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THE AMAZING FANTASY #15 CLUB
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Started by HarveySwick,

14,484 posts in this topic

KCOComics

KCOComics

Posted
Posted (edited)

In fairness to @snitm he only paid that price because others were bidding just behind him. Meaning at least a few people were willing to pay over $20k for this book. 

It remains to be seen if it was an outlier or if this book is June's Xmen 1.

From experience I can tell you it was hard to find any reasonably priced copies over the last year.  

It seemed like they were everywhere right until I was actually looking to buy one.

Even 6 to 8 months ago,  there was competition for nicer looking low grade copies. Anything reasonably priced didn't stay on ebay for long and the few times I saw dealers with them,  they weren't exactly giving them away... although,  based on current prices,  they do look like give aways now. 

The price makes you take notice. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months. 

Edited by KCOComics
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Lpgk

Lpgk

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Posted (edited)
18 hours ago, snitm said:

First post on these forums (requires mod approval)! HA makes it super easy to refuse to lose. I obviously overpaid (yes I'm the high bidder on this book!). My premeditated maximum was $13K..but others forced it higher. I _really_ regret not buying a 3.0 back in ~2019.. and this 0.5 presents beautifully (2.5? 3.0? 3.5?). So this book is my "poor-man's 3.0 blue label".

Will I ever get my money back? No, but my 6yo daughter who loves comics likely will when I'm long gone. Who knows.. but don't much care because I don't intend to sell. I plan to cherish it.

Reality is AF15's centerfold isn't related to Spider-Man at all.. I put serious value in cover/slab presentation over the missing "Man in the mummy case!" page 😂 and other associated pages/ad irrelevant to Spider-Man. Crack the slab open and the book has what matters to me: complete origin and first appearance of Spider-Man.

Yeah.. I'm still in shock too 😲

FB_IMG_1623113884004.jpg

Doubt I'll pursue marrying a replacement centerfold.. but never say never (hit me up via DM if you, or someone you know, has one).

First off I just want to thank snitm for coming forth and sharing his experience. I can definitely see how some people might be miffed that he moved the needle up, but let's be real, if you wanted an AF15, you've had more than ample opportunities to do so. WIth the run up in nearly every Marvel Key recently, it was baffling that this book did not follow the same trajectory. 

If snitm doesn't share this information, we may never know if if the sale was legitimate or not. Now that we know, maybe everyone here that owns one should be sending him a Christmas gift basket or at least a thank you card. He just moved the floor up considerably on this book. 

Another thing to consider is what others brought up in this thread. He outbid others to get this book... which means those bidders are back in the market and will probably be bidding again for another copy. So the price is probably going to be moving up, even on very low grades. 

Edited by Lpgk
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alexgross.com

alexgross.com

Posted
Posted
17 minutes ago, Lpgk said:

First off I just want to thank snitm for coming forth and sharing his experience. I can definitely see how some people might be miffed that he moved the needle up, but let's be real, if you wanted an AF15, you've had more than ample opportunities to do so. WIth the run up in nearly every Marvel Key recently, it was baffling that this book did not follow the same trajectory. 

If snitm doesn't share this information, we may never know if if the sale was legitimate or not. Now that we know, maybe everyone here that owns one should be sending him a Christmas gift basket or at least a thank you card. He just moved the floor up considerably on this book. 

Another thing to consider is what others brought up in this thread. He outbid others to get this book... which means those bidders are back in the market and will probably be bidding again for another copy. So the price is probably going to be moving up, even on very low grades. 

i agree, the OP only outbid others to get this book, so it still would likely have gone for way over current prices even without him. i also think it's important to note that @DST at no time criticized @snitm he simply stated that he overpaid. it's either a fact, according to all recent sales, or his opinion. either way, he also was most cordial in congratulating him on the pickup. and @DST is definitely not upset about af15 prices going up since he owns the most cherry white page 5.0 AF15 i've ever seen. you can see pics of it earlier in this thread.

as for worrying about other prospective buyers when deciding what to bid for a book at auction, that's definitely not something that should be on a bidder's mind. bid what you want based on how badly you want the particular book. i've overpaid many times. but now they all look like good deals. congrats @snitm

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chrisco37

chrisco37

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Posted

Agree with the “consensus” here and I’m glad the buyer posted.  Did he overpay? Right this minute, you could say that.  5-10years from now, it might look like a bargain. 

I paid almost 10% above GPA when o bought my copy back in 2013.  It’s worked out very well (even if there ends up being a post “crazy market correction” at some point).  I paid above GPA on ASM15 & 20 when I bought them 6 years ago.  Worked out pretty good.  

Nobody has any obligation to future/potential buyers of any book to keep the price down.  If this sale raises the bottom/entry point (I think it does), great for me & others that have one.

