N e r V Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I like him a lot and started collecting him long before most here but some of the prices are getting to the point where I’d rather own other GA material again. I don’t really sell these days but I’m getting tempted on some of those prices. Especially on my dupe copies. Just a little bit higher first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacentaur Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 8 minutes ago, N e r V said: ...but some of the prices are getting to the point where I’d rather own other GA material again. I don’t really sell these days but I’m getting tempted on some of those prices. Especially on my dupe copies. Yeah, I've had those same thoughts myself - for a Baker at current market, I can get other GA material. Dupes you say? Send 'em my way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N e r V Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 That said there are a few classic issues I’d never let go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
szav Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 I’d guess the high prices are here to stay...there’s a forever fixed supply struggling against a tidal wave of demand. All it was ever going to take to blow up this market was a few determined deep pockets buyers getting interested at the same time. Despite the meteoric rise in prices it doesn’t feel like the market has been flooded, especially with regards to higher graded copies, and for Bakers I’d say high grade = 5.0+. There just isn’t much out there. Even Terrycon had but a handful of offerings. It’ll be especially interesting/telling when when one of the higher grade iconic books like CL 25 finally hits one of the auction houses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjum12 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 3 hours ago, N e r V said: I like him a lot and started collecting him long before most here but some of the prices are getting to the point where I’d rather own other GA material again. I don’t really sell these days but I’m getting tempted on some of those prices. Especially on my dupe copies. Just a little bit higher first... ...this is the first stage of a comic market correction..... anything that escalates too high too fast will experience it. After the dust settles there will be a couple dozen Baker books that will not only hold their value but continue to rise..... the rest will begin to respond to reality and aesthetics. Not all of them are Icon worthy. Some of them, however, are as good as comics get. GOD BLESS... -jimbo(a friend of jesus) Ricksneatstuff, 1950's war comics and X_Phile 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 4 hours ago, N e r V said: I like him a lot and started collecting him long before most here but some of the prices are getting to the point where I’d rather own other GA material again. I don’t really sell these days but I’m getting tempted on some of those prices. Especially on my dupe copies. Just a little bit higher first... I’m not really thinking about selling my Bakers but, like you, the high prices are pushing me to other areas of collecting. Like, right now I need to upgrade my Spider-Man 129. Even though mostly I talk about on these boards is GGA, really I’m a superhero collector (Spidey in particular) and I need a nicer copy of the 1st app of the Punisher. So I’m finding it hard to pull the trigger on recent Bakers where for just a little more I could get a ASM 129 in pretty nice shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 4 hours ago, szavisca said: I’d guess the high prices are here to stay...there’s a forever fixed supply struggling against a tidal wave of demand. All it was ever going to take to blow up this market was a few determined deep pockets buyers getting interested at the same time. Despite the meteoric rise in prices it doesn’t feel like the market has been flooded, especially with regards to higher graded copies, and for Bakers I’d say high grade = 5.0+. There just isn’t much out there. Even Terrycon had but a handful of offerings. It’ll be especially interesting/telling when when one of the higher grade iconic books like CL 25 finally hits one of the auction houses. Yeah, I think we're seeing a supply response with more lower grade copies coming to market. But new to market higher grade copies are at best a trickle. I think the market is strongest for the GGA covers as compared with the pure romance covers. For instance, while I much prefer CL 25 to GCE 12, I think the market for GCE 12 is stronger. I could be wrong, but my guess is that, say, a 7.0 GCE might hammer at twice what a 7.0 CL 25 would bring. In general, I think enough collectors have begun chasing Bakers, that it would be surprising to see prices crash given how genuinely tough to find many of them are. If there were neglected stashes of higher grade copies around, I think dealers would have ferreted them out and brought them to market by now. Of course, there's always the chance of a find like the Sixth Street Collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricksneatstuff Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 20 minutes ago, Sqeggs said: Yeah, I think we're seeing a supply response with more lower grade copies coming to market. But new to market higher grade copies are at best a trickle. I think the market is strongest for the GGA covers as compared with the pure romance covers. For instance, while I much prefer CL 25 to GCE 12, I think the market for GCE 12 is stronger. I could be wrong, but my guess is that, say, a 