Market is Insane 5 5

[VintageComics]

1 hour ago, TwoPiece said:

On 6/8/2019 at 1:54 PM, VintageComics said:

You went off on a tangent first when I asked you 'Are you new to comics?'

All you had to do was say yes or no. Instead, you got your back up, took it as an insult and here we are.

Anyway, I think you've gotten a lot of good information to your question.

The answer always boils down to 'collect what you like and what you can afford' and that is going to vary for everyone with no wrong answers.

Asking if I am "new to comics" would be the tangent, sir/ma'am. It's irrelevant.

That simple, non-invasive question was asked because you were asking obvious questions about a market that has been acting this way for the last 20 years.

1 hour ago, TwoPiece said:

Are you confused?

Nope. But you do seem to have an edge in many of your replies.

1 hour ago, TwoPiece said:

These prices make it difficult for people to afford the hobby to continue in good health.

Yup. But people have been saying the same thing for decades.

[theCapraAegagrus]

4 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

That simple, non-invasive question was asked because you were asking obvious questions about a market that has been acting this way for the last 20 years.

Nope. But you do seem to have an edge in many of your replies.

Yup. But people have been saying the same thing for decades.

Those "questions" were rhetoric commentary, so... Obviously you didn't understand the OP - leading to the tangential unrelated question.

That conjecture of "edge" is exactly why I inferred your implied "edge".

As I said, had you read the thread, eventually that guy at the corner saying "the end is nigh" will be right. At some point all of the old fogeys who appreciate physical art and collection will die off - IRL or from the collecting game - and the next generation isn't wealthy enough to buy at these rates. Either the prices will be fixed to move product or the comic collecting community will become suddenly very small (therefor also fixing prices).

[Aweandlorder]

Market crash posts are like "Death Of.." issues by Marvel/DC. They never really die but they boost up sales tremendously and we all keep on coming back for more

[VintageComics]

1 hour ago, TwoPiece said:

2 hours ago, VintageComics said:

That simple, non-invasive question was asked because you were asking obvious questions about a market that has been acting this way for the last 20 years.

Nope. But you do seem to have an edge in many of your replies.

Yup. But people have been saying the same thing for decades.

Those "questions" were rhetoric commentary, so... Obviously you didn't understand the OP - leading to the tangential unrelated question.

That conjecture of "edge" is exactly why I inferred your implied "edge".

It was a simple, honest question that you got defensive about.

The question was asked because I was going to frame my answer based on your answer.

You did reply with a so I didn't infer anything. But no worries. You seem to like arguing for the sake of arguing so you can have the win.

1 hour ago, TwoPiece said:

As I said, had you read the thread, eventually that guy at the corner saying "the end is nigh" will be right.

So you're saying that eventually everything comes to an end.

Thank you Captain Obvious.

[theCapraAegagrus]

18 hours ago, VintageComics said:

It was a simple, honest question that you got defensive about.

The question was asked because I was going to frame my answer based on your answer.

You did reply with a so I didn't infer anything. But no worries. You seem to like arguing for the sake of arguing so you can have the win.

So you're saying that eventually everything comes to an end.

Thank you Captain Obvious.

Ah, you're one of those people who infer that curse words require emotion. That explains a lot.

You're welcome, since the premise of the thread and discussions has seemingly gone over your head...

[VintageComics]

10 minutes ago, TwoPiece said:

Ah, you're one of those people who infer that curse words require emotion. That explains a lot.

Ah, you're one of those people who used the wrong emoticon then because that one was a curse word AND it was emotional.

11 minutes ago, TwoPiece said:

You're welcome, since the premise of the thread and discussions has seemingly gone over your head...

Considering this has been discussed ad nauseam since this forum began, I doubt it.

Here's another flower (this means I agree to disagree).

 

 

[theCapraAegagrus]

1 minute ago, VintageComics said:

Ah, you're one of those people who used the wrong emoticon then because that one was a curse word AND it was emotional.

Considering this has been discussed ad nauseam since this forum began, I doubt it.

Here's another flower (this means I agree to disagree).

Ah, you see, while it was a curse word it was not emotional. I could let CGC's filter do its thing, but I'd rather not have_an_unnecessary_amount_of_words_and_underscores in my posts. Just because the emoticon for censorship is angry doesn't mean I am.

[Gatsby77]

I'll answer the original question posed by TwoPiece, and try to pretend it's not redundant.

