Recent Action #1 Sale

[agro23]

This thread is hurting my head.

 

The guys asked a high price on a book that is obviously rare, seminal, important (both in comics and culture as a whole) and soon to be tied into a major movie marketing franchise.

 

Action #1 isn't just some comic book, it's THE comic book. It's possibly the comic book that defines the ENTIRE American genre of comics as a whole.

 

The only place this comic's value has to go is up. Scarcity creates demand. At this point, the very fact the customer paid the price justifies the price.

 

So, what's the problem again? That the dominoes are going to fall so that the price of Action #1 is suddenly more reflective of its true value in American culture?

 

Action #1 is the Gutenberg bible of comics and it SHOULD be worth more than a Picasso sketch. Action #1 should be in the Smithsonian Institution (if it isn't already). Action #1 will be important in 10 years, 100 years and 1000 years as a representative piece of 20th century Americana, a defining document that encapsulates an era.

 

Sounds to me like some folks just wish they could afford a copy in any condition. I know I do.

[skybolt]

I personally just want to lease one for a day or two.

[markseifert]

I personally just want lease one for a day or two.

 

You know, I think I'd pay a couple hundred bucks or so to have a good replica of one (including size, paper type, exact contents, etc). I love my GA archives, but part of the appeal of collecting GA to me is paging through the book in its original form.

 

A few months ago in some Action #1 thread somebody posted that they had tracked down some vintage paper and used it to make a decent replica of the original. I thought that was a pretty cool idea.

[Aman619]

thats was Matt Nelson or that PGX guy.... I think.

[Timulty]

I would love to have replicas/reprints of the first 10 Actions. Even in Black in White long as they had all the stories and Adverts.

[jkrk]

This thread is hurting my head.

 

The guys asked a high price on a book that is obviously rare, seminal, important (both in comics and culture as a whole) and soon to be tied into a major movie marketing franchise.

 

Action #1 isn't just some comic book, it's THE comic book. It's possibly the comic book that defines the ENTIRE American genre of comics as a whole.

 

The only place this comic's value has to go is up. Scarcity creates demand. At this point, the very fact the customer paid the price justifies the price.

 

So, what's the problem again? That the dominoes are going to fall so that the price of Action #1 is suddenly more reflective of its true value in American culture?

 

Action #1 is the Gutenberg bible of comics and it SHOULD be worth more than a Picasso sketch. Action #1 should be in the Smithsonian Institution (if it isn't already). Action #1 will be important in 10 years, 100 years and 1000 years as a representative piece of 20th century Americana, a defining document that encapsulates an era.

 

Sounds to me like some folks just wish they could afford a copy in any condition. I know I do.

 

 

OK. I Guess I should get a bit serious. The first point I would make is that I believe the buyer vastly overpaid for the book. Am I correct? Am I entitled to an opinion?

 

I can't speak for the motivation/emotions of other posters but i can give you a bit of insight into mine. I trade a decent amount of equities (for myself) and maintain positions in multiple seven figure dollar values. I mention this simply to point out that some folks can easily buy the Action 1 and choose not to even though affordability is not the issue.

 

I recently bid on twelve books in the Heritage auction and purchased five. None were high dollar value as my total bids amounted to maybe $20,000. I was second highest bidder on 5 books as I was unwilling to pay up $50 or one hundred

dollars above my limit. When buying books, discipline is everything for me.

 

Can I understand the motivation of the buyer of the Action 1? I guess. Is he/She a fool? Everyone has a certain budget and makes their choices on how they will allocate their capital. What is the budget for someone who wants a book, has the capital to pay, and price is not a factor in the consideration? If I made the purchase I would deem myself to be a fool. Then again, that's me. I suspect most think differently. That's why I am thinking of putting up my Showcase 4 for $20,000. Who's to say that my price is too high?

 

Your post simply says that Action 1 is probably the most desired comic. I don't see anyone who disagrees. Many of us believe that the buyer overpaid (?) in today's market. I may be the only one who believes that the buyer probably will not realize a profit over the next decade (unless I'm paying $10 for a quart of milk) but that's another issue. Poor investments drive me crazy as I berate myself about my stupidity. I attempt to play the odds on each investment and over the years I have won more than I have lost. Will I be correct on the overpayment on the Action 1 or is this another of my mistakes? Time will tell.

[Aman619]

well reasoned arguments. But you talk about the purchase strictly in investment terms. I know nothing about the buyer, but I doubt highly that "investment" was the totality of the buyers reasing for paying that amount. And, you just cannot substitute ANY other comic like Showcase 4 into the equation as you did. Your Showcase is one of dozens of copies and is far far less desirable.

