X-Men #94 vs. House of Secrets #92: Help me choose...

[mintcollector]

GXM #1 for investment purposes.

 

Dan

 

Maybe in a few more years when it reaches bottom. Due to saturation that book has been plummeting along with other bronze books the past few years.

 

Actually it has been hovering in the 9.2-9.4 grade; and in some instances surpassing its estimates. I paid about $1100 for my 9.4 copy and have already been offered more. This book tends to sell at around $1300 on average on most auction sites. I do not see it going down in grades 9.4 or lower. It is the 9.6 and 9.8 grades that again; are most volatile. This is also a good reason why I choose to collect generally 9.2-9.4 books. Most books above are extremely volatile and speculative. Look at what happened to the collectors who thought Hulk 181 ws a great 'investment' in 9.8. The book went from $25,000 to $13,000 (and is still dropping). If you bought at the 9.2 or 9.4 level your risk was limited. This is another reason I never chase top census copies; especially when 'presssing' is almost everywhere in this hobby.

 

Case in point; about two years aga, I had someone try to tell me that his Weird War Tales #1 in CGC 9.2 was at a great price at $445. I tried hard not to laugh at him. Today, with more and more 9.2 copies that came on the market and the fact that a lot of obscure bronze books dropped in price; I can get that same issue for about $250; and even that is becoming high. This is a $200 book tops; in my opinion.

 

As for HOS 92, I have yet to see a lot of these enter the marketplace at one time. Either they are being hoarded for the long haul; or the book is somewhat harder to find than most mainstream Marvels (and even some DC books).

 

Kind Regards,

 

'mint'

[sterlingcomics]

Sorry for the off topic comment, but since you went there...

 

Weird War Tales #1 in 9.6 is definitely worth more than $200. I suspect that's why you don't have one. I'd be interested to hear you say you acquired one at that price. Cause if you have, please share where and how!

[etanick]

i was going to ask where I can get a 9.2 WW#1 for $200? or $250?

[sterlingcomics]

I think it's overpriced and I definitely paid more than I should've for my 9.6 but it's at least a $500 book in 9.6 on a very bad day. Current rate is around $1k. I'm guessing it may "settle" to ~$650 or so over time. It's going to drop less than X-men #94 in the same grade, that's for sure.

 

Of course, I don't dispute the fact that as more copies come to market it will only get cheaper. But it still commands pretty good penny for both the horror and war crossover collectors.

[MutantKeys]

X-Men 94

 

I'm so happy the price of HG copies has come down significantly!!!

[Junkdrawer]

Original cover art to HOS92 hangs on the wall at Metropolis Comics

[shrunkenhead]

Sterling, what's a good rate for a ww1 in 9.4?

[sterlingcomics]

$500 range depending on QP and PQ is how they have been priced historically. I think a few books in 9.8 (I had a bid up to $2k and still lost) have been added lately and I don't think we haven't tested those boundaries lately for the 9.4 range. I haven't personally seen a 9.4 copy get sold so far in 2012 in a public format. I'd suspect that depending on the copy we might start seeing some downward trending, but prices have (so far) remained strong when they pop up.

[sterlingcomics]

X-Men 94

 

I'm so happy the price of HG copies has come down significantly!!!

 

How much down have they gone? I might even entertain a copy at some point.

[sterlingcomics]

Original cover art to HOS92 hangs on the wall at Metropolis Comics

 

I wonder how much that junk would go for in an auction?

[mintcollector]

I think it's overpriced and I definitely paid more than I should've for my 9.6 but it's at least a $500 book in 9.6 on a very bad day.

 

Of course, I don't dispute the fact that as more copies come to market it will only get cheaper. But it still commands pretty good penny for both the horror and war crossover collectors.

 

Read the original post, as I mistakenly put 9.6 where the term 9.2 should have been. It IS corrected now. Thank you!

[mintcollector]

Sterling, what's a good rate for a ww1 in 9.4?

 

I have seen 9.2 copies for $250 on World Wide Comics. Keep in mind that this is one of the most common bronze age war books; according to Overstreet.

 

As I have 'attempted' to state (sorry about my error), before the 'bronze age burst' (infamous terminology) a 9.2 would probably be worth $400+; but due to more and more copies appearing regularly, this issue is a bad investment in my opinion and one I will ot touch...

