BA773 Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 Did you have already made it? Is it a thing for you or its total madness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Dr. Balls Posted March 7 Popular Post Share Posted March 7 As much as people say "Comic books are not an investment" we all do it at some point, some more than others. I did the "comic book investing" thing, and my take-away was that I began losing the enjoyment of collecting by constantly assigning a value to every book I owned. "This is worth X!" "This is totally going to gain in value!" I just got tired of looking at it like that. For others, it's fine - no judgment here. I just wanted more emotional enjoyment out of my collection, rather than thinking of it as something I would sell someday when I crossed the invisible threshold of "profit". I actually sold most of my collection because I was done looking at it in that way and I wasn't even reading the books. I decided to just have one thing I collect, and that was art. Because I buy the art to enjoy it on my wall. Is it an investment? I don't even care. It'll likely be on my wall so long it won't matter if I sell a $1000 piece for $100 20 years from now. I won't care, because I'll just be enjoying having it. ttfitz, ZappedMoose9995, D84 and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Cataldo Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 You should ask this question in the Golden Age Forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 On 3/7/2024 at 9:10 PM, Dr. Balls said: As much as people say "Comic books are not an investment" we all do it at some point, some more than others. I did the "comic book investing" thing, and my take-away was that I began losing the enjoyment of collecting by constantly assigning a value to every book I owned. "This is worth X!" "This is totally going to gain in value!" I just got tired of looking at it like that. For others, it's fine - no judgment here. I just wanted more emotional enjoyment out of my collection, rather than thinking of it as something I would sell someday when I crossed the invisible threshold of "profit". I actually sold most of my collection because I was done looking at it in that way and I wasn't even reading the books. I decided to just have one thing I collect, and that was art. Because I buy the art to enjoy it on my wall. Is it an investment? I don't even care. It'll likely be on my wall so long it won't matter if I sell a $1000 piece for $100 20 years from now. I won't care, because I'll just be enjoying having it. It was not the question, i asked if it was a sure thing to spend a great ammount on a non graded copy for expensive books Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ttfitz Posted March 7 Popular Post Share Posted March 7 On 3/7/2024 at 3:48 PM, BA773 said: It was not the question, i asked if it was a sure thing to spend a great ammount on a non graded copy for expensive books I had a reply ready, but then remembered that English wasn't your first language, so it might be a translation thing. In the usual English vernacular "a sure thing" when used in regards to something with a financial component means "it will definitely go right". So in that regard, spending $1k or more on ANY comic, raw or slabbed, is probably not "a sure thing." Now, if you meant do people do it, sure - if you know what you are doing (ie can accurately assess the proper grade, identify whether the book is restored or not, etc) you can get a good deal, and even then submit it for grading to increase the resale value. Like @Dr. Balls I don't buy comics as investments, so I haven't - but if there was a raw book I wanted for my collection that was priced fairly and I thought I could afford it, sure I'd spend that much on a raw. Probably would prefer it, actually, I'm not much of a fan of slabs in my collection. Ken Aldred, Robot Man, drmccoy74 and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post shadroch Posted March 7 Popular Post Share Posted March 7 (edited) Would I buy a $1000 raw book from a trusted seller like Storms , Reese or Harley? Yes. Would I buy one from a stranger with low feedback on the internet? No I trust my skills that I'd consider it in person with most books Edited March 7 by shadroch Larryw7, Mr. Zipper, do-boy99 and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Balls Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 (edited) On 3/7/2024 at 1:48 PM, BA773 said: It was not the question, i asked if it was a sure thing to spend a great ammount on a non graded copy for expensive books I apologize, I kind of figured that might have been implied. I’ve purchased quite a few $1000 books for the concept of “investing” believing that it was a sure thing. in the end, it didn’t really matter to me if it was a sure thing, sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn’t - it’s always a gamble. I found that it wasn’t enjoyable to look at a $1000 book from the perspective of “investment”. Nothing is guaranteed to be a sure thing. I will buy it because I like it and can afford it. For investment purposes, there are better ways to spend $1000. Edited March 9 by Dr. Balls ttfitz, Point Five and stormflora 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan_W Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 I've paid 1k in Canadian dollars for a raw book several times, but all of them were in-person sales. The most common books I bought in this price range were Hulk 181s and GSX 1s. I once tried to get a raw Fantastic Four 1 for several thousand but the seller was addicted to those comic lottery (i.e. gambling) sites and insisted on taking it there instead. So yeah, it is a thing. BA773 and do-boy99 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave2739 Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 On 3/7/2024 at 2:54 PM, BA773 said: Did you have already made it? Is it a thing for you or its total madness? Yes. BA773 and Point Five 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revat Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 I think in general it depends how much of an expert you are on the topic. If you think you are an expert, then just treat it like a real investment and use whatever expert criteria you have to measure the specific situation. If you do not think you are an expert, then take the steps to become