2022 GOLDEN AGE COMIC BOOK MARKET REPORT 8 8

[Robot Man]

In the past few years I have realized that what I think I am overpaying for is usually a joke in mere months or a year later. I don’t use guide or GPA just my experience and common sense. 

I will continue to say, when you have an opportunity on a tough or rare book and you can swing it, grab it. You might be able to upgrade later or you may never have another chance.

My collection contains everything from coverless to Church books. I have never been sorry buying the right books.

About the only books even I will pass on are brittle, excessive tape, large pieces out of front cover or mold. Pretty much everything else is not off the table.

When the time comes to sell off these beaters, I always have happy buyers to snap them up. 

[fifties]

On 1/4/2022 at 7:31 AM, sagii said:

I'm blown away by a competitive bidder or pay through the nose.

Oh believe me, you're the only one who ever experiences that.

[pemart1966]

"Collectors are realizing its better to   that they'd rather have something than nothing on many of these extremely costly in high grade or virtually unseen gold age gems,  driving even missing pieces and low PQ examples up."

Edited January 5, 2022 by pemart1966

[Cat-Man_America]

On 1/4/2022 at 7:09 PM, fifties said:

Oh believe me, you're the only one who ever experiences that.

Nose woodies are not at all uncommon today, but they tend to get whittled down in auctions.  

Edited January 5, 2022 by Cat-Man_America

[Aman619]

as to high grade vs low grade, I think the last 5-10 years have forced us to realize that so many of us made the "mistake" of buying the best copy we could afford for safety and investment potential, and not amassing multiples of low grade keys. As the HG copies have skyrocketed out of reach of collectors, its been the carpy "low grade swill" (as we used to refer to them) that have seen such incredible growth in values as they are eagerly scooped up rather than NOT have a copy.  This applies not only to AF15, but also these highly coveted PCH classics.

[Cat-Man_America]

On 1/4/2022 at 9:35 PM, Aman619 said:

as to high grade vs low grade, I think the last 5-10 years have forced us to realize that so many of us made the "mistake" of buying the best copy we could afford for safety and investment potential, and not amassing multiples of low grade keys. As the HG copies have skyrocketed out of reach of collectors, its been the carpy "low grade swill" (as we used to refer to them) that have seen such incredible growth in values as they are eagerly scooped up rather than NOT have a copy.  This applies not only to AF15, but also these highly coveted PCH classics.

The problem with low grade keys is that they tend to break off in the lock.

Seriously, you're making a good point and I don't disagree, but the issue then becomes one of sustaining value after a steep rise if the market shifts from highly coveted to mostly high grade coveted.   That's when numbers and pecking order matters.

[LearnedHand]

On 1/4/2022 at 10:35 PM, Aman619 said:

as to high grade vs low grade, I think the last 5-10 years have forced us to realize that so many of us made the "mistake" of buying the best copy we could afford for safety and investment potential, and not amassing multiples of low grade keys. As the HG copies have skyrocketed out of reach of collectors, its been the carpy "low grade swill" (as we used to refer to them) that have seen such incredible growth in values as they are eagerly scooped up rather than NOT have a copy.  This applies not only to AF15, but also these highly coveted PCH classics.

 

"Mistake."  LOL.  Only if the purchaser's focus is using the hobby to make money instead of the foundational reasons for the hobby: the fun and satisfaction that comes from the hunt and collecting our favorite titles, artists, and stories.      

[Robot Man]

On 1/5/2022 at 7:04 AM, LearnedHand said:

 

"Mistake."  LOL.  Only if the purchaser's focus is using the hobby to make money instead of the foundational reasons for the hobby: the fun and satisfaction that comes from the hunt and collecting our favorite titles, artists, and stories.      

Sadly, it seems that majority of buyers I sell to seem to be more of flippers and short time “investment” rather than true collectors.

Many flippers seem to care more about the rush of a quick flip rather than the books themselves.

I have always been a collector first and a seller of books that don’t interest me to fund my collection.

Nothing wrong with either approach I guess. Just seems a little sad that the love of the medium has taken a bit of a back seat to the lure of quick cash. 

