Is ultimate spider-man #1 worth investing in long term or has that ship sailed?

[rckstr1253]

I always wanted to buy the ultimate spider-man 1 white variant for my collection but will it continue to increase in value long term so when I do retire some day, if my own children don't collect comics, I can get back what I spent or more and use the money into retirement?

[Broke as a Joke]

Cancelled book. A universe that doesn't exist anymore. A main character that was killed off.

 

Yeah that ship sailed and it isn't coming back home.

[UltraMaximus]

I always wanted to buy the ultimate spider-man 1 white variant for my collection but will it continue to increase in value long term so when I do retire some day, if my own children don't collect comics, I can get back what I spent or more and use the money into retirement?

 

Better chances at returns playing lottery. I don't get how people think a comic book is going to be a Retirement Investment item when we aren't talking about a MAJOR Key from the Golden or Silver Age? Remember Superman 75 "THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN" ? I do.

[LOC Collectibles]

Cancelled book. A universe that doesn't exist anymore. A main character that was killed off.

 

Yeah that ship sailed and it isn't coming back home.

 

With that said.. it was a great run imo! The universe was fun and produced one of the best Spider-Man video games ever. I own a copy because I loved that time in comics. Ultimate Spider-Man got me collecting again.

[rckstr1253]

I didn't mean it for it to sound like I want it as a retirement investment I just meant by the time I retire if my kids don't want my personal collection, I'd like to get back some of the money I put into it.

[UltraMaximus]

I didn't mean it for it to sound like I want it as a retirement investment I just meant by the time I retire if my kids don't want my personal collection, I'd like to get back some of the money I put into it.

 

You said over what you paid for it. These books are like stocks, the bottom can fall out at any time.

 

 

[Lethal_Collector]

I have this book for a couple reasons, one of which I can't say on these forums because I don't want that reason to get spoiled. Anyway, here's why I have it:

 

1st Ultimate title

I bought it cheap (<$400), like you I think in 30 years it'd still be worth around $400

Nice action cover

Was very sought after once, it may catch fire again as its already 15 years old

I <3 Spider-Man

 

But with all that said, this ship may have very well sailed, time will tell.

 

 

Jerome

[Kyle R.]

The new Spider-man movie looks to be based off Ultimate Spider-man........

 

IMO

[Jaydogrules]

Everything and every character that got grandfathered over to the 616 happened because of this book.

 

Yes, it's still very relevant , and as the readers who grew up with the title age and start looking for the books from their youth, this will be the book they will want, with exponentially more upside if the new movie series really does take its cues from it.

 

-J.

[maraxusofkeld]

The new Spider-man movie looks to be based off Ultimate Spider-man........

 

IMO

 

 

The first two Avengers movies were the Ultimates, but no one seemed to notice.

[maraxusofkeld]

I would pick up the Direct Edition 1st Print of the 1st issues as you have a better chance to get them a good price.

[tmcneil82]

I still look for this book all the time. I think it will always hold some value as just being the first Ultimate title, but I would be really surprised if it ever exploded.

 

Then again I thought NYX was overpriced when it was $50 so what the heck do I know.

[lou_fine]

I always wanted to buy the ultimate spider-man 1 white variant for my collection but will it continue to increase in value long term so when I do retire some day, if my own children don't collect comics, I can get back what I spent or more and use the money into retirement?

 

I guess the answer would be really dependent on what you would have to pay to buy the book in the first place. But you have to remember that these are really just MA variants or something akin to a manufactured collectible or gimmick and as such, in 99% of the cases will generally only go down in value over time.

 

Actually, I had posted the following in another thread earlier this week, but is probably also appropriate for this thread:

 

Reminds me of the first time I was down at the SD Con in the very early 90's.

 

McFarlane was the rage at the time and all of the hucksters had the so-called super rare Platinum edition of Spidey 1 up on their walls at the bargain basement price of only $1,000.

 

One dealer laughed at me when he saw that I had picked up uber HG copies of Captain America 29 & 31 for $1,000 and said that I was throwing my money away as these books would be worthless when the old timers left the hobby.

 

Went on to say that I would be missing the opportunity of a lifetime if I passed on the Spidey 1 for the same $1,000 as I would never ever see it again at that price. Turns out he was 100% dead right on that point as it went straight down to about $100 over time and has probably only moved up at a snail's pace from there. So, not much chance of seeing it at $1,000 again.

