ComicLink's next Featured Auction Has Started Posting Books 17 17

[lou_fine]

2 hours ago, vheflin said:

but but bbut it's super mega ultra optimus RARE

"As of this writing, 3093 examples of Transformers #1 have been certified by CGC, so the three 9.9s make up less than 1/10 of 1% of the overall population of CGC graded examples!"

Well, if this Tramsformers with thousands of copies already graded in total can still fetch $44K, then I really need to look for my copy of this book here:

With a total of only a measly 2 copies graded to date so far, just imagine if I can squish squash my copy into a CGC 9.9 slab, it should be no problem at all for me to get 6-figures for this true rarity from some deep pocketed CGC label chaser suffering from a big case of FOMO.    

[lou_fine]

2 hours ago, buttock said:

Wow.  It's been a long time since a comic price made me shocked, but that did it.  

Yes, can you just imagine how much more it would have gone for if it was one of those truly rare in grade newsstand copies instead of this common as dirt in grade Direct copy of Transformer 1?    

[buttock]

11 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

Yes, can you just imagine how much more it would have gone for if it was one of those truly rare in grade newsstand copies instead of this common as dirt in grade Direct copy of Transformer 1?    

Good point.  I'll hold out for a newsstand copy.

[Timely]

3 hours ago, lou_fine said:

Well, if this Tramsformers with thousands of copies already graded in total can still fetch $44K, then I really need to look for my copy of this book here:

With a total of only a measly 2 copies graded to date so far, just imagine if I can squish squash my copy into a CGC 9.9 slab, it should be no problem at all for me to get 6-figures for this true rarity from some deep pocketed CGC label chaser suffering from a big case of FOMO.    

I’ve got a few copies of that one!

[rjpb]

If there is one part of this hobby that could end up crashing hard, it's the nosebleed prices paid for 9.9 copies of books that are fairly common in 9.8. I don't follow this market closely (barely at all), but am I wrong in getting the sense that such books have a history of frequently having a negative ROI after a record price is paid. It seems in other areas of the collecting market, there is an increased awareness that HGC isn't always the nicest looking copy, but not when it comes to this type of nonsense. 

[bpc3qh]

2 hours ago, rjpb said:

If there is one part of this hobby that could end up crashing hard, it's the nosebleed prices paid for 9.9 copies of books that are fairly common in 9.8. I don't follow this market closely (barely at all), but am I wrong in getting the sense that such books have a history of frequently having a negative ROI after a record price is paid. It seems in other areas of the collecting market, there is an increased awareness that HGC isn't always the nicest looking copy, but not when it comes to this type of nonsense. 

Wouldn't surprise me at all. Some books went up, like the TOD 10 in 9.9, but that's a prime character with a movie coming. I bet other books will see a drop.

[rjpb]

1 minute ago, bpc3qh said:

Wouldn't surprise me at all. Some books went up, like the TOD 10 in 9.9, but that's a prime character with a movie coming. I bet other books will see a drop.

Not my thing, so I'll guess I'll never understand the excitement over a 9.9 book relative to a 9.6. You're talking about flaws which are barely perceptible without a magnifying glass, and sometimes overlooking production related flaws which don't impact grade, but are more esthetically noticeable. With bronze and later books, the uber-grades are basically creating an illusion of scarcity that didn't really exist before CGC. No one was going to pay $1000 for the mintyest copy of a book that was regularly available in NM for $100. Even the most obsessive mint freaks probably wouldn't have gone more than double. 

[lou_fine]

4 hours ago, Timely said:

7 hours ago, lou_fine said:

Well, if this Tramsformers with thousands of copies already graded in total can still fetch $44K, then I really need to look for my copy of this book here:

With a total of only a measly 2 copies graded to date so far, just imagine if I can squish squash my copy into a CGC 9.9 slab, it should be no problem at all for me to get 6-figures for this true rarity from some deep pocketed CGC label chaser suffering from a big case of FOMO.    

Expand  

I’ve got a few copies of that one!

Hey West;

Big big congrats to you on your new found wealth since I can't seem to find a single copy in my personal collection no matter how hard I look.   

If you've got multiple copies of this beauty, then I am sure you must have a ton of other invaluable books from this same time period.  Best for you to steamroll them all and send them up Josh's way as you probably got yourself a million dollar collection just in these books alone.  If you are running out of room in your safety deposit box to hold these new found treasures, you can kick some of those worthless Edgar Church drek out as I am willing to sacrifice myself and take them off your hands for free.  

I guess the motto of the story here is:  One collector's worthless drek is another collector's priceless treasure.    

[Gotham Kid]

The current prices paid for Bronze Age (and later) Marvels are beyond stupid. The supply of ultra high grade copies is endless.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Gotham Kid

[lou_fine]

21 minutes ago, Gotham Kid said:

The current prices paid for Bronze Age (and later) Marvels are beyond stupid. The supply of ultra high grade copies is endless.

Well then, how about the crazy money now being paid for Marvel trading cards from the 90's which are supposedly available by the tens of millions?  

Are you really trying to convince me that you wouldn't trade one of your old used pre-Robin 'Tec books for that immaculate and priceless CGC 9.9 graded copy of Transformers 1.  

