Does anyone pay sticker price

[John Grumbledook]

Ive just got back into collecting this year, and I was wondering, aside from rare comics, do hard core collectors actually pay overstreet guide prices for comics? or is that just for rubes who buy here and there. like the people who pay sticker price on a car at the lot.

im just asking because my general strategy has been to buy for no more than 66% or price guide for any given book, usually trying to find a price point at 50%. which is why i avoid buying at LCS (unless they are willing to haggle which i dislike doing) or buy it nows on ebay.

any thoughts? is this how i should be going about it, or is overstreet actually the FMV i should be looking to buy with?

i seem to be doing ok so far, all i buy are silver age marvel..athough i cant get and AF 15 or Hulk 1 with this strategy, i have been able to get a complete 1-30 run of FF doing this, as well as most 27-100 run tales to astonish, and 40-100 run of tales of suspense.

and im not buying to flip, just to own.

[Junkdrawer]

Its not the deal you got, its the deal you think you got. Dont stop buying FF1 or TTA27 @ 66% of guide.

[gaz973]

Paying Overstreet prices is OK if the books you are buying are actually the grade that you're paying for. How many sellers actually grade that well?

[sterlingcomics]

Its not the deal you got, its the deal you think you got. Dont stop buying FF1 or TTA27 @ 66% of guide.

 

People are dumb enough to let keys go for that cheap?

[gyro-1]

Dont think about the price think about what its worth to you ?

smiles always fallow

[Speedy-D]

I never pay more than 40% of Overstreet, and 20% for SA Marvel keys.

[Whizzer]

Yes, no, maybe. Or tree fiddy, it all depends.

[sterlingcomics]

I never pay more than 40% of Overstreet, and 20% for SA Marvel keys.

 

What grades are you targeting?

[Sqeggs]

I think there's a big difference between keys and non-keys and between high grade and non-high grade. Most Marvel SA non-key books in mid-grade or low-grade can be had for 50% or less of Overstreet with a little looking.

 

If you got FF1 and TTA 27 in at least mid-grade at a 1/3 or more discount to Overstreet, you did good!

[Mike's Rack]

Generally, book that are in demand sell for guide or more, books that are high grade and in demand sell for well over guide, many rare GA books sell over guide. Everything else can be found for well under guide if you have patience. Your formula should work with the above exceptions. However, there is a reason that books sell at guide or more, they are usually exceptional and/or hard to find and this is where most collectors hang out.

 

Use GPA as a better guide for market value.

[Boboset]

I never use OSPG to value any of the comics I purchase/own. I read the articles and use it for reference on what artists/writers did and where different characters appear.

[nearmint]

I haven't even purchased the Overstreet guide in 3 years, and I'm buying Silver and Golden Age every week.

[Buzzetta]

I have not purchased an Overstreet guide in over ten years or even referred to one. As far as I am concerned the guide is like the newspaper but instead of being yesterday's news it is last year's.

 

Think of the lead in time that it takes to assemble the Overstreet guide, the time it takes for printing and binding as well as shipping to your shelf. It is already out of date the minute it rolls off the press.

 

When I want to know what to pay for a book I go to completed listings on eBay and Comiclink to see what people are actually paying for a book.

 

There are times that I have overpaid for a book. I know I overpaid for my last major purchase because I wanted a copy with no Marvel chipping and with off white to white pages at a minimum. I looked at what chipped copies with cream pages were commanding and I went from there.

 

Then there are books that you may as well throw the book out and never look back again. If you want a Wolverine #35 in a 9.8 well you better be prepared to be disappointed. As detailed numerous times on this forum, the book was printed with a binding defect and no book has ever been graded at a 9.8 until recently. Many books have been submitted but I believe that only one copy has made the grade. What will that command? Who knows... I am guessing way more than Overstreet could predict.

 

To me, Overstreet is nothing more than a bound checklist of books that have been published. Online recordings of comic sales have replaced it in the way that online news is replacing if not has already replaced your daily newspaper.

 

 

[StuporMan]

CGC'd 9.2 Silver Age keys and any Golden Age often close to guide or over (depending on the rarity) - raw, never more than 50% any age.

[Bomber-Bob]

CGC'd 9.2 Silver Age keys and any Golden Age often close to guide or over (depending on the rarity) - raw, never more than 50% any age.

 

9.2 Silver Age keys sell for generally anything the seller is asking = over OSPG.

[The-Collector]

I like heritage past sales and gpa as well as eBay completed sales. I get some High grade keys at significant discount buy buying from low or no feedback sellers but this is a risky undertaking. But I feel I can rely on eBay and pay pal buyer protection. And the cost of insurance is much less than the potential gain.

[John Grumbledook]

all good advice. I usually target mid grade (4-7) raw books. have been lucky on some lots where the books were actually better than grade. thats off ebay, ebay almost always is at least 1 point lower than advertised.

for individual pieces i find the best i can do is 60-75% of overstreet. lots is where im having most luck getting 50% of cgc - although 2-3 keys will be accompanies by 30 lower value silver age issues. which im thinking i can sell off and offset the price of the keys even more.

just wanted to know if this was a sound strategy. sounds like it is. although it takes a lot of searching. thanks.

[John Grumbledook]

i agree on the high risk sellers. paypal seems to always bail me out when it goes sour, plus its refining my bs meter.

[Silver]

I haven't even purchased the Overstreet guide in 3 years, and I'm buying Silver and Golden Age every week.

 

+1

[The-Collector]

It must be hard for low or now feedback sellers. I have bought a few $1500+ books from guys with 10-30 feedback. They always have to come down significantly from FMV. and I usually make contact after they have listed the book 3 or more times.