How rare are modern newsstand editions? 6 6

[paqart]

For fun, I just called Mile High to ask about their policy regarding newsstand listings in their online catalog. According to the man I spoke with, if it isn't listed, it means two things. First, they don't have it. Second, they have never had it. Once a comic is listed, the listing remains even after they are sold out.

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 2/19/2022 at 4:41 PM, paqart said:

For fun, I just called Mile High to ask about their policy regarding newsstand listings in their online catalog. According to the man I spoke with, if it isn't listed, it means two things. First, they don't have it. Second, they have never had it. Once a comic is listed, the listing remains even after they are sold out.

The never ending listing, that's uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhuhhh 

[paqart]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:43 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

The never ending listing, that's uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhuhhh 

Not sure what you mean by that. It sounds like sarcasm, implying disbelief. Did you intend to convey skepticism of the answer I received from MH?

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:15 PM, paqart said:

Not sure what you mean by that. It sounds like sarcasm, implying disbelief. Did you intend to convey skepticism of the answer I received from MH?

You said they have a listing, forever (to paraphrase) even if they're sold out?

On 2/19/2022 at 5:43 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

The never ending listing, that's uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhuhhh 

That sounds like a never ending listing, which I didnt know was possible is all. Cheers 

[paqart]

On 2/19/2022 at 7:17 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

You said they have a listing, forever (to paraphrase) even if they're sold out?

That sounds like a never ending listing, which I didnt know was possible is all. Cheers 

I see. Well, it's more of a price list. You'd have to call to see if they have any copies in stock.

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:21 PM, paqart said:

I see. Well, it's more of a price list. You'd have to call to see if they have any copies in stock.

Ya tbh I've never tried them out. Due to hype o gossip, I confess that I've perused, but never found it too tempting.

That's ok if they've got the only available. I'm sure they've earned that, but I won't guess as to what they should for their business practices. Only heard rumors, which has me stay away....

[valiantman]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:24 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

That's ok if they've got the only available. I'm sure they've earned that, but I won't guess as to what they should for their business practices. Only heard rumors, which has me stay away....

"The listing remains" just means they have it showing as a book that exists when you search, but there are none in the inventory in any condition.

You can't add the ASM #439 Newsstand to your order, in any condition, but they have a photo for reference and some (imaginary) prices if they did have some in stock.

There are other newsstand books where they don't even have a photo, and they don't even list that the newsstand book exists (like Spawn #137 newsstand).  That indicates they've never even had a copy in stock.

In reality, they've probably had lots of newsstand books that were cherry-picked before Mile High was paying attention, and they didn't get a photo because they didn't check their inventory until they were sold out.

Edited February 21, 2022 by valiantman

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 2/21/2022 at 11:11 AM, valiantman said:

"The listing remains" just means they have it showing as a book that exists when you search, but there are none in the inventory in any condition.

You can't add the ASM #439 Newsstand to your order, in any condition, but they have a photo for reference and some (imaginary) prices if they did have some in stock.

There are other newsstand books where they don't even have a photo, and they don't even list that the newsstand book exists (like Spawn #137 newsstand).  That indicates they've never even had a copy in stock.

I guess I can understand that  

Especially on "their" site, specifically. What threw me was the ebay mention, which would be annoying, but idk.

[valiantman]

On 2/21/2022 at 11:13 AM, ADAMANTIUM said:

I guess I can understand that  

Especially on "their" site, specifically. What threw me was the ebay mention, which would be annoying, but idk.

Right. MileHighComics.com shows their whole database, including prices for books they don't have in stock, and it can be helpful as a reference for cover photos (despite the Mile High watermark) even when they don't have the books.

They shouldn't be listing anything on eBay that isn't actually in stock.  They probably do, but it's easier to get a refund on eBay. 

I used to get frustrated with MileHighComics.com because I would order books from their website that were showing as "in stock", then add some other books to make the shipping cost less of a factor per book, then they would be out of the books that I really wanted in the first place and only send me the afterthought books that I had added.  I was paying full shipping cost for my secondary books, and getting none from primary choices.

[divad]

On 2/18/2022 at 12:26 PM, paqart said:

owned by one of the first people to draw attention to newsstands,

Ok, this is incorrect. Better said would be, one of the first businesses to start charging a significant premium for _________ (fill it in for anything or whatever you want, and then add newsstands, but only after they had been discussed here.)