 

This guy just bought an unrestored copy that looks great except for pretty serious localized damage of THE comic book fo the ages. Dont get me wrong, I too think its unfortunate he had to pay so much. But thats how our little game works, isnt it? You make a great point about restraint when buying and bidding. You were admirable in sticking to your limit. But, whatever books they were, they were NOT Action 1s, were they?

 

The buyer must have put out feelers for a copy. The dealers involved located one, arranged to buy or broker its sale to him. Either the previous owner got 180 of the price (stood HIS ground) or, he sold it for the "correct price, failing to see that in the right hands with the right/motivated seller available, that it was worth as much 200K.....

 

frankly, now that I think about it - - how soon til we hear from the "schnook" or "shrewdie" who owned t a month ago. Lets hope he really didnt want to sell causing this record price to be met. Lets hope HE is ecstatic enough today to look back and deal with parting with what WAS until recently, HIS pride and joy. Unless it was Dentists or somebody elses under or second undercopy, that is.

[Timulty]

Again, do I need to post this equation:

 

Comics Collecting <> Investing.

 

Yep, I went there. Nearly every time I pay over $2 on a comic book, I hear from some Family and Friends that I must be smoking crack. I am sure others have experienced this as well. So, I ask of you. Judging this buyer, seller or any the parties involved is well a tad hypocritical. And yeah, I think this is outrageous just for the fact that if this is where the pricing on this book is going, then I will never own a copy. I would like to own one just to read the Zatara story. I know, funny eh? But there is something about reading comics from this time period in the raw. The stories, art and adverts. The smell of old paper. All of that is amazing. So, it just depends on what you are willing to pay to experience this in the raw.

Some people would pay 1K for a glass of wine.

Remember, value is in the eye of the beholder.

[originalisbest]

Hoping for reprints of Action #1 that are "awfully close" to the original is just asking for fraudulent trouble, I would think - not that anyone who knows their stuff would be fooled, but... well, that's me.

[Rip]

Congrates on a great sale. I thought the book had nice eye appeal.

 

 

Arianna Huffington also..., oh boy!

[markseifert]

Hoping for reprints of Action #1 that are "awfully close" to the original is just asking for fraudulent trouble, I would think - not that anyone who knows their stuff would be fooled, but... well, that's me.

 

Yeah, I know from that standpoint it is probably not a good idea for such a replica/reprint to be mass produced. Although I've been thinking that figuring out how close you could come by trying to do it yourself might make for an interesting hobby. Yet another item for my retirement project list that I will probably never get to.

[originalisbest]

I suppose anyone, properly motivated - could come pretty close to replicating an original, if they had an original for reference. However, I'd hope that even if it was for only their use, they'd allow for some kind of notation to prevent someone believing it was the real deal. Perhaps a slight difference in cover details, something along that line.

[markseifert]

I'd hope that even if it was for only their use, they'd allow for some kind of notation to prevent someone believing it was the real deal. Perhaps a slight difference in cover details, something along that line.

 

A good idea, no doubt. I'd never part with it if I ever did get around to giving it a try (especially after all the effort it would take), but without some precaution I could imagine someone going through my estate after I am gone and thinking they'd hit the lottery. The real thing might be worth 7 or 8 figures by then!

[rjpb]

Again, do I need to post this equation:

 

Comics Collecting <> Investing.

 

Yep, I went there. Nearly every time I pay over $2 on a comic book, I hear from some Family and Friends that I must be smoking crack. I am sure others have experienced this as well. So, I ask of you. Judging this buyer, seller or any the parties involved is well a tad hypocritical. And yeah, I think this is outrageous just for the fact that if this is where the pricing on this book is going, then I will never own a copy. I would like to own one just to read the Zatara story. I know, funny eh? But there is something about reading comics from this time period in the raw. The stories, art and adverts. The smell of old paper. All of that is amazing. So, it just depends on what you are willing to pay to experience this in the raw.

Some people would pay 1K for a glass of wine.

Remember, value is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Well put. I imagine most posters on this board have overpaid (by their own estimation) for at least a book or two in their collection. Paying $200 for a book that has a supposed fmv of $120, $2000 for one with a fmv $1200. or $200K for a book that many believe is worth closer to $120K, it's all a matter of scale, and anyone who can drop 200K on any comic is operating on a financial scale I'm not anywhere near. Without buyers willing to pay more than the last guy for a comic, their wouldn't be any investment value in comics at all. I think lots of prices paid for comic books are nutty, and that the buyer may be foolish, but as long as the book isn't misrepresented, I can hardly hold the seller responsible for the buyers decision to purchase a book.

