Oh Man I Sure Hope the Comics Market Never Crashes as Bad as the Stamps Market 13 13

[JollyComics]

On 3/1/2022 at 1:13 AM, 500Club said:

My impression has always been that the stamp collecting demographic was much older…?

Yes.  My uncle gave me few hundred stamps when I was ten years old.  That was 48 years ago.  I tried to sell them to any big name auction company. None of them are interested.  They are interested in all pre-1920 and EXTREME rare stamps only.

[Stefan_W]

I remember when the comic market crashed in the 90s, and it was pretty ugly. This is a totally different market though, and I doubt it will happen again on the same scale. 

Having said that, the bigger the book the safer it is when prices dip again. The first ones hit are newer and more common books. 

[THE_BEYONDER]

Good to know there’s a few stamp collectors here.  Going to need some help sorting out a stamp collection soon.

[Galen130]

I have a few stamps from different countries in the world, to show all the traveling I did, but comic collecting got my stamp of approval…

[William-James88]

On 3/1/2022 at 10:17 AM, JollyComics said:

Yes.  My uncle gave me few hundred stamps when I was ten years old.  That was 48 years ago.  I tried to sell them to any big name auction company. None of them are interested.  They are interested in all pre-1920 and EXTREME rare stamps only.

So that means you are...wait...I'll get it...

Also, my post shows that even mint stamps from 1893, which are known and coveted by the community, can be just about worthless as well.

On 3/1/2022 at 10:04 AM, JJ-4 said:

Agree on the fact that there are tons of super hero fans in the younger demographics.  I just don't see enough younger people that actually reading and collecting the comics.  They enjoy the movies and all the ancillary products (from t-shirts to video games) but how many new fans will we need to maintain the collectable aspect of this industry as the older generations start to sell off or leave their collections to family when they get that "celestial discharge".  

That's a part people here don't seem to get. Liking the characters does not automatically mean an interest in collecting comics. Lots of people love TinTin and yet you can still get the first edition of his magazine releases for $40 or less. Also, not all comics are equal. @seanfingh brought up a really good point of the last generation but looked at comics as a whole. There may be some comics that are in their last generation and we don't know it. Will the next generation pick up the mantle on pre code horror? Those prices are ridiculously inflated right now, do we have enough people interested to keep those numbers afloat in 30 years time? Same question for Fiction House books. Someone mentioned comics being IP and full of known characters, and those types of collections do not fit that bill.

Edited March 1, 2022 by William-James88

[JJ-4]

On 3/1/2022 at 8:36 AM, William-James88 said:

That's a part people here don't seem to get. Liking the characters does not automatically mean an interest in collecting comics. Lots of people love TinTin and yet you can still get the first edition of his magazine releases for $40 or less. Also, not all comics are equal. @seanfingh brought up a really good point of the last generation but looked at comics as a whole. There may be some comics that are in their last generation and we don't know it. Will the next generation pick up the mantle on pre code horror? Those prices are ridiculously inflated right now, do we have enough people interested to keep those numbers afloat in 30 years time? Same question for Fiction House books. Someone mentioned comics being IP and full of known characters, and those types of collections do not fit that bill.

"Liking the characters does not automatically mean an interest in collecting comics"   I agree 100%

[Shrevvy]

On 3/1/2022 at 9:48 AM, seanfingh said:

Stamps, Hummels some types of furniture have had the last generation that cares. Comics, coins, sports cards all may die away, but it will be because there is a last generation that cares. We are not there yet, but we may get there.

There is a trophy aspect of some collectibles that help them retain value even as the larger hobby wanes. I don't know hummels, but was there ever a seven figure sale? Six figure? Some collectibles transcend the hobby itself and become cultural items. There has been multiple 7-figure sales of the invert Jenny (some were not singles). I can see the inverted Jenny (or similar key items in any category) holding or increasing in value even as the bulk of the hobby stagnates.  

