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

[DC#]

Here are some Session 1 Results for the July/August ComicLink Auction.    Bargains (relative to past prices anyway) abound if you are a buyer.   Is there another book that has fallen further and faster than Eternals #1?   9.8 copy went for $675 vs the peak of $3.8k in May 2021 (and there were over a dozen copies that sold in the +$3k range).....just brutal.    

 

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 7/30/2022 at 10:00 AM, DC# said:

Here are some Session 1 Results for the July/August ComicLink Auction.    Bargains (relative to past prices anyway) abound if you are a buyer.   Is there another book that has fallen further and faster than Eternals #1?   9.8 copy went for $675 vs the peak of $3.8k in May 2021 (and there were over a dozen copies that sold in the +$3k range).....just brutal.    

 

I was the winner of Hulk #180 and very happy with the price relative to where it's been.  Go back longer and there was a $12,000 sale of this book so I'm glad I was patient.

I was less patient with TOD #10, so I'm currently a bit underwater on that one.  

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 7/30/2022 at 10:35 AM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

I was the winner of Hulk #180 and very happy with the price relative to where it's been.  Go back longer and there was a $12,000 sale of this book so I'm glad I was patient.

I was less patient with TOD #10, so I'm currently a bit underwater on that one.  

How’s ASM 101 doing?

[Microchip]

A lot of big SA keys taking a big slide.    Speaking Harley post SDCC, he had a good con, but only thanks to GA book.   Marvel was soft across the board.

The only books in the green, are books still relatively cheap to their counterparts, Hulk 102.   Subby 1, Silver Surfer 1, Iron Man 1, Captain Marvel 1 (?) are all in a slide.     Cap 100 looks like it's sitting somewhere in the middle ground.  

The early big dollar SA keys have all slid.    Interesting, to see them come off the boil.    Let see where the cycles of price rises, and price consolidations are at.   Looking at GPA, prior to 2019, books have to of been the worst investment medium going.    But what's next, the door opened to new investors into the median, as to where it goes next, will be interesting. 

 

[Kripsys99]

Bronze Age Batman comics continue to hold value and/or climb. I've always felt they were extremely under-valued, even leaving aside the ridiculous valuations being given to B-tier and fringe-level Marvel characters/books. I think they'll buck the trend and continue to climb as speculators seeking to stick it out look for a semi-affordable safe harbor. 

Edited July 31, 2022 by Kripsys99
Typo

[lou_fine]

On 7/30/2022 at 7:00 AM, DC# said:

Is there another book that has fallen further and faster than Eternals #1?   9.8 copy went for $675 vs the peak of $3.8k in May 2021 (and there were over a dozen copies that sold in the +$3k range).....just brutal.    

The real question is why would anybody in their right mind ever fall for this movie hype in the first place and even think of paying 4-figures for this obviously "common as dirt" book to start with?  Or how about the poor guy who ended up paying over $4K for a copy of Eternals 13.  Now, that one was a real loonie bin case.  

I can just imagine all of the copies of Eternals 1 that was sent in for grading last year based upon these 4-figure results and the submittors are still waiting to get them back from the CCS/CGC long term storage facility, hoping they will still be worth something by then.        

Edited July 31, 2022 by lou_fine

[comicnoir]

On 7/30/2022 at 7:36 AM, DC# said:

So not comic book related but very interesting.   The auction of a mint 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card is going to set a record (bidding is already tied with the prior record holder Honus Wagner at $6.6m and there is a month to go).   

The story behind the card is one of those fantasies most of us have about finding collectible treasures like the Mile High or Church collection.    Fun videos to watch.  
 

https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1952-topps-mickey-mantle-311-sgc-mint-95-1985-rosen-find-finest-known-example-/a/50058-53014.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515

Boy and ppl think we're crazy.

[Erndog]

It looks like there has been a pretty broad, and sizeable, softening across the board more or less.

It's funny (well not funny) checking in on this thread after having just read a lot of the market reports in the current Overstreet guide that recently came out.  Many dealers mentioned how strong 2021 was and how they basically all expected it to continue going forward.  Don't think I saw anybody that expected a slow down.  

It's unfortunate but it's not the only market out there correcting.  

 

 

[Sweet Lou 14]

Speaking from the buyer's standpoint, it's a strange time because there are plenty of books out there (mostly on eBay but also on other "marketplace" sites that allow individuals to post their own books for sale) that I'm looking for where the asking prices are way, way higher than what I believe to be FMV.  For now, it's only when those books are put up for auction that I can find out if I was right -- and sometimes I'm wrong.  The market correction won't really hit home until these sellers adjust their buy-it-now prices.

