Bodhi396 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I'm trying to get back into comic collecting and am wondering why people will pay so much for high grade comics. I don't see why a 9.0 graded comic could be worth hundreds, if not thousands,more than the same comic graded 8.0. To me, the differences are so minor, why has a market been created around those differences that make them worth so much money? Is it mostly people speculating on comics as investments, or is a collector really willing to pay $1,000 more for a comic to not have some slight imperfections if they are simply going to keep it for themselves? To me, I just want a comic that generally looks nice. If the 4 or 5 looks nice, I don't see the value to myself in buying any higher grade if I'm going to keep it. This is especially true for modern comics, when the differences between a 9.8 and 9.4 seems so minimal, give me the much cheaper 9.4 any day! BA773 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etanick Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 getting from point A to B can be driven with a beater or a $500k car. need to know the time can be achieve wearing a $10 timex watch or $10k Rolex. etc.. That being said... Not everything comes down to money and affordability since there are extremely wealthy people out there that are very frugal in their ways and live very simple and vice versa...plenty of dishwaha BMW driving people out there. I know a guy that lives in a beater mobile home BUT drives a Ferrari...he is very proud of his Ferrari to pick up chicks....only to ask to go to their places instead of taking them back to his "mansion". The Lions Den, Krismusic, Arak Zantara and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sufunk Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I mainly collect HG and pay the premiums for them. For me, it has nothing to do with speculating or investments. The easiest way for me to explain why I do is that I LOVE the books I buy. When I was a kid, I dreamed of having these books but could never dream of affording them. Now that I can afford some of them, I want the absolute nicest, most perfect copy I can afford. If it costs a little(or a lot!) more, so be it. That's what makes me happy The Lions Den, Arak Zantara, dugman54 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunky Brian Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I mainly collect HG and pay the premiums for them. For me, it has nothing to do with speculating or investments. The easiest way for me to explain why I do is that I LOVE the books I buy. When I was a kid, I dreamed of having these books but could never dream of affording them. Now that I can afford some of them, I want the absolute nicest, most perfect copy I can afford. If it costs a little(or a lot!) more, so be it. That's what makes me happy (thumbs u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenhoody Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 While there are plenty of guys like Sufunk out there, I'd say it's more people speculating. But who really knows. If I had money i'm 100% Id be Sufunk. But, I'm poor, so bring on the 4.0 Purples.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakman29 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Always try to buy the highest grade you can,if that's 4.0s or 9.8s so be it. (thumbs u The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBK78 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I've NEVER, ever sold 1 comic but have to date purchased well over 4,000 of them. That said, there are certain books that I just prefer to have in close to perfect condition. Probably because I have zero ability to control my OCD and have some disposable income. So if given the choice between a $30 book and a $120 version of the same, it will come down to how desired that book for me is. Also, i get most of my top books SS CGC'd so I like them in higher grades. The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sufunk Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 While there are plenty of guys like Sufunk out there, I'd say it's more people speculating. But who really knows. If I had money i'm 100% Id be Sufunk. But, I'm poor, so bring on the 4.0 Purples.... There's definitely a lot of speculators out there but it also seems like a LOT of the major HG buyers do it because they love the books. Look at a bunch of the members at the top of the registry. Guys like cheetah, ghost town, doc joe etc have always struck me as guys who just love comics and want the best comics they can afford. From seeing a ton of the books they've posted, I really don't think they are spending the money they do speculating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperheart Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 because low grade books make me nauseous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttock Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 If a book is readily available, I want a HG copy to make it worthwhile to track it down. If it's very rare, then I'll take what I can get. The thrill of the hunt. The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crono059-migration Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Some people buy them as an investment. Some people buy them to read. I like to buy both to be honest. Some are childhood memories. Some I plan to hand down to my kids as investments and heirlooms. But, personally I like take gambles on online auctions from scans (maybe not the smartest thing ever, but I have hit 2 jackpots out of about 30 buys, that graded at 9.6 or higher). The point is, if your not into high grade books, then watch auctions, shop stores in bargain bins, garage sales, anything you can where you have the chance to get a deal, you may just get lucky with a high grade. If all else fails, you have a cherished book that you'll hold onto for quite some time Arak Zantara, The Lions Den and Krismusic 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top City Comics Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Because the higher graded books go up exponentially more over time and are much nicer to look at. The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisco37 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Some people just like really HG books. Myself