or from the collectors of the future.

[aardvark88]

Agree totally. Even now some silver age collectors have been priced out of the cgc 9.0 & up market, & are relegated to 8.0-8.5 or RAW 9.0.