7.0 GCE might hammer at twice what a 7.0 CL 25 would bring. In general, I think enough collectors have begun chasing Bakers, that it would be surprising to see prices crash given how genuinely tough to find many of them are. If there were neglected stashes of higher grade copies around, I think dealers would have ferreted them out and brought them to market by now. Of course, there's always the chance of a find like the Sixth Street Collection. I actually disagree on the CL 25/ GCE 12 comparison. Nobody seems to bring the CL 25 to market- ever. There have been at least four GCE 12s in the last 18 months or so. I can tell you I have had 5X as many people asking me for a CL 25 over GCE 12. I think CL 25 is the Phantom Lady 17 of the romance books and GCE 12 is right behind it. I think if the highest graded copy of each came to the block the CL 25 would clip the GCE 12 a touch. One day maybe we will find out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjum12 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 3 hours ago, n2wdw said: I’m not really thinking about selling my Bakers but, like you, the high prices are pushing me to other areas of collecting. Like, right now I need to upgrade my Spider-Man 129. Even though mostly I talk about on these boards is GGA, really I’m a superhero collector (Spidey in particular) and I need a nicer copy of the 1st app of the Punisher. So I’m finding it hard to pull the trigger on recent Bakers where for just a little more I could get a ASM 129 in pretty nice shape. Mike, have you read "Marvel, The Untold Story"...... it's been a real page turner.... and I thought I already knew everything about Marvel's behind the scenes stuff. GOD BLESS... -jimbo(a friend of jesus) 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 9 hours ago, sacentaur said: This coming from a long-term GA collector who, for nearly four decades, gave no credence at all to "romance" comics till a Baker-epiphany occurred at the start of 2016. Since then, I've managed to acquire 130 reasonably priced Baker books and have passed on at least that many. Interesting, I started collecting Baker at about the same time as you, and I've acquired about as many comics. I'm sure we've competed on many auctions. I bet if we compared our collections, we'd have mostly the same issues. Some Bakers are definitely more common than others and they pop up pretty frequently. Then sometimes I see one I've never seen before, and it's practically jolting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Ricksneatstuff said: I actually disagree on the CL 25/ GCE 12 comparison. Nobody seems to bring the CL 25 to market- ever. There have been at least four GCE 12s in the last 18 months or so. I can tell you I have had 5X as many people asking me for a CL 25 over GCE 12. I think CL 25 is the Phantom Lady 17 of the romance books and GCE 12 is right behind it. I think if the highest graded copy of each came to the block the CL 25 would clip the GCE 12 a touch. One day maybe we will find out Rick, I agree with both you and @Sqeggs GCE 12 seems more common than CL 25 -- you rarely see CL 25 offered for sale. But, I think if they went head to head, say both 5.0s, I tend to think GCE 12 would go higher because it's more risque. Also it's a giant and the square bound is harder to get in a nicer grade. Personally I like GCE 12 better than CL 25, and I would not go all in for a CL 25. Just saying, that's my personal preference. There are a couple Bakers that I'd break the bank to get in 5.0 or higher grades. I'm not saying which ones, but it doesn't matter anyway as you never see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2wdw Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 1 hour ago, jimjum12 said: Mike, have you read "Marvel, The Untold Story"...... it's been a real page turner.... and I thought I already knew everything about Marvel's behind the scenes stuff. GOD BLESS... -jimbo(a friend of jesus) I haven't -- now you've got me interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacentaur Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Ricksneatstuff said: I actually disagree on the CL 25/ GCE 12 comparison. I think if the highest graded copy of each came to the block the CL 25 would clip the GCE 12 a touch. My thinking, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacentaur Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 1 hour ago, n2wdw said: Interesting, I started collecting Baker at about the same time as you, and I've acquired about as many comics. I'm sure we've competed on many auctions. I'm not much of an auction guy, having only acquired a few of them via that method. Mostly it's been a private network of several great boardies, and a couple lucky convention finds, that have helped me reach my collecting goals. I'd like to acquire about 20 more St. John Bakers in the upcoming months in order to reach 150 mark, we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunsmokin Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 2 hours ago, n2wdw said: I haven't -- now you've got me interested. And the author Doc. Mike is without question, the foremost authority on gold and atomic age Timely/Atlas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N e r V Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 (edited) The first St. John books I started collecting were the Casper and Little Audrey series before Harvey took them from them. As Rick noted St. John’s were always more difficult to find in grade even back then (1980’s). Finding things like the Little Audrey Yearbook in those days was a b-tch . I