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Giant Size X-Men #1 for investment?
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792 posts in this topic

Honest question to all...

 

IH 181 seems high to me right now. GSX1 will likely have moderate incremental growth - really likely won't pop (it's the single comic I wanted most as a kid though so had to pick one up in high grade).

 

Comics in general have experienced growth regardless of bubbles/busts/dips in the market (overall) for 50 years. Why would you go with a bronze that has such high distribution #s vs. working for a key silver? I'm just curious about the 'long term investment' strategy. Safe to say 'buy for the love, not the investment' but a little piece of my portfolio is comics. It's volitile, but so are a moderate % of my stocks. It's all a gamble in the end. I can't afford to sink 16% of my gross into a fund with 2.5% growth and expect that it's going to fund my entire retirement. (That said, like jewlrey, I want to hand down a few books to my kids).

 

If it's an 'and/or' question, I'd suggest IH181 both out of personal preference and character blue-ish chip factor. I likely wouldn't hold onto a 4-5.0 for 30 years. I'd be AMAZED if you do too. I would think if you went IH181 with the goal of turning it in 4-5 years, and think long term about how that chunk of change would chip away at a true blue chip (JIM83, IH1, AF15 or even a nicer IH181 if that's your thing). That's personal preference though. $800 is a good chunk of change but likely a much different chunk as a 40 year old or a 50-60 year old.

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This may not go over very well with this particular crowd but I foresee women having an even bigger buying power in the next 30 years. Women now outnumbering men in college and I can't imagine those numbers aren't going to creep higher. I think books like X-Men 266 would be a good investment since Gambit could resonate with female fans. BA 12 and NM 98 may not be able sustain the upward trend but who knows what the world will look like in 20 years.

 

But back to the OP question - I'd go with the 181. I'd bank on wolverine remaining more relavent compared to Storm, night crawler and Colossus.

Edited by 1Cool
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I just wonder if as our generation of physical paper comic book buyers and collectors passes on, will the digital age kids of today care as much about old paper comics, especially if they never bought or read them as kids. If so, great! I'd imagine there would be some, but enough to keep prices perpetually rising or at least steady with the demand? It will be interesting to see how the collecting landscape changes with time.

 

I think people tend to not give the digital generation enough credit. Those kids may be reading digital comics now, but as they get older, they will come to a realization that digital comics are incredibly limited, and offer no tangible value. When they become adults, land careers, and make good money, they will want to invest that money into something. If they're still gung-ho about comics (which I'm sure a lot of them will be), then they will invest their money in comics...paper comics.

 

+1 younger photographers are getting into analog film photography ... Might be a niche market but there's still interest .. Will paper comics become a niche market ? Hope not .. Who knows ... I know one thing .. I like to be able to hold my books in my hand ...

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I would invest that 800 in Gold/Silver.

 

Golds are AWESOME. But not showing great growth. Year over year static growth unless you have some serious cash to dump in something like a CA3 which will surly jump a little in a couple of years (much more than the shload of Lee signature out there) when the time for him to move on to greener pastures. :cry:

 

$800 won't get you much in gold is all I'm saying...

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This may not go over very well with this particular crowd but I foresee women having an even bigger buying power in the next 30 years. Women now outnumbering men in college and I can't imagine those numbers aren't going to creep higher. I think books like X-Men 266 would be a good investment since Gambit could resonate with female fans. BA 12 and NM 98 may not be able sustain the upward trend but who knows what the world will look like in 20 years.

 

But back to the OP question - I'd go with the 181. I'd bank on wolverine remaining more relavent compared to Storm, night crawler and Colossus.

 

That's it...

 

sexy-batman.jpg

 

DC27 for the win.

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Hulk #181 over GSX #1 and X-Men #94 any day, every day.

 

Those three (other than a Marvel Comics #1) were the holy trinity for me growing up. Hulk #181 consistently over the past 20 years has grown at a faster, steadier rate than GSX #1 or X-94, and I don't see that not being the case anytime soon.

 

Jim

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I just wonder if as our generation of physical paper comic book buyers and collectors passes on, will the digital age kids of today care as much about old paper comics, especially if they never bought or read them as kids. If so, great! I'd imagine there would be some, but enough to keep prices perpetually rising or at least steady with the demand? It will be interesting to see how the collecting landscape changes with time.

 

This is my only concern too. Before the advent of downloadable comics & portable tablets/readers, I would have said "no worries about it" but now I'm not so sure..

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Great points made in this thread. Hulk 181 being the king Key to own and "invest" in. Just think what you could do after you buy the one you want. You buy the 181 first, then sit for a bit on it, then buy the GSXM. I don't know what your collecting habits are, but there's always room for both of those books. I'd say buy the one you really want, then save for the next one. That's what collecting is all about. 30 years is a long time to just have 1 Key book. ;)

 

Good luck with your endeavors. (thumbs u

 

Also buy silver while it's still cheap. I am. :gossip:

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GSXM 1?

