Incredible Hulk #181 - is it *that* red-hot? 17 17

[Archaeos]

Been reading what you guys have been saying, so having a 7.5 myself I thought I would have a look...I'm guessing this a new record. i mean at this rate i could get 10k for my 7.5 soon 

[Vince G]

10 hours ago, Bludriver said:

This sudden spike in prices has me worried. Just too many crazy prices across the board. If there is any Bronze Age book that deserves it is Hulk 181 but leaps like this scare me. I have never seen anything like this in this hobby.

 

Many of us have never seen anything like this and yes, that worries me also.  

[Pantodude]

I'm not worried about it so much anymore.  It is becoming clearer that we are dealing with well-heeled collector crossover (from sports card trading hobby), and the few that have spoken about it describe it as a natural progression.  That gives me some comfort because they already have the collecting gene, and even if they didnt and just invested in books, they already have a history of investing in a hobby like ours in some respects and helping it grow. 

Regardless, i firmly believe that a well-heeled collector, once involved in the comic book hobby, is unlikely to ever leave this hobby.  Why would they?   I barely have any money and I can't pull away.    And our hobby is not only inherently deeper/richer than sports or trading cards, interest and confidence in the hobby is very visibly fanned by Disney/Marvel, the most successful movie/show creators and developers of all time, with the promise of much more to come for decades.  And of course DC is also gearing up to do a lot more, too.  Consequently, I expect that even the most investment-minded collectors would love to remain in the hobby, with the joy of collecting comic books an added bonus.   

[Albert Thurgood]

Regarding the high prices lately... with the insane contracts being awarded to sports stars, you only need a few of them to continue their interest in comics and they would be able to easily afford these very high prices for keys.

At a more modest level, the same could be true for people working for high-paying tech companies... there is an ebayer in the Bay area that has displays of a lot of high end books.

[DTM700]

A 9.2 and 9.0 went for 15k and 13k respectively last night on CLink. Wowzers!

[Poekaymon]

6 hours ago, DTM700 said:

A 9.2 and 9.0 went for 15k and 13k respectively last night on CLink. Wowzers!

Maybe I'm just used to the market, but I don't find those numbers particularly surprising.  Especially not when we have stuff like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/274720529818 and this https://www.ebay.com/itm/174653655749 

 

 

[DTM700]

5 minutes ago, Poekaymon said:

Maybe I'm just used to the market, but I don't find those numbers particularly surprising.  Especially not when we have stuff like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/274720529818 and this https://www.ebay.com/itm/174653655749 

 

 

It does me. This was a 6k - 7k book just a few months ago; with no news of a movie/tv show reboot that I’m aware of the run up seems unwarranted. But I guess you could say that at just about any key in any age with this market.

[Poekaymon]

21 hours ago, Albert Thurgood said:

Regarding the high prices lately... with the insane contracts being awarded to sports stars, you only need a few of them to continue their interest in comics and they would be able to easily afford these very high prices for keys.

At a more modest level, the same could be true for people working for high-paying tech companies... there is an ebayer in the Bay area that has displays of a lot of high end books.

A lot of people gained a ton of disposable income last year, especially people who were collecting other things, like more traditional art.  We are also gaining billionaires at the highest rate in history.  And comics in general seem to be gaining acceptance/legitimacy, so other collectors are coming in.  For example, I sold some high end books a few months ago to a guy who had previously only collected coins and "shoes."  Didn't even know the latter was a thing, but suddenly he wanted a bunch of X-Men keys.  A lot of the people on this forum have been collecting comics for 40 years, day in and day out, and they may not really appreciate that comics have had a bit of a stigma as far as collectibles go.  I have clients who spend tens of millions of dollars on sculptures.  If those people decide they want comic collections, look out.

[Poekaymon]

1 minute ago, DTM700 said:

It does me. This was a 6k - 7k book just a few months ago; with no news of a movie/tv show reboot that I’m aware of the run up seems unwarranted. But I guess you could say that at just about any key in any age with this market.

