Is this medium killing itself?!

[ComicConnoisseur]

Here's one. Saga of the Swamp Thing 37. First Constantine. TV show announced, 9.8 copies shoot up to over $600. Now, TV show cancelled and good luck trying to get $350 for it. All based on what? A failed TV show? The comic character didn't change. It is that kind of sink or swim attitude that really isn't helping anybody.

TV show hype is never as good as movie hype for some reason?

[oakman29]

Come on now, Oak. I was looking for an example of me talking out of both sides of my mouth.

 

Oh! Forgive me. I apologize. (thumbs u

[KPR Comics]

Now I do talk out of my quite a bit, but only out of one side

[october]

Then the evil flippers are the one's absorbing the loss and taking the risk, no? Like October, I and others have said, tackle the 95-99% of non-keys in ANY given title and wait out the keys. If you can't wait, then pay what you are comfortable with and it won't matter if the bottom falls out because, after all, the collector shouldn't care what happens to the price after he's purchased it.

 

Buy the non-keys first, and then be faced later with board wisdom that says buy the keys first, they're only going up? I'm amazed how many people are talking out both sides of their mouth in this thread.

 

There are hundreds of keys that haven't seen crazy price spikes due to movie/TV hype. Buy those.

 

You guys are complaining about a small handful of issues and ignoring the other 99.9% of the hobby. There are entire titles, even entire genres, that aren't part of some speculative bubble. The entire Golden Age catalog is essentially free from this nonsense, with the exception of one or two books like MF 73.

 

Speculative nonsense only ruins the hobby if you want it to.

[oakman29]

Now I do talk out of my quite a bit, but only out of one side

me too.

[revat]

Then the evil flippers are the one's absorbing the loss and taking the risk, no? Like October, I and others have said, tackle the 95-99% of non-keys in ANY given title and wait out the keys. If you can't wait, then pay what you are comfortable with and it won't matter if the bottom falls out because, after all, the collector shouldn't care what happens to the price after he's purchased it.

 

Buy the non-keys first, and then be faced later with board wisdom that says buy the keys first, they're only going up? I'm amazed how many people are talking out both sides of their mouth in this thread.

 

There are hundreds of keys that haven't seen crazy price spikes due to movie/TV hype. Buy those.

 

You guys are complaining about a small handful of issues and ignoring the other 99.9% of the hobby. There are entire titles, even entire genres, that aren't part of some speculative bubble. The entire Golden Age catalog is essentially free from this nonsense, with the exception of one or two books like MF 73.

 

Speculative nonsense only ruins the hobby if you want it to.

 

seriously if you wanted those comics that badly, then you had decades to buy them since before 5 years ago. If the comic-media craze has reawakened your love for comics or keys since then, then you really have nothing to complain about anyways. unless you're 20's, then sorry bro.

[Pedro1974.5]

Then the evil flippers are the one's absorbing the loss and taking the risk, no? Like October, I and others have said, tackle the 95-99% of non-keys in ANY given title and wait out the keys. If you can't wait, then pay what you are comfortable with and it won't matter if the bottom falls out because, after all, the collector shouldn't care what happens to the price after he's purchased it.

 

Buy the non-keys first, and then be faced later with board wisdom that says buy the keys first, they're only going up? I'm amazed how many people are talking out both sides of their mouth in this thread.

 

There are hundreds of keys that haven't seen crazy price spikes due to movie/TV hype. Buy those.

 

You guys are complaining about a small handful of issues and ignoring the other 99.9% of the hobby. There are entire titles, even entire genres, that aren't part of some speculative bubble. The entire Golden Age catalog is essentially free from this nonsense, with the exception of one or two books like MF 73.

 

Speculative nonsense only ruins the hobby if you want it to.

 

seriously if you wanted those comics that badly, then you had decades to buy them since before 5 years ago. If the comic-media craze has reawakened your love for comics or keys since then, then you really have nothing to complain about anyways. unless you're 20's, then sorry bro.

 

did you ever thought that maybe some time periods of a fans/ collector life you simply can't reach for those comics, even if they were way cheaper than today?!

 

Cheap or not, when the budget doesn't allow these acquisitions, it's the same result in the end: you see them pass Under your eyes.

 

regards

[otherworldsj33]

When I started buying back issues, late '60's, I couldn't afford most GA comics I wanted. But I could still buy most any low grade SA. I remember the first speculator book being Conan #1, which was going for $5 around 4,5 months after it came out. Since then, obviously, prices have gone steadily upward. In those days most of us believed there would one day be a million dollar comic, although there were many guess's as to when that would happen. the 70's, 80's, 90's, etc. rolled on, and there always seemed to be a steady influx of new back issue collectors, regardless of the escalating prices. They just had to adjust their buying habits to what they could afford, versus what they dreamed of owning. I don't think today is any different in that regard. But yeah, the flipping, some of the grading scams, have definitely taken a lot of fun out of the hobby. It does seem more like a business sometimes, maybe most times. The adage, be careful for what you wish for holds true. Back then we sometimes talked about comics getting more respect, one day being museum pieces, and becoming investments for even the rich...

[otherworldsj33]

I also said 7 -8 years ago that the hobby was in for price declines for most books, due to the pressing and grade manipulation, in the next five years. I could not have been more wrong, or at least for the time frame I believed. Instead, the hobby has been on fire the past 8 years. I STILL think it will, that it has to, catch up with the hobby, sooner or later. Some of these prices on some of these books make no sense what so ever. The Wolverine mentioned earlier in this thread being a example. A huge adjustment is needed on a lot of books to insure the future health of the back issue market for those books.

[Bronx]

This is a great time to be a collector. You can get any comic you want at any time and in any condition. eBay has made every comic within reach and digital comics have made reading every comic affordable. I don't collect current moderns because of the price but I will pick up a TPB if I get a recommendation. Even low grade stuff is out there and affordable. I picked up a roachy BB 28 a few months ago for a reasonable price.

 

With regards to speculating, I don't mind the current craze of overnight, overpriced hot movie comics. Yes it puts some want list comics out of reach but it also makes a part of my collection more valuable (not that I sell anything). I'm not sure why so many folks are upset over FF 45. If that is now out of reach, collect something within reach like FF 46, 48, 49 and 67. Too high still? Than go for FF 62. There won't be a Blastar move next year but it still is a great undervalued classic FF villain.

 

What I don't understand is why collectors don't trade more often? My grail books are AF 15 and Hulk 1. I will not pay current prices but I would be willing to trade with someone who was smart enough to pick 2 or 3 of these up before the market too off. I know I would have to trade some super premium material but it makes sense. I'm sure there are some complications in trading but it sure seems to make a lot of sense to fill holes by trading surplus or changing priorities in the collection.

[BarryAllen]

What I don't understand is why collectors don't trade more often? My grail books are AF 15 and Hulk 1. I will not pay current prices but I would be willing to trade with someone who was smart enough to pick 2 or 3 of these up before the market too off. I know I would have to trade some super premium material but it makes sense. I'm sure there are some complications in trading but it sure seems to make a lot of sense to fill holes by trading surplus or changing priorities in the collection.

 

Let me know when you find someone to trade their multi-thousand dollar key books (that they realized a HUGE ROI on) for all the run-fillers you have been buying.

 

:shrug: