divad Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Yay! I don't have to join the chase I scored this perfectly centered copy during one of my many happy visits to Donuts $3 thread a couple years ago. A $3 donut You're nutz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Yay! I don't have to join the chase I scored this perfectly centered copy during one of my many happy visits to Donuts $3 thread a couple years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMyAmadeus Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 If you folks were paying attention about 9 years ago, Tec #474 enjoyed a moderate upswing as part of the whole "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" dealy...in which Deadshot played a prominent part. Smart money bought then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaeldubyoo Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Smart money? Who buys such a comic and waits 9 years for it to suddenly become hot? Could you have predicted a movie announcement? Pure luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeksAreMyPeeps Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Smart money? Who buys such a comic and waits 9 years for it to suddenly become hot? Could you have predicted a movie announcement? Pure luck. The question is "Could you have predicted a movie announcement and figured that that would be the driving force behind back issue jumps?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divad Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Smart money? Who buys such a comic and waits 9 years for it to suddenly become hot? Could you have predicted a movie announcement? Pure luck. It's not luck, it's called "collecting". You newbs kill me. Just want it now. Nine years is a blink of the eye, but not I guess, if you were in high school 9 years ago . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaeldubyoo Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 I've been collecting for almost 40 years. And, yes, I do have Detective 474. I consider myself lucky. I consider myself lucky for having a lot of books that became hot. I'll be honest and say I did not think that some of them would be worth nearly as much as they are now. The truth is, on comics like Detective 474, it's really something that becomes hot because of external circumstances, like a movie announcement. It was not a highly sought after book for years. So tell me, how many Detective 474s did you buy prior to the movie announcement, thinking it would become a hot book? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMyAmadeus Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 I've been collecting for almost 40 years. And, yes, I do have Detective 474. I consider myself lucky. I consider myself lucky for having a lot of books that became hot. I'll be honest and say I did not think that some of them would be worth nearly as much as they are now. The truth is, on comics like Detective 474, it's really something that becomes hot because of external circumstances, like a movie announcement. It was not a highly sought after book for years. So tell me, how many Detective 474s did you buy prior to the movie announcement, thinking it would become a hot book? Do you know how many New Mutants #98 I bought, and how long I held them, before they became "hot"? Decades. And for decades, I took care of them, and waited while everyone laughed at the stupid purchase. And, while I didn't make as much as I could have, I can tell you that before 2014, I never paid more than $5 for a copy, and sold them all for north of $250. Each. The key, as always, is patience. What comes around, goes around. Books that were popular in, oh, say 1985 might show a distinct probability in becoming popular again. Sure, a book like, say, Batman #376 will probably never become hot, because it never was.to begin with. But...a book like Tec #474, that enjoyed a bit of a renaissance in 2005...? Now you're on to something. And it WAS highly sought after, for a brief time in 2005. Then, a book like Batman #404....yes, I'll buy that every single time I pass by it for $1 or $2. It has absolutely nothing....whatsoever...with knowing what character will "have a movie coming out." It has everything to do with understanding what drives the market, and how people react. And right now, they react to Detective #474. A couple weeks ago, Bats #417 got the buzz. Next week, maybe Justice League #1 (1987) pops up. Guess how many copies of THOSE books I have...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMyAmadeus Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Smart money? Who buys such a comic and waits 9 years for it to suddenly become hot? Could you have predicted a movie announcement? Pure luck. You want a tip...? Buy Detective #311s. Wait for some sort of "announcement." At worst, you'll have a few extra Detective #311s lying around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spreads Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Smart money? Who buys such a comic and waits 9 years for it to suddenly become hot? Could you have predicted a movie announcement? Pure luck. You want a tip...? Buy Detective #311s. Wait for some sort of "announcement." At worst, you'll have a few extra Detective #311s lying around. I posted this in the bronze Batman thread but will post it again here. Those Batman/Tec 70s and early 80s have got some of the nicest looking covers in comics from that era. When I found a bunch in a collection I purchased recently I spent more time glossing over the covers because they were so eye-appealing. That alone has to count for something. And Here's my contribution (not comics related). Buy shares in RIG and/or NE. I've just loaded up on OTM call options on RIG.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spreads Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 I've been collecting for almost 40 years. And, yes, I do have Detective 474. I consider myself lucky. I consider myself lucky for having a lot of books that became hot. I'll be honest and say I did not think that some of them would be worth nearly as much as they are now. The truth is, on comics like Detective 474, it's really something that becomes hot because of external circumstances, like a movie announcement. It was not a highly sought after book for years. So tell me, how many Detective 474s did you buy prior to the movie announcement, thinking it would become a hot book? Do you know how many New Mutants #98 I bought, and how long I held them, before they became "hot"? Decades. And for decades, I took care of them, and waited while everyone laughed at the stupid purchase. And, while I didn't make as much as I could have, I can tell you that before 2014, I never paid more than $5 for a copy, and sold them all for north of $250. Each. The key, as always, is patience. What comes around, goes around. Books that were popular in, oh, say 1985 might show a distinct probability in becoming popular again. Sure, a book like, say, Batman #376 will probably never become hot, because it never was.to begin with. But...a book like Tec #474, that enjoyed a bit of a renaissance in 2005...? Now you're on to something. And it WAS highly sought after, for a brief time in 2005. Then, a book like Batman #404....yes, I'll buy that every single time I pass by it for $1 or $2. It has absolutely nothing....whatsoever...with knowing what character will "have a movie coming out." It has everything to do with understanding what drives the market, and how people react. And right