What are the most over-valued Bronze Age issues?

October 6, 2002

I go back to my earlier posts on this issue - I agree that speculators are taking over the high end of CGC books, but on the VAST majority of books being sold non-CGC the old invisible hand is truly in play.

For example I picked up a VF/NM Daredevil 131 with (well, I'm probably wrong) white pages today at a show (and saw Darth's very pretty 9.8 USM White variant, btw) "unslabbed" for $45. It by no means is a NM book, but its pretty nice.

underthebigw · October 6, 2002

I guess that's exactly my/our point. Is X-men 97 currently worth a certain value, primarily because of the demand and fan base for it? Yes. But is it "over-valued", meaning that it will not necessarily keep its value, because it is not based on an inherent quality, such as scarcity? Then I think it might be (on the other hand, I would never base value on scarcity alone, either). I'd never question a comic's value to any fan or collector-anyone should spend what they want on any book and I would never question their judgement. There are some books I would dramatically overpay for because they either complete a run or have great nostalgic value. And it is just these books I would not expect to hold their value. In my experience, it's not the hot books you make the money on, but the "undervalued" ones that are not currently in fashion.

October 7, 2002

Dan,

Boys, boys. NOTHING IS OVERPRICED. There's a marketplace dynamic here. Things go for what they go for...the happy "invisible hand" of capitalism eventually pushes prices to an equilibrium price. If you think X-Men 97 is overpriced, don't buy it. If you're right, the price will come down. If you're wrong, well, you didn't waste your money.

This will always be true. The books listed, though, are felt to be likely candidates of downward pressure from the 'invisible hand'. Why? For the 3 I listed, due to supply, one of the two factors that drives the setting of prices in a capitalistic market.

Darthdiesel · October 7, 2002

pages today at a show (and saw Darth's very pretty 9.8 USM White variant, btw)

Yes it was a pretty copy of USM 1 white cgc 9.8, but what Donut left too early to find out was that I traded it for a Hulk 181 from Basement Comix. Along with an ASM 300 CGC 9.4 and $200 cash/credit.......I'm very happy with the deal...the local show was fun and there were plenty of deals to be had but on all the major and minor keys, and hot books, the pricing was fairly accurate...

delekkerste · October 7, 2002

Boys, boys. NOTHING IS OVERPRICED. There's a marketplace dynamic

here. Things go for what they go for...the happy "invisible hand" of capitalism

eventually pushes prices to an equilibrium price.

Actually, this is only partially accurate. If you read any research papers defending

the practice of short-selling stocks, you will know what I mean. Since there is

no way to "sell short" CGC comic books, prices are set solely by the marginal

buyer and the marginal seller. If there was a short-selling mechanism, people like

me and ComicInvestor would be selling short hopelessly overvalued comics and

prices would fall to more rational levels.

As there is no short-selling mechanism, the price of CGC books continues to be

set by the lunatic fringe buyer and either willing dealer sellers or reluctant collector

sellers, thus keeping prices artificially inflated. That is not to say that a market

with short-sellers is necessarily efficient (lunatics overwhelmed short-sellers in the

stock market of the late 1990s, for example), but it adds greater efficiency in most