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

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

On 4/8/2024 at 9:11 PM, Hepcat said:

Sad to hear but that's quite common in long marriages. Eventually the bloom comes off the romance.

I see what you are doing here. Pretty funny

[the blob]

On 4/9/2024 at 12:03 PM, 1Cool said:

You would be hard pressed to find any dealer who didn't sell to speculators during and before COVID.  There was a lot of money made doing that so I'd think pretty much everyone would lament losing that steady stream of income.  Plenty of dealers did a bunch of business in other areas of the hobby but movie speculator's money paid for plenty of vacations and children school loans for a bunch of people.

Sure, but maybe not lamenting so much. Fact is, the speculators made it harder for dealers to get stuff that was liquid, although I suppose in the peak of the madness it may have allowed them to sell some books that had been illiquid (is that a word?) for a while, maybe, I'm still not sure how it impacted their more generic filler stock, although anything that could be remotely considered a borderline semi semi key was lifted.

Edited April 9 by the blob

[1Cool]

On 4/9/2024 at 2:33 PM, the blob said:

Sure, but maybe not lamenting so much. Fact is, the speculators made it harder for dealers to get stuff that was liquid, although I suppose in the peak of the madness it may have allowed them to sell some books that had been illiquid (is that a word?) for a while, maybe, I'm still not sure how it impacted their more generic filler stock, although anything that could be remotely considered a borderline semi semi key was lifted.

I can see why the guys who only specialize in older books could see the hot copper / modern spec buyers as a nuisance but those guys seem to have done pretty well during the boom even though they missed out on some easy more modern money.  A dealer can't complain much when their copper age books get wiped out at $5 a piece when they had been sitting on them for years - even if they didn't get post explosion prices on some of them.  A scorching hot market benefits pretty much every seller and I'm sure almost all will miss the movie spec money revenue one way or another. 

[The humble Watcher lurking]

So no disrespect on any one here but stocks better long term or short. Plus every year inflation hits 2 percent every year, so basically like my friend says you need at least percent 5 percent which banks saving account gurantee, so weird most Americans know how to program their Smart TVs and remotes than Stock Market. 

Edited April 10 by The humble Watcher lurking
Spelt inflation wrong. This AI smarter than me. Ha ha

[Robot Man]

On 4/10/2024 at 5:23 AM, 1Cool said:

I can see why the guys who only specialize in older books could see the hot copper / modern spec buyers as a nuisance but those guys seem to have done pretty well during the boom even though they missed out on some easy more modern money.  A dealer can't complain much when their copper age books get wiped out at $5 a piece when they had been sitting on them for years - even if they didn't get post explosion prices on some of them.  A scorching hot market benefits pretty much every seller and I'm sure almost all will miss the movie spec money revenue one way or another. 

I would much prefer a couple nice SA books or one nice GA books over countless boxes of common easy to get copper or modern books. Takes up a lot less room and much easier to keep track of. In all my years in this hobby, I have found that good scarcer GA books have way out preformed newer ones. 

[Hepcat]

On 4/10/2024 at 8:23 AM, 1Cool said:

A scorching hot market benefits pretty much every seller.... 

But it doesn't benefit the collector. That's the group with whom I identify/sympathize.

Edited April 10 by Hepcat

[1Cool]

On 4/10/2024 at 11:12 AM, Robot Man said:

I would much prefer a couple nice SA books or one nice GA books over countless boxes of common easy to get copper or modern books. Takes up a lot less room and much easier to keep track of. In all my years in this hobby, I have found that good scarcer GA books have way out preformed newer ones. 

For a buy it and hold it for awhile buyer and seller I can see why you would think that (especially someone who likes to get up early and is knowledgeable about how to get those tough to find gems) but if you are a buy it and sell it fast guy I completely disagree.  Buying and selling only SA/GA gems is basically like trying to hit only home runs and we know how tough it is to live on those.  Bronze and Copper books are pretty much everywhere so it really doesn't take getting up early mornings to hit up auctions when there are long boxes of newer books to buy and sell.  From a selling opportunity, the newer stuff was a gold rush when they were red hot which is an opportunity we won't see again for a very long time (if ever).

[1Cool]

On 4/10/2024 at 11:59 AM, Hepcat said:

But it doesn't benefit the collector. That's the group with whom I identify/sympathize.

