Are prices still climbing or have they eased up a bit??? 42 42

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

I love FMJ ,and the GIFs fit the current trend of this thread.

[alexgross.com]

On 6/6/2024 at 6:29 AM, rumrunner71 said:

There was a good article on CNN this week about the end of the "YOLO" economy. Consumers just aren't spending on discretionary big ticket items anymore. Maybe there will be a bounce back for collectibles down the road

my career as an artist is about making discretionary big ticket items. and i can confirm that this is true, not only for myself, but for every artist and gallery that i know. yet the media keep telling me how great the economy is. 

people stopped/slowed their spending on this stuff since mid-covid. most comics are in the same basket as we all know. a bounce back would be welcome, though i don't really see a reason for one to happen, sadly. 

[rumrunner71]

Some of the slow down for me in intensive collecting is that it feels like the thrill of the hunt is gone. I used to love going to flea markets, antique stores, and comic shops in new towns trying to find that one issue to fill out my run or always looking for the diamond in the rough, that one super valuable, hard-to-find 1st appearance that not everyone knew about that was buried in a stack of drek. With the internet, there isn't that thrill. I need an issue to fill a run? There's 25 copies on MCS. That obscure title? The local flea market guy is trying to sell it for 20x GPA. If I have the wherewithal to overpay, I can just do eBay. I still love seeing a well-stocked wall at a con, but with the net, I have access to almost all of those if I really want them, whenever I want them (with few exceptions.) There's almost no adrenaline rush anymore. 

Edited June 6 by rumrunner71

[rumrunner71]

On 6/6/2024 at 10:20 AM, alexgross.com said:

my career as an artist is about making discretionary big ticket items. and i can confirm that this is true, not only for myself, but for every artist and gallery that i know. yet the media keep telling me how great the economy is. 

people stopped/slowed their spending on this stuff since mid-covid. most comics are in the same basket as we all know. a bounce back would be welcome, though i don't really see a reason for one to happen, sadly. 

This 100%. My wife designs clothing for art fairs, and across the board, with some exceptions, sales at those shows are down.  I really do hope for the sake of you and other artists that there is a bounceback. A lot of folks left the art fair business after 2021

[Robot Man]

On 6/6/2024 at 7:23 AM, rumrunner71 said:

Some of the slow down for me in intensive collecting is that it feels like the thrill of the hunt is gone. I used to love going to flea markets, antique stores, and comic shops in new towns trying to find that one issue to fill out my run or always looking for the diamond in the rough, that one super valuable, hard-to-find 1st appearance that not everyone knew about that was buried in a stack of drek. With the internet, there isn't that thrill. I need an issue to fill a run? There's 25 copies on MCS. That obscure title? The local flea market guy is trying to sell it for 20x GPA. If I have the wherewithal to overpay, I can just do eBay. I still love seeing a well-stocked wall at a con, but with the net, I have access to almost all of those if I really want them, whenever I want them (with few exceptions.) There's almost no adrenaline rush anymore. 

I agree. The “thrill of the hunt” has always been the best part of collecting. Just bumping into that nice score out in the wild. This is pretty much over now. Most of those old houses and buildings have been cleaned out now. And a lot more competition. I still go out and find something cool every once in a while but the “good ole days” are pretty much in the past.

When I look at things in my collection, I often remember where I got it and what a great deal I got. Always brings back a pleasant memory.

I get very little satisfaction just sitting behind a keyboard and being the one who pays the most. The thrill of the hunt is actually much better than just aquiring an item and moving on to the next big auction. 

[Robot Man]

On 6/6/2024 at 7:20 AM, alexgross.com said:

my career as an artist is about making discretionary big ticket items. and i can confirm that this is true, not only for myself, but for every artist and gallery that i know. yet the media keep telling me how great the economy is. 

people stopped/slowed their spending on this stuff since mid-covid. most comics are in the same basket as we all know. a bounce back would be welcome, though i don't really see a reason for one to happen, sadly. 

Collectors are like junkies. Always that need to get one more piece. Although prices have fluctuated, they will always need that rush.

I think that a lot of folks are just spending their money a lot more carefully now.

At one time, I spent like a drunken sailor. Now, I buy a lot less but do it a lot more carefully. 

[rumrunner71]

On 6/6/2024 at 10:39 AM, Robot Man said:

I agree. The “thrill of the hunt” has always been the best part of collecting. Just bumping into that nice score out in the wild. This is pretty much over now. Most of those old houses and buildings have been cleaned out now. And a lot more competition. I still go out and find something cool every once in a while but the “good ole days” are pretty much in the past.

When I look at things in my collection, I often remember where I got it and what a great deal I got. Always brings back a pleasant memory.

I get very little satisfaction just sitting behind a keyboard and being the one who pays the most. The thrill of the hunt is actually much better than just aquiring an item and moving on to the next big auction. 

Completely agreed. I'm not going to sit around with the kids and tell them the epic tale of me setting a watch alert on an auction and checking my phone for snipes before I finally got the win notice and invoice. 

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

On 6/6/2024 at 10:39 AM, Robot Man said:

I agree. The “thrill of the hunt” has always been the best part of collecting. Just bumping into that nice score out in the wild. This is pretty much over now. Most of those old houses and buildings have been cleaned out now. And a lot more competition. I still go out and find something cool every once in a while but the “good ole days” are pretty much in the past.

When I look at things in my collection, I often remember where I got it and what a great deal I got. Always brings back a pleasant memory.