[shadroch]

On 3/1/2022 at 6:06 AM, Tec-Tac-Toe said:

I eagerly go to my local USPO to purchase stamps ... ... ... to use to mail my payments for comic book purchases.

Buy them from me. I regularly sell postage stamps for about .60 cents on the dollar if you use them to ship. 

[eastriver400]

 

The optimist in me believes the CBMs are creating more and more new collectors by the day.

The pessimist in me questions if it will last. Sure, my 11 year old is obsessed with the Avengers right now, but to him nostalgia will be re-watching the Avengers movies on a screen. 

I wonder if he will care about comic books and first appearances just about as much as I care about the original blues records that inspired Rock music.  

 

Spoiler alert: I don't care at all. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by eastriver31400

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 3/1/2022 at 10:04 AM, JJ-4 said:

Agree on the fact that there are tons of super hero fans in the younger demographics.  I just don't see enough younger people that actually reading and collecting the comics.  They enjoy the movies and all the ancillary products (from t-shirts to video games) but how many new fans will we need to maintain the collectable aspect of this industry as the older generations start to sell off or leave their collections to family when they get that "celestial discharge".  

Educational systems are replacing physical books with computers. If people don't think that this will affect the affinity to read physical products, then IDK what else to say.

The hobby's headliners also feature the books entombed in plastic; The hobby itself is rarely advertising read comic books. When the goal is money, the well will eventually end dry.

[Shrevvy]

On 3/1/2022 at 11:37 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

The hobby's headliners also feature the books entombed in plastic; The hobby itself is rarely advertising read comic books. When the goal is money, the well will eventually end dry.

I agree on the lesser books, that which makes up the bulk of the hobby. For the big books you are referencing, I think it lengthens their life as collectibles. No one in their right mind would kick back on the couch and read the highest grade copy of Action 1. It is no longer a piece of entertainment to be read. It is an asset. It is one that may or may not beat inflation over time. It's purpose has been changed. It is a store of value. It is a trophy to be displayed and ogled, maybe to inspire envy in one's social circle. There will be a small subsection of 11 year olds that are obsessed with the Avengers today that will grow up to create the next tech gizmo, become a movie mogul or make great wealth in any number of ways. He will think back on his fondness for Avengers and display his 9.8 copy for his friends to see even though he never read the book as a kid. 

GG is a New Yorker that was likely not permitted to own a handgun, much less fire one. Yet, the first thing he does is show Sir Larry Wildman "the rarest pistol in the world." Yes, it is fiction, but I think a good piece of fiction that mirrors reality.

 

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:05 PM, Shrevvy said:

I agree on the lesser books, that which makes up the bulk of the hobby. For the big books you are referencing, I think it lengthens their life as collectibles. No one in their right mind would kick back on the couch and read the highest grade copy of Action 1. It is no longer a piece of entertainment to be read. It is an asset. It is one that may or may not beat inflation over time. It's purpose has been changed. It is a store of value. It is a trophy to be displayed and ogled, maybe to inspire envy in one's social circle. There will be a small subsection of 11 year olds that are obsessed with the Avengers today that will grow up to create the next tech gizmo, become a movie mogul or make great wealth in any number of ways. He will think back on his fondness for Avengers and display his 9.8 copy for his friends to see even though he never read the book as a kid.

AC1 is not the only headliner. As has been mentioned, the extremes of the hobby will remain financially valuable.

The 0.01% examples do not debunk the truth.

[Shrevvy]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:08 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

AC1 is not the only headliner. As has been mentioned, the extremes of the hobby will remain financially valuable.

The 0.01% examples do not debunk the truth.

I agree. I think slabbing books and making them into tradable assets changes the nature of the books. Doing so makes the prospect of the top comics holding or growing value for a much longer period than they otherwise would. 

[Falcon760]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:08 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

AC1 is not the only headliner. As has been mentioned, the extremes of the hobby will remain financially valuable.

The 0.01% examples do not debunk the truth.

I think if DC is sold or is massively cut down to a half dozen titles, it could impact the market.  Likewise, if all future Marvel movies tank, the market will relax though probably not crash.