I've never spent more than $3,000 on a comic book, but I have broken $2,500 on a few purchases.

And yet, I went out of my way a few years ago to try to build the world's best set of Magnus Robot Fighter, a relatively obscure Gold Key sci-fi run.

The "relatively obscure" was key, as I couldn't (and can't) compete with those vying for best-ever copies of Silver Age Thor, Spider-Man or even Daredevil.

Today, my quest is complete, with 45/46 issues in CGC 9.4 or better, and 15 of the 46 in CGC 9.8.

In some cases, I paid 4x for the 9.8 over market rate for a 9.6.

Once I even paid 6x GPA for a 9.6 -- knowing it was the best available slabbed copy out there, and having submitted three other copies myself that didn't hit that mark.

So why am I willing to pay so much for 9.6/9.8/ highest-graded copies?

Straight *knowing* that (but for Magnus # 1) I likely won't recoup my money for at least another decade, if ever?

It's simple.

Because I can.

[theCapraAegagrus]

54 minutes ago, Gatsby77 said:

...Because I can.

[Krismusic]

1 hour ago, Gatsby77 said:

I'll answer the original question posed by TwoPiece, and try to pretend it's not redundant.

I've never spent more than $3,000 on a comic book, but I have broken $2,500 on a few purchases.

And yet, I went out of my way a few years ago to try to build the world's best set of Magnus Robot Fighter, a relatively obscure Gold Key sci-fi run.

The "relatively obscure" was key, as I couldn't (and can't) compete with those vying for best-ever copies of Silver Age Thor, Spider-Man or even Daredevil.

Today, my quest is complete, with 45/46 issues in CGC 9.4 or better, and 15 of the 46 in CGC 9.8.

In some cases, I paid 4x for the 9.8 over market rate for a 9.6.

Once I even paid 6x GPA for a 9.6 -- knowing it was the best available slabbed copy out there, and having submitted three other copies myself that didn't hit that mark.

So why am I willing to pay so much for 9.6/9.8/ highest-graded copies?

Straight *knowing* that (but for Magnus # 1) I likely won't recoup my money for at least another decade, if ever?

It's simple.

Because I can.

As I mentioned earlier there will always be someone who can afford to buy books at high prices its just how a capitalist market works and the desire for the crème de le crème. I think (could be wrong) that people will chase the Gems, 9.8's because they want the satisfaction that they have the Best of the best just like other markets where people pay increasingly more money for the "better" item even if there is barely any difference between products. You add a piece of stainless trim to a car door and call it a factory upgrade and charge $1500 its near the same product and most might not even notice the trim but the purchaser knows about it and to them they feel like they have the best item available. It just how most of us are. 

[entalmighty1]

49 minutes ago, TwoPiece said:

The hardest lesson to learn for me in this hobby has been staying in my lane.  If you find yourself starting to cross swords with people who are better heeled than you, it's time to readjust your focus.  I've had many conversations with collectors in regards to paying up for books, and a lot of times, the hammer price is totally irrelevant to them.  They're winning the book, whatever the cost.  That can be a frustrating auction for people, especially when they don't understand the competition.  There is almost always going to be somebody with deeper pockets than you.

My collecting focus is underwater covers and pedigrees.  When I see a book I'm interested in coming to auction, I reach out to a couple other people I know would possibly be interested, just to see if they're on the book too.  If they are, I back away.  Sometimes they return the favor.  You'd be surprised what people will do for you when you have built a bit of a relationship.

[Ken Aldred]

1 hour ago, Gatsby77 said:

And yet, I went out of my way a few years ago to try to build the world's best set of Magnus Robot Fighter, a relatively obscure Gold Key sci-fi run.

 

That's a nice run of books to collect, and not that obscure. 

[theCapraAegagrus]

4 minutes ago, entalmighty1 said:

The hardest lesson to learn for me in this hobby has been staying in my lane.  If you find yourself starting to cross swords with people who are better heeled than you, it's time to readjust your focus.  I've had many conversations with collectors in regards to paying up for books, and a lot of times, the hammer price is totally irrelevant to them.  They're winning the book, whatever the cost.  That can be a frustrating auction for people, especially when they don't understand the competition.  There is almost always going to be somebody with deeper pockets than you.