I missed the boat on plenty of other books.  That’s my “fault” and nobody else’s.  In my experience if you are willing to hold and not just playing the “quick flip” game, it usually works out in your favor.  Even if you have to pay above GPA.  At least on these true keys.

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peewee22

peewee22

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Posted
15 minutes ago, chrisco37 said:

Agree with the “consensus” here and I’m glad the buyer posted.  Did he overpay? Right this minute, you could say that.  5-10years from now, it might look like a bargain. 

I paid almost 10% above GPA when o bought my copy back in 2013.  It’s worked out very well (even if there ends up being a post “crazy market correction” at some point).  I paid above GPA on ASM15 & 20 when I bought them 6 years ago.  Worked out pretty good.  

Nobody has any obligation to future/potential buyers of any book to keep the price down.  If this sale raises the bottom/entry point (I think it does), great for me & others that have one.

I missed the boat on plenty of other books.  That’s my “fault” and nobody else’s.  In my experience if you are willing to hold and not just playing the “quick flip” game, it usually works out in your favor.  Even if you have to pay above GPA.  At least on these true keys.

Well put C (thumbsu

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Math Teacher

Math Teacher

Posted
Posted (edited)

Never mind. I don't want to argue with @DST, as he has always cheerfully answered my questions and given me good advice. He also seems to be an all-around nice guy. I don't want to ruin our relationship because we don't see eye to eye on this issue.

Edited by Math Teacher
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Heronext

Heronext

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Posted

Interesting twist, thanks to the buyer for posting his experience.

I still think the bidders behind him may have wanted it for a centerfold marriage proposal.  I'd be interested in people more familiar with the values of restored & qualified copies of this book to weigh in - what would a 3.0/4.0/5.0 (pick your grade) with a married centerfold be worth?

Similar thing happened in a Facebook group I'm in, over a Marvel Spotlight 5.  Owners of the book were breaking out the champagne to celebrate the high eBay auction result on an 8.0.  I had watched that auction & gotten the notes, and it was obvious to me two bidders saw the copy as a slam-dunk CPR upgrade (maybe two grades), and were paying for the next grade up.  Sure enough the next sale and sales since have been in line with recent data.

Champagne is definitely in order for any owner of this book, and I've no doubt the value of a .5 and all grades ticks up with each passing week.  I don't think this much though, but next sales will be interesting.

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snitm

snitm

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Posted (edited)
21 hours ago, snitm said:

I understand the sour grapes "look what you've done!?" mindset in response to this outlier...

But I think most avid comic collectors have been dealing with various examples of severe price inflation over the past year for all "key" comics. The broader inertia to the market _and_ the steady increase to AF15 pricing in particular really did influence my "FOMO" moment on this book. And yeah, it might seem like I created a self-fulfilling prophecy but some other nut(s) were bidding against me!

Continuing the discussion about how I was contending with serious competing bidding pressure:

I think we're dealing with semi-sophisticated comic market manipulation.  We're still in the protective bubble of "pandemic times, no comic shows". That bubble creates quite the opportunity to manipulate what occurs in that more controlled semi-enclosed system. The fact that my overspending has been such a controversial thing for some indicates to me that for the people who have a MUCH more serious vested interest in AF15 prices (e.g. dealers who have 5-10 of them in reserve, of which I know of at least a few): its pretty damn easy to drive the price up on a low grade AF15.  Worst case for them is they overspend on their 11th AF15 with the thinking that the record sale will raise all their other higher-grade copies.

Driving record sales via the click of HA "Bid" is not _that_ dissimilar from Elon Musk manipulating the crypto-currency market with a Tweet.

So yeah, at this moment: I'm feeling used and/or "taken"... it feels :facepalm:

Edited by snitm
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peewee22

peewee22

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, rsouxlja7 said:

Give it time and it'll be a good investment. I paid around 16K for my 2.5, I think in 2017, and that was pretty much a record high for the grade even after the big price run-up. Now I wouldn't sell it for less than 35. 

34,999? :grin:

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snitm

snitm

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Posted
On 6/8/2021 at 2:04 PM, snitm said:

Thanks for the judgement, but I've been pretty patient. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, but I've been looking for a while, I'm content with my decision. And my decision was influenced by how hard it is to get this book over the past few years. You cannot get a 3.0 for less than $30K now. I don't _need_ it to say "3.0".. having a book that looks like a 3.0 is perfectly fine by me. So yeah I took it on the chin and paid nearly $22K for an AF15 that presents like a 3.0. Sorry (not sorry!) ;)

Seeing this 3.5 listed for $50K makes me feel even better about my "0.5"!

AMAZING-FANTASY-15-FRONT.jpeg

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snitm

snitm

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, drmanhattanite said:

Why? He could list it for 1 million, doesn't mean it will sell in the next 50 years. 

I'm aware, except it is Reece's rare comics. Not aware of much haggling there.

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