Are prices still climbing or have they eased up a bit??? 43 43

[Robot Man]

On 6/16/2023 at 10:23 PM, lou_fine said:

Were you a condition conscious type of collector back then when you were buying your BA books off the shelves or more of a reader type of collector who read then and then tossed them into the box in the corner of your room?    

I was in my very early ‘20’s. So I carefully bought the best copy I could find on the rack. I read them carefully and stacked them neatly in piles in my closet.

 

[lizards2]

On 6/17/2023 at 3:52 AM, namisgr said:

Some don't come up for sale very often.  So while there are many more copies in the census of early SA Marvels in NM or better than there are high grade examples of most GA issues, there are more collectors of them as well.  

I used to own a copy of Lou's example.  It was locked away from the market in my collection for quite a while.  I sold it some time around 2010.  It's probably been locked away since.  There hadn't been one in this grade or higher available on the market for some time, and so this one was in great demand, and fetched what was easily a record price for the book and grade.  So despite the census numbers being comparatively high over those for most GA books, there are few examples coming to market and very strong demand for those that do, owing to a relatively large number of collectors wanting this issue in this grade.  The demand for SA Marvels that are difficult to find in the highest grades is still enormous, and shouldn't be underestimated.

I'd like to crack that biatch!  

[L'Angelo Misterioso]

On 6/17/2023 at 10:31 AM, Robot Man said:

I don’t see that happening other than the fact most are getting so un-affordable that the average collector is pretty much priced out. 

It's all very disheartening. As a college student "collector" of golden age books (putting in quotes because I only have a handful of GA), I feel as though I am priced out of most desirable superhero, horror, and science fiction. I think many people feel this way and that a high entry cost holds a lot of people back from collecting GA. They get a lot of love and interest from those who either love comics but don't collect or those who collect other eras that aren't Golden. My friend loves anti-Nazi covers and would almost certainly buy issues of Wonder Comics and Marvel Mystery if a 20-year-old could do such a thing. Even if you're a middle-aged adult, meaning access to more disposable income, you can't really put together a nice collection on a modest budget anymore. Some books are totally out of the question; Timelys and the like. I always feel as if I have to be hyper-selective with my purchases and do a lot of analysis before I buy. I've passed up several ebay auctions and board sales  for that reason. With bronze age, unless it's key stuff like House of Secrets #92, if I want it I can buy it, and I could amass an extensive BA collection of Spiderman, X-Men, and the like if I really wanted to. PCH prices for books that used to be overlooked are stratospheric at this point. 

/rant

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

I have all of my purchased off the newsstand and comic book stores comic books and magazines from late-stage silver age until today as I sill purchase a few new issues. I also purchased a few tons of back issues from golden through modern age, still do although much more limited, from the late 1960s, as a kid, especially through 2020. Ninety-eight percent, perhaps 99%, is raw as I have only had a few of my original owner and back issue purchases graded. I will likely have many more graded in the future. Like Robot Man, I was very picky in selecting copies, looking for the best that I could find although sometimes the best could have been better.

I also purchased a great many CGC graded comic books starting in 2002, including all types, minor to major, key issues because, clearly, I love comic books and enjoy having CGC graded copies of the raw issues I own. Over the last two years I have purchased, like other board members, issues, mostly modern, that very few want. I have done so because I like the covers and, similar to other posters the prices for keys and some run filler issues are, despite some recent contraction, high for me especially since I don't need a second, third, fourth, etc., graded copy of an issue. Granted, as I often joke, I'm apparently cheap.

Thankfully, as I often note, I only spend comic book money on, well, comic books. Thus, if they become worthless tomorrow I'll be fine financially and although a few galaxies away from the enjoyment, etc., I receive from my loved ones, I will still love having them since I very much enjoy collecting and reading the comic books I do because they are, simply, fun.

