"Acceptable" Ways for Books to increase in "Value"

[Jaylam]

Yes, some books do increase in value and more power to any buyer or seller when a book hits or keeps hitting a record price, but another question should be "What causes a book to decline in value?" What I find so aggravating are all these listings for sale of non-hot books on various sites that are listed at 50%-200% above real recent sales and when you try to make a realistic offer its a no go and the book sets there for sale for years because the seller can't get their full asking price. Some books have even declined in value over the last few years, but some of these (spoon) sellers are still asking peak value or above for these books. It's just a joke, it's sad and it hurts the vitality of the market. As an example, yes, maybe a super-high grade sold for $20,000 a few years back, but instead of one or two, there are now eight or nine of those available with the last few selling for about $3,000 each, lets just face it, the ship has already sailed for ever getting anything close to that price again (unless a movie or TV show based on that particular book is announced). Oh well, just my thoughts on over-priced listings.

 

 

[1Cool]

I sometimes see in the selling threads people complaining about a seller asking the high GPA or over GPA or over guide etc. Yet obviously many books have increased a tremendous amount, even over a relatively short time.

 

My question is a simple one: What do you consider acceptable ways for a book to increase in value over time?

 

I re-read the OP and it arrears he is wondering why people complain about sellers pricing books above GPA highs. The boards are definetely not the place to get a new GPA high. There are no fees while selling on the boards so most buyers want a discount compared to ebay or the auction houses.

[Garf]

Books should all increase in value on the coattail effect of TWD. Why are you old timers on here reading this (?) you should already be queueing for next year's SDCC so you can get a good spot in the line to lick Kirkman's boots

 

 

Disclaimer

 

 

 

 

Disclaimers

 

 

1. I didn't walk 500 miles. 2. I won't walk 500 more.

 

[JesterSB]

The only way a book rises in price long term is supply/demand. Short term there are a lot of ways for a book to sell for a new high price. Most of the time it's impatience on the buyer's part. They want that book now and they'll pay the asking price because they can't wait for a better deal to come along, or unwilling to spend the time looking for said deal, which may actually never materialize. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with this from a seller or buyer's perspective. Occasionally someone will get ripped off by an unscrupulous dealer, but that happens in every collectible hobby (I'm not saying this is a good thing, it just goes with the territory).

 

As for these boards I can assure you record sales happen regularly, just not necessarily in public. That said, this IS a great place for finding deals as well, and far more often than record breaking sales.

 

If someone has a book for sale for an unreasonable price, I don't understand the consternation. There are tons of reasons someone could do this, but as buyers, we can just ignore them right? The seller is either hurting themselves, or doesn't care if it doesn't sell.

 

Typically if I have a book for sale over GPA, it's because I'd rather keep it than sell it for GPA or less. Is there harm in that?

[lpsunburst]

There are actually quite a few books I will happily pay over GPA for, the problem is there are others here on the board who will happily pay more than me if they should come up for sale. I think that applies mostly to the rare books but may not be what the OP is asking about.

 

There are other books that you sometimes have to pay over GPA just because they are going up too fast (Hulk 1) but they may very well still be good long term hold candidates. I paid above GPA for an AF 15 and set the high mark for the grade in the year I bought it, if I offered it here at double what I paid it wouldn't last half an hour.

 

Movie/TV "hype" sometimes gets the blame/credit for many titles but that doesn't mean they are not legitimate reasons for a title getting hot, look at ASM 129 for example, it is has been hot despite lackluster film support or TOD 10, still hot after all these years. Sometimes a TV or film tie in just raises the awareness of a character and they become embedded in the hobby.

[vaillant]

My question is a simple one: What do you consider acceptable ways for a book to increase in value over time?

 

Easy, the truly healthy way for a book to increase in value is because of the actual quality of its content. Which, at its core, is not relative.

[divad]

After reading all of the responses, I'm not sure I understand the question . . .

[blazingbob]

Basically the only acceptable way for a book to increase in value is if it sells in a auction environment.

