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CBS news report

Started by Joanna,

22 posts in this topic

drbanner

drbanner

Posted
Posted

"Now is a great time to get into comic books because collecting is still relatively in its infancy," Zurzolo said.

 

C'mon Vinnie (I know you're out there!), how can you say this? I would venture to guess that the average age of the serious comic book collector/investor has grown older by about 1 year per year over the last 10 years (since the sales of new books peaked). And that's not b/c there are slugs of new entrants into our hobby...

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dam60

dam60

Posted
Posted

You know what else I don't get? If the purpose of this article is to alert people to other investment vehicles, namely collectible comic books, how come every dealer and there brother isn't fighting tooth and nail to get this type of free publicity? Think about it - the article is talking about the new entrants of investors entering the market, these guys need some guidance, who better to turn to than the person in the article???

 

DAM

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supapimp

supapimp

Posted
Posted
"Now is a great time to get into comic books because collecting is still relatively in its infancy," Zurzolo said.

 

C'mon Vinnie (I know you're out there!), how can you say this? I would venture to guess that the average age of the serious comic book collector/investor has grown older by about 1 year per year over the last 10 years (since the sales of new books peaked). And that's not b/c there are slugs of new entrants into our hobby...

 

confused-smiley-013.gif

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Kevin76

Kevin76

Posted
Posted

"Now is a great time to get into comic books because collecting is still relatively in its infancy," Zurzolo said.

 

Goes to show you how much of a insufficiently_thoughtful_person Veggie Vincent can be...that's right up there with how cows are raised in concetration camps.

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Mushroom

Mushroom

Posted
Posted
File this one under 'any publicity is good publicity'.

 

Despite the skewed points in the article, and the investment focus, anything that turns the spotlight on the industry is good by me.

 

But is it good. Speulators can destroy what has taken decades to create. Look at stamps and coins.

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500Club

500Club

Posted
Posted

This is an old argument. Can speculators ruin the industry? If so, how? It's a point that is often made, and taken as valid, with no real analysis of how and why this can/could occur.

 

If you look at the market downturn in the early 90s, it's often written that this was due to speculators. I'm going to argue that it wasn't - that it was due to poor product, order mismanagement by stores, and the Marvel Heroes World fiasco.

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garthgantu

garthgantu

Posted
Posted
You know what else I don't get? If the purpose of this article is to alert people to other investment vehicles, namely collectible comic books, how come every dealer and there brother isn't fighting tooth and nail to get this type of free publicity? Think about it - the article is talking about the new entrants of investors entering the market, these guys need some guidance, who better to turn to than the person in the article???

 

DAM

 

DAM, I think the primary reason other dealers aren't netting this type of publicity is because it's not quite as easy to get as you may imagine, at least not national coverage like this, via Associated Press. It's one thing to get an article in your local weekly, and another entirely to get mass market coverage through an A.P. or CNN etc. As one quick example, A.P. would almost never cover an industry via one example, even one as big as Metropolis. They want a trend that several "industry representative companies" can all attest to or illustrate.

 

The other big challenge you have in getting such an article placed is, you don't have any real control over the final form it takes. The reporter may give you the impression it will be a balanced story about the state of the industry, or the boom in back issue collecting and prices, and then end up writing something very different...kinda like a movie where the best parts (in some people's opinion) get left on the cutting room floor.

 

In the case of the comic book industry, and back issue sector in particular, I don't think there's any real cohesion that would result in a steady stream of press. What the back issue industry sector needs is an organized, coordinated effort to get the word out. In most sectors, some sort of industry association takes money from a general fund/pool and hires a PR agency. If enough of the big back issue firms got together and paid a PR agency say, $500,000 for a year or two of pitching, you'd see a steady stream of coverage on a wider range of topics relating to back issue comic books, such as

- the amazing appreciation of 'old' comic books

- the fascinating reflection of society and its evolution, that comic books offer

- the occasional 'anecdotal' story about a new collection being discovered, its approximate worth, its provenance, etc.

- the revival and/or reinvention of 'older' superheros by the current comic book publishers

- shorter pieces on how comic books

...once helped fight wars in which the U.S. was involved

...were once one of the leading sources of entertainment for young people, and why that's changed

...are written, drawn, and published, today versus 50 years ago

 

etc. etc.

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supapimp

supapimp

Posted
Posted

If you look at the market downturn in the early 90s, it's often written that this was due to speculators. I'm going to argue that it wasn't - that it was due to poor product, order mismanagement by stores, and the Marvel Heroes World fiasco.

 

you can thank wizard magazine for that.Christz_bumm.gif

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OldGuy

OldGuy

Posted
Posted

It's nice to see that this article is as inaccurate as any other mainstream press article on comics.

 

"Book values today are established by The Official Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide, which is now in its 32nd edition and is printed each April."

 

And here I thought we were only on the 2nd Edition Grading Guide. Or is that Price Guide? Oh whatever.

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delekkerste

delekkerste

Posted
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Well, as a counterpoint to the popular media jumping on the bandwagon ("Big Bucks in Collectible Comics") too late as always, there was a lovely paragraph published in Steve Hochberg's and Pete Kendall's Elliott Wave Financial Forecast yesterday (8/29) on the future course of collectible prices, which echoes what I have been saying:

 

"In another revelation, a front-page Wall Street Journal article reveals that retirees are doing whatever it takes to make ends meet. Some are even selling off their treasures. But it may be too late. Signs of a collectibles glut appeared at a recent auction when the prototype for G.I. Joe failed to sell, and that was after the minimum bid was dropped from $600,000 to $250,000. This is the start of the washout [Robert Prechter's 2002 book] Conquer the Crash was anticipating when it warned, "Never buy anything marketed as a collectible." It is the first sign of a liquidation frenzy that will gain speed as deflation intensifies. Everything must go, and, if it goes at all, it will be at much lower prices!"

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ghoulaid

ghoulaid

Posted
Posted
Signs of a collectibles glut appeared at a recent auction when the prototype for G.I. Joe failed to sell, and that was after the minimum bid was dropped from $600,000 to $250,000. This is the start of the washout [Robert Prechter's 2002 book] Conquer the Crash was anticipating when it warned, "Never buy anything marketed as a collectible."

 

 

The G.I. Joe prototype fails to sell at $600,000 and thats the sign of a collectibles glut?! It's not like this item is in everyones attic waiting to be rescued from a cedar chest. No glut there. Being a rare item that hadn't traded on the market before, a minimum price was arrived at that was overly ambitious. That's all. I wouldn't take that as any guidepost of the future health of the collectibles market.

 

As for "Never buy anything marketed as a collectible", I agree with the key word here being: marketed. Think Franklin Mint, Home Shopping Network, and anything NEW being marketed as a future "collectors item". Most REAL collectors items were not marketed as such when they first went on sale.

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500Club

500Club

Posted
Posted

This is the start of the washout [Robert Prechter's 2002 book] Conquer the Crash was anticipating when it warned, "Never buy anything marketed as a collectible."

 

Prechter's been singing the same tune since the 1980s. Wake me up when he's right......

 

A broken clock, on average, is right two more times on any given day. tongue.gif

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