Do comics ever go down in price?

[Aman619]

I'm new to collecting and I was wondering if prices ever go down or is it just up? Have prices ever gone down in the guide?

Any comic book will continue to appreciate in value over time. It's a steadfast rule.

 

It may be Overstreets first Law of comics prices! But even Bob, the Most Blessed Be He, has lowered prices on new er books that had peaked and fell.

[tth2]

I'm new to collecting and I was wondering if prices ever go down or is it just up? Have prices ever gone down in the guide?

Any comic book will continue to appreciate in value over time. It's a steadfast rule.

 

Superman 75

X-Force 1

Astonishing X-Men 1 Retailer Variant

Punisher Mini-Series 1

Fish Police 1

 

etc

etc

etc

 

Don't feed the trolls, Dan, don't feed the trolls.

[Norrin_Radd]

I'm new to collecting and I was wondering if prices ever go down or is it just up? Have prices ever gone down in the guide?

Any comic book will continue to appreciate in value over time. It's a steadfast rule.

 

Superman 75

X-Force 1

Astonishing X-Men 1 Retailer Variant

Punisher Mini-Series 1

Fish Police 1

 

etc

etc

etc

 

I assumed he was making a joke, but forgot to tack this on the end of his post.

 

 

 

[FFB]

I'm new to collecting and I was wondering if prices ever go down or is it just up? Have prices ever gone down in the guide?

Any comic book will continue to appreciate in value over time. It's a steadfast rule.

 

Superman 75

X-Force 1

Astonishing X-Men 1 Retailer Variant

Punisher Mini-Series 1

Fish Police 1

 

etc

etc

etc

 

Price paid on day of release in 1991 for the following: $50.

 

Checkmate.

[greggy]

I'm new to collecting and I was wondering if prices ever go down or is it just up? Have prices ever gone down in the guide?

Any comic book will continue to appreciate in value over time. It's a steadfast rule.

 

Superman 75

X-Force 1

Astonishing X-Men 1 Retailer Variant

Punisher Mini-Series 1

Fish Police 1

 

etc

etc

etc

 

Price paid on day of release in 1991 for the following: $50.

 

Checkmate.

[DiceX]

I'm new to collecting and I was wondering if prices ever go down or is it just up? Have prices ever gone down in the guide?

Any comic book will continue to appreciate in value over time. It's a steadfast rule.

 

Superman 75

X-Force 1

Astonishing X-Men 1 Retailer Variant

Punisher Mini-Series 1

Fish Police 1

 

etc

etc

etc

 

Price paid on day of release in 1991 for the following: $50.

 

Checkmate.

 

[drbanner]

I'm new to collecting and I was wondering if prices ever go down or is it just up? Have prices ever gone down in the guide?

Any comic book will continue to appreciate in value over time. It's a steadfast rule.

 

I think we're going around in circles here.

 

[greggy]

I'm new to collecting and I was wondering if prices ever go down or is it just up? Have prices ever gone down in the guide?

Any comic book will continue to appreciate in value over time. It's a steadfast rule.

 

I think we're going around in circles here.

 

It's all your fault banner!

[jbud73]

I'm new to collecting and I was wondering if prices ever go down or is it just up? Have prices ever gone down in the guide?

Any comic book will continue to appreciate in value over time. It's a steadfast rule.

 

Superman 75

X-Force 1

Astonishing X-Men 1 Retailer Variant

Punisher Mini-Series 1

Fish Police 1

 

etc

etc

etc

 

Don't feed the trolls, Dan, don't feed the trolls.

 

[awe4one]

I think a growing fan base in Europe and elsewhere may well make up for any declining American fan base.

 

I wouldn't bank on this...

 

Germans that buy comics, to include US comics, are a fraction what they were in the 70s/80s. In fact, the percentage of those buying back issue US comics today is small compared to the American market. Also, current US translated comics are selling poorly and are shedding readers probably at a rate greater than seen in the US. Different formats have been tried recently but all have fallen on deaf ears apparently.

 

A store owner I know recently pulled his US back issue stock, which included a wide range of Silver and up comics, out of his store due to lack of demand. He also wouldn't be surprised if new Marvel and DC translated comics vanish from the German market within the next 5 years. His best selling comics other than Manga? CrossGen...which are still being released here but are nearing the end of the published run...

 

One last thing...the majority of German collectors are very hesitant to use US eBay. They are aware of it but won't use the service due to high shipping and custom charges. The typical German collector buys cheap mid-grade comics and aren't interested in the HG market so their purchases on the site doesn't justify the hassle in their eyes...

 

Jim

[esquirecomics]

Interesting to see my name bandied about in the same sentence with the dentist, but I'm afraid his collection and finances put me to shame. Still nice though. Plus he has the Batmobile. I asked my wife the other day whether I can buy one, and the answer can't be written here!

