THE AMAZING FANTASY #15 CLUB 39 39

[Subby1938]

It’s a good looking copy for the grade . I think collectors know this  low grade train is moving fast and the window of ownership is all but done for most . The prices  keep climbing ….but I suspect more come out of collections to cash out .

Edited November 6, 2021 by Subby1938

[Subby1938]

Yeah because 99% of collecting world is not buying comics for that price. The only copy I’d want as an investor is a low grade book I can sell fast if I had to. Works both ways . Although high grades are beautiful in hand they can’t be easy to sell fast. 
 

The key is they sell everyday of the week which is why lower grades I prefer .

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 11/7/2021 at 7:34 AM, Subby1938 said:

Yeah because 99% of collecting world is not buying comics for that price. The only copy I’d want as an investor is a low grade book I can sell fast if I had to. Works both ways . Although high grades are beautiful in hand they can’t be easy to sell fast. 
 

The key is they sell everyday of the week which is why lower grades I prefer .

All you need to do is put a book up for auction and it's sold in a month or two.

[peewee22]

On 11/7/2021 at 6:34 AM, Subby1938 said:

Yeah because 99% of collecting world is not buying comics for that price. The only copy I’d want as an investor is a low grade book I can sell fast if I had to. Works both ways . Although high grades are beautiful in hand they can’t be easy to sell fast. 
 

The key is they sell everyday of the week which is why lower grades I prefer .

That 9.6 sure sold swiftly, like the Flash. 

[Subby1938]

To an obvious millionaire who wanted that as a pure investment . I don’t see many 6.0-9.0 copies flying off the shelves . 
 

They sell no doubt about it I just feel lower grades are more liquid as more buyers are in that pool

[alexgross.com]

On 11/7/2021 at 8:01 AM, Subby1938 said:

To an obvious millionaire who wanted that as a pure investment . I don’t see many 6.0-9.0 copies flying off the shelves . 
 

They sell no doubt about it I just feel lower grades are more liquid as more buyers are in that pool

all keys are liquid. as @Sweet Lou 14said, put it in an auction, and it's an easy sell. yes, the pool of bidders and buyers is bigger for less expensive copies. still, there are clearly plenty of rich collectors buying high five and six figure books. 

[DC#]

On 11/7/2021 at 8:17 AM, alexgross.com said:

all keys are liquid. as @Sweet Lou 14said, put it in an auction, and it's an easy sell. yes, the pool of bidders and buyers is bigger for less expensive copies. still, there are clearly plenty of rich collectors buying high five and six figure books. 

My general observation is that whether sold on these boards, IG, or other platforms like ShortBox (all non-auction) -  the high-grade and low-grade do seem to turn much faster than mid-grade.   Which to the pool of buyers point - the pool of buyers for a 9.6/9.8 Silver Key is smaller but so is the pool of books.    I suspect that many keys/mega keys have inverse bell curves when looking at a cost per point metric.    Higher cost per point on high and low grades - lower cost per point on mid-grades.     And even if that is true - the holiest of holy grails probably buck that trend (AF 15, Batman 1, etc)

[woowoo]

On 11/6/2021 at 7:21 AM, AnkurJ said:

A 1.8 blue label sale at $33,222 yesterday.

https://www.comicconnect.com/item/931151?tzf=1

 I have had so many Fantasy 15s from 1982 to 1998 and all where under 1000. I was going to buy a nice 4.5 2018 for 31k but just new this book was to common to pay that kind of money. I did have someone that had a 3.5 he would have took 15k for last year and i thought if it was a 4.0 ya but a 3.5 does not cut it for a silver age book now look. I guess these common books are everywhere but people still want them.

[Math Teacher]

On 11/7/2021 at 11:15 AM, DC# said:

Higher cost per point on high and low grades - lower cost per point on mid-grades.

I've noticed this counter-intuitive trend also.

