Silver age comics that are heating up 26 26

[Austin_t_a]

What's the general consensus about the future value of X-Men #1?  It seems really high right now, but it also seems like this might just be the beginning of their MCU hype spike...

[HighVoltage]

25 minutes ago, Austin_t_a said:

What's the general consensus about the future value of X-Men #1?  It seems really high right now, but it also seems like this might just be the beginning of their MCU hype spike...

There’s another thread in the Silver Age about X-Men 1 possibly being a top 3 Marvel key now and/or moving forward (behind only AF 15 and maybe Hulk 1 or FF 1… possibly those 3 books jockeying for position depending upon what happens via MCU movies/pop culture).

I’d say the consensus is that it is a monster key to be reckoned with, probably pulling ahead of JIM 83 and Suspense 39. It’s a top 5 key now & not looking back. I don’t think it will continue it’s nuclear heat rise up in price, but it should still grow throughout the rest of the year.

The book has great potential to spike again with an MCU movie/series announcement - not only for the first movie, but any subsequent one. Also - imagine if they did a Disney + series with Magneto.

It will be very, very interesting to see what happens to this book & other keys once shows start up again.

[DomUga]

I am really enjoying the JIM 85 price jump. I bought my CGC 5.0 for 2300 and its ridiculous now. Wife telling me to sell! 

[HighVoltage]

5 hours ago, DomUga said:

I am really enjoying the JIM 85 price jump. I bought my CGC 5.0 for 2300 and its ridiculous now. Wife telling me to sell! 

JIM 85 is a great book!

[Gazoony]

Hi guys, I got a CBCS graded Fantastic Four 48 in a 9.0 white pages like 10 months ago. I got a decent deal on it that's why I bought it. 

I was hoping to get some input on what to do with it. I don't really wanna sell it, I'd prefer to trade for another book. What do you think a fair trade value would be? A 9.0 hasn't really sold recently and 9.2 sold recently for 21k. But FMV on GoCollect is 9k for 9.0. So I'm having a little bit of trouble coming to a reasonable price point.

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[alexgross.com]

6 hours ago, Gazoony said:

Hi guys, I got a CBCS graded Fantastic Four 48 in a 9.0 white pages like 10 months ago. I got a decent deal on it that's why I bought it. 

I was hoping to get some input on what to do with it. I don't really wanna sell it, I'd prefer to trade for another book. What do you think a fair trade value would be? A 9.0 hasn't really sold recently and 9.2 sold recently for 21k. But FMV on GoCollect is 9k for 9.0. So I'm having a little bit of trouble coming to a reasonable price point.

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

that company's grades on books dont always equate to the same grade with our cgc overlords. depending on what it looks like, it may be more of an 8.5 book value-wise. 

[Reaperron]

I listed my copy of JIM #85 on Ebay over the weekend and it sold on Sunday night with a Best Offer of $5950.

Hated to see it go, but I'm happy with the sale.

BTW, I purchased from Heritage in 2014.

 

[Gazoony]

2 hours ago, alexgross.com said:

that company's grades on books dont always equate to the same grade with our cgc overlords. depending on what it looks like, it may be more of an 8.5 book value-wise. 

I'm not trying to see what grade it is. As grading is subjective from one grading company to the next. I'm trying to figure out a fair price for a 9.0 white pages as it is currently graded. With pricing all over the place I just wanted some input in what you guys think a 9.0 would be worth right now.

 

[Sweet Lou 14]

8 hours ago, Gazoony said:

I'm not trying to see what grade it is. As grading is subjective from one grading company to the next. I'm trying to figure out a fair price for a 9.0 white pages as it is currently graded. With pricing all over the place I just wanted some input in what you guys think a 9.0 would be worth right now.

 

GPA shows a bunch of February sales for FF #48:

• 9.6 - $26,500
• 9.4 - $13,750
• 9.2 - $8,899
• 9.0 - $8,100

Then there is a 9.2 sale in April for $19,200 which you have to decide whether to treat as an outlier or not.  It's more than double the 9.2 sales recorded in GPA for both February and March.  I'm not aware of the $21K sale you're describing.

In addition to GPA I will sometimes just look at asking prices on eBay.  In this market, I think it's fair to say that comics pricing on eBay has become more and more like sports card pricing.  People put up ludicrous asking prices that they don't really expect to get.  So for example right now there are several CGC 8.0 copies with asking prices ranging from $9,400 to $13,000.  There is also a 9.0 with an asking price of $21,000.

So ... my first thought based on GPA alone (which in this market especially is not giving you a full picture) was that you could ask for $12,500 for your 9.0 and see if someone wants it badly enough (keeping in mind that a CBCS book will not fetch a CGC price).  I was originally going to say that at $12,500 I would be confident you're not underpricing the book, which would allow you to gather some data when offers below your ask come in.  It can be very educational to see how a potential buyer (if they are sufficiently thoughtful and transparent) arrived at an offer price.

Now I'm thinking you might want to ask for a bit more -- in this market it's possible someone would pay $14,000 or even $15,000.