My collecting focus is underwater covers and pedigrees.  When I see a book I'm interested in coming to auction, I reach out to a couple other people I know would possibly be interested, just to see if they're on the book too.  If they are, I back away.  Sometimes they return the favor.  You'd be surprised what people will do for you when you have built a bit of a relationship.

Nobody likes me, so this doesn't help.

[entalmighty1]

3 minutes ago, TwoPiece said:

Nobody likes me, so this doesn't help.

Well, that could be a problem.  

I'm just saying, the hobby doesn't HAVE to revolve around competing with people for the same stuff.  I had designs on doing the Planet run, well before it became the hottest GA title on the market, and made pretty significant progress over the course of a couple of years.  I saw the writing on the wall a few months back, and decided my money (and frustration) could be spent more efficiently in other areas.  Doesn't mean I don't still love those books, and eventually I may return to it, but I have no interest in seeing who's wallet is bigger (mostly because I know I'll lose).

Competition doesn't have to be the death of the hobby for you, just find something cool in another area.  I don't think the market is full blown crazy in all areas.  Yeah, you're seeing a giant price spike for keys, speculation books, and specific genres in Golden Age books, but you're seeing dips in other areas too.  There are about 14 people on the whole planet that collect runs these days.  Everyone wants FF 48-50, nobody cares about FF 47.  Grab one of those instead.  

[october]

51 minutes ago, entalmighty1 said:

  There are about 14 people on the whole planet that collect runs these days.  Everyone wants FF 48-50, nobody cares about FF 47.  Grab one of those instead.  

 

Great, GREAT time to be a run collector, especially in midgrade. A ton of downward price pressure on stuff like that. 

Edited June 11, 2019 by october

[Gatsby77]

1 hour ago, Ken Aldred said:

That's a nice run of books to collect, and not that obscure. 

Thank you, sir!

Now, if anyone is willing to hunt for and slab a copy of Magnus # 37 for me, I'm paying:

• 9.4 - $150
• 9.6 - $250
• 9.8 - $400

[Hollywood1892]

1 hour ago, entalmighty1 said:

The hardest lesson to learn for me in this hobby has been staying in my lane.  If you find yourself starting to cross swords with people who are better heeled than you, it's time to readjust your focus.  I've had many conversations with collectors in regards to paying up for books, and a lot of times, the hammer price is totally irrelevant to them.  They're winning the book, whatever the cost.  That can be a frustrating auction for people, especially when they don't understand the competition.  There is almost always going to be somebody with deeper pockets than you.

My collecting focus is underwater covers and pedigrees.  When I see a book I'm interested in coming to auction, I reach out to a couple other people I know would possibly be interested, just to see if they're on the book too.  If they are, I back away.  Sometimes they return the favor.  You'd be surprised what people will do for you when you have built a bit of a relationship.

I agree

And it doesn't even have to be a mega key.

I watched Die 1 go from $44 to $77 in the last 5 seconds of auction and that was ten bidders

I saw New Mutants 87 SS Stan Lee Todd Macfarland sit at $609 for six days of the auction,even the last day it only bumped a little,than finished at $1200

Deeper pockets 

And my friend who has about 500 long boxes in his collection told me three days out that it would end at about where it is.

The best thing in this hobby,like all hobbies, including stock markets, is information.

[lizards2]

11 hours ago, october said:

12 hours ago, entalmighty1 said:

  There are about 14 people on the whole planet that collect runs these days.  Everyone wants FF 48-50, nobody cares about FF 47.  Grab one of those instead.  

 

Great, GREAT time to be a run collector, especially in midgrade. A ton of downward price pressure on stuff like that. 

TRUE..., but, it seems like everything has been made into a key these day.  Almost every issue was the first appearance of some lame-o.  Or the second or third appearance of someone notable.

[lizards2]

11 hours ago, Gatsby77 said:

Thank you, sir!

Now, if anyone is willing to hunt for and slab a copy of Magnus # 37 for me, I'm paying:

• 9.4 - $150
• 9.6 - $250
• 9.8 - $400

I swore off the reprints long ago.  1-28 is fine with me. 

[VintageComics]

On 6/11/2019 at 9:57 AM, entalmighty1 said:

There are about 14 people on the whole planet that collect runs these days.

I used to think that and yet people continue to buy run books that I slab in high grade.

There's still new people making inroads to the hobby. People I have never heard of in 10 years of being a full time dealer are buying stuff regularly.