X-men #94 CGC 9.4 Prices?

[tth2]

I've always wondered why people who press books are called greedy.

 

Greed is defined as having the desire for something that they don't need.

 

It's no more greedy than wanting to possess a high grade copy of X-men #94.

 

No different than shining shoes rather than selling someone new ones, pushing out a dent in a fender rather than replacing it or straightening your hair to look "better" than you normally look because you don't like wavy hair etc.

 

Ultimately, it's just a service marketed for a certain segment of the market. It's not for everyone but then nothing is.

Pressing books for your own collection is not greedy (at least not in the short-term). Cheating, maybe, but not greedy.

 

Pressing books so you can transform them into something better than they were when you bought them, so you can sell them at a higher price, IS greedy. And cheating.

[JesterSB]

The bumper analogy is a good one, because no car guy would consider a dent removed from a bumper as RESTORATION, which many argue is what pressing is, even though the processes are similar.

[VintageComics]

I've always wondered why people who press books are called greedy.

 

Greed is defined as having the desire for something that they don't need.

 

It's no more greedy than wanting to possess a high grade copy of X-men #94.

 

No different than shining shoes rather than selling someone new ones, pushing out a dent in a fender rather than replacing it or straightening your hair to look "better" than you normally look because you don't like wavy hair etc.

 

Ultimately, it's just a service marketed for a certain segment of the market. It's not for everyone but then nothing is.

Pressing books for your own collection is not greedy (at least not in the short-term). Cheating, maybe, but not greedy.

 

Pressing books so you can transform them into something better than they were when you bought them, so you can sell them at a higher price, IS greedy. And cheating.

 

You mean like ironing a pair of pants to your Armani suit?

 

It's all relative.

 

Like I said, it's only in comics that the word greed is used so strongly. No other industry or hobby that I know of reacts the same way to the removal of a benign defect.

 

In fact, the thought process to valuing comics is very different than most other hobbies. Here are a few examples of conflicting thinking that don't logically make sense to the outside world.

 

You drop a pen mark on a comic (by mistake or to colour touch it) and all of a sudden it's worth 1/2 or less of it's "unrestored" or "unwritten" value but if someone "witnesses" a signature the comic is worth more or if the ink mark was made at the time of distribution the value is not affected. All examples have writing/ink on the cover, possibly with the same amount of ink.

 

You press out a bump, wave or an indent and you are considered "greedy" but if you "officially" restore a book by replacing pieces, colour touching and performing tear seals you are a conservationist.

 

You replace a rusty staple that is eating into the paper and the book is worth less than if you leave the staple in there.

 

I'm not trying to justify pressing, I'm trying to show the mental hoops that we go through as a hobby while building illogical ways to value our books.

 

Until (or if/when) we as a hobby get to the point where values on comics are a little more logical and less emotional, there are going to be people providing services to fill those gaps and provide a product that the market is asking for.

 

And in reality, (in my opinion) pressing a comic is no more greedy than pushing out a dent on a fender of an antique car or pressing a pair of designer pants. Just like in comics, the fender and the pants were all pressed when they were new and put into circulation anyway.

[joeypost]

I've always wondered why people who press books are called greedy.

 

Greed is defined as having the desire for something that they don't need.

 

It's no more greedy than wanting to possess a high grade copy of X-men #94.

 

No different than shining shoes rather than selling someone new ones, pushing out a dent in a fender rather than replacing it or straightening your hair to look "better" than you normally look because you don't like wavy hair etc.

 

Ultimately, it's just a service marketed for a certain segment of the market. It's not for everyone but then nothing is.

Pressing books for your own collection is not greedy (at least not in the short-term). Cheating, maybe, but not greedy.

 

Pressing books so you can transform them into something better than they were when you bought them, so you can sell them at a higher price, IS greedy. And cheating.

 

Would buying a book for a lower price and selling it for a higher price be considered greedy in your book?

[RedGiant]

In my opinion, the largest downturn in the bronze and late silver market happened some time around 2009 from what I have been able to remember.

