• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Are prices still climbing or have they eased up a bit???
45 45

6,859 posts in this topic

On 1/15/2023 at 6:32 PM, VintageComics said:

It's actually both. 

Highest graded sales pull up lower grade values for collectors who don't want to 'miss the boat' and lower grade numbers when strong do tend to push up higher grade values as high enst collectors feel more confident paying strong to buy high grade copies.

But rarely do I see lower grade values dropping and equalling a drop in high grade values. 

It's important to note that the volume of books coming to market has increased over last year, creating an increase in supply (and that's saying something considering the previous year  of 2021 was a record year for both volume AND prices), so the increase in volume (people looking to cash in) is definitely going to create a price drop. That's normal economics.

From my own experience, selling on a fixed price as been more difficult compared to 6 months ago where everything flew out the door, and it's even a bit slower than 2019 where things sold steady at a moderate pace. This is because people are generally over fixated on GPA and nobody wants to 'overpay' but in reality, when I look at books I've auctioned some books have dropped, there's no denying that, but some have levelled off or sold for within their reasonable range and some are still selling at a high water mark. 

I had a few record numbers at auction that I couldn't move on here or elsewhere at a fixed price for even a fraction of my ask price and they sold at auction well over my ask, which was a nice surprise.

I've also spoken to quite a few higher volume dealers over the last couple of months and most seem to think the market is already rebounding in the general sense. 

It was soft last fall but that softness seems to have firmed up and they are less reluctant to discount again. 

And as I've stated already in this thread, any big books that seemed to sell really cheap at auction over the last few months are being bought by buyers who recognize there are market fluctuations and they are just going to buy on the dips and hold and resell on the bounce, which according to some is already happening.

Appreciate the insight on this. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Semi-related to this topic, but I was watching the Mecum Classic Car auction (another collectible) that has been happening the last few weeks and there seemed to be plenty of big money changing hands. Several set records and most were going over $100K (and there were 4200+ cars in the auction).

Even the announcers were commenting about a lack of slowdown in this market compared to the current economy. Think they did over $200 million in sales for this auction alone :ohnoez:

Write-up can be found here:

https://www.classic-car-auctions.info/usa/2023-mecum-kissimmee-sale-top-auction-results/

-bc

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ended all my auctions and bins on eBay in November as the market had ease up some, my graded inventory was stale, raw books were selling for peanuts and my 1099 for 2022 was big enough. Didn’t slow down my purchases any though. Have a hundred or so fresh slabs to list at some point so I hope the strength of the recent Heritage auction and financial market stability keeps the good times rolling in 2023. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been keeping tabs on the MCS auctions for a number of months, and the January Prime auction that just ended had pretty strong prices.  All the stuff I was watching (and I have and plan on selling soon...all raw keys and semi keys of various grades) ended with great sales, so it doesn't seem the dip at the high grade level is affecting us bottom feeders.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An observation.. we've noticed that slab sales have slowed across most platforms over the past 6 months. With that said, we're achieving some of the best prices we've ever seen on raw books in our auctions. Almost every dealer I know that doesn't deal in nosebleed books has stated the same. Raw books are flying off the shelf and the slabs are sitting collecting dust. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2023 at 1:00 PM, ANDSOLDIT said:

An observation.. we've noticed that slab sales have slowed across most platforms over the past 6 months. With that said, we're achieving some of the best prices we've ever seen on raw books in our auctions. Almost every dealer I know that doesn't deal in nosebleed books has stated the same. Raw books are flying off the shelf and the slabs are sitting collecting dust. 

Bargain hunting? Raw Resurgence? Displeasure with CGC or the other grading entities?  Slabs that remained with pandemic bubble asking prices?  All of those?

BTW I just pulled trigger on some $250 slabs that during the bubble routinely command 1.5k+ . They will probably drop further but I figured I've wanted them for a while and they like many other slabbed books are now at or approaching 2019 levels.

Edited by MAR1979
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2023 at 2:10 PM, VintageComics said:

When the world economy collapsed in 2008, there was the perception that many people lost their livelihoods all over the news. But not everyone did. Your perception is all curated by the powers that be. 

When the market was going up the perception was curated that everything was just fine and booming, even though people who saw through the perception knew we were headed for a crash - and there were a few on here who saw it coming (George, I'm looking at you) - we talked about it in 2005-06 on. 

Then, after the market crashed in 2007-08 the perception was curated that it was all doom and gloom with people jumping out of buildings and markets crashing. 

Some people made a lot of money during that collapse. That collapse MADE some people into who they are today. 

The people who were liquid bought stuff and lent money to the people who didn't have money and the rebound made them even wealthier. 