 

It is like Marvel Spotlight #2 in CGC 9.4. This USED to sell easily for $550 in 9.4 all day long. Now you are lucky if you get the going rate of $400 for it. Ironically, some sellers tell me that they paid $550+ for it and that is the price they need to sell it for. My favorite response is always the same; 'I was not aware there was a troubled collectible asset relief program.'

 

'mint'

[etanick]

here is some stats for you to chew on.

 

For WWT#1, as far as more and more copies are popping up or Overstreet say is the most common war book...I can say it is all relative to demand. Look at X-men 94 and see what more and more copies are doing to that book in prices...like I said before, I don't care what the value of the X-men 94 is, it is not a book to buy to "invest" in my opinion. As great as the demand is for X-men 94, the demand simply can't prop up the values of that book for the past 3 years..as prices declined across the board from 9.2 to 9.8 range, the continual rise in the numbers of graded books in that grade range is part of the problem. Maybe someday the cencus will flatline and demands will catch up and the book will rise again. I am not holding my breath for that scenario though.

 

Weird War Tales #1

9.8-9.6-9.4-9.2

2006 0-4-12-18

2007 0-4-14-21

2008 0-5-16-23

2009 0-5-18-24

2010 1-5-18-25

2011 3-7-19-25

2012 4-7-19-25 for a whopping total of 55 copies

 

X-men 94

 

9.8-9.6-9.4-9.2

2006 1-19-95-117

2007 2-24-100-130

2008 2-32-103-135

2009 4-45-114-150

2010 8-48-120-166

2011 11-55-125-188

2012 16-61-141-199 for a mind numbing total of 417 copies

 

Personally I have never seen a WW#1 9.2 for $250 because I probably would buy it for that price.

[mintcollector]

here is some stats for you to chew on.

 

For WWT#1, as far as more and more copies are popping up or Overstreet say is the most common war book...I can say it is all relative to demand. Look at X-men 94 and see what more and more copies are doing to that book in prices...like I said before, I don't care what the value of the X-men 94 is, it is not a book to buy to "invest" in my opinion. As great as the demand is for X-men 94, the demand simply can't prop up the values of that book for the past 3 years..as prices declined across the board from 9.2 to 9.8 range, the continual rise in the numbers of graded books in that grade range is part of the problem. Maybe someday the cencus will flatline and demands will catch up and the book will rise again. I am not holding my breath for that scenario though.

 

Weird War Tales #1

9.8-9.6-9.4-9.2

2006 0-4-12-18

2007 0-4-14-21

2008 0-5-16-23

2009 0-5-18-24

2010 1-5-18-25

2011 3-7-19-25

2012 4-7-19-25 for a whopping total of 55 copies

 

X-men 94

 

9.8-9.6-9.4-9.2

2006 1-19-95-117

2007 2-24-100-130

2008 2-32-103-135

2009 4-45-114-150

2010 8-48-120-166

2011 11-55-125-188

2012 16-61-141-199 for a mind numbing total of 417 copies

 

Personally I have never seen a WW#1 9.2 for $250 because I probably would buy it for that price.

 

The census (in my opinion) is a completely ALMOST useless tool due to the amount of resubs due to pressing ( and resubs) on higher end books. I would never trust the census for a high grade Marvel 'key.'

 

As for your inquiry on WW #1 in 9.2, I do not know if that book sold or not, but this was almost a year ago. They also had a Witching Hour #1 in 9.2 for around $250-$275 (don't remember the exact price). The Witching Hour was only a few months back.

 

Can I ask though why you would state you would buy a WWT #1 for about $250 in 9.2 and not buy a major Marvel 'key?' Overstreet has this book greatly overvalued in my opinion. I would suspect that due to demand, WWT #1 is going to drop down to around $200 (right near Ghosts #1) due to the fact it is not a book in high demand (when compared to X-men 94 or HOS 92). It has been showing downward movement as of late (like most bronze books; to be fair). I would venture to say that most new collectors would rather have an X-Men 94 than a WWT #1; even though this comparison is extremely flawed. I personally, collect both super-hero and horror books, so my 'want list' is for esoteric than somebody who just collects super-hero books alone.

 

I don't think you are taking demand into the equation. As someone pointed out, the census also shows less than sixty copies of HOS 92 in 9.4 or higher; yet it sells for about the same price (or less) of X-Men 94.

 

 

[etanick]

a) the census is not perfect but I think it is far from useless...sure with resub and people not submitting the old label, the census can be bloated...that being said, a lot of people so sub the old label so it isn't as bad as it made out to be. Care to debate the skewed data with GPA? we can go there too since it is is far from complete so lets lay it all out there if you want to debate validity of "data".