[whomerjay]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:20 AM, L'Angelo Misterioso said:

It's all very disheartening. As a college student "collector" of golden age books (putting in quotes because I only have a handful of GA), I feel as though I am priced out of most desirable superhero, horror, and science fiction. I think many people feel this way and that a high entry cost holds a lot of people back from collecting GA. They get a lot of love and interest from those who either love comics but don't collect or those who collect other eras that aren't Golden. My friend loves anti-Nazi covers and would almost certainly buy issues of Wonder Comics and Marvel Mystery if a 20-year-old could do such a thing. Even if you're a middle-aged adult, meaning access to more disposable income, you can't really put together a nice collection on a modest budget anymore. Some books are totally out of the question; Timelys and the like. I always feel as if I have to be hyper-selective with my purchases and do a lot of analysis before I buy. I've passed up several ebay auctions and board sales  for that reason. With bronze age, unless it's key stuff like House of Secrets #92, if I want it I can buy it, and I could amass an extensive BA collection of Spiderman, X-Men, and the like if I really wanted to. PCH prices for books that used to be overlooked are stratospheric at this point. 

/rant

Amen.

Once i decided to get into GA (~2001) I focused on the highest grade GA books I wanted and could afford (not the top 50 GA books). 
Now my wants are so many I can’t pursue most of these wants so I now seriously consider low grade for many HTF cool GA.

Years ago i would have never looked at these 2 recent boards purchases,  but now I’m happy to have them. As the scarcity of various GA becomes more apparent, the cost of any copy is going to become increasingly prohibitive for more and more collectors. 

so wish I had embraced the philosophy of guys like PointFive and RobotMan years ago. Looking pretty smart right now.

 

[badback83]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:20 AM, L'Angelo Misterioso said:

It's all very disheartening. As a college student "collector" of golden age books (putting in quotes because I only have a handful of GA), I feel as though I am priced out of most desirable superhero, horror, and science fiction. I think many people feel this way and that a high entry cost holds a lot of people back from collecting GA. They get a lot of love and interest from those who either love comics but don't collect or those who collect other eras that aren't Golden. My friend loves anti-Nazi covers and would almost certainly buy issues of Wonder Comics and Marvel Mystery if a 20-year-old could do such a thing. Even if you're a middle-aged adult, meaning access to more disposable income, you can't really put together a nice collection on a modest budget anymore. Some books are totally out of the question; Timelys and the like. I always feel as if I have to be hyper-selective with my purchases and do a lot of analysis before I buy. I've passed up several ebay auctions and board sales  for that reason. With bronze age, unless it's key stuff like House of Secrets #92, if I want it I can buy it, and I could amass an extensive BA collection of Spiderman, X-Men, and the like if I really wanted to. PCH prices for books that used to be overlooked are stratospheric at this point. 

/rant

I can totally appreciate where you’re coming from and I get it.  Yes, a lot of the really sought after stuff, like Timely war issues for example, are out of reach even in low grades for a lot of collectors.  
 

However, there is so much more that the best era of comics has to offer than just Timely or pre-code classic covers, and this coming from a Timely collector!  I love looking for Timely funny animal issues.  So many of those titles have issues that are really tough to find, in any grade.  So when I find one that’s better than a VG, it’s really something fun and special.  And it might cost less than a 100 bucks.  
 

So, I understand someone feeling like they can’t afford to collect GA, but you might just have to look into genres or titles that you hadn’t considered before.  You might very well find your favorite book.  

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:20 AM, L'Angelo Misterioso said:

It's all very disheartening. As a college student "collector" of golden age books (putting in quotes because I only have a handful of GA), I feel as though I am priced out of most desirable superhero, horror, and science fiction. I think many people feel this way and that a high entry cost holds a lot of people back from collecting GA. They get a lot of love and interest from those who either love comics but don't collect or those who collect other eras that aren't Golden. My friend loves anti-Nazi covers and would almost certainly buy issues of Wonder Comics and Marvel Mystery if a 20-year-old could do such a thing. Even if you're a middle-aged adult, meaning access to more disposable income, you can't really put together a nice collection on a modest budget anymore. Some books are totally out of the question; Timelys and the like. I always feel as if I have to be hyper-selective with my purchases and do a lot of analysis before I buy. I've passed up several ebay auctions and board sales  for that reason. With bronze age, unless it's key stuff like House of Secrets #92, if I want it I can buy it, and I could amass an extensive BA collection of Spiderman, X-Men, and the like if I really wanted to. PCH prices for books that used to be overlooked are stratospheric at this point. 

