Doug Schmell cashing in his vaulted massive collecion. Poll: Is this the top?

[shadroch]

I suppose you could ask the children who were denied their rightful child support or the old women who lived in squalor while dougie used their money to buy his collection if they feel like they were victims of theft or was it just wrongful borrowing.

It might be a question of the law but when someone borrows something that doesn't belong to them, to me that person is a thief.

Its also my understanding that at least one of the woman who Doug "borrowed" from died before his "borrowing" was discovered, so how she was ever made whole is beyond me.

 

Anyway, none of this matters when compared to his truly fantastic collection so I'm done.

[Spiderphill]

For non keys the top has passed. This might be the top for the mega keys.

[500Club]

Doug Schmell is a liar and a thief who stole from old defenseless ladies, amonst others. Why anyone buys from him or even gives him the time of day is beyond me.

 

The trim-JIM fiasco was another illustration of Doug's MO.

[Cat-Man_America]

While I realize I have a vested interest in the market AND I'm relatively new compared to some I believe that tops are only tops in hindsight.

 

There can be many other underlying factors here besides just the possibility that Doug wants to cash in. Doug has sold his collection over numerous times from what I understand.

 

Most people can relate to this: there are people who don't want to cash in but NEED to cash in. That could be one factor.

 

Who knows? People have been calling for the top or crash of the market since the first comic sold over cover price, and most of the collectors that have been around here for more than 20 years will confirm that.

 

 

 

Take it from someone who has been around awhile, this isn't the tipping point. The markets don't rise and fall with SA books. But for those whose primary dealings are focused on SA to present it may very well be an omen of things to come. Aging baby boomers will undoubtably be unloading their SA collections in the coming years.

 

BTW, I haven't been reading tea leaves nor do I have access to Mitch's crystal ball. My speculation is based on common sense. Over time we should expect more high grade books to pop up in various auctions and supply/demand will always rule.

 

If I were making objective recommendations to investment minded SA/modern collectors it would be to broaden your "portfolios" of collectible books rather than contemplate selling collections in a panic. It's understandable that Doug's high grade Marvel runs being unloaded all at once might cause concern and there will undoubtably be more to come, but a smart investor will see it as an opportunity to expand into rarer comics from an earlier era with an eye on long term profitability.

 

All that said, I'm a firm believer in collecting whatever comics make you happiest. (thumbs u

 

 

[shadroch]

Doug Schmell is a liar and a thief who stole from old defenseless ladies, amonst others. Why anyone buys from him or even gives him the time of day is beyond me.

 

The trim-JIM fiasco was another illustration of Doug's MO.

 

 

His attempts to explain that mess away should earn him his own wing in the Prevaricators Hall of Shame.

[drbanner]

Dunno if this is the top but that's a lot of high-end, very specific inventory to move all at once, especially if one of the hobby's top Marvel Silver Age collectors (Doug) isn't bidding. Or is he?

 

I think we'll have a good feel at the end of 2012 as to whether the market has topped out, or if the Chinese conglomerates are going to continue propping it up.

 

The Billy Wright collection, the Pedigree Comics collection, numerous Million Dollar+ sales, the great SparkleCity ebay auctions this year, an interminable stream of weekly Comiclink, Heritage, and Comic Connect auctions with an apparently endless supply of killer books that get flipped incessantly, this cycle can't go on indefinitely and the only question is - who's going to be left holding the bag? I've personally bought and sold more books this year than ever, and we're only 5 months into it...maybe it'll be me?

 

[COI]

The Billy Wright collection, the Pedigree Comics collection, numerous Million Dollar+ sales, the great SparkleCity ebay auctions this year, an interminable stream of weekly Comiclink, Heritage, and Comic Connect auctions with an apparently endless supply of killer books that get flipped incessantly, this cycle can't go on indefinitely

 

It really is mind-boggling that it has gotten this far.

[500Club]

While I realize I have a vested interest in the market AND I'm relatively new compared to some I believe that tops are only tops in hindsight.

 

(thumbs u

 

There's reasonable rationale for arguing a top, but even then, history shows that it is very tough to be exact without hindsight. The internet bubble ran far longer than would have been expected.

 

Also, I still remember the 'impending crash' debates from 03-04 with Gene and Rob Zipperer.

 

 

Most people can relate to this: there are people who don't want to cash in but NEED to cash in. That could be one factor.

 

Ain't that the truth. The 'thrill of the hunt', catch-and-release collector is pretty common.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

this cycle can't go on indefinitely and the only question is - who's going to be left holding the bag? I've personally bought and sold more books this year than ever, and we're only 5 months into it...maybe it'll be me?

