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

[manofsteel]

15 hours ago, LDarkseid1 said:

I had a couple disappointing sales and a couple solid ones. Overall happy, but would have liked a little more.

Same here. A cpl went for lower than I hoped, but a few went for more than I expected. Overall I was happy too. 
 

As for bidding, everything I wanted went for more than I expected/hoped. 

[Vince G]

On 2/28/2021 at 1:53 PM, Aman619 said:

It’s sure a mystery who these bidders and buyers are today.  A lot to try to figure out, but here’s two simple premises...  

number 1). we have seen the escalation of “highest grade madness” go from perfect 9.4s, to impossible 9.6s, to many years of first 9.8 insanity chasing, to building runs in 9.8.... so here we are at the next plateau: enough 9.9s to fuel a market.  When there were 35 9.6s the first 9.8 went ballistic.  Same thing now with the 9.8 column bursting at the seems. Grading may have gotten looser, and more unread moderns have gotten pressed and slabbed of late, but these books are still scarce out of the billions of comics printed.  CGC may have opened the door to 9.9s but they don’t give them away easily.  

number 2). Another comics collecting phenomenon we have experienced is at play with a new bunch of collectors:  we are shocked by these sales because in OUR experiences, mega keys were less than today’s cars cost, and many of these books like Transformers 1 are dollar bin non-sellers,  we have a well established sense of what comics are worth.  But repeatedly, over time, new collectors or speculators, or just people who decide one day that they gotta have something go and pay whatever it takes for it.. and at auction which as we know fuels these crazy hammer prices. And these people are fine paying the new (Absurd) price. They are new to these hobbies and weren’t collecting when we were so they don’t have the hard limits in their minds like we do.  Also, if they are young, they grew up with Moderns.  You know the mass produced stuff that was even worse then the Bronze carp that was derivative of the true silver Age classics. (from some of our personal perspectives).  
 

So long as the hobby keeps growing, and new collectors are the key to this,  the truth is, from an investment stance, they are right.  I paid some crazy prices in the oughts to upgrade HG key issues.  I was embarrassed to admit some of my purchases.  But it’s freaking 20 years later now.. the hobby demographics haven’t killed it, the death of print hasn’t hurt it, and those buys I made even have my financial guys respect.  Many of us have 40 years of collecting and have seen waves of such price increase phases. 

so yes I agree with all of you that this is whacked. and want to know WHO these new people are. And will they stick around post pandemic when there’s a lot more to do than scour the Internet buying stuff?  Or post Marvel/superhero pop culture hegemony?  I find it incredible that there’s so much new money at play, 50K comics add up to real money pretty darn quick. Let’s see where it goes....  if they win, we win.

 

My question has always been, where's the money coming from?  This has been driving me crazy for the past month or two but I think I partially answered my own question after doing some research.  I think part of what we're seeing is the 401k penalty-free withdrawal provision of the 2020 Cares Act.  I did not know this, but there is no penalty for withdrawing up to 100k, and you can spread the income taxes on the withdraw over three years.  Additionally, if you can pay the full amount you withdrew back, you can claim a refund on those taxes.  So, it could very well be that some are pulling money and splurging, particularly on collectibles, but others may be buying with the hope of reselling at a profit, before replacing their initial withdrawal.  Then again, maybe it's just all those investors who cashed out on Bitcoin and GameStop thenn decided to throw some money into comics?  

If you're interested in a short high-level blurb about the 401k provisions in the Cares Act, here's a link:  https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/cashing-out-401k-covid-19 

[lou_fine]

20 hours ago, LDarkseid1 said:

Bit of both. My two Strange Adventures finished strong tonight. My Eternals 1 9.8 was a bit of a let down a day or so ago.

Although we always hear about and focus our attention on the flashy headline grabbing results like the TOD 10 for $106,350; the Transformers 1 for $44K, or what have you, I think a bit of both is actually the norm for all of these auctions, whether it be CL, CC, or Heritage.  

Glad to hear that you did okay and I certainly don't think there was a real letdown with respect to your CGC 9.8 Eternals 1.  Looks like the 2 copies went last week for $2K and $2,200 which seems to be a continuation of where this book has been going recently.  Especially with the HA archives indicating that their last 4 CGC 9.8 sales from November through February had a price range of $1,560 to $2,040; with their last recorded sale being one for $1,920 on February 28th.  Not sure if I would trust any numbers that I see on eBay, especially since virtually all of them would be on a Best Offer basis and not the big hyped BIN price that you see in the listing.  

Definitely a whole lot more than what this relatively common book was going for back in the summer.  Not sure what the slightly lower grades would fetch today, but probably tempting enough that I really should get around to finding the copies which I had cherry picked off the shelves of the LCS for cover price or slightly less way way back in the day.  Especially since I remember liking the Eternals enough to have picked up the entire short 19-issue run plus Annual and the usual hoarded  duplicates or possibly even triplicates for the first few issues.    