/rant

I totally get it.  When I was just starting out, and couldn't afford to buy too many books, I still got an incredible rush from buying books like this:

I am pretty sure these can still be had for very reasonable prices.  It's not the same as actually owning the books, but it's a very affordable way to hold a bit of history in your hands.

 

[Aman619]

Great discussion!  Just to come back to the Superman debacle sale… my theory is that it’s 2.6M purchase was inspired by the 5.4M sale a few years ago. And by a newish collector not well versed in comics and their sales history trends. Basicallly a 5M sales and all the other amazing sales that occurred ignited interest from moneyed collectors in cards etc. comics were hot and had arrived. 
 

Superman 1 in high grade is scarcer than other BIG special comics out there. I get the feeling that the buyer felt safe paying/bidding half the 5.4m for the third highest graded copy.  Not bad odds if you don’t really understand that the buyer who paid 5.4M was also a new collector who overpaid. Had to have it. But the MH copy as an 8.5 is still a more attractive copy even at that price.  
 

And, of course now isn’t a great time to be selling big books. You don’t know what the hammer price is going to be. Unless it was a forced sale to raise the cash. 
 

[lou_fine]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:01 AM, Tec-Tac-Toe said:

Ninety-eight percent, perhaps 99%, is raw as I have only had a few of my original owner and back issue purchases graded. I will likely have many more graded in the future. Like Robot Man, I was very picky in selecting copies, looking for the best that I could find although sometimes the best could have been better.

As I suspect would also be the exact same scenario with most of the longer term collectors in the hobby place. 

Which then only goes to reinforce my thinking that it's kind of insane to see the crazy multiples that are sometimes being paid for a book only one grade increment higher, simply because bidders are relying on the census to be relatively accurate when in actual fact, they are probably nowhere near to being complete when it comes to the higher condition grades.  

[EMazman]

I was going to bid on that solar and I would have paid more.  However it was off center in slab and right corner was damaged.  Another one coming up has same issue.

[buttock]

On 6/18/2023 at 12:20 AM, L'Angelo Misterioso said:

It's all very disheartening. As a college student "collector" of golden age books (putting in quotes because I only have a handful of GA), I feel as though I am priced out of most desirable superhero, horror, and science fiction. I think many people feel this way and that a high entry cost holds a lot of people back from collecting GA. They get a lot of love and interest from those who either love comics but don't collect or those who collect other eras that aren't Golden. My friend loves anti-Nazi covers and would almost certainly buy issues of Wonder Comics and Marvel Mystery if a 20-year-old could do such a thing. Even if you're a middle-aged adult, meaning access to more disposable income, you can't really put together a nice collection on a modest budget anymore. Some books are totally out of the question; Timelys and the like. I always feel as if I have to be hyper-selective with my purchases and do a lot of analysis before I buy. I've passed up several ebay auctions and board sales  for that reason. With bronze age, unless it's key stuff like House of Secrets #92, if I want it I can buy it, and I could amass an extensive BA collection of Spiderman, X-Men, and the like if I really wanted to. PCH prices for books that used to be overlooked are stratospheric at this point. 

/rant

30 year collector who started in my late teens.  Be patient, be smart, with time it'll work out.  College students should be scraping money together for beer.  I had to give up for a few years while I was in school.  

[valiantman]

On 6/18/2023 at 8:51 PM, EMazman said:

I was going to bid on that solar and I would have paid more.  However it was off center in slab and right corner was damaged.  Another one coming up has same issue.

What Solar was that? 

[EMazman]

On 6/18/2023 at 8:23 PM, valiantman said:

What Solar was that? 

Early In post someone posted #20.  Forgot to quote him.

[valiantman]

On 6/18/2023 at 10:44 PM, EMazman said:

On 6/18/2023 at 10:23 PM, valiantman said:

What Solar was that? 

