Are Golden/Silver age books really safe investments??

[Mmehdy]

An investment is something you put money into with the expectation that you will be able to take more money out of it when you sell it.

The rest is just noise.

 

I really don't think true comic book collectors believe their collection is "noise", I think we all go in as true collectors, some change into dealers and never go back to collecting, others just plain enjoy comic book reading and don't give a dammm if the books go up or down, reprint or not.

 

Safe is a tough word....everything you bought which was quality in the 70's was safe, also the 80's in the top material. 2013 is another story....

[Kevin76]

Everybody loves Wonder Woman. Why?

 

Lynda Carter

 

So does that mean everyone love The Hulk because of Lou Ferrigno?

[Speedy-D]

Everybody loves Wonder Woman. Why?

 

Lynda Carter

 

So does that mean everyone love The Hulk because of Lou Ferrigno?

No, it means Lynda Carter was hot.

[bounty_coder]

 

If you find the two sets of displays below to be of equivalent appeal, I would suggest that your priorities are severely out of whack.

 

 

 

I like how the one on the right presents...Er, uhm the Journey Into Mystery that is

[Tony S]

I find a lot more mis-priced books at the lower price points. I think people are a little more careful to price their more expensive books closer to FMV.

 

Maybe instead of buying a bunch of books for a dollar and trying to sell them for two dollars,try to buy a single book for $25 and sell it for $40-$50..

 

Have you ever attended any comic book conventions? The dealer rooms are stuffed full of key issues - minor and major - priced way, way over FMV. I think some dealers are more like traveling museums. Priced so over FMV, their stuff is on display, not for sale.

[Tony S]

 

If you find the two sets of displays below to be of equivalent appeal, I would suggest that your priorities are severely out of whack.

 

 

 

I like how the one on the right presents...Er, uhm the Journey Into Mystery that is

 

ummm - uhhh - did you guys say something? I keep getting distracted by the pictures....

[shadroch]

I find a lot more mis-priced books at the lower price points. I think people are a little more careful to price their more expensive books closer to FMV.

 

Maybe instead of buying a bunch of books for a dollar and trying to sell them for two dollars,try to buy a single book for $25 and sell it for $40-$50..

 

Have you ever attended any comic book conventions? The dealer rooms are stuffed full of key issues - minor and major - priced way, way over FMV. I think some dealers are more like traveling museums. Priced so over FMV, their stuff is on display, not for sale.

 

A certain dealer has had the same low grade Superboy 89 for sale at about 200% of Overstreet since at least 2005. Its been priced upwards several times in this span. The ironic thing is back then, I offered him $10 less than his asking price and he turned me down. I hadn't seen a copy at a few shows and wanted one. Now I have three or four better copies.

[Kramerica]

 

If you find the two sets of displays below to be of equivalent appeal, I would suggest that your priorities are severely out of whack.

 

 

 

I like how the one on the right presents...Er, uhm the Journey Into Mystery that is

 

See, I'm not digging the "JIM" girl. I'm not a big fan of alteration or enhancements and you can tell she's had her globes tampered with. I'm pretty sure #1 & #2 are silicone free and either (or both) would be great additions to my collection. #1 looks like she might be a good girl but #2 looks like she is down for just about anything (thumbs u

[Hamlet]

I wrote this in the context of buying books for less than FMV. My point was that it is much harder to find more expensive books that are priced way under FMV than it is to find cheap books priced way under FMV.

 

I agree that there are plenty of overpriced books, but they weren't really the point of my comment.

 

I find a lot more mis-priced books at the lower price points. I think people are a little more careful to price their more expensive books closer to FMV.

 

Maybe instead of buying a bunch of books for a dollar and trying to sell them for two dollars,try to buy a single book for $25 and sell it for $40-$50..

 

Have you ever attended any comic book conventions? The dealer rooms are stuffed full of key issues - minor and major - priced way, way over FMV. I think some dealers are more like traveling museums. Priced so over FMV, their stuff is on display, not for sale.

[Gatsby77]

Agreed. I've bought tons of collections for $.25-$.40 per book that included $8-15, even some $20 books by retail or FMV. Examples include where the token "best books" are like Wolverine miniseries 1, Daredevil 168 or some later Byrne X-Men issues.

 

It's much much harder to find collections for wholesale that include $100+ books.

 

I'm not even a part-time dealer compared to most on these boards, but I can count on one hand the number of true $100+ books I've found in wholesale bulk lots via yard sales or Craig's List.

 

They were:

 

ASM 300

Ult. Spider-Man 1

ASM 129

ASM 121

 

And the only reason I landed the collection with the ASM 129 was that the collector misread it as # 219--so when the two other guys that called him before I did specifically asked about 129, he (mistakenly) said it was missing.

[COI]

Yep.

Logging on to the USPS site, ordering a dozen priority boxes, filling them, sending them to Arlington and then waiting two months for the auctions to end and to get a check is certainly backbreaking work.

 

I forgot, the internet is America.

