Modern Retailer Variants. To buy or not to buy.

[ultimatevenom]

Variety is in abundance at http://www.leathericon.com

Leathericon have a great online selection of Quality Leather Apparel with great prices and outstanding service. All our men's and women's leather garments and accessories are made from the finest leathers.Leather Icon is pleased to bring you a fine assortment of leather items at low discount pres.We don't compromise with quality.

Thanks

 

What the hairy, funky [!@#%^&^] is that?!?!

 

Surreal

[deathlok]

Should we avoid talking about the spam post above and continue on with business as usual?

[ultimatevenom]

Should we avoid talking about the spam post above and continue on with business as usual?

 

I believe we should.

[deathlok]

Should we avoid talking about the spam post above and continue on with business as usual?

 

I believe we should.

Okay, what should we talk about? Do we continue to keep with thread on-topic or go off-topic?

[ultimatevenom]

Should we avoid talking about the spam post above and continue on with business as usual?

 

I believe we should.

Okay, what should we talk about? Do we continue to keep with thread on-topic or go off-topic?

 

I don't know.

 

It is about freakin' Modern Variants

[deathlok]

Should we avoid talking about the spam post above and continue on with business as usual?

 

I believe we should.

Okay, what should we talk about? Do we continue to keep with thread on-topic or go off-topic?

 

I don't know.

 

It is about freakin' Modern Variants

umm...I buy them when I can. It's the stupid fanboy in me. Of course I bought all the 90's [!@#%^&^] too.

[awe4one]

Here you go......discuss......

 

 

Jim

[ultimatevenom]

It is just the same as the rest

[awe4one]

It is just the same as the rest

 

[DKB]

I hope to snag a variant that I believe is coming out today, Arachnoman Ultimate Spidey. *Some* of the content, 2 pages?, inside is different, and it has a backstory as to why its there. Wasn't manufacture to be "variant". This I don't mind.

[25CentComic]

The real question is can I sell the entire run of Batman/Superman plus variants for a bronze age key yet?

[jduran1]

Well my sources and they are good say that Astonishing X-men 1 Variant Retailer is less that 1000 copies. About 20% (200) of that print run has been sold, and flipped on ebay and other sites based on discussions with some dealers. The rest is in grading or hoarded away. Great art and story.

 

Some stores that have them are getting 69 to 100 bucks for one. Wizard today listed the price as $100 bucks retail. They are selling on ebay at a wholesale price of $50+. Demand is picking up. I think the Hellboy Photo cover is rare also and will continue to rise in value.

With a Wanted movie coming down the road I wonder how the number 1 will do although it is sad how many covers of #1 the printed. There has been some great input on this forum regarding this subject. thx.

[blowout]

Some stores that have them are getting 69 to 100 bucks for one. Wizard today listed the price as $100 bucks retail. They are selling on ebay at a wholesale price of $50+. Demand is picking up.

 

But how long will it last?

[lou_fine]

Some stores that have them are getting 69 to 100 bucks for one. Wizard today listed the price as $100 bucks retail. They are selling on ebay at a wholesale price of $50+.

 

Well, all I can say is that, if Wizard already has the book listing at $100.00, it sounds like another classic case of Wizard trying to LEAD the market or hype the prices up to the $100.00 level.

 

Shouldn't a proper price guide be reporting on the market, and as a natural result, be LAGGING the market by the time it takes to analysis, publish and distribute the magazine.

[highlite23]

Well, variants are a cool addition to any collection...although I restrict myself to picking up variant covers at cover price or not at all.

[GOODBYE!-migration]

Which ones are the ones to collect and WHY. Is Astonishing X-men Cassidy truly as rare as we thought would be. How about the Wizard giveaways like HellBoy Photo cover ect . I like the variants but would love the expert opinions of the forum thx.

 

The answer to this is very simple. You just have to look back at the past. The early to mid 90's were absolutely inudated with countless versions of "rare" variant covers. Now think hard and try to imagine which one of these old variants you would be willing to pay real money for today. The answer is probably nil to a very miniscule amount in comparison to the actual number of variants out there. Now think ahead 10 years and try to imagine which one of the currents variants collectors will want in the future. I think the answer is also very obvious because the collectors of 2014 will be too busy chasing after the latest newsstand variants to care at all about your variants from 2004.

 

Bottom-line: "Rare" modern books are only there to appeal to the speculator mentality in you, by having the prices of books starting at the top and then having nowhere to go but down from there.

 

Lets see what the Overstreet guide has to say on variants/limited editions, using the 9.2 price to compare

 

Spider-man #1(1990)

Silver, unbagged 8.00

Silver bagged(125k prnt run) 20.00

Regular green w/spidey face 6.00

regular green bagged (125k) 12.00

Newstand bagged w/upc 8.00

Gold w/spidey head(400-450K) 5.00

Gold 2nd with UPC(>10K) 120.00

Platinum(10k) Dealer Inc 100.00

 

X-men #1(1991)

$1.50 editions A-D 4.00

$3.95 Double Gatefold Deluxe 5.00

 

I remember X-men#1 having a print run altogether over 1 million and Spider-man #1 was close to that as well.

 

This is very different today where a "healthy" X-title is lucky to get a print run over 110K per month.