 

In January of 2009, the pop #'s for X-men 94 were:

 

2 9.8's

34 9.6's

102 9.4's

 

In December of 2009:

 

4 9.8's

45 9.6's

119 9.4's

 

Today:

 

13 9.8's

57 9.6's

136 9.4's

 

%-wise, there was a huge uptick in 9.8's and 9.6's, but not nearly as high an increas in 9.4's. Sort of obvious to me that many of those 9.4's are now 9.6's or 9.8's, likewise with the 9.6's. Rather amazing that in it's 1st 9 years, CGC only certified 2 9.8's, but in the last 3 years another 11 have popped up? Supply has driven the price down, but it's still a great book if you ask me! (thumbs u

Pretty compelling evidence (in this book's case) that there has been a lot of "upgrading" through pressing going on. I have a 9.4 that is borderline 9.6. Grading is subjective - we have all seem 9.2s in a 9.4 case and 9.6s in a 9.4 case. Which is why I believe in "buying the book, not the grade." Of course CGC has been instrumental in leveling the grading field, especially on ebay. If you buy a slabbed book on ebay, you have a general sense of the grade - instead of someone saying MINT, then you get a VF book (or worse). It has also opened up extra incentive for flippers. Same as the housing market - buy a house with some "hidden value" - clean it up and add some value - then sell it for a profit. If you are talking about a 9.6 X94 with a tiny tick on the spine that can be pressed out for a few bucks, reslabbed, and sold for 5X the value - there is a lot of temptation and incentive there.

 

The thing that boggles my mind is the Hulk 181 and it's value. There are so many HG copies (even compared to the X94). Yes, simple economics will tell you supply and demand will dictate the pricing. I'm just shocked this book hasn't dropped in value with how many HG copies there are. I know the demand for the 1st full appearance of Wolverine is higher than most books. But how many people can really afford a 9.4 or higher on that book?

[VintageComics]

In my opinion, the largest downturn in the bronze and late silver market happened some time around 2009 from what I have been able to remember.

 

In January of 2009, the pop #'s for X-men 94 were:

 

2 9.8's

34 9.6's

102 9.4's

 

In December of 2009:

 

4 9.8's

45 9.6's

119 9.4's

 

Today:

 

13 9.8's

57 9.6's

136 9.4's

 

%-wise, there was a huge uptick in 9.8's and 9.6's, but not nearly as high an increas in 9.4's. Sort of obvious to me that many of those 9.4's are now 9.6's or 9.8's, likewise with the 9.6's. Rather amazing that in it's 1st 9 years, CGC only certified 2 9.8's, but in the last 3 years another 11 have popped up? Supply has driven the price down, but it's still a great book if you ask me! (thumbs u

Pretty compelling evidence (in this book's case) that there has been a lot of "upgrading" through pressing going on.

 

What is interesting is that the comic market had already turned down in 2009, before jbud's "proliferation of pressing in the past 3 years" window.

 

Like I said, comic prices dropped heavily in late 2009. I remember the threads in general about how books were going for steals and I remember my own books ending at a fraction of what I thought they were going to end.

 

This was well before the 3 year pressing proliferation window.

 

And like I said earlier, there were several very heavy hitters that dropped out of the SA and BA markets in 2009, including a best selling author who was bidding like crazy, a few board members etc.

 

In regards to the increases in the population, 9.4 copies went up 17 copies each year and 9.6 copies went up 11 or 12 copies each year. That's pretty consistent.

 

I slabbed one 9.8 copy but it went from a raw book into a 9.8 holder so there was no upgrade there.

 

Don't forget we found 4 major SA/BA pedigrees between 2009 and 2011 as well as all the people who needed to sell comics to supplement their incomes.

 

I think it's important to look at the big picture before making statements because there are always a lot of factors involved in an economy besides just supply or demand.

 

Same as the housing market - buy a house with some "hidden value" - clean it up and add some value - then sell it for a profit.

 

Exactly. Were people who bought houses with "hidden value" and resold them called greedy? No, because there was no emotional attachment to the housing market like there is with comics.