Edited March 3, 2021 by lou_fine

[LDarkseid1]

25 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

Although we always hear about and focus our attention on the flashy headline grabbing results like the TOD 10 for $106,350; the Transformers 1 for $44K, or what have you, I think a bit of both is actually the norm for all of these auctions, whether it be CL, CC, or Heritage.  

Glad to hear that you did okay and I certainly don't think there was a real letdown with respect to your CGC 9.8 Eternals 1.  Looks like the 2 copies went last week for $2K and $2,200 which seems to be a continuation of where this book has been going recently.  Especially with the HA archives indicating that their last 4 CGC 9.8 sales from November through February had a price range of $1,560 to $2,040; with their last recorded sale being one for $1,920 on February 28th.  Not sure if I would trust any numbers that I see on eBay, especially since virtually all of them would be on a Best Offer basis and not the big hyped BIN price that you see in the listing.  

Definitely a whole lot more than what this relatively common book was going for back in the summer.  Not sure what the slightly lower grades would fetch today, but probably tempting enough that I really should get around to finding the copies which I had cherry picked off the shelves of the LCS for cover price or slightly less way way back in the day.  Especially since I remember liking the Eternals enough to have picked up the entire short 19-issue run plus Annual and the usual hoarded  duplicates or possibly even triplicates for the first few issues.    

Yeah I just selfishly felt mine should have sold for more as it presented nicer than the other 9.8 😁. I’m letting one of my bigger books go in the may featured so we’ll see how it does.

[lou_fine]

34 minutes ago, LDarkseid1 said:

Yeah I just selfishly felt mine should have sold for more as it presented nicer than the other 9.8 😁.

Yes, I imagine we all would feel the same way if it's our book that the clock is winding down on.  

In terms of wishing and hoping that just one more bidder will step in and bump it up just before the final buzzer goes off.  

 

37 minutes ago, LDarkseid1 said:

I’m letting one of my bigger books go in the may featured so we’ll see how it does.

Oh, come on.........you can't just leave us hanging like this with bated breath since that would simply be  .

How about just one little hint as to your big big book that's coming up.  

[LDarkseid1]

7 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

Yes, I imagine we all would feel the same way if it's our book that the clock is winding down on.  

In terms of wishing and hoping that just one more bidder will step in and bump it up just before the final buzzer goes off.  

 

Oh, come on.........you can't just leave us hanging like this with bated breath since that would simply be  .

How about just one little hint as to your big big book that's coming up.  

This guy.

[lou_fine]

15 minutes ago, LDarkseid1 said:

This guy.

Well, that definitely takes the fun and suspense out of it if you simply give us the answer right away.  

Seriously though, that's most definitely a big big book, and also both a key and in grade to boot.  In fact, from the census, it would be one of the highest graded top copies of Supes 76 that's been graded and slabbed to date.    

Looks like there's a mid-grade copy coming up in this next CL Focus Auction starting March 11th, just in case you wanted a free advance look.  

[LDarkseid1]

15 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

Well, that definitely takes the fun and suspense out of it if you simply give us the answer right away.  

Seriously though, that's most definitely a big big book, and also both a key and in grade to boot.  In fact, from the census, it would be one of the highest graded top copies of Supes 76 that's been graded and slabbed to date.    

Looks like there's a mid-grade copy coming up in this next CL Focus Auction starting March 11th, just in case you wanted a free advance look.  

Yeah sorry I’m bad at the suspense thing 😬. From my research it’s also the highest graded copy with white pages. So yeah, it’s solid. I’m keeping my expectations low though to be safe lol. Whoever missed out on that 9.4 in the auction a year or so ago, here’s your chance to get a super nice copy for considerably less.

[batman_fan]

54 minutes ago, LDarkseid1 said:

This guy.

Awesome book 

Edited March 3, 2021 by batman_fan

[LDarkseid1]

7 minutes ago, batman_fan said:

Awesome book 

Thanks, yeah it’s a super nice copy. Doesn’t compare to the one 9.6 I’ve seen, but it’s up there. Everyone honestly has such amazing books on here I generally feel second rate in comparison haha.

[fishbone]

23 hours ago, Vince G said:

My question has always been, where's the money coming from?  This has been driving me crazy for the past month or two but I think I partially answered my own question after doing some research.  I think part of what we're seeing is the 401k penalty-free withdrawal provision of the 2020 Cares Act.  I did not know this, but there is no penalty for withdrawing up to 100k, and you can spread the income taxes on the withdraw over three years.  Additionally, if you can pay the full amount you withdrew back, you can claim a refund on those taxes.  So, it could very well be that some are pulling money and splurging, particularly on collectibles, but others may be buying with the hope of reselling at a profit, before replacing their initial withdrawal.  Then again, maybe it's just all those investors who cashed out on Bitcoin and GameStop thenn decided to throw some money into comics?  