 

I started collecting comics in the mid-1970s. Through the mid-1980s I also heavily collected stamps, baseball cards and coins. By the end of the 1980s I had dropped out of each, but picked back up in comics and baseball cards during the late 1990s. It is very interesting to examine how each of these hobby industries have fared in the last 20-25 years.

 

Many of the "rare" stamps I purchased in 1982 still have not recouped their value. From what I can tell, most stamps, except for the very high grade copies and pre-1900, have not increased in value very much, if at all, during the last two decades. I still intend on returning to the hobby because I enjoy it, and that is the best reason why to be involved with a hobby.

 

It looks like baseball cards have fared better in increasing in value over the last two decades, but not all. The sets from the early 1980s, for example, first spiked in value, then decreased and now seem to have settled without much additional growth. You can often find sets below guide value on e-bay. However, I think competition has oversaturated the market. There used to be just Topps cards, and then Fleer and Donruss. Now there has to be at least 20-30 different sets or more coming out every years. Pre-1970s cards, particularly superstars in high grade, command a hefty price. I think one reason why baseball cards still maintain a fanbase is because baseball is still so popular. However, as with comics, the current price for a pack of cards is really high. I don't know how kids can afford the hobby. It is actually cheaper to buy cards from when I was a kid in the 1970s than to buy the current ones.

 

All in all, I think comics as a hobby industry has fared among the best if not the best in maintaining popularity and gaining value. There is no doubt in my mind that comics have done unbelievably well over the years, even taking into account some downturns. Just take a look at a price guide from the early 1980s, mid-1980s, early 1990s and so on (make sure you have a strong stomach b/c you will feel like you were kicked). I WISH I had the money I have now back in the 1980s. Collectors such as Jon Berk, for example, would make a sizable profit were they to sell their books today, but of course that is not what it is always about.

 

It is true that not all comics increase in value every year, but for the most part the statement appears accurate for GA books involving major characters, especially in high grade, and key SA books. The fluctuation is more with 1970-present where trends change and characters become highly popular (GI Joe, Punisher, ASM 252) and then drop off for whatever reason. The question is how long can the hobby sustain such dramatic increases such as seen with the top 100 valued books? Of course, the same question exists for many things nowadays, particularly real estate. The prices here in the DC area are out of control. The townhouse I purchased in 2002 went for nearly 50% higher when I sold it in 2004, and it doubled in price from what the owners before me paid in 2000. For how long can that last?

 

I don't have the answers to any of these questions. All I can say is this - none of my comic purchases or expenditures on other hobbies impacts anything else I do right now. It doesn't impact my children's college fund or our ability to take a vacation or pay a credit card bill. The amount of money in question is irrelevant. The same principles should always apply no matter the money. Regardless of the hobby you partake in, you must participate sensibly and without too high a cost to your family life or personal well-being, whether that be financially or socially!

 

My thoughts at 3 am, for whatever they're worth.

[tth2]

Mark, good post, and I agree with your sentiments. Since you have some knowledge of the baseball card market, maybe you can provide some thoughts on the following question (you kind of have to read through the preambles to get to the question):

 

It's been conjectured on these boards that each era of comics will eventually stagnate or drop in price as that era's core generation of collectors dies off, because there will be insufficient numbers of younger collectors to fill the void, since the interests of the majority of these younger collectors will lie more with comics from their own eras. So, on the assumption that a majority of the core GA collectors are in their 50s and 60s, it has been hypothesized that as this generation moves on in the next couple of decades, GA prices will stagnate or decline. I would say this hypothesis does not apply to iconic books like Action #1, Tec #27, Cap #1, etc., which will probably always transcend pure nostalgia and emotional attachment.

 

Analogizing the baseball card market to the comic market, then you could say that baseball cards from the 1920s and early 1930s are where comics from the late 1930s and 1940s will be in 10-20 years, which means that the collectors who had an emotional attachment to players from the 1920s and early 1930s would now be in their 70s and 80s (i.e., most have passed on by now).

 

So finally to my question: from your knowledge of the baseball card market, has there been any stagnation or decline in the value of cards of players from these eras as their core audience moved on? I don't mean players like Ruth, Gehrig or Cobb in this question, because like Action #1 et al, their iconic status transcends mere nostalgia. My question really focuses on ordinary players from that era, and even superstar/Hall of Fame players from that era who are no longer household names, such as a Tris Speaker or Mel Ott. Did support for their prices disappear as the next generation of collectors took over, who were more interested in Joe DiMaggio, or Ted Williams, or Mickey Mantle cards? Or if prices did maintain or increased, was it because there were sufficient new collectors interested in those players' cards? Or simply a function of scarcity overriding declining demand?

