Best high-value short-term flip potential?

[Tango 'n Cash]

In terms of selling, is he going to consign the books 2-3 years down the road? This eats up profit - Heritage and ComicLink are not free last time I checked.

 

Now there is a point I missed. Selling comics ain't like dustin' crops boy....

[Crowzilla]

1) Absolutely do NOT purchase a single book. Buy a LOT of them.

 

This was the very first thing I thought when I read the initial post.

Generally speaking there is no five-figure price book that is a flip

candidate.

That's not to say many of them don't turn out to be nice investments,

but once you hit the 5-figure mark, you whittle down your potential

audience to a small group.

 

Much better to go with an assortment of books.

[Norrin_Radd]

In terms of selling, is he going to consign the books 2-3 years down the road? This eats up profit - Heritage and ComicLink are not free last time I checked.

 

Now there is a point I missed. Selling comics ain't like dustin' crops boy....

 

[Darthdiesel]

I personally would have no problem with the idea of an "outsider" investing 10K in comics as long as he has first gone to an experienced comic's investor for advice.

 

There is a big difference between a large-firm broker with vast educational and training requirements, regulations and penalties, and some guy who buys and sells comics on the weekend. Thinking they are the same thing is a ticket to Bankruptville.

 

Great point. But more selfishly, why should I share this info if I'm planning on doing the same thing and icrease competition and prices? I've bought the bombs, incurred losses over the years and this guy gets the benfit of my years of "hard work and experience"... I'll pass.

 

On a less harsh note, I would feel awfully guilty if my "tip" did not pan out on a $100 investment. I don't know if I could live with myself losing someone else's $10K.

[DKB]

I personally would have no problem with the idea of an "outsider" investing 10K in comics as long as he has first gone to an experienced comic's investor for advice.

 

There is a big difference between a large-firm broker with vast educational and training requirements, regulations and penalties, and some guy who buys and sells comics on the weekend. Thinking they are the same thing is a ticket to Bankruptville.

 

Great point. But more selfishly, why should I share this info if I'm planning on doing the same thing and icrease competition and prices? I've bought the bombs, incurred losses over the years and this guy gets the benfit of my years of "hard work and experience"... I'll pass.

 

 

And you're welcome to pass, but as I pointed out a few posts ago, there are plenty of folks here who probably have advice, probably have ideas, and haven't the means or the desire to act on them.

[Darthdiesel]

... plenty of folks here who probably have advice, probably have ideas, and haven't the means....

 

because they have bought $10K book for flipping and lost big time?

[Tango 'n Cash]

there are plenty of folks here who probably have advice, probably have ideas, and haven't the means or the desire to act on them.

 

This would be the last person I would trust. Give me the multimillionaire comic book flipper any day.

[skybolt]

I personally would have no problem with the idea of an "outsider" investing 10K in comics as long as he has first gone to an experienced comic's investor for advice.

 

There is a big difference between a large-firm broker with vast educational and training requirements, regulations and penalties, and some guy who buys and sells comics on the weekend. Thinking they are the same thing is a ticket to Bankruptville.

 

Great point. But more selfishly, why should I share this info if I'm planning on doing the same thing and icrease competition and prices? I've bought the bombs, incurred losses over the years and this guy gets the benfit of my years of "hard work and experience"... I'll pass.

 

 

And you're welcome to pass, but as I pointed out a few posts ago, there are plenty of folks here who probably have advice, probably have ideas, and haven't the means or the desire to act on them.

 

I think that the more people we get involved in our hobby the better. Who's to say that DKB's friend makes a couple of purchases and all of a sudden becomes interested in comic book collecting. I always try to follow the rule of sharing knowledge and ideas to enhance the industry and to get more people involved. I think it's better for all of us that this person invests his money in the comic book industry than somewhere else. I have learned many things from collectors on these boards, and would love to pass on the knowledge.

[Stronguy]

I'm going with Dount on this one. Don't look to double or triple your money over night. Buy low... sell for just a little more... repeat. The margin most of the big players deal with is usually in the 10%-25% range. Sometimes they get lucky on a few big ticket items but usually it's just good consistant churn.