 

They bought at fair market value and sold at fair market value. They took the risks, invested time and money and either reaped rewards or were left holding those homes and mortgages if they didn't sell.

 

The people that were responsible for the collapse of the housing market were those that spent beyond their means and the banks that allowed people to spend beyond their means, not the people putting houses up for sale.

[delekkerste]

Your choice of the words "manipulating a grade" shows that you are mixing your points.

 

The analogy is a perfect comparison because they are identical procedures...both are done for the same reason.

 

We're just talking about pressing the dent out of a book or removing the fender dent.

 

In both cases the grade is not what people are upset about, it's the procedure, right?

 

Or is it the grade change that people are upset about?

 

Because grade changes can happen without pressing.

Grades can also stay the same on pressed books.

 

The pressing and the change of grade are two different things.

 

C'mon, Roy. Automobiles are meant to be used and have parts that get damaged and wear out. Even cars that aren't driven and just held for collecting purposes still have to have certain parts (e.g., rubber hoses) replaced over time. This does not apply to comic books, full stop.

 

More than the grade change and money involved, can you not see why the magic of seeing a book survive the ravages of time for decades is cheapened and devalued when a press can oftentimes remove certain defects that have accumulated over time? I don't mean that evidence of a book's history is destroyed in terms of the CPR game, I mean the true evidence of the changes in condition the book has undergone since it was purchased is lost when you restore the book to an artificial, earlier, more pristine state.

 

When I see an unmanipulated book from 50 years ago grade a 9.4, that gives me a great thrill to think that a book survived all the potential pitfalls that could have happened to it during that time and remained in a near mint state. It does not impress me in the slightest to see a 9.4 pressed into a 9.6 or a 9.2 pressed into a 9.4. In fact, it makes me quite depressed to think that a book survived in 9.2 or 9.4 and someone felt the need to muck with it either for more money or more pride/ego from owning it. It's as Tim said, it's cheating, a shortcut - how can anyone claim otherwise with a straight face? Just because it's become accepted practice doesn't make it any less distasteful to me.

[VintageComics]

C'mon, Roy. Automobiles are meant to be used and have parts that get damaged and wear out. Even cars that aren't driven and just held for collecting purposes still have to have certain parts (e.g., rubber hoses) replaced over time. This does not apply to comic books, full stop.

 

Not a full stop, actually. You are incorrect.

 

Paper degrades, staples rust, inks break down and oils seep into covers from interiors. Both cars and comics need maintenance over time. Even the collectible ones.

 

We're not talking about replacing parts though, just popping out a dent which is benign, invisible and most of the time undetectable.

 

The outrage over such a small thing is disproportional to it's actual practical effect in the real world and I think it's only in comics that the outrage is directly proportional to the value change...except that values are a product of the open market, not of the people who press books.

 

Like I said, if the value change were small, there would be little to no outrage.

 

More than the grade change and money involved, can you not see why the magic of seeing a book survive the ravages of time for decades is cheapened and devalued when a press can oftentimes remove certain defects that have accumulated over time? I don't mean that evidence of a book's history is destroyed in terms of the CPR game, I mean the true evidence of the changes in condition the book has undergone since it was purchased is lost when you restore the book to an artificial, earlier, more pristine state.

 

When I see an unmanipulated book from 50 years ago grade a 9.4, that gives me a great thrill to think that a book survived all the potential pitfalls that could have happened to it during that time and remained in a near mint state. It does not impress me in the slightest to see a 9.4 pressed into a 9.6 or a 9.2 pressed into a 9.4. In fact, it makes me quite depressed to think that a book survived in 9.2 or 9.4 and someone felt the need to muck with it either for more money or more pride/ego from owning it. It's as Tim said, it's cheating, a shortcut - how can anyone claim otherwise with a straight face? Just because it's become accepted practice doesn't make it any less distasteful to me.

 

I too agree that it's amazing for a comic to be preserved for decades. What I disagree with you on is the amazement that people place on the grade increments. To me a 9.2 with a light bend and a 9.6 without one are equally special if all other things are considered equal. If both books have equal paper quality, equal spine stresses, equal edge wear, etc, both books are equally attractive.

