FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 This limited print run BS always comes up when modern books sell for crazy prices. This book is a MANUFACTURED COLLETABLE and not collectable in and of itself, there are thousands of regular copies of the same book to be had. These kind of books never hold their value long term, especially hype ridden ones like this one. How many Jim Lee books have historically held their value after he has jumped ship? This is not a manufactured collectable. There's been demand for it for 15 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 I could be almost tempted. 200 copies TOTAL of a great comic is far fewer than some of the late 60s Spideys I see sell for $500 to $1000 in 9.6 and it may even be true that not all 200 are in 9.8 shape already. You are missing the point. There are not 200 copies of the actual comic book, there are thousands. There are 200 copies of a variant which has been produced solely for dealers with the purpose of fleecing collectors out of more money than they could ever hope to realise on the regular edition. Don't believe the hype. Should have believed the hype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 But there are thousands of copies of batman #608. Ok, I get what you're saying, and agree that this price is outrageous, but this argument of there being thousands of copies dosen't fly. There are hundreds of thousands of EVERY Amazing Spider-Man issue, so by your logic why pay for a high grade when there are so many lowgrades? After all, the comic is the same right? And how do you explain price variants? Most are not even remotely a key in any way, and are very abundant in their common counterparts. Whether you(or I) like it or not, variants are hot, and they do have lasting power. But $500+ is nuts........ I wish I had bought 10 of them at $500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Haters haters haters. There are only 200 copies of this book - note that the cover for Batman 608 RRP has been used elsewhere (most notably for the French edition) and will all but positively be used for the trade paperback. The Fables 6 book is also going upwards in price, and is, in my opinion, the better "investment". That cover has also been used elsewhere, for the trade: I don't think this is a manufactured "collectible" - this is an incentive to get dealers to come to the meeting. DC has given out alternate cover books at RRPs in the past, notably a very cool alternative cover to All-Star 1 at the Baltimore RRP in 1999 (which I have a nice 9.0 version, but my POS scanner is not working right). I think this book will in fact hold its value, as there are only 200 of them. This is akin to the Star Wars 1 35 center, I think this book has legs. I'd love to have the four back that I've already sold. Great call on the Batman 608. I wish I had all of them back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschmidt Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Anyone who invests in this type of "manufactured collectible" does not understand the underlying economic principles behind comic collecting. Low print runs harm an off-the-shelf comic's value in the long-term, as a Modern collector's memory is extremely short-term, the books was never for sale off the shelf, attrition is nil, and virtually no one will even remember it in 5-10 years. Just remember, rarity in itself does not translate into higher values. The best equation is huge print runs + extreme attrition, which is why older comics are raking in the big bucks. It's not because they're rare, but because potentially millions of kids bought, read and tossed that Golden Age issue, thus creating a lucrative resale market for the few remaining copies. The "limited" comics are a dealer premium and are intended to fleece the unwary and inexperienced collector out of their hard-earned cash. Always have been, always will be. Many things wrong with this post, not the least of which is not understanding what happened with the book at the retailer summit and how it was released. Wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 >>They are going into BatPeople's private collections. Exactly, and in a year or so, when Lee is on Spider-man and Loeb is working FF, no one will care about those 200 issues of ...... Wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 >>But on a different, and more meaningful discussion, Vince - please tell me what books are OK with you to buy? I like you, buddy, but every single book that is discussed on these boards you slam as being spec-fodder. That's not true, and in one thread, I even offered some "fun money" comics that aren't too expensive and have some upward potential You may feel the Batman books is "special", but you know the track record of this kind of dealer premium. Not good, and due to the low print runs and artificial scarcity, they seem to forgotten in a year or two. I've heard the same thing many times before, and values have always fallen after the initial hype. Maybe you're right and this will be a $1K comic in a few years, but I highly doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Although I'd rather have a CGC 9.6, here's a book that I think is undervalued. Whether it's worth the $40 BIN is another question entirely. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2172517427&category=33810 He is referring to Captain America 180 in this post in 9.4 for $40. Current GPA for a 9.4 is $180. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 The 200 copies of the book will "trade" for a while, each time selling for a little more than the last time. Eventually, "investors" will pay too much for these copies, and the "mark-up" will end. It is at this point(or shortly therafter) that they will begin to "dump" these books for a price far less then they paid. Then, and only then, the books will end up where they BELONG(no JC, not the garbage), in the collections of TRUE Batman fans............. Oh, and as far as the CA #180, I was seriously thinking about buying it the 1st time it listed. I think it's a pretty cool book.... Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 (edited) with regards to it being a 608 variant, 608 is definitely a modern key It is a hot, hype driven book. This is very different from being a 'key'. A book attains key issue status by being the subject of collector demand/ interest for a prolonged period. This book may well become a 'key' in years to come, but certainly cannot be classed as one while riding the hype machine. This post misses the fundamental issue with the RRP 608. Edited November 14, 2016 by FlyingDonut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 I like how there was one guy (dam60) saying this will be a good book and everyone else being dismissive. It would be cool for him to comment on it, but I don't know if he is on here still? Um excuse me. Not dam60. Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydogrules Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 I think that's what they call a "victory lap". -J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethal_Collector Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 I didn't know FlyingDonut is my hero, but I know it now! Jerome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakman29 Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 I didn't know FlyingDonut is my hero, but I know it now! Jerome We're not in charge here,Negan donut is........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydogrules Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 I didn't know FlyingDonut is my hero, but I know it now! Jerome We're not in charge here,Negan donut is........ -J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jreezy Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 I like how there was one guy (dam60) saying this will be a good book and everyone else being dismissive. It would be cool for him to comment on it, but I don't know if he is on here still? Um excuse me. Not dam60. Me. Flying donut was a believer of this book from the beginning based on this thread which started in 2003. During this period the book has survived a major united states recession, part of Bush's presidency, Ben Afleck as Batman(barf) and prices are well beyond $500 . 13 years going strong. How many more years before modern haters will give it its due? Another 10 years ? Once it hits 25? I'd love to know to everyone's thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingDonut Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 This book is exactly the same as the Star Wars 1 35 cent variant - and I said it 13 years ago and will repeat it. There's a very small population of a book that has white hot demand and never comes up for sale. What's the top for this book? What's for the Star Wars 1? Just as a point of reference for Star Wars 1 35 center, I sold a 9.4 copy in 2000 for $1400 and was giddy to do so - current GPA is $27K. I was told 200 copies were made of the Batman 608 RRP. That is clearly low, as there's 289 graded copies but how many are there total? 400? 500? 500 copies of a Batman book. This book has had, and will continue to have, monster legs. I wish I had kept one of the ones I sold 13 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydogrules Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 I like how there was one guy (dam60) saying this will be a good book and everyone else being dismissive. It would be cool for him to comment on it, but I don't know if he is on here still? Um excuse me. Not dam60. Me. Flying donut was a believer of this book from the beginning based on this thread which started in 2003. During this period the book has survived a major united states recession, part of Bush's presidency, Ben Afleck as Batman(barf) and prices are well beyond $500 . 13 years going strong. How many more years before modern haters will give it its due? Another 10 years ? Once it hits 25? I'd love to know to everyone's thoughts. The only thing the history of this thread shows is the ingrained and institutional disdain that a cluster of boardies (unfortunately) have for modern variants, when if anything, this book was a harbinger for things to come in the Modern market. Which is why I said I think a case could be made for it being the pivot point into the Modern Age as we know it today (but a strong case could be made for Walking Dead #1 as well). -J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bababooey Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 The more important question is how many copies of this book did Donut find to respond to a dozen 13 year old posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