now, they react to Detective #474. A couple weeks ago, Bats #417 got the buzz. Next week, maybe Justice League #1 (1987) pops up. Guess how many copies of THOSE books I have...? That's a pretty solid approach. If you can get these books for $1-2, you have a floor to work with and know you'll probably always be able to at least get what you paid for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR SigS Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Yay! I don't have to join the chase I scored this perfectly centered copy during one of my many happy visits to Donut's $3 thread a couple years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygogolak Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Smart money? Who buys such a comic and waits 9 years for it to suddenly become hot? Could you have predicted a movie announcement? Pure luck. You want a tip...? Buy Detective #311s. Wait for some sort of "announcement." At worst, you'll have a few extra Detective #311s lying around. And a few 100 dollars lighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR SigS Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 A $3 donut You're nutz Mmmm, $3 donuts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMyAmadeus Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Smart money? Who buys such a comic and waits 9 years for it to suddenly become hot? Could you have predicted a movie announcement? Pure luck. You want a tip...? Buy Detective #311s. Wait for some sort of "announcement." At worst, you'll have a few extra Detective #311s lying around. And a few 100 dollars lighter. FF #45 FF #36 FF #46 FF #52 Strange Tales #126 Hulk #271 Marvel Preview #7 Marvel Super Heroes #18 New Teen Titans #2 Preacher #1 Sandman #1 DC Comics Presents #49 Batman #417 Micronauts #8 The list goes on of books that had little relative value 2-3-4-5 years ago. This is strange, new territory we're in, but it's also very familiar territory. Everyone's rushing to get the next hot thing. The key to making "money" in comics is to resist the temptation to follow the crowd, to run out and spend money on the next hot thing, and buy what everyone else is not. At the prices that Tec #311 is selling for, you have essentially nothing to lose. It's not like it's a book that is going to plummet to $1 for NM copies after you've spent those hundreds of dollars. You're not likely to see a loss if you HAVE to sell, which is a wonderful aspect of many collectibles. Don't like Tec #311? How about Tec #400? Green Lantern #59? Spidey #101? DC Comics Presents #87? Flash #112? Justice League #1 (1987)? Showcase #79? (Showcase is littered with potential, actually.) Blue Beetle #1? Booster Gold #1? All books that were fairly "hot" at one point, but have settled back down to low levels relative to the non-keys around them. If Legends #3 can "hit"...this crazy market can do anything. Sure, you don't know what will hit, and when...but picking books that were "once hot, now not" is a lot easier than trying to guess what the next Batman Adventures #12 is going to be (if there ever will be another one like that.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
500Club Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Do you know how many New Mutants #98 I bought, and how long I held them, before they became "hot"? Decades. And for decades, I took care of them, and waited while everyone laughed at the stupid purchase. And, while I didn't make as much as I could have, I can tell you that before 2014, I never paid more than $5 for a copy, and sold them all for north of $250. Each. +1 I started buying them in the early 90's. It was clear even then that there was a grassroots love for the character in the hobby. I never thought it would take 20 years for the book to really take off. Harley Quinn? There was a window, albeit much smaller, where you could see the love for the character building, and act upon it. Follow RMAs advice. There are still many cool and under appreciated opportunities to be found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spreads Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Smart money? Who buys such a comic and waits 9 years for it to suddenly become hot? Could you have predicted a movie announcement? Pure luck. You want a tip...? Buy Detective #311s. Wait for some sort of "announcement." At worst, you'll have a few extra Detective #311s lying around. And a few 100 dollars lighter. FF #45 FF #36 FF #46 FF #52 Strange Tales #126 Hulk #271 Marvel Preview #7 Marvel Super Heroes #18 New Teen Titans #2 Preacher #1 Sandman #1 DC Comics Presents #49 Batman #417 Micronauts #8 The list goes on of books that had little relative value 2-3-4-5 years ago. This is strange, new territory we're in, but it's also very familiar territory. Everyone's rushing to get the next hot thing. The key to making "money" in comics is to resist the temptation to follow the crowd, to run out and spend money on the next hot thing, and buy what everyone else is not. At the prices that Tec #311 is selling for, you have essentially nothing to lose. It's not like it's a book that is going to plummet to $1 for NM copies after you've spent those hundreds of dollars. You're not likely to see a loss if you HAVE to sell, which is a wonderful aspect of many collectibles. Don't like Tec #311? How about Tec #400? Green Lantern #59? Spidey #101? DC Comics Presents #87? Flash #112? Justice League #1 (1987)? Showcase #79? (Showcase is littered with potential, actually.) Blue Beetle #1? Booster Gold #1? All books that were fairly "hot" at one point, but have settled back down to low levels relative to the non-keys around them. If Legends #3 can "hit"...this crazy market can do anything. Sure, you don't know what will hit, and when...but picking books that were "once hot, now not" is a lot easier than trying to guess what the next Batman Adventures #12 is going to be (if there ever will be another one like that.) This is a terrible comparison because I really can't stand the guy; but reading this post I feel like you're Jim Cramer, and I'm of his devoted followers with cash-in-hand waiting to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hekla Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Often, picking future winners is just common sense. IMO, If the story & art is good, it's worth picking up on the cheap. If it doesn't take off in price, the quality of the book doesn't disappear. I was reading Marvel's SW Empire Strikes Back last night and while 42 gets all the love (deserved) the surrounding issues are still cheap - including 41 - 1st Yoda (in shadows, but still...). As others said, there's a lot of untapped potential still in the bargin bins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_rushin Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Agreed, and of course while Tec 474 is getting all that love right now, the surrounding issues of that Marshall Rogers run is full of classic story lines and first appearances. Hugo Strange, Preston Payne, Dr. Phosphorus, and the Joker-fish books are such awesome books. Particularly those Joker-fish issues to me seem to be brushed to the side for the time being since 1st apps are sought after so much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimik Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 There are plenty of opportunities to buy books and make a great return. Not everything needs to be snapped up for a buck a book, but it is nice when speculative plays out of dollar bins pay off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...