Should you always swing for the fences with 9.8 or sometimes settle for less? 1 1

[70s80sTimeMachine]

On 3/9/2022 at 4:36 PM, valiantman said:

https://comics.gpanalysis.com/news/2021/investing-in-cgc-grade-comics-is-higher-grade-better

(clipping from the article)

An investment of $679 in 2005 could have purchased one copy of CGC 9.8 Amazing Spider-Man #300, while an investment of $675 could have purchased 13 copies of CGC 8.5 Amazing Spider-Man #300. The average prices paid in 2021 would have the CGC 9.8 investment (one copy) valued at $6,116 and the CGC 8.5 investment (13 copies) valued at $9,321. If it had been possible to purchase 25 copies of CGC 7.0 Amazing Spider-Man #300 for an average of $27 each, the returns would have been even higher.

An additional consideration is that owning a single copy of CGC 9.8 Amazing Spider-Man #300 could only be “cashed out” by selling the book and no longer having the book in the collection, while owning 13 copies of CGC 8.5 Amazing Spider-Man #300 could be “cashed out” by selling one, two, or even twelve copies of the book, while retaining a copy within the collection.

Good sharing on this data. I'm going to run similar # time period comparisons for SW1, some other not-so blockbuster keys and DC slabs as well.

[valiantman]

On 3/10/2022 at 3:53 PM, 70s80sTimeMachine said:

Good sharing on this data. I'm going to run similar # time period comparisons for SW1, some other not-so blockbuster keys and DC slabs as well.

It's tough to get useful data on books that weren't slabbed often below 9.8 that far back.

[StillOnly25Cents]

10.0 or bust

[an99]

Great topic 👏 

I struggle with this as well. A lot of times the price difference between a 9.8 and a 9.6 is ridiculous, so I opt for the 9.6 or 9.4. 

The thing is if you put and 9.8 and a 9.6 in front of me I most likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

The books I buy are for my personal collection; no one else cares about them but me. 

[70s80sTimeMachine]

On 3/10/2022 at 5:32 PM, valiantman said:

It's tough to get useful data on books that weren't slabbed often below 9.8 that far back.

Great point. I tried Star Wars 1. Just some quick math as there are different ways you can plug the #s i.e. taking a mean average etc. But I'll just pull the highs.

9.8 on 12 sales in 2005, high was $485

9.8 on 47 sales in 2021, high was $8460

That's a multiple of 17.4X

 

8.5 on 9 sales in 2005, high was $51

8.5 on 82 salles in 2021 high was $676

That's a multiple of 13.25 

 

[ComicFill]

I started collecting graded comics 10 years ago. I did a ton of research and basically most people will tell you that the difference between a 9.6 and a 9.8 is a coin flip. 9.8s sometimes go for double a 9.6, maybe more. I'm only buying for myself with no intention of selling, so I targeted 9.6s. I have a little over 400 slabbed books and 70% of them are 9.6. Obviously older books or mega keys are lower grades. But if it is a book where there are plenty of 9.6s and 9.8s I opt for the 9.6 every time.

However, since CGC started offering prescreen I've been getting 9.8s of new books simply because that is all that is out there. So many people send in a bunch of books all prescreened at 9.8 that there aren't any lower grades.

I'm very happy with my choice. I have a buddy that goes after everything at 9.8 and he always talks about how much bigger my collection is. Ya. That's because I can afford 2 or even 3 books for every one he gets.

[D2]

valiantman should change their name to asm300specvaluer. 
 

 

Their point is valid, yes, but not all books have valued at the same rate and intensity as ASM 300. 
 

ASM 300 has become a huge success. We will ignore the fact that a 9.8 went from 2k to 10k back down to 4k though…

 

To the OP’s point, I would recommend getting an account at GPAnalysis and do your research. See what values have changed and gone up. 
 

There are so many variables when discussing this topic. For instance, an expensive 9.8 has a smaller target market. What about white pages? Are we talking about a legacy character or something a bit more… modern?

Everything is a gamble but if you take your time, make a spread sheet, throw in some data on books you want to target, see what their growth was from the last 3 years, and watch the market for the next 3 months… you’ll have your answers. 

