Best Pricing Methodology for Silver Comics

[BarryAllen]

Agree with this post (and "trending" goes in both directions too).

 

If you exclude books where GPA has only one sale in the last 6 months to a year, your remaining subset is far more accurate.......but plenty of books trade rarer than this too.

 

 

To the "rare" point. Without GPA, how would you assess the value of a trending book there are few to no recorded GPA sales and OSPG doesn't have on their radar?

[Bomber-Bob]

I noticed nobody brought up the 'potential' factors when pricing a book.

For the most part, I believe all the experienced dealers are pretty smart about ascertaining the value of a book but many choose to price their books significantly higher than FMV. It's their business model. Does anyone think they are going to get a 'Best Price' from Metropolis ? It's a matter of do you want to shop at Walmart or Macy's.

 

[BarryAllen]

I noticed nobody brought up the 'potential' factors when pricing a book.

For the most part, I believe all the experienced dealers are pretty smart about ascertaining the value of a book but many choose to price their books significantly higher than FMV. It's their business model. Does anyone think they are going to get a 'Best Price' from Metropolis ? It's a matter of do you want to shop at Walmart or Macy's.

 

Totally agree, such is the way of the world!

 

This is a large part about why I started this thread. To best learn the way to ascertain the value of any book to avoid paying significantly higher than FMV.

 

Books on the boards generally go for good prices, but unfortunately not everything can be bought here when you want/need it.

 

Patience is the best tool in a collector's arsenal.

[Bomber-Bob]

Books on the boards generally go for good prices, but unfortunately not everything can be bought here when you want/need it.

 

Patience is the best tool in a collector's arsenal.

 

Yes, I love to buy on the Boards. However, as you stated, you must be patient and let the books come to you.

[jgold22]

Here's one way I look at it.

 

The last sale for an identical copy was $1600 a year ago.

 

Assume nothing has changed since then and there is still the same demand: add a reasonable rate of a return for an investment such as this say 10%. The seller may not sell otherwise.

 

Let's say the book has heated up over the past year and demand has increased by around 10% since the last sale (this is an estimate based on feel for the market): add 10%

 

Let's say the copy is a bit more presentable than the other 2.0 that sold: add 3-5%. say 5%.

 

That's a 25% increase, we're at a new value of $2000. The AVERAGE collector in the market for this book will likely pay that price as soon as the book hits the market. You should get that much the same day you list it.

 

Price it higher and you could wait a bit longer. However, in this case, there's a reasonable chance that a collector who desires this book more than the average collector exists and who may pay a 20% premium to obtain it. Ask for $2400.

 

A seller with staying power, who is not in a rush to sell, might ask for $2895 OBO. In that case, the book may stay on the market for a couple of months, but will eventually sell. In this case, he's probably betting that the demand for the book will continue to increase at the same rate, which is not unreasonable, but open to making a deal at a lower price likely somewhere between $2400 and asking price.

 

 

When are you listing the book?

 

 

 

[namisgr]

There are a couple of facets missing so far from a GPA-centric consideration of pricing to sell. They apply to the hypothetical example posted earlier of the Showcase #4, and some were touched upon above.

 

One is the need to sell. If someone has an immediate need to generate cash flow, then a book has to be priced lower than if the seller could be content having the comic on the market for a long time.

 

A second is the replacement cost. It doesn't matter for collectors like me who don't buy issues back again once they sell them, but for dealers it's often a factor in pricing. The harder a book is going to be to replace in one's inventory, the higher the asking price will tend to be on the copy currently on hand.

 

A third is the quality of the copy being sold. How does the book look in ways that aren't factored into the numerical grade?

 

So for selling your copy of Showcase #4: Do you need the cash right away, or will it be ok if the comic takes a year or two to sell? Do you want to have this issue in your collection, or is this the last one you want to own? Is this an especially nice example of a 2.0, an average one, or a below average one?

[oakman29]

You guys make Hulk head hurt!