 

Take away your 9.2/9.4/9.6 qualifications and both books are equally attractive. They would probably look identical in a Mylar.

 

If we were in the Good/Fine/Mint days or even the Good/VG/Fine/VF/Mint days nobody would give a hoot. They'd both be "mint".

 

Now that there is a 9.2/9.4/9.6/9.8 scale everyone is either a fan or a detractor, and the detractors make it a person thing.

 

And that is why I said that the use of the word greed and the money involved is what people are most upset about. Not the fact that a bend is removed.

 

Take a comic. Bend the corner. Now unbend it by overcompensating in the opposite direction (we've all done it and some still do). Dealers who have their comics manhandled at shows unbend comics all the time. Should someone be outraged by this action down the road if they are "stuck" with this comic unknowingly? Where they duped?

 

If your Aston Martin (if you still own one) was dented by someone opening an adjacent car door in a parking lot and your Aston Martin dealer had that dent invisibly pressed out would that create an outrage? Should it create an outrage? Is someone being cheated?

 

It's all relative, and while I respect the fact that some people don't want pressed comics in their collections I don't respect the words "greedy' being thrown out and the defamation of character of those that may be involved in the process. People are taking an emotional stances and making discussions personal by saying negative things about people for their choice of a business model.

[drbanner]

What is interesting is that the comic market had already turned down in 2009, before jbud's "proliferation of pressing in the past 3 years" window.

 

Like I said, comic prices dropped heavily in late 2009. I remember the threads in general about how books were going for steals and I remember my own books ending at a fraction of what I thought they were going to end.

 

This was well before the 3 year pressing proliferation window.

 

Right, prices dropped on this book, yet the 9.8 population increased 6-fold, the 9.6 population nearly doubled, and the 9.4 population bumped up by ~30%. So it wasn't escalating prices that brought these copies out. There were 34 "new" 9.6/9.8 copies and 34 "new" 9.4 copies from 2009 to present, whereas from 2000 - 2009 there were 3x as many 9.4 copies??

 

I bought a 9.4 copy of this book in 2010 after prices receded and love it, but all those 9.6/9.8's didn't come out of the woodwork ("new collections" and "collectors having to liquidate their collections due to the economny"). I think it's a pretty safe assumption that many (the majority?) of those "new" copies were CPR upgrades. I've had plenty of books pressed and personally don't care whether a book I buy has been pressed or not, so I'm not disparaging pressing here, but it's effect on the availability of HG books has been pretty dramatic as evidenced by these population numbers.

[VintageComics]

I bought a 9.4 copy of this book in 2010 after prices receded and love it, but all those 9.6/9.8's didn't come out of the woodwork ("new collections" and "collectors having to liquidate their collections due to the economny"). I think it's a pretty safe assumption that many (the majority?) of those "new" copies were CPR upgrades. I've had plenty of books pressed and personally don't care whether a book I buy has been pressed or not, so I'm not disparaging pressing here, but it's effect on the availability of HG books has been pretty dramatic as evidenced by these population numbers.

 

I'm not going to deny that supply has increased with the resubmission of pressed books. Of course it has.

 

I'm just saying that new copies are coming to market regularly all the time. That's a big key that people are always looking for. Like I said, I had several copies slabbed in the past few years and all of them were from collections where the books were never slabbed.

 

[RedGiant]

I think it's a pretty safe assumption that many (the majority?) of those "new" copies were CPR upgrades.

+1

over 3 years - 550% increase on 9.8s, 68% increase on 9.6s, and 33% increase on 9.4s. Pretty clear (on this book) what is taking place. Sure not ALL of those were CPRs, but many (the majority?) were.

 

btw - I'm not saying people should or shouldn't press their books. They own the books, they can do whatever they want with them. However, I do believe pressing should be disclosed if known.

