Bronze age comics that are heating up on eBay... 38 38

[JTLarsen]

14 minutes ago, boomtown said:

I've always thought it was because we have a bunch more Canadian collectors on these boards (and others) pumping the Canadian price variants, than we do guys from the UK.

Maybe. That could explain it. So could the shared border. 

[iggy]

Maybe it’s because Canadians call their monetary units dollars and cents instead of pence and pounds... a slippery slope towards an aversion to not wanting to collect “foreign” items. 

I’m that way with my Gold Key/Whitman Magnus and Solar runs- happily adding the Canadian price variants.

[ADAMANTIUM]

5 hours ago, Catwomancomics said:

Nova #1 is currently selling for $2,000 plus in 9.8

I bought an 8.5 just cause, definitely took some time with this book, not that it's all that but it indeed is like a lot of other 1st of the bronze etc. I even bought firestorm, but I'm a bit late on the astonishing tales 25

[Pantodude]

29 minutes ago, iggy said:

Maybe it’s because Canadians call their monetary units dollars and cents instead of pence and pounds

I dunno.  Folks should know by now that it was the Canadians reading those late Bronze/early Copper CanPVs back in the day, not U.S. kids!  Those books did not sell this side of the border.  Just like it was the English reading those early Silver Age UKPVs even further back in the day, after they were shipped across the Atlantic.  So there is no actual "nostalgia" factor for U.S. collectors to explain the disparate treatment between the two.  In the end, CanPVs and UKPVs are essentially identical with respect to what makes CanPVs (and  Australian PVs) special--they are both a tiny subset of the initial print run.  UKPVs correspond to the older, less common SA keys, so the lingering price disparity is dumbfounding (although we are seeing premiums more and more nowadays).     

Edited April 18, 2021 by Pantodude

[iggy]

30 minutes ago, Pantodude said:

I dunno.  Folks should know by now that it was the Canadians reading those late Bronze/early Copper CanPVs back in the day, not U.S. kids!  Those books did not sell this side of the border.  Just like it was the English reading those early Silver Age UKPVs even further back in the day, after they were shipped across the Atlantic.  So there is no actual "nostalgia" factor for U.S. collectors to explain the disparate treatment between the two.  In the end, CanPVs and UKPVs are essentially identical with respect to what makes CanPVs (and  Australian PVs) special--they are both a tiny subset of the initial print run.  UKPVs correspond to the older, less common SA keys, so the lingering price disparity is dumbfounding (although we are seeing premiums more and more nowadays).     

Yup, everyone’s different. I don’t collect Canadian price variants beyond the ones I mentioned which are late silver, early bronze. I dislike U.K. price variants but like U.K. people 

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

6 hours ago, Catwomancomics said:

Nova #1 is currently selling for $2,000 plus in 9.8

Someone paid $350 for a 9.0 today even though you can get a 9.4 for under $400. 

[Pantodude]

29 minutes ago, iggy said:

Yup, everyone’s different. I don’t collect Canadian price variants beyond the ones I mentioned which are late silver, early bronze. I dislike U.K. price variants but like U.K. people 

I collect currency, too, mostly early U.S.  That background makes the disparity between Can PVs and UKPVs even more baffling if, as you suggest, it is because of the mere presence of the "9d" vs "12c" in that tiny section of the UKPV cover.  Seems like folks forget that our first currency was colonial currency in the few decades leading to the creation of this country, and that currency (in the mid-1700s) was often denominated using the British system!   See below for a Pennsylvania note. How cool is that?  That (and of course the relative scarcity!) makes the UKPVs very intriguing to me.  And then there's the completionist in me, too.  Hope to amass more fraternal twins (cents/UKPVs) for my early SA keys, but I expect that will take a life time.  Eager for the hunt!   To each his own, of course. 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Pantodude

[iggy]

23 minutes ago, Pantodude said:

I collect currency, too, mostly early U.S.  That background makes the disparity between Can PVs and UKPVs even more baffling if, as you suggest, it is because of the mere presence of the "9d" vs "12c" in that tiny section of the UKPV cover.  Seems like folks forget that our first currency was colonial currency in the few decades leading to the creation of this country, and that currency (in the mid-1700s) was often denominated using the British system!   See below for a Pennsylvania note. How cool is that?  That (and of course the relative scarcity!) makes the UKPVs very intriguing to me.  And then there's the completionist in me, too.  Hope to amass more fraternal twins (cents/UKPVs) for my early SA keys, but I expect that will take a life time.  Eager for the hunt!   To each his own, of course. 

Cool! I can dig it, I was checking out some colonial currency within the last month advertised for some upcoming auction through Facebook ads and was pretty fascinated by it. My dad was a serious coin collector and got into comic collecting later in life to reacquire the ones he enjoyed as a kid (born in 1930 and used to say he probably had Action 1). Carl Barks ducks were his favorite as well as the Mr. Mind serial in Captain Marvel. The only coin collecting from him that rubbed off on me is Indian head cents. I love them.

