Another Vault Gem

[Aman619]

I thought you of all people would understand... sigh. I like it here cause I get to speak with similarly obsessed fanatics at the high end. Maybe Ive overstayed my welcome... you never agree with me anymore... sniff <choke>

[tth2]

I thought you of all people would understand... sigh. I like it here cause I get to speak with similarly obsessed fanatics at the high end. Maybe Ive overstayed my welcome... you never agree with me anymore... sniff <choke>

Maybe it's because your post sounded like something one of the naysayers would have written?

[Aman619]

So I stand by my statement that there are some who believe there is no discernible difference between a 9.4 (NM) and 9.6 (NM+), and I offer as proof this 9.6 FF #4 which anyone who's not blind can see is clearly superior to a 9.4, and which CGC will be able to distinguish from a 9.4 book 100 out of 100 times.

 

if that how it sounded to you, I can understand that. I gave it MY reading. I think this 9.6 looks nicer than the 9.4s. But not 20K nicer. I dont see how you can talk about the differences aside from the values that are derived from them. For th erecord I agree that there are differences between 9.2, 9.4, 9.6 and 9.8 etc. but they are increasingly insignificant the higher up you go, and, as was pointed out, get increasingly inconsistent at CGC, often falling between two grades, and getting slabbed as one grade one time and another the next.

 

that better?

[Aman619]

I thought you of all people would understand... sigh. I like it here cause I get to speak with similarly obsessed fanatics at the high end. Maybe Ive overstayed my welcome... you never agree with me anymore... sniff <choke>

Maybe it's because your post sounded like something one of the naysayers would have written?

 

really? I thought you dissed me for more emptyhanded bragging! sorry

[tth2]

I dont see how you can talk about the differences aside from the values that are derived from them.

I can talk about the differences in grades between books all day without once mentioning value. It's really not for me to say what the correct price differential between a 9.6 and a 9.4 is, anymore than it is for me to tell Eli Broad whether he paid too much for a hunk of steel made by David Smith. In any event, I don't collect FF, so whether this 9.6 copy is worth $1, or $10,000, or $100,000, is irrelevant to me. I just think it is by far the nicest FF 4 I've ever seen, much better than the various 9.4 copies (raw and slabbed) that I've seen (and that FD has seen).

[tth2]

I thought you of all people would understand... sigh. I like it here cause I get to speak with similarly obsessed fanatics at the high end. Maybe Ive overstayed my welcome... you never agree with me anymore... sniff <choke>

Maybe it's because your post sounded like something one of the naysayers would have written?

 

really? I thought you dissed me for more emptyhanded bragging! sorry

No, that wasn't what I was thinking about when I made my post.

 

But now that you mention it...

 

You must admit your post did sound Kind of Komparable to others on these boards who talked about what they owned without ever providing any evidence. Surely posting some generic "one of the very best" Marvel books won't accidentally reveal your secret identity to the masses?

[Aman619]

I was gonna make the very same comparison at some point...! touche!... but I dared not. Boy, Im a piece of work huh?

[tth2]

I was gonna make the very same comparison at some point...! touche!... but I dared not. Boy, Im a piece of work huh?

So post something.

[Silver Surfer]

That book is so sharp and scarce in grade that the asking price actually seems reasonable(relatively speaking).Doug sure has some nice books.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

Godalmighty is IS gorgeous! but at 50K, twice the most a 9.4 sold for (if memory serves...) I'll pass. When I see these prices, I always think of the Don Corleone line...: "How did things get like this?" sigh. Seems to me that every dollar of popssible appreciation is built in to priced books like this. Investment piece indeed! It sure HAS been, Doug!! for YOU!

 

I remember about two years ago there was two 9.4 copies, one on Comiclink and one on Metro for around $19,000 a piece that sat on both websites for a while.

