It's that time. New Overstreet 53rd Ed. out tomorrow. I still love the book. 3 3

[tth2]

On 7/19/2023 at 11:31 PM, aardvark88 said:

On 7/19/2023 at 7:48 AM, lou_fine said:

The only problem being that although he put in huge valuation increases to reflect the Covid/crypto crazy price increases that took place in 2020 and 2021, the market for some of the SA books and readily available so-called BA and CA keys did a complete 180 degree price reversal to the point that some of them even dropped by more than half of their 2021 marketplace prices.  

To the point that the 2022 Guide is now substantially higher than the current marketplace prices on some of these more readily available books which makes me wonder how Overstreet is going to reflect this in the new guide?  Especially since we all know how much he absolutely hates to put price decreases in his guide.  

 

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Solution seems to be reprint the Overstreet 2021-22 edition but add color cover pics to restore the Guide pricing for year 2022 to May 2023 equilibrium for this week's release of Overstreet 2023-24.

Or join the rest of the 21st century collectors and not rely on the Guide for pricing.

[lou_fine]

On 7/19/2023 at 9:01 PM, tth2 said:

Or join the rest of the 21st century collectors and not rely on the Guide for pricing.

Like I've said before, I need the guide to determine the discount to condition guide that I am willing to pay when I buy a book.  

Of course, I also need the guide to determine the multiple to condition guide that I am willing to let a book go for when it comes time to sell.  

What more can you ask for when the guide valuations can be used to serve two opposing purposes at the same time.    

Edited July 20, 2023 by lou_fine

[Bookery]

On 7/18/2023 at 7:48 PM, lou_fine said:

The only problem being that although he put in huge valuation increases to reflect the Covid/crypto crazy price increases that took place in 2020 and 2021, the market for some of the SA books and readily available so-called BA and CA keys did a complete 180 degree price reversal to the poiint that some of them even dropped by more than half of their 2021 marketplace prices.  

To the point that the 2022 Guide is now substantially higher than the current marketplace prices on some of these more readily available books which makes me wonder how Overstreet is going to reflect this in the new guide?  Especially since we all know how much he absolutely hates to put price decreases in his guide.  

Yep, it looks like Overstreet clearly picked the wrong year to go all out with some of his huge double and even triple digit percentage valuation increases in his guide last year.  

I can feel for the editors at Overstreet (I thought Overstreet himself hadn't had anything to do with guide for years, but I could be wrong?).  When I began to get the first pulp guide ready for 2001, prices really hadn't changed much on pulps in 10-20 years.  But in the time between compiling data, organizing it, getting it to the printers, etc., eBay had suddenly discovered pulps.  By the time the book was published in the summer of 2001, prices were already outdated.  Fast-forward to 2019, as I was working to update with the "2nd" (actually 3rd) edition.  Prices had stabilized for awhile.  Pricing is already several months old by the time you get the text organized, the material sent off to the publisher (this time Heritage), it goes through editorial revisions, then off to the printers.  In a stable market, not a big deal.  But once again my timing was off.  By the book's release in 2020, CGC had announced it would be slabbing pulps, which was a huge and immediate market driver.  Then Covid hit, and pricing of all collectibles went through the roof.  

By the time the book came out, some of the prices were off by a factor of 5x-10x!  So much so, that after all that work, Heritage only ran off a few hundred copies and called it a day, feeling that it was already an outdated work (though for some reason, they still quote its values in their auctions).  

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

I didn’t notice any outlandish value changes, but I haven’t had time to completely analyze. Anyone notice anything unusual in any particular area or book?

[ThothAmon]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:00 AM, lou_fine said:

I need the guide to determine the discount to condition guide that I am willing to pay

Used this beauty to buy a nice collection a few months back. Seller wanted 50% of FN.   

 

[MAR1979]

On 7/19/2023 at 3:03 PM, sfcityduck said:

I don't buy it for pricing. But it provides loads of informations more accurate and comprehensive than anything else.