 

Here are Diamond's numbers of the four titles(X-men Academy #1, Uncanny #444, X-men #157, Astonishing X-men #1) that you had to buy ten of to get one Cassaday cover:

 

May Astonishing X-Men #1 - 209,389

May Uncanny X-Men #444 - 112,129 (+30.4%)

May X-Men #157 - 107,185 ( +8.5%)

May New X-Men: Academy X #1 - 76,416 (+131.6%)

 

The low numbers on the New Mutants relaunch title mean there are less than ~7642 copies possible of the Dealer Incentive.

 

Couple this with the fact that orders for Astonishing X-men #1 had to be greater than Ultimate Fantastic Four #1(which sold over 200K) to get the Pink variant, let alone the Dealer incentive, it can conservatively be said that there probably exist less than 2-3,000 of the Cassaday cover and not really too many more of the Pink Variant. But who knows as Marvel could be sitting on another 10k of these.

 

Combine this with the fact that the Sketch Cover Director's Cut is crying out to be made into a pair with the Full Group shot on the Dealer Incentive and you have a book that fans will be well aware of but unable to get without competing with all the other X-Men fans out there. If Astonishing X-men has any legs this book will be the key for any Astonishing X-men completist the way the White Cover Ultimate Spider-man #1 is to Ultimate Spider-man fans.

 

 

But who knows as Marvel could be sitting on another 10k of these

 

Thanks to Comicon for providing the figures

 

MARVEL MONTH-TO-MONTH SALES APRIL 2004

http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=36&t=002423

[GOODBYE!-migration]

Lets not forget that a short term surplus right after publishing is not an indicator of future supply or cost.

 

Seems to me signature books are presently undervalued, except upon initial release. I got a Signed Silver Spider-man #1 for about $20 with about 8 other signed books that I remember seeing for $100 on release.

 

Lifes a gamble, stay well diversified

 

[rob_react]

Some stores that have them are getting 69 to 100 bucks for one. Wizard today listed the price as $100 bucks retail. They are selling on ebay at a wholesale price of $50+. Demand is picking up.

 

But how long will it last?

 

Let's take a look at some data, shall we?

 

Here are the last few raw eBay sales:

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 VARIANT GREEN COVER

$15.00 1 Jul-04 08:18

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 DEALER INCENTIVE VARIANT CASSADAY

$41.99 1 Jul-02 07:07

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RARE DEALER INCENTIVE VARIANT 1ST

$39.99 1 Jul-02 05:16

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RARE DEALER INCENTIVE VARIANT 1ST

$39.99 1 Jul-01 16:30

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 dealer VARIANT INCENTIVE cover

$29.99 1 Jul-01 13:15

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RARE DEALER INCENTIVE VARIANT 1ST

$39.99 1 Jul-01 09:31

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RETAIL INCENTIVE 1ST VARIANT- MINT

$36.03 13 Jun-28 20:05

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN 1 Retailer First 1st Variant Cassaday

$24.50 9 Jun-28 17:43

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RARE VARIANT WHEDON CASSADAY

$28.00 9 Jun-28 15:55

 

Several also failed to sell at the 39.99 price point.

[GOODBYE!-migration]

Some stores that have them are getting 69 to 100 bucks for one. Wizard today listed the price as $100 bucks retail. They are selling on ebay at a wholesale price of $50+. Demand is picking up.

 

But how long will it last?

 

Let's take a look at some data, shall we?

 

Here are the last few raw eBay sales:

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 VARIANT GREEN COVER

$15.00 1 Jul-04 08:18

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 DEALER INCENTIVE VARIANT CASSADAY

$41.99 1 Jul-02 07:07

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RARE DEALER INCENTIVE VARIANT 1ST

$39.99 1 Jul-02 05:16

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RARE DEALER INCENTIVE VARIANT 1ST

$39.99 1 Jul-01 16:30

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 dealer VARIANT INCENTIVE cover

$29.99 1 Jul-01 13:15

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RARE DEALER INCENTIVE VARIANT 1ST

$39.99 1 Jul-01 09:31

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RETAIL INCENTIVE 1ST VARIANT- MINT

$36.03 13 Jun-28 20:05

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN 1 Retailer First 1st Variant Cassaday

$24.50 9 Jun-28 17:43

 

ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 RARE VARIANT WHEDON CASSADAY

$28.00 9 Jun-28 15:55

 

Several also failed to sell at the 39.99 price point.

 

Hard to tell what the total price is without shipping costs included. It is eBay after all.with some UK sellers charging as much as 10 pounds ($18) for US shipping for one book. That low bid ended 5am pacific on the Fourth Of July with a vague title that no one was looking for(Green Variant?).Other than that you show the book trending up overall and I do remember some people putting in 75 dollar bids early on.

 

Bet they won't be as affordable in the fall but then again I've picked up many Dynamic Forces, Marvel Variants and DC Chromium for less than $10/$5 a few months after release so you never know.

[rob_react]

You guys are kidding with this right? The book really did sell for around $75-100 on eBay right after it came out, I just posted a bunch of $30-40 sales and all of a sudden it's trending upward? What about the multiple copies from the same $39.99 seller that sat unsold? Are those trending upward too?

 

Sure, maybe this book will NOT be selling for $5 in two months but does anyone here really think buying one of these AT RETAIL is something you can do and make money? Is this a game people really want to play again? I mean... seriously?