[RedGiant]

As more and more collectors/investors start to realize that many ultra-HG books were pressed - and what is labeled as a 9.8 was once a 9.4 - the multiples will start to flatten out (it seems as though it already has a bit). Which is one of the major reasons why I don't buy ultra-HG key books. Well that and the fact I generally can't afford them. I think 9.4s look outstanding and there is a decent chance they haven't been pressed. I am leery of any 9.8 from before 1980. In my mind they have all been pressed - sure I know that isn't true, but that's how I approach them. Why pay $10k for a book that was $2k and a couple ticks pressed out of it? Just because it has a label that says 9.8 vs 9.4? Crazy IMO, but it all comes back to supply and demand. So long as people are willing to pay crazy multiples - CPRing will continue. As that levels out more and more, CPRing will be become less prevalent but will still exist.

[jbud73]

I'm not going to get into the pressing debate in terms of goodness or badness, been down that road before. That said, the effect of pressing on HG copies in the marketplace is substantial I'm not saying this is a positive or a negative, IT IS JUST A FACT. There have been more than a few statistical empirical examples thrown out in a similar vein to what Mike posted about X94 and the well in census numbers at the upper end in just too overwhelming to dissuade even the most kool-aid laden collector.

 

The 3 pedigrees swelling the census maybe - what did their X94s grade out at? In terms of the 3 year window, maybe its 4 years - when did the 2nd generation pressers start their businesses?

 

In terms of collections coming out to swell the numbers? I look at it like this. Odds of a OO collection having SA / early BA 9.8s (slim in vast quantities); odds of OO collection having SA and early BA 9.4s with non-color breaking wear (much better in vast quantities).

 

In the end the census numbers are spiking at the the top end and pressing is one of, if not the prime force behind this occurrence. Again bad / good indifferent = personal choice. As a completion oriented collector (Gene / Tim ya I'm still dumb enough to buy HG Comics) all the information in my possession has caused me to delay upgrading my 8.5 copy of X94, I think the prices are going to come down and I might nab a 9.6 or a 9.4 for hundreds or more less than what they previously and are currently going for. [Disclaimer: This is just what I think - no ability to influence the market upwards or downwards should be inferred from the comments illustrated in this post and any purchases made, or delayed based on said info is solely at the discretion of the reader and not the liability of the poster] Tim does that absolve me??

 

Those are the types of decisions that collectors need to make on key books given the information at hand in order to complete their runs for the lowest amount of money possible. (Unless you are Gene / Tim ) These monetary questions comprise a lot of your decision process given the cost of HG comics in 2012.

[jbud73]

What is interesting is that the comic market had already turned down in 2009, before jbud's "proliferation of pressing in the past 3 years" window.

 

Like I said, comic prices dropped heavily in late 2009. I remember the threads in general about how books were going for steals and I remember my own books ending at a fraction of what I thought they were going to end.

 

This was well before the 3 year pressing proliferation window.

 

Right, prices dropped on this book, yet the 9.8 population increased 6-fold, the 9.6 population nearly doubled, and the 9.4 population bumped up by ~30%. So it wasn't escalating prices that brought these copies out. There were 34 "new" 9.6/9.8 copies and 34 "new" 9.4 copies from 2009 to present, whereas from 2000 - 2009 there were 3x as many 9.4 copies??

 

I bought a 9.4 copy of this book in 2010 after prices receded and love it, but all those 9.6/9.8's didn't come out of the woodwork ("new collections" and "collectors having to liquidate their collections due to the economny"). I think it's a pretty safe assumption that many (the majority?) of those "new" copies were CPR upgrades. I've had plenty of books pressed and personally don't care whether a book I buy has been pressed or not, so I'm not disparaging pressing here, but it's effect on the availability of HG books has been pretty dramatic as evidenced by these population numbers.

