Heritage Sells Batman #1 9.2 for $850k in private transaction

[markseifert]

So, as you can see, there are too many variables at work in this deus ex machina to even attempt to formulate a logical answer to your question.

 

It's pretty interesting looking back on the 2004 thread on the book. The thread ends with a joking response to people tossing out numbers as to what it would go for.

 

$1m flip

 

8 years later, the book almost hit that number.

 

I remember this book and the Church Flash 1 well because they were two of the big books people were buzzing about when I first started reading the forum. I'd picked up my first GA book in many years (a Supes 24) after being out of the hobby for a few years to focus on getting our publishing business off the ground. It's been quite an interesting (near) decade in the hobby since then.

[rob_react]

Don't forget a good blue label Whiz 2 is a very tough book to come by with buyers ready.

A much much tougher book than MM1 or Bats 1 in decent grade.

 

A 6.0 got 175K last year.

Not so sure the other books mentioned could do that. Even after this sale.

 

Full disclosure:

 

I'm a fan of Whiz #2.

[ciorac]

Don't forget a good blue label Whiz 2 is a very tough book to come by with buyers ready.

A much much tougher book than MM1 or Bats 1 in decent grade.

 

A 6.0 got 175K last year.

Not so sure the other books mentioned could do that. Even after this sale.

 

Full disclosure:

 

I'm a fan of Whiz #2.

 

Me too (thumbs u

[Silver Surfer]

Would you guys stop saying "Whiz", makes me go to the bathroom.

[RedFury]

Don't forget a good blue label Whiz 2 is a very tough book to come by with buyers ready.

A much much tougher book than MM1 or Bats 1 in decent grade.

 

A 6.0 got 175K last year.

Not so sure the other books mentioned could do that. Even after this sale.

 

Full disclosure:

 

I'm a fan of Whiz #2.

 

Me too (thumbs u

 

Me three

[batman_fan]

Don't forget a good blue label Whiz 2 is a very tough book to come by with buyers ready.

A much much tougher book than MM1 or Bats 1 in decent grade.

 

A 6.0 got 175K last year.

Not so sure the other books mentioned could do that. Even after this sale.

 

Full disclosure:

 

I'm a fan of Whiz #2.

 

Me too (thumbs u

 

Me three

 

You have to love the cover, definitely a GA classic (thumbs u

[Rip]

Would you guys stop saying "Whiz", makes me go to the bathroom.

 

I like how it says "Whiz" in yellow, with the little motion lines. Like its whizzing.

[Silver Surfer]

[TheWatcher]

Would the Billy Wright copy bring a significantly higher price if it was sold again right now

 

The way BW books are being flipped, I'm sure we'll find out in an upcoming HA auction

[lou_fine]

(1) The book used to be graded VF, then 8.5, then 9.0, and only recently was upgraded to 9.2, especially if this information was not disclosed by the seller;

 

If the buyer is disturbed enough, he might be exploring his options, including undwinding the transaction or pursuing legal remedies, and there may well be some depending on the facts of the transaction.

 

I am quite sure that the previous grading history of the book was not disclosed to the buyer by Heritage. With the way the CGC game is played, there is certainly no obligation on Heritage's part to disclose anything except for the current grade of the book.

 

After all, you have to remember that Borock is now working for Heritage. As Steve has stated countless times before, the CGC label is what counts and there is no need to disclose anything else. If you are interested in bidding on his books, just assumed that everything has been pressed.

 

With Heritage, it's probably expanded to just assume that everything has been worked on and upgraded, so why is there a need for any disclosure.

[lou_fine]

it doesn't hurt it, but it doesn't help to nearly the same degree it helps hg copies. arguably it doesn't help at all as low and high grade are two separate markets, but personally I don't think that's really true and I expect low grade copies to see a little bit of an increase when big news happens at the top end.... just seems to result in more attention on the book.

 

Even though the low grade and high grade are two separate markets, I also believe that a rising tide can lift all boats and in this particular case, it definitely has.

 

With the big dollar sales for both Action #1 and 'Tec #27, there has definiely been a follow through increase on the lower graded copies of these 2 books. So much so that the minimum price to get in on these 2 books are probably now in the $100K range. This was definitely not the case before as $100K used to be able to buy you a half decent copy.

 

Same thing with other books such as Action #7, Tect #29 or #31, where the minimum buy in price is now well over $10K. So high grade sales definitely do have a corresponding impact on the price of lower grade copies. (thumbs u

[lou_fine]

(1) The book used to be graded VF, then 8.5, then 9.0, and only recently was upgraded to 9.2, especially if this information was not disclosed by the seller;

 

If the buyer is disturbed enough, he might be exploring his options, including undwinding the transaction or pursuing legal remedies, and there may well be some depending on the facts of the transaction.

