Good or Bad time to buy silver age 1 1

[Comics4All]

Ugh never sell to the LCS !

[darkstar]

3 hours ago, comics4all said:

I think International buyers are buying a lot of big ticket comics now

too many gold and silver keys currently available on the market for this to be true.

[01TheDude]

it is always wise to keep an eye out for a good bargain, regardless of what level of grade/price range you like to collect in. I mostly go for low cost silver or bronze stuff. It seems harder to find but that might be the result of getting close to finishing runs I am after.

I would be wary of getting to extended on silver age keys-- the market seems like it is getting close to topping out. Might just be leveling off for a bit. It is a guessing game to be sure.

Buy what you like when you want it within reason -- that usually makes me the happiest.

[Comics4All]

16 minutes ago, 01TheDude said:

it is always wise to keep an eye out for a good bargain, regardless of what level of grade/price range you like to collect in. I mostly go for low cost silver or bronze stuff. It seems harder to find but that might be the result of getting close to finishing runs I am after.

I would be wary of getting to extended on silver age keys-- the market seems like it is getting close to topping out. Might just be leveling off for a bit. It is a guessing game to be sure.

Buy what you like when you want it within reason -- that usually makes me the happiest.

I felt like the market is at its peak now too but who knows? 

before the 1st Iron man movie maybe we would have thought paying a few hundred for JIM 83 would have been  its peak & look where it is now

[lizards2]

3 minutes ago, comics4all said:

21 minutes ago, 01TheDude said:

it is always wise to keep an eye out for a good bargain, regardless of what level of grade/price range you like to collect in. I mostly go for low cost silver or bronze stuff. It seems harder to find but that might be the result of getting close to finishing runs I am after.

I would be wary of getting to extended on silver age keys-- the market seems like it is getting close to topping out. Might just be leveling off for a bit. It is a guessing game to be sure.

Buy what you like when you want it within reason -- that usually makes me the happiest.

I felt like the market is at its peak now too but who knows? 

before the 1st Iron man movie maybe we would have thought paying a few hundred for JIM 83 would have been  its peak & look where it is now

I thought SA peaked like 3-4 years ago?

[Comics4All]

7 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

I thought SA peaked like 3-4 years ago?

really? you may be right.  that's one of the reasons I posted this thread: to get other peoples' opinions. 

I don't think it peaked 3 to 4 years ago because 2018 will have the most superhero movies & tv shows in history!

& I feel whenever a movie is announced the prices go up!

My piggy bank hoped it peaked!!!1

Edited January 10, 2018 by comics4all

[lizards2]

2 minutes ago, comics4all said:

9 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

I thought SA peaked like 3-4 years ago?

really? you may be right.  that's one of the reasons I posted this thread: to get other peoples' opinions. 

I don't think it peaked 3 to 4 years ago because 2018 will have the most superhero movies & tv shows in history!

& I feel whenever a movie is announced the prices go up!

My piggy bank hoped it peaked!!!1

I don't have to think it much - just look on GPA.  It's a no-brainer.

[Comics4All]

3 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

I don't have to think it much - just look on GPA.  It's a no-brainer.

Is GPA only for CGC books or do they track raw or the Distinguished Competition Slab companies ?

[lizards2]

1 minute ago, comics4all said:

6 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

I don't have to think it much - just look on GPA.  It's a no-brainer.

Is GPA only for CGC books or do they track raw or the Distinguished Competition Slab companies ?

Yes, no, no.

[Comics4All]

Just now, lizards2 said:

Yes, no, no.

Thanks! I thought so. So how do you track value on those books?

[lizards2]

6 minutes ago, comics4all said:

8 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

Yes, no, no.

Thanks! I thought so. So how do you track value on those books?

What books?

You collect, you look them up.

I'm cheap - I set new GPA lows all the time.

[Comics4All]

2 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

What books?

You collect, you look them up.

I'm cheap - I set new GPA lows all the time.

[NoMan]

10 hours ago, grebal said:

I have an 'extra' ASM 129 that I haven't sold, and a Hulk 181.  I know, they're bronze, not silver, and possibly they may never again be as high as they are today.   From time to time I consider the Q, why have 2?

But to be more literal to your OP, assuming there is a basic 'collector' gene in the population that likes accumulating stuff, what are they going to change to if they don't want silver age comics - hummel figurines?  Tin boxes or maybe trains?

