Stan Lee Market Saturation?

[miraclemet]

Was watching a few Lee auctions close on Sunday night....

 

AMAZING SPIDERMAN #314 SS CGC 9.6 $82

AMAZING SPIDERMAN #313 SS CGC 9.2 $71

AMAZING SPIDERMAN #700 (2nd) SS CGC 9.6 $91

 

and looked back at some recent ones...

CGC SS 9.4 SIGNED Stan Lee Ultimate Spiderman Special #1 $61

SUPERMAN/SPIDERMAN #1 SS CGC 9.2 $66

SABRETOOTH #1 SS CGC 9.8 $74

Venom Lethal Protector #1 CGC SS 9.4 NM $81

CGC SS 9.8 Minimum Carnage Alpha #1 Spiderman $88

CGC SS 9.6 SIGNED Autograph Stan Lee Amazing Spiderman #1 $87

 

Considering Stan's signature fee is $70 (plus submission/slabbing fees) have we finally hit the point where people will figure out that trying to flip non 9.8 books with Stan's sig on them is not profitable? [or maybe Im wrong about Stan's convention signing fee?]

 

Obviously this doesn't decrease the desire to get high grade books signed, or rare variants or keys signed, or whatever, but maybe it settles down the deluge of Lee signatures on the marketplace?

 

this is not a point about what books Lee should/shouldn't sign, more about what the marketplace is able to absorb, and the impact it has on prices of his SSed books in general.

 

[Pirate]

No

[Mayor006]

I still think his signature is good for low grade books like a 5.5 ASM 19 or something. I just think it's the moderns where people are going a little crazy with the non - 9.8 stuff.

[seanfingh]

 

Considering Stan's signature fee is $70 (plus submission/slabbing fees) have we finally hit the point where people will figure out that trying to flip non 9.8 books with Stan's sig on them is not profitable? [or maybe Im wrong about Stan's convention signing fee?]

 

Obviously this doesn't decrease the desire to get high grade books signed, or rare variants or keys signed, or whatever, but maybe it settles down the deluge of Lee signatures on the marketplace?

 

this is not a point about what books Lee should/shouldn't sign, more about what the marketplace is able to absorb, and the impact it has on prices of his SSed books in general.

 

I am hopeful that the market is becoming more discerning, and realizing that non-9.8 moderns and Coppers with Stan sigs are basically novelties. I have no desire to have any Stan Lee books that he didn't work on personally, but the market has spoken otherwise on that front. I still firmly believe that down the road vintage books that Stan wrote will separate themselves from the pack, but I have been saying that for years to no avail.

[Webhead1981]

 

Considering Stan's signature fee is $70 (plus submission/slabbing fees) have we finally hit the point where people will figure out that trying to flip non 9.8 books with Stan's sig on them is not profitable? [or maybe Im wrong about Stan's convention signing fee?]

 

Obviously this doesn't decrease the desire to get high grade books signed, or rare variants or keys signed, or whatever, but maybe it settles down the deluge of Lee signatures on the marketplace?

 

this is not a point about what books Lee should/shouldn't sign, more about what the marketplace is able to absorb, and the impact it has on prices of his SSed books in general.

 

I am hopeful that the market is becoming more discerning, and realizing that non-9.8 moderns and Coppers with Stan sigs are basically novelties. I have no desire to have any Stan Lee books that he didn't work on personally, but the market has spoken otherwise on that front. I still firmly believe that down the road vintage books that Stan wrote will separate themselves from the pack, but I have been saying that for years to no avail.

 

Pretty much this

[Goldeneye]

 

Considering Stan's signature fee is $70 (plus submission/slabbing fees) have we finally hit the point where people will figure out that trying to flip non 9.8 books with Stan's sig on them is not profitable? [or maybe Im wrong about Stan's convention signing fee?]

 

Obviously this doesn't decrease the desire to get high grade books signed, or rare variants or keys signed, or whatever, but maybe it settles down the deluge of Lee signatures on the marketplace?

 

this is not a point about what books Lee should/shouldn't sign, more about what the marketplace is able to absorb, and the impact it has on prices of his SSed books in general.

 

I am hopeful that the market is becoming more discerning, and realizing that non-9.8 moderns and Coppers with Stan sigs are basically novelties. I have no desire to have any Stan Lee books that he didn't work on personally, but the market has spoken otherwise on that front. I still firmly believe that down the road vintage books that Stan wrote will separate themselves from the pack, but I have been saying that for years to no avail.

