Signed or Unsigned 0

[Underground44]

I have an ASM 129 and I would only get it signed by Dolph Lundgrin.

 

Hands down the best Punisher. (thumbs u

 

 

Good excuse to post the Evel Knievel book again

 

Hands down the best signed book ever....

[stroszek]

No sigs on valuable books. And if I had a book signed, I'd want it signed on the interior, not the cover which always looks like damage to me. I realize in the slab era, if it's not on the cover it doesn't exist.

 

Earlier in the year someone posted a reprint of the Flash Annual with a sig by Carmine Infantino. That's a great book to get signed. Makes a nothing book something special.

 

Adventures of Kool-Aid Man autographed by the guy who voiced "Oh yeah!" That'd be a great sig book.

 

Life of Pope John Paul II autographed by JP2? I'd go for that.

 

Stan Lee signing an AF 15? Not for me.

 

 

 

 

[vader2001]

When I was in line to see Stan on Friday, I saw some different people with FF 1, AF 15, ASM 1, Capt 100, ASM 97, and I had my very first copy of ASM 14. It will not get a very good grade, but since it was my first 14 and the Goblin is my favorite Marvel character I wanted that signed.

[Ryan.]

Didn't we just talk about this like a week ago?

[stanley1883]

Good points all around, especially about Stan's signature in a unfavorable spot. For me its still tough, If I ever got a grail and had a chance to have it signed by some of significance it be tough to pass up. First world problems I guess...

[revat]

And I'd be happy to have any of Revat's books.

 

A lot of people are self-deprecating and call their own stuff 'junk', when it's really awesome.

I'm not a self-deprecating kind of person, my stuff is JUNK.

 

I've got SleepWalker, New Warriors, Deathblow, 9.2 and 9.4 slabs of non-key MODERNS, random CGC low grade non-key stuff I overpaid for Stan Lee to sign, lots of raw sigs nobody wants...

[rodan57]

Would anyone say, no, if Steve Ditko agreed to sign your copy of AF #15?

[revat]

Would anyone say, no, if Steve Ditko agreed to sign your copy of AF #15?

 

I bet there's plenty of people (especially on these boards) who would say no, especially if the copy was really high grade.

[Dr. Balls]

I walked away from the whole CGC SS thing with some rare exceptions - I now prefer my signed books in the raw and on the cheap.

[jimbo_707]

I haven't had any autographed books for years. (The only ones I've ever owned were a few Marvels autographed by John Byrne on the splash page. I think I bought one and won the other two in a raffle at a convention back in the 80s.)

 

I personally would not want a book autographed on the cover because I'm not an autograph collector. I might accept one with an autograph on the splash page if it was a scarce book on my want list. Some people will probably pay more for an autographed book, but you would also lose quite a few potential buyers.

 

In having a book signed, you'd be turning a book from a mainstream book into a niche book. You may get a few extra dollars if you find the right buyer, but it will most likely take you longer to find a buyer when you decide to sell. The location of the autograph is also important - you don't want an autograph to interfere with the cover art any more than it has to.

[miraclemet]

Some people will probably pay more for an autographed book, but you would also lose quite a few potential buyers.

 

In having a book signed, you'd be turning a book from a mainstream book into a niche book. You may get a few extra dollars if you find the right buyer, but it will most likely take you longer to find a buyer when you decide to sell. The location of the autograph is also important - you don't want an autograph to interfere with the cover art any more than it has to.

 

This is been my position on SS and autographs from the start. Some sellers view it as a way to increase their profit margin on a book, but I always counter that any increased profit margin is offset by a decreased market size.

 

plus I hear that signed books lose all their magic

 

The only SSed books I have are ones I intend to keep for the longest time. I wouldn't get a book signed if I had any plans to sell it under any but the most dire of conditions.

[MrDeafComics]

I think that for every book signed......it loses at least 100-200 buyers in the future.

 

I think that for every book signed......it only gains like 10-20 buyers.

 

I see people doing SS mainly for the profits but I just do not see it.

 

Those who actually keep SS for themselves.......I have no issues with that.

