Hey when is Silver Age going to Crash?

[chrisco37]

how much of everyone's collection is unslabbed? it seems like you guys have piles and piles of cgc-graded books...

 

Some people have tons of slabs, and some don't.

 

I have roughly 6 longboxes and 2 short boxes full of books. Of that, only about 30 are slabbed.

[drbanner]

all the fun is going to the shops and shows and spending hours holding up a few books and making a guess at whats what grade, now people just walk up "i'll take all the 9.4's". blah..whats the point.

 

You're right in that there's not much point in buying slabbed copies until the price gets above a certain point, but people have been ripped off for thousands of dollars in the past by buying "raw" books via mail order and off ebay. One needs to go no further than this board to find an example of a collector that spent over $20,000 on books with undisclosed restoration that CGC later identified, and he was able to get his money back.

 

So, the point is that it's a lot more fun to spend your money knowing the book is unrestored and accurately graded than it was in the the roll-the-dice sight unseen purchasing method era of the past (mail order or ebay).

[reddog4063]

im not saying slabbing is bad per se, on key books in super nice shape or special books like pedigrees or anything like that, its just when you have an entire run of spiderman all in holders that you've never even gotten the joy of flipping through the books or reading them that i dont understand.

[deathlok]

how much of everyone's collection is unslabbed? it seems like you guys have piles and piles of cgc-graded books.

 

I have about 300-350 slabbed books.

[joe_collector]

So, the point is that it's a lot more fun to spend your money knowing the book is unrestored and accurately graded than it was in the the roll-the-dice sight unseen purchasing method era of the past (mail order or ebay).

 

But banner, this IS the whole point, and one reason why slabbed collectibles cannot sustain their speculative price spikes.

 

Anyone can buy and sell slabbed commodities, and it drains the hobby of the majority of its fun. If any TOm, or Harry that fell off the turnip truck can go into a store and ask for "some 9.4's" that spells the end of the road.

 

Commoditization is not a good thing for collectibles, as while it does make buying safer, it also means there are far fewer "deals" out there, especially longterm, and it drains the excitement out of the "roll the dice" transactions of the past.

 

With CGC, you don't win or lose, you just pay market price for a commodity.. like a pound of butter. Snore...

[reddog4063]

Definitely understood, and i admit if i was buying such expensive stuff i would see to it that they were cgc'd as well to protect both myself and the seller. CGC is awesome for such purposes. Also when you buy off the 'net or off ebay, its impossible to figure out what grade the comics are in, I agree there too.

 

Once you get those books home, i say break em out! If that prospect makes you nervous, then I think you are spending more money than you are comfortable with.

 

 

all the fun is going to the shops and shows and spending hours holding up a few books and making a guess at whats what grade, now people just walk up "i'll take all the 9.4's". blah..whats the point.

 

You're right in that there's not much point in buying slabbed copies until the price gets above a certain point, but people have been ripped off for thousands of dollars in the past by buying "raw" books via mail order and off ebay. One needs to go no further than this board to find an example of a collector that spent over $20,000 on books with undisclosed restoration that CGC later identified, and he was able to get his money back.

 

So, the point is that it's a lot more fun to spend your money knowing the book is unrestored and accurately graded than it was in the the roll-the-dice sight unseen purchasing method era of the past (mail order or ebay).

[reddog4063]

Here, here! I think thats what I was trying to say. I might as well buy gold bullion by the ounce -much better long term prospects!

 

I think the reason why my opinion differs is that i dont sell comics, ever. Everything from a "free comic book day" books to my byrne/claremont run in nm are in the same plastic and backboard, in the same long box, for ever and ever, until i become senile and my kids sell em off wholesale

 

 

 

So, the point is that it's a lot more fun to spend your money knowing the book is unrestored and accurately graded than it was in the the roll-the-dice sight unseen purchasing method era of the past (mail order or ebay).

 

But banner, this IS the whole point, and one reason why slabbed collectibles cannot sustain their speculative price spikes.