The general public (and the news, which is really nothing more than mechanism to brainwash the public now - it's not news at all, it's OLDS) will always focus on the bad news, and so when there's a lot of bad news it will just focus on what's dropping. But the people who learned to see through the news ended up benefitting. 

We've become a chicken little society that only focuses on the negatives and when the negativity starts to rise people scramble and run for the hills. Social media, the "news" and 24 hour coverage of everything has exaggerated this to an nth degree. 

These sorts of over reactions are exactly what causes the market volatility and overreaction in so many markets. If people were just a little more patient or a little more stable we wouldn't see these fluctuations. 

So the key is not to get too sucked into the news and learn to think past it. In everything.

I'm not saying everything is rosy. There are some unforeseen or unprecedented times coming economically, but the tops and bottoms of any market generally are a reflection of people's panic and mania, and those are things that can be controlled by people. 

But you need to unplug from the groupthink or you'll never see it. 

Agree with a large part of your post but NOT the bold unless you were referring to volatility both up and down.

The Comic Market like many memorability markets received a huge pandemic bump from 2020-early 2022 with heavy influx of cash and new collectors.  That bubble no longer exists and fewer and fewer of those who jumped on the bandwagon remain each day.

With the bubble burst paired with current economic condition, prices on many books are beginning to return to their 2019 levels.  For those selling comics as  a primary source of income a bias exists in that I'm sure their heart wants the return to the bubble salad days (daze), but you for example logically know of course that won't happen, and for those possessing true business acumen and the understanding of cash flow is king it won't matter all that much.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing  - Socrates


Please note my signature.

 

 

Edited by MAR1979
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2023 at 3:39 PM, MAR1979 said:

Agree with a large part of your post but NOT the bold. The Comic Market like many memorability markets received a huge pandemic bump from 2020-early 2022 with heavy influx of cash and new collectors.  That bubble no longer exists and fewer and fewer of those who jumped on the bandwagon remain each day.

You're just looking at the market from 2020-2022. You need to pull back your telescope to see that bubbles happen regularly in EVERY economic system. They're normal and common. 

I started collecting in 1975 or so and left in the mid 90s for a bit but have been back in for over 20 years and just in those past 20 years there have been multiple bubbles. 

Do you want me to name them all? :D

On 1/16/2023 at 3:39 PM, MAR1979 said:

What you stated in bold would be applicable in current economic conditions if the bubble never occurred, but it did.  Prices on many books are starting to return to their 2019 levels.

There is a big difference between "starting to return" and "have returned to". Let me know when we get there. 

Everything is always "starting to" go somewhere. 

Even Eternals #1 which was always a dishrag, cage liner book in my opinion is never going back to being a dollar book. 

On 1/16/2023 at 3:39 PM, MAR1979 said:

Since selling comics appears to be your primary source of income a bias exists in that I'm sure your heart wants the return to the bubble salad days (daze) of course, but you logically know that won't happen, and for those possessing true business acumen it won't matter all that much.

Thanks for trying to read my mind. Let me know when you succeed. :headpat:

I was NOT a fan of the "bubble" we experienced but I didn't have much control over that. 

My heart wants nothing, actually. I'm content and I can also make money in any market, just as any smart person can. 

As for logic, some use it better than others. :wink:

Edited by VintageComics
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/15/2023 at 6:30 PM, Courageous Cat said:

yep, used CL for the first time, and I'll never make that mistake again

Of course any thing I want at CL sells for more than i can get in on eBay.  I'm sure ask 10 people the same and you'll get 8 different answers.   I think the part to consider is with the bubble burst its a new frontier and new normal's not yet in place.

Edited by MAR1979
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2023 at 3:50 PM, VintageComics said:

You're just looking at the market from 2020-2022. You need to pull back your telescope to see that bubbles happen regularly in EVERY economic system. They're normal and common. 

I started collecting in 1975 or so and left for the 90s but have been back in for over 20 years and just in those past 20 years there have been multiple bubbles. 

Do you want me to name them all? :D

There is a big difference between "starting to return" and "have returned to". Let me know when we get there. 

Everything is always "starting to" go somewhere. 

Even Eternals #1 which was always a dishrag, cage liner book in my opinion is never going back to being a dollar book. 

Thanks for trying to read my mind. Let me know when you succeed. :headpat:

I was NOT a fan of the "bubble" we experienced but I didn't have much control over that. 

My heart wants nothing, actually. I'm content and I can also make money in any market, just as any smart person can. 

As for logic, some use it better than others. :wink:

Edited my post a few times before you response. But yeah Eternals one is not going to be a $50 9.8 book again but it also wont be 2k ever again and will not be 1k ever again. $300 is probably where it will average out in the next 1-2 years. And yeah boring uninteresting comic and boring uninteresting film.

