Why buy high grades? 2 2

[cheetah]

Personally, I prefer books that look like they were just taken off the print line. Find me a pristine book from 1940 and I think it is the coolest thing ever. It costs more, but I've worked hard enough all my life and made decent choices so I can afford it.

 

If folks don't want high grade books, that's fine, too. It's just a hobby and it only works if you are happy with what you are getting. I'm very happy with what I collect and only struggle with deciding when I'm going after enough or too much. It doesn't mean I'm OCD and it doesn't mean I'm in it for the resale value, it just means I like what I collect and intend to keep on collecting.

[toro]

Personally, I prefer books that look like they were just taken off the print line. Find me a pristine book from 1940 and I think it is the coolest thing ever. It costs more, but I've worked hard enough all my life and made decent choices so I can afford it.

 

If folks don't want high grade books, that's fine, too. It's just a hobby and it only works if you are happy with what you are getting. I'm very happy with what I collect and only struggle with deciding when I'm going after enough or too much. It doesn't mean I'm OCD and it doesn't mean I'm in it for the resale value, it just means I like what I collect and intend to keep on collecting.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth. I was going to ask, "Why buy low grades?" If it is what makes you happy either high, low or somewhere between it's all good.

[Comicdey]

I like all grades

 

Some I'm happy to just have a copy and these days when I buy slabs I shoot for 7.0 and higher GA but really like the 8.0-9.0 SA spot. Copper 9.0-9.4 is my range.

 

It's all disposable income, so it's just a matter of what I like. I've seen many 4-6 range that present better than 7-8 range due to a ing water stain on the back.

 

Buy what you like. If you're lucky. You'll make a buck or two when you finally if ever sell

[Dr. Balls]

I felt that way when I got back into comics 4 years ago after a 10 year hiatus - and I was buying books in low grades just to have them (bronze, silver) and in VF grades in moderns.

 

However, now that I am "in the know" a little more, I am wanting to find higher grade copies of issues because - well, because I just desire them in higher grade. Part of being a collector is that it's ingrained in you to want what other people want - and higher grade books are very desirable.

 

Not to say low grades aren't cool, too. I have low grade big key books and that's all they area going to be. I find the nicest low grade copy I can, and I'm happy with that - because those books are just *too* much money to get in high grade for me.

 

However, lots of other books aren't. I've replaced a lot of my low grade BA keys with higher grades because it doesn't cost a whole lot to do that. So, I guess my advice for you is to still try and buy as best grade as you can get and always keep the option open that you may sell it down the line to upgrade.

 

Always be mindful of the resale value - even if you don't plan on selling. Because on the offchance you do, you don't want to take a loss. Which I did on several low grade books that I never thought I'd get rid of - and did. When I got back into comics in 20008, I wasn't as sharp of a grader as I am now - so I overgraded years ago, and when it came time to sell - I graded down to reality and took a loss.

[cheetah]

In reality, how could anyone not like a book like this. VF/NM and printed 2.5 years before Action 1 and representing a time from the depths of the Great Depression.

 

 

 

[gyro-1]

Buy what you love and can aford AND dont buy other peoples junk thats poor colecting !

[TC33]

I am one that would much rather have a mid grade copy of every Marvel/DC #1 Key instead of only 1 NM copy. I understand the desire to get the best copy available, it just does not fit my budget since I want a respectable copy of all of them and not just 1 high grade beauty.

[Prince Namor]

I'm trying to get back into comic collecting and am wondering why people will pay so much for high grade comics. I don't see why a 9.0 graded comic could be worth hundreds, if not thousands,more than the same comic graded 8.0. To me, the differences are so minor, why has a market been created around those differences that make them worth so much money?

 

Easy answer. The market of digital 9s was created because people figured out bronze,copper and modern comic books are virtually worthless in near mint. They figured out that near mint copies are not rare at all because of all the bagging,boarding and hoarding between 1976 and up!

So they had to create an artificial market to make some money.

9.2, 9.4, 9.6, 9.8 then 9.9

Some day we will see the 9.9 and a half!

 

The market created itself. CGC is just a reaction to it.

Collector's already gauge the value of the same book in 9.8 by White Pages or not (which CGC does designate) but also by how the book's cover was cut and properly stapled.