 

I would rather have fun at the cons than stand in lines all day for a meaningless signature.

 

The only SS books I will ever own are sketch covers.

 

That is just me.

 

I prefer untouched.

 

I also dislike people who get pedigree books signed......even though they are good people. I do not hold it against them. But geez .

[mschmidt]

I think that for every book signed......it loses at least 100-200 buyers in the future.

 

I think that for every book signed......it only gains like 10-20 buyers.

 

I see people doing SS mainly for the profits but I just do not see it.

 

What's unclear?

 

On average, SS books sell for more money than their blue label counterparts - especially when you're dealing with moderns. You may not like it, but the market doesn't agree with you.

[miraclemet]

I think that for every book signed......it loses at least 100-200 buyers in the future.

 

I think that for every book signed......it only gains like 10-20 buyers.

 

.

 

I'd love to see any amount of research to actually back that up.

 

I dont diagree with the general principle of it (signed books have smaller markets, its what I said above too). but to put a number on it is just reckless, since it isnt based on any research.

[miraclemet]

I think that for every book signed......it loses at least 100-200 buyers in the future.

 

I think that for every book signed......it only gains like 10-20 buyers.

 

.

 

I'd love to see any amount of research to actually back that up.

 

dont mind if I do!

 

for a search of CGC SS:

 

9324 closed auctions in ebay's current availble database

5487 sold books in ebay's current available database

 

that means of over 9k recently closed auction more than 58.8% of them sold successfully

 

 

For a search of CGC:

 

80,069 closed auctions in ebay's current available database

43,554 sold books in ebay's current available database

 

so just under 54.4% successfully sold items.

 

so blue books sell at a lower success rate than yellow label books, but obviously make up for that in volume.

 

That says nothing of realization of value vs market (performance, return, etc) I was surprised to see how similar the numbers (by percentages) were. I thought there would be more sitting in the SS numbers, but it seems like both markets churn around 55%

Edited August 12, 2013 by Miraclemet

[Dr. Balls]

I totally believe that CGC SS sells better - the sad part is that I routinely pass over books I want that are defaced by Stan Lee. Unfortunately, that means nothing because there are 10 other people willing to bid on it, so my opinion means about as much as two dead flies.

[Dr. Balls]

I think that for every book signed......it loses at least 100-200 buyers in the future.

 

I think that for every book signed......it only gains like 10-20 buyers.

 

.

 

I'd love to see any amount of research to actually back that up.

 

dont mind if I do!

 

for a search of CGC SS:

 

9324 closed auctions in ebay's current availble database

5487 sold books in ebay's current available database

 

that means of over 9k recently closed auction more than 58.8% of them sold successfully

 

 

For a search of CGC:

 

80,069 closed auctions in ebay's current available database

43,554 sold books in ebay's current available database

 

so just under 54.4% successfully sold items.

 

so blue books sell at a lower success rate than yellow label books, but obviously make up for that in volume.

 

That says nothing of realization of value vs market (performance, return, etc) I was surprised to see how similar the numbers (by percentages) were. I thought there would be more sitting in the SS numbers, but it seems like both markets churn around 55%

 

I love stats - but the thing I am truly curious about is how many of those books sell for *over* what someone has into it (book cost, slab, sig).

 

Traditionally, I have taken a loss on the sales of nearly all of my CGC SS books - with a few rare exceptions where I break even. And I've tried short, quick sales, as well as long-term Ebay sales. Waiting it out didn't seem to help my bottom line. I attribute the problem to artists/writers keep on signing books at conventions, thereby fractionally devaluing my book every time another one enters the marketplace.

 

J Scott Campbell books are a great example. Two years ago, his CGC SS books were on fire. Now? Prices reflecting around 20% less than previous years. Why? Because his lines are 500 people deep at every convention and everyone has a pile of books to sign and slab. This may not work on everyone, but I can tell you with plenty of certainty that that is how it worked with signed JSC books.

[seanfingh]

I think that for every book signed......it loses at least 100-200 buyers in the future.

 

I think that for every book signed......it only gains like 10-20 buyers.

 

.

