blazingbob

Of course both are doing well until someone in the AI sector posts a lousy quarter or guidance. And frankly the weight loss diabetes drug bonanza is one class action lawsuit away from disaster since we haven't seen long term effects of using diabetes medication for weight loss which is not what it is intended for. And this is coming from someone who follows the tech sector and biotech sector very very closely.

Not that I'm saying the comic market is safer but the stock market? Lets see, analyst opinions, you own a great company in a lousy sector and the stock goes down, market momentum, interest rate influences, depending on the sector you are in there are government influences that could enhance or crush your position, you could be in a semiconductor company that doesn't serve the new "hot AI" sector. The list goes on and on. Everything requires work/research and learning. Same with the comic market, same with the stock market. It is all a grind, nothing comes easy

I believe the gaming market was a blend of auction houses spiking up prices, grading company "investors" spinning scarcity since no census existed, a hype machine gone wild, "supposed sales" that seems to defy reality and a general lack of transparency into who was really buying this stuff. With the pulp market it is a niche market, there is a good collector base but lets not forget that once grading starts and $$$ numbers get thrown around reality goes out the window. Like any other asset if the price hits a number that makes you go "hmmmm" maybe sell some of those treasured pulps into the strength.

Money flows where the "perception" is that money can be made. Auction houses create "markets", they have a vested interest in seeing strong pulp prices to fuel more auction sales going forward. Have you met anybody who has said they read a pulp? Its all about the cover, perfect to be graded.

Basically you will see a lot of guys who bought this over the years cashing out. Why wouldn't you? It was the same thing that happened before comics started getting graded, buyers were buying up raw anticipating the uptick in graded books. The census will be low on this stuff adding to the "scarcity" until record $$$ numbers start being seen and then magically more copies will come up for sale. The auction houses now have a new brand of crack to sell - Previously Unappreciated Lipstick Product Sale

It continues to amaze me how few seem to understand the "cost of capital". In addition the use of GPA as the negotiator. While I like GPA it represents a sale to a customer, that customer is no longer looking for the book that created this entry. Each entry in GPA are buyers that are basically no longer in the market. The seller or buyer/dealer is now trying to replicate or create a higher price for the item that just sold in order to negotiate a reasonable buying point. That buyer may or may not exist depending on what book it is. And with the lovely charts that are posted almost weekly on the website why exactly would any dealer be paying close to the last sale? This brings in Time and cost in order to sell that item. How many shows, cost to list on ebay, if that is the business model, listing on their website or hopefully they have a buyer already in place. Everyone seems to love the auction/crack houses where they give advances on your stuff. Of course they have money, this stuff is gone in 30 days. They collect whether you make money or not. They have NO interest in how your books sell, they make money anyway. Their risk is not having enough Crack. The closer a seller gets to 90% of ask the cost of capital to me is consignment. Why would I pay you 90% if I can pay you when the item sells. While that money may seem important to you so that you are rid of the book it makes NO financial sense for me to pay that right away. This is true of most dealers. Buying percentages in today's market are driven by what keys they are, not just a key which can cover a wide range of books.

Per DM I'll Take the Blue Bolt #114

I'll take the FF #20

I'll take the AS #19, 36

I'd give your local UPS driver a tip just as a thank you even though he probably had nothing to do with the recovery.

I expect that most of the overgraded books already in holders will now become "suspect" supported by my new 25% dealer discount to become customer service again.

While I agree there are always going to be people inside and outside the business that will try to scam the system. Clearly there is a breakdown or lack of security follow ups on employees that sell books. Now while they may have gotten permission to sell books it is obvious that what they are selling is not checked by the company. I'm assuming that going forward that will not be the case because frankly these two employees are ruining CGC's business reputation on integrity. For me I've had issue with "Consultants" who come in and grade and also sell books.

Who is the "someone"? I can say that someone is causing the drop in prices by selling Ugly copies.

That was my workout of the day. Followed up with a cup of coffee.

I kept hitting refresh over and over again until the page restored. Powered the PC over and over again just like tech support recommends. Cleared my cache over and over again. Powered my router off and on because that is what the problem is.

Thank you for the people commenting on my consignment service. My consignment fees are 10% up to $9999, 8.75% up to $99,999, 7.5% over $100K I do not charge you the seller paypal fees etc. If you have any questions you can always message or give me a call.

My plan for this year is to do Bedrock's texas show in Houston.

You are absolutely correct. Your post and possibly mine will unfortunately "influence" collectors into not going to a show. I am not badmouthing the show by the way. I like New Orleans but the economic reality is that it is not profitable. There is NOTHING emotional about the numbers. I can't do shows based on HOPE someone shows up to buy what I'm selling. Multi day events don't treat dealers like celebrities, they treat dealers as a economic revenue stream to bring in the celebrities.

Sorry for my short reply. I loved doing New Orleans but it was always to travel, enjoy the local cuisine and hopefully make some money. Unfortunately, I don't make money at the show, therefore I don't do it. If I want to give away $3500 for free I can do that behind my computer and not drive to Louisiana which is what I'm in the hole at minimum to do a show. It is nice to see that Fan expo finally is asking their attendees why they are there. I would love to see a breakdown of responses to see what percentage of the show is there to buy comics.

Just seeing this. Hope you get better Jim.

Aladair was a long term collector and I've know him 10+ years. Mostly a Marvel collector.

I apologize if I haven't seen a thread about this but I just found out today that a very very good customer over in the UK passed away a few weeks ago. He had been battling a brain tumor, I spoke to him last in October and he seemed to be getting better. For those who knew him he was a wonderful person, had a good sense of humor. I always enjoyed our conversations, he would call and chat and I'd see him at the UK shows when I was over there. I genuinely will miss him a lot and it hurts a lot that he is gone. I have gotten a lot of bad news about very close friends in the last 2 weeks. From this hobby/business I have met a lot of people that I would never have met in my life. Each one provides experiences and insight into things I would have never did when I was just a manager at Verizon. The holiday season has been rough with all the bad news. Bob

I didn't sell him a lot of books but I'm sorry to hear about this.

I wish people would sometimes take the emotional "Comics" out of the equation and think of them as a commodity that money can be made off. There will always be the "yard sale mentality", antique collector out there.

Chocolate or strawberry Quik? Good question. I used to like the chocolate, never liked the strawberry