Heritage Weekly Auctions 2 2

[Xatari]

On 6/7/2024 at 1:11 AM, cstojano said:

Yeah is he the guy posting the 1 dollar listings to the Facebook group? 

I can't figure eBay out really. They seem to have some kind of algorithm that preferences listings in some way. It seems like stuff either sells right away or never and for the stuff that sits there seems to be no eyes on it at all. Not even low ball offers come in, which I find weird. 

Yes, he’s figured out a very specific method to drive viewership of his auctions, and it seems to be working well. It’s a combination of when and where to post as well as list. 

[Xatari]

On 6/7/2024 at 2:29 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

Birther art didn't do so hot either. KGBeast was weak, and another Creatures on the Loose 1st Tigra page that may have been on HA a couple years ago sold at a loss on Clink. 

I collect first appearance art and am friends with quite a few others who do as well. I think there is much more discernment than people outside of those circles believe. Most aren’t collecting firsts of low tier or obscure characters. It’s always funny to me when sellers slap those labels on their art trying to sell at premium. KGBeast? Hard pass. When was that character relevant? New character that is allegedly the next big then? Prove it before you ask five figures (this really happens). 

Just because someone collects first appearance art doesn’t mean they are throwing money at everything under the sun. In fact, collectors in that genre tend to do a ton of study, contrary to the tongue in cheek I often hear on podcasts. Often times these collectors know more about a character’s future development based on their research of multiple, credible sources than the dealers, reps, and even artists who may not be thinking long term beyond the issue in front of them.

In my opinion, there were only a handful of relevant pieces that came up this week, and they were at Comic Link, not Heritage. That said, most sold low (or very low, Jen Walters) with only one getting a really strong finish (looking at you, Baby Nathan). 

 

[delekkerste]

On 6/7/2024 at 3:06 AM, Xatari said:

In my opinion, there were only a handful of relevant pieces that came up this week, and they were at Comic Link, not Heritage. That said, most sold low (or very low, Jen Walters) with only one getting a really strong finish (looking at you, Baby Nathan). 

I think that one was basically a breakeven sale to where it last traded hands based on what the then-seller told me he got for it.

Ten Nights of the Beast is a great Batman storyline...I won the Batman #419 KGBeast page but forgot that there was also a #417 page and would have actually bid that one up a bit more.  

Edited June 7 by delekkerste

[Xatari]

I missed that storyline altogether. Looks like I have some homework to do. 😂 

I was shocked by the She Hulk 1 final price. I thought the one that just sold at HA was low at $24k. Granted it was a stronger page, but there are only 6 pages with She Hulk on them from that issue.

At $13,750, the  Comic Link page was a 40% discount on what felt like an already under market price to me. 

[comix4fun]

On 6/7/2024 at 6:09 AM, delekkerste said:

 

Ten Nights of the Beast is a great Batman storyline...I won the Batman #419 KGBeast page but forgot that there was also a #417 page and would have actually bid that one up a bit more.  

Oh hell yeah. That was a classic arc.  Back when arcs were tight and not watered down over a dozen issues if they were at all popular. 

A couple years after DKR....batman was rolling...Jim Starlin writing and Aparo creating the images...it was so solid, so well-remembered. 
A real classic of the era that followed Year One. 

[Michael Browning]

On 6/7/2024 at 3:06 AM, Xatari said:

I collect first appearance art and am friends with quite a few others who do as well. I think there is much more discernment than people outside of those circles believe. Most aren’t collecting firsts of low tier or obscure characters. It’s always funny to me when sellers slap those labels on their art trying to sell at premium. KGBeast? Hard pass. When was that character relevant? New character that is allegedly the next big then? Prove it before you ask five figures (this really happens). 

Just because someone collects first appearance art doesn’t mean they are throwing money at everything under the sun. In fact, collectors in that genre tend to do a ton of study, contrary to the tongue in cheek I often hear on podcasts. Often times these collectors know more about a character’s future development based on their research of multiple, credible sources than the dealers, reps, and even artists who may not be thinking long term beyond the issue in front of them.

In my opinion, there were only a handful of relevant pieces that came up this week, and they were at Comic Link, not Heritage. That said, most sold low (or very low, Jen Walters) with only one getting a really strong finish (looking at you, Baby Nathan). 

 

I really thought the Baby Nathan page should have gone higher. It is an X-first and from a book that many an X-collector paid big bucks for when it was hot, so I thought it sold lower than it should have. The She-Hulk… yikes that was cheap.

[MyNameIsLegion]

Uncanny X-Men #201 will never be regarded as a a legit 1st appearance, birth page whatever. It was the result of an editorial ret-con 7-8 years after the fact.  The intro of Cable and Nathan were completely independent ideas by Weezie and Claremont.   When it was first "Revealed" in the early 90's it had a pretty tepid response even then.  It turned a 50 cent comic into maybe a $5 comic.  UXM issues post #193 are mostly hit or miss.  #187-224 are mostly filler minus the Mutant Massacre issues, the first Mutant Cross-over book. The only semi-notable 1st appearance in that run is Nimrod in #191, which get's more attention for the fact that it's JRjr than anything else. Art for those pages sell for that reason primarily.  But for the most part, despite being over 35 years old, that run of X-Men books can be found in dollar boxes to this day. Can't blame that on the 90's printing glut, this is the 80's.  Many a Gen-Xer said, yeah, these suck, I think I can pass on these. It's also worth noting that this era book-ends the cover price increase from .60-.75-$1.  40% inflation in about 3 years. my allowance and lunch money didn't increase 40%.  I dropped most comics early HS for more "important" things. Albums and cassettes were 4.99-7.99.   A blank Maxell cassette tape was about a buck.  We were taping LPs and dubbing cassettes like crazy then.  Which was a better buy? X-Men #201 or dubbing my friends older sister's Ozzy, Judas Priest, or Van Halen albums? I have no regrets. 

Edited June 13 by MyNameIsLegion

[KirbyCollector]

On 6/13/2024 at 3:03 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

It's also worth noting that this era book-ends the cover price increase from .60-.75-$1.  40% inflation in about 3 years. my allowance and lunch money didn't increase 40%

Ah, but the Baxter paper was worth it... still remember the gleaming white pages of GI Joe 1

[jjonahjameson11]

On 6/13/2024 at 3:03 AM, MyNameIsLegion said:

Uncanny X-Men #201 will never be regarded as a a legit 1st appearance, birth page whatever. It was the result of an editorial ret-con 7-8 years after the fact.  The intro of Cable and Nathan were completely independent ideas by Weezie and Claremont.   When it was first "Revealed" in the early 90's it had a pretty tepid response even then.  It turned a 50 cent comic into maybe a $5 comic.  UXM issues post #193 are mostly hit or miss.  #187-224 are mostly filler minus the Mutant Massacre issues, the first Mutant Cross-over book. The only semi-notable 1st appearance in that run is Nimrod in #191, which get's more attention for the fact that it's JRjr than anything else. Art for those pages sell for that reason primarily.  But for the most part, despite being over 35 years old, that run of X-Men books can be found in dollar boxes to this day. Can't blame that on the 90's printing glut, this is the 80's.  Many a Gen-Xer said, yeah, these suck, I think I can pass on these. It's also worth noting that this era book-ends the cover price increase from .60-.75-$1.  40% inflation in about 3 years. my allowance and lunch money didn't increase 40%.  I dropped most comics early HS for more "important" things. Albums and cassettes were 4.99-7.99.   A blank Maxell cassette tape was about a buck.  We were taping LPs and dubbing cassettes like crazy then.  Which was a better buy? X-Men #201 or dubbing my friends older sister's Ozzy, Judas Priest, or Van Halen albums? I have no regrets. 

Must be a regional thing in Texas, because in the Northeast, and here in Toronto, I remember the baby Nathan/Cable reveal bumping X-Men 201 to a $20 book.

As for picking up Romita Jr 1st run non-key Xmen books, I haven’t seen NM copies in the dollar bins for a loooooong time.

cheapest I’ve seen NM copies go for is $5 at last year’s HeroesCon.  One dealer had some issues and sold them all to another dealer before the show opened.

[buttock]

On 6/6/2024 at 7:55 PM, cstojano said:

I wouldn't mind the market collapsing back a bit and HA moving art back to Sundays. I don't know anyone who isn't overwhelmed with the constant flow of auctions, exacerbated if you collect across genres.