 

b) what make you think I don't own other bronze keys? didn't I say I already have both HOS 92 and X-men 94 and I am likely will loose money on them if I sell them today? I am pretty sure I wrote that in this thread.

 

c) Of course I considered demand..how else is the most common bronze war book only has 55 copies submitted (for argument sake and leave out the bloated census issue) while X-men has 9 times more? yes, lots of people don't collect WWT#1, thus low census, low demand = not so high price...not a surprise. My argument so that it is clear is the demand for X-men 94 is higher, yes, but the over abundance supplies (regardless if you believe the census or not) have depressed the prices for the last 3 years and likely won't reverse any times soon.

 

One thing to consider is many DC collectors are non slab collectors so that could be a factor in why there are so few WWT#1 or HOS 92 on census. Yes, HOS in 9.2 or above is very rare in comparison to X-men 94, yet why is it not as expensive? because the demand is much lower right? I have a few copies of HOS 92, raw and slabbed so I can say I spent enough time following that book for quite sometimes now.

 

[sterlingcomics]

I think it's overpriced and I definitely paid more than I should've for my 9.6 but it's at least a $500 book in 9.6 on a very bad day.

 

Of course, I don't dispute the fact that as more copies come to market it will only get cheaper. But it still commands pretty good penny for both the horror and war crossover collectors.

 

Read the original post, as I mistakenly put 9.6 where the term 9.2 should have been. It IS corrected now. Thank you!

 

:thumbsup:

[sterlingcomics]

I have seen 9.2 copies for $250 on World Wide Comics. Keep in mind that this is one of the most common bronze age war books; according to Overstreet.

 

Looks like a 9.6 sold on WW for $1200. Looks like my copy was cheaper after all. Phew.

 

As I have 'attempted' to state (sorry about my error), before the 'bronze age burst' (infamous terminology) a 9.2 would probably be worth $400+; but due to more and more copies appearing regularly, this issue is a bad investment in my opinion and one I will not touch...

 

According to most collectors these days, bronze is bad. That's good for me, cause now I can finally get my books at a price I can really appreciate! Either way, I'm enjoying the hobby. I'm not losing sleep. Life will go on.

 

 

[sterlingcomics]

Can I ask though why you would state you would buy a WWT #1 for about $250 in 9.2 and not buy a major Marvel 'key?'

 

Wild guess, but maybe he likes the book better? It does happen. Some don't follow trends.

 

I would suspect that due to demand, WWT #1 is going to drop down to around $200 (right near Ghosts #1) due to the fact it is not a book in high demand (when compared to X-men 94 or HOS 92). It has been showing downward movement as of late (like most bronze books; to be fair).

 

Are you talking about 9.2 or 9.4 again? 9.4 copies of Ghosts #1 typically go for $300. Yep other non #1 copies are going for cheaper, relative to the market...haven't seen the impact on the #1 issues in the series yet. If you've seen otherwise, let me know. I tend to follow the genre closely, but I'll admit I've been distracted lately.

 

BTW, no 9.8 issues of Ghosts #1 graded yet either. Not that anyone gives a rat's behind because they are too busy admiring Wolverine's claws.

 

So, where's your head now mint? X-men or HOS?

[oakman29]

I have seen 9.2 copies for $250 on World Wide Comics. Keep in mind that this is one of the most common bronze age war books; according to Overstreet.

 

Looks like a 9.6 sold on WW for $1200. Looks like my copy was cheaper after all. Phew.

 

As I have 'attempted' to state (sorry about my error), before the 'bronze age burst' (infamous terminology) a 9.2 would probably be worth $400+; but due to more and more copies appearing regularly, this issue is a bad investment in my opinion and one I will not touch...

 

According to most collectors these days, bronze is bad. That's good for me, cause now I can finally get my books at a price I can really appreciate! Either way, I'm enjoying the hobby. I'm not losing sleep. Life will go on.

 

I'm loving the lull in bronze age books,because you know it won't be that way forever.

[Jeffreykli]

Since no one else has posted the books in question, here are my copies (no, they're not for sale). For the record, I think I prefer the HOS #92, but I've owned many more copies of HOS #92 than X-Men #94 Should be a decent comparison, since both PQ is OW-W, CGC 9.2s. Another factor to consider with each book is centering and miswrap: