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Theoldcollector Posts: 213
3/14/2021
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I am new to collecting again after stopping a few years ago and this market has me scratching my head. Where in the world can you find raw or graded books at the listed prices on here? Short of getting lucky on some of the not as popular auction sites everywhere else I look for older comics the prices are well above what's listed on the price guide's site. Especially on eBay, the prices there are just getting more and more ridiculous by the day. Where is everyone buying their comics for their collections? Right now I have been looking for ASM mainly 10-199 minus the ones I already have. I have been looking for only higher grades and the prices are always higher than the prices listed here. I've tried a few LCS here East of Dallas but most of them do not have a large back stock. Hell I stopped at one store the other day after leaving work and they only carried current with no back stock at all in the store. I tried a couple of antique stores / flea markets looking for older comics and it was the same there as well, way over priced. The last one I went to had a Wolverine #8 at best an 8.5 priced for $75 but they had a half off sale  lol I just want to build my collection with higher grade books without paying double the value. Any advise on where I should be looking? Anyone live in the Dallas area that knows of an LCS that is not over priced on older books like Tomb of Dracula and ASM? Or do any of you have a favorite website for older stuff?
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BasementComics Posts: 784
3/14/2021
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I see it with golden age Batman and Detective. Coverless books sometimes sell for higher than GD or even VG. Users on this site say that ebay and other auction sites are not price guides however they do reflect market trends.
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
3/15/2021
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No matter how well connected the world is there is always regional variation in pricing. In my area local shops get ridden pretty hard if they price at online or any guide other than Overstreet. price guides never reflect the market 100 %. right now it's a sellers market and I wouldn't plan on that ending until there is return to post pandemic life. Until that time, and beyond, you are going too have to adjust your expectations because it seems that you are unable to understand that the market is telling you what values are. Since you are talking high grade and older you are in the realm of prices that are multiples of guide and popular series even in slow market times.
And no eBay is no price guide but if you are looking outside your local market it is a good indicator of what people are willing to pay. prices are high because almost all online ventures carry many extra costs and have a very wide reach to a larger market than a brick and mortar. brick and mortars also fighting in the battle so if they can get more for their product and not take many hits review-wise for it then why should they leave money on the table?
Anyway, the best you can do is show around. If the prices are "high" everywhere you look then it's, sadly, going to take you longer to reach your goals. Unless one is rolling in dough most of us folks have to deal with what the market dictates and very often it can price you out of many of your goals.
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rustyauger Posts: 159
3/15/2021
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I just bought an ASM 361 Newsstand CGC 9.6 for $470.
I thought that was a pretty good deal.
Prices are high. People are saying that they will come down after the pandemic but I am not so sure. Check out this video about new money coming into the comic book market and why.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DduNhkHf4s0
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Ronbatman Administrator Posts: 2530
3/15/2021
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There are hundreds of Amazing Spiderman issues listed on this site for at or around the value listed here. You know that you can buy from sellers on this site, right?
ASM 150 has 11 sellers
ASM 151 has 8 sellers
etc, etc.
But I do agree that there are weird things happening in the market. Here are some of the reasons that I believe cause this.
1. Online vs Real World pricing can sometimes vary dramatically. Spawn 1 can sell for $1 in nm online and $20 at a comic shop. I've spoken to several comic shops and this is almost always the case.
2. Because of the stimulus checks the prices for comics has risen dramatically, especially key issues. When the initial rush is over, the prices drop back down again. It's definitely a seller's market as Oxbladder mentioned.
3. The speculation market is driving the overall market more so than in the past. There are a few individuals who can say any book is hot and it will immediately rise in value.
R
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rgtichy Posts: 124
3/15/2021
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The graded prices at ha.com are mind-blowing, too.
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
3/15/2021
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rustyauger wrote:
I just bought an ASM 361 Newsstand CGC 9.6 for $470.
I thought that was a pretty good deal.
Prices are high. People are saying that they will come down after the pandemic but I am not so sure. Check out this video about new money coming into the comic book market and why.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DduNhkHf4s0
I doubt prices on many older books will drop but prices should stabilize a bit. Only the more recent books will actually drop in value, though don't expect the book that are fetching in the hundreds to drop. The market has changed over the last 10 years where prices on some books go up quickly and will not drop significantly because people have sunk too much money in. It used to be that $500 was the point at which you would not see a book crash down in value but that is no longer the case. Books like Nyx #3, Edge of Spider-verse #2, Avenging Spider-man #9, etc are all at points now where they will plateau in value and maybe drop but the general trend will still be up though at a far slower pace than they initially spiked.
Once people have more to do with their money they will do it and the market will calm down.
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
3/15/2021
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Ronbatman wrote:
There are hundreds of Amazing Spiderman issues listed on this site for at or around the value listed here. You know that you can buy from sellers on this site, right?
ASM 150 has 11 sellers
ASM 151 has 8 sellers
etc, etc.
But I do agree that there are weird things happening in the market. Here are some of the reasons that I believe cause this.
1. Online vs Real World pricing can sometimes vary dramatically. Spawn 1 can sell for $1 in nm online and $20 at a comic shop. I've spoken to several comic shops and this is almost always the case.
2. Because of the stimulus checks the prices for comics has risen dramatically, especially key issues. When the initial rush is over, the prices drop back down again. It's definitely a seller's market as Oxbladder mentioned.