Sellers need to adapt to what ever the market conditions are. Steady cash flow is far more important than getting the highest price, only during a one-in-a-lifetime bubble is that possible across the board. Those who fail to adapt had better have a decent day job :)

 

Edited by MAR1979
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2023 at 3:57 PM, MAR1979 said:

But yeah Eternals one is not going to be a $50 9.8 book again but it also wont be 2k ever again and will not be 1k ever again.

If there's one thing you learn as you get older, it's to (n)ever say the word ever. :wink:

Nobody thought  a lot of things would happen and they happened. 

How many examples do you want? Rocket Racoon? lol

We'll see. 

The real problem is that people see comics as investments and that has changed everything. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2023 at 4:05 PM, VintageComics said:

The real problem is that people see comics as investments and that has changed everything. 

This is not a new phenomenon. Ask Bob Overstreet when it happened.  Incidentally not sure what you mean by the “problem”?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2023 at 11:10 AM, VintageComics said:

 

We've become a chicken little society that only focuses on the negatives and when the negativity starts to rise people scramble and run for the hills. Social media, the "news" and 24 hour coverage of everything has exaggerated this to an nth degree. 

These sorts of over reactions are exactly what causes the market volatility and overreaction in so many markets. If people were just a little more patient or a little more stable we wouldn't see these fluctuations. 

So the key is not to get too sucked into the news and learn to think past it. In everything.

I'm not saying everything is rosy. There are some unforeseen or unprecedented times coming economically, but the tops and bottoms of any market generally are a reflection of people's panic and mania, and those are things that can be controlled by people. 

But you need to unplug from the groupthink or you'll never see it. 

+1000 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2023 at 4:28 PM, ThothAmon said:

This is not a new phenomenon. Ask Bob Overstreet when it happened.  Incidentally not sure what you mean by the “problem”?

When I say "the problem" I meant the volatility created by hyper awareness through the digital world and the chasing, or even leveraging of information to beat or stay ahead of the market. 

Everyone feels pressured to get on the next trend before it starts or get out of the last trend before it ends and this is exaggerated badly in every market, not just comics.

The volatility is the problem that cuts and burns a lot of people but as we've heard over and over, if you're in it for the long term, you're generally winning more than you lose. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Viewing comics as an investment can be a problem, I, like many others, kept buying books in 20-21, some spec books, some SA, some GA. Almost all the spec books are down 70-80% from where I bought in. If I was a true investor I’d dollar cost average and keep buying those books in multiples… but why?… is Kamala Khan or Ironheart or whoever gonna go to 1000$ again anytime soon? Doubtful. I gambled and lost, cut your losses and move on. I guess it’s like buying an option when it comes to movies and tv shows. Either you have the book already and sell or need it and buy, each side hoping for opposite results post transaction… On the other hand, SA and GA are also down but I feel less bad about those purchases, and have been DCAing my way to higher grade books, took some losses some profits, put the money towards slightly better books in hopes of chasing good money (higher grade books) with bad money (books that sell at a loss). So far so good. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/16/2023 at 7:01 PM, dikran said:

Viewing comics as an investment can be a problem, I, like many others, kept buying books in 20-21, some spec books, some SA, some GA. Almost all the spec books are down 70-80% from where I bought in. If I was a true investor I’d dollar cost average and keep buying those books in multiples… but why?… is Kamala Khan or Ironheart or whoever gonna go to 1000$ again anytime soon? Doubtful. I gambled and lost, cut your losses and move on. I guess it’s like buying an option when it comes to movies and tv shows. Either you have the book already and sell or need it and buy, each side hoping for opposite results post transaction… On the other hand, SA and GA are also down but I feel less bad about those purchases, and have been DCAing my way to higher grade books, took some losses some profits, put the money towards slightly better books in hopes of chasing good money (higher grade books) with bad money (books that sell at a loss). So far so good. 

Subconsciously I've done this in the calculator and manually,  but I won't sell to cut losses. You mentioned the Kahn etc, I agree but I didn't go 9,8, I assume if movies and or shows get nostalgia in the future then I might again break even.

I mention Kahn because I too did mostly the modern losses, but not a 9.8 buy in. I figure a 9.4 $150 that is now $75-125, either before or after fees is about a. 50% loss. I do think those will be going up over the long run, and I've been patient with other books. It's the 2010's books that are the most loss, to a deficit level, but I almost feel those are a natural progression for those books or they did that for early 2000's during the 2010's lol

  :ohnoez: bit complicated lol

 

Edited by ADAMANTIUM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
45 45