 

And in the meantime, it turns out the two Caps will most likely never see $1,000 again as they have moved up quite nicely in guide from that $1K mark to almost $14,000 now with the old geezers leaving the marketplace.

 

Needless to say, you would be lucky today to get back 25% of the original $1,000 asking price for the Spidey 1, whereas you would have absolutely no problems finding hungry buyers for both of the Cap's at a healthy premium to top of guide.

[AKA Rick]

I think the only sound investment with The Ultimate Spider Man title is in the one of a kind original art, as the title had a record breaking epic consecutive issue run by Bendis and Bagley with very strong storytelling that mixes in quality, nostalgia and history as key influential factors, and a strong fan base for Bagley being a definatve Spidey artist. The pages are pretty affordable today. There is greater room to grow and at worst, sustain, than the odds of the mass produced comics to rise.

[KEY ISSUES Comics]

I'll chime in as a dealer and offer my perspective for my local market in regards to Ultimate Spider-man #1.

 

For nearly a decade, it was nearly impossible to get a copy locally for a reasonable price. Everyone and their grandmother seemed to be hoarding them like water during a drought. But suddenly, about 2-3 years ago, they started appearing in every other collection I bought. I've now got several copies and the demand has completely dried up. What once was the hottest commodity has become a has been in favour of the next flavour of the month. Rebirth anyone?

 

Granted, anything can change overnight with a movie/tv announcement.

 

Having said that, it's still an important book. Both the 1st new ongoing Spidey title in years and it launched the Ultimate universe. I just don't think it's going to be as pricey and sought after as it once was.

[lou_fine]

For nearly a decade, it was nearly impossible to get a copy locally for a reasonable price. Everyone and their grandmother seemed to be hoarding them like water during a drought. But suddenly, about 2-3 years ago, they started appearing in every other collection I bought. I've now got several copies and the demand has completely dried up. What once was the hottest commodity has become a has been in favour of the next flavour of the month. Rebirth anyone?

 

 

+1

 

Looks like you are pretty much reiterating the same point which I was making in my earlier post.

 

That's the thing about MA books. They are actually in plentiful supply and are generally up there in price when they are hot. The only problem is that MA collectors speculators are very fickle and tend to move to the next hot item in the marketplace very quickly, resulting in significant price reduction in the what was hot, but now a has been item as you have stated.

 

 

[KEY ISSUES Comics]

For nearly a decade, it was nearly impossible to get a copy locally for a reasonable price. Everyone and their grandmother seemed to be hoarding them like water during a drought. But suddenly, about 2-3 years ago, they started appearing in every other collection I bought. I've now got several copies and the demand has completely dried up. What once was the hottest commodity has become a has been in favour of the next flavour of the month. Rebirth anyone?

 

 

+1

 

Looks like you are pretty much reiterating the same point which I was making in my earlier post.

 

That's the thing about MA books. They are actually in plentiful supply and are generally up there in price when they are hot. The only problem is that MA collectors speculators are very fickle and tend to move to the next hot item in the marketplace very quickly, resulting in significant price reduction in the what was hot, but now a has been item as you have stated.

 

In regards to MA books, yes, they are in shorter supply than older books, but the supply is restricted even further by the 1,000 copies hoarded by 100 owners of issue x when it comes out (nothing new to anyone here). Otherwise, these books would be more readily available. How many copies of Outcast #1 did the average boardie hoard when it came out? Prices have gone up because of the TV series, but the book is nowhere near are scarce as it seems.

 

I for one no longer play that game. I just buy in bulk (collections), and whatever is in a given collection is in yet. All the better if it has some of these hot, 'scarce' MA books.

 

I do however have a little stack of Southern Bastards #1, so umm, when is that TV series starting?

[Guardian Comics]

I always wanted to buy the ultimate spider-man 1 white variant for my collection but will it continue to increase in value long term so when I do retire some day, if my own children don't collect comics, I can get back what I spent or more and use the money into retirement?

 

I guess the answer would be really dependent on what you would have to pay to buy the book in the first place. But you have to remember that these are really just MA variants or something akin to a manufactured collectible or gimmick and as such, in 99% of the cases will generally only go down in value over time.