Due to the massive, massive prices for even secondary books, this "hobby" is becoming elitist, and the secondary market is occupied by about a fraction of those buy comics, much less the populace.  I think maybe the biggest sustaining factor is the movies but also the grading companies, who have pumped up the price of even stupidly overprinted books like Lee's X-Men #1.  

As the price increases, the number of people in the secondary market will decrease and it might become like other large assets only available at huge prices, like rare books.  Yes, it will be investable and financially valuable but only for those will thousands and thousands of dollars.

[rexinnih]

On 2/28/2022 at 9:35 PM, Domo Arigato said:

Then why did Disney make that "Lady and the Stamp" movie? 

 

While enjoyable, the Snyder Cut is just too divisive. 

[William-James88]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:14 PM, Shrevvy said:

I agree. I think slabbing books and making them into tradable assets changes the nature of the books. Doing so makes the prospect of the top comics holding or growing value for a much longer period than they otherwise would. 

I'm gonna disagree there, the book is the main asset, not the fact that it's slabbed. There are stories of books that did sell for crazy money when they were the only 9.8 at the time and once more were slabbed at that same high grade, the price crashed. 

Slabbing only helps the buyer and seller complete a transaction.

[500Club]

On 3/1/2022 at 7:48 AM, seanfingh said:

It is all about there being a last generation that cares.  When there is a last generation that cares, the hobby dies. When there is no one to pick up the torch, the inflated values being propped up by the last generation that cares plummet.  Stamps, Hummels some types of furniture have had the last generation that cares. Comics, coins, sports cards all may die away, but it will be because there is a last generation that cares. We are not there yet, but we may get there.

Some good news from the front lines.  Four of us boardies set up at shows together in Western Canada, and I can say that we are seeing a healthy influx of 20-40 something buyers.  In addition, I routinely see younger people in the Graphic Novels section in the bookstores, and our affiliate LCS sells frequently to families with kids.

[F For Fake]

Meanwhile, as someone who would like to be able to AFFORD cool books again one day, I'm over here like "COME ON, CRASH! MAKE LIKE AN INVERTED JENNY AND PLUMMET TO THE EARTH!" 

[Kripsys99]

I worry about the future of the hobby, and the value of my collection dwindling over time. I don't buy books for their monetary value, but I do sometimes rationalize my increasingly expensive hobby with thoughts that I (or my children) may one day recover (at least) the funds which I put into collecting at some point down the road. I think there are fewer and fewer people collecting, and that the number will dwindle even more over time as the generations that actually read comics exit the hobby for one reason or another (cash out, age out, die, etc.). For that reason, I think the commoditization of comics - particularly slabbed comics - may actually be a good thing. I think of my slabbed books as more akin to pieces of art than actual books at this point - visually appealing, and holding some aesthetic and monetary value even to current and future fans of the characters who have no reason to read the books themselves. That's partially why I shifted the focus of my slab collection to books which I both love, and which have good eye appeal slabbed. If I don't think my book will hold much value down the road, I simply keep it in raw form, for myself, knowing I can slab it one day if I so choose (I've never been a numbered grade chaser). Definitely puts a little bit of a damper on things, but lets me fool myself into spending money on collecting relatively guilt free!

[kenaran]

For the near term the market seems healthy.  My concerns are for the longer term.  I got into superhero comics when I was 10-11 in the late 1980's, transitioning from Disney and more traditional 'funny books' my parents used to grab for me at checkstands.  I started reading Superman right at the start of what's now called 'the triangle era' and I was hooked!  I doubt that is a very unique story on these boards. 

Comics today are a VERY different beast.  Here's a UPC from a recent issue of Action Comics, with an Ages 13+ flag, not to mention the price.  Also on certain issues it can be quite the feat just to acquire all the covers (not to mention nothing special is happening within those covers).  As many have mentioned the interest with kids is very much there, but will the books today grab their interest (if their parents don't see the age flags first).