The scarcity of early bronze DC's......where the hell are they?!?

[COI]

I see no urgent need to sell mine, but I dont really sell anything anyway....but I would be at least tempted if I saw them selling for $360 each as opposed to guide (what, 30???). AK, if there are more sales like yours, that will bring out more DCs.

 

The book guides for $55........

 

But I see what you're saying. I think there have been many sales like these, but they're just not as noticed because there's a lot less of them. And as most know, the best and "scarcest" material out there is sold privately, and I think this is especially true with DC's.

 

Also, it happens that Batman, like DC is not "hyped" right now. If you had an ASM book that was as hard to find as some of these Bronze DC's, I guarantee you'd see some fireworks!

[Aman619]

price increase was a drag...but we kept buying them anyway. I was already in college and money was tight...but I still had a few extra nickels to spare. Kids may have quit I guess. And I remember the price increases as trading places: DC first one time, then Marvel the next. Une compamy biting the bullet and the other hanging on as long as they could.

 

I dont remember the sequence, but I think there was a bit of an issue corporately-speaking when DC went to 25 cent 52-pagers, thinking they had a killer combo to defeat Marvel with, but they had to back down soon after.

[PovertyRow]

Look for my bestest silver & bronze DC's if that happens.

 

Another possibility (unless you already tried it) is to list some here for the CGC Forum folk and see what kind of offers arise. And feel free to say NO THANKS (somehow I don't think that would be a problem for you) and ignore all the sweet talk you will get!

[jonnydouble]

 

So my question is to those who are DC collectors, or those who have more experience with these bronze DC's: Where the hell are they? Are NM DC's in this era just non-existant? Do any of you long time collectors have any insights as to the reasons these don't seem to be around?

 

 

I called Showcase NE this morning thinking they might have a couple of hard to find Bronze late Silver books I'm been looking for....The guy told me he had a coplete run of what I was looking for...in fact he has about 2,000 late DC Silver and Bronze books between 9.4-.9.8...but we won't sell any outright...said they havn't decided if they are going to post them on E-bay or give them to Heritage.

 

So yeah...I think the big houses are hoarding them big time and in about 6 months to a year we are going to see a flood of them.

 

Jonny D.

[CosmicBob]

What about a simple reason for fewer DCs being around -- like DCs having a higher cover price and so fewer were sold?

 

I remember buying these suckers as a youngster and being dumbfounded when the price went from 15 cents to 20 cents! That was outrageous! No way was a comic worth 20 cents! Let me see what I can get for my 15 cents, and leave those 20 centers rot on the shelf! Reaction repeats when prices went from 20 cents to 25 cents. And again at 30 cents and so on... That sort of reaction had to have an impact on sales and what titles kids were buying and reading regularly.

 

In the early 70s the price of DCs went from 15 cents to 25 cents. They did increase the number of pages, but I still stopped buying them for a little while. Then they went down to 20 cents and eventually back to 25 cents and here we are at 3 bucks or more.

 

So, in my case anyway, the price increase DID stop me from buying for a little while (a year or so).

[aardvark88]

Around 1975-78, comic prices were skyrocketing from 25 to 30 cents, then a backbreaking 30 to 35 cent jump in retail prices. I went cold turkey & quit collecting Howard the Duck comics for 1 year to avoid paying these extortionist prices.

[Aman619]

I called Showcase NE this morning thinking they might have a couple of hard to find Bronze late Silver books I'm been looking for....The guy told me he had a coplete run of what I was looking for...in fact he has about 2,000 late DC Silver and Bronze books between 9.4-.9.8...

Jonny D.

 

how many agree that coming from Showcase Dan that comment sounds just like something he would say to a caller. Hes always got to appear like he has the bestest and mostest of everything. Call back and offer 5x guide (or whatever 9.6 ans 9.8s sell for) and see if they are for sale...or suddenly out of stock...

[COI]

how many agree that coming from Showcase Dan that comment sounds just like something he would say to a caller. Hes always got to appear like he has the bestest and mostest of everything. Call back and offer 5x guide (or whatever 9.6 ans 9.8s sell for) and see if they are for sale...or suddenly out of stock...