[THE_BEYONDER]

It used to be that only the top graded books would experience massive value bumps when announcements/rumours would hit.  These days all the grades go up.  As mentioned above, the best thing to do is get yourself a GPA account, and see what the books you have interest in are currently doing value-wise.  
 

I’ve only bought 3 books this year thus far.  I think I bought in at a decent price, but only time will tell. 

[valiantman]

On 3/15/2022 at 9:28 AM, D2 said:

valiantman should change their name to asm300specvaluer. 
 

 

Their point is valid, yes, but not all books have valued at the same rate and intensity as ASM 300. 

The question was "should you always swing for the fences with 9.8"... and my answer was based on the most submitted book in CGC history.  Of course the answer is valid, and it's not based on speculation.

If you would prefer to skip all the best answers to a very general question, and choose some random middle book for which there is very little historical sales data, it's your time to waste.

[D2]

On 3/15/2022 at 11:02 AM, valiantman said:

The question was "should you always swing for the fences with 9.8"... and my answer was based on the most submitted book in CGC history.  Of course the answer is valid, and it's not based on speculation.

If you would prefer to skip all the best answers to a very general question, and choose some random middle book for which there is very little historical sales data, it's your time to waste.

 it's all good man

I think anyone that has lurked on these boards long enough has heard your asm 300 stories time and time again. 
No harm in loving what you love dude. It's still funny though.

 

Cheers.

[valiantman]

On 3/15/2022 at 10:14 AM, D2 said:

 it's all good man

I think anyone that has lurked on these boards long enough has heard your asm 300 stories time and time again. 
No harm in loving what you love dude. It's still funny though.

 

Cheers.

If you haven't caught on yet, I'm not talking about ASM #300 because I love the book.  I'm talking about ASM #300 because it is the most submitted book in CGC history.

When people ask a question about CGC data, the book that has been submitted more than any other book is always the best place to start.

Warning:  ASM #361 and Spawn #1 both have the potential to become the most submitted book in CGC history.  When/if they do, you'll probably be saying I love those and still ignoring that it's always about the data, not the book.

[D2]

On 3/15/2022 at 11:19 AM, valiantman said:

If you haven't caught on yet, I'm not talking about ASM #300 because I love the book.  I'm talking about ASM #300 because it is the most submitted book in CGC history.

When people ask a question about CGC data, the book that has been submitted more than any other book is always the best place to start.

Warning:  ASM #361 and Spawn #1 both have the potential to become the most submitted book in CGC history.  When/if they do, you'll probably be saying I love those and still ignoring that it's always about the data, not the book.

 

 

They made this emoji just for you. Look, I knew better than to poke you. I am sorry. I knew you'd light up. That wasn't my direct intention. My intention was to point out how even the holy asm 300 has seen a fall... (hence the drop comment I made), and there are dark sides to this market. Again, no harm man. Just ribbing you. I apologize, didn't mean to light you up aaaaaas usual. /tangent

[valiantman]

On 3/15/2022 at 10:28 AM, D2 said:

Just ribbing you. I apologize, didn't mean to light you up aaaaaas usual. /tangent

I think it's ironic that you'd accuse "valiantman" of being "in love" with Amazing Spider-Man #300.

As if Harbinger #1 doesn't exist. 

http://valiantman.com/dream/h1.htm

[D2]

On 3/15/2022 at 11:31 AM, valiantman said:

I think it's ironic that you'd accuse "valiantman" of being "in love" with Amazing Spider-Man #300.

As if Harbinger #1 doesn't exist. 

http://valiantman.com/dream/h1.htm

 well clearly you've purchased all existing valiant books, so I would expect a new target. 

[valiantman]

On 3/15/2022 at 10:33 AM, D2 said:

 well clearly you've purchased all existing valiant books, so I would expect a new target. 

 I think I'm still under 1% on all existing Valiant books... so... no, no new targets. 

[Robot Man]

In a lot of instances, I have a hard time from 9.4-9.8 grading. I would gladly take a couple notches down the scale for the amount of money I’d save.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Robot Man

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 3/15/2022 at 11:28 AM, D2 said:

...there are dark sides to this market...

That's where the cookies are.

[D2]

On 3/15/2022 at 11:42 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

That's where the cookies are.

Now THAT is sound advice right there.