an expert if you have interest. Or pay an expert to help you make better decisions. The above can really be applied to most things that folks consider investing in. Robot Man, BA773 and lizards2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisco37 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 Sure, I would do it. Like Shad said, it would need to be from a trusted seller. I wouldn’t take a chance on eBay or IG (unless it was an in-person meet up). That said, I think the most I’ve ever spent on a raw book was $800. That was for an FF5 many years ago. I had it graded afterwards and it came back a 4.0. I still have the book, so I think I did alright. Larryw7 and Point Five 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post lizards2 Posted March 8 Popular Post Share Posted March 8 Investing in a slabbed book is not a sure thing either. s-man, october, drbanner and 8 others 5 2 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 2:46 PM, lizards2 said: Investing in a slabbed book is not a sure thing either. Proven time and time again by film speculation. comeaux 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizards2 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 9:54 AM, Ken Aldred said: Proven time and time again by film speculation. Plus, you never know what you have until you crack it out. If a slab has the first two numbers 43, I walk on by. We seem to be currently in the Drek Ages of CGC grading. Larryw7, comeaux and namisgr 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 On 08/03/2024 at 18:54, Ken Aldred said: Proven time and time again by film speculation. Again it was not a question about stupid spec or something... it was only on the risk to buy a book that you finally decide to send to cgc a day and get it back with a beautiful PURPLE LABEL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 (edited) On 3/8/2024 at 7:29 PM, lizards2 said: Plus, you never know what you have until you crack it out. If a slab has the first two numbers 43, I walk on by. We seem to be currently in the Drek Ages of CGC grading. What about this famous 43? What does it mean Edited March 8 by BA773 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 6:30 PM, BA773 said: Again it was not a question about stupid spec or something... it was only on the risk to buy a book that you finally decide to send to cgc a day and get it back with a beautiful PURPLE LABEL I apologise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormflora Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 (edited) There are so many better ways to make money with the time it takes for you to hypothetically profit off of comic appreciation that it doesn't really make sense to bother flipping high value comics unless it's precisely the nature of your business (e.g. maybe you run a pawn shop or collectibles business, etc.). Opportunity cost is something people often overlook. It really only makes sense if you inherited some comic from your family or relative for little to nothing and have no use for it and want to sell it to help pay off some monthly utility bills. Thus, unless you're strictly buying it because you genuinely want to collect it, trying to buy for the sake of resale is most likely going to disappoint you, and make you pull your hair out as you wait months to years for miniscule returns. And the last thing you want is a potential cash crunch from buying comics as illiquid assets. @Dr. Balls has hit it right on the nail. Consider watching a show like Antiques Roadshow, and you'll see what I mean. People bring in antiques that are 50-100 years old or older, and although they might sell for thousands to tens of thousands now, it took basically their lifetime (and probably the lifetimes of their parents and/or grandparents) just to appreciate to that price. By no means a very great return on investment, but a nice payday if they were just things lying around in your attic/basement for ages collecting dust. Edited March 8 by stormflora BA773, comeaux and Dr. Balls 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizards2 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 10:35 AM, BA773 said: What about this famous 43? What does it mean the verification # Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA773 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 (edited) On 3/8/2024 at 7:43 PM, stormflora said: There are so many better ways to make money with the time it takes for you to hypothetically profit off of comic appreciation that it doesn't really make sense to bother flipping high value comics unless it's precisely the nature of your business (e.g. maybe you run a pawn shop or collectibles business, etc.). Opportunity cost is something people often overlook. It really only makes sense if you inherited some comic from your family or relative for little to nothing and have no use for it and want to sell it to help pay off some monthly utility bills. Thus, unless you're strictly buying it because you genuinely want to collect it, trying to buy for the sake of resale is most likely going to disappoint you, and make you pull your hair out as you wait months to years for miniscule returns. And the last thing you want is a potential cash crunch from buying comics as illiquid assets. @Dr. Balls has hit it right on the nail. Consider watching a show like Antiques Roadshow, and you'll see what I mean. People bring in antiques that are 50-100 years old or older, and although they might sell for thousands to tens of thousands now, it took basically their lifetime (and probably the lifetimes of their parents and/or grandparents) just to appreciate to that price. By no means a very great return on investment, but a nice payday if they were just things lying around in your attic/basement for ages collecting dust. We re not talking of a little filling issue of Tom and Jerry or something we re talking about an historic issue who have changed the history of DC comics in the early 60s, so even if i want to buy it because i love the book and want to add it to my collection everyone will agree that you r look about the value on this kind of book and even if you tought to never sell it being scammed on the value isnt a thing... Even if @schadroch will explain to you that any dc is already dead in the bud Edited March 8 by BA773 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