 

+1 (thumbs u Mike its almost like the old days to see Tim, Gene and you posting in the same thread

[jbud73]

As more and more collectors/investors start to realize that many ultra-HG books were pressed - and what is labeled as a 9.8 was once a 9.4 - the multiples will start to flatten out (it seems as though it already has a bit). Which is one of the major reasons why I don't buy ultra-HG key books. Well that and the fact I generally can't afford them. I think 9.4s look outstanding and there is a decent chance they haven't been pressed. I am leery of any 9.8 from before 1980. In my mind they have all been pressed - sure I know that isn't true, but that's how I approach them. Why pay $10k for a book that was $2k and a couple ticks pressed out of it? Just because it has a label that says 9.8 vs 9.4? Crazy IMO, but it all comes back to supply and demand. So long as people are willing to pay crazy multiples - CPRing will continue. As that levels out more and more, CPRing will be become less prevalent but will still exist.

 

I thought this before pressing was as prevalent as it is now. This sentiment has just been reinforced.

[comix4fun]

I was told this was the Friday Pressing Thread.

 

Am I in the right place?

 

Am I too early?

[VintageComics]

I'm not going to get into the pressing debate in terms of goodness or badness, been down that road before. That said, the effect of pressing on HG copies in the marketplace is substantial I'm not saying this is a positive or a negative, IT IS JUST A FACT. There have been more than a few statistical empirical examples thrown out in a similar vein to what Mike posted about X94 and the well in census numbers at the upper end in just too overwhelming to dissuade even the most kool-aid laden collector.

 

Has anyone looked at census numbers for copies below the 9.4 threshold?

 

The 3 pedigrees swelling the census maybe - what did their X94s grade out at? In terms of the 3 year window, maybe its 4 years - when did the 2nd generation pressers start their businesses?

 

Not sure, but i think it was well after 4 years ago, meaning in the past 2-3 years. That's not to say that there wasn't a proliferation of pressed books entering the market.

 

In terms of collections coming out to swell the numbers? I look at it like this. Odds of a OO collection having SA / early BA 9.8s (slim in vast quantities); odds of OO collection having SA and early BA 9.4s with non-color breaking wear (much better in vast quantities).

 

As I have said, by only by my own experience I have slabbed several copies of X-men #94 from raw collections (9.4/9.6 and 9.8) and only have bought 1 slabbed #94 to my recollection. It's still sitting here in it's slab.

 

In the end the census numbers are spiking at the the top end and pressing is one of, if not the prime force behind this occurrence. Again bad / good indifferent = personal choice. As a completion oriented collector (Gene / Tim ya I'm still dumb enough to buy HG Comics) all the information in my possession has caused me to delay upgrading my 8.5 copy of X94, I think the prices are going to come down and I might nab a 9.6 or a 9.4 for hundreds or more less than what they previously and are currently going for. [Disclaimer: This is just what I think - no ability to influence the market upwards or downwards should be inferred from the comments illustrated in this post and any purchases made, or delayed based on said info is solely at the discretion of the reader and not the liability of the poster] Tim does that absolve me??

 

Those are the types of decisions that collectors need to make on key books given the information at hand in order to complete their runs for the lowest amount of money possible. (Unless you are Gene / Tim ) These monetary questions comprise a lot of your decision process given the cost of HG comics in 2012.

 

Understood. Surprisingly, the numbers (ie selling prices) are holding up reasonably well across the board with only the ultra high nosebleeds dropping in price. I think there is a point where prices will stop shrinking and that point seems to be near. There is upwards pressure from lower grades (2.0 - 9.0) pushing upwards and nosebleed grades (9.6 - 9.8) pulling downward. Those two ranges will meet somewhere in the middle and stabilize prices.

 

A similar thing is happening with GL #76. There is enough upward support for that book in lower grades (demand is high in all grades up to 9.2) that even though the 9.6/9.8copies have fallen, it still seems to be stable in the 9.0/9.2 range.

 

 

[maraxusofkeld]

I'm not going to get into the pressing debate in terms of goodness or badness, been down that road before. That said, the effect of pressing on HG copies in the marketplace is substantial I'm not saying this is a positive or a negative, IT IS JUST A FACT. There have been more than a few statistical empirical examples thrown out in a similar vein to what Mike posted about X94 and the well in census numbers at the upper end in just too overwhelming to dissuade even the most kool-aid laden collector.

