SS on high grade keys?

[shrunkenhead]

Hey gang,

 

So I've been tempted to pull the trigger on a few HG SA keys that have been signed by Stan Lee, Romita, etc. What's your feeling on spendy signature series keys? Always a plus, or would you rather not see a sig on an HG book? Not looking to flip, but just wondering about eventual resale down the road.

[sufunk]

Personally, i HATE sigs on HG books. The only HG SS book i own is 1 book that i wanted that went like 33% below gpa so i couldnt pass it up. If it would have went for normal price, no way would i have bought it.

 

Sigs are a killer on HG books for me (thumbs u

[lscomics]

I have to go the other way here. To me, in most cases, it's a big + as long as the signature placement is good. It also depends on who signed the book. I know lots of people are crazy about Frank Miller but his signature, to me, is a big detraction with as large and sloppy as it is. Stan is nice to have, again as long as the placement is good and he doesn't sign over a characters face. Romita Sr. has a beautiful, clean signature, as well as Steranko, Ayers, Neal Adams etc.

[sufunk]

I have to go the other way here. To me, in most cases, it's a big + as long as the signature placement is good. It also depends on who signed the book. I know lots of people are crazy about Frank Miller but his signature, to me, is a big detraction with as large and sloppy as it is. Stan is nice to have, again as long as the placement is good and he doesn't sign over a characters face. Romita Sr. has a beautiful, clean signature, as well as Steranko, Ayers, Neal Adams etc.

 

Maybe it's because i'm not a sig guy but i almost always think the sig placement looks HORRIBLE! Take this book for instance. I LOVE the Avengers and Suscha Peds. This book was unsigned and sitting on eBay for a year with a ridiculously high BIN. I tried a couple times to work a deal but the seller wouldnt budge a single dollar. I was considering breaking down and buying it anyways since it was a GREAT looking 5.5 imo. I searched for it a few weeks ago and saw THIS!!!

 

 

 

Those sigs are HORRIFIC imo! Now, the price is jacked up even higher! Who the hell is going to pay a insanely high BIN for that garbage?!? The book is completely ruined imo. As bad as i wanted it, i wouldnt pay $500 for it now much less the crazy 5k he wants for those unbelievable bad sig placements!

[shrunkenhead]

Ok, I agree, that Avengers does look bad. I'm kinda surprised, as I've seen Stan Lee do a lot of very tasteful sigs. Maybe he was just feeling particularly wicked that day?

 

Though I'm still leaning towards the notion that sigs, even on keys and/or HG books, are generally a good thing.

[sufunk]

Ok, I agree, that Avengers does look bad. I'm kinda surprised, as I've seen Stan Lee do a lot of very tasteful sigs. Maybe he was just feeling particularly wicked that day?

 

Though I'm still leaning towards the notion that sigs, even on keys and/or HG books, are generally a good thing.

 

I'm not a sig guy so i dont like them on ANY books. Lower grade books, i guess its fine as it does add a little something but definitely not on HG books or Pedigrees imo.

 

I have a few books that are signed by Stan Lee or Jack Kirby on the 1st page. They arent SS but the blue label has the little notation "Signed by Stan Lee on 1st page" like this one

 

 

 

I would rather have one of those books over a SS book any day of the week and twice on Sundays. I'd pay a premium for the non SS signed books but not a SS book

[MagnetoWasRight]

I love SS books, HG or LG. Me, personally, I stick to lower grades for SS's but to each his own. I can't say I haven't admired a few HG key SS's.

[Illustrious]

I too think SS should be reserved for lower grade books, a lot of collectors feel like writing on the cover degrades it somewhat even if it is the artist/writer/creator.

[sufunk]

I too think SS should be reserved for lower grade books, a lot of collectors feel like writing on the cover degrades it somewhat even if it is the artist/writer/creator.

 

+1

 

If you're getting a book SS'd to keep in your collection, fine. If you hope to resell it, i would NEVER SS a HG book! NEVER!

 

99% of HG collectors want nothing whatsoever to do with a book that has sigs on the cover. Hell, the VAST majority of them will pass on a book even if it has a tiny little date stamp. A sig? You are going to have a VERY hard time selling a HG SS book since you've knocked out probably 75% or more of the potential buyers imo

[mschmidt]

I have to go the other way here. To me, in most cases, it's a big + as long as the signature placement is good. It also depends on who signed the book. I know lots of people are crazy about Frank Miller but his signature, to me, is a big detraction with as large and sloppy as it is. Stan is nice to have, again as long as the placement is good and he doesn't sign over a characters face. Romita Sr. has a beautiful, clean signature, as well as Steranko, Ayers, Neal Adams etc.

 

Maybe it's because i'm not a sig guy but i almost always think the sig placement looks HORRIBLE! Take this book for instance. I LOVE the Avengers and Suscha Peds. This book was unsigned and sitting on eBay for a year with a ridiculously high BIN. I tried a couple times to work a deal but the seller wouldnt budge a single dollar. I was considering breaking down and buying it anyways since it was a GREAT looking 5.5 imo. I searched for it a few weeks ago and saw THIS!!!

 

 

 

Those sigs are HORRIFIC imo! Now, the price is jacked up even higher! Who the hell is going to pay a insanely high BIN for that garbage?!? The book is completely ruined imo. As bad as i wanted it, i wouldnt pay $500 for it now much less the crazy 5k he wants for those unbelievable bad sig placements!

 

Stan Lee doesn't pay much attention to where he signs the books which is why you need targeted windowbags to end up with something like this:

 

 

SS keys are the bees knees

[sufunk]

That one looks MUCH better!

