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Action 1 in new heritage

Started by G.A.tor,

26 posts in this topic

G.A.tor

G.A.tor

Posted
Posted

hello all...

looked around to see if anyone else had posted, but I noticed last night in an upcoming heritage auction, a restored 7.5 action 1 being offered...any guesses as to the hammer price (might like to go after this one)...

thanks

rick

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showcase4

showcase4

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Posted

This could be a $70k book ......... it has very nice eye appeal, the work done was professional, and Action #1 is ....Action #1 !!!

Using a general guide of restored worth 20% of unrestored value, that would mean that a $70k restored copy would be worth $350k unrestored. It seems realistic that a VF- unrestored Action #1 would sell for $350,000 in this market

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CentaurMan

CentaurMan

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Posted
These guesses seem low to me... but you guys know better than I do. What did the last few copies go for?

 

Heritage has sold 7 Action #1's. 6 of them have been unrestored. Here are the details:

 

Unrestored 5.5, OW pages, March 2003: $120,750

Unrestored 4.5, OW to white, October 2002: $86,250

Unrestored 3.5, Cream to OW, February 2004: $57,500

Unrestored 3.0, Cream to OW, March 2002: $48,300 (a ratty 3.0; whole spine taped)

Unrestored 2.5, Cream to OW, November 2003: $40,308

Unrestored 2.5, Cream to OW, July 2004: $35,650 (infamous moldy ugly "2.5")

 

Restored (MP), OW to white, January 2006: $69,000

 

I didn't look carefully at the Jan '06 sale to see if it's the same book currently being offered. The $69K price implies that our guesses are low.

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bluechip

bluechip

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What's been keeping action 1 prices down in recent years has not been what people think it's worth, but more what the guide tells them, and the guide hasn't been keeping pace with the interest in it. I've heard lots of people outside the hobby express interest in that book, which in recent years has become very well-known. Not as well known as Superman himself. But in years past the average person had to be told that superman first appeared in action 1. Now the average person is quite likely to know that already. Show a copy to someone who's never seen a guide and ask them what they think it's worth, even restored. In the past few years every such person I've spoken with has guessed a price well above guide, and even several times guide. Dealers out there who've offered ciopies (including auction houses) can no doubt tell you stories of people who expressed interest, then got a guide -- or had somebody quote them guide -- and suddenly they were concerned about overpaying. The next step in the new collector's education is generally to educate them about how some books are "over guide." Which, of course, would not be necessary if the guide were simply correct in the first place.

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Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

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Posted

Actually I'm kind of surprised guide even comes into play when we are talking about an Action #1. The type of buyers that want these will usually do whatever they can to acquire a grail like this. There just isn't enough copies around being flipped to use as a guage against guide. Kind of curious what data OS uses to determine a guide price or are they just increasing its value 10% year-over-year?

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bluechip

bluechip

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Quote:

 

Kind of curious what data OS uses to determine a guide price or are they just increasing its value 10% year-over-year?

 

 

 

 

If you look at Overstreet lower grade values in recent years, you'll see increases well BELOW 10 percent a year. And that's during a period in which comics have become more mainstream than at any time since the 1940s. (one or even two big movies every year approaching or surpassing a billion in worldwide grosses, not to mention ongoing series, cartoons, video games, etc.) And yet during that time the guide value of the most famous, most important, most significant comic of all increases less than 10 percenta year? The guide is simply way way way off on action 1 in the lower and upper grades. You cannot find a ciopy in good for anything close to 39K. And neither could you find a near mint copy for anything close to the 450 or so it's listed. You MIGHT find a copy for guide somewhere in the middle. But that;s because you've got people at the upper and lower ends who aren't interested. At the lower end, people just want a copy and they want it for as little as they can to have a decent copy, so they're not going to shell out twice as much for a VG when it may not even look as good as some technical goods. And at the upper end, you've got people who just want the highest possible, and they're not interested in a mid-grade copy even if it's a fraction of the price.

 

The normal spread from low to high might work for non-keys, but it just doesn't represent the values people naturally put on the ultra-ey, ultra-famous books.

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