And they keep making more people.  And there tend to be ever-more people with a little extra discretionary money for things like 'collectibles.'  And a lot more women -or buyers with chick's names- have been buying comics when i do my sales (proportionately more than in past).  And I get more request from international buyers for me to let them bid/but on my ebay listings.   All of those are forces in opposition to the forces that say baby boomers will all eventually sell and the market will have a glut in excess of demand.

So I don't agree with the 'common consensus' that silver age comics are cruizin for a bruizin.

Edited January 10, 2018 by NoMan

[Martin Sinescu]

12 hours ago, grebal said:

 

But to be more literal to your OP, assuming there is a basic 'collector' gene in the population that likes accumulating stuff, what are they going to change to if they don't want silver age comics - hummel figurines?  Tin boxes or maybe trains?

This is the bigger question that I keep wondering. As things go increasingly digital, will humanity (at least in the West) lose that connection with something tangible and accumulate-able aside from files in a directory. I'm already getting that way with photos and videos. It seems also that new real estate is getting smaller yet more expensive as you get near the city, so even having enough space to store physical items may increasingly be a burden for millennials and beyond. The other side of the coin is that Asian/Middle Eastern cultures may only recently be discovering (or only recently have access to..) our collectibles thanks to the internet (and healthier economies) whereas before the cultural emphasis was probably more spiritual -- the Asian markets are buying up American pop culture but the more Westernized ME markets are as well and they both have big money players involved!.

To the original question, my representative sample is fairly isolated, but SA DC seems to still be on the rise and sought-after. Overall GA is definitely where it's at right now as it seems any issue in any grade is desirable. SA Marvel may have leveled out or even dropped off as Lizzy stated and there is enough out there to create a glut, but it's cyclical, I'm sure. As I look through a huge SA/BA personal collection I'm cataloging, I'm just amazed how much depth there is across so many titles. Just tons of classic storylines everywhere. I think there's plenty of quality stuff to be appreciated as long as there's something to keep them relevant (movies, TPB's, etc.... even conversations on these boards give me the itch to seek out those old issues). Comics also have the advantage of being in and of themselves a collectible form of entertainment: Movies, TV and Music aren't as immediately "collectible", beyond just buying a physical copy of said movie, show or song (and those don't typically have much value unless something is out of print). Beyond that you're maybe looking at props, posters or other ephemera to get that connection with the form of entertainment, so I think comics are more immediate and gratifying in that sense.

[paul747]

9 hours ago, comics4all said:

I felt like the market is at its peak now too but who knows? 

before the 1st Iron man movie maybe we would have thought paying a few hundred for JIM 83 would have been  its peak & look where it is now

The 1st Iron man Was TOS #39 Not JIM #83 Second You statement  to general Price inflation and price jumps are greater in higher grades. In many cases higher grade supply on major silver age keys have not grown much in the last ten years and prices have.  most silver age keys in 7.5/8.0 or higher are relatively rare compared to the lower grade ones.  There is 120+ copies of the first appearance of Iron man over 8.0 you don't think there will generally be a market for 120 copies of this classic Key issue? I do And I think price appreciation is also still going to happen.   If you look at the difference between 2008 (the first iron man movie) and 2016 the last year with multiple GPA sales history its really not that crazy.

 

 

2016	(3) $16,999Hi $13,500Lo
Dec-26-2016 $16,999 Cert# 1215636001         Jul-03-2016 $13,500 Cert# 1209685003         Jan-31-2016 $13,755

2008	(5) $11,667Hi $8,000Lo
Jun-20-2008 $11,667 Cert# 0901122002             May-31-2008 $8,000 Cert# 0905376001         May-25-2008 $9,600 Cert# 0805238002         May-22-2008 $10,755 Cert# 0910171008         May-18-2008 $10,100

[1Cool]

22 minutes ago, Martin Sinescu said:

This is the bigger question that I keep wondering. As things go increasingly digital, will humanity (at least in the West) lose that connection with something tangible and accumulate-able aside from files in a directory. I'm already getting that way with photos and videos. It seems also that new real estate is getting smaller yet more expensive as you get near the city, so even having enough space to store physical items may increasingly be a burden for millennials and beyond. The other side of the coin is that Asian/Middle Eastern cultures may only recently be discovering (or only recently have access to..) our collectibles thanks to the internet (and healthier economies) whereas before the cultural emphasis was probably more spiritual -- the Asian markets are buying up American pop culture but the more Westernized ME markets are as well and they both have big money players involved!.