 

Look at professional gamblers. The guys who make a living at it aren't the one's who are always looking for the big score. They become well versed at their game and they always have a good money management strategy. Make 20% and walk... make 20% and walk. Consistancy.

[DKB]

there are plenty of folks here who probably have advice, probably have ideas, and haven't the means or the desire to act on them.

 

This would be the last person I would trust. Give me the multimillionaire comic book flipper any day.

 

And I also made the point that naturally you WANT advice from people who buy and sell $$$ comics, but that doesn't mean everyone else's opinion is worthless.

[rob_react]

I think it's better for all of us that this person invests his money in the comic book industry than somewhere else.

 

I don't. I'd rather see them invest their money somewhere that best suits their risk profile and investing goals. If the person is doing it because they're actually interested in comics and get something out of it besides money OR they're well schooled enough to be able to fend for themselves in terms of wins and losses, then I'm happy to have the money pouring in. If it's someone who's looking to replace $10,000 worth of traditional investments with a passive investment in comics solely for monetary gain, then I'm uncomfortable with the idea because to my mind there's no way to adequately disclose the breadth of risk in such an investment.

[BassGMan]

I think it's better for all of us that this person invests his money in the comic book industry than somewhere else.

 

I don't. I'd rather see them invest their money somewhere that best suits their risk profile and investing goals. If the person is doing it because they're actually interested in comics and get something out of it besides money OR they're well schooled enough to be able to fend for themselves in terms of wins and losses, then I'm happy to have the money pouring in. If it's someone who's looking to replace $10,000 worth of traditional investments with a passive investment in comics solely for monetary gain, then I'm uncomfortable with the idea because to my mind there's no way to adequately disclose the breadth of risk in such an investment.

 

Let's assume here that this guy WANTS to put 10K for whatever reason into comics. Seems as if many here would try to talk him out of it, but as I understood it from the first post, the investor is at the stage where he is ready to get into comics. It's not a matter of if he should, but now that he's here, where does the money go? And sure, there are some "hacks" here that will spout off advice without much experience behind them, but there are real pros here too. Same with stocks. Anyone can give an opinion, and a novice might have a knack for being on the ball. There are pros in all financial markets that give very poor advice as well.

 

The object is to ask alot of professionals what their opinions are, put that with some research of your own, if you are so inclined, and then make your decisions.

 

ALSO, I disagree with the notion that true experienced professionals would not want to disclose their "secrets" due to increased competition. I find the opposite. You will most likely see big investors tell you EXACTLY what they think are hidden gems and high quality speculative or conservative comic book investments, because most likely they will ALREADY have these books and want to see others drive up the values of the books they already own. Yet ANOTHER direct comparison with the stock market.

[burntboy]

I personally would have no problem with the idea of an "outsider" investing 10K in comics as long as he has first gone to an experienced comic's investor for advice.

 

There is a big difference between a large-firm broker with vast educational and training requirements, regulations and penalties, and some guy who buys and sells comics on the weekend. Thinking they are the same thing is a ticket to Bankruptville.

 

Great point. But more selfishly, why should I share this info if I'm planning on doing the same thing and icrease competition and prices? I've bought the bombs, incurred losses over the years and this guy gets the benfit of my years of "hard work and experience"... I'll pass.

 

On a less harsh note, I would feel awfully guilty if my "tip" did not pan out on a $100 investment. I don't know if I could live with myself losing someone else's $10K.

 

C'mon Darth - one word - Dazzlers..............

[OldGuy]

Instead of trying to make somebody sound foolish for wanting to make a 2-3 year comic investment, let's assume the guy KNOWS the risks, or at least learns about them from others before diving in.

 

Who asking a question like this knows the risks? Almost nobody.

 

I didn't notice anyone posting with the obvious intention of making somebody sound foolish.

 

It sure looks that way to me, I guess we read things differently.

 

Stop being foolish.

[Red Hook]

Look, why don't we just make the guy happy and start a CGC Comic Book Index Fund. He can buy $10,000 worth of shares in our comic book portfolio, we make the picks, buy the books, and turn them over at the right time. That way he doesn't even have to bother making an actual purchase or incurring the risk of actually "holding" the books.

 

I'm sure this has been thought of before, right?

