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Considering selling my Detective Comics # 1 8.5
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90 posts in this topic

I've been mulling over selling my Detective Comics # 1 8.5 with an auction house. They're estimating an obscene amount for the comic.  I purchased it in the 90's for 10k, they are projecting over 100k for it. Normally, I wouldn't, but with comics so high, I am concerned that the price, over time, will just go back to 10k or below. They also want me to list my Superman # 1 @ 7.5, Batman #1 8.5, Spiderman # 1 @ 9.4 and Amazing Fantasy 15 @ 5,  but I am not too keen on selling those.

What would you guys suggest? I've been going back and forth in my mind for years on all of them.  I also have others, but these are probably the most coveted.  The insurance premiums have been going up as the values continue to climb too.

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Do you want to keep the book(s)?  Or are you trying to cash out (retire early?).  What are your plans for the money if you sell? 

Are you just considering because you don't think the market will hold?  Not really sure what the question is here???

Assuming the Tec 1 is Blue Label, I think their estimate of 100k is low.  

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All of those are blue chips keys and will likely continue to climb. Maybe less so with the Tec 1, and the ASM 1 seems to be climbing out of proportion due to the current market, but the others. If you can afford to keep them I recommend doing so. 

Edited by Stefan_W
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If this were reddit, there would be calls for pics or gtfo.

Taking you at your word, to me there are more factors at play here to determine YOUR best course of action.
You don't have to answer these but your age, mortgage status, employment status, and what will be your capital gains on the books.

Personally, there is no way ANY of those books go back to 1990s prices.

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On 4/18/2022 at 12:28 PM, october said:

Your Detective 1 is restored, or unslabbed? I don't see any 8.5 blue copies on the census. 

If I owned a Detective 1 it would stay with me til the grave. 

 

On 4/18/2022 at 12:30 PM, Stefan_W said:

All of those are blue chips keys and will likely continue to climb. Maybe less so with the Tec 1, and the ASM 1 seems to be climbing out of proportion due to the current market, but the others. If you can afford to keep them I recommend doing so. 

 

On 4/18/2022 at 12:29 PM, chrisco37 said:

Do you want to keep the book(s)?  Or are you trying to cash out (retire early?).  What are your plans for the money if you sell? 

Are you just considering because you don't think the market will hold?  Not really sure what the question is here???

Assuming the Tec 1 is Blue Label, I think their estimate of 100k is low.  

 

Dec. 1, SM1, BM1 are restored, the others are all universal.  Was going to sell to build up reserves for another investment. Never really planned to sell them, but the prices are nuts now. Just concerned with the changing of people's tastes that comics may change and they'd be worth much less or heaven forbid, nothing.

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On 4/18/2022 at 12:39 PM, Troy Division said:

If this were reddit, there would be calls for pics or gtfo.

Taking you at your word, to me there are more factors at play here to determine YOUR best course of action.
You don't have to answer these but your age, mortgage status, employment status, and what will be your capital gains on the books.

Personally, there is no way ANY of those books go back to 1990s prices.

I've posted my pictures before, so this is immaterial.

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On 4/18/2022 at 12:42 PM, intlnews said:

 

Dec. 1, SM1, BM1 are restored, the others are all universal.  Was going to sell to build up reserves for another investment. Never really planned to sell them, but the prices are nuts now. Just concerned with the changing of people's tastes that comics may change and they'd be worth much less or heaven forbid, nothing.

Market is on fire right now, for sure (and has been).  But, as someone else said, I don't think you have to worry about not recouping your cost on the Tec 1 even if the market takes a nosedive.  That won't happen in our lifetimes, IMO. 

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I have a personal method that applies to many items including comics.  If you had to buy right now at the presumed price, would you?  To me if the answer is no I wouldn't pay $100k for a restored Detective Comics 1 then I would have my answer.  We all live within our spending limits set by our circumstances.  The question is how do YOU want to spend your resources.  Me I like spending money on cars and comics.  Fancy wine, vacations, homes, clothes, etc. . . . not so much.

Edited by Laszlo the Mudjar
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On 4/18/2022 at 12:42 PM, intlnews said:

 

 

 

Dec. 1, SM1, BM1 are restored, the others are all universal.  Was going to sell to build up reserves for another investment. Never really planned to sell them, but the prices are nuts now. Just concerned with the changing of people's tastes that comics may change and they'd be worth much less or heaven forbid, nothing.

I don't think you have to worry about those books being worthless, or worth far less, in the near or distant future.

It's on you to figure out whether or not you have a better use for the money right now. 

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Unless you need the money right now, keep them. The value of these comics I feel are going to greatly increase over the stock market.

Also keep in mind the auction house wants you to list them because they want the commission. They do not have your best interests at heart.

Edited by Tnexus
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I'm not an experienced comic collector, but given that these are all key #1s you're talking about, I don't see how they will go DOWN in value as time goes by.  Their rate of appreciation may slow, and if that rate slows below the rate of inflation, then yeah, you're technically losing value--but the actual FMV is probably never going down.

I would hold onto them as long as you can afford to do so, unless you can dump the proceeds into an investment with a higher rate of appreciation--and of course only if you are ok with moving on from them.

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Not needing to sell, just wondering if it is wise to consider. Some people know I've been mulling selling some of my collection for years..  Just hard for me to pull the trigger. I also have a full 1 - 30 CGC graded Spider-Man collection. Never would I expect these values on some of these comics. Agreed on the auction houses, but the problem that I will run into with these comics, is the average collectors prob. could not afford these and this takes a huge chunk of potential buyers for the golden age books.

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You have a collection there that a lot of people would swop a limb for just one never mind all !!

as people have said and I agree, the prices aren’t going to go down, just increase at different paces. 
Time goes quickly and another say 2 years could maybe get you even more. 
I suppose only you knows the circumstances on your potential sales reasons. 
good luck with whatever you chose to do. 

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On 4/18/2022 at 2:07 PM, intlnews said:

Not needing to sell, just wondering if it is wise to consider. Some people know I've been mulling selling some of my collection for years..  Just hard for me to pull the trigger. I also have a full 1 - 30 CGC graded Spider-Man collection. Never would I expect these values on some of these comics. Agreed on the auction houses, but the problem that I will run into with these comics, is the average collectors prob. could not afford these and this takes a huge chunk of potential buyers for the golden age books.

Again, not something you have to worry about.

Prices are rising in part because the pool of buyers has grown substantially; you wouldn't have the former without the latter.

As expensive as your books are, the market can absorb them.

Edited by COI
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