 

Sellers cannot ask over GPA, you can sell for less than GPA but you must report that sale or the disclosure police will report you. That in turn means the next person must pay either GPA or less. Eventually the last person who wants the book will get it for free.

 

Got it?

[RockMyAmadeus]

The reason anything increases in value isn't because you are willing to pay more...

 

...it's because everybody else is.

 

That's how it works, and why anything has any secondary value at all. You want that Spidey #1? Davy wants it, too, and is willing to pay more than you are. So, if you want it, you'll have to either want it more than everyone else at the time it is available, or you have to find it in an environment where others who desire it, and are willing to pay more than you, aren't around.

 

If there are people who are willing to pay more to obtain it, the price goes up.

 

That's how it works.

 

In short: supply and demand.

[Aweandlorder]

Its acceptable after an auction closes at a ridiculously unpredictable amount for a raw copy

 

Kinda like this one

[blazingbob]

Shill bidding, Prices only go up because of shill bidding.

 

There is no demand, just supply. Books go from one site to the other and eventually wind up at Pedigree where the book is repeatedly sold, reconsigned and sold again. Sorry, couldn't resist. Since we cannot prove the exchange of money between buyer and seller and no reporting of private sales to GPA those sales are basically Shill bids.

 

 

[faster friends]

Hot Artist

[divad]

Shill bidding, Prices only go up because of shill bidding.

 

There is no demand, just supply. Books go from one site to the other and eventually wind up at Pedigree where the book is repeatedly sold, reconsigned and sold again. Sorry, couldn't resist. Since we cannot prove the exchange of money between buyer and seller and no reporting of private sales to GPA those sales are basically Shill bids.

 

 

I love it . . . classic bb

[gsolol]

Shill bidding, Prices only go up because of shill bidding.

 

There is no demand, just supply. Books go from one site to the other and eventually wind up at Pedigree where the book is repeatedly sold, reconsigned and sold again. Sorry, couldn't resist. Since we cannot prove the exchange of money between buyer and seller and no reporting of private sales to GPA those sales are basically Shill bids.

 

 

 

That's pretty funny. I've seen an X-men 16 CGC 9.6 Pacific Coast copy auctioned off in at least the last 3 or 4 auctions in a row thru Pedigree .

[234wallst]

I am not fond of movie hype.

 

I don't feel that movie hype brings in new collectors to drive up demand, rather it brings in swarms of speculators who ramp up prices selling the comics to each other.

 

The success of the Spider-Man and Iron Man movies permanently raised their statures in pop culture, and in turn raised demand for their books. I don't call that "hype". The same could be said for many other characters in the more successful movies, but to a lesser degree.

[bluechip]

I am not fond of movie hype.

 

I don't feel that movie hype brings in new collectors to drive up demand, rather it brings in swarms of speculators who ramp up prices selling the comics to each other.

 

The success of the Spider-Man and Iron Man movies permanently raised their statures in pop culture, and in turn raised demand for their books. I don't call that "hype". The same could be said for many other characters in the more successful movies, but to a lesser degree.

 

Well put.

 

The term "hype" used to encompass situations that raised value, and not just the efforts of sellers to inflate values artificially.

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

I do wish the people who come in with no knowledge of or appreciation for the artform would dry up and go away...after they've bought all my junk, of course.

[MetalPSI]

I do wish the people who come in with no knowledge of or appreciation for the artform would dry up and go away...after they've bought all my junk, of course.

 

Almost got all my junk. Be patient already

[namisgr]

There's always the old fashioned way of buying and holding comics for many years, until they become more popular or desirable.

[IntrepidXC]

Destroy all the other copies on the market.

 

 

Speaking of, how many Turok #1s are left out there? We need to get on that again, methinks.

 

 

 

 

-slym

 

 

I have a short box of Turok #1's I picked up from my LCS for $5. I rip out the insides and use them to start fires in my fireplace in the winter.