I can't give you more specific advice without knowing how motivated you are to sell and where you plan on selling (i.e. through eBay, or on the forum, etc.).  I recommend searching every dealer web site to see how many data points you can collect on asking prices, and I recommend you do sold item searches on both eBay and Heritage to get a clearer picture.  Then take one of two approaches:

• Price your CBCS 9.0 where you think a CGC 9.0 ought to be, and make sure it's clear you will entertain offers.  Be patient and see what you learn.
• Price your CBCS 9.0 more like a CGC 8.0 or 8.5, making it the most attractive buy available, and you will probably sell it quite quickly.

Hope that helps.  Insert legal disclaimer about following the advice of a stranger on the internet.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Sweet Lou 14

[OuterboroGuy]

50 minutes ago, Sweet Lou 14 said:

GPA shows a bunch of February sales for FF #48:

• 9.6 - $26,500
• 9.4 - $13,750
• 9.2 - $8,899
• 9.0 - $8,100

Then there is a 9.2 sale in April for $19,200 which you have to decide whether to treat as an outlier or not.  It's more than double the 9.2 sales recorded in GPA for both February and March.  I'm not aware of the $21K sale you're describing.

In addition to GPA I will sometimes just look at asking prices on eBay.  In this market, I think it's fair to say that comics pricing on eBay has become more and more like sports card pricing.  People put up ludicrous asking prices that they don't really expect to get.  So for example right now there are several CGC 8.0 copies with asking prices ranging from $9,400 to $13,000.  There is also a 9.0 with an asking price of $21,000.

So ... my first thought based on GPA alone (which in this market especially is not giving you a full picture) was that you could ask for $12,500 for your 9.0 and see if someone wants it badly enough (keeping in mind that a CBCS book will not fetch a CGC price).  I was originally going to say that at $12,500 I would be confident you're not underpricing the book, which would allow you to gather some data when offers below your ask come in.  It can be very educational to see how a potential buyer (if they are sufficiently thoughtful and transparent) arrived at an offer price.

Now I'm thinking you might want to ask for a bit more -- in this market it's possible someone would pay $14,000 or even $15,000.

I can't give you more specific advice without knowing how motivated you are to sell and where you plan on selling (i.e. through eBay, or on the forum, etc.).  I recommend searching every dealer web site to see how many data points you can collect on asking prices, and I recommend you do sold item searches on both and Heritage to get a clearer picture.  Then take one of two approaches:

• Price your CBCS 9.0 where you think a CGC 9.0 ought to be, and make sure it's clear you will entertain offers.  Be patient and see what you learn.
• Price your CBCS 9.0 more like a CGC 8.0 or 8.5, making it the most attractive buy available, and you will probably sell it quite quickly.

Hope that helps.  Insert legal disclaimer about following the advice of a stranger on the internet.

I have a CGC 8.5 white pages that I am personally valuing on my spreadsheet at $10,000 given the frothy market (although GPA "My Comics" is giving me a value of $9225).  So I think Sweet Lou is on point with the $12,500.  Maybe a little aggressive given the CBCS label -- again, it may depend on how the book looks.  (FF48 has some off center books -- see this one I picked up at auction last year.)  You could always send it into CGC to crack and regrade, but then you are taking a risk that CBCS undergraded.

[gadzukes]

55 minutes ago, OuterboroGuy said:

I have a CGC 8.5 white pages that I am personally valuing on my spreadsheet at $10,000 given the frothy market (although GPA "My Comics" is giving me a value of $9225).  So I think Sweet Lou is on point with the $12,500.  Maybe a little aggressive given the CBCS label -- again, it may depend on how the book looks.  (FF48 has some off center books -- see this one I picked up at auction last year.)  You could always send it into CGC to crack and regrade, but then you are taking a risk that CBCS undergraded.

I've got a CGC 8.5 SS with Stan's sig.  What kind of bump do you think an SS gets in this "frothy market"

[OuterboroGuy]

31 minutes ago, gadzukes said:

I've got a CGC 8.5 SS with Stan's sig.  What kind of bump do you think an SS gets in this "frothy market"

I'm not really knowledgeable about signature premiums . . . I would think on a book like FF48 the premium would be at least 50%, but that's just speculation on my part.

[Savoyard23]

On 5/5/2021 at 10:28 PM, loboagain said:

I doubt we will ever see pre-covid prices again.  We will have a market correction but not a crash to pre-covid levels.  I just don't see it with all the money coming into comics from hedge funds, institutional investors, sportscards people and new investors due to MCU movies and Disney+ shows.  

This might be the money that turns a market correction into a crash on its way out.  It doesn't necessarily represent fundamental demand.

[Gazoony]

5 hours ago, Sweet Lou 14 said:

GPA shows a bunch of February sales for FF #48:

• 9.6 - $26,500
• 9.4 - $13,750
• 9.2 - $8,899
• 9.0 - $8,100

Then there is a 9.2 sale in April for $19,200 which you have to decide whether to treat as an outlier or not.  It's more than double the 9.2 sales recorded in GPA for both February and March.  I'm not aware of the $21K sale you're describing.