was lucky and found a guy who had a large St. John collection on the Comic Book Buyers Guide. Super high grade books at probably 3 or 5 times guide at the time. Few were interested in St. John’s back then. I got into Baker around this time. Also after going into the business I met a few other Baker collectors. Being aware of some of the other Baker collections I know of I suspect most of the best stuff as to grade is still tightly locked into collections and has been for a while now. I have little doubt the premium Baker covers will hold their value and in fact continue to greatly increase but there are a number of Baker covers that maybe although well drawn aren’t all that interesting to warrant their current prices (to me at least) and it’s those that I’m curious if their price march will continue. I also believe most St. John’s be they Baker, Casper, Little Audrey or whatever deserve a higher premium in grade than many other companies based on supplies existing. My comment was based on a very recent conversation I had with a boardie about a Baker book I probably paid $50.00 for less than 5 years ago and had slabbed last year is in the $1500.00 range now. I told him if it hits the price range of a Hit comics #5 in 4.0 or so I might be moved to dump it. I love Baker but Lou is pretty Fine too... Edited March 2, 2018 by N e r V aardvark88 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicnoir Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 6 hours ago, Ricksneatstuff said: I actually disagree on the CL 25/ GCE 12 comparison. Nobody seems to bring the CL 25 to market- ever. There have been at least four GCE 12s in the last 18 months or so. I can tell you I have had 5X as many people asking me for a CL 25 over GCE 12. I think CL 25 is the Phantom Lady 17 of the romance books and GCE 12 is right behind it. I think if the highest graded copy of each came to the block the CL 25 would clip the GCE 12 a touch. One day maybe we will find out GCE 12 was always a big book, long before anybody cared about CL 25. It has cross-over appeal, ppl who don't collect Baker Romance want a GCE 12. Ppl wanted it before they knew who Baker was. I only discovered CL 25 when I picked my Romance Without Tears and found it in the cover gallery. Blew my mind. But GCE 12 was always legendary. It is the Action 1 of romance books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N e r V Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Another factor which I believe is in play here not only with Baker books but comics in general is the current economy. People keep commenting on the boards here one book after another about how surprised they are with current run ups (hey, I’m one of them!). But the same could be said about the stock market as a whole or real estate (at least in my neck of the woods) are hitting in some cases all time highs and setting records. I also have my feet planted into other collectibles markets which in many cases are seeing what we are seeing here in comics. The current comic market values are not existing on an island but are surrounded by other super hot markets in varied shapes and sizes. So if we are heading into a slow down or recession in the near future (2020 or so) as some are predicting I believe that might provide a better test for sustainable market values. Right now things are distorted in so many markets it’s more difficult to predict what will hold up over time other than the few obvious choices... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 1 hour ago, comicnoir said: GCE 12 was always a big book, long before anybody cared about CL 25. It has cross-over appeal, ppl who don't collect Baker Romance want a GCE 12. Ppl wanted it before they knew who Baker was. I only discovered CL 25 when I picked my Romance Without Tears and found it in the cover gallery. Blew my mind. But GCE 12 was always legendary. It is the Action 1 of romance books. That pretty sums it up for me. I saw that book and fell in love. I didn't know who Matt Baker was nor did I own (or care to own) any romances. Action #1 of romance books? Might be a stretch for many. I will say, it is in my top 10, maybe even top 5 favorite comics of all of the thousands of GA books I own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 1 hour ago, comicnoir said: 8 hours ago, Ricksneatstuff said: I actually disagree on the CL 25/ GCE 12 comparison. Nobody seems to bring the CL 25 to market- ever. There have been at least four GCE 12s in the last 18 months or so. I can tell you I have had 5X as many people asking me for a CL 25 over GCE 12. I think CL 25 is the Phantom Lady 17 of the romance books and GCE 12 is right behind it. I think if the highest graded copy of each came to the block the CL 25 would clip the GCE 12 a touch. One day maybe we will find out GCE 12 was always a big book, long before anybody cared about CL 25. It has cross-over appeal, ppl who don't collect Baker Romance want a GCE 12. Ppl wanted it before they knew who Baker was. I only discovered CL 25 when I picked my Romance Without Tears and found it in the cover gallery. Blew my mind. But GCE 12 was always legendary. It is the Action 1 of romance books. I think this is the key point. I believe it applies across the board with Bakers: His covers with strong GGA appeal -- Seven Seas 4 would be another example -- attract more interest than do his pure romance covers. I much prefer CL 25 and would bid higher for it if, say, a 7.0 came to auction than I would on a GCE 12 7.0, but I think the GCE would get the higher hammer price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
