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

[1Cool]

On 6/12/2024 at 10:38 AM, Stefan_W said:

My experience with buying collections is as follows - take it for what it is worth. During the pandemic people were at home a lot more than usual, and many people cleaned out and going through their stuff. As a result, for a year or so there were more collections available for sale than usual. In 2021 and the first part of 2022 I bought more than twice as many collections as I normally do.

The cost of a glut of collections hitting the market all at once is there were fewer available once things settled down a bit. Sure, some people ask more than is reasonable for their comics, but that has always been the case. The difference now is demand is higher than supply and the competition for collections that are available has grown. Those that are smart enough to shop their collections around to multiple vendors are getting more now than they would have gotten pre-pandemic simply because of the competition for a reduced supply of collections. 

For perspective, pre-pandemic I used to get 3-5 people per week contacting me to try to sell their books. I turned down the vast majority of those do to overall crappiness or what was being offered, but it was always steady. When everyone was at home this rose to 7-10 people contacting me per week. Now, I get a couple of people per month contacting me. 

This is the info I am hearing also.  Things went crazy for a couple years but now things are about half or more of what they were pre-COVID in terms of collections being offered at a reasonable price.  The books are out there but the prices expected have just not fallen to the levels dealers can buy and still make a profit.  I'm sure something will eventually give.

[sfcityduck]

On 10/14/2023 at 9:00 PM, LOC Collectibles said:

If you get a still sealed universal CGC slab and decide to crack it to find either restoration, book is incomplete, or any other major flaw, who's to blame at that point? 

Correct me if I am wrong now, but doesn’t the Certified Guaranty Company contract disclosures reveal that CGC does not “certify” or “guaranty” their grades or notes. Instead, they only “certify” and “guaranty” that the book is the book they say it is, right? If so, you might have a case against CGC if they claim a counterfeit is an original but NOT if a claimed 9.4 is really an 8.0 or a claimed “universal” is a “restored.”

[1Cool]

On 6/11/2024 at 4:38 PM, the blob said:

I suppose anything could have happened and if you were 60 in 2020 and just got laid off you gotta do what you gotta do, but borrowing from your IRA to fund your online comic business sounds crazy even if it was probably profitable for a while there. Seems to me there were a lot more 30-40somethigs who viewed this as diversifying their portfolio at the time. I'm just wondering if this describes some boardies here? You were already doing whatever you were doing well before Covid I presume.

I will say I had multiple friends and even family say I should quit my job and sell books full time with the money being realized from 2019 - early 2022.  I saw multiple instances where people new to the industry were buying out whole booths at cons to open comic book stores or do mass subbing of books during the boom.  I'm not sure if they stole from IRAs but if that many people were going all in when things were going well then it would not surprise me in the least to hear people stole from home equity and IRAs to fund buying more and more books.

[sfcityduck]

On 6/12/2024 at 8:27 AM, 1Cool said:

I will say I had multiple friends and even family say I should quit my job and sell books full time with the money being realized from 2019 - early 2022.  I saw multiple instances where people new to the industry were buying out whole booths at cons to open comic book stores or do mass subbing of books during the boom.  I'm not sure if they stole from IRAs but if that many people were going all in when things were going well then it would not surprise me in the least to hear people stole from home equity and IRAs to fund buying more and more books.

Most of us working salaried jobs had massive extra cash because (1) we weren’t incurring travel expense, (2) weren’t incurring dining and bar expense, (3) weren’t buying as much gas, (4) weren’t buying as many new clothes, etc.  We were all flush with extra cash and for some that led to taking that cash and overpaying for comics. It probably added to the momentum that some folks buy stuff when they are depressed.

[Q.N.S.]

On 6/11/2024 at 7:52 PM, MAR1979 said:

Now if they had had that in 2003 or 2004 they might have remained relevant another 10 years?

 

How do you know they aren't relevant? They are still relevant. 