 

Agreed.......and judging by some people's experiences with them, I wouldn't put too much stock in the fact that these are all 9.4-9.8.

 

And look at it this way: If he is being 100% truthful, why do you think he would go to Heritage, even though he does VERY well on ebay? It's because once he sells them, he knows the odds of getting more. Which just goes further to back up that these books are indeed scarce.

[LordRahl]

Agreed.......and judging by some people's experiences with them, I wouldn't put too much stock in the fact that these are all 9.4-9.8.

 

Yup, sounds like his 9.4-9.8 are more like 8.0-9.0. Quick, someone call jgreen and confirm that for us.

 

If he is being 100% truthful, why do you think he would go to Heritage, even though he does VERY well on ebay?

 

Maybe because he can shill at Heritage? Can't always rely on good old jgreen to pay silly prices. Actually "silly" isn't a good word, certfiably psychotic might be better.

 

 

[underthebigw]

I think you're absolutely right. In a nutshell, there just wasn't the speculation and hoarding of DC books that occurred with Marvel books, at least among those I collected with in the 70's. In addition, the readers of the respective companies were from totally different demographics-late teen-early 30's, grade-conscious collector/readers for Marvels vs. DC's older, nostalgia driven collectors who cared less about grade or kid readers who used and abused the books. While my friends and I read every DC book we could get our hands on, they were generally already in worse condition than the average Marvel book and were often usually garage sale finds. None of the local dealers paid much attention to DC's when I was growing up and many of us just didn't take as good care of even our newstand-fresh DC's . Everyone saw them as old-fashioned and just couldn't imagine a Supes or Bats book as ever being worth as much as a FF or Spidey. By 1981, I personally changed my mind and started seeking out NM Adams DC's. It was already a challenge that early and there are many books I still don't have.

[murph0]

Don't know if you're looking for any DCs or just early Bronze in particular..but just saw this guy post down in the Gold forum and checked his site. He's got a bunch of DC's available. Anyways, just though someone might be interested (although I'm sure I'll find out you've all already looked here) Detective 27 comics?

 

Brian

[Aman619]

Okay, lets say all here who say BA DCs are much scarcer than Marvels in high grade, and maybe at all are correct for any or all of the reasons stated. But, if that is so...what has changed?? Dcs were less popular then...are they any MORE popular now? There are still far more Marvel collectors chasing the more plentiful Marvel comics....

 

What Im saying then, is that the smaller supply is still sufficient for the lesser demand for DCs so their scarcity hasn't and may not goose up the prices... To all you Marvel "fanatics" filling in your Bronze runs, If you were convinced that HG BA DCs were scarce to rare, how interested would you suddenly become???

[COI]

is that the smaller supply is still sufficient for the lesser demand for DCs so their scarcity hasn't and may not goose up the prices.

 

Why do you say that? As far as I can tell, there is quite a demand for Bronze Dc's. Keep in mind, I'm not solely responsible for the Detective #395 getting to $360. If you check the bid history, there were 2 other bidders who bid over $300, not to mention the fact that I've already been offered $475 for this book.

 

Are there as many HG bronze DC collectors as there are Bronze Marvel collectors? Of course not. But part of the problem is that Overstreet is not accurate at pricing these books. A 9.4 GL 76 only guides for $200-$300 but a CGC 9.4 will garner upwards of $2500. Find me a Bronze Marvel book that will command that kind of multiple at 9.4.

 

Talk to Mark Wilson. He'll tell you that at shows, 9.4+ silver/early bronze DC's are the first books snatched up by other dealers even before the show starts. And the prices are HIGH because they are next to impossible to replace.

[Aman619]

well, Mark's kinda in a world of his own on pricing these books, raer as they are.

 

I wrote that before cause it occurred to me that if they dont exist in the same multiples as Marvels, its the same reason they dont sell for as much as Marvels do today---less demand. Not that there arent a hearty bunch of fanatic HGBADC (Im stating to like this acronym..) collectors like yourself. And they dont show up as often either cause we keep em.

 

A dealer years ago surmised that DC collectors were by and large older and wealthier...and that they werent forced to sell as often as Marvel collectors.. I dont know how true it is...but it was an interesting angle...

[Bonds25]

Off topic: Andrew, what made you flip this book so soon after buying it??