+1

I have been saying this for awhile myself it has to be a comic he has worked on personally. Yes to the first poster's question the market is saturated. At an average con I have seen him at in the last few years he has multiple signing time usually limited to a few hours with the rules don't ask him questions, just say your name quick if you want it personalized, and don't extend your hand. I stood at his line watching what people brought up to him some guys with ten tickets for autographs and he was getting that done within 20 seconds. The size of his line at a con I have only seen Shatner, Nimoy, and West with lines as ridiculous as his. My guess from what I have seen an average convention he pulls in 500,000 plus in autographs possibly even breaking a million plus. Recently on Pawn stars the toy shack guy even estimated the number of Stan Lee autographs into the millions. So to me the ones that will be worth money is the ones that he actually worked on.

[miraclemet]

My guess from what I have seen an average convention he pulls in 500,000 plus in autographs possibly even breaking a million plus. Recently on Pawn stars the toy shack guy even estimated the number of Stan Lee autographs into the millions. So to me the ones that will be worth money is the ones that he actually worked on.

 

do you mean per con?

 

And Im betting a good chunk of that goes to his handlers (whom ever manages the ticketing system to get his auto).

 

[Goldeneye]

My guess from what I have seen an average convention he pulls in 500,000 plus in autographs possibly even breaking a million plus. Recently on Pawn stars the toy shack guy even estimated the number of Stan Lee autographs into the millions. So to me the ones that will be worth money is the ones that he actually worked on.

 

do you mean per con?

 

And Im betting a good chunk of that goes to his handlers (whom ever manages the ticketing system to get his auto).

Yes per con he is pulling 500,000 plus on the ones I have seen him at. If any goes to his handlers it is a small chunk because last I knew all of his profits were going to charity.

[jcruzcollection]

My rules of engagement:

1. I only get books signed by writers/artists who actually worked on the comic

2. I won't get a comic signed on the cover if the condition of the comic is VF or better for a medium/major key (i've made an exception for my favorites)

3. Stan Lee won't be around forever...it is actually the best time to be a buyer...since the market seems flooded with Stan's signatures, then it is a great time to BUY! It is affordable...trust me, in 20 years, it will seem almost impossible to find a quality signature on ebay.

 

just my 2 cents...

[MedicAR]

I've been scratching my head for years at the stuff people get signed by Stan, but it's their books.

 

Like Sean said, the books he worked on will likely separate themselves from the pack and be the truly valuable books. As for moderns, I think "special" books will maintain a certain allure to most collectors. Exceptional covers, anniversary issues, key book reprints, origin issues and the like will most likely be the only moderns to maintain much value in the secondary market. I still get a Stan Lee signature from time to time, but I'm pretty picky about what I get done.

 

Look at the Joe Simon books, the stuff that has a direct tie to the 40's Cap seem to do well, the random modern Cap don't pull as much. I imagine as time goes on, Stan will be the same way.

 

I've thought the Stan Lee market was saturated for a long time, but people kept buying. Maybe with prices lower than his signing fees, it will slow down and the "better" books will flourish.

[Wall-Crawler]

I only have two CGC Sig Series books...ASM #50 signed by Stan and JR Sr and ASM #36 (vol. 2) signed by JR JR.

 

I intend to get a few more but I have never understood why people get books signed by someone who never directly contributed to the book in question.

 

Perhaps this best explains it...

 

Leonard: I can’t decide whether I want Stan Lee to autograph my Journey into Mystery 83, first appearance of Thor or my Fantastic Four number five, first appearance of Dr. Doom.

 

Sheldon: I’ve decided I’m going to have Mr. Lee sign my copy of this month’s Batman.

 

Howard: That’s crazy. Stan Lee had nothing to do with Batman.

 

Sheldon: Yes, which is why no one else will ask him to sign one, and I will be the possessor of a unique, albeit confusing, artifact, which will set me apart from the hoi polloi of comic book fandom.

 

 

Anyway, I am firmly in the camp of only having a book signed by someone who directly contributed to it.

[MedicAR]

It's funny you should mention that Big Bang episode, when my wife and I saw it she said something to the effect of, "I didn't think it was a big deal to get Stan Lee to sign anything anymore, can't you get one any time?"

 

I guess maybe those of us here get a bit casual about Stan with as much access as we get. To those no associated with the boards, it is still a very big deal!

[Mayor006]

The man won't be around forever. Saturated now, probably. When he stops signing and everyone suddenly either triples their price or locks their books away. Not so much saturation.

[Bomfy]

It's funny you should mention that Big Bang episode, when my wife and I saw it she said something to the effect of, "I didn't think it was a big deal to get Stan Lee to sign anything anymore, can't you get one any time?"

 

I guess maybe those of us here get a bit casual about Stan with as much access as we get. To those no associated with the boards, it is still a very big deal!

 

I've noticed this myself. When people see my books they tend to look at my sketches first and they will occasionally pick them up to see the back, but the hilarious thing is they in awe of my 2 Stan books when they see them and won't touch them. Then they ask 50 questions about getting the sig.

