Maybe overpay is the way? :) 2 2

[Coverdeath]

Hi, ok first: this thread primarily concern raw books in low grade

Honestly the stuff is so hard to find and almost everywhere I found stuff who interest me the price aren't correct if I comparate them to the overstreet guide... but seriously this just so sh*tty to find the gold that I think we have to put the question on the table: "WHY DO NOT OVERPAID?" 

I mean I found a nice star spangled book, I m really attracted by this one and the opportunity to buy it will probably not spawn before years or even NEVER AGAIN maybe... we re talking about a book priced to 90 dollars who probably not worth more than 40... but seriously 50 dollars is just the half of a monthly budget for me so is it really justified to restrict yourself that much? I think the GA books are simply to hard to find to pass on them for so few... and anyway we always say: " the book is only worth what you r willing to pay for"

[Mmehdy]

agreed... do not pass up rare GA for 20/30. buck overpayment

[Robot Man]

We are now officially in an era where it is almost impossible to keep up with current prices especially on scarce GA (my interest). Star Spangled is a title that seems fairly available and not in huge demand. Esoteric GA publishers, WWII, classic covers are in many cases rarely offered in the marketplace. Even in current times, these bring nosebleed money.

My rule of thumb now is to just pay what it is worth to me. I don’t worry about the “market” much. My knowledge and gut have never let me down. I can’t think of much of anything I’ve bought that has actually gone down in price. The key is to be patient, hold it for a while and enjoy it. What I didn’t buy pains me much more than what I did buy…

[jimbo_7071]

On 8/25/2024 at 11:56 AM, Robot Man said:

I can’t think of much of anything I’ve bought that has actually gone down in price.

I'm guessing you didn't buy any Promise books during the initial round of auctions on HA. 

[Robot Man]

On 8/25/2024 at 10:09 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

I'm guessing you didn't buy any Promise books during the initial round of auctions on HA. 

Nope! Still don't own one. They will still have to down a lot more before I do. 

[vaultkeeper]

I've "over-paid" for many books I couldn't resist. Sometimes todays "high price" is tomorrows "bargain price".

[fifties]

On 8/25/2024 at 8:56 AM, Robot Man said:

 

My rule of thumb now is to just pay what it is worth to me. I don’t worry about the “market” much.

 

What I didn’t buy pains me much more than what I did buy…

Exactly! When there's a book on HA that I can't live W/O, I will keep bidding until I freeze out any competitor (usually).

[jimbo_7071]

On 8/26/2024 at 6:47 AM, fifties said:

Exactly! When there's a book on HA that I can't live W/O, I will keep bidding until I freeze out any competitor (usually).

I have yet to see the book that I can't live without.

As much as I've wanted or coveted some of the books that I've purchased, owning a particular book has never made any difference in my life.

Passing on a book or being outbid on a book has also never made any difference in my life.

Buying a book comes with a brief feeling of elation, and then it's on to the next book.

Being outbid on a book comes with a brief feeling of disappointment, and then it's on to the next book.

Edited August 26 by jimbo_7071

[MB1952]

I have over paid before over a book that rarely shows on the market. The only thing its that my minimum grade its 4.0 or better. Don't like lower grades.  

[tth2]

On 8/26/2024 at 4:18 AM, vaultkeeper said:

I've "over-paid" for many books I couldn't resist. Sometimes todays "high price" is tomorrows "bargain price".

I like to say that 30 years from now, today will be 30 years ago.

How many prices that seemed way overpriced back in 1994 still seem overpriced today?  How many people look back now and think "Yeah, I really dodged a bullet by not paying that extra 20/30/50/100%"?  

[Point Five]

I think I get the thinking in the original question. For collectors who come to GA collecting from SA/BA/CA collecting, there’s a lot of muscle memory to overcome… ideas like ‘the book will always be there if I want it’ or ‘OPG pricing (or even recent past sales) is the right metric to evaluate every purchase’ likely need to be discarded. GA books can be unique in many ways. We all have some regrets where we passed on a book and the same opportunity never quite came around again… even if the book came around again, maybe it wasn’t the right condition, the color strike wasn’t as strong, etc etc. 

You have to evaluate what the opportunity (or passing on it) is worth to you personally. Without knowing the particulars of the book you’re looking at, a $50 ‘bump’ for something you’ll enjoy long-term does not seem unreasonable.

 

[Robot Man]

On 8/26/2024 at 4:00 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

I have yet to see the book that I can't live without.

As much as I've wanted or coveted some of the books that I've purchased, owning a particular book has never made any difference in my life.

Passing on a book or being outbid on a book has also never made any difference in my life.

Buying a book comes with a brief feeling of elation, and then it's on to the next book.

Being outbid on a book comes with a brief feeling of disappointment, and then it's on to the next book.

I would usually agree except for my biggest regret…

Many years ago I was at WonderCon. I just walked in and saw a Suspense #3 on the wall of the first dealer I saw. I figured it was way out of my league until I saw the price. Wasn’t cheap but I had the money. It was rough. Missing cf and a pretty ragged spine. Full, bright cover and decent pages. Problem is it would have wiped me out before I barely seen the show. I figured I could quickly walk the show and come back. I handed it back and Ritchie Munchen asked to see it. I stood there in horror as he bought it.