 

Iron Man #150 CGC 9.8

[COI]

It was an impulse buy. I put in the next minimum bid increment, and won it. It's a cool cover, and a solid 9.8 but It dosen't really fit into my collection.

[COI]

wrote that before cause it occurred to me that if they dont exist in the same multiples as Marvels, its the same reason they dont sell for as much as Marvels do today---less demand. Not that there arent a hearty bunch of fanatic HGBADC (Im stating to like this acronym..) collectors like yourself. And they dont show up as often either cause we keep em.

 

Also, to add to this point, I think that their scarcity turns off a lot of potential HG collectors, because they just aren't available. I know of a couple of collectors who are so stubborn, that if they can't realistically find a book in 9.4, they won't want it. It's the whole CGC 9.4+ collector phenomenom.

 

Also, there's been a lot of talk of CGC grading DC's much more strictly, so it's possible this can have an impact on submissions.

 

 

[greggy]

Also, there's been a lot of talk of CGC grading DC's much more strictly, so it's possible this can have an impact on submissions.

 

Ok, I'll put my 2 cents into this discussion finally. I have not submitted many DCs yet mainly for the following reasons:

 

1) Marvels attract higher prices so financially, it made more sense to sell them during the peak of last year.

 

2) I lost interest in collecting most Marvels. Consequently, I had less emotional attachment to them so I was able to sell practically all my good books.

 

3) I prefer DCs. There is always an urge to sell a book once it is slabbed for the right amount of $$. Psychologically, maybe I wanted to keep them so I did not get them slabbed.

 

My first ever submission in late 2001 included the following DCs:

 

1) Superman 199 CGC 9.2

2) Flash 175 CGC 8.0

3) Green Lantern 59 CGC 9.0

4) Detective 359 CGC 8.5

5) Justice League of America 55 CGC 9.4

6) World's Finest 173 CGC 9.6 (Currently a museum piece on the PGC Mint website)

 

I felt that these 3 books were very stictly graded but fair. Does that mean that DCs get the short end of the stick when it comes to being graded? Not necessarily because I feel that the grades given were consistent with the actual grade that I would have given. Well...the same can not be said with a lot of the Marvels that I have received back. Personally, I feel that most of them are overgraded relative to what I would have given them.

 

However, the true test of how CGC truly grades DC will be shown soon enough, as I am currently selecting the best books that I have available to send in for grading. That will be the true test of whether CGC grades DCs tougher. Personally the bronze issues that I have picked out so far are in most cases, superior than the Marvels that I have previously sent in for grading.

 

So...odin88...stop whining about your Green Lantern 59 that got a 7.5. Damn book had too much tanning.

 

But...to get back truly on topic regarding the Detective 395 that you won. The price surprised me slightly but I never checked the census before I saw the final price. Although I never really sought out the best copies when it came to Neal Adams Batmans and Detectives, they were never really available in nice condition even in the early 1990s. I didn't start buying comics seriously again until after the first Batman movie but I did notice that the first movie resulted in quite a bit of high grade Batmans being offered. Perhaps those books have remained in the owner's collections for all these years!

[Bronty]

I think you're absolutely right. In a nutshell, there just wasn't the speculation and hoarding of DC books that occurred with Marvel books, at least among those I collected with in the 70's. In addition, the readers of the respective companies were from totally different demographics-late teen-early 30's, grade-conscious collector/readers for Marvels vs. DC's older, nostalgia driven collectors who cared less about grade or kid readers who used and abused the books. While my friends and I read every DC book we could get our hands on, they were generally already in worse condition than the average Marvel book and were often usually garage sale finds. None of the local dealers paid much attention to DC's when I was growing up and many of us just didn't take as good care of even our newstand-fresh DC's . Everyone saw them as old-fashioned and just couldn't imagine a Supes or Bats book as ever being worth as much as a FF or Spidey. By 1981, I personally changed my mind and started seeking out NM Adams DC's. It was already a challenge that early and there are many books I still don't have.

 

Agreed. NM adams books have been on my radar for eons and yet I still own only a couple true NMs

[greggy]

Agreed. NM adams books have been on my radar for eons and yet I still own only a couple true NMs

 

Really? Which ones?