For someone just starting out that didn't have to have keys, high grade pre-70s stuff or hot book of the week I think the last 10 years was a great opportunity to be a collector in comic books.  Prices on run books have been very soft and I remember quite a few books I paid more for in the late 1980 compared to what I can sell them for now.  And when you consider most collectors had a field day selling under copies to be able to fund those "over priced" grail books there wasn't many people losing their shirt in the stampede.  Now that prices are receding, and demand is down for quite a bit do you think most collectors are happier or sadder knowing prices could be going down compared to when they eventually sell?

[Hepcat]

On 4/10/2024 at 12:18 PM, 1Cool said:

Now that prices are receding, and demand is down for quite a bit do you think most collectors are happier or sadder knowing prices could be going down compared to when they eventually sell?

Sell? You mean part with my comics? Is that possible?

On 4/10/2024 at 12:12 PM, 1Cool said:

...but if you are a buy it and sell it fast guy I completely disagree.

Why ever should any comic enthusiast sympathize with that lot?

 

Edited April 10 by Hepcat

[1Cool]

On 4/10/2024 at 12:42 PM, Hepcat said:

Sell? You mean part with my comics? Is that possible?

Why ever should any comic enthusiast sympathize with that lot?

 

I don't hear many sellers asking for bailouts or asking people to be sorry for them since the market has been turned on it's head for a lot of people?  The market is what it is - great at times and terrible at other times and people adapt or they go do something else with their time.  Based on the dozens of low ball offers I get all the time asking me to cut my prices since the person is a lowly collector that can't afford that one book that they will never, ever sell, I'd say collectors have been asking for sympathy for quite some time but I guess that's the difference between passion and profits.

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 4/10/2024 at 9:18 AM, 1Cool said:

I remember quite a few books I paid more for in the late 1980s compared to what I can sell them for now.

[MattrixAlien]

There's keys that are still expensive or even rising. But a Batman key I gave up on during the boom I've just circled back to it on eBay & it's selling for almost a third of that price now. Will probably pull the trigger in an auction 

[the blob]

On 4/10/2024 at 8:23 AM, 1Cool said:

I can see why the guys who only specialize in older books could see the hot copper / modern spec buyers as a nuisance but those guys seem to have done pretty well during the boom even though they missed out on some easy more modern money.  A dealer can't complain much when their copper age books get wiped out at $5 a piece when they had been sitting on them for years - even if they didn't get post explosion prices on some of them.  A scorching hot market benefits pretty much every seller and I'm sure almost all will miss the movie spec money revenue one way or another. 

Was this really happening? I was participating in the frenzy in 2021, but I wasn't able to sell filler books for $5, just a lot more stuff became interesting to people (any moon knight with a cool cover, etc.), a lot of semi keys appeared, I might have stopped selling before things got too nuts.

[the blob]

On 4/10/2024 at 12:18 PM, 1Cool said:

For someone just starting out that didn't have to have keys, high grade pre-70s stuff or hot book of the week I think the last 10 years was a great opportunity to be a collector in comic books.  Prices on run books have been very soft and I remember quite a few books I paid more for in the late 1980 compared to what I can sell them for now.  And when you consider most collectors had a field day selling under copies to be able to fund those "over priced" grail books there wasn't many people losing their shirt in the stampede.  Now that prices are receding, and demand is down for quite a bit do you think most collectors are happier or sadder knowing prices could be going down compared to when they eventually sell?

The last show I went to was probably 2019, but it sounds like things are cheaper now? I always found that I could go to a show with $300-400 and walk away with more cool stuff than I could carry and those were in NYC, where it might have been more expensive. I'm getting the sense that it is no longer possible to spend $400-500 at a show, sell $1000=1500 of the stuff you bought on ebay (all the low hanging fruit), and still wind up keeping 75% of it?

[Stefan_W]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:30 AM, the blob said:

Was this really happening? I was participating in the frenzy in 2021, but I wasn't able to sell filler books for $5, just a lot more stuff became interesting to people (any moon knight with a cool cover, etc.), a lot of semi keys appeared, I might have stopped selling before things got too nuts.

My experience was that the feeding frenzy during 2021 mostly involved key books and potential key books, with the biggest short term gains revolving around movie spec stuff. However, the fact that a lot of people were at home during the pandemic with no chance of taking a trip, or even finding a contractor to do house repairs, meant a lot of people were sitting around on their computer buying up all sorts of other comics as well. The way it worked for me was that my big books sold early and for prices I never thought I would see, but in the midst of all of that I was adapting and selling a lot of other filler books through my Facebook group as well. I had to because I was running out of space and there were no comic shows where I could set up a table and blow out a few boxes. There will always be crappy books that no one will give you money for, but from 2021 onwards I discovered I could actually sell quite a few 4-10 dollar books to people who were puttering around online and looking to fill out runs. 