If you're interested in a short high-level blurb about the 401k provisions in the Cares Act, here's a link:  https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/cashing-out-401k-covid-19 

Don't drive yourself crazy ..... how should I say .... some people just have "more" and more as in disposable income, and actually some are  doing BETTER because of the pandemic believe it or not ....

350 million in the US plus 35 mil in Canada - just North America, I'm sure there are some there  in the "have" category in the GA collecting community 

and remember those that have been collecting for a long long time have lots of goodness to trade with as well ............

[fishbone]

16 hours ago, batman_fan said:

Awesome book 

     luv In Living Color  !!!

[Patriot6]

3 minutes ago, fishbone said:

Don't drive yourself crazy ..... how should I say .... some people just have "more" and more as in disposable income, and actually some are  doing BETTER because of the pandemic believe it or not ....

350 million in the US plus 35 mil in Canada - just North America, I'm sure there are some there  in the "have" category in the GA collecting community 

and remember those that have been collecting for a long long time have lots of goodness to trade with as well ............

This may mean nothing to anyone but you since you're in Canada, but how many people went from making $600 a month after tax to $2,000 a month during the pandemic because of government hand outs? Most people spent like drunken sailors thinking it was a windfall, but the tax man is coming. If the government decides to forgive a lot of the money owed then it is status quo, but some people may be scrambling to liquidate things to ease back into their pre covid means. Granted, many of the people I am speaking of likely don't collect high end comic books, but these situations always cause ripples. 

[fishbone]

1 hour ago, Patriot6 said:

This may mean nothing to anyone but you since you're in Canada, but how many people went from making $600 a month after tax to $2,000 a month during the pandemic because of government hand outs? Most people spent like drunken sailors thinking it was a windfall, but the tax man is coming. If the government decides to forgive a lot of the money owed then it is status quo, but some people may be scrambling to liquidate things to ease back into their pre covid means. Granted, many of the people I am speaking of likely don't collect high end comic books, but these situations always cause ripples. 

what about all of the government handouts and bailouts across so many industries. I mean, there really was/is no choice, but the bottom line is we ALL have to pay for this pandemic .....  eventually. We are certainly all in this together.

[Randall Ries]

1 hour ago, fishbone said:

what about all of the government handouts and bailouts across so many industries. I mean, there really was/is no choice, but the bottom line is we ALL have to pay for this pandemic .....  eventually. We are certainly all in this together.

I was under the impression the stimulus checks were/are exempt from taxation. UI isn't. We own a small business that got shot in the back in March 2020 so we began collecting UI for small businesses. Also got a PPE grant. UI is taxable and we opted to have taxes taken out weekly.

The way I see it is simple: We ALL pay taxes. Small businesses pay more in than the average working man toiling for an employer. If Ford can get bailed out, we ought to be able to be helped as well. It isn't the governments money. It's ours. WE pay the bills. I didn't feel the least bit bad about collecting UI. Or receiving a grant for PPE. Didn't spend it on comics, either. Spent it on bills and food and paying 1 employee for the little work we had left. If we can collect that sort of stipend, we felt it should go toward what it was meant to. Not frills and toys. I know a lot of people bought TV sets with theirs. Whatever.

[fishbone]

17 hours ago, Randall Ries said:

I was under the impression the stimulus checks were/are exempt from taxation. UI isn't. We own a small business that got shot in the back in March 2020 so we began collecting UI for small businesses. Also got a PPE grant. UI is taxable and we opted to have taxes taken out weekly.

The way I see it is simple: We ALL pay taxes. Small businesses pay more in than the average working man toiling for an employer. If Ford can get bailed out, we ought to be able to be helped as well. It isn't the governments money. It's ours. WE pay the bills. I didn't feel the least bit bad about collecting UI. Or receiving a grant for PPE. Didn't spend it on comics, either. Spent it on bills and food and paying 1 employee for the little work we had left. If we can collect that sort of stipend, we felt it should go toward what it was meant to. Not frills and toys. I know a lot of people bought TV sets with theirs. Whatever.

small businesses have taken it up the you-know-what this past year - So brutal !!! Good luck to you man ...... 

[LDarkseid1]

1 hour ago, fishbone said:

small businesses have taken it up the you-know-what this past year - So brutal !!! Good luck to you man ...... 

Small businesses and over 500K dead in the US alone. Been brutal all around! I definitely feel worse for all the lives lost, but it's sad to see soo many people struggling as well financially. The comic book industry has definitely persisted though, and with the most insane sales!