[MGsimba77]

22 hours ago, Pantodude said:

According to the charts above, ASM238 (1983) and ASM252 (1984) were actually more numerous as newsstands than direct when printed.  But common sense suggests that the comic books sold at a newsstand, by less careful staff on damage-causing spinner racks or shelves exposed to the weather, were more likely to get beat up before they were even purchased.  And then once purchased by mom's who tucked away comics w/ groceries,  or dads who tucked away comics in their briefcases on the way home from work, or kids who tucked away comics in their backpacks on the way home from school (if they even cared to tuck them away!), the comics likely suffered additional damage before even getting home.  And then at home, even more damage while they were read/handled.   Compare this to the direct comic books sold at specialty or comic book stores, which were much more likely to survive in high grade.  Direct versions were sold by comic book enthusiasts to comic book enthusiasts, who likely carefully packaged their books before leaving the store and then bagged and boarded their books at home.  This is why the consensus is that, even for the newsstands printed in the early to mid-1980s, the survivability of newsstands in high grade was much, much lower than directs.  

So while the better examples of relatively uncommon high grade books are ASM300 (1988) and ASM375 (1993), ASM238 (1983) and ASM252 (1984) also carry the presumption that they are less common in higher grade as newsstands compared to direct. 

Yeah ofcourse common sense tells you books sitting on spinner racks or whatever have a different experience but in the case of 252 they weren't there for long. From all accounts 252s were gobbled up instantly by everyone everywhere. I think UPCs were treated the same way as directs in the sense no one was in a hurry to beat up their copies. There was little difference in distribution numbers between the two in 1984. All you have to do is quickly glance at Ebay listings and see the anecdotal evidence. There's more UPC 9.8s than direct 252s. So while I think you're absolutely right about late 80s and beyond UPC - I'll have to question the wisdom of paying even a dollar more for a commonly found 252 UPC. I'm a huge proponent of UPC premium so long as the distribution numbers back it up. Asm300, Ultimate Fallout 4, XM266 and the other usual suspects absolutely but 252.....yeah not so much 

Some people will dump on UPCs regardless of the information. Opinions will always be had.

[MGsimba77]

1 hour ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

Someone paid $350 for a 9.0 today even though you can get a 9.4 for under $400. 

LOL

[Pantodude]

10 hours ago, MGsimba77 said:

eah ofcourse common sense tells you books sitting on spinner racks or whatever have a different experience but in the case of 252 they weren't there for long. From all accounts 252s were gobbled up instantly by everyone everywhere

Ah.  But this means that ASM252, at least in the very highest grades (e.g., 9.8) could be expected to be signficantly less common compared to direct, because the mere placement and then pendency on a spinner rack or shelf exposed to the elements is likely to cause at least minimal damage sufficient to knock the grade down some.  That could be why the premium has been significant in 9.8 for some earlier issues but not proportionally so for lower grades?  So for grades below 9.8, yeah, I hear you, perhaps less or no premium is arguable, especially if newsstands were printed in about equal numbers as directs and the issue flew off the shelves (minimizing the damage) before they were bagged/boarded.    

Edited April 18, 2021 by Pantodude

[Catwomancomics]

3 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I bought an 8.5 just cause, definitely took some time with this book, not that it's all that but it indeed is like a lot of other 1st of the bronze etc. I even bought firestorm, but I'm a bit late on the astonishing tales 25

I was surprised to see this increase without a movie announcement.

from January to April 

9.8 $1000 to $2000

9.6 $300 to $600

9.4 $180 to $380

[ADAMANTIUM]

8 minutes ago, Catwomancomics said:

I was surprised to see this increase without a movie announcement.

from January to April 

9.8 $1000 to $2000

9.6 $300 to $600

9.4 $180 to $380

Yes I'll have to say I think astonishing tales 25 started 1st without movies, but all those typical bronze may spark just cause they're the same in type idk 

Edited April 18, 2021 by ADAMANTIUM

[MGsimba77]

13 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

19 minutes ago, Catwomancomics said:

I was surprised to see this increase without a movie announcement.

from January to April 

9.8 $1000 to $2000

9.6 $300 to $600

9.4 $180 to $380

Yes I'll have to say I think astonishing tales 25 started 1st without movies, but all those typical bronze may spark just cause their same in type idk 

Astonishing Tales25 surpassed that 2k in 9.8 I think right? Well Deathlock is a cooler character anyway but damn....2k, 2.5k? Really ? Jeepers!

[Lazyboy]

1 hour ago, Pantodude said:

Ah.  But this means that ASM252, at least in the very highest grades (e.g., 9.8) could be expected to be signficantly less common compared to direct, because the mere placement and then pendency on a spinner rack or shelf exposed to the elements is likely to cause at least minimal damage sufficient to knock the grade down some.  That could be why the premium has been significant in 9.8 but not proportionally so for lower grades.  So for grades below 9.8, yeah, I hear you, perhaps less or no premium is arguable, especially if newsstands were printed in about equal numbers as directs and the issue flew off the shelves (minimizing the damage) before they were bagged/boarded.    