 

IH 181?

 

There are too many copies available. The widespread availability of these books leads me to question their value as an investment. Of course, I've never been one to buy comics as an investment.

 

That being said, the price of these widely available keys continues to slowly creep up. But it just doesn't make any sense to me. I think the trend upwards is indicative of a bubble market.

 

As with any other investment, it's all about supply and demand. While the demand is strong, the supply is even stronger. Anyone with the means can make an eBay purchase within minutes. Go searching for either one of those comics and you'll have an easy time finding what you want.

 

With that in mind, I am truly astonished that some comics continue to creep upwards in price. For example, $800 for the first appearance of Deadpool? That's a joke. Same for ASM 300 or GSXM 1 or IH 181. There are just WAY too many of these books floating around.

 

Once again, we are in another bubble. Great time to sell, poor time to buy.

 

Take your money and invest it in stocks, bonds, precious metals, and commodities. That's the safest, surest bet. Not as sexy as having a GSXM 1, but a much wiser approach from an investment angle.

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An approach not mentioned yet but one I am having great success with is instead of buying one or two "key" books at great expense, troll eBay and look for individual books that would appeal to true collectors rather than the fickle movie going public. The value of IH 181 is at least 70% based on movies. If Wolverine never made it there he would be not be considered a key.

 

What I look for are things like iconic first pairings like Detective 395 which I picked up for $20 on eBay got Adams and O'Neil to sign, SSed it and it came back 8.5. This book will only go up especially when one or both are unable to sign anymore. Another I got for a song was Batman 244 again got both Adams and O'Neil to sign and SSed back as a 9.2.

 

Another great category are those seminal single issues like ASM 33 with those fabulous Ditko pages and a cracker of a story.

 

What I am trying to say is don't put all your eggs in one basket. Do the research and go look for the raw books. Most sellers on eBay are savvy and know what they have but there are others that have no idea and don't do the price comparisons to see the value in what they have. I have bought 60 or more raw books for under $30 many under $15 that are in reality worth 3,4,5... times as much just raw. Add a signature or two or just get slabbed and the value goes up hundreds of dollars and that is just today. Twenty or thirty years from now who knows.

 

The important thing is knowing a bit about grading and making sure to scrutinize the photos. Any doubts pass unless the price is like $5.

 

For growth value, I would rather have 50-100 solid books than one key that probably has already reached close to its potential like IH 181.

 

Cheers, Howard

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If we are in a bubble, can someone give examples of when the last bubble was with these books.

 

Can we show documentation of sold listing from say 20 years ago to today and see where the rise and fall was before the current "bubble"

 

I am so curious to see what the last "bubble" was.

 

:popcorn:

 

 

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Hulk #181 over GSX #1 and X-Men #94 any day, every day.

 

Those three (other than a Marvel Comics #1) were the holy trinity for me growing up. Hulk #181 consistently over the past 20 years has grown at a faster, steadier rate than GSX #1 or X-94, and I don't see that not being the case anytime soon.

 

Jim

 

I agree with Jim and support the notion that all X-Men # 94s are worthless and should be sold immediately to me at a maximum of 1/3 GPA :D

 

xxx ooo

 

Rupp

 

IMG_20141123_182214_549_zps7acd2d01.jpg

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See.. I don't think it's much (if any) of a bubble. There's more people of a certain age that have reached the point where disposable income is available to buy up the books they wanted as a kid & that income has finally outpaced the inflation on the books. They're finally able to buy it.

 

Additionally, we've finally reached an age where buying something like this & displaying it in your home isn't just some "nerd thing" and has become accepted as part of the culture. That opens up doors to bring in some lapsed fans who have a love for old comics but "out grew it" and want to add that little piece for (relatively) cheap as an alternative to a pretentious piece of art.

 

Granted, there might be some artificial inflation to things, but I don't think it's a bubble. For every book that sells at well-above FMV, you get another that goes under the radar for 2/3 FMV or less.

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Hulk #181 over GSX #1 and X-Men #94 any day, every day.

 

Those three (other than a Marvel Comics #1) were the holy trinity for me growing up. Hulk #181 consistently over the past 20 years has grown at a faster, steadier rate than GSX #1 or X-94, and I don't see that not being the case anytime soon.

 

Jim

 

I agree with Jim and support the notion that all X-Men # 94s are worthless and should be sold immediately to me at a maximum of 1/3 GPA :D

 

xxx ooo

 

Rupp

 

IMG_20141123_182214_549_zps7acd2d01.jpg

 

See, that's not even fair.

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Isn't GS Xmen the big bronze key like Action 1 for GA or Showcase 4 for SA?

No, that would be Hulk 181. Some say Star Wars 1 35 cent price variant, but I don't think so as it's mostly so expensive due to rarity. Taking into account the massive supply, Hulk 181 prices are staggering.

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With my luck my cats would come rushing down the steps while I was taking the picture. Sweet set of books!

Edited by 1Cool
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