[divad]

On 2/21/2022 at 9:21 AM, valiantman said:

They shouldn't be listing anything on eBay that isn't actually in stock. 

 It's all about the traffic to them.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 2/21/2022 at 5:11 PM, valiantman said:

In reality, they've probably had lots of newsstand books that were cherry-picked before Mile High was paying attention, and they didn't get a photo because they didn't check their inventory until they were sold out.

That's my belief. I was quietly gathering Spideys and then one day he suddenly caught on and blew the prices up with his nonsense 100x multiplier thing. Or thereabouts. Others followed suit and that was the end of that. There's no argument how comparatively hard to find later newsstands are - but that doesn't mean they should be priced to the same perceived ratio, however accurate. The market decided how newsstands should be priced, naturally. Then Chuck ruined it.

[valiantman]

On 2/22/2022 at 5:29 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

That's my belief. I was quietly gathering Spideys and then one day he suddenly caught on and blew the prices up with his nonsense 100x multiplier thing. Or thereabouts. Others followed suit and that was the end of that. There's no argument how comparatively hard to find later newsstands are - but that doesn't mean they should be priced to the same perceived ratio, however accurate. The market decided how newsstands should be priced, naturally. Then Chuck ruined it.

In a fixed price scenario, when newsstands were priced too low, they sold easily.  To find the correct market price, you'd have to purposefully set a fixed price too high (beyond the price you could sell any) and then gradually lower the price until they started selling again.  It doesn't work the other way... gradually raising the fixed price, because there will likely be none left by the time the correct market price is found.

[mr_highgrade]

On 2/24/2022 at 12:40 PM, valiantman said:

In a fixed price scenario, when newsstands were priced too low, they sold easily.  To find the correct market price, you'd have to purposefully set a fixed price too high (beyond the price you could sell any) and then gradually lower the price until they started selling again.  It doesn't work the other way... gradually raising the fixed price, because there will likely be none left by the time the correct market price is found.

The very few modern newsies CGC 9.8's that I've sold so far, went for an average of $200-$300. With the exception of a couple of books that went for $800. 

[Phantomfil]

On 2/1/2022 at 4:24 PM, valiantman said:

Playing devil's advocate, it is possible that the vast majority of newsstand comic holders (whether original purchases when new or "hoarders" in the years that followed) are either 1) not on eBay or they are not eBay sellers (many eBay users only buy) or 2) are not interested in selling for only a small profit (holding out for the future).

Where we have counter-arguments are situations like Ultimate Fallout #4 newsstand, which has sales of $1,000+ in any condition, and generally represents one of the highest profits possible for modern books - effectively eliminating argument 2) that the profit isn't enough.  That leaves "not on eBay" and "not an eBay seller" as the likely scenarios for "where are all the Ultimate Fallout #4 newsstand books that should exist?"

We have no proof that Ultimate Fallout #4 newsstand books aren't overwhelmingly in the hands of uninformed collectors who don't realize the value, but that doesn't give us much reason to expect a flood of them anytime soon.  "One clueless collector at a time" will definitely increase the number of newsstands sold (similar to how new copies of Action Comics #1 turn up), but it's not happening nearly as often as we should expect now that any half-decent copy of UF #4 newsstand has been thousands of dollars for a few years.  The Lifesuggs Barnes & Noble newsstand hoard of 2018 looked like it only had two copies in it, and he (and his supplier) knew exactly what they were doing.

Came across this thread searching for information on Ultimate Fallout #4 newsstand, then saw your post.   This resonated with me because i was on of these uninformed, clueless collectors and picked up a UF#4 newsstand from my local LCS.   In hindsight, I believe they were clueless as well because it was raw and in regular stock.  I collected in an era when newsstand was the majority of books, so I didn't even notice it was newsstand.   I knew it was 1st app. of Miles but thought it as minor key.   I just put it in the personal collection and didn't think about it.   Then 1 day I posted in a group for 1st appearance Friday.....someone told me what it was and to get it graded.  Thanks to that guy, i did.   I'm sure the numbers of newsstands are low but there could be others out there in hands of individuals or shops that don't know.  For time frame, i purchased from LCS in 10/2020

[Phantomfil]

Trying to find out rarity of this one.  Cannot find much information other than 1 sold June 2020.  Wasn't really a Newsstand fan, just lucked into it..

Edited March 5, 2022 by Phantomfil

[valiantman]

On 3/3/2022 at 4:49 PM, Phantomfil said:

Trying to find out rarity of this one.  Cannot find much information other than 1 sold June 2021  Wasn't really a Newsstand fan, just lucked into it..