To the original question, my representative sample is fairly isolated, but SA DC seems to still be on the rise and sought-after. Overall GA is definitely where it's at right now as it seems any issue in any grade is desirable. SA Marvel may have leveled out or even dropped off as Lizzy stated and there is enough out there to create a glut, but it's cyclical, I'm sure. As I look through a huge SA/BA personal collection I'm cataloging, I'm just amazed how much depth there is across so many titles. Just tons of classic storylines everywhere. I think there's plenty of quality stuff to be appreciated as long as there's something to keep them relevant (movies, TPB's, etc.... even conversations on these boards give me the itch to seek out those old issues). Comics also have the advantage of being in and of themselves a collectible form of entertainment: Movies, TV and Music aren't as immediately "collectible", beyond just buying a physical copy of said movie, show or song (and those don't typically have much value unless something is out of print). Beyond that you're maybe looking at props, posters or other ephemera to get that connection with the form of entertainment, so I think comics are more immediate and gratifying in that sense.

Talk to almost any teen today and I'd think you would find the same answer - collecting is just not for them.  Amassing a huge collection of anything other then pictures and likes on Instagram is just a foreign concept.  There may be some outliers and there will always be geeky kids collecting geeky stuff but as a whole I do not see the current youth generation being a collecting society.  Everything is disposable and easily traded for the latest and greatest which simply does not translate into someone who wants to lug around long boxes of books. 

Are Silver-Age comics a good buy?  If you like comics and remember them fondly then heck yes a vast majority are great buys right now.  You can get mid-grade copies of everything except the keys for dirt cheap (was buying Silver DC fillers for $1 a piece at a Con last year).  But if you are buying non-key, non high grade books at guide and hope to make a killing in the future then I don't see things going well for you in my opinion.

[F For Fake]

3 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

Talk to almost any teen today and I'd think you would find the same answer - collecting is just not for them.  Amassing a huge collection of anything other then pictures and likes on Instagram is just a foreign concept.  There may be some outliers and there will always be geeky kids collecting geeky stuff but as a whole I do not see the current youth generation being a collecting society.  Everything is disposable and easily traded for the latest and greatest which simply does not translate into someone who wants to lug around long boxes of books. 

Are Silver-Age comics a good buy?  If you like comics and remember them fondly then heck yes a vast majority are great buys right now.  You can get mid-grade copies of everything except the keys for dirt cheap (was buying Silver DC fillers for $1 a piece at a Con last year).  But if you are buying non-key, non high grade books at guide and hope to make a killing in the future then I don't see things going well for you in my opinion.

Agreed 100%, the answer all depends on why you're buying. Never a better time to buy mid-grade silver to keep and read, seems like tons of it is getting dumped right now. As for investments, I'm not sold on the idea that the keys can maintain these prices, but I never thought bronze keys like IH181 and ASM129 would get to where they are today either, so what do I know?

[1Cool]

1 minute ago, F For Fake said:

Agreed 100%, the answer all depends on why you're buying. Never a better time to buy mid-grade silver to keep and read, seems like tons of it is getting dumped right now. As for investments, I'm not sold on the idea that the keys can maintain these prices, but I never thought bronze keys like IH181 and ASM129 would get to where they are today either, so what do I know?

Stocks are up - wages seem to be on the rise - people seem to have some disposable income so things should be good for the time being.  Tons of collectors are just hitting their 40s so I don't see things slowing down for awhile but if you are hoping the rule of 25 will kick in 20 years from now I think you will be surprised on the outcome in 2037.  But like you said - it's all guesses at this point and what do I know about the future.

[90sChild]

I tend to think of this in terms of where does it fall in the spectrum of collectibles.  It is always a gamble knowing which will succeed and which will fail.  Lets look at four others I had experience with.  

Marvel trading cards, Pokemon, beanie babies, coin collecting.  

You can argue coins have always been one of the most solid long-term collectibles.  Beanie babies were a complete flop.  Marvel cards are still a flop.  Pokemon made a huge resurgence due to the mobile game and early original cards can be worth a ton.  

I think comics are sort of in the group with coin collecting.  Relatively safe long term.  But still nothing is a guarantee.  There could always be new generations that just don't care about these things anymore.  

Edited January 10, 2018 by 90sChild

[vaillant]

26 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

Stocks are up - wages seem to be on the rise - people seem to have some disposable income so things should be good for the time being.  Tons of collectors are just hitting their 40s so I don't see things slowing down for awhile but if you are hoping the rule of 25 will kick in 20 years from now I think you will be surprised on the outcome in 2037.  But like you said - it's all guesses at this point and what do I know about the future.

To have a public in 2037 Marvel comics should have thought better how to handle his characters around… almost 30 years ago.