[Math Teacher]

On 11/7/2021 at 11:25 AM, woowoo said:

 I have had so many Fantasy 15s from 1982 to 1998 and all where under 1000. I was going to buy a nice 4.5 2018 for 31k but just new this book was to common to pay that kind of money. I did have someone that had a 3.5 he would have took 15k for last year and i thought if it was a 4.0 ya but a 3.5 does not cut it for a silver age book now look. I guess these common books are everywhere but people still want them.

If I had a choice between owning a 2.5 AF #15 versus not owning a copy of AF #15 at all, it wouldn't be a tough decision for me. Of course, this assumes that I have enough money to afford that issue.

Really, is there any one of us who don't wish all of our books were in higher grade? I'm not counting books that have sentimental value. I would certainly like a higher grade for my copy of AMS #1 CGC 3.0. I'm not sure that I would sell it though, as it holds a lot of personal meaning to me. It was the first SA Marvel key that I bought. And that's something I want to remember forever.

[Subby1938]

Great points everyone 

[gadzukes]

Do I dare ask what anyone would value this 2.0 GLOD on this thread or will I be pounced upon with pitchforks and torches?

I find it hard to understand the value of Green Labels since they rarely come up at auction.

I"M NOT LOOKING TO SELL IT, I'm just trying to understand value.

I was thinking $20k, but with the 1.8 Blue that just sold for $33k... maybe more.

Edited November 7, 2021 by gadzukes

[lou_fine]

On 11/7/2021 at 9:30 AM, Math Teacher said:

On 11/7/2021 at 9:15 AM, DC# said:

Higher cost per point on high and low grades - lower cost per point on mid-grades.

I've noticed this counter-intuitive trend also.

Not exactly why you would consider this pricing action on big dollar value books to be counter-intuituve since it has been in play for decades now?  

Especially since we all know that the uber HG copies are on the radar screen for the deep pocketed label chasers.  On the other hand, the lower grade entry level copies are on the radar screen for the much larger pool of budget minded collectors who don't want to spend big money, but just want to acquire any copy for their collections.  

Which then leaves the mid-grade copies relatively out in the cold as they are nowhere in nice enough condition for the lavel chasers and yet also at the same time, too expensive for the budget minded collector who's just looking for any copy to put into their personal collection. 

[Math Teacher]

On 11/7/2021 at 4:53 PM, lou_fine said:

Not exactly why you would consider this pricing action on big dollar value books to be counter-intuituve since it has been in play for decades now?  

Especially since we all know that the uber HG copies are on the radar screen for the deep pocketed label chasers.  On the other hand, the lower grade entry level copies are on the radar screen for the much larger pool of budget minded collectors who don't want to spend big money, but just want to acquire any copy for their collections.  

Which then leaves the mid-grade copies relatively out in the cold as they are nowhere in nice enough condition for the lavel chasers and yet also at the same time, too expensive for the budget minded collector who's just looking for any copy to put into their personal collection. 

If you want me to be honest, I didn't really notice this until I started valuing my collection, which started less than a year ago (I think). It was very notable once I had to use price-per-point to evaluate books that hadn't had a sale for a long time. Also, I never gave it much thought, as I can't afford the high grades and I try to stay away from the low grades (0.5, 1.0, 1.5), if at all possible.

I guess it's painfully clear to someone who lives and breaths comics, but, if you asked the average Joe on the street, my guess is that they would think the lowest price per point would be for the lowest grades and the highest price per point would be with the highest grades. That seems to fit the definition of counterintuitive.

counterintuitive: contrary to intuition or to common-sense expectation (but still true).

Edited November 7, 2021 by Math Teacher

[Subby1938]

On 11/7/2021 at 6:42 PM, Math Teacher said:

If you want me to be honest, I didn't really notice this until I started valuing my collection, which started less than a year ago (I think). It was very notable once I had to use price-per-point to evaluate books that hadn't had a sale for a long time. Also, I never gave it much thought, as I can't afford the high grades and I try to stay away from the low grades (0.5, 1.0, 1.5), if at all possible.