included. However, I do agree that some of the multiples the ubergrades bring are crazy. I mostly collect SA Marvel and have found that 8.0-9.2 is really the "sweet spot" for buying a really nice looking copy without getting into the crazy multiples. But, I have alot of books (early Spidey's mostly) that are in the 4-7 range too. But what you like and that you can afford. Oh, and there is a noticeable difference between a 9.4 and a 9.8 (most of the time). The Lions Den, Arak Zantara and BA773 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gotham Kid Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 But what you like and that you can afford. Sound advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodhi396 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Interesting responses. I guess I understand the urge to have your comics in the best condition possible, even if as some alluded to, it might be just collectors' OCD. I think I miss the time when just having a certain comic seemed to matter, as long as it was not falling apart. Now it seems having a certain key issue is not enough, but you have to have the issue In a really high grade. Maybe I'm misremembering how collecting was before CGC, But it seems like the strict condition of comics wasn't as big a concern. I also think that old comics in low grade condition are interesting, because they can almost tell a story by their condition. You see a beat up Amazing Fantasy 15 and can imagine that it once belonged to a kid, and maybe was stored in an attic somewhere and somehow arrived at a dealer decades later. Comics in more 'perfect' grades have none of that history and character. I still have the first comic I ever bought and it's in fairly beat up condition and probably worth only a few bucks at most, but I love it more than any other comic I own. I could easily go out and buy exact issue in perfect condition, but it wouldn't be the same to me. Arak Zantara, The Lions Den and BA773 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vane Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 There are 2 reasons why I buy high grade. 1.) They're nice to look at. 2.) If I have to sell...I probably get my money back or at least some of it. Also, it will probably sell quicker on the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjum12 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I like my books in different grades for different reasons. An accurately graded Fine is a nice book and is good enough in most cases. Some books look particularly nice in high grade, however. A Frazetta Famous Funnies cover for example....or some of the Atlas stuff. A dark cover in high grade is truly a thing of beauty. I can usually be happy with an 8.0 or 8.5.....cost is usually a factor for me. I only collect particular favorites and avoid runs. GOD BLESS... -jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u P.S. Did you ever live in Hampton, Va. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageComics Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I think I miss the time when just having a certain comic seemed to matter, as long as it was not falling apart. Now it seems having a certain key issue is not enough, but you have to have the issue In a really high grade. Maybe I'm misremembering how collecting was before CGC, But it seems like the strict condition of comics wasn't as big a concern. Some of us never liked books that are falling apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmakt Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I think I miss the time when just having a certain comic seemed to matter, as long as it was not falling apart. Now it seems having a certain key issue is not enough, but you have to have the issue In a really high grade. Maybe I'm misremembering how collecting was before CGC, But it seems like the strict condition of comics wasn't as big a concern. Some of us never liked books that are falling apart. I like to have nice books as well, but I also really miss the time when just having the book was usually enough. I was looking at my Sandman set a while ago (that I'd had since high school) and realized that most of the earlier issues were maybe 9.0 at best... then I realized that I had hard cover collections of all of them. Then I realized that I had the Absolute editions of all of them... so keeping the original floppies in mediocre condition just seemed silly. I still wanted the originals, but I didn't see the need to keep a mid-grade run of a modern comic. Sold the set, and branget's helping me upgrade to a 9.8 run. Similar story with my TMNT vol. 1 run... I had a bunch of bits and pieces but finally bit the bullet and just bought the full run on ebay. Looked like it's be a solid 9.0/9.4+ run, and I was really happy with the price. The freaking seller shipped all the comics w/o bag&board just wrapped up in plastic bags and jammed in a box with some newspaper. Needless to say I was none too pleased and am not overly interested in hanging on to this. (Especially if IDW keeps producing these Ultimate editions) I'll end up selling this run shortly and just continue working on my 9.8 run instead... But there was definitely a time where upgrading my collection was the least of my concerns. Having a full run of Sandman and/or TMNT would have been awesome enough... even if only mid-grade readers. I totally blame CGC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicConnoisseur Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 I'm trying to get back into comic collecting and am wondering why people will pay so much for high grade comics. I don't see why a 9.0 graded comic could be worth hundreds, if not thousands,more than the same comic graded 8.0. To me, the differences are so minor, why has a market been created around those differences that make them worth so much money? Easy answer. The market of digital 9s was created because people figured out bronze,copper and modern comic books are virtually worthless in near mint. They figured out that near mint copies are not rare at all because of all the bagging,boarding and hoarding between 1976 and up! So they had to create an artificial market to make some money. 9.2, 9.4, 9.6, 9.8 then 9.9 Some day we will see the 9.9 and a half! Arak Zantara 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