3. The speculation market is driving the overall market more so than in the past. There are a few individuals who can say any book is hot and it will immediately rise in value.
R
If you look there are lots of places to get books for less money but you still have to be aware of shipping costs. Sometimes people aren't and they may not get a better price.
With respect to #1. Because of regional variation in the market and supply and demand you can easily get the inverse as well. Online is NOT always cheaper. Here most brick and mortar prices are pretty reasonable and very often cheaper than online. However, that can go out the door on older books from the silver and gold age because of the scarcity of that material here. I know that in earlier days of this forum there were people from Detroit and St Louis who could get some old titles really cheap compared to online and stores here because those books were easy to come by. A long time ago there was a dealer here that often did a convention circuit through the US and he was able to trade hot modern books for gold and silver age books in San Francisco and other California locations because they had a wealth of that material and no buyers but a severe shortage of hot new books.
Yeah online can get you just about whatever you want but the fact still remains that you can and do get regional variation in the market and that will affect your in store buying experience. You also have less and less dealers willing to leave money on the table when they know they can get more. Collectors always rail against stores trying to make money, especially here, because it can be so easy for the average collector to try and cash in on the trends if they get the information in a timely matter. Applications like Key Collector have become the Wizard Price Guide Hot Ten of this era and it is fueling speculation than when CGC and eBay fueled it back in the early 2000's because people are getting the information in advance of release of books and you don't have to spend a lot of money to partake in most of the books that they profile. You need money to play the CGC and eBay game back in the early 2000's
With respect to #3, speculation is having a faster effect and trends change weekly but I wouldn't say it is driving it any more than in the past there are just more people partaking in the speculation. Speculation has ALWAYS been there and will always be there. There is good and bad about it but it is a necessary evil if your in any way concerned about the value of your collection. I certainly wouldn't be upset if it was dialed back a bit but, then again it really doesn't affect my day to day collecting.
edited by oxbladder on 3/15/2021
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Xvipah73 Posts: 357
3/16/2021
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Yea, I think dig, since it's Diamond International and they have a "reputation" to uphold, make sure they give you exactly what they say they're giving you. Plus I love their notification style, notify you of your own bid, and if you've been outbid, it's pretty sweet.
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Ronbatman Administrator Posts: 2530
3/22/2021
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Good thoughts everyone. This is an interesting read.
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Guest
3/24/2021
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What's been happening in the last year is only going to last as long as options for spending are limited by the pandemic. If you look at distribution numbers since the Marvel movies started there hasn't been a huge upswing in the numbers of collectors. Unless, almost every single person coming in is staying away from monthly floppies and trade paperbacks. It is also not very common that completely new people into the hobby start by collecting big ticket items right off the hop. Though professionally graded purchasing can make it easier you aren't going to necessarily get a fast return on big ticket items. Unless the people coming in are flush with cash and can figure out how to buy low and spend a wee bit of cash to get a faster return then they are going to need to fund future purchases by speculating and speculating is not all that easy even with apps that you can carry with you. Not all of those books make it big. Despite the risks it is one of the best ways to fund purchasing larger ticket items. Speculating will require dabbling into modern books and since the print numbers haven't been steadily rising along with the influx of cash, one can only assume that the influx is largely coming from existing and returning collectors.
I'm fairly certain that the way the market is right now is because those people who have a steady income are restricted in what we can do outside of the home so our disposable income is not going to eating out, movies, sports events, concerts, plays, drinking, gambling, etc. without all those to pull money out of the pocket we have more to spend on the few things we can do like gaming, comics, sports cards, etc. all of which we can even do without leaving the home if need be.
I think that when we are mostly done with the pandemic and it's restrictions you will see a slowdown in spending. Now that doesn't mean that prices are going to crash down. The higher the value of a book is the more people will have to spend and the less desire they will have to lose cash on resale. So the values plateau, or maybe dip down a bit, but don't expect that dip to be very much. The safe value used to be $500 and up now I think soon as you get into the $300 range don't expect prices to ever drop below $100.
Just my two cents.
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kds_comics Posts: 686
3/24/2021
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Theoldcollector wrote:
I am new to collecting again after stopping a few years ago and this market has me scratching my head. Where in the world can you find raw or graded books at the listed prices on here? Short of getting lucky on some of the not as popular auction sites everywhere else I look for older comics the prices are well above what's listed on the price guide's site. Especially on eBay, the prices there are just getting more and more ridiculous by the day. Where is everyone buying their comics for their collections? Right now I have been looking for ASM mainly 10-199 minus the ones I already have. I have been looking for only higher grades and the prices are always higher than the prices listed here. I've tried a few LCS here East of Dallas but most of them do not have a large back stock. Hell I stopped at one store the other day after leaving work and they only carried current with no back stock at all in the store. I tried a couple of antique stores / flea markets looking for older comics and it was the same there as well, way over priced. The last one I went to had a Wolverine #8 at best an 8.5 priced for $75 but they had a half off sale lol I just want to build my collection with higher grade books without paying double the value. Any advise on where I should be looking? Anyone live in the Dallas area that knows of an LCS that is not over priced on older books like Tomb of Dracula and ASM? Or do any of you have a favorite website for older stuff?
My prices are usually 20% below prices here. Check it www.ComicsPriceGuide.com/members/kdscomics
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