 

How often does the information change?  For pre-1990 stuff almost never and never in bulk. If anything some info on non-recent books is removed each year to make room for new listing and info on recent books which I personally have zero interest.  My 2016 guide contains same and more info on pre-1990 comics than my 2022, no reason for me to stay on the Overstreet treadmill

Edited July 20, 2023 by MAR1979

[sfcityduck]

On 7/20/2023 at 6:41 AM, MAR1979 said:

How often does the information change?  For pre-1990 stuff almost never and never in bulk. If anything info is removed each year to make room for new listing and info on recent books which I personally have zero interest.  My 2016 guide contains same and more info on pre-1990 comics than my 2022 so I've jumped off the Overstreet treadmill.

A fair point.  But I am interested in what has happened over the past year. I view the set as a historical record. 

[Robot Man]

On 7/20/2023 at 5:31 AM, Bookery said:

I can feel for the editors at Overstreet (I thought Overstreet himself hadn't had anything to do with guide for years, but I could be wrong?).  When I began to get the first pulp guide ready for 2001, prices really hadn't changed much on pulps in 10-20 years.  But in the time between compiling data, organizing it, getting it to the printers, etc., eBay had suddenly discovered pulps.  By the time the book was published in the summer of 2001, prices were already outdated.  Fast-forward to 2019, as I was working to update with the "2nd" (actually 3rd) edition.  Prices had stabilized for awhile.  Pricing is already several months old by the time you get the text organized, the material sent off to the publisher (this time Heritage), it goes through editorial revisions, then off to the printers.  In a stable market, not a big deal.  But once again my timing was off.  By the book's release in 2020, CGC had announced it would be slabbing pulps, which was a huge and immediate market driver.  Then Covid hit, and pricing of all collectibles went through the roof.  

By the time the book came out, some of the prices were off by a factor of 5x-10x!  So much so, that after all that work, Heritage only ran off a few hundred copies and called it a day, feeling that it was already an outdated work (though for some reason, they still quote its values in their auctions).  

Exactly. No printed guide can even come  close to reflecting current prices. Heck, it is even very hard using electronic means. Pulps are especially volitile right now.

But, your wonderful guide like the O’Street, are excellent sources for all the historical and other information. The book I’d love to see is a book of covers like the Gerber books…

 

[lou_fine]

On 7/20/2023 at 6:28 AM, ThothAmon said:

Used this beauty to buy a nice collection a few months back. Seller wanted 50% of FN.   

 

Now, that's definitely rather underhanded and clearly gives a bad name to all of the comic book dealers in this hobby as this edition was printed way back in 1981 or thereabouts.    

At least you could have gone with something more current like this one here since it was published much more recently back in only 2021:   

Especially since it's got prices listed right up to the the Present as clearly indicated right on its cover.  

Of course, you might have used that guide to grabbed the 9th most valuable comic book at the time (i.e. Four Color 10 with the first Flash Gordon) in Good condition at a steal of a price for only $85, only to see it zoomed all the way to a whopping $93 in last year's edition of the guide some 53 years later.    

Especially when compared to the 9th most valuable comic book listed in this year's edition of the guide (i.e. Detective Comics 31) with a Good valuation of only $45,500 as compared to the $40 it was valued at in the first Guide.  For the life of me and even with my superior mathematical skills, I just can't figure out which book out of these two had the better return in the end.    

Edited July 20, 2023 by lou_fine

[twmjr1]

On 7/20/2023 at 6:41 AM, MAR1979 said:

How often does the information change?  For pre-1990 stuff almost never and never in bulk. If anything some info on non-recent books is removed each year to make room for new listing and info on recent books which I personally have zero interest.  My 2016 guide contains same and more info on pre-1990 comics than my 2022, no reason for me to stay on the Overstreet treadmill

All of that is incorrect.