Early In post someone posted #20.  Forgot to quote him.

OK, I was looking a few pages back and didn't see anything new. 

[L'Angelo Misterioso]

On 6/18/2023 at 10:23 PM, buttock said:

30 year collector who started in my late teens.  Be patient, be smart, with time it'll work out.  College students should be scraping money together for beer.  I had to give up for a few years while I was in school.  

I hope you're onto something my man. I'd like to eventually have a nice collection of GA books 

[Telegan]

On 6/18/2023 at 1:20 AM, L'Angelo Misterioso said:

It's all very disheartening. As a college student "collector" of golden age books (putting in quotes because I only have a handful of GA), I feel as though I am priced out of most desirable superhero, horror, and science fiction. I think many people feel this way and that a high entry cost holds a lot of people back from collecting GA. They get a lot of love and interest from those who either love comics but don't collect or those who collect other eras that aren't Golden. My friend loves anti-Nazi covers and would almost certainly buy issues of Wonder Comics and Marvel Mystery if a 20-year-old could do such a thing. Even if you're a middle-aged adult, meaning access to more disposable income, you can't really put together a nice collection on a modest budget anymore. Some books are totally out of the question; Timelys and the like. I always feel as if I have to be hyper-selective with my purchases and do a lot of analysis before I buy. I've passed up several ebay auctions and board sales  for that reason. With bronze age, unless it's key stuff like House of Secrets #92, if I want it I can buy it, and I could amass an extensive BA collection of Spiderman, X-Men, and the like if I really wanted to. PCH prices for books that used to be overlooked are stratospheric at this point. 

/rant

When I was in college (back in the late 80's and early 90's), the last thing I wanted to do was spend a ton of money on comic books, mostly because I grew up poor.  As a matter of fact, I grew disenchanted with comic books and sports cards back then because the volume of garbage being pumped out just got looney, so I stopped collecting altogether.  I would have never thought about spending more than a few bucks for comics and wasn't into collecting as much as I was just reading them here and there.  Later when I got into collecting them more (around 2011'ish), I bought a Marvel Premiere #1 (Adam Warlock!) because I always liked that cover.  That was around 2011 or so.  I paid around $195 for that thing and thought I had lost my ever-loving marbles spending that much on a comic book.  Which made sense, because I never thought of comics as real investments back then.  By that time I was more into stocks and putting 4 or 5 figures into stocks was no biggie for me.  Putting 3-figures into a comic book, though?  I hid that purchase from anyone I knew. lol.  I retired about 3 years ago, but even now I can't put a ton of money into any single comic no matter how much I try to break my habit.  I would love to get some PCH/GA comics which are in the 4-figures (a lot of Schomburgs and Bakers top that list), but despite the fact I could afford them, I just don't do it.

All this to say, most college "collectors" shouldn't be able to afford high-end comics.  In the meantime, just buy stuff you like.  I'm not really into modern stuff anymore.  I gave them up sort of in the past 3 years or so and switched to GA and recently collecting a bunch of SA/BA stuff that has corrected in terms of the looney pricing.  I don't care if they're keys or not.  I don't chase keys.  I only buy comics because I like them for one reason or the other - usually it's the cover art.  I also don't care if they're 9.8's as long as they look presentable, so I have a lot of 3.0 - 5.0 GA's, and I'm cool with it.  Maybe one day I can upgrade those, but I have no urge to do so.  Make some compromises, and you can still enjoy the hobby.  If all you're going to be looking for are 9.8 keys, for example, then you may end up disappointed until later in life (or forever).  It's a hobby, not life or death. lol.

Edited June 19, 2023 by Telegan

[Ryan.]

On 6/18/2023 at 10:23 PM, buttock said:

30 year collector who started in my late teens.  Be patient, be smart, with time it'll work out.  College students should be scraping money together for beer.  I had to give up for a few years while I was in school.  

I too gave up collecting completely in college, which lasted into my late twenties, as I didn't have money or space for comics at the time. I actually sold off my collection while in college to help buy a car. That car was a piece of spoon too. Good times.