I get very little satisfaction just sitting behind a keyboard and being the one who pays the most. The thrill of the hunt is actually much better than just aquiring an item and moving on to the next big auction. 

Yes, once I have it, whatever it is, my view of it is typically . Thankfully, my purchase of comic books and related magazines slowed to a trickle a few years ago and I have since focused on select issues at prices I am comfortable paying, enjoying the hunt by looking for the best looking copy I can find that, hopefully, has white pages.

[rumrunner71]

On 6/6/2024 at 10:50 AM, Tec-Tac-Toe said:

Yes, once I have it, whatever it is, my view of it is typically . Thankfully, my purchase of comic books and related magazines slowed to a trickle a few years ago and I have since focused on select issues at prices I am comfortable paying, enjoying the hunt by looking for the best looking copy I can find that, hopefully, has white pages.

That's a really good point about the hunt. If you are looking for the best copy or a pedigree or something for like a GA book and you have the funds, I imagine the hunt is still there. But for many of us, I imagine, we've been priced out of that hunt

[rumrunner71]

I will add to this a bit and just say that there have been some times on these boards where I still get that thrill. Some of the rarities and obscurities that come up are amazing, and often, the sellers offer really good prices. So the boards offer a bit of that thrill still. 

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

On 6/6/2024 at 10:56 AM, rumrunner71 said:

That's a really good point about the hunt. If you are looking for the best copy or a pedigree or something for like a GA book and you have the funds, I imagine the hunt is still there. But for many of us, I imagine, we've been priced out of that hunt

Let me elaborate, I have not paid a price for a comic book that I feel is far too high. The prices I have generally paid are "reasonable." Granted, I agree with you that a reasonable price is more often than not different for each of us.

[rumrunner71]

On 6/6/2024 at 11:02 AM, Tec-Tac-Toe said:

Let me elaborate, I have not paid a price for a comic book that I feel is far too high. The prices I have generally paid are "reasonable." Granted, I agree with you that a reasonable price is more often than not different for each of us.

Most definitely, "reasonable" means different things at different times. I didn't mean to imply you were out tossing $$ around 

[Robot Man]

On 6/6/2024 at 7:59 AM, rumrunner71 said:

I will add to this a bit and just say that there have been some times on these boards where I still get that thrill. Some of the rarities and obscurities that come up are amazing, and often, the sellers offer really good prices. So the boards offer a bit of that thrill still. 

True. I love buying and selling to board members. I have bought some great books here. But even board sales are a little slim these days. Either a lot of more common stuff I don’t want or a couple big books I can no longer seeing paying the price for. 

[Robot Man]

I used to worry that I was paying too much for a book but often bought them anyway. Luckily, I’m a “keeper” and due to the passage of time they have all ended up being a great deal now.

Now days, If I see a book I really want, I usually buy it even if I think the price is a bit stiff. I don’t look at GPA, eBay or research it. I pay what it is worth to me. At the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.

That being said, I don’t buy a lot anymore anyway. I’m in the fortunate position of having most of what I really want anyway. Anything else is just icing on the cake. 

[october]

On 6/5/2024 at 10:40 PM, Hepcat said:

Somehow I don't remember posters begging for "stability" or an end to wild "fluctuations" when prices were soaring. Funny that. 

I posted multiple times on the boards about that very thing. So did many other people, despite your memories to the contrary. I am sure there are examples in this exact thread. 

[october]

On 6/5/2024 at 10:18 PM, Hepcat said:

Do you really also have sympathy for people who bet on the craps table in the casino and lose? Or those who buy penny stocks and take a real bad haircut? Sometimes you win (but hardly ever at those games); sometimes you lose. C'est la vie. When investors/speculators treat comics as a trading vehicle, how is that any different?

And I understand that not everyone who just started collecting is some sort of dirty flipper. But do newbies to actual collecting start out by buying a slabbed copy of Hulk 181 whose "value" they then track on a weekly basis? That's not the behaviour of the typical collector.

And the old time collectors who finally completed their runs in 2021 by scoring a copy of the elusive Patsy and Hedy 2 or Homer the Happy Ghost 4 aren't the ones kvetching about prices dropping. They're just happy to have completed their quest (and probably moving on to the next one).

Anyone who had time and money on their hands and entered the market in 21/22 because they remembered comics fondly got burned pretty badly and likely exited. I don't have to track anything weekly to know that the obvious entry points for new collectors (ASM 300, NM 87, TOD 10, Wolverine 1, etc) have dropped like stones in the past two years. If I see 50%+ of value evaporate on anything I buy it's going to make me think twice about buying more, regardless of how much a "true collector" I am. 

And why would the two dozen collectors of Patsy and Hedy or Homer the Happy Ghost be complaining about a price drop? The value of those books hasn't moved since the Nixon administration. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 6/6/2024 at 6:10 AM, 1Cool said:

Dirty, dirty old foggy flippers! 

[1Cool]

On 6/6/2024 at 1:15 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

Knew that looked weird but watch out they are coming from everywhere!

[Hepcat]

On 6/6/2024 at 8:23 AM, Funnybooks said:

prices go up

prices go down

...shocking

collectors complaining

...shocking

 

That's what I say. Sometimes they go up; sometimes they go down. Live with it. You can still enjoy what you have (until of course the government takes it from you).

 

[Hepcat]

On 6/6/2024 at 12:01 PM, october said:

And why would the two dozen collectors of Patsy and Hedy or Homer the Happy Ghost be complaining about a price drop? The value of those books hasn't moved since the Nixon administration. 

Sheesh. Those fossils I guess should get with what modern day collecting is all about!