[agro23]

OK. I Guess I should get a bit serious. The first point I would make is that I believe the buyer vastly overpaid for the book. Am I correct? Am I entitled to an opinion?

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. However, the point I was trying to make is that I don't believe the buyer overpaid for what they were buying. I believe the sale indicates a correction upward in the market price for this particular book.

 

Can I understand the motivation of the buyer of the Action 1? I guess. Is he/She a fool? Everyone has a certain budget and makes their choices on how they will allocate their capital. What is the budget for someone who wants a book, has the capital to pay, and price is not a factor in the consideration? If I made the purchase I would deem myself to be a fool. Then again, that's me. I suspect most think differently. That's why I am thinking of putting up my Showcase 4 for $20,000. Who's to say that my price is too high?

I'm guessing it was someone involved with the film or production of other Superman products that suddenly found themselves with a suitcase full of stupid money once the check cleared. This was money that was all windfall and they felt they could spend it on something like this. Since I work in the comics industry, if I was in the same position, I'b be giving my accountant fits when I tried to write off the same purchase as "research".

 

Regarding your Showcase 4, you can ask whatever price you want. I'd wait until the Flash movie gets a little further along in production though. Keeping in mind also that there are 10 or 20 times more showcase 4's floating around.

 

Your post simply says that Action 1 is probably the most desired comic. I don't see anyone who disagrees. Many of us believe that the buyer overpaid (?) in today's market. I may be the only one who believes that the buyer probably will not realize a profit over the next decade (unless I'm paying $10 for a quart of milk) but that's another issue. Poor investments drive me crazy as I berate myself about my stupidity. I attempt to play the odds on each investment and over the years I have won more than I have lost. Will I be correct on the overpayment on the Action 1 or is this another of my mistakes? Time will tell.

You're assuming that they bought the comic as an investment because they were schooled on its value over time by Esquire. They may have asked just to somewhat justify the purchase to themselves or their significant other. We don't know. But buying comics as an investment when there is such a small market is a big risk anyway. His $200k would have done better in a mutual fund but it's hard to wow a room with a Vanguard statement.

[rjpb]

it's hard to wow a room with a Vanguard statement.

 

I would imagine that depends on the statement and the room.

[mrwoogieman]

What about the fact that this book is a tear seal and some other minor restoration away from being in the VF range?

 

Does its potential as a restoration candidate without the need for extensive work or major pieces added increase its desirability?

 

Then factor in the high page quality...

[esquirecomics]

I appreciate many of the substantive comments made in this thread, and certainly understand the inquisitive nature of many of you to better understand who the buyer is and what motivated him. Some of the questions are completely legitimate, while others I view as somewhat conspiratorial, to put it quite simply. Some of the conjecturing statements hold truth, others are far from it.

 

For reasons I would hope everyone understands I am going to refrain now from further comments. I am not going to single out which comments I found substantive and which I found insulting. I've already gotten too deeply involved in responding to some of the statements that I found to be "personal". I'm supposed to be a professional in dealing with situations but no one likes to be personally attacked.

 

The purpose of this thread was very simple. To share an image of a fantastic book, and some of the details surrounding the sale. What this thread transformed into illustrates why many of the dealers won't join in on discussions. A few bad appples spoil it for the lot. The recent 6.5 sale is one which we probably won't hear much about b/c the dealer who sold the book is not one who usually divulges information and he doesn't really like these threads. I don't share those general views, but I am starting to see why some do.

 

Anyone who wants to debate the "wisdom" of the sale from a collecting standpoint, or an investment standpoint, or whether it is good or bad for the hobby in general should obviously feel free to do so. There is absolutely nothing wrong with those topics. But I feel absolutely no need to have to defend my actions, Bechara's or that of the buyer. With all due respect, it is no one's business why the person bought the book or why it was sold. Nor is it appropriate, in my opinion, to implicitly slander someone's reputation or call into question someone's actions when no one even knows all the details surrounding the transaction or the people involved.

 

I'll continue to contribute to these boards as I see fit (as that is in my nature), and to this thread if the discussion is more academic than personal or direct about the transaction. I know most of you will understand my position. For those few who don't, deal with it.

[drdonaldblake]

Dan Kramer supposedly used to co own alot of golden age keys with Steve Borock int eh early to mid 90's

[ronm3-migration]

I would just like to hear the story. Will there be a story in Scoop or will it be just stating the sale?