[1Cool]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:30 AM, the blob said:

Was this really happening? I was participating in the frenzy in 2021, but I wasn't able to sell filler books for $5, just a lot more stuff became interesting to people (any moon knight with a cool cover, etc.), a lot of semi keys appeared, I might have stopped selling before things got too nuts.

Were dealers able to sell copper age filler books for $5 when they exploded overnight to be $25 - $30 books because of some movie hype - heck yea.  I'd go on Bob's website all the time and grab stacks of his books that had just gotten hot.  I'm sure he didn't mind selling off a dozen books for $60 that he probably had $6 invested in.  I'd go to Cons and buy stacks of spec books with a 20% bulk discount (which I'm sure the guy loved to move) and sell them for 2-3x within a couple months.  It wasn't just the books that were currently hot but books that could get hot (ie Power Pack 1, Spider-Woman 1, etc) where plentiful in the $5 boxes and easy sales for $20 during the hayday.  Now not so much

[1Cool]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:36 AM, the blob said:

The last show I went to was probably 2019, but it sounds like things are cheaper now? I always found that I could go to a show with $300-400 and walk away with more cool stuff than I could carry and those were in NYC, where it might have been more expensive. I'm getting the sense that it is no longer possible to spend $400-500 at a show, sell $1000=1500 of the stuff you bought on ebay (all the low hanging fruit), and still wind up keeping 75% of it?

It's getting back to those type of shows but the problem is you have to be really careful what books you buy for $500 since it's a LOT tougher to find books that will sell for $1,000 on e-bay since the market seems to be shifted to tougher to find books and blue chip books.  There still are books like Dave Stevens books that are hot right now (not really sure why the masses deemed his books to be hot all at once but hive mind is strong right now) but I see very few people hunting through boxes pulling out possible hot books at shows this year.  The local shows in 2023 / 2024 where the first shows that I saw virtually no pre-show buying going on unless the person was a newbie and didn't know what they had.  The feeding frenzy when books come into the room is basically dead since dealers are in the sell what I have mode (unless its ultra premium).

[Chip Cataldo]

I'm seeing a lot of $20-30 stuff that's come crashing back down to Earth selling VERY steadily. As in whenever I get a copy in it's gone pretty quickly. West Coast Avengers #94, Daredevil #270, Venom Lethal Protector #1, Spawn #1, etc. You just need to buy at the right price to begin with, as you well know.

[jimjum12]

On 4/10/2024 at 8:23 AM, 1Cool said:

I can see why the guys who only specialize in older books could see the hot copper / modern spec buyers as a nuisance but those guys seem to have done pretty well during the boom even though they missed out on some easy more modern money.  A dealer can't complain much when their copper age books get wiped out at $5 a piece when they had been sitting on them for years - even if they didn't get post explosion prices on some of them.  A scorching hot market benefits pretty much every seller and I'm sure almost all will miss the movie spec money revenue one way or another. 

... with one exception. The collectors won't miss it.  GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[the blob]

Is this really typical of MCS prices nowadays? I'll be honest, I don't think I have ever bought moderns or copper there, but I did buy a bunch of old archies and some BA stuff at what I thought were pretty reasonable prices, are all their dollar box books now $8-9? 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/315282202077?itmmeta=01HV6XMYPN6AQC6A7QQ4ZVCZ7X&hash=item4968489ddd:g:yfsAAOSw9fJmFTkP&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4Hq6DiBpVRRJL5Ol24Xq0QsHg29q94scnZ3EvqA%2B5wTnfFFFNEibbQPFClnvZrYYbj3muvU25O1Hg7EDfWfVl0m0nYr631R83FWuZp%2FCAPyh16EObKZuGelI4rdMi1Kdmbgyy0y6dUJI9p9z%2BS52ngn5rZCd8jZ2q6AZK9Si%2FjV%2FfILsrQ%2Bvv%2FIgXIIdgFrPGR%2BkIL93RWv1b7QhYjO%2FB%2Bc7IMXDBwsG6Mswasa80y%2BcCIcgC7FUD%2BKe7A4huP0Rqr%2BdokSkX7ktEYvcC3GsnAZI%2B23svzwWr3dNZdHF5WLg|tkp%3ABk9SR7Tr093ZYw

https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?q=Avengers+315