Overstreet prices for NM key books : key data or nonsense ?

[Kevin Boyd]

That's sort of why I added the afford part. But I still feel that most collectors strive to find the best copy available - be it that $2 modern or the $20000 golden age book.

 

I do acknowlege that there is a small group of collectors who do look for the best (often CGC graded) copies available and pay large amounts to obtain them.

 

Kev

[blowout]

HOW IS IT SPECIALIZED? Don't most collectors strive to find the best books that they can find and afford?

 

Yes they do for the most part. But 9.6 and above collectors have to be very anal/picky about their books and I'm willing to bet that most collectors would be quite happy with a 9.4.

The price jump between a 9.4 to a 9.6 for older books puts this type of collecting into a specialty field, ie very few operate in this area of collecting.

You have obviously been on these boards too long if you think that most comic collectors strive for 9.6/9.8 and up books.

[Kevin Boyd]

You have obviously been on these boards too long if you think that most comic collectors strive for 9.6/9.8 and up books.

 

Perhaps. But then again at cons I mostly deal in bronze and modern books (unslabbed that is), so I tend to see collectors agonizing over $2-$100 books looking for the perfect copy to fill the hole in their collections.

 

I know that I personally try to select the best copies that I can find, even when looking for reading copies. I would think that would be natural. Of course, with some books I'm happy to find a copy in any condition.

 

Kev

[vic6string]

I mostly deal in bronze and modern books (unslabbed that is), so I tend to see collectors agonizing over $2-$100 books looking for the perfect copy to fill the hole in their collections.

 

Well, I have been into the comic thing for about 15 years here in South Florida, and have met thousands of collectors (working in and frequenting shops here). I can honestly say that about 1% of those people look for 9.6 or above (and actually understand what that means). The other 99% look for the best copy available at a decent price, which I can tell you is never anywhere near 9.6 for the most part. And most of those won't look too hard. If there are 20 copies, the first one they find without too many spine stresses is the winner, usually a 15 second process at most. We are talking about books with print runs of a quarter million copies or more with a current population you can usually count on one hand (9.6 and above). Many of which are bought with the sole intention of being re-sold in the near future. And about 1% of the collecter population buying them (usually from each other). Add in the roller coaster of price fluctuations, and you have a market that can't possibly be reported with any real accuracy, especially from a book that is printed yearly. From the time the OS guide is written to the time it hits the press, prices could change 40-50%, and there is still some time from there before it actually hits the shelf.