 

I look at it this way.If you like it buy it,whether the price is somewhat higher or not.Some books just don't come around that often to worry about what other people on GPA are paying. (thumbs u

[sufunk]

You guys make Hulk head hurt!

 

I look at it this way.If you like it buy it,whether the price is somewhat higher or not.Some books just don't come around that often to worry about what other people on GPA are paying. (thumbs u

 

This!

 

Common books and common grades, i'll admit that i worship at the shrine of gpa. Books that dont come around often where the last gpa sale is a year ago or longer, i pay what i feel comfortable paying based on how much i want the book.

[Pike's Comics]

I think their definitely is two different theories and approaches here. You have the dealer/reseller who is purchasing to make a profit and then the collector who is purchasing to keep at least until they can get a higher grade.

 

I main question I ask myself when I purchase something is how long will I have to sit on this before I think it will sell and then I compare that with the profit margin I think I am buying it at. So if I think something might take up to a year to sell you can bet I wont be paying anywhere near retail. While if its something I already have a sale lined up I definitely would be willing to sacrifice my profit margin to get the sale.

[BarryAllen]

I think their definitely is two different theories and approaches here. You have the dealer/reseller who is purchasing to make a profit and then the collector who is purchasing to keep at least until they can get a higher grade.

 

I main question I ask myself when I purchase something is how long will I have to sit on this before I think it will sell and then I compare that with the profit margin I think I am buying it at. So if I think something might take up to a year to sell you can bet I wont be paying anywhere near retail. While if its something I already have a sale lined up I definitely would be willing to sacrifice my profit margin to get the sale.

 

Great input, this is similar to my approach!

[BarryAllen]

There are a couple of facets missing so far from a GPA-centric consideration of pricing to sell. They apply to the hypothetical example posted earlier of the Showcase #4, and some were touched upon above.

 

One is the need to sell. If someone has an immediate need to generate cash flow, then a book has to be priced lower than if the seller could be content having the comic on the market for a long time.

 

A second is the replacement cost. It doesn't matter for collectors like me who don't buy issues back again once they sell them, but for dealers it's often a factor in pricing. The harder a book is going to be to replace in one's inventory, the higher the asking price will tend to be on the copy currently on hand.

 

A third is the quality of the copy being sold. How does the book look in ways that aren't factored into the numerical grade?

 

So for selling your copy of Showcase #4: Do you need the cash right away, or will it be ok if the comic takes a year or two to sell? Do you want to have this issue in your collection, or is this the last one you want to own? Is this an especially nice example of a 2.0, an average one, or a below average one?

 

Great detail. I am a little confused on point #2. Is this purely about keeping inventory on hard to acquire books or premium pricing for rarity?

 

Also, I tend to see a lot of "best looking copy I have ever seen on this grade" statements. My personal philosophy is pay for the flaws you can live with.

[BarryAllen]

Here's one way I look at it.

 

The last sale for an identical copy was $1600 a year ago.

 

Assume nothing has changed since then and there is still the same demand: add a reasonable rate of a return for an investment such as this say 10%. The seller may not sell otherwise.

 

Let's say the book has heated up over the past year and demand has increased by around 10% since the last sale (this is an estimate based on feel for the market): add 10%

 

Let's say the copy is a bit more presentable than the other 2.0 that sold: add 3-5%. say 5%.

 

That's a 25% increase, we're at a new value of $2000. The AVERAGE collector in the market for this book will likely pay that price as soon as the book hits the market. You should get that much the same day you list it.

 

Price it higher and you could wait a bit longer. However, in this case, there's a reasonable chance that a collector who desires this book more than the average collector exists and who may pay a 20% premium to obtain it. Ask for $2400.

 

A seller with staying power, who is not in a rush to sell, might ask for $2895 OBO. In that case, the book may stay on the market for a couple of months, but will eventually sell. In this case, he's probably betting that the demand for the book will continue to increase at the same rate, which is not unreasonable, but open to making a deal at a lower price likely somewhere between $2400 and asking price.

 

 

When are you listing the book?

 

 

 

I like the approach if building pricing based upon a number of elements and market factors; very principle based!