 

-Tim

[Bonds25]

 

Those are all things important to the dicussion. I am simply raising the notion that once a book is acquired, there is little appreciation for it. Where is the value in it? I haven't heard anyone explain why they value their books so much... why it is worth it to them to pay huge sums of money for something they rarely look at. Why is it so valuable to them?

 

It seems that most comic collectors are saying that there is something inherently valuable in their owning a particular book. If a book sits in that box, can anyone tell me what value they are receiving from it?

 

Good question, and I wish I knew the answer, because I ask myself the same question every day. However, when it comes time to sell my books because I know it's stupid to have them sit in a box in storage, I can't seem to pull the trigger.

[king_felix-migration]

It seems that most comic collectors are saying that there is something inherently valuable in their owning a particular book. If a book sits in that box, can anyone tell me what value they are receiving from it?

 

 

I know what you're trying to say, but this philosophy seems somehow utilitarian. Where is the value in your TV when you're not actually watching it? How about your CD's when you're not actually playing them? For that matter, does money sitting in the bank have any real value to you? Sure, it gains interest, but your comics are likely going up in value too.

 

Collecting is a weird disease, that everyone here suffers from in various degrees. For most I always feel the pleasure is in the search and this is where they get their value. Which do you think would be more fun - to inherit a full run of Batman from 1-100 or to inheirt a 60% full run of the same issues? It may seem strange, but I'd get a lot more joy from the latter, particularly if the first issue was included.

[awe4one]

For most I always feel the pleasure is in the search and this is where they get their value.

 

Exactly. The enjoyment is the act of obtaining the comic. Every comic acquired has a history behind it to the collector (how, where, when). That's why getting rid of the comic is so hard for some. Not only are you getting rid of comic but also the story behind it...

 

Jim

[the blob]

"The ones with memories will then go get their food stamps and buy some more cat food cause theyre still hungry, having always "lived it up" all their lives and spent every dollar on LIFE EXPERIENCES and vacations etc.. The others will slowly sell off their collection (read: savings) and make it to the early-bird specisal for a nice lean roast beef with the missus."

 

There are these things called IRAs, 401Ks, your home, etc. and lots of other places to put your money besides comics!

 

Spending $500 on a comic is usually a choice between that or investing that money (or most of it anyway) elsewhere. Usually not on whether to buy a pound of caviar and snarf it up for lunch.

 

With what I've spent on comics over the last 10 years I've essentially foregone owning a car and all the related expenses (my monthly payment, insurance, garage, maintenance, etc.) In NYC a car is a luxury, so I went with a different luxury instead.

[FFB]

pound of caviar

 

[nearmint]

It's threads like this that make me only buy comics with characters that are household names. Characters that lawyers, accountants, and doctors discuss around the water cooler on a daily basis. Children buy dolls, toys, and happy meals based on them, and Hollywood clamors to obtain feature rights to their adventures.

 

Yes, I brim with confidence for spending thousands of dollars on the classic tales of Pyroman, The Fighting Yank, The American Crusader, Doc Strange, and The Black Terror.

 

I just hope the public's interest in them doesn't die out from overexposure.

[Aman619]

"The ones with memories will then go get their food stamps and buy some more cat food cause theyre still hungry, having always "lived it up" all their lives and spent every dollar on LIFE EXPERIENCES and vacations etc.. The others will slowly sell off their collection (read: savings) and make it to the early-bird specisal for a nice lean roast beef with the missus."

 

There are these things called IRAs, 401Ks, your home, etc. and lots of other places to put your money besides comics!

 

Spending $500 on a comic is usually a choice between that or investing that money (or most of it anyway) elsewhere. Usually not on whether to buy a pound of caviar and snarf it up for lunch.

 

With what I've spent on comics over the last 10 years I've essentially foregone owning a car and all the related expenses (my monthly payment, insurance, garage, maintenance, etc.) In NYC a car is a luxury, so I went with a different luxury instead.

 

Blob - - I was strictly comparing the idea of spending money on life experiences or comics as was discussed earlier. NOT comice vs various savings plans for retirement. Memories vs tangible assets, thats was the choice. And further, the choice of spending nearly ALL of someone's loose cash in immediate pleasures like meals and vacations, or the thrill of buying a comic that will probably have a value in $$$ gretaer than the memory.

 

I think the ant/grasshoper analogy was apt. At the end of the summer, the grasshoper had gotten laid and drunk a heck of a lot more than the ant. but who had food for th elong winter? Mr. Fun guy with memories? or the nerdy comic collecting (or in this case, asset hoarding) ant?

[delekkerste]

I think the ant/grasshoper analogy was apt. At the end of the summer, the grasshoper had gotten laid and drunk a heck of a lot more than the ant. but who had food for th elong winter? Mr. Fun guy with memories? or the nerdy comic collecting (or in this case, asset hoarding) ant?

 

Bring on da booze and ho's!!!