 

Who's to say the buyer is unhappy about this transaction?

 

He'll probably learn from past history and be very happy when he flips the same book next year for $1.25 million dollars when it's sitting there all nice and pretty in a CGC slab with a 9.4 label.

[chrisco37]

The more I look at Marvel #1, the more I see Whiz #2.

 

It's #3 in the Marvel pecking order now (AF#15 and Cap#1).

[sfcityduck]

The more I look at Marvel #1, the more I see Whiz #2.

 

1) It's interesting to note that the top 4 census copies of Marvel #1 have not been much tested in the million dollar era. Ironic considering what the book's rep was for constantly being available in the few years before that.

 

Heritage has the Denver Copy (8.5 Blue) listed on a buy it now for $275k with no takers. And isn't it supposedly the third (or fourth) best copy after the Church and the Pay (and perhaps the 8.5 that got a 9.0 on resub)?

 

Ebay has the Allentown Copy (9.2 SP) listed on a buy it now for $85K with no takers (and supposedly the Allentown was once "traded" for a value of $115K).

 

Perhaps the lack of "testing" is due to lack of interest.

[markseifert]

Perhaps the lack of "testing" is due to lack of interest.

 

Well, that's a BIN of 1.75x its last sale (without looking it up, I think it is #3 on the census, not counting the Church, obviously).

 

Someone hitting that would arguably be more noteworthy than someone grabbing the top-census Flash #1 for a similar multiple of its last sale a couple weeks after the first million dollar Action 1 sale.

 

Or given that everyone knows the Church Marvel 1 is out there, it would perhaps be nearly equivalent of someone buying the #4 (?) census Bat #1 8.5 for $275k, as recently happened.

 

Good catch that it's sitting there available, however. Someone grabbing it at that price would be pretty noteworthy in the context of recent events. Given all this, the question again becomes: Would a Bat #1 of the same grade and price -- 8.5 with a BIN of $275k -- sit there unpurchased for long?

[markseifert]

I am quite sure that the previous grading history of the book was not disclosed to the buyer by Heritage. With the way the CGC game is played, there is certainly no obligation on Heritage's part to disclose anything except for the current grade of the book.

 

Fwiw, looks like HA told CNN that the seller did in fact buy the book 2 years ago for $315k. Hard to imagine they're going to disclose that to a national news outlet if the history of the book didn't come up in some form during the transaction.

 

The seller reaped a stunning return on investment, after paying $315,000 for the No. 1 issue two years ago, according to the auctioneer.

 

http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/11/holy-profits-batman-comic-collectors-clean-up/

[Tsimanga]

Am I alone in being suspicious of record prices being claimed for private sales?

 

Nope - I've been the buyer on a couple private 5-figure deals with dealers and both times the seller announced a higher sales price.

[tth2]

Am I alone in being suspicious of record prices being claimed for private sales?

 

Nope - I've been the buyer on a couple private 5-figure deals with dealers and both times the seller announced a higher sales price.

As the old adage goes, "How can you tell when a dealer`s lying? His lips are moving."

[sacentaur]

Am I alone in being suspicious of record prices being claimed for private sales?

 

Nope - I've been the buyer on a couple private 5-figure deals with dealers and both times the seller announced a higher sales price.

As the old adage goes, "How can you tell when a dealer`s lying? His lips are moving."

 

Too broad a brush to paint with Tim, but unfortunately all too true for some.

 

BTW, shouldn't you be over in the Mitch Appreciation Thread organizing his new fan club?

[lou_fine]

I am quite sure that the previous grading history of the book was not disclosed to the buyer by Heritage. With the way the CGC game is played, there is certainly no obligation on Heritage's part to disclose anything except for the current grade of the book.

 

Fwiw, looks like HA told CNN that the seller did in fact buy the book 2 years ago for $315k. Hard to imagine they're going to disclose that to a national news outlet if the history of the book didn't come up in some form during the transaction.

 

The seller reaped a stunning return on investment, after paying $315,000 for the No. 1 issue two years ago, according to the auctioneer.

 

http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/11/holy-profits-batman-comic-collectors-clean-up/

 

Yes, you are definitely right! (thumbs u

 

The history of the book did indeed come up, but only with respect to the pricing history as you can tell from the story. Dealers will always bring up the pricing history of books as this is a good news story when they zoom up. Definitely helps the dealers as it helps to bring more books to market.

 

If you'll notice, there was not one word mentioned at all about the grading history of the book. Dealers don't want to talk about this aspect of the book as it brings the entire issue of grading and CGC into question and will more than likely, discourage new people from entering into the market.