 

Last year was my best ever for buying and selling comics. So far, less then five months into this year, I'm on pace to shatter last year's sales numbers. However, I also am left wondering how long it will all last.

 

The truth is that the days of making easy money with flips are long gone. The margins on many CGC books, especially mid to late Silver and Bronze books, are declining rapidly, and it takes a high degree of "market knowledge" to navigate the mindfield and not lose a leg in the process. I hit a lot fewer "home runs" then I have in the past, but I do tend to hit a lot of singles and doubles and those add up too. All in all, I can't complain.....who would listen to me but you guys if I did anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[COI]

The margins on many CGC books, especially mid to late Silver and Bronze books, are declining rapidly

 

As an aside, if I had a stockpile of mid to late SA and BA books in very high grades (9.6/9.8), I would be scrambling to move them now, before Doug's books hit the market.

[VintageComics]

The Billy Wright collection, the Pedigree Comics collection, numerous Million Dollar+ sales, the great SparkleCity ebay auctions this year, an interminable stream of weekly Comiclink, Heritage, and Comic Connect auctions with an apparently endless supply of killer books that get flipped incessantly, this cycle can't go on indefinitely

 

It really is mind-boggling that it has gotten this far.

 

Just to add some levity to the discussion, there have been several MASSIVE collections released to the market in the past few years and although they have not been on this scale they have collectively been much larger.

 

They have all be well received and absorbed into the market.

 

Our own Cheetah sold multiple runs (X-men, Avengers, Spider-man? and a few others) and they were no slouches.

 

I know another collector, who's Silver Age collection is still also one of the better ones out there has been selling his under copies (and those undercopies were all high grade) and some undercopies were as deep as 4-5 issues per copy.

 

Then you have the Gary Keller books, the Suchas, Rockys, Savannah and Twin Cities...all have been absorbed.

 

Think about all the new books that have come to market and I think it's fair to say there are a lot of buyers out there.

[Bluetooth-migration]

Doug Schmell is a liar and a thief who stole from old defenseless ladies, amonst others. Why anyone buys from him or even gives him the time of day is beyond me.

 

I was about to post a question about this auction, and then I came across this post which seemed to offer an answer (in part) to my question. Having read about the person extensively from postings made over the years here, I would like to ask;

 

If the person is perceived or known to be a crook, why has he effectively been given such a high profile by none other than Heritage to sell his wares?

Are people turning a blind eye just to own a nice book? Is that acceptable?

 

No axe to grind or horse in the race by the way.

Just curious?

 

 

[revat]

Certainly there are some baby boomers selling off their collections or people older than that passing away, but there are also a whole generation of young people who were teenagers during the todd mac/jim lee and friends explosion in the late 80's-early 90's who are just now starting to have serious disposable income. And many of those people were 'nerds', who are making some serious bank and aren't ashamed to spend money on 'nerdy' stuff anymore, with the mainstreaming of comic culture.

 

Where someone rich may have had some art of hot a artist in the past, now its becoming slowly more en vogue to have a display of key silver age marvel comics mounted on a wall. And that comic may change with each new movie that comes out (Avengers is up now, but might flip it in a few weeks for an AF 15, which may then be flipped for a key Batman w/early Catwoman). This happens more than you think.

 

So I don't know about bubbles and what not, but I'm in my early thirties and my collection is slowly growing with my salary and my knowledge of classic comics. And as I have no sentimental value to older comics, I have no issues flipping key comics instantaneously for profit or for other comics.

[500Club]

Doug Schmell is a liar and a thief who stole from old defenseless ladies, amonst others. Why anyone buys from him or even gives him the time of day is beyond me.

 

I was about to post a question about this auction, and then I came across this post which seemed to offer an answer (in part) to my question. Having read about the person extensively from postings made over the years here, I would like to ask;

 

If the person is perceived or known to be a crook, why has he effectively been given such a high profile by none other than Heritage to sell his wares?

Are people turning a blind eye just to own a nice book? Is that acceptable?

 

No axe to grind or horse in the race by the way.

Just curious?

 

For the sake of accuracy, the above quote is shadroch's, not mine. It is a sentiment I agree with, though.

 

To answer your question, it's a maxim around here that collectors would buy from Satan if he had nice books.