 

Anyone can buy and sell slabbed commodities, and it drains the hobby of the majority of its fun. If any TOm, or Harry that fell off the turnip truck can go into a store and ask for "some 9.4's" that spells the end of the road.

 

Commoditization is not a good thing for collectibles, as while it does make buying safer, it also means there are far fewer "deals" out there, especially longterm, and it drains the excitement out of the "roll the dice" transactions of the past.

 

With CGC, you don't win or lose, you just pay market price for a commodity.. like a pound of butter. Snore...

[drbanner]

Definitely understood, and i admit if i was buying such expensive stuff i would see to it that they were cgc'd as well to protect both myself and the seller. CGC is awesome for such purposes. Also when you buy off the 'net or off ebay, its impossible to figure out what grade the comics are in, I agree there too.

 

Once you get those books home, i say break em out! If that prospect makes you nervous, then I think you are spending more money than you are comfortable with.

 

Exactly...with the exception of breaking them out. Like you said earlier, no need to break them out if you have reading copies (like the 4 CGC books you own) or have previously read them.

 

You may have seen the posts by the buyers of the Defenders 10 in CGC 9.8 and X-men 101(?) in CGC 9.8 recently? These guys wanted high grade specimens of the books they loved as a kid, and of course it doesn't hurt to have the mad-money to buy expensive toys either (one was a doctor, the other a lawyer)!!

[reddog4063]

If you have reading copies, then hang that baby over the fireplace!

 

I'm not so against cgc as much as i am against everyone cgcing up every book in existance and pricing me right out of the hobby.

 

If you have cash to burn please ingore my posts and assemble a crazy [!@#%^&^] collection....just please provide some scans so i may drool

 

 

Exactly...with the exception of breaking them out. Like you said earlier, no need to break them out if you have reading copies (like the 4 CGC books you own) or have previously read them.

 

You may have seen the posts by the buyers of the Defenders 10 in CGC 9.8 and X-men 101(?) in CGC 9.8 recently? These guys wanted high grade specimens of the books they loved as a kid, and of course it doesn't hurt to have the mad-money to buy expensive toys either (one was a doctor, the other a lawyer)!!

[supapimp]

you can always buy the TPB to read.

[reddog4063]

But then whats the point of owning the books? investment purposes? Like i said, gold bullion has better prospects.

 

you can always buy the TPB to read.

[supapimp]

some people are just anal, they want the best of both worlds. if i had a NM copy of AF 15 i would not take it out of it's mylar to read or flip though, i'd read the reprint.

[sfilosa]

I'm not so against cgc as much as i am against everyone cgcing up every book in existance and pricing me right out of the hobby.

 

The good news for you, is that's not going to happen.

 

99.999999% of all books should not and never will be slabbed.

 

Regarding CGC books being a commodity. Some people make huge amounts of money in commodites (and stocks and other easy to buy investments). The keys is to know what/when to buy and when to sell.

[Mr. Zipper]

I think a HUGE part of it is having the contacts to go after the big PEDIGREES and uber-high grade OO collections. I mean, it doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to buy a ton of Curators and Pacific Coast books and then get high grades, but it does take the OPPORTUNITY.

 

Most times it's the dealers doing the leg-work, not the BSD collectors. Or as Steve B has posted on here many times, he and many other big collectors never even got a shot at the top material, as the dealers would hit up their "BSD Contact List" when any new Pedigree or OO collections came up.

 

BINGO!

 

Money talks... and when a handful of guys have tens of thousands of dollars to wave around, they get first crack and dealers will bend over backwards to cater to them. As the BSD collector's collection grows, dealers come to them first because they know the BSD-C always have the cash, and may also have books the dealer wants. The cycle continues.

 

It's called, "The rich getting richer" or "It takes money to make money."

[joe_collector]

Regarding CGC books being a commodity. Some people make huge amounts of money in commodites (and stocks and other easy to buy investments).

 

I won't even dignify this gross inaccuracy with a response, but you're lucky Gene isn't here.