[namisgr]

Just as a reminder of an earlier post, here again is the original sales list of Slobodian books from Marnin Rosenberg that includes the phenomenal run of FFs. The list is from an ad in CBG around 1997, and from today's perspective one needs to be reminded that the prices were considered extremely aggressive for their time. Marnin graded the FF4 a 9.8 with white pages (the asterisk), so it must be an absolutely sensational copy. The Hulk 4 from this collection can also be seen in Doug's vault, another stunning 9.6. According to Doug, the FF 1 originally graded at 9.2, and may have been upgraded to 9.4. Note that the FF 3, 11 and 18, so elusive to find in top shape, were not stellar books in this collection.

 

[Ron_Nasty]

Looks almost as nice as the one I picked up at the drugstore for .12c.

[OldGuy]

Looks almost as nice as the one I picked up at the drugstore for .12c.

 

[Aman619]

That book is so sharp and scarce in grade that the asking price actually seems reasonable(relatively speaking).Doug sure has some nice books.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

Godalmighty is IS gorgeous! but at 50K, twice the most a 9.4 sold for (if memory serves...) I'll pass. When I see these prices, I always think of the Don Corleone line...: "How did things get like this?" sigh. Seems to me that every dollar of popssible appreciation is built in to priced books like this. Investment piece indeed! It sure HAS been, Doug!! for YOU!

 

I remember about two years ago there was two 9.4 copies, one on Comiclink and one on Metro for around $19,000 a piece that sat on both websites for a while.

 

those were dueling 9.4s I think... One of em sold, the other sits...

but this copy is one louder.

[october]

I quote from one of the threads I was referring to: "Or do you actually believe CGC can tell the difference between a NM and a NM+ with enough accuracy to support the inane multiples those numbers continue to produce?" So I stand by my statement that there are some who believe there is no discernible difference between a 9.4 (NM) and 9.6 (NM+), and I offer as proof this 9.6 FF #4 which anyone who's not blind can see is clearly superior to a 9.4, and which CGC will be able to distinguish from a 9.4 book 100 out of 100 times.

 

Stop mischaracterizing my views! I never said that all 9.4s and 9.6s are the same. I just said that there are enough that ARE the same (or have been manipulated into a higher grade) to cast serious doubt on the multiples being paid. Having a single example of a 9.6 that is better than a single 9.4 doesn't even make a dent in my argument.

[adamstrange]

How did this thread turn into a conversation about your purchasing habits? Who cares if you would spend $40K or $50K on this book, or what your philosophy on HG keys is? A beautiful copy was posted, can't we just enjoy its beauty without getting into whether it's worth X price?

 

We're not talking about a musuem piece or book from someone's collection, the book is "for sale" so I have no problem with the conversation turning to dollars at some point.

 

Why are you so cranky? Santa leave coal in your stocking?

[lou_fine]

His FF 1 is equally gorgeous. Always nice to hold a book that's worth more than my house. (Well, probably not now - love that Northern Virginia housing market... )

 

how much do you think its worth? Its a 9.6 right?

 

150?

200?

250?

and as a followup, if put on the market at a typical Doug number, what do you think it would sell for?and, because I value your no-nonsense opinions on comics, would it sell for less today than last spring?

 

I have no idea what the number would be. OS 9.2 is $35K, and I don'thave GPA in front of me, so a guess would be $250? $300? I don't think, however it would sell for that. I think it would sell for about the same as last spring, because you're getting into a very rarified section of buyers. For $175K, there are a lot of other comics I'd buy over an FF 1 (and it is my favorite book).

 

FD;

 

Based upon Doug's usual agressive pricing policy, a tag of $200K and up for FF #1 would certainly not surprise me. Actually finding a buyer at this price level would be a completely different story, however, since I am not sure if the SA market is at the point of cracking the #200K barrier yet. After all, the GA market is probably barely there now that JP has left the scene.

 

Yes, a lot of other books I would buy for $!75K with more upside potential left in it than a so-called "highest graded" (for how long?) copy of FF#1.