[cheetah]

The Billy Wright collection, the Pedigree Comics collection, numerous Million Dollar+ sales, the great SparkleCity ebay auctions this year, an interminable stream of weekly Comiclink, Heritage, and Comic Connect auctions with an apparently endless supply of killer books that get flipped incessantly, this cycle can't go on indefinitely

 

It really is mind-boggling that it has gotten this far.

 

Just to add some levity to the discussion, there have been several MASSIVE collections released to the market in the past few years and although they have not been on this scale they have collectively been much larger.

 

They have all be well received and absorbed into the market.

 

Our own Cheetah sold multiple runs (X-men, Avengers, Spider-man? and a few others) and they were no slouches.

 

I know another collector, who's Silver Age collection is still also one of the better ones out there has been selling his under copies (and those undercopies were all high grade) and some undercopies were as deep as 4-5 issues per copy.

 

Then you have the Gary Keller books, the Suchas, Rockys, Savannah and Twin Cities...all have been absorbed.

 

Think about all the new books that have come to market and I think it's fair to say there are a lot of buyers out there.

 

There's enough new money in the SA that I was able to sell my entire Avengers run to a single buyer. Top census copies are going to fetch top GPA prices.

[Bluetooth-migration]

Doug Schmell is a liar and a thief who stole from old defenseless ladies, amonst others. Why anyone buys from him or even gives him the time of day is beyond me.

 

I was about to post a question about this auction, and then I came across this post which seemed to offer an answer (in part) to my question. Having read about the person extensively from postings made over the years here, I would like to ask;

 

If the person is perceived or known to be a crook, why has he effectively been given such a high profile by none other than Heritage to sell his wares?

Are people turning a blind eye just to own a nice book? Is that acceptable?

 

No axe to grind or horse in the race by the way.

Just curious?

 

For the sake of accuracy, the above quote is shadroch's, not mine. It is a sentiment I agree with, though.

 

To answer your question, it's a maxim around here that collectors would buy from Satan if he had nice books.

 

I'm very sorry, my bad?

Haven't quite got the hang of the quote function

[COI]

Think about all the new books that have come to market and I think it's fair to say there are a lot of buyers out there.

 

There are definitely a lot of buyers, but a lot (maybe most) of those buyers are also sellers, which means that as books are coming in, books also have to go out. At some point there will be too many books out there.

[VintageComics]

Think about all the new books that have come to market and I think it's fair to say there are a lot of buyers out there.

 

There are definitely a lot of buyers, but a lot (maybe most) of those buyers are also sellers, which means that as books are coming in, books also have to go out. At some point there will be too many books out there.

 

Too many books might be the wrong way to phrase it.

 

Remember that in economics whenever prices drop low enough, people start buying again. It's true in EVERY cyclical economy whether it's stocks or comics.

 

So even if the market is flooded with books and prices drop as soon as prices drop to a certain point people start buying again propping them up. It's human nature and it's happened time and time again.

[drbanner]

The Billy Wright collection, the Pedigree Comics collection, numerous Million Dollar+ sales, the great SparkleCity ebay auctions this year, an interminable stream of weekly Comiclink, Heritage, and Comic Connect auctions with an apparently endless supply of killer books that get flipped incessantly, this cycle can't go on indefinitely

It really is mind-boggling that it has gotten this far.

 

Yeah, it really is. Donut used to have a good punch list of the types of books that were likely to depreciate during the great crash debates of 2002/2003/2004, broadly characterized as non-keys, non-HG post-1965, moderns, etc.,. There was a lot of fools gold in the early years of CGC.

 

I think that list could be expanded significantly now to include almost any Silver or Bronze Age non-key, in almost every grade, and many of the late Silver and most BA keys in anything but HG. As much as I love GA (and that's what I've purchased a lot of this year), in the last 1-2 years the high demand mainstream GA DC's and Timely's have priced themselves above what the average middle class comic book collector can afford.

 

I guess the esoteric and PCH Golden/Atom age genres have been more stable price-wise, but without continuing media exposure (Marvel/DC movies), or contemporary titles, one has to wonder how long the prices on the non-mainstream "classic cover" books (Suspense 3) will hold up.

 

I do feel a little more comfortable with the market for "scarce books", which are different from "scarce in grade" books, but when there's no demand for a book in low/mid-grade (or huge spread spreads between a VG or Fine copy and a NM copy), the outlook for the top grades is not really that rosy.

 

Wow, I just realized my 10-year anniversary on the boards was earlier this week, I'm getting old!

[chrisco37]

Wow, I just realized my 10-year anniversary on the boards was earlier this week, I'm getting old!

 

Happy Anniversary, Banner!