 

I know there are people on these boards that feel his sig is pointless/overdone/whatever, but sadly there will be a time likely in the next decade that will be the start of the period when there aren't enough Stan Lee SS books.

[Hank Pym]

I was at the 2011 Phoenix Con and ran into a girl from Russia who was attending. I'd say she was in her mid 20's. The only reason she said she was there was to get Stan's signature, saying everyone knows of him in Russia. It was almost like a grail to her. (I tried to tell her I was Stan, but she didn't believe me.) Personally, I don't need any more Stan sigs, but if I'm trying to get a Marvel comic, Bronze age or earlier, signed by all the contributors, I'll still get his sig anyway.

 

I had him sign a low grade Young Allies #4 (1941) for me because he wrote the story. It was one of his first stories by the way. Looking back, I wish I kept that book. If I absolutely wanted Stan's signature on a book, I'd get a book that Larry Leiber contributed to, and have them both sign. Just my .

[MedicAR]

In all honesty, I'll still looking for 9.8 copies of various Marvel Milestones reprints. I started getting reprints done with the DC Millennium Editions and decided that they are the way to go. You get a high grade copy of a book they worked on, albeit a reprint.

 

I can say this, if you get the opportunity to make it out to a meet and greet with him, do it! It is well worth the price of admission to get to spend a little quiet time with someone as influential in our hobbies (and in turn our lives) as Stan Lee has been. I'm appalled to say I was too star struck to have much of an intelligent conversation with him, but the experience was priceless!

[Goldeneye]

I only have two CGC Sig Series books...ASM #50 signed by Stan and JR Sr and ASM #36 (vol. 2) signed by JR JR.

 

I intend to get a few more but I have never understood why people get books signed by someone who never directly contributed to the book in question.

 

Perhaps this best explains it...

 

Leonard: I can’t decide whether I want Stan Lee to autograph my Journey into Mystery 83, first appearance of Thor or my Fantastic Four number five, first appearance of Dr. Doom.

 

Sheldon: I’ve decided I’m going to have Mr. Lee sign my copy of this month’s Batman.

 

Howard: That’s crazy. Stan Lee had nothing to do with Batman.

 

Sheldon: Yes, which is why no one else will ask him to sign one, and I will be the possessor of a unique, albeit confusing, artifact, which will set me apart from the hoi polloi of comic book fandom.

 

 

Anyway, I am firmly in the camp of only having a book signed by someone who directly contributed to it.

Sad part is they forgot Just Imagine Stan Lee created Batman.

[Joel Elad]

Some of the numbers being quoted here are a little off... At $50-60 a sig, Stan would have to sign 10,000 items to generate half a million. But as an example, at the Big Wow show yesterday I saw autograph tickets in the 800 to 900 range, so assume up to 1,000 tickets were sold for his 3 hr signing. He probably did 200-300 photographs as well. You can do the math from there to see the revenue involved.

 

As far as who gets the money I can confidently say that Stan directs where all the money goes, not his handlers. If you want to know more than that, get Stan to hire you as his CPA.

[Goldeneye]

Some of the numbers being quoted here are a little off... At $50-60 a sig, Stan would have to sign 10,000 items to generate half a million. But as an example, at the Big Wow show yesterday I saw autograph tickets in the 800 to 900 range, so assume up to 1,000 tickets were sold for his 3 hr signing. He probably did 200-300 photographs as well. You can do the math from there to see the revenue involved.

 

As far as who gets the money I can confidently say that Stan directs where all the money goes, not his handlers. If you want to know more than that, get Stan to hire you as his CPA.

I'm basing this off of seeing him at cons that average 35000 and up. Shatner just on autographs alone beat the 280,000 guarantee he had at one con I was at. Lee's line was worse than Shatner's at that same con. He did 4 - 3 hour sessions at this con.

[Wall-Crawler]

I only have two CGC Sig Series books...ASM #50 signed by Stan and JR Sr and ASM #36 (vol. 2) signed by JR JR.

 

I intend to get a few more but I have never understood why people get books signed by someone who never directly contributed to the book in question.

 

Perhaps this best explains it...

 

Leonard: I cant decide whether I want Stan Lee to autograph my Journey into Mystery 83, first appearance of Thor or my Fantastic Four number five, first appearance of Dr. Doom.

 

Sheldon: Ive decided Im going to have Mr. Lee sign my copy of this months Batman.

 

Howard: Thats crazy. Stan Lee had nothing to do with Batman.

 

Sheldon: Yes, which is why no one else will ask him to sign one, and I will be the possessor of a unique, albeit confusing, artifact, which will set me apart from the hoi polloi of comic book fandom.

 

 

Anyway, I am firmly in the camp of only having a book signed by someone who directly contributed to it.

Sad part is they forgot Just Imagine Stan Lee created Batman.

 

Didn't everyone forget the whole 'Just Imagine' thing?