The future of CGC 9.6s?

[fantastic_four]

early/mid BA spideys were pretty commonly found in 25 cents/50 cent bins in the late 70s and 80s.

 

ASM 129 could be found in those bins probably into the early 80s. (121, 122, 136, etc. were considered premium back then)

 

I've got tons that I'd pick up as a kid out of my LCSes 3/$1 bin in the 80s.

 

Many are actually in nice shape other than the mark the jerk shop owner would put on the back of each comic. 15 cents and 20 cent cover prices probably less common in the bargain bins even then.

 

I'm confoozled...you started off saying early/mid BA Spideys were pretty common in bargain bins, and then closed by saying that they were less common in the bargain bins.

[clarkkentdds]

So if it is not rejected, does the $3 fee still apply and is it added to the cost of the grading at that particular tier?

[THE_BEYONDER]

So if it is not rejected, does the $3 fee still apply and is it added to the cost of the grading at that particular tier?

 

Nope. If the book passes, you just get charged the regular grading fee.

[the blob]

20/15 cent cover price not in my LCS -- the 3/$1 started with 25 cent cover price stuff -- which I guess started in ''74? Is that early BA?

 

20/15 cent cover price spideys I plucked out of many a convention 50 cent bin in the early 80s.

 

But, you see, I was not a bright 12 year old. So, I'd only buy one of each. Once I had one of each Spidey, I'd buy one of each Captain america, Thor, etc. in the bin rather than loading up on the Spideys that the dealer had multiples of.

 

Just look at some of the ads for back issues in comics in the early 80s. Many of those early 70s spideys are like a buck or so (mail order, from mile high!) while recent (early 80s) stuff was more. heck, dazzler 1 and moon knight 1 were probably more than ASM 129!

[the blob]

but if it's less than a 9.6, they charge you the $3.

 

but if 9.6 or more, you pay the regular slabbing fee

 

and can you do this for each book (set it at 9.6 for issue X, 9.2 for issue Y, 9.4 for issue D, etc.) or may each group of submissions only have 1 cut-off grade?

 

something to ponder. of course, i should have pondered it 2 years ago when people still cared about 9.6 late 70s/eary 80s books.

[sfilosa]

You need 50 at each tier and minimum grade requirement.

 

You can't send in 25 that you want pre-screened at 9.0 and another at 9.2.

 

If that was the case, people would just put a different pre-screen number by every book.

 

The idea is that the Pre-Grader basically looks the book over and say YES OR NO. If it is a NO, then the other graders don't waste their time. OF COURSE, it would be possible that the other graders would give it a higher grade, but you would never know since that doesn't happen.

 

Said another way, if the Pre-Grader is very strict that day, it's possible that a lot of borderline books will be rejected, even if the other two graders are lenient that day.

[the blob]

so, be prepared to pay a minimum of $150 ($3 X 50) and a max of.... 50 X $15 (?) [$750] + s/h?

 

Such a tough call when semi-key (or, at least, desireable) copper/late bronze may only net you $10 in slabbed 9.8. even if you pick your books right you could turn out wrong.

[Norrin_Radd]

But, you see, I was not a bright 12 year old. So, I'd only buy one of each. Once I had one of each Spidey, I'd buy one of each Captain america, Thor, etc. in the bin rather than loading up on the Spideys that the dealer had multiples of.

 

You were a collector, not a speculator. Nothing wrong with that.

[the blob]

Yup, and when I did try to speculate, I usually wasted my money.

 

Somehow I bought wrong with some silver age books in the early 80s as an 11-12 y.o.

 

Was that possible?

 

YUP! It happens when the dealers tells you something is NM, you figure he's a dealer, he must be right and you have no idea what stuff is worth anyway (you like the character or cover because that's what 11-12 year olds base their decisions on) and he takes your money, etc. I still have some of my "expensive" purchases (SA at $3-5) and, sadly, I may only be able to sell it for whay I paid for it. For some reason I thought buying SA Daredevils was a great idea because Miller was so hot on DD at the time.

[Artboy99]

Even more scary:

 

Look at the age poll posted in the Silver age forum and see what age group of people buys comics.

Notice the very small percentage of collectors in the 20 and under range?

This can ultimately predict the future of your market too. The 40 year old generation buys the comics they remember as a kid, and seek high grade.

Will the future 40 year olds really care all that much?

 

Artboy99

[the blob]

"Notice the very small percentage of collectors in the 20 and under range?"

 

Who has the money for this stuff when they're a teen? All of my money went to beer, other stuff not as innocent as beer, clothing and taking girls out.

[the blob]

I'd add... as a child of the 70s, when I got out of school and started having some money in the 90s, I collected nearly SA exclusively, with some GA tossed in, the occasional BA key or whatever seemed interesting in a quarter bin.

 

I never read those 60s marvels growing up (except to the extent my older bro collected comics and happened to own some old ones). Yet I collected them.

[Artboy99]

Good to hear.

Thanks, I needed that.

 

Artboy99

[the blob]

Nope, the real problem is not whether kids are collecting old or new comics, but whether they read them as kids. Maybe you give up spidey as a kid (I gave up comics when I became a teenager), but if you liked them as a kid, there's always a chance you come back to them in your 20s when you don't care what kids in school think.

 

If you never read comics as a kid, it seems less likely you'll get the comic bug in your 20s.

 

So, it's not "how many 18 year olds can afford an X-Men 36", but "How many 11 year old can afford to buy this month's X-Men and Spidey comics" -- and that's the problem with $2-3 comics. Not too many can blow $20 a month on 7-8 comics.

[Harvey Dude]

I personally think that non-key 9.6 bronze comics are not worth much given that there are multitudes of copies out there. Demand will soon catch up with supply and the true value of these books will become evident.

[BachelorOfComix]

I personally think that non-key 9.6 bronze comics are not worth much given that there are multitudes of copies out there. Demand will soon catch up with supply and the true value of these books will become evident.