 

Has anyone looked at census numbers for copies below the 9.4 threshold?

 

The 3 pedigrees swelling the census maybe - what did their X94s grade out at? In terms of the 3 year window, maybe its 4 years - when did the 2nd generation pressers start their businesses?

 

Not sure, but i think it was well after 4 years ago, meaning in the past 2-3 years. That's not to say that there wasn't a proliferation of pressed books entering the market.

 

In terms of collections coming out to swell the numbers? I look at it like this. Odds of a OO collection having SA / early BA 9.8s (slim in vast quantities); odds of OO collection having SA and early BA 9.4s with non-color breaking wear (much better in vast quantities).

 

As I have said, by only by my own experience I have slabbed several copies of X-men #94 from raw collections (9.4/9.6 and 9.8) and only have bought 1 slabbed #94 to my recollection. It's still sitting here in it's slab.

 

In the end the census numbers are spiking at the the top end and pressing is one of, if not the prime force behind this occurrence. Again bad / good indifferent = personal choice. As a completion oriented collector (Gene / Tim ya I'm still dumb enough to buy HG Comics) all the information in my possession has caused me to delay upgrading my 8.5 copy of X94, I think the prices are going to come down and I might nab a 9.6 or a 9.4 for hundreds or more less than what they previously and are currently going for. [Disclaimer: This is just what I think - no ability to influence the market upwards or downwards should be inferred from the comments illustrated in this post and any purchases made, or delayed based on said info is solely at the discretion of the reader and not the liability of the poster] Tim does that absolve me??

 

Those are the types of decisions that collectors need to make on key books given the information at hand in order to complete their runs for the lowest amount of money possible. (Unless you are Gene / Tim ) These monetary questions comprise a lot of your decision process given the cost of HG comics in 2012.

 

Understood. Surprisingly, the numbers (ie selling prices) are holding up reasonably well across the board with only the ultra high nosebleeds dropping in price. I think there is a point where prices will stop shrinking and that point seems to be near. There is upwards pressure from lower grades (2.0 - 9.0) pushing upwards and nosebleed grades (9.6 - 9.8) pulling downward. Those two ranges will meet somewhere in the middle and stabilize prices.

 

A similar thing is happening with GL #76. There is enough upward support for that book in lower grades (demand is high in all grades up to 9.2) that even though the 9.6/9.8copies have fallen, it still seems to be stable in the 9.0/9.2 range.

 

 

I really thought the prices for the GL 76 overall have been just absurd. It is a start of a great groundbreaking run, but nothing super key to demand such a high price for the book in any grade.

[jbud73]

Well the Census demonstrates that GL76 is a harder book in HG

 

9.8 = 2

 

9.6 = 10

 

9.4 = 21

 

I'd say they are on the same key level, more or less - I'm sure DC fans will argue GL76 as one of the books that initiated the BA as well as being a key DC book. So, given the census and the key importance GL 76 be more valuable than X94 in similar grades - at least at this pin drop in time.

[Flash105]

I've always wondered why people who press books are called greedy.

 

Greed is defined as having the desire for something that they don't need.

 

It's no more greedy than wanting to possess a high grade copy of X-men #94.

 

No different than shining shoes rather than selling someone new ones, pushing out a dent in a fender rather than replacing it or straightening your hair to look "better" than you normally look because you don't like wavy hair etc.

 

Ultimately, it's just a service marketed for a certain segment of the market. It's not for everyone but then nothing is.

Pressing books for your own collection is not greedy (at least not in the short-term). Cheating, maybe, but not greedy.

 

Pressing books so you can transform them into something better than they were when you bought them, so you can sell them at a higher price, IS greedy. And cheating.

 

Would buying a book for a lower price and selling it for a higher price be considered greedy in your book?

 

I would consider a profit better than selling at a loss. Remember in the new America anyone that makes a profit is not paying their fair share and is evil. So pressers are evil. I think everyone that has a 9.6 copy of X-Men 94 should find someone with a 9.4 copy and trade it straight up. This my friends is the world we live in.