Yeah, my biggest regret that still haunts me today. I had it and passed. And, I know now that was probably the only chance I will ever have to own a copy…

[jimjum12]

I've owned some very nice books in my life, all gone now, and every single one of the exceptional ones I overpaid for. Can't hit that home run without stepping up to the plate. Using time payments was always necessary. Almost any of the big guys will accommodate you. If you focus on low hanging fruit, that's what you'll end up with. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[jimbo_7071]

On 8/26/2024 at 10:32 AM, Robot Man said:

I would usually agree except for my biggest regret…

Many years ago I was at WonderCon. I just walked in and saw a Suspense #3 on the wall of the first dealer I saw. I figured it was way out of my league until I saw the price. Wasn’t cheap but I had the money. It was rough. Missing cf and a pretty ragged spine. Full, bright cover and decent pages. Problem is it would have wiped me out before I barely seen the show. I figured I could quickly walk the show and come back. I handed it back and Ritchie Munchen asked to see it. I stood there in horror as he bought it.

Yeah, my biggest regret that still haunts me today. I had it and passed. And, I know now that was probably the only chance I will ever have to own a copy…

To me that's one of the most overvalued books in the hobby, but I haven't seen any signs of it cooling off. I think it's above average, but it isn't Schomburg's best work. It wouldn't make my top 10 list of Schomburg covers. The colorist did a good job.

Edited August 26 by jimbo_7071

[Robot Man]

On 8/26/2024 at 7:46 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

To me that's one of the most overvalued books in the hobby, but I haven't seen any signs of it cooling off. I think it's above average, but it isn't Schomburg's best work. It wouldn't make my top 10 list of Schomburg covers.

Every collector has their favorites I guess. I was hooked line and sinker when I like many of us saw it for the first time in the Gerber book.

Easily in my top 5 favorite GA covers. Along with More Fun #54. Another book I will very most likely never own at this point.

A true definition of the word “Grail”. 

[tth2]

On 8/26/2024 at 10:02 PM, Point Five said:

I think I get the thinking in the original question. For collectors who come to GA collecting from SA/BA/CA collecting, there’s a lot of muscle memory to overcome… ideas like ‘the book will always be there if I want it’ or ‘OPG pricing (or even recent past sales) is the right metric to evaluate every purchase’ likely need to be discarded. GA books can be unique in many ways. We all have some regrets where we passed on a book and the same opportunity never quite came around again… even if the book came around again, maybe it wasn’t the right condition, the color strike wasn’t as strong, etc etc. 

You have to evaluate what the opportunity (or passing on it) is worth to you personally. Without knowing the particulars of the book you’re looking at, a $50 ‘bump’ for something you’ll enjoy long-term does not seem unreasonable.

 

Fair points, but I think a lot of GA books are actually not as rare as was originally made out to be, particularly in lower grades.  The Internet has made a lot of books much more accessible.

Obviously there are indeed many GA books that are still as rare as hen's teeth in any grade, but there are also many GA books that are quite common.  Not SA/BA common, but common enough that you don't necessarily need to jump on the first copy that comes along. 

So while I made the point earlier in this thread that historically any overpricing has been made irrelevant by the huge appreciation in comic prices over the past few decades, it's also never nice to get taken advantage of.  So rather than painting all GA books with one brush, I think it's important to do one's homework to check whether you really need to jump on something at any price or whether you can bide your time.

[jimjum12]

On 8/26/2024 at 11:13 AM, tth2 said:

Fair points, but I think a lot of GA books are actually not as rare as was originally made out to be, particularly in lower grades.  The Internet has made a lot of books much more accessible.

Obviously there are indeed many GA books that are still as rare as hen's teeth in any grade, but there are also many GA books that are quite common.  Not SA/BA common, but common enough that you don't necessarily need to jump on the first copy that comes along. 

So while I made the point earlier in this thread that historically any overpricing has been made irrelevant by the huge appreciation in comic prices over the past few decades, it's also never nice to get taken advantage of.  So rather than painting all GA books with one brush, I think it's important to do one's homework to check whether you really need to jump on something at any price or whether you can bide your time.

So true. It helps to proceed with a touch of research and logic. War time books were destroyed by the ton, in the early to mid 40's. Books in the mid 50's were decimated by the Werthan craze. The most popular books would have survived in better numbers. The 60's saw their fair share of discarding if the books weren't popular in the emerging fandom of the day. Not everything coming out of attics made it to the convention floor. Some was virtually unsellable, even at a dollar. It's not rocket science, but supply and demand occur in the same sentence so often, for a reason. Rarity alone may not cut it. Especially as prices escalate. GOD BLESS ... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[jimbo_7071]

On 8/26/2024 at 11:34 AM, jimjum12 said:

Books in the mid 50's were decimated by the Werthan craze.

For every comic book that was destroyed during the Wertham craze, there were probably two copies saved by people who wanted to keep them because of the controversy. I don't know of any mid-50s comics that are as scarce as, say, Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 or Green Giant Comics #1 or Double Action Comics #2, etc.

Most of the surviving original-owner collections from the era of the big keys ('38–'41) have probably been sold at this point—not necessarily publicly—but there could be quite a few original-owner collections from the 50s still out there.

Edited August 26 by jimbo_7071

[jimjum12]

On 8/26/2024 at 12:26 PM, jimbo_7071 said:

there could be quite a few original-owner collections from the 50s still out there.

In an infinite field, anything can be possible. I've been flipping books and setting up at the occasional show for 50 years now. There are gaps in the 50's that I'd wager are a lot scarcer than 40's books which were printed in FAR larger numbers. I still see 50's books that I've never seen in person ... not so much with 40's books. Then, a regional factor can upend almost any anecdotal assumptions. GOD BLESS ... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[jimbo_7071]

On 8/26/2024 at 12:47 PM, jimjum12 said:

I've been flipping books and setting up at the occasional show for 50 years now.

 Either you started in elementary school, or you're a lot older than I realized!

Edited August 26 by jimbo_7071