Collector's have long sought out and paid more for UHG books for their rarity since at least 1970 when the OSPG began publishing. Read Mile High Chuck's Edgar Church story and see how quickly word got around about that collection and how fast some of those collector's moved in to scoop some of those books up.

 

And were do you get that there are plenty of Bronze Age books in near mint that are 'virtually worthless'?

[Prince Namor]

I'm trying to get back into comic collecting and am wondering why people will pay so much for high grade comics. I don't see why a 9.0 graded comic could be worth hundreds, if not thousands,more than the same comic graded 8.0. To me, the differences are so minor, why has a market been created around those differences that make them worth so much money?

 

Is it mostly people speculating on comics as investments, or is a collector really willing to pay $1,000 more for a comic to not have some slight imperfections if they are simply going to keep it for themselves?

 

To me, I just want a comic that generally looks nice. If the 4 or 5 looks nice, I don't see the value to myself in buying any higher grade if I'm going to keep it. This is especially true for modern comics, when the differences between a 9.8 and 9.4 seems so minimal, give me the much cheaper 9.4 any day!

 

Then why worry about it?

I have a nice collection of Amazing Spider-man from 119 through 150 that are very average grade, that I can read or look at anytime I want and that I have no intention of slabbing. Other than the 121 and 129, I got them for dirt cheap.

Buy what you like and can afford or think is worth it.

[Illustrious]

I love low grade keys, not only because that's all I can afford, but also because you know they were well loved, read, and cherished by some kid who plunked down 10 cents back in the 40's. 50's or 60's.

[RickL]

When I got back into comics in 20008, I wasn't as sharp of a grader as I am now - so I overgraded years ago, and when it came time to sell - I graded down to reality and took a loss.

How did the value of that Walking Dead #1 9.9 hold up after 18,000 years anyway?

In reality, how could anyone not like a book like this. VF/NM and printed 2.5 years before Action 1 and representing a time from the depths of the Great Depression.

 

 

That book is a freak of nature.

 

[Bodhi396]

In reality, how could anyone not like a book like this. VF/NM and printed 2.5 years before Action 1 and representing a time from the depths of the Great Depression.

 

 

That book is a freak of nature.

 

I agree, seems highly unusual to find a book that old in such perfect condition. I've always wondered how such a thing happens. Everyone seems so concerned with getting the correct boards and bags to store their comics, and keeping them away from light and humidity. Yet this comic survived unscathed for 75 years without any of our modern protection. Where was it stored I wonder?

[VintageComics]

I'm trying to get back into comic collecting and am wondering why people will pay so much for high grade comics. I don't see why a 9.0 graded comic could be worth hundreds, if not thousands,more than the same comic graded 8.0. To me, the differences are so minor, why has a market been created around those differences that make them worth so much money?

 

Easy answer. The market of digital 9s was created because people figured out bronze,copper and modern comic books are virtually worthless in near mint. They figured out that near mint copies are not rare at all because of all the bagging,boarding and hoarding between 1976 and up!

So they had to create an artificial market to make some money.

9.2, 9.4, 9.6, 9.8 then 9.9

Some day we will see the 9.9 and a half!

 

The market created itself. CGC is just a reaction to it.

Collector's already gauge the value of the same book in 9.8 by White Pages or not (which CGC does designate) but also by how the book's cover was cut and properly stapled.

Collector's have long sought out and paid more for UHG books for their rarity since at least 1970 when the OSPG began publishing. Read Mile High Chuck's Edgar Church story and see how quickly word got around about that collection and how fast some of those collector's moved in to scoop some of those books up.

 

 

Agreed.

 

Necessity is the mother of invention and when books started selling for 5 and 6 and even 7 figures, you needed to differentiate between grades in a more precise way.

 

As prices increased, grades became more and more fine (or precise).

 

You can't label books Good - Fine - Mint anymore.

 

It's only logical to break it down to something less coarse for all of those books that fell in between those 3 grades.

 

 

[LordRahl]

Interesting responses.

 

I guess I understand the urge to have your comics in the best condition possible, even if as some alluded to, it might be just collectors' OCD.

 

I think I miss the time when just having a certain comic seemed to matter, as long as it was not falling apart. Now it seems having a certain key issue is not enough, but you have to have the issue In a really high grade. Maybe I'm misremembering how collecting was before CGC, But it seems like the strict condition of comics wasn't as big a concern.

