Show me this S.A Crash............

[greggy]

Yep, Thor 337, so it gives a pretty fair indication of how high Silver Age rose in the next few years.

 

Jesus.

 

 

Well...I just re-read an old market report by Keith Contarino in the early 1990s when he thanked Bob Overstreet for finally listing Amazing Spider-man 14 higher in the guide than 129! Yep, the Zeck mini-series sure sent that issue into the stratosphere!

[joe_collector]

I should scan some of the OS 1987-88 listings, and then post the 1990 figures. It's an eye-opener to see ASM 50 go from $10 to $300+ and FFD 48 rise from $20 to $500.

 

Many people forget (or don't know) that collecting non-1st issue, first appearances (especially villains) is a relatively new occurance and I believe it was all started by Keith C in his OS reports.

[joe_collector]

Hey greggy, just saw the Keith Contarino notation. Great minds think alike!!

[COI]

I should scan some of the OS 1987-88 listings, and then post the 1990 figures. It's an eye-opener to see ASM 50 go from $10 to $300+ and FFD 48 rise from $20 to $500.

 

That would be interesting. I've been considering buying older overstreets, because I'm totally ignorant to prices before the 90's. I think the first price guide I ever looked in was in 91', and the huge increase had already taken place.

[murph0]

The G.A. prices were also higher back than for a lot of weird books. But I don't think there was much going on as far as G.A. books moving though.

 

Brian

[jonnydouble]

This is a prime example of how non-key silver books have dropped in price......this book 6 months ago would easily have sold for close $250-$300 or more....It sold for $172.50 which is about 3x guide, but 5x guide would not have been unusual 6 months ago.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2176815944&category=75&rd=1

 

Jonny D.

[Aman619]

This is a prime example of how non-key silver books have dropped in price......this book 6 months ago would easily have sold for close $250-$300 or more....It sold for $172.50 which is about 3x guide, but 5x guide would not have been unusual 6 months ago.

 

Jonny D.

 

and when reality really comes back to our world it will sell for guide and a half or about what a late 12-cent WONDER WOMAN non-key should sell for in 9.4 NM. Stilla ways to go (downward) for books like this...

[underthebigw]

In what decade did a true NM book usually go for Guide? I've colected off and on for 25 years and NM books almost always went for above guide unless they were just non-demand type books.

 

 

No offense, but I've NEVER understood this mentality. I've spent 25 years buying true NM/NM+ books for guide or less. Does that mean I might come away from a show empty handed or with just a few "common" books, sure. Do I have to work harder and have a broad want list, yep. But it can be done. I remember moving to the DC area after living in NYC and Boston. This was before the economy started to boom in the 90's and hi-tech came to the region. I moved for grad school and swore that I was going to stop buying books, put in my three years of school, and get out so I could return to buying. I went to my first show and walked out with a NM/M Silver Surfer 18 for $18. For the next 3 years, I consistently bought some of the most gorgeous SA and GA books, ALWAYS below guide. Even when the economy picked up, everyone else was hoarding and flipping Valiants and GA stuff, I could find unreal stuff. Of course, that little bit of paradise ended and the DC area is now more like NY. My point is, though, you need to find the right seller, in the right part of the country, etc. You just have to look harder than the big time shows and national dealers or ebay. There's a whole country of stores and small dealers out there, most of whom wouldn't be able to find a buyer at mulitiples of guide if they tried (don't forget, not everyone uses ebay or is on-line).

[comicwiz]

For the next 3 years, I consistently bought some of the most gorgeous SA and GA books, ALWAYS below guide. Even when the economy picked up, everyone else was hoarding and flipping Valiants and GA stuff, I could find unreal stuff. Of course, that little bit of paradise ended and the DC area is now more like NY. My point is, though, you need to find the right seller, in the right part of the country, etc. You just have to look harder than the big time shows and national dealers or ebay. There's a whole country of stores and small dealers out there, most of whom wouldn't be able to find a buyer at mulitiples of guide if they tried (don't forget, not everyone uses ebay or is on-line).

 

Exhaustive searching doesn't carry as much weight as it did before the explosion of online trading. The highest amount of purchases made in my collection was in the 80's. I stopped sometime in the late 80's and restarted again in 2000. The amount of opportunities to locate high-grade to hyper-high-grade "anything" for guide has all but disappeared. Searching classifieds, placing adds and setting-up tables at local antique markets have all but proved fruitless, especially in the last year. Most comic shops will also tell you that when high-grade specimens surface, the seller almost always has unrealistic returns in mind. In those cases, I would even have to assume that consignment might even cause more harm than good, because even though you stock eye-candy in your showcase, regular shoppers will start to think your pricing methods have altered to stratospheric/opportunitic levels.