[Bookery]

On 6/18/2023 at 9:46 AM, DocHoppus182 said:

I can totally appreciate where you’re coming from and I get it.  Yes, a lot of the really sought after stuff, like Timely war issues for example, are out of reach even in low grades for a lot of collectors.  
 

However, there is so much more that the best era of comics has to offer than just Timely or pre-code classic covers, and this coming from a Timely collector!  I love looking for Timely funny animal issues.  So many of those titles have issues that are really tough to find, in any grade.  So when I find one that’s better than a VG, it’s really something fun and special.  And it might cost less than a 100 bucks.  
 

So, I understand someone feeling like they can’t afford to collect GA, but you might just have to look into genres or titles that you hadn’t considered before.  You might very well find your favorite book.  

Yes... there is actually quite a bit of affordable GA out there.  LB Cole has some fantastic animal covers, and most are not that expensive.  The early Looney Tunes are very colorful and fun.  Most would scoff, but there are a few choice Classic Comics with great covers and that nice early banner logo... Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein, etc.  Later Jumbo and Jungle Comics with great covers are still surprisingly cheap, as are non-good girl Wings.  Lots of other underappreciated war comics and teen humor.  The early Abbott & Costello comics have some nice good-girl covers and interior art.  And there are even more affordable hero comics than you'd think... most post-war Fawcett, Quality, and some of the off-beat publishers.  Plenty of cheap crime comics.  In fact, most GA is actually cheaper than much of the popular silver-age stuff!  It's primarily WW2 covers, pre-code horror (and not even all of that), Timely and DC that get the big prices and attention.  And the fun of GA is that it's more challenging to locate (you can own every Marvel silver-age key tomorrow if you want to pony up the cash), and your collection is more likely to be near-unique (sure, it's fun to show off your Daredevil 1-100 issues... but you also share that same collection with a thousand others).

[buttock]

On 6/19/2023 at 6:47 AM, Bookery said:

Yes... there is actually quite a bit of affordable GA out there.  LB Cole has some fantastic animal covers, and most are not that expensive.  The early Looney Tunes are very colorful and fun.  Most would scoff, but there are a few choice Classic Comics with great covers and that nice early banner logo... Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein, etc.  Later Jumbo and Jungle Comics with great covers are still surprisingly cheap, as are non-good girl Wings.  Lots of other underappreciated war comics and teen humor.  The early Abbott & Costello comics have some nice good-girl covers and interior art.  And there are even more affordable hero comics than you'd think... most post-war Fawcett, Quality, and some of the off-beat publishers.  Plenty of cheap crime comics.  In fact, most GA is actually cheaper than much of the popular silver-age stuff!  It's primarily WW2 covers, pre-code horror (and not even all of that), Timely and DC that get the big prices and attention.  And the fun of GA is that it's more challenging to locate (you can own every Marvel silver-age key tomorrow if you want to pony up the cash), and your collection is more likely to be near-unique (sure, it's fun to show off your Daredevil 1-100 issues... but you also share that same collection with a thousand others).

Well stated Tim.  I absolutely love my collection, but I bought a book this weekend and it was so terrible that one of the comments was, "the best part is that now you never have to think about it again".  But I was so excited to get it.  As long as you like what you're buying, you can make a nice collection on a budget.

[DC#]

Apologies for being the person that is always posting outliers here…..but this one also stood out as I am in the market for this book.   Spider-Man #62 in 9.8 - just sold last week on Comic Connect for $2.3k.  The book has been selling in the mid to high 2ks for almost three years with all time peak of $4k back in 2009.    Three sales this year all under $2.7k excluding the CC sale.    And then last night on ComicLink a copy with no particular special qualities (white pages, nice wrap, etc just like CC copy) sold for a hair-raising (pun intended) $5.3k.   I will admit to having just gotten sick of waiting and being outbid a few times that I willingly overpaid just to end the pursuit on a book.    But paying 125-30% more on a $2k book is really aggressive.   Can’t believe two parties kept it going that long.   And the worst part of overpaying on Clink is your overpay won’t even bump up the average on GPA which means the next few sales could always increase the spread.