 

I still think 8.5 is about the maximum upper limit though for a SS SA key. Any higher grade than that and i think you are MASSIVELY reducing the buyer pool for a book. Theres already a SMALL number of collectors that are going to drop 5 figures + for a book. Adding sigs on the cover drops that small number down even further.

 

Again, if its for your own collection, have at it and do whatever the hell you want to make you happy with the book. If you're thinking of re-selling though, you're making a HUGE mistake imo to SS a HG book

[mschmidt]

I too think SS should be reserved for lower grade books, a lot of collectors feel like writing on the cover degrades it somewhat even if it is the artist/writer/creator.

 

+1

 

If you're getting a book SS'd to keep in your collection, fine. If you hope to resell it, i would NEVER SS a HG book! NEVER!

 

99% of HG collectors want nothing whatsoever to do with a book that has sigs on the cover. Hell, the VAST majority of them will pass on a book even if it has a tiny little date stamp. A sig? You are going to have a VERY hard time selling a HG SS book since you've knocked out probably 75% or more of the potential buyers imo

 

You do realize this statement has absolutely no bearing in reality, right?

 

SS books, on average, sell easier and for more money than their blue label counterparts. Sure, there is a subset of collectors who won't touch SS books with a 10-foot pole, but they're easily matched by the people who love SS books and will gladly pay a premium for, say, a key with a Stan Lee signature on it.

 

On a personal level, you may think this is wrong - but the market just doesn't agree with you.

[sufunk]

I too think SS should be reserved for lower grade books, a lot of collectors feel like writing on the cover degrades it somewhat even if it is the artist/writer/creator.

 

+1

 

If you're getting a book SS'd to keep in your collection, fine. If you hope to resell it, i would NEVER SS a HG book! NEVER!

 

99% of HG collectors want nothing whatsoever to do with a book that has sigs on the cover. Hell, the VAST majority of them will pass on a book even if it has a tiny little date stamp. A sig? You are going to have a VERY hard time selling a HG SS book since you've knocked out probably 75% or more of the potential buyers imo

 

You do realize this statement has absolutely no bearing in reality, right?

 

SS books, on average, sell easier and for more money than their blue label counterparts. Sure, there is a subset of collectors who won't touch SS books with a 10-foot pole, but they're easily matched by the people who love SS books and will gladly pay a premium for, say, a key with a Stan Lee signature on it.

 

On a personal level, you may think this is wrong - but the market just doesn't agree with you.

 

HG big ticket books?? say 9.4+ and 5 figures and higher? If those are the kind of SS books you're talking about, you're completely off base imo. A DD1 in 8.5, maybe. In 9.4 or 9.6, the people that pay THAT much for books like that arent paying more to have a sig on the cover. Most of those people FREAK if theres a little adte stamp unless is a Pedigree like Green River.

[TeddieMercede]

Way too many nice books getting SS-ed because people think they can get some extra $ out of it. The worst is when pedigree books are given the treatment.

[sufunk]

Way too many nice books getting SS-ed because people think they can get some extra $ out of it. The worst is when pedigree books are given the treatment.

 

[scooter99]

Way too many nice books getting SS-ed because people think they can get some extra $ out of it. The worst is when pedigree books are given the treatment.

 

+1

 

I've never liked SS books. To me it is defacing a book.

[mschmidt]

I too think SS should be reserved for lower grade books, a lot of collectors feel like writing on the cover degrades it somewhat even if it is the artist/writer/creator.

 

+1

 

If you're getting a book SS'd to keep in your collection, fine. If you hope to resell it, i would NEVER SS a HG book! NEVER!

 

99% of HG collectors want nothing whatsoever to do with a book that has sigs on the cover. Hell, the VAST majority of them will pass on a book even if it has a tiny little date stamp. A sig? You are going to have a VERY hard time selling a HG SS book since you've knocked out probably 75% or more of the potential buyers imo

 

You do realize this statement has absolutely no bearing in reality, right?

 

SS books, on average, sell easier and for more money than their blue label counterparts. Sure, there is a subset of collectors who won't touch SS books with a 10-foot pole, but they're easily matched by the people who love SS books and will gladly pay a premium for, say, a key with a Stan Lee signature on it.

 

On a personal level, you may think this is wrong - but the market just doesn't agree with you.

 

HG big ticket books?? say 9.4+ and 5 figures and higher? If those are the kind of SS books you're talking about, you're completely off base imo. A DD1 in 8.5, maybe. In 9.4 or 9.6, the people that pay THAT much for books like that arent paying more to have a sig on the cover. Most of those people FREAK if theres a little adte stamp unless is a Pedigree like Green River.

 

Incredible Hulk #181

 

 

A bit more up your alley - Avengers #4

 

[shrunkenhead]

Wow, those 181 numbers are pretty compelling evidence.

[NP_Gresham]

I rate sigs just above a trim. I would never own or bid on a sig.

That being said, I am definitely in the minority. Slap a Stan Lee sig on a roll of Toilet Paper and it is suddenly worth $250+ .

[sufunk]

Awesome point! Didn't realize Hulk 181 was now a SA book!

 

Obviously there are people who like them and will buy them. From what I've seen though, most HG SA buyers don't like SS books. I NEVER see guys like doc joe, ghost town, cheetah etc post SS key books. I look thru the registries of the top 25 or so guys all the time and pretty much none of them buy HG SA SS keys. Like I said, most of those guys don't even like date stamps on their HG keys from what ive seen and I never see them posting SS keys that they bought

 

If you like them and want a keeper like the guy who just posted, great! If you're looking to resell, I think you're definitely reducing your buying pool on truly HG SA keys