It sure was convenient to quote only that bit and ignore this part, huh?

2 hours ago, MGsimba77 said:

All you have to do is quickly glance at Ebay listings and see the anecdotal evidence. There's more UPC 9.8s than direct 252s.

I think that should prove to everybody how interested you are in reality rather than your fantasy world.

[the blob]

48 minutes ago, MGsimba77 said:

Astonishing Tales25 surpassed that 2k in 9.8 I think right? Well Deathlock is a cooler character anyway but damn....2k, 2.5k? Really ? Jeepers!

I'm thinking anything is possible when it comes to a 45+ year old key in that sort of condition. 

[Pantodude]

7 hours ago, Lazyboy said:

It sure was convenient to quote only that bit and ignore this part, huh?

I think that should prove to everybody how interested you are in reality rather than your fantasy world.

Flattered, but I expect few, if any, care what i am interested in.  Someone asked for help understanding relative pricing of newsstands vs directs.  After all this back and forth, still nothing that rebuts the common sense conclusion that newsstands warrant a premium for any book (typically a key) and in any grade (usually high grades because of how newsstands were sold and bought and handled and stored vs directs) for which they are less common than directs.  This is a straightforward supply/demand conclusion, because despite your apparent disdain for newsstands, there are many folks who seek them out.  If we can’t agree on that . . . .

To your point, If there really aren’t any such books, then common sense suggests a premium might not be warranted as much, if at all (absent another reason).  The earlier in the 1980 to 2000 spectrum you go, the more that should be true.  So be happy.  If you’re right, you’re right.   

So yes, it was very convenient for me to quote that, and it hopefully helps someone out there to navigate this issue.  Much better than conclusory condescension, I would hope.  At the end of the day, how about let folks spend their money how they like without calling them gullible or silly?  And smile.   

Edited April 18, 2021 by Pantodude

[Catwomancomics]

8 hours ago, MGsimba77 said:

Astonishing Tales25 surpassed that 2k in 9.8 I think right? Well Deathlock is a cooler character anyway but damn....2k, 2.5k? Really ? Jeepers!

I can see/buy into the price increase on Astonishing Tales 25.  Only 77 graded 9.8  (edit) 77 blue labels and 11 sig series 9.8

Nova #1 has 449 graded 9.8 (edit)  449 blue labels and 34 sig series 9.8

Edited April 18, 2021 by Catwomancomics

[bluehorseshoe]

13 hours ago, Pantodude said:

I collect currency, too, mostly early U.S.  That background makes the disparity between Can PVs and UKPVs even more baffling if, as you suggest, it is because of the mere presence of the "9d" vs "12c" in that tiny section of the UKPV cover.  Seems like folks forget that our first currency was colonial currency in the few decades leading to the creation of this country, and that currency (in the mid-1700s) was often denominated using the British system!   See below for a Pennsylvania note. How cool is that?  That (and of course the relative scarcity!) makes the UKPVs very intriguing to me.  And then there's the completionist in me, too.  Hope to amass more fraternal twins (cents/UKPVs) for my early SA keys, but I expect that will take a life time.  Eager for the hunt!   To each his own, of course. 

Would someone care to PM when this thread goes back to being even remotely on point with content that corresponds with the thread title? tia. And jfc.

[the blob]

5 hours ago, Pantodude said:

Flattered, but I expect few, if any, care what i am interested in.  Someone asked for help understanding relative pricing of newsstands vs directs.  After all this back and forth, still nothing that rebuts the common sense conclusion that newsstands warrant a premium for any book (typically a key) and in any grade (usually high grades because of how newsstands were sold and bought and handled and stored vs directs) for which they are less common than directs.  This is a straightforward supply/demand conclusion, because despite your apparent disdain for newsstands, there are many folks who seek them out.  If we can’t agree on that . . . .

To your point, If there really aren’t any such books, then common sense suggests a premium might not be warranted as much, if at all (absent another reason).  The earlier in the 1980 to 2000 spectrum you go, the more that should be true.  So be happy.  If you’re right, you’re right.   

So yes, it was very convenient for me to quote that, and it hopefully helps someone out there to navigate this issue.  Much better than conclusory condescension, I would hope.  At the end of the day, how about let folks spend their money how they like without calling them gullible or silly?  And smile.   

Most shops were not so OCD about new books out on the rack either in 84/ 85. The displays there were just as likely to result in damage. Indeed many shops now have displays that can. Directs can be higher pop in high grade because comic shop collectors might have been more OCD about condition..  Maybe a false assumption because OCD people might not live near a shop and ran to the newsstand to get the Minty copy.. You get more 9.8s on a direct book shop owners bought extras of to sell later for spec. All reports were that 252 was not such a book and shops just ordered a normal amount. As at that point more newsstands might have been getting printed than directs and collectors bum rushed the newsstands to get this hot issue, it makes sense that there are more 9.8 newsies. Same with thor 337. A surprise immediately hot book. At the time of 252 there were still plenty of newsstands and spidey was a title they would carry.