 

Actually, I had posted the following in another thread earlier this week, but is probably also appropriate for this thread:

 

Reminds me of the first time I was down at the SD Con in the very early 90's.

 

McFarlane was the rage at the time and all of the hucksters had the so-called super rare Platinum edition of Spidey 1 up on their walls at the bargain basement price of only $1,000.

 

One dealer laughed at me when he saw that I had picked up uber HG copies of Captain America 29 & 31 for $1,000 and said that I was throwing my money away as these books would be worthless when the old timers left the hobby.

 

Went on to say that I would be missing the opportunity of a lifetime if I passed on the Spidey 1 for the same $1,000 as I would never ever see it again at that price. Turns out he was 100% dead right on that point as it went straight down to about $100 over time and has probably only moved up at a snail's pace from there. So, not much chance of seeing it at $1,000 again.

 

And in the meantime, it turns out the two Caps will most likely never see $1,000 again as they have moved up quite nicely in guide from that $1K mark to almost $14,000 now with the old geezers leaving the marketplace.

 

Needless to say, you would be lucky today to get back 25% of the original $1,000 asking price for the Spidey 1, whereas you would have absolutely no problems finding hungry buyers for both of the Cap's at a healthy premium to top of guide.

 

Unless you sold in 2008 when 9.8's sold for $1500-$2000 but I'm sure not all were savvy enough to sell at top of market.

 

Jim

[lou_fine]

I always wanted to buy the ultimate spider-man 1 white variant for my collection but will it continue to increase in value long term so when I do retire some day, if my own children don't collect comics, I can get back what I spent or more and use the money into retirement?

 

I guess the answer would be really dependent on what you would have to pay to buy the book in the first place. But you have to remember that these are really just MA variants or something akin to a manufactured collectible or gimmick and as such, in 99% of the cases will generally only go down in value over time.

 

Actually, I had posted the following in another thread earlier this week, but is probably also appropriate for this thread:

 

Reminds me of the first time I was down at the SD Con in the very early 90's.

 

McFarlane was the rage at the time and all of the hucksters had the so-called super rare Platinum edition of Spidey 1 up on their walls at the bargain basement price of only $1,000.

 

One dealer laughed at me when he saw that I had picked up uber HG copies of Captain America 29 & 31 for $1,000 and said that I was throwing my money away as these books would be worthless when the old timers left the hobby.

 

Went on to say that I would be missing the opportunity of a lifetime if I passed on the Spidey 1 for the same $1,000 as I would never ever see it again at that price. Turns out he was 100% dead right on that point as it went straight down to about $100 over time and has probably only moved up at a snail's pace from there. So, not much chance of seeing it at $1,000 again.

 

And in the meantime, it turns out the two Caps will most likely never see $1,000 again as they have moved up quite nicely in guide from that $1K mark to almost $14,000 now with the old geezers leaving the marketplace.

 

Needless to say, you would be lucky today to get back 25% of the original $1,000 asking price for the Spidey 1, whereas you would have absolutely no problems finding hungry buyers for both of the Cap's at a healthy premium to top of guide.

 

Unless you sold in 2008 when 9.8's sold for $1500-$2000 but I'm sure not all were savvy enough to sell at top of market.

 

Jim

 

Are you referring to the Ultimate Spidey #1 Retailer Edition which came out in 2000 since I was referring to the McFarlane Spidey 1 Platinum Edition which came out in 1990?

 

Either way, the results would still appear to be the same. It should be pointed out that I am the type of investor that is lazy and just likes to buy and hold. Buying hot Moderns requires you to make 2 decisions and with both of them being done at just the right time. One is when to buy and the second is when to sell.

 

Hence, in order to make money on hot Moderns would require you to time the market. Doing it my lazy way would just require time in the market. It would appear that the top of market for both the McFarlane Spidey 1 and the Ultimate Spidey 1 Retailer Editions have long since passed. In comparison, I would say that the top of market for both my Cap 29 & 31 is still yet to come.

 

BTW: What is the current market value for a 9.8 copy of the Retailer Incentive White Edition as compared to the $1,500 to $2,000 they were going for back in 2008?

[loadstone]

Give it another 25 years or in Marvels case, 3 years and they'll reboot it.