 

In my experience, whenever a real collection comes out of the woodwork, chances are the seller has spoken to someone, or has seen the sale of 9.6-9.9 copy on ebay, and when that happens, they all start thinking of that luxurious boat or car they can purchase with the sale of their collections. The "buy the whole lot" attitude is also very prevalent, when there are 10-20% high-grades, and the rest are all low-mid grades.

 

One of the best purchasing opportunities in the last few years was from a fellow out in Waterloo Ont. His prices were extremely reasonable (usually 70-90% guide) for the last few years, but as soon as he discovered ebay, his attitude shifted to a multiples and slabbed formula of pricing. Granted, most of the stuff he obtains are gorgeous raw copies, but they are still not slabbed and to expect slabbed prices is a bit of a stretch. I still pass-by and purchase filler issues, but don't bother buying keys from him (ie. a raw 9.0 Hulk 181 for the equivalent of US $1000, when we all know a CGC graded copy could be bought for about US $700-$800) . He sells out of his home and he's a good all-around guy so I don't mind paying a premium on some of the more obscure stuff, but I pass on most of the keys that can be found quite regularly on ebay.

[murph0]

Metropolis (aka Savvybat) is getting some record highs on their ASMs. That 54 is the most one of those has gone for. So...looks like some stuff is picking up even more heat then before? Savvy Bat Auctions

And for all you Bronze crash theorists. Two ASM 111's...two of the highest prices on the books. ASM 111 #1 ASM 111 #2.

Highest price ever for an ASM 117 - ASM 117 9.4

Highest price ever for an ASM 118 - ASM 118 9.4

There's more but I didn't feel like lookin

 

Brian

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

And on another note, my F.F. Annual 2 CGC 9.2 was just BINed for $950.

 

Crash? What Crash?

[blowout]

Silver Age ASM certainly seems to be holding its value for the most part. For books at 8.5 and above at any rate.

There are just so many people looking for these books that I really can't see prices dying off for a long time to come.

[murph0]

Yes, S.A. for sure..but what surprised me is that early Bronze is making a second move.. some are even going for more than what they did a year ago.

 

Brian

[blowout]

I don't know about you Brian, but I have found some of the early Bronze stuff fairly hard to come by this year (in the 96-129 range).

Maybe that is what is spiking the prices again.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Yes, S.A. for sure..but what surprised me is that early Bronze is making a second move.. some are even going for more than what they did a year ago.

 

Any guess as to whether the recent upswing of economic news is having a positive effect on the certified market overall?

 

Or is Bug going to do his best JC imitation and tell us all we're insufficiently_thoughtful_persons?

[murph0]

There's been a few, 96 is definately very difficult. I've got a 9.6 that is off-center that I've been dying to get a centered 9.4 or 9.6 instead of...but I haven't seen a thing. Those ASMs 106-116 are real tough too but it's just surprising that the prices have gone up while everyone is bashing the availability of Bronze books.

 

Brian

[murph0]

It could be anything Jive, maybe it was the end of the "war"?

 

Brian

[thecomicsheet]

Silver Age ASM certainly seems to be holding its value for the most part. For books at 8.5 and above at any rate.

There are just so many people looking for these books that I really can't see prices dying off for a long time to come.

 

Even the low grade ASM is bringing decent prices. Darthdiesel sold an ASM 129 in CGC 3.5 for $61 and I sold a 4.0 for $60.

[blowout]

Darthdiesel sold an ASM 129 in CGC 3.5 for $61 and I sold a 4.0 for $60.

 

Yeah, ASM #129 is way out there at the moment.

 

Spidey is still the king.

[Bugaboo-migration]

Any guess as to whether the recent upswing of economic news is having a positive effect on the certified market overall?

 

Or is Bug going to do his best JC imitation and tell us all we're insufficiently_thoughtful_persons?

Keep right on laughing at me. In a year or two, I'll be laughing as I swoop in and buy all the high grade silver and bronze that's desperately flooding into the market for pennies on the dollar of todays prices. The specs will see their precious portfolio of comics crumble right before their eyes. They'll desperately try to hold onto their last remaining books while they eat stale bread from the local soup kitchen. I've tried to warn you. But all you people do is stick your head in the sand, open your wallets up wide, and happily overpay into the CGC money scam while screaming "thank you sir, may I have another". You're all fools.