Exactly--an approximate doubling of value, for one of the highest profile books there is, is not whatsoever surprising in this market which has seen almost everything else, including random books, double or more.  For example, at the top of this page I list a bunch of lesser keys which have not only doubled, but have tripled or quadrupled in that time.  

[MGsimba77]

6 minutes ago, Poekaymon said:

For example, I sold some high end books a few months ago to a guy who had previously only collected coins and "shoes."  Didn't even know the latter was a thing,

There's a show on one of the classic TV networks (MeTV) called collectors call. They had a show on this guy who collected sneakers like vintage Jordans stuff like that. He had so many all in their original box most valued easily in the thousands. Sneakers from the 80s up until recently, some were low production. Anyway you'd be surprised at how many people are into vintage Jordans! Its definitely a thing!

[ADAMANTIUM]

I've said it before....

People complain that movies are driving prices, and then when movies aren't the reason driving prices up, it's the same complaints....

Edited March 26, 2021 by ADAMANTIUM

[ADAMANTIUM]

16 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I've said it before....

People complain that movies are driving prices, and then when movies aren't the reason driving prices up, it's the same complaints....

On the other hand collectors and collectables are very near and dear, if I walked in and said I'd pay $10,000 for your hair, wouldnt you then look at me and question? Naaaaah .... wait really? Naaaaah, you're pulling my chain

[Bludriver]

A 9.2 sold for $18,500 on ebay a few days ago as a buy it now.

[DTM700]

15 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I've said it before....

People complain that movies are driving prices, and then when movies aren't the reason driving prices up, it's the same complaints....

Movies driving up book prices makes sense. 

A bronze book with a huge print run doubling in price in three months with no media hype is uncharacteristic.

It’s like comics have evolved to meme stock status.

[ADAMANTIUM]

15 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

On the other hand collectors and collectables are very near and dear, if I walked in and said I'd pay $10,000 for your hair, wouldnt you then look at me and question? Naaaaah .... wait really? Naaaaah, you're pulling my chain

 

5 minutes ago, DTM700 said:

Movies driving up book prices makes sense. 

A bronze book with a huge print run doubling in price in three months with no media hype is uncharacteristic.

It’s like comics have evolved to meme stock status.

Yes indeed, wondering why is good if not just for the history aspect, but also to learn the market

People aren't so much "complaining" I guess, only they're wondering why

I hope if collectors are coming over from other hobbies such as carded, that they stick around long enough to go after minor keys as well....

[The Man Without Beer]

4.5 blue label sold on ebay last night just shy of $4k. Which compared to most listings in & around that grade is low. Late night auction.

 

Edited March 27, 2021 by The Man Without Beer

[Pantodude]

1 hour ago, The Man Without Beer said:

4.5 blue label sold on ebay last night just shy of $4k. Which compared to most listings in & around that grade is low. Late night auction.

Listings asking for pie in the sky are not sales data.  Look at actual completed sales data.  Looking at GPA, a 4.0 averaged "only" $2,784 last 90 days on 6 sales, and had most recently sold for "only" $3,000.  Therefore, that $4K sale you mention is strong.  In fact, it not only matched the price most recently fetched by a 4.5 and 5.0 this month, but well exceeded the 90-day average of $3,177 for a 4.5 based on 7 books as well as the 90-day average of $3,344 for a 5.0 based on 7 books.  

Edited March 27, 2021 by Pantodude

[The Man Without Beer]

1 hour ago, Pantodude said:

Listings asking for pie in the sky are not sales data. 

I never said they were. Just pointing out the sale and comparing it to current listings.

[Pantodude]

12 minutes ago, The Man Without Beer said:

I never said they were. Just pointing out the sale and comparing it to current listings.

Oh, but you can do that with EVERY book...what's the point!    

[lou_fine]

3 hours ago, DTM700 said:

19 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I've said it before....

People complain that movies are driving prices, and then when movies aren't the reason driving prices up, it's the same complaints....

Movies driving up book prices makes sense. 

Yes, but does it really make that much sense when history has shown us time and time again that these movie amd media related hype books that are driven up into the stratosphere for a short period of time in almost every single case falls back down to Earth by the time the movie comes out.