[Aman619]

Well, we can’t expect to see as much “Love of the medium” as when we were kids because the “medium” is no longer in its infancy.  It’s now a media juggernaut.  These new collectors can’t share our experiences buying and reading them new like we did.  To them they ARE just collectibles with values.  This is Just where we are now after 80 years of comics publishing. I look at it as a success story, albeit with a tinge of sad realization that our hobby isn’t the same, or will ever be going forward.  

but, you know, like so much around us in 2021, what else is new?

[fifties]

I've always collected reader grade copies in order to read them, generally in the Fa to VG range.  The only times I've sold have been where the contents weren't good enough to ever re-read again, or when replacing an undercopy with one better.  I'm usually very cautious handling the copies I had bought in the past in Fine or VF condition, in not wanting to diminish their value.  I don't have this worry with the lower grades.

Now admittedly, I have books in low grade that I would love to get upgrades for, but they have generally sailed beyond my comic book budget.

I have other, better ways of making money; comic book collecting remains a hobby.

 

[Bandelier]

I have really enjoyed reading this thread. It is great to see all perspectives. I'm not very active on here but sharing my perspective as it is one of the newer to the hobby younger guys. I have been around comics, ephemera, and collectibles of all kinds all of my life – I come from a long line of collectors, dealers and traders of all things cool and unique. Although I’ve only recently turned to GA as a serious long term investment... In addition to my 9-5 I do resell just about anything and everything that is of collectible value, but I rarely sell my GA comics. I like them too much, and to me, there doesn’t seem to be market quite like the supply/demand that is GA.

Sure, there will be down turns here and there - but I think the prices will continue to rise for a few reasons. 1.) The current high prices are the norm for newer folks. To new buyers (I will put myself in this category), we simply don’t know what it was like to get the prices of old… That perspective is important, as many who want to get into the hobby don’t have any other option but to pay up. 2.) I feel like the new-to-the-hobby folks putting money in GA are doing so because of a conscious decision to want a tangible object from the past. The condition is not as necessarily as important as the desire to want an actual item in a world that continues to progress towards digital.

I think that the desire to own something “real” has morphed the "key / classic" cover, into that of “any cover” for most new members of the community. To me, this explains the rise in prices across the board. As an example – A new to the hobby friend of mine could not be happier with his very bland and run of the mill copy of a 1944 World’s Finest… Which he paid up for... 3.) Fractional ownership will continue to elevate the prices of true grails and high grade books. I think that this is sad, but it could be a very real scenario going forward. Investment companies will gladly drive prices up to sell shares of a “piece” of that Tec 27 – so that average Joe’s in a very digital world can feel like they have a portion of something that they’d otherwise never touch. 4.) Other collectible avenues are over-saturated in part because of manufactured scarcity vs actual rarity. For those who understand sports cards, the market appears to once again be headed towards over-saturation, as a “1 of 1” has become common place in that hobby. Sports Cards folks, and collectors in other avenues, will continue to turn toward comics because of the desire for a actual rarity.

For what it’s worth there are plenty of deals that are still out there. I think that this is an unspoken knowledge for many folks in this forum who know how to find things. Adapting, getting creative, and finding ways to get that purchase price per/book down as low as possible is what allows average guys like me to get our foot in the door with some mild success here and there.

[BraveDave]

Every collectible has been roaring and soaring. Not unique to comics. The irony is that a lot of inflows into collectibles is from “smart money” looking to diversify their holdings from very expensively priced equities and few bargains in “normal” investment areas.

There are clear bubbles within these collectible markets. GA books is not one of them (even if prices would come down with any broader collectibles slowdown). The bubbles are in Marvel spec (anything tangentially MCU) and modern variants. Those issues with huge supply and lots of visible price gains where stimulus checks are indeed flowing into at the lower end.