[NewWorldOrder]

On 6/12/2024 at 8:57 AM, sfcityduck said:

Most of us working salaried jobs had massive extra cash because (1) we weren’t incurring travel expense, (2) weren’t incurring dining and bar expense, (3) weren’t buying as much gas, (4) weren’t buying as many new clothes, etc.  We were all flush with extra cash and for some that led to taking that cash and overpaying for comics. It probably added to the momentum that some folks buy stuff when they are depressed.

And what did most of the population do instead of saving it or reinvesting all that savings?

They spend it all and now credit card debt is at an all time high as inflation eats it all away.

 

Edited Wednesday at 04:56 PM by NewWorldOrder

[1Cool]

On 6/12/2024 at 12:54 PM, NewWorldOrder said:

And what did most of the population do instead of saving it or reinvesting all that savings?

They spend it all and now credit card debt is at an all time high as inflation eats it all away.

 

 

[Stefan_W]

Here is another one for the "odd sale" file. A little over double what copies in grade are going for at the moment.

 

[DC#]

More flatness in the May comic index.....

 

 

[Robot Man]

On 6/12/2024 at 8:57 AM, sfcityduck said:

Most of us working salaried jobs had massive extra cash because (1) we weren’t incurring travel expense, (2) weren’t incurring dining and bar expense, (3) weren’t buying as much gas, (4) weren’t buying as many new clothes, etc.  We were all flush with extra cash and for some that led to taking that cash and overpaying for comics. It probably added to the momentum that some folks buy stuff when they are depressed.

I took that extra cash and paid off my debts. Made for a much more comfortable retirement now. 

[the blob]

On 6/12/2024 at 11:27 AM, 1Cool said:

I will say I had multiple friends and even family say I should quit my job and sell books full time with the money being realized from 2019 - early 2022.  I saw multiple instances where people new to the industry were buying out whole booths at cons to open comic book stores or do mass subbing of books during the boom.  I'm not sure if they stole from IRAs but if that many people were going all in when things were going well then it would not surprise me in the least to hear people stole from home equity and IRAs to fund buying more and more books.

Hey, you could borrow at 3% back then, so maybe raiding home equity

[the blob]

On 6/11/2024 at 6:22 PM, jimjum12 said:

All kidding aside, if your kids are flown the nest, and your mortgage is close to paid, You probably already can. The only real obstacle, is staying current with your clientele. You already know that, my coy friend. YMMV in larger metropolitan areas. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

I've got a while for my youngest and if I retire I am selling my giant expense...I mean house...and moving somewhere cheaper. I've told my youngest he needs to get some scholarships because I am going to be 58 then and was hoping to be out of the rat race.

[jimjum12]

On 6/17/2024 at 4:25 PM, the blob said:

I've got a while for my youngest and if I retire I am selling my giant expense...I mean house...and moving somewhere cheaper. I've told my youngest he needs to get some scholarships because I am going to be 58 then and was hoping to be out of the rat race.

It seems that in your travels, ypu have stumbled onto the Map To Secret Success. GOD BLESS ... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[the blob]

On 6/12/2024 at 11:27 AM, 1Cool said:

I will say I had multiple friends and even family say I should quit my job and sell books full time with the money being realized from 2019 - early 2022.  I saw multiple instances where people new to the industry were buying out whole booths at cons to open comic book stores or do mass subbing of books during the boom.  I'm not sure if they stole from IRAs but if that many people were going all in when things were going well then it would not surprise me in the least to hear people stole from home equity and IRAs to fund buying more and more books.

Whenever people say that to part time dealers in any of these hobbies you almost know the bubble is about to burst. I remember tales of white collar professionals in the early 90s (late 80s?) giving up their careers to sell baseball cards. I'm thinking that didn't work out well for many. I'm not saying it can't be done, but trying to replicate a six figure income via comics (or cards) seems to tough unless you have a huge amount of money to throw at big books where making a 10% profit is real money