[DKB]

 

Let's assume here that this guy WANTS to put 10K for whatever reason into comics. Seems as if many here would try to talk him out of it, but as I understood it from the first post, the investor is at the stage where he is ready to get into comics. It's not a matter of if he should, but now that he's here, where does the money go?

 

Not really. He is probing his options and in no real hurry. He has no plans for the cash for the forseeable future and just wants to find someplace to put it where he can get a decent return on his investment.

 

However its really his only backup cash right now. He's not poor, but he's by no means rich. 10k isn't 2% of his total portfolio that he's trying to have some fun with or anything.

 

That being the case I've provided him with every bit of information I can stand to write down in e-mail form, and also included my recommendation he steer clear of comics. If I were in his position monetarily, I would feel a bit squeamish about sinking the cash into comics, so I have hard time doing anything but suggesting he not do it.

 

What he might do is take some of the cash, $1,000, $2,000, and do it with that, test the waters, see how it goes, maybe learn a little from the experience. That is something I'd be willing to do myself, and I've already got specific books in mind should he be interested, so I feel less oogy about it.

[Stronguy]

Look, why don't we just make the guy happy and start a CGC Comic Book Index Fund. He can buy $10,000 worth of shares in our comic book portfolio, we make the picks, buy the books, and turn them over at the right time. That way he doesn't even have to bother making an actual purchase or incurring the risk of actually "holding" the books.

 

I'm sure this has been thought of before, right?

 

The big problem is that prices are soooo manipulated in the comics world that the SEC would bury you under the jail. The comic maket is more corrupt than most 3rd world economies.

[WiseGuyX]

I once lost a small amount of cash when Enrron chashed as well as a lot of other people. I asked my broker if he thought Enron would pull out of their slump when the price was 9.00 bux a share or should I go with AT&T. He told me Enron would be my best bet When my wife found out about it, this is what she told me, "if a stock broker knew it all they wouldn't working to begin with" I will say she took it better than I thought she would Anyways comics are no different than the stock market in my opinion and if we knew what was going to make money we would all be rich.

 

If you want my advice on investing in comics I would start by doing tons of research on the subject. There's no way I would drop 10k on comics now even though I've been in and out of the hobby for 15 years. I simply don't know enough about the money making part of it. I will say I do agree with buying comics in lots. This has allowed me to supplment my comic habbit. Also I would not invest 100% of my money set aside for investing in one market. Enron should have tought people that lesson. A rule of thumb you only invest only 10% of your money in your company on top of that. If you want something you can luiqudate very fast (emergancies) try buying a small amount of Gold. I bougt a sizeable amount of Gold when it was 250.00 an onuce and now it's like 420.00. The other day when I decided to sale some to reinvest in some comics it only took 25 mins to do and that was including my drive to sale it. The cool thing I was able to buy most of my comics off the profit alone from the sale of the Gold I have already started saving for the next time Gold dips down to the mid 200's again

 

Thats my .02 of

[DoubleCovaBrotha]

Look, why don't we just make the guy happy and start a CGC Comic Book Index Fund. He can buy $10,000 worth of shares in our comic book portfolio, we make the picks, buy the books, and turn them over at the right time. That way he doesn't even have to bother making an actual purchase or incurring the risk of actually "holding" the books.

 

I'm sure this has been thought of before, right?

 

In Overstreet, Metropolis has an ad/article with a Comic Book Index of 30 books and compares it to the Dow Jones Industrial average. It performs slightly better than the DJI in the short and long run, but I don't know if anyone has even tried it out.

 

I remember some of the books include Amazing Fantasy #15, Showcase #4, Action Comics #1, etc, etc...

[rob_react]

 

ALSO, I disagree with the notion that true experienced professionals would not want to disclose their "secrets" due to increased competition. I find the opposite. You will most likely see big investors tell you EXACTLY what they think are hidden gems and high quality speculative or conservative comic book investments, because most likely they will ALREADY have these books and want to see others drive up the values of the books they already own. Yet ANOTHER direct comparison with the stock market.

 

You seem to be missing the point, even though you yourself seem to be aware of it. If they "ALREADY have these books and want to see others drive up the values of the books they already own" then the train has likely left the station and the real, "best" profits have already been socked away by the early adopters. There still may be profit to be had, but it's not the top profit that someone with real vision can make.