[adamstrange]

I was gonna make the very same comparison at some point...! touche!... but I dared not. Boy, Im a piece of work huh?

So post something.

 

Gotta agree with Tim on this aman, definitely time for you to post a couple books.

[burntboy]

it must be post christmas depression around here as the good guys start nagging each other........

 

a couple of thoughts about pricing the FF #4 and FF #1;

 

my 9.4 copy of #11 was recently resold by Marnin for 5X's the highest recorded sale of a 9.2 and it is 1 of 4 9.4 copies that have been slabbed.

 

asking less than a 3X's multiple for the only known copies of issues #1 & 4 in 9.6 (relative to the only listed 9.4 sales over 2-3 years ago) doesn't seem at all out of whack to me...............

 

i saw both books in hand and was Damned impressed............now whether they would accually sell for $250 and $50k respectively is another matter........i'd like to have nicely centered 8.0's of those babies.........

[Aman619]

Just as a reminder of an earlier post, here again is the original sales list of Slobodian books from Marnin Rosenberg that includes the phenomenal run of FFs. The list is from an ad in CBG around 1997, and from today's perspective one needs to be reminded that the prices were considered extremely aggressive for their time. Marnin graded the FF4 a 9.8 with white pages (the asterisk), so it must be an absolutely sensational copy. The Hulk 4 from this collection can also be seen in Doug's vault, another stunning 9.6. According to Doug, the FF 1 originally graded at 9.2, and may have been upgraded to 9.4. Note that the FF 3, 11 and 18, so elusive to find in top shape, were not stellar books in this collection.

 

 

boy, I remember those ads, and Marnins other ads with similar crazy pricing..... never even picked up the phone!!

 

 

 

 

[VintageComics]

what has been said is that there's no difference between a 9.6 and a 9.8 or 9.9, not between 9.2 and 9.4....and that there is not ENOUGH difference between anything between 9.2 thru 9.8 to warrant the price jumps currently asked and paid.

I quote from one of the threads I was referring to: "Or do you actually believe CGC can tell the difference between a NM and a NM+ with enough accuracy to support the inane multiples those numbers continue to produce?" So I stand by my statement that there are some who believe there is no discernible difference between a 9.4 (NM) and 9.6 (NM+), and I offer as proof this 9.6 FF #4 which anyone who's not blind can see is clearly superior to a 9.4, and which CGC will be able to distinguish from a 9.4 book 100 out of 100 times.

 

I tend to agree in general with these people. Id rather have a 9.4 for 'half' the price of a 9.6 if the 9.4s are still in the top 5 or so copies on a 10K+ book. Even a lowly 9.2 or a 9.0 (DCs of course) under the same circumstances (less than 5 better copies). I wont be buying the 9.6 FF4 even if I noodled the price down to $40K from 50. Just as I passed on each of the 9.4s that have come along for between 18 and 25K. Im "scared" of buying second tier keys for more than 20K each. Call me crazy! Im happy with a collection of one of the very best copies of nearly everything, rather than fewer books that happen to be "top CGC slabbed copies" at many times as much each. Its hard to find much 'upside' on HG keys nowadays, especially on the top-graded copies.

How did this thread turn into a conversation about your purchasing habits? Who cares if you would spend $40K or $50K on this book, or what your philosophy on HG keys is? A beautiful copy was posted, can't we just enjoy its beauty without getting into whether it's worth X price?

who the [embarrassing lack of self control] cares what anyone would pay for it? i'm sure that almost every member on this board has paid an insane amount of money for a book he/she has always wanted! Whether it's $100, $1000 or $100,000. I know i have. There are tons of people that would pay $100's or $1000's for a hi grade Albedo #2...if i think that's nuts for me , does it make it wrong for everyone? [embarrassing lack of self control] the doomsayers. If there is someone that wants this book they will pay more for it than anyone else. Period.

Awsome book. And if i had the money i'd pay crazy money for Dougs DD #7