Edited February 27, 2021 by lou_fine

[Gotham Kid]

46 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

Are you really trying to convince me that you wouldn't trade one of your old used pre-Robin 'Tec books for that immaculate and priceless CGC 9.9 graded copy of Transformers 1.  

I wouldn't trade a tec34 (the least valuable and least interesting story line preRobin) for a dozen CGC 10.0 copies of Transformers 1

Someone paid 44k for that copy of Transformers. To me it is worth $44.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Gotham Kid

[Professor K]

3 hours ago, Gotham Kid said:

The current prices paid for Bronze Age (and later) Marvels are beyond stupid. The supply of ultra high grade copies is endless.

I've been saying that a lot lately. Why are they bidding up books that are so plentiful that new ones in all grades pop up on a daily basis? With the exception of 9.8's but even those are always available somewhere. Example- a few weeks ago an ASM 129 9.0 W went for 2,600 on CL. a few days ago another 9.0 with a cva sticker goes for 3,400. Two days later (last night) an 8.5 sells for 3,685.......more than the cva 9.0! All on CL . At this rate 6.0's will be going for 4K come Spring. 

[Northwest]

It seems possible that new entrants to the hobby (perhaps riding a wave of other collectibles or BTC) are driving the market shifts in post 1975 books. The real question is whether the demand shifts can keep up with supply beyond the pandemic (caveat emptor). 

[buttock]

35 minutes ago, Northwest said:

It seems possible that new entrants to the hobby (perhaps riding a wave of other collectibles or BTC) are driving the market shifts in post 1975 books. The real question is whether the demand shifts can keep up with supply beyond the pandemic (caveat emptor). 

New money has been driving growth in all eras.  There's ridiculous amounts of money out there in the hands of people barely old enough to rent a car.  Their perspective is different than that of us old-timers.  We look at books that are now $5000 and say, "I can remember when that was $50".  They don't have that view and to them that's a slam dunk $5000 book that has a track record of growth, so why not pay more?  Especially when they don't have any patience to wait for another copy.  As a collector, one thing you have to accept if you want to keep getting stuff is that prices go up.  

[Ryan.]

11 hours ago, rjpb said:

If there is one part of this hobby that could end up crashing hard, it's the nosebleed prices paid for 9.9 copies of books that are fairly common in 9.8. I don't follow this market closely (barely at all), but am I wrong in getting the sense that such books have a history of frequently having a negative ROI after a record price is paid. It seems in other areas of the collecting market, there is an increased awareness that HGC isn't always the nicest looking copy, but not when it comes to this type of nonsense. 

Don't forget that one hard shake or an accidental drop of the slab and that 9.9 is no longer a 9.9 in any way beyond what the label says. 

[october]

9 hours ago, rjpb said:

Not my thing, so I'll guess I'll never understand the excitement over a 9.9 book relative to a 9.6. You're talking about flaws which are barely perceptible without a magnifying glass, and sometimes overlooking production related flaws which don't impact grade, but are more esthetically noticeable. With bronze and later books, the uber-grades are basically creating an illusion of scarcity that didn't really exist before CGC. No one was going to pay $1000 for the mintyest copy of a book that was regularly available in NM for $100. Even the most obsessive mint freaks probably wouldn't have gone more than double. 

9.9 buying is the definition of label chasing.

[rjpb]

1 hour ago, october said:

9.9 buying is the definition of label chasing.

Yep. At least a 10 in the corner looks kind of impressive to a neophyte collector or casual fan, like getting 100% on a test. It's still label chasing, but one can pretend it's the finest that could possibly exist, the pinnacle of grade collecting. Outside the label chasing community, a 9.9 doesn't look anymore special than a 9.8, just as getting a 99 on test isn't really anymore impressive than getting a 98, or a 96 for that matter.  

[batman_fan]

8 hours ago, Gotham Kid said:

I wouldn't trade a tec34 (the least valuable and least interesting story line preRobin) for a dozen CGC 10.0 copies of Transformers 1

Someone paid 44k for that copy of Transformers. To me it is worth $44.

Please refrain from comments such as this until AFTER I get my copies graded and sold.

Thank you for your cooperation.

 

[batman_fan]

Prices are insane on some much stuff right now but if you owned $2 million in bitcoin wouldn't you be tempted to cash some of it out and put it into something else?

Myself, I would go for Peanuts strips, hookers, and liquor but to each their own. 

[alexgross.com]

3 hours ago, buttock said:

New money has been driving growth in all eras.  There's ridiculous amounts of money out there in the hands of people barely old enough to rent a car.  Their perspective is different than that of us old-timers.  We look at books that are now $5000 and say, "I can remember when that was $50".  They don't have that view and to them that's a slam dunk $5000 book that has a track record of growth, so why not pay more?  Especially when they don't have any patience to wait for another copy.  As a collector, one thing you have to accept if you want to keep getting stuff is that prices go up.  

is this why?? new money entering the field? thats what some others are saying. i honestly have no idea. 

well, i do imagine a billionaire's conglomerate somewhere buying everything and trying to artificially inflate values across the board. but i admit that its paranoid and highly unlikely on the scale required to affect prices on virtually everything.