I almost completely stopped looking once they moved to Wednesdays.  Way too many auctions to follow.  

[buttock]

On 6/7/2024 at 4:51 PM, comix4fun said:

Oh hell yeah. That was a classic arc.  Back when arcs were tight and not watered down over a dozen issues if they were at all popular. 

A couple years after DKR....batman was rolling...Jim Starlin writing and Aparo creating the images...it was so solid, so well-remembered. 
A real classic of the era that followed Year One. 

I was sick at home from school and my mom went out and got me some comics.  One was Batman 417.  Prior to that point I had been a now-and-then comic buyer, mostly Marvel.  This got me absolutely hooked and then the Batman movie hit.  Epic series.    

[tth2]

On 6/14/2024 at 12:25 AM, buttock said:

I almost completely stopped looking once they moved to Wednesdays.  Way too many auctions to follow.  

This kind of sentiment may be why I'm seeing some bargains in the Wednesday OA auctions again. 

[buttock]

On 6/13/2024 at 1:42 PM, tth2 said:

This kind of sentiment may be why I'm seeing some bargains in the Wednesday OA auctions again. 

Auction fatigue, but also the market is way softer than before.  But the two can't be entirely separated.  Lots of auctions means the pool of bidder dollars is diluted.  I'd be curious to see how many pieces of art are offered per year now vs. 5 years ago.  

[Silver Surfer]

And I don’t think that constant stock market uncertainty helps either. Up 400 points one day, down 400 the next, then treads water for a week, spikes again on a Thursday, profit taking on a Friday. Rinse and repeat. 

[cstojano]

On 6/13/2024 at 11:25 AM, buttock said:

I almost completely stopped looking once they moved to Wednesdays.  Way too many auctions to follow.  

My third and final week is now live, the weakest of the lots, which is saying something. Does anyone know if Heritage has any provision for buying lots back? In short, I fear some of these lots may hammer at a dollar.

I agree with buttock though, the shift to Wed really changed my bidding interest. I seem to recall Sundays started earlier in the day as well. My two strongest lots last week didn't get a single live vote, they were both late in the auction which must have been quite late in US time zones (I am overseas at the moment, went to bed Wed, waken up early, and my lots still hadn't hammered ;)

[tth2]

On 6/14/2024 at 8:11 AM, Silver Surfer said:

And I don’t think that constant stock market uncertainty helps either. Up 400 points one day, down 400 the next, then treads water for a week, spikes again on a Thursday, profit taking on a Friday. Rinse and repeat. 

Are you looking at the same stock market that I am?  Because I'm seeing new record highs day after day in the S&P and Nasdaq.

[Silver Surfer]

Do you mean the half a dozen or so stocks that are carrying the load? I was referring to the Dow and the general market sentiment, underlying cracks, that people seem oblivious too (shift away from the US dollar, lack of energy development, inflation that is sticking around like a bad hang over, businesses closing). A topic for a different thread but the markets feel like they are ripe for a major meltdown like we haven’t seen before. Too many multi billion/trillion market caps and bitcoin prices that make no sense at all. 

[lobrac]

On 6/14/2024 at 7:01 AM, cstojano said:

My third and final week is now live, the weakest of the lots, which is saying something. Does anyone know if Heritage has any provision for buying lots back? In short, I fear some of these lots may hammer at a dollar.

Yes, talk to Romitaman. He has some experience in this.

[cstojano]

On 6/14/2024 at 3:47 AM, lobrac said:

Yes, talk to Romitaman. He has some experience in this.

I knew that was coming ;)

[tth2]

On 6/14/2024 at 2:37 PM, Silver Surfer said:

I was referring to the Dow

Who even looks at the Dow anymore?  The Dow is the stock market index that only people who know nothing about the stock market look at.

On 6/14/2024 at 2:37 PM, Silver Surfer said:

shift away from the US dollar

The US Dollar is super strong.  It has literally never been more highly valued.  If you're referring to Russia doing more and more business in Yuan, that's because they have no choice.  They will ultimately very much regret getting caught in Beijing's sticky web.

I do agree the super strong USD could impact OA prices, though, because it could certainly suppress demand from foreign buyers unless they have an existing pool of USD to tap into.