Here's a little example that I find funny because of how lame and unimportant the book is.  I'm inching along on my quest to upgrade my Bronze Age collection to 9.6 WP, and among the books still on my upgrade list is Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu #3.  I'm shaking my head even as I type that.  

Back in January, when I still had a 9.4, a 9.6 WP came up on eBay and for some reason I truly cannot fathom, it sold for $700.  I mean, that is probably 3-4 times what the book is "worth" according to my estimation, but (unless we're going to accuse someone of market manipulation) it did take two people crazy enough to bid it up that high.  Keep in mind that the Shang Chi movie had already come and gone by this point, so I was really scratching my head -- and grumbling because I knew that result was going to "set the market" on this nearly worthless book.

Sure enough, there have been multiple 9.6 WP copies listed for $600-$750 since then, based on this one result.  And of course they're not selling at those prices.  So I'm sitting here trying to be disciplined, but frustrated that I can't check this book off my list.  What I have done in some cases like this is grab a 9.6 OW/W as a stopgap -- and when a 9.6 OW/W of this book came around on ComicLink this past April, I won it for only $146.  So that means I'm right -- right??  It means the market should take notice and the asking prices should come down, right?  Well, of course not.

If my OW/W is "worth" about $150 then how much more should a WP copy fetch?  $200?  $250?  Come on.

Long story short, I have (very politely -- I'm an easy guy to work with and I look for win/wins) offered a couple of sellers a few options including paying $300 outright for their WP copy or trading my OW/W plus $150 for their WP copy.  Both of those offers are, I think, very generous but they've been declined.

Of course my other option would be to buy a WP copy at these inflated prices and then try to sell my OW/W copy for an (almost) equally inflated price.  But there's a reason nobody is buying those WP copies, and that same reason would presumably apply to my OW/W.

So for now, I've decided to be patient.  Eventually one will show up in a proper auction and I'll get another shot at it.

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 7/30/2022 at 8:09 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

How’s ASM 101 doing?

Now you're just being cruel.

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 7/31/2022 at 9:45 AM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

Now you're just being cruel.

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 7/31/2022 at 9:56 AM, THE_BEYONDER said:

In all honesty, ASM #101 was bothering me for a while because I knew I needed to complete that upgrade but I also hated the Morbius character -- and this was before the movie turned him into a global meme and utter joke.  It's always a problem for me when my completist impulses drive me to go after a book I don't love.

I'm not actively monitoring any more, but over several years of searching I learned that good centering and white pages are very rare for this book.  So I went very aggressively after my copy, and knew it was an overpay even as I won it.  Now I am pretty sure I own one of the nicest 9.6s out there, but yeah it would be extremely hard to get back anywhere close to what I paid right now.

This is when you have to look at the total collection and feel good about its overall value relative to your cost basis.  You can drive yourself nuts analyzing the performance of individual books.

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 7/31/2022 at 7:03 AM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

In all honesty, ASM #101 was bothering me for a while because I knew I needed to complete that upgrade but I also hated the Morbius character -- and this was before the movie turned him into a global meme and utter joke.  It's always a problem for me when my completist impulses drive me to go after a book I don't love.

I'm not actively monitoring any more, but over several years of searching I learned that good centering and white pages are very rare for this book.  So I went very aggressively after my copy, and knew it was an overpay even as I won it.  Now I am pretty sure I own one of the nicest 9.6s out there, but yeah it would be extremely hard to get back anywhere close to what I paid right now.

This is when you have to look at the total collection and feel good about its overall value relative to your cost basis.  You can drive yourself nuts analyzing the performance of individual books.

I was just poking fun.  I have no doubt it’s a sweet book, and I’m glad you filled that hole in your collection.  The days of me owning these types of books are long gone, so I live vicariously through collectors like you.  I’m sure I’ll be paying a record high for a Hulk 162 9.6 W when the right copy comes up for sale.

Edited July 31, 2022 by THE_BEYONDER

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 7/31/2022 at 10:21 AM, THE_BEYONDER said:

I was just poking fun.  I have no doubt it’s a sweet book, and I’m glad you filled that whole in your collection.  The days of me owning these types of books are long gone, so I live vicariously through collectors like you.  I’m sure I’ll be paying a record high for a Hulk 162 9.6 W when the right copy comes up for sale.

If it helps, this one cost me $1,200.  Not crazy about the centering, but this is another book I just wanted to check off the list.

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 7/31/2022 at 1:10 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

If it helps, this one cost me $1,200.  Not crazy about the centering, but this is another book I just wanted to check off the list.

I won’t even consider this book without a perfect wrap & white pages.  Would gladly pay $1200 for one. 