[sfilosa]

I won't even dignify this gross inaccuracy with a response, but you're lucky Gene isn't here.

 

Not a gross inaccuracy at all. You implied that anyone can buy CGC 9.4 books. You are correct. But the way to make money, just like in stocks is to know what/when to buy and when to sell.

 

Quoted from a Major Mutual Fund Manager - "Everyone's a genius in a Bull Market".

[joe_collector]

Anyone who equates comic books with stocks need to take a good look in the mirror.

 

My "pound of butter" analogy was far more accurate.

[sfilosa]

Anyone who equates comic books with stocks need to take a good look in the mirror.

 

My "pound of butter" analogy was far more accurate.

 

I pretty sure that I understand the FINANCIAL aspects of companies (and therefore their stocks) way more than you do.

 

I also know for a fact that the TOTAL VALUE OF ALL STOCKS ISSUED (Market Capitalization) by a company, has very little to do with the ACTUAL VALUE of said company. It has to do with the PROJECTED FINANCIAL CONDITION of said company in the future.

 

The stock market is no more / no less than a gambling environment.

 

And I'm sure you'll agree that comic books are too. Hot potato, hot potato, etc.

[skybolt]

Each collector is different. Back in the 80's and early 90's all I ever wanted to do was to read as many comic books as possible. Nowadays, I own about 350 CGC graded books (evenly proportioned between GA, SA, BA and MA). The rest of my 4,000 books that I bought as a kid or on-line are not CGC graded. However, most of these unslabbed books are worthless (less than $20 worth at most). I'm not stupid enough to buy a $1,000 comic book and just store it without any protection. The CGC slab provides that level of protection and comfort. To be completely honest, these days I hardly ever read the books I buy. I know that as a kid I liked Marvel and DC so that's what I look for. Every now and then I take out my CGC collection and basically go through the books. I don't have to break them open to enjoy my collection. I realize that non-key books that are less than 30 years old should not be slabbed, but having CGC covers for rare golden age books ensures that these books will be in existence 50 years from now. They can be stored like expensive paintings so they can withstand the test of time. I buy CGC books because I love comic books, and because I hope to make a slight profit in 10-20 years if I sell them. If at that time I don't make any money by reselling these books, then at least I would still have had the enjoyment of owning them. That's why I don't collect books I don't like even though they may go up in value. I'm going to sell my Primer #2 CGC graded 9.4 as soon as possible since I'm not interested in the book or the character at all.

[dam60]

Anyone who equates comic books with stocks need to take a good look in the mirror.

 

My "pound of butter" analogy was far more accurate.

 

I pretty sure that I understand the FINANCIAL aspects of companies (and therefore their stocks) way more than you do.

 

I also know for a fact that the TOTAL VALUE OF ALL STOCKS ISSUED (Market Capitalization) by a company, has very little to do with the ACTUAL VALUE of said company. It has to do with the PROJECTED FINANCIAL CONDITION of said company in the future.

 

The stock market is no more / no less than a gambling environment.

 

And I'm sure you'll agree that comic books are too. Hot potato, hot potato, etc.

 

Wow, heh now! Let me get this straight:

a company's markt cap (as defined by the total value of all stock issued) has little do do with the actual value of said company?

 

Dude, what the hell are you talking about? First off in valuing a company (i.e. total market cap) you would look at both the total equity value and the total debt outstanding. Furthermore, if the "total value" gets too out of whack of the "actual value" you will have undervalued companies bought up by the Sponsors and overvalued companies will experience declines in their stock price or their debt will trade at a prmium to their credi rating or suffer a ratings downgrade. The "market" prices in all known information about a company into its valuation.

 

Projected financial condition of said company is reflected in the CURRENT stock price. Why does intel trade at 27x PE and altria trade at 11xPE? Current stock price takes into account future growth prospects and financial condition.

 

Your comment that the stock market is no more / no less than a gambling environment is so off that I won't waste any more time in this mental masturbation pointing out why you are wrong.

 

DAM