I also think that old comics in low grade condition are interesting, because they can almost tell a story by their condition. You see a beat up Amazing Fantasy 15 and can imagine that it once belonged to a kid, and maybe was stored in an attic somewhere and somehow arrived at a dealer decades later. Comics in more 'perfect' grades have none of that history and character. I still have the first comic I ever bought and it's in fairly beat up condition and probably worth only a few bucks at most, but I love it more than any other comic I own. I could easily go out and buy exact issue in perfect condition, but it wouldn't be the same to me.

 

You are mis remembering how things were before CGC. I have never liked low and mid grade books. I just get zero pleasure from owning and looking at them. Even 15 years before CGC I was paying multiples of guide for high grade books.

[LordRahl]

I'm trying to get back into comic collecting and am wondering why people will pay so much for high grade comics. I don't see why a 9.0 graded comic could be worth hundreds, if not thousands,more than the same comic graded 8.0. To me, the differences are so minor, why has a market been created around those differences that make them worth so much money?

 

Easy answer. The market of digital 9s was created because people figured out bronze,copper and modern comic books are virtually worthless in near mint. They figured out that near mint copies are not rare at all because of all the bagging,boarding and hoarding between 1976 and up!

So they had to create an artificial market to make some money.

9.2, 9.4, 9.6, 9.8 then 9.9

Some day we will see the 9.9 and a half!

 

You are trying to make it sound like there were no differentiations of grade after NM before CGC, which is of course not true.

[divad]

Why buy high grades?

 

You're not supposed to buy high grades . . . you're supposed to sell high grades.

[VintageComics]

Interesting responses.

 

I guess I understand the urge to have your comics in the best condition possible, even if as some alluded to, it might be just collectors' OCD.

 

I think I miss the time when just having a certain comic seemed to matter, as long as it was not falling apart. Now it seems having a certain key issue is not enough, but you have to have the issue In a really high grade. Maybe I'm misremembering how collecting was before CGC, But it seems like the strict condition of comics wasn't as big a concern.

I also think that old comics in low grade condition are interesting, because they can almost tell a story by their condition. You see a beat up Amazing Fantasy 15 and can imagine that it once belonged to a kid, and maybe was stored in an attic somewhere and somehow arrived at a dealer decades later. Comics in more 'perfect' grades have none of that history and character. I still have the first comic I ever bought and it's in fairly beat up condition and probably worth only a few bucks at most, but I love it more than any other comic I own. I could easily go out and buy exact issue in perfect condition, but it wouldn't be the same to me.

 

You are mis remembering how things were before CGC. I have never liked low and mid grade books. I just get zero pleasure from owning and looking at them. Even 15 years before CGC I was paying multiples of guide for high grade books.

 

Ditto. I don't judge people who collect low grade books but I personally don't like low grade comics. Never have.

 

 

[Buzzetta]

I may look for a higher grade but to me I really want a presentable grade over a higher grade. For example I went after a book in a recent auction where there were three copies listed.

 

Copy one was a 8.5 with a date stamp

Copy two was a 8.0 with a clean cover

Copy three was a 5.0

 

I went after the 8.0 with a lot more dedication than the other two books. In fact I basically ignored the date stamp cover.

 

To me there is not much difference between the grades so I have been trying to hunt for 8.5 and up in my ASM 1-100 run. If a better copy comes along at a later date then I may upgrade and sell the older ones but for now... I want to complete the set.

[mikenyc]

Comics in more 'perfect' grades have none of that history and character.

 

I agree, seems highly unusual to find a book that old in such perfect condition. I've always wondered how such a thing happens. Everyone seems so concerned with getting the correct boards and bags to store their comics, and keeping them away from light and humidity. Yet this comic survived unscathed for 75 years without any of our modern protection. Where was it stored I wonder?

 

So maybe there's a little history?

[AJD]

I may look for a higher grade but to me I really want a presentable grade over a higher grade. For example I went after a book in a recent auction where there were three copies listed.

 

Copy one was a 8.5 with a date stamp

Copy two was a 8.0 with a clean cover

Copy three was a 5.0

 

I went after the 8.0 with a lot more dedication than the other two books. In fact I basically ignored the date stamp cover.

 

It's a matter of taste - I love date stamps on comics. Swap the grades over and I'd prefer an 8.0 with date stamp over an 8.5 most days.