[DavidTheDavid]

On 7/30/2022 at 9:00 AM, DC# said:

Here are some Session 1 Results for the July/August ComicLink Auction.    Bargains (relative to past prices anyway) abound if you are a buyer.   Is there another book that has fallen further and faster than Eternals #1?   9.8 copy went for $675 vs the peak of $3.8k in May 2021 (and there were over a dozen copies that sold in the +$3k range).....just brutal.    

 

I missed some auctions in CLink's previous focused auction, and they were even greater bargains than what I've tracked and bid on in the current auction. I was hoping to see prices that low once more (again, I'm talking about just the books I'm looking at) but other copies in the same/near grades are going for more this time. I still have a few I hope to grab for a bargain price. 🤞🏻

[lou_fine]

On 7/30/2022 at 6:44 PM, Microchip said:

Marvel was soft across the board.

From the way I see it, especially when it comes to the BA and CA Marvel books, an over abundance supply is the main issue here.  Especially when it's not just a case of every single dealer having these exact same so-called hot key books at their tables at every single con, but all auction houses having multiple copies of these same books in every one of their auctions.  

Sure, collectors and boardies here always say they can't wait for prices to fall so that they can start buying these books again.  The only problem is this never really happens as buyers only truly want to buy when prices are going upwards with potential gains to be made, as opposed to buying them when they are falling and don't know how much further they will continue to fall.  

[lou_fine]

On 7/31/2022 at 4:51 AM, Erndog said:

It looks like there has been a pretty broad, and sizeable, softening across the board more or less.

It would appear to be much less so with respect to the GA market, especially the classis covers, since these books don't tend to show up as often.  

I was watching a couple of the Frazetta Famous Funnies books and they still seem to be going for record prices, even in mid-grade condition:  

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/famous-funnies-213-eastern-color-1954-cgc-fn-60-cream-to-off-white-pages/a/122230-17289.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

This copy here sold for $12K or 20X the 2021 condition guide value and still at a strong healthy 9.25X the 2022 condition guide value even though Overstreet jacked up the valuations for this book by 158% in this year's edition of the guide.  

 

Although this one here has a lower valuation in the guide as it only went up by about 30% in this year's guide, it still sold for $9K or 15X the 2021 condition guide value and at a very strong 11.6X the 2022 Overstreet condition guide value:  

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/famous-funnies-215-eastern-color-1955-cgc-fn-60-cream-to-off-white-pages/a/122231-11437.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

So, thankfully for now at least, the malise or softening in the marketplace has so far not spread to all corners of the market, as there still seems to be continued ongoing strength when it comes to large parts of the GA marketplace.  

Edited August 1, 2022 by lou_fine

[lou_fine]

On 7/30/2022 at 7:00 AM, DC# said:

Here are some Session 1 Results for the July/August ComicLink Auction.    Bargains (relative to past prices anyway) abound if you are a buyer.   Is there another book that has fallen further and faster than Eternals #1?   9.8 copy went for $675 vs the peak of $3.8k in May 2021 (and there were over a dozen copies that sold in the +$3k range).....just brutal.  

Well, did you see those two record setting prices for Spidey 300 earlier this week at the Heritage Auction:    

https://comics.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?N=52+1063+790+231&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&Nty=1&Ntt=amazing+spider-man+300&limitTo=all&ic4=KeywordSearch-A-K-X-071316

Hard to believe that a signed Newsstand copy can fetched over $30K while an unsigned Newsstand copy can still fetch almost 20K in today's supposedly softening marketplace.  

It's almost like speculators and collectors are trying to split hairs here in order to justify a case of rarity for what is otherwise pretty much a relatively common book, even in nosebleed HG condition.  

Edited August 1, 2022 by lou_fine

[alexgross.com]

On 8/1/2022 at 12:06 PM, lou_fine said:

Well, did you see those two record setting prices for Spidey 300 earlier this week at the Heritage Auction:    

https://comics.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?N=52+1063+790+231&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&Nty=1&Ntt=amazing+spider-man+300&limitTo=all&ic4=KeywordSearch-A-K-X-071316

Hard to believe that a signed Newsstand copy can fetched over $30K while an unsigned Newsstand copy can still fetch almost 20K in today's supposedly softening marketplace.  

It's almost like speculators and collectors are trying to split hairs here in order to justify a case of rarity for what is otherwise pretty much a relatively common book, even in nosebleed HG condition.  

the fact that gpa separated newsstand books from regular copies awhile ago indicates that it's not just splitting hairs. there is clearly a subset of collectors who value newsstands and their rarity. just as there is a strong subset of collectors who will pay enormous sums of money for a graded 9.8 over a 9.6 that is totally undistinguishable from the 9.8 other than by the label. and asm300 seems to be very tough to find in newsstand 9.8 from what i've seen. hence the crazy prices, even during an overall slowdown.