In addition to GPA I will sometimes just look at asking prices on eBay.  In this market, I think it's fair to say that comics pricing on eBay has become more and more like sports card pricing.  People put up ludicrous asking prices that they don't really expect to get.  So for example right now there are several CGC 8.0 copies with asking prices ranging from $9,400 to $13,000.  There is also a 9.0 with an asking price of $21,000.

So ... my first thought based on GPA alone (which in this market especially is not giving you a full picture) was that you could ask for $12,500 for your 9.0 and see if someone wants it badly enough (keeping in mind that a CBCS book will not fetch a CGC price).  I was originally going to say that at $12,500 I would be confident you're not underpricing the book, which would allow you to gather some data when offers below your ask come in.  It can be very educational to see how a potential buyer (if they are sufficiently thoughtful and transparent) arrived at an offer price.

Now I'm thinking you might want to ask for a bit more -- in this market it's possible someone would pay $14,000 or even $15,000.

I can't give you more specific advice without knowing how motivated you are to sell and where you plan on selling (i.e. through eBay, or on the forum, etc.).  I recommend searching every dealer web site to see how many data points you can collect on asking prices, and I recommend you do sold item searches on both eBay and Heritage to get a clearer picture.  Then take one of two approaches:

• Price your CBCS 9.0 where you think a CGC 9.0 ought to be, and make sure it's clear you will entertain offers.  Be patient and see what you learn.
• Price your CBCS 9.0 more like a CGC 8.0 or 8.5, making it the most attractive buy available, and you will probably sell it quite quickly.

Hope that helps.  Insert legal disclaimer about following the advice of a stranger on the internet.

This is what I came here for! Thank you Lou. Awesome and simple breakdown. I really appreciate your insight. I'm not trying to sell it, just get a market evaluation of worth for a trade. I want to possibly trade for a TMNT #1. 

[Pantodude]

1 hour ago, Savoyard23 said:

This might be the money that turns a market correction into a crash on its way out.  It doesn't necessarily represent fundamental demand.

Except that it could represent fundamental demand.  The few trading/sports card folks who took the time to explain why they ventured into comic books (see youtube and some posts on these boards) explained that they are here to stay for several reasons.  In their view, SA and BA keys, and even high grade CA and modern comic book keys are undervalued due to relative scarcity (what we consider large census numbers are really miniscule compared to census for high-grade trading/sports cards and the like).  Some of them used Ultimate Fallout 4 and New Mutants 98 as examples of books that old schoolers might think are too common even in high grade.  Trading/sports cards folks consider even those books to be relatively uncommon (again, compoared to cards), especially considering the potential new, larger size of the comic book community.  

These newcomers (at least a significant number) also intend to hold their books long-term because even ignoring the relative scarcity of comic books compared to cards, comic books have great long-term growth potential, certainly those related to the MCU.  So this means more vintage books being tucked away in personal collections, apparently for the long-ish term. 

This could explain and normalize everything we have seen the past few months.  In other words, if what we are seeing are new baselines for keys, it could very well be that NO correction is looming that would resemble a crash, and that, in any event, any correction would be temporary before resuming an upward trend due to limited supply.  More folks looking for a dwindling  supply of books.    

[ft88]

Another aspect is that the demand supply curve doesn't apply to collectibles as it would to a commodity.  As demand increases price moves up.  But the price moving up doesn't necessarily increase the supply.  So many folks see collectibles as either investments, or lifelong holdings.  It's why books get bought and then get buried in collections for arguably decades.  It happens even with common books that are in demand.  10 years ago you'd buy a She Hulk 1 for $10 and there were hundreds available.  Now she hulk or 1st appearance collections buy the She Hulk 1 (or multiples) and sock them away.  And another holder won't put there's up for sale even if it went from $10 to $200.  Just keep holding.  

We'll see what happens when prices fall, as the reverse rings true.  If demand falls, sellers start to come out.

Ed

[fishbone]

On 5/6/2021 at 2:36 AM, DomUga said:

I am really enjoying the JIM 85 price jump. I bought my CGC 5.0 for 2300 and its ridiculous now. Wife telling me to sell! 

you can't let her know the prices  .... I wouldn't have 1 book left if I did 

[Sweet Lou 14]

Man, I miss the days when we were talking about how all the older collectors are going to cash out and die off, creating a tidal wave of supply, but the Asian market is going to come to the rescue.

[HighVoltage]

36 minutes ago, Sweet Lou 14 said:

Man, I miss the days when we were talking about how all the older collectors are going to cash out and die off, creating a tidal wave of supply, but the Asian market is going to come to the rescue.

Those were the days... like what, 5 months ago?

[I am not Glenda]

5 hours ago, Savoyard23 said:

This might be the money that turns a market correction into a crash on its way out.  It doesn't necessarily represent fundamental demand.

I think its fair to say pre Covid prices were pretty darn good, so any correction  really is just a bonus at this point.