 

It is work. It may not be difficult, but it's tedious to some, especially if other obligations mean time is at a serious premium.

 

So is managing my 401k and mutual funds....but not nearly enough work to keep me from doing it. Still not convinced buying some comics, holding them, and sending them to CLink is much more time consuming than other traditional investments.

 

Sorry, didn't see this before.

 

Managing your 401K and other finances are mandatory if you want to keep your house in order. I don't want the tedium to be a part of what is supposed to be my escape from all that .

[Bronty]

 

If you find the two sets of displays below to be of equivalent appeal, I would suggest that your priorities are severely out of whack.

 

 

 

I like how the one on the right presents...Er, uhm the Journey Into Mystery that is

 

See, I'm not digging the "JIM" girl. I'm not a big fan of alteration or enhancements and you can tell she's had her globes tampered with. I'm pretty sure #1 & #2 are silicone free and either (or both) would be great additions to my collection. #1 looks like she might be a good girl but #2 looks like she is down for just about anything (thumbs u

 

excellent analysis of the "strange tail"

[shadroch]

 

If you find the two sets of displays below to be of equivalent appeal, I would suggest that your priorities are severely out of whack.

 

 

 

I like how the one on the right presents...Er, uhm the Journey Into Mystery that is

 

See, I'm not digging the "JIM" girl. I'm not a big fan of alteration or enhancements and you can tell she's had her globes tampered with. I'm pretty sure #1 & #2 are silicone free and either (or both) would be great additions to my collection. #1 looks like she might be a good girl but #2 looks like she is down for just about anything (thumbs u

 

 

I'd press it.

[Bronty]

[WebSlinger]

Everybody loves Wonder Woman. Why?

 

Lynda Carter

 

So does that mean everyone love The Hulk because of Lou Ferrigno?

No, it means Lynda Carter was hot.

 

Super hot! Had such a crush on her!

 

 

Still today.......

 

 

[Kevin76]

Yep.

Logging on to the USPS site, ordering a dozen priority boxes, filling them, sending them to Arlington and then waiting two months for the auctions to end and to get a check is certainly backbreaking work.

 

I forgot, the internet is America.

 

It is work. It may not be difficult, but it's tedious to some, especially if other obligations mean time is at a serious premium.

 

So is managing my 401k and mutual funds....but not nearly enough work to keep me from doing it. Still not convinced buying some comics, holding them, and sending them to CLink is much more time consuming than other traditional investments.

 

So having comics sitting in a box, doing nothing is much more time consuming? Explain. Don't you think reading the boards here is much more time consuming instead?

[mintcollector]

I am a rare breed to say the least. As well as being a hardcore collector of a lot of various antiques and collectibles; I also sell video games and other pop culture items on one hand and also sell higher end antiques (over $1,000 and up) on the other. Most antique bottles and glass I deal with are in the high thousands...each. Some more, a few less.

 

I can say that without a doubt I would much rather sell one thousand dollar item that I make one hundred dollars on than sell several lower priced items that add up to a one hundred dollar profit. I am sure most sellers would agree. eBay is a lot of work.

 

I can also state that this is the first year I haven't sold much on ebay. I have been letting a ton of the video game collections I buy just pile up in a room. I still buy regularly and a lot of people sell to me, but it is a much more profitable to focus on the antiques that yield me higher returns with less work. It also challenges me more. I am we'll to knowledgeable in games, but am always discovering new in antiques to keep me gong. Last year I moved into art pottery and started collecting it as well; along with vintage advertising. Both have paid off handsomely. Next I plan to get into vintage jewelry. I already collect vintage watches so it is not much of a stretch.

 

In conclusion, there are high end dealers I know of who only make ten to twenty sales a year. The difference is they are selling objects for tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars each where even with a healthy profit margin, all they need to do is that many sales a year to stay on target. The world of antiques is a wacky one at best!

 

 

 

 

[Chip Cataldo]

Depends on your situation. As someone who's been unemployed for nearly 2 years, eBay is not a lot of work...it helps me survive. Now, when I find regular work I'll keep the eBay going so I might actually get ahead and be able to collect again.

 

I'll gladly make 100 sales to profit a few hundred bucks. That pays a couple bills.

 

Peace,

 

Chip

[mrmyst]

Depends on your situation. As someone who's been unemployed for nearly 2 years, eBay is not a lot of work...it helps me survive. Now, when I find regular work I'll keep the eBay going so I might actually get ahead and be able to collect again.

 

I'll gladly make 100 sales to profit a few hundred bucks. That pays a couple bills.

 

Peace,

 

Chip

Hang in Chip...

[Not*Sure*]

There's a shortage of all books, buy, Buy, BUY!!!!!

 

Speculating is the only way to turn a profit..

You can

A) buy multiple copies of a book and then wait for it to hit big and BAMMM sell it for big bucks...

 

or

B) buy up all the copies you can of ONE comic book only..hoping to corner the market and drive up the value as it becomes more scarce..

 

Go with B because with that sort of cash you can buy your own chat board..