The low supply GA and SA issues will do well longer-term. DC books are likely to significantly outperform Marvel. The market overall is at risk but for that to unwind a bunch of other asset classes will need to fall too (less about comics specifically). Inflation, interest rates, and other macro drivers will tell the story. But long-term real scarcity dozens or hundreds of copies, not thousands) and staying-power wins, along with a general acceptance for treating classic comics more like fine art and fine art prints. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by BraveDave

[Tri-Color Brian]

I have been priced out of many of the books on my want list, so I'm going to make a radical move and just buy Westerns with photo cover singing cowboys on them...high grade of course...   Check this out...they're Great...

Edited January 6, 2022 by Tri-ColorBrian

[fishbone]

On 1/6/2022 at 6:40 AM, BraveDave said:

Every collectible has been roaring and soaring. Not unique to comics. The irony is that a lot of inflows into collectibles is from “smart money” looking to diversify their holdings from very expensively priced equities and few bargains in “normal” investment areas.

There are clear bubbles within these collectible markets. GA books is not one of them (even if prices would come down with any broader collectibles slowdown). The bubbles are in Marvel spec (anything tangentially MCU) and modern variants. Those issues with huge supply and lots of visible price gains where stimulus checks are indeed flowing into at the lower end.

The low supply GA and SA issues will do well longer-term. DC books are likely to significantly outperform Marvel. The market overall is at risk but for that to unwind a bunch of other asset classes will need to fall too (less about comics specifically). Inflation, interest rates, and other macro drivers will tell the story. But long-term real scarcity dozens or hundreds of copies, not thousands) and staying-power wins, along with a general acceptance for treating classic comics more like fine art and fine art prints. 

 

 

 

 

^^^^

this  

[aardvark88]

On 1/6/2022 at 3:40 AM, BraveDave said:

Every collectible has been roaring and soaring. Not unique to comics. The irony is that a lot of inflows into collectibles is from “smart money” looking to diversify their holdings from very expensively priced equities and few bargains in “normal” investment areas.

 But long-term real scarcity dozens or hundreds of copies, not thousands) and staying-power wins, along with a general acceptance for treating classic comics more like fine art and fine art prints. 

 

And other countries' collector-investors moving their assets in to American pop culture. e.g. HA.com breaks $1 Billion sales in 2021 link. Inflation is 'a tax on cash' so collector-investors are diversifying as fast as they can in 2021 and 2022. Sky high values on Pokemon base set boxes, factory sealed Super Mario 64 game, Gretzky Canadian O-pee-chee rookie card over $3 mil, AF 15 Cgc 9.6 $3.6 mil.

Michael Jordan loses bid of $100k to relocate a very old oak tree to his mansion.

[tabcom]

2021 was the year I sold off my 70+ raw flash comics collection (avg. VG) on eBay, over a four week period in October/November.

My pre-sale collection estimate was about half of what the collection sold for. Anticipating eBay policy of ‘the buyer is always right’, I got pinched only one time. Having navigated eBay waters for eons, I chalked it up to ‘cost of doing business’.

I feel fortunate that my WWII, Korean War, PCH, Romance bingo card had been fulfilled years ago.

[alexgross.com]

On 1/6/2022 at 11:58 AM, Tri-ColorBrian said:

I have been priced out of many of the books on my want list, so I'm going to make a radical move and just buy Westerns with photo cover singing cowboys on them...high grade of course...   Check this out...they're Great...

smart move! i'm sure you heard denzel was just cast as autry in marvel's upcoming 'gene autry comics' movie. 

[MattTheDuck]

On 1/6/2022 at 5:26 PM, alexgross.com said:

smart move! i'm sure you heard denzel was just cast as autry in marvel's upcoming 'gene autry comics' movie. 

He does have a beautiful singing voice.

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 1/6/2022 at 6:26 PM, alexgross.com said:

smart move! i'm sure you heard denzel was just cast as autry in marvel's upcoming 'gene autry comics' movie. 

Did Stan Lee provide a pre-shot cameo appearance for the movie? 

[october]

On 1/6/2022 at 5:40 AM, BraveDave said:

DC books are likely to significantly outperform Marvel. 

Been waiting for this to happen for the last 20 years. I bet I will wait 20 more.