 

I'd love to see any amount of research to actually back that up.

 

dont mind if I do!

 

for a search of CGC SS:

 

9324 closed auctions in ebay's current availble database

5487 sold books in ebay's current available database

 

that means of over 9k recently closed auction more than 58.8% of them sold successfully

 

 

For a search of CGC:

 

80,069 closed auctions in ebay's current available database

43,554 sold books in ebay's current available database

 

so just under 54.4% successfully sold items.

 

so blue books sell at a lower success rate than yellow label books, but obviously make up for that in volume.

 

That says nothing of realization of value vs market (performance, return, etc) I was surprised to see how similar the numbers (by percentages) were. I thought there would be more sitting in the SS numbers, but it seems like both markets churn around 55%

 

I love stats - but the thing I am truly curious about is how many of those books sell for *over* what someone has into it (book cost, slab, sig).

 

Traditionally, I have taken a loss on the sales of nearly all of my CGC SS books - with a few rare exceptions. I attribute the problem to artists/writers keep on signing books at conventions, thereby fractionally devaluing my book every time another one enters the marketplace.

 

The only way I can see that being true across the Board is if you are spending current top end FMV on a blue label book, cracking it and getting it yellow labeled. Then your costs are so high that you are a slave to Yellow GPA, and if it is not above Blue 9.8 plus costs, then you lose. If you are subbing raw books, or blue labels that have a low cost basis, your margin is much better and profit is relatively easy even when discounting from top end prices.

[Dr. Balls]

I think that for every book signed......it loses at least 100-200 buyers in the future.

 

I think that for every book signed......it only gains like 10-20 buyers.

 

.

 

I'd love to see any amount of research to actually back that up.

 

dont mind if I do!

 

for a search of CGC SS:

 

9324 closed auctions in ebay's current availble database

5487 sold books in ebay's current available database

 

that means of over 9k recently closed auction more than 58.8% of them sold successfully

 

 

For a search of CGC:

 

80,069 closed auctions in ebay's current available database

43,554 sold books in ebay's current available database

 

so just under 54.4% successfully sold items.

 

so blue books sell at a lower success rate than yellow label books, but obviously make up for that in volume.

 

That says nothing of realization of value vs market (performance, return, etc) I was surprised to see how similar the numbers (by percentages) were. I thought there would be more sitting in the SS numbers, but it seems like both markets churn around 55%

 

I love stats - but the thing I am truly curious about is how many of those books sell for *over* what someone has into it (book cost, slab, sig).

 

Traditionally, I have taken a loss on the sales of nearly all of my CGC SS books - with a few rare exceptions. I attribute the problem to artists/writers keep on signing books at conventions, thereby fractionally devaluing my book every time another one enters the marketplace.

 

The only way I can see that being true across the Board is if you are spending current top end FMV on a blue label book, cracking it and getting it yellow labeled. Then your costs are so high that you are a slave to Yellow GPA, and if it is not above Blue 9.8 plus costs, then you lose. If you are subbing raw books, or blue labels that have a low cost basis, your margin is much better and profit is relatively easy even when discounting from top end prices.

 

Yeah, your probably right - I should have corrected that to say "resale value" since a lot of my books were bought from someone who submitted, not submitting myself. (Very few of my CGC books I managed to submit myself)

 

However, the other part of the argument stands as a curiosity - how much loss is there in selling a CGC book when it's a resale? Everyone selling those books can't be the guys who are getting them signed - there should be a significant percentage of people who are reselling.

 

We'll never know the answer, of course - but that's what comes to mind for me, since I took the short pipe on a lot of my books.

[Kevin.J]

I have 300+ yellow labels and love them as much as the next guy, ( except maybe SFingh) but I dont think HG peds or keys should be signed.

Its much more about the sig for me, 9.8 is great but 2.5 signed by a creator I grew up admiring is more than a little kid in the UK could have dreamed about.

 

I just got 2 SS books in the mail today, that for me, put the cherry on my SS cake and I feel like I dont know whats next for me in this section of my collection

 

BTW I would let Steve Ditko sign my AF #15 in a second