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Ryan73 Posts: 2
12/14/2020
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I recently started going through my comic collection. I noticed that some are newsstand editions and others are direct editions. One comic that is newsstand edition will be worth more than its direct edition counterpart. However, I'm also seeing the opposite on other comics. Direct editions are worth more than their newsstand counterparts. For some reason, I thought it was one way or the other, not back and forth. I don't know what to believe when I'm grading my comics. Thoughts?
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Ronbatman Administrator Posts: 2530
12/15/2020
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I recently wrote about this on the blog if you would like to read it.
https://blog.comicspriceguide.com/comic-book-upc-code-history-and-price-implications/
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Ryan73 Posts: 2
12/15/2020
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Thank you for this information. It's a big help. Ronbatman wrote:
I recently wrote about this on the blog if you would like to read it.
https://blog.comicspriceguide.com/comic-book-upc-code-history-and-price-implications/
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Theoldcollector Posts: 213
3/7/2021
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I was just about to start a new post on the Newsstand vs Direct and how crazy expensive some of these newsstands are starting to go for. That's a great write up BTW! I always had the mindset that it would be harder to have a higher grade newsstand copy but never really thought about the fact that there were more printed vs the directs. I always preferred directs just because the logo or having nothing there at all looks better than a UPC box in my opinion.
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rgtichy Posts: 124
3/8/2021
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And, the rarity versus condition balance changed over time. When "Direct" first began, there were not as many comic book stores, so "Direct" editions would be rare, but also more likely to end up collected and cared for. Then as there came to be many comic stores with "Direct" inventory, it became the newstand ones that were not just rarer, but still less likely to end up collected and cared for.
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
3/12/2021
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rgtichy wrote:
And, the rarity versus condition balance changed over time. When "Direct" first began, there were not as many comic book stores, so "Direct" editions would be rare, but also more likely to end up collected and cared for. Then as there came to be many comic stores with "Direct" inventory, it became the newsstand ones that were not just rarer, but still less likely to end up collected and cared for.
I wouldn't say that it was more stores that changed the dynamic, though it would be part of it, but the dynamic changed in that with splitting the stream the publisher were better able to see that the balance of where people were buying from was changing AND also, as more and more other media options drew in people the sales on the newsstands was vanishing. Why feed a stream that is only costing money and not making it? As video games, TV, movies because more accessible in the home and then with the interwebs becoming the thing printed matter has been whacked sales wise.
The "scarcity" thing is a bit of a red herring too. Newsstand books were printed at the same time so are part of a larger print run. Not all ended out in the hands of people who don't collect. I know for a fact in my region there were lots of stores that also had accounts with news distributors so copies did get into the hands of collectors. For example the direct version of Thor #337 is super scarce because no one was really reading the book and the hype was very slow to filter into our city. All the copies sold out right away, probably mostly to subscribers. However, the store I shopped at got a huge order from the local news distributor and had easily a few hundred copies for sales on the stands three weeks after the direct copies were gone. On newsstands they, at best would have had five copies if at all. To date when I see Thor #337 up for sale it is 99.999 percent of the time going to be the newsstand copy. I still have mine.
Since it happened in Winnipeg I assume it was happening all over. up to the early 90's I don't think the scarcity algorithms people use should be taken to heart too much. Unless we pole every collector and store and study sales on each and every newsstand and direct copy you can say for certain that the attrition rate of all newsstand books means existing copies in high grade is the same across the board. IMHO the attrition rates are always going top be highest for pre 1965. Most of the silver and all of the gold are the only truly scarce books. Most of the scarcity now is relative. Even if a print run on a book is only in the hundreds very few are going to be lost to history and very few are going to be lower than an 8.0. So unless you dramatically increase the demand and it stays there are you every going to have true scarcity in the same sense as Silver, gold and platnum.
Scarcity also doesn't mean more expensive only demand creates that. There are a number of books out there who have one to 10 existing copies and though demand is there for them the scarcity alone is not enough to bump the price up because sales may be low or people are simply not interested.
Things are much more nuance than simple black and white.
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steelsabre Posts: 4
12/27/2022
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New to posting here. During much of the bronze age I subscribed to 20 issues or more per month. I thought I was doing good getting the comics every month. Often they would come folded! I didn't realize that 35-40 yrs later the fold crease which never goes away would decrease my values. I never bought them to sell later on but now I'm finding it hard to grade them with the delivery fold in the middle. How should I deal with them? Start pressing? Thanks for your help.
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