[MAR1979]

  

On 7/20/2023 at 9:41 AM, MAR1979 said:

How often does the information change?  For pre-1990 stuff almost never and never in bulk. If anything some info on non-recent books is removed each year to make room for new listing and info on recent books which I personally have zero interest.  My 2016 guide contains same and more info on pre-1990 comics than my 2022, no reason for me to stay on the Overstreet treadmill

 

On 7/20/2023 at 11:09 AM, twmjr1 said:

All of that is incorrect.

At the very least you are wrong because I have near zero interest in post 1990 /recent comics not sure why you are stating otherwise.

I am welcome to you pointing out bulk changes in pre-1990 information between 2016 and 2002 guides.  To minimize effort and time on your side just show us 12 differences other than re-wordings. If you are correct it should be easy enough.

Edited July 20, 2023 by MAR1979

[RareHighGrade]

On 7/20/2023 at 6:06 AM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

I didn’t notice any outlandish value changes, but I haven’t had time to completely analyze. Anyone notice anything unusual in any particular area or book?

Can someone either post a scan of the Top 100 GA page or give examples of a sampling of those books so we can get a sense of how OS views the market increases/decreases over the past year?

[lou_fine]

On 7/20/2023 at 5:31 AM, Bookery said:

(I thought Overstreet himself hadn't had anything to do with guide for years, but I could be wrong?). 

Well, if you go by Bob's own personal "signed" market reports for the past decade plus, I would definitely tend to agree with you here.  

Perfect case in point with this year's edition limited to only one introductory paragraph with some 20 odd words extending thanks to his advisores before he launches into 5 pages of cut and paste excerpts from some of his advisors' market reports.  He then closes it off with his obligatory disqualifier paragraph that the advsors' reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or the Overstreet Guide or anybody related to it.    

All I can say is definitely not as interesting to read as his more personal and insightful takes on the marketplace which he used to give decades ago, but no longer nowadays.  Skimmed through it very very quickly and landed on the last excerpt from CC's Rob Reynolds which was kind of apropos as he summarized it rather nicely by simply stating that "the 2022 collectibles market raged in like a lion and left like a lamb". 

[DanCooper]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:13 PM, RareHighGrade said:

Can someone either post a scan of the Top 100 GA page

Sorry for the photo quality:

[buttock]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:03 PM, DanCooper said:

Sorry for the photo quality:

10 years ago you would have been laughed out of the room if you suggested Chamber of Chills 19 would ever make this list. 

[DanCooper]

On 7/19/2023 at 7:23 PM, sfcityduck said:

On 7/19/2023 at 5:36 PM, Sarg said:

How old is Robert Overstreet?

Probably high 70s to high 80s.

Saw Steve Borock in his OS advisor's report wishing Bob O. a happy 85th birthday!

[Larryw7]

I ordered a copy, I'm always interested in the new Overstreet. I use it as a reference and not as a price guide. But I also like to read the new articles, the market reports and the ads. I admit that a lot of the appeal is pure nostalgia.

[lou_fine]

On 7/20/2023 at 12:12 PM, buttock said:

10 years ago you would have been laughed out of the room if you suggested Chamber of Chills 19 would ever make this list. 

Hard to tell from the slight mix-up they have in last year's rankings, but I believe this is the single only new entrant into Overstreet's Top 100 for this year's guide, with an big bump up of exactly 100% to slot itself into a tie for the #96 position on the chart.  

[PDGray]

Got a copy in my Amazon cart because of this thread.  I get it every year as a reference guide.  I don't so much worry about the prices, but I like having the data points as @sfcityduck pointed out earlier in the thread.  I keep the current copy in my bedroom near my nightstand, I have the previous copy in my office, then I have the other historical references on the shelves in my office.  I don't spend a huge amount of time at my home office very much, so I don't need the newest most updated info.

 

PDG

[Sarg]

On 7/20/2023 at 2:03 PM, DanCooper said:

Sorry for the photo quality:

Only one comic strip reprint (Famous Funnies), only two funny animals, Chamber of Chills #19, and no ECs. Funny how things change over time...