Edited March 4, 2021 by LDarkseid1

[Randall Ries]

1 hour ago, fishbone said:

small businesses have taken it up the you-know-what this past year - So brutal !!! Good luck to you man ...... 

Thanks for saying that. If we are any example, I sat on the phone over a weekend and watched 16 years go up in a puff of smoke. We are pet care and dog walker people. Clients were told to work from home. Or shorten their hours. Schools were closed so Junior could take the dog out. 85% gone just like that. There were SOME clients who recognized that even though they were going to be home, their income would not be affected and their dogs loved us and wanted their walks. Also that we were dependent as small business owners. Some clients even paid us in the interim! We need to socially distance ourselves. So, discontinuing services. BUT! Just bill us monthly! We will get through this together. Wow. Angels here on Earth. We do not forget those people. But most of them who could have kept us decided to save money instead even though their income wasn't cut. I suppose they never thought about us.

But small businesses really took it hard. Yes.

[Randall Ries]

13 minutes ago, LDarkseid1 said:

Small businesses and over 500K dead in the US alone. Been brutal all around! I definitely feel worse for all the lives lost, but it's sad to see soo many people struggling as well financially. The comic book industry has definitely persisted though, and with the most insane sales!

I'll say this about that: That is another facet of applying for and getting grants and UI I had absolutely no issue with. We saw the death toll. We saw the ignorance even after the bare facts had been laid out. Wear a GD mask. Nope. Many wouldn't even do that. In typical fashion, the US made it about opinions and their "rights". Not a disease with the potential of either killing THEM or someone else. Nope. Don't care about that. We reached 500k deaths. An untoppled world record. Although by percentage, all eyes on Brazil. They are in deep doo-doo right now.

Stock market went in the drink. Businesses closed forever. Millions unemployed. Food lines. All because - despite the hypocritical myth that Americans band together to fight the common enemy - we had POOR leadership. We had SCANT protective measures. We had CONFLICTING information. We had GREEDY businessmen and wealthy people who saw an opportunity to "buy low". Their parents were unmarried. And that's all there was to it. Opportunity to take advantage during a pandemic. Remember when crude was worthless? A negative even? Gasoline never was and never fell as fast as it goes up in price. We did not have a Franklin Roosevelt rallying us and reassuring us that "All we had to fear was fear itself". We had a demon instead. An autocrat with NO REAL IDEA how things actually work outside of his limited exposure to the human race and his own goals.

So. No. My wife and I never said "Hey! Let's buy low! Let's invest in tangibles like comics!" No. We sweated food and gasoline. And utilities and God help us our mortgage which is geared toward normal times. Which is gone forever. We are STILL sweating it. And never has governmental "help" been so welcome. Not ever going to be the same. And here we are faced with variants not of the comic book kind. The disease is mutating. What we know and have now may be utterly useless 6 months from now. We just don't. Know. We only know what we know up to this point. The future is still an unknown quantity.

Saying "It's just business" is true. It is. But that doesn't make it right. People actually SAYING to me: "This isn't so bad! I'M buying LOW so I can sell HIGH later on!" Then out with the Assh*le cackle. If it wouldn't make things worse, I would have laid them out on the sidewalk for that behavior. You contemptible animals. At that point, all WE wanted was for this thing to go away. Not just for US. But for YOU as well. We were caught in this weird dichotomy of "We don't want to lose clients but we don't want to make anyone SICK either". And we understood when they canceled us. In most cases. There were others who didn't lose a thing and still cut us loose. But. Their choice. Even now, we go to peoples houses in masks. We don't go in without. We "Purell". Isn't that something? "Purell" has become a verb and not just a noun! Remarkable.

And so we are HERE. And our attitude is this: Yes. There are a few vaccines now. We see the numbers creep back or at least stall. We see places "relaxing" their COVID standards. Bad move, IMO. They did that in 1918 when they thought they had the thing under control. REALLY bad move. For our part, we will wait on the vaccine. See how the numbers shake out. We will wait on discarding our masks and stop "purelling" and social distancing. We have SO MUCH historical evidence of what happens when we go to fast as a species. Just read any well written book about the 1917-1918 flu. Then glean what human nature did to make things worse. WE are doing the exact same thing.

[lou_fine]

14 hours ago, LDarkseid1 said:

15 hours ago, fishbone said:

small businesses have taken it up the you-know-what this past year - So brutal !!! Good luck to you man ...... 

Small businesses and over 500K dead in the US alone. Been brutal all around!

Like they say in business, the tone from the top along with consistent messaging is very important and deathly critical in these types of situations. 

Although it does indeed seem to be brutual all around, yet so many of the neighbouring countries around China still miraculously have total death counts down only in the single or double digits to this point in time.  

Edited March 5, 2021 by lou_fine