No recent public sales on GPAnalysis (in any grade), so your best bet might be to consign it to an auction house that regularly handles $10,000+ moderns (like TMNT #1 or the UF #4 Variant) and see how high it can go.

[paqart]

On 2/24/2022 at 12:40 PM, valiantman said:

In a fixed price scenario, when newsstands were priced too low, they sold easily.  To find the correct market price, you'd have to purposefully set a fixed price too high (beyond the price you could sell any) and then gradually lower the price until they started selling again.  It doesn't work the other way... gradually raising the fixed price, because there will likely be none left by the time the correct market price is found.

I wonder how many people have decided not to sell because they have discovered that certain newsstand editions are much rarer than they expected? I got into this originally as a way to get underpriced comics (newsstands) that I could trade for what I actually collect (Silver and Golden age). Instead, once I realized how rare they are, I can't stand the idea of letting them go. I figure that if I do, I may never see the comic again. This applies primarily to the more recent newsstands from about 2000 on. Earlier comics I don't mind selling or trading as much because I know I can find them again. That said, a little while ago, I bought almost two dozen high grade newsstand Spawns, all from around 1994. About ten days after I bought them, I was offered a 250% profit. I didn't sell. I don't even like Spawn. And yet, I am aware of exactly how hard it is to find certain comics and don't want to go through it again for the comics I already have. 

I know my attitude doesn't make sense but that doesn't affect my behavior. This came to mind in the context of your idea for an experiment to determine the right price for these. I've thought about doing something like that with some of the issues I have multiples of but didn't for the reason given above. To date, the only newsstands I've sold came out of a batch of 225 that I sold to a friend. He took 10% of the comics in exchange for 100% of the purchase price, making the remainder free to me.

[mr_highgrade]

On 3/5/2022 at 6:28 PM, paqart said:

I wonder how many people have decided not to sell because they have discovered that certain newsstand editions are much rarer than they expected? I got into this originally as a way to get underpriced comics (newsstands) that I could trade for what I actually collect (Silver and Golden age). Instead, once I realized how rare they are, I can't stand the idea of letting them go. I figure that if I do, I may never see the comic again. This applies primarily to the more recent newsstands from about 2000 on. Earlier comics I don't mind selling or trading as much because I know I can find them again. That said, a little while ago, I bought almost two dozen high grade newsstand Spawns, all from around 1994. About ten days after I bought them, I was offered a 250% profit. I didn't sell. I don't even like Spawn. And yet, I am aware of exactly how hard it is to find certain comics and don't want to go through it again for the comics I already have. 

I know my attitude doesn't make sense but that doesn't affect my behavior. This came to mind in the context of your idea for an experiment to determine the right price for these. I've thought about doing something like that with some of the issues I have multiples of but didn't for the reason given above. To date, the only newsstands I've sold came out of a batch of 225 that I sold to a friend. He took 10% of the comics in exchange for 100% of the purchase price, making the remainder free to me.

I am in the same boat, I rarely sell my CGC 9.8 newsies, unless I have dupes. Although, there's been a few times that someone made me an offer that I couldn't refuse. 

[Lobstrosity]

On 3/5/2022 at 5:28 PM, paqart said:

I wonder how many people have decided not to sell because they have discovered that certain newsstand editions are much rarer than they expected? I got into this originally as a way to get underpriced comics (newsstands) that I could trade for what I actually collect (Silver and Golden age). Instead, once I realized how rare they are, I can't stand the idea of letting them go. I figure that if I do, I may never see the comic again. This applies primarily to the more recent newsstands from about 2000 on. Earlier comics I don't mind selling or trading as much because I know I can find them again. That said, a little while ago, I bought almost two dozen high grade newsstand Spawns, all from around 1994. About ten days after I bought them, I was offered a 250% profit. I didn't sell. I don't even like Spawn. And yet, I am aware of exactly how hard it is to find certain comics and don't want to go through it again for the comics I already have. 

I know my attitude doesn't make sense but that doesn't affect my behavior. This came to mind in the context of your idea for an experiment to determine the right price for these. I've thought about doing something like that with some of the issues I have multiples of but didn't for the reason given above. To date, the only newsstands I've sold came out of a batch of 225 that I sold to a friend. He took 10% of the comics in exchange for 100% of the purchase price, making the remainder free to me.

This explains why you never got back to me I guess