I guess it's painfully clear to someone who lives and breaths comics, but, if you asked the average Joe on the street, my guess is that they would think the lowest price per point would be for the lowest grades and the highest price per point would be with the highest grades. That seems to fit the definition of counterintuitive.

counterintuitive: contrary to intuition or to common-sense expectation (but still true).

I agree but with certain books and specifically era books like golden age low grades are not shunned. Mega grails also like AF15 is all I could hope for . I traded for 1.5 that presented well before the big auction of the 9.6 I couldn’t fathom getting a copy now . I simply don’t have enough in trade, money or combination of. 

[Math Teacher]

On 11/7/2021 at 6:03 PM, Subby1938 said:

I agree but with certain books and specifically era books like golden age low grades are not shunned. 

I agree. I purchased a copy of SC #4 in CGC 2.0 this year. As with all of us, I wish it had it in a higher grade. However, that does not take away any of my enjoyment from owning my copy of  SC #4.

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 11/7/2021 at 5:53 PM, lou_fine said:

Not exactly why you would consider this pricing action on big dollar value books to be counter-intuituve since it has been in play for decades now?  

Especially since we all know that the uber HG copies are on the radar screen for the deep pocketed label chasers.  On the other hand, the lower grade entry level copies are on the radar screen for the much larger pool of budget minded collectors who don't want to spend big money, but just want to acquire any copy for their collections.  

Which then leaves the mid-grade copies relatively out in the cold as they are nowhere in nice enough condition for the lavel chasers and yet also at the same time, too expensive for the budget minded collector who's just looking for any copy to put into their personal collection. 

There are also plenty of "buy the book not the label" types who seek out mid-grade copies with strong eye appeal.  That's why, in threads like this one, you see so many people obsessing about differences among mid-grade copies like chipping, page quality, colors, stains, and so on.  I've said many times that it's always important to get a good copy for the grade if you want to get the most out of your investment.  In the mid grades, the differences can be significant.

[KCOComics]

On 11/7/2021 at 4:45 PM, gadzukes said:

Do I dare ask what anyone would value this 2.0 GLOD on this thread or will I be pounced upon with pitchforks and torches?

I find it hard to understand the value of Green Labels since they rarely come up at auction.

I"M NOT LOOKING TO SELL IT, I'm just trying to understand value.

I was thinking $20k, but with the 1.8 Blue that just sold for $33k... maybe more.

I'm not going to wager a guess,  except to say it presents well for the grade. And when it comes to incomplete or married comics,  presentation is everything,  so it won't be cheap 😀 

[KCOComics]

On 11/7/2021 at 7:13 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

There are also plenty of "buy the book not the label" types who seek out mid-grade copies with strong eye appeal.  That's why, in threads like this one, you see so many people obsessing about differences among mid-grade copies like chipping, page quality, colors, stains, and so on.  I've said many times that it's always important to get a good copy for the grade if you want to get the most out of your investment.  In the mid grades, the differences can be significant.

Totally agree with this. 

With allot of these bigger keys I see the midgrade as the sweet spot. 

And since I have mostly entry level copies, I'm hoping to upgrade at least one big key this year.

[Subby1938]

I also collect golden age Submariner Timelys . My sweet spot is 2-2.5 cgc and I’m excited every time I can add blue label in this range . Price differences are staggering from 3.0-7.5 literally thousands and rarity becomes an issue with certain grades as the higher copies tend to be locked up pushing huge battles on auction sites for anything on bottom tiers . I’m 0/5 in auctions this year been absolutely crushed in all of them lol. 
 

My one big add was the AF15 I’m grateful I focused enough on it to secure one . I tend be one of those collectors that always brushes off statistics and I tell myself I have time I’ll get one lol. The growth exceeds my means of saving for it every time  . I was lucky to stick to the plan this round and my copy will be left to my son who’s now only 4 months old. 
 

I hope it pays off for him !