Incredible Hulk #181 - is it *that* red-hot? 17 17

[jason4]

6 hours ago, divad said:

 

You might reconsider. Perhaps optimize the sale for them and give them an IRA or a 329 account. You might get hit by a truck, and they set them out at the estate sale . . . 

I’m leaving explicit instructions on a piece of paper in my comic box about what they need to do in case I go. The hulk 181 is to be kept in the family forever

[Supraman16]

11 hours ago, divad said:

 

You might reconsider. Perhaps optimize the sale for them and give them an IRA or a 329 account. You might get hit by a truck, and they set them out at the estate sale . . . 

IRA's, 529's, and stocks are good investments...I got all three already.  But comics are less volatile and at times appreciate much more than stocks.  Diversification is key, but holding onto some key comics, such as Hulk 181, that will never be reproduced and only keep going up in demand is even smarter. 

[valiantman]

56 minutes ago, Supraman16 said:

Diversification is key, but holding onto some key comics, such as Hulk 181, that will never be reproduced and only keep going up in demand is even smarter. 

Interesting... people always talk about how new real estate has a limited supply, and with more people being born all the time, the amount of space is going to get tighter.  It's interesting to consider what we're all supposed to do with limited space for our property and assets. The long term potential for a comic like Hulk #181 is probably better than the long term potential for a Victorian piece of furniture of the same value, if for no other reason, because the comic takes up less space. 

[divad]

9 hours ago, Supraman16 said:

IRA's, 529's, and stocks are good investments...I got all three already.  But comics are less volatile and at times appreciate much more than stocks.  Diversification is key, but holding onto some key comics, such as Hulk 181, that will never be reproduced and only keep going up in demand is even smarter. 

My point only is that they may not be able to realize the same return if they are relatively uninformed. Happens every day. (See, Edgar Church Collection.)

Edited May 26, 2018 by divad

[divad]

7 hours ago, jason4 said:

I’m leaving explicit instructions on a piece of paper in my comic box about what they need to do in case I go. The hulk 181 is to be kept in the family forever

You're leaving your will in a comic box???

[jason4]

2 hours ago, divad said:

You're leaving your will in a comic box???

For now lol. Only 34 years old so let’s hope it’s not needed. Comics all I really have at this point. 

[Supraman16]

11 hours ago, valiantman said:

Interesting... people always talk about how new real estate has a limited supply, and with more people being born all the time, the amount of space is going to get tighter.  It's interesting to consider what we're all supposed to do with limited space for our property and assets. The long term potential for a comic like Hulk #181 is probably better than the long term potential for a Victorian piece of furniture of the same value, if for no other reason, because the comic takes up less space. 

One of the best pieces of advice I've gotten in terms of building wealth is having income property...I'm working and saving towards that one day. The biggest downside is of course the hundreds of thousands dollars it takes to actually get a decent income property. In that context, high quality, in demand comics of key characters that will always be remembered and desired for years to come are much "cheaper". 

[kimik]

2 hours ago, Supraman16 said:

One of the best pieces of advice I've gotten in terms of building wealth is having income property...I'm working and saving towards that one day. The biggest downside is of course the hundreds of thousands dollars it takes to actually get a decent income property. In that context, high quality, in demand comics of key characters that will always be remembered and desired for years to come are much "cheaper". 

It depends. I have found that my equities portfolio outperforms the real estate we dabble in from time to time (my wife still swears by real estate even though the financial statements say otherwise  ). One big advantage of equities is that they are much more liquid than real estate - if you need to sell a property it may take months or even years in a down market. With equities, you can liquidate your position in seconds. From my experience, that is a huge differentiating factor between the asset classes. Heck, blue chip key comics are more liquid than real estate.

[Martin Sinescu]

20 hours ago, Supraman16 said:

IRA's, 529's, and stocks are good investments...I got all three already.  But comics are less volatile and at times appreciate much more than stocks.  Diversification is key, but holding onto some key comics, such as Hulk 181, that will never be reproduced and only keep going up in demand is even smarter. 

 Oh, wow. Not sure where you're getting that comics are "less volatile".... they're extreeeeemely volatile. The forum is bursting with threads of people rooster-strutting around because their book quadrupled in value overnight or weeping woefully because it sank like a rock and they're stuck with a limp set of pages no one wants. This is the kind of "bulletproof" thinking that has people jumping into comics with both feet and a wallet, but too many of us have been through massive dips (for single issues and for the market as a whole) to be so optimistic.

At least with stocks, as far as I know, they trade at a known value across platforms (whether rising or falling). I don't think you'll see IBM selling for $143 on the floor, but selling at $213 on e-trade and $330 on StockConnect (made that bit up). With comics, you can routinely have massive swings of 30/40/50% just based on the day or venue listed. I posted in another thread how earlier this week two books at the same grade (one step off in page quality) had a price disparity of around $550 on the bay and $950 on CLink within two days. What the...?!?! You can read through the last few weeks of this thread and see that there is a major difference between the record-setting BIN prices for IH 181 on f-bay, yet the auction listings on CLink still sell for a decent bit less (maybe around $1000 difference in 9.4). That's volatile.

The market can be manipulated, too. and it's not regulated in any way like traditional investments are. In the run-up to the first Disney Star Wars, #1 9.8's climbed drastically within a few months from just over $1000 to a peak of around $2400 IIRC. Many here said it was crazy -- the book had been stockpiled in high-grade and was way too prevalent in 9.8 to be worth that. BUT a few of those record sales on the way up to the peak were deliberate non-paying bidders as was pointed out through some great detective-work on these boards. Many don't read these boards and the effect of soaring prices still reverberated through the market, driving the prices to more than twice what they'd sold for the previous year. Now they're back around $1000, which is really a shame for the folks who bought in around $2000 thinking the sky was the limit.

We're in a fevered climate where many key issues are soaring in price daily and causing huge upswings across the board -- much of it is artificially driven by panic buying, and I'm guilty of this, too, or new money that thinks comics are "only going up in demand" -- as suddenly everyone has to get in on a book. While the comic market can mimic the stock market, remember, stocks are a purpose-built, real-world investment tool that are designed to represent stability over time while generally lacking the added emotional (read: unstable) value of comics. Yes, comic fans can be very fickle. Ask the Punisher. Or Iron Fist. The Inhumans. Lady Death. The entire Valiant universe. Even the unquestioned darling of the Modern Era, Walking Dead #1, has an "Is it crashing?!" thread which just started up. You can be red-hot one year, then a poorly-realized show, dropped movie, change in creative team, failed revival or just waning novelty can all cause a book's value to drop like a rock down a well. 

I'm glad you're at least insulated with these other investments and I do respect that you've sheltered your money responsibly. Hopefully this is just play money being invested in something more colorful and less bland than stocks, because your statement above seems very naive. The comic market has absolutely been through a Beanie Babies-like crash from which many saw no return and they were dark times, indeed. Ultimately, comics are a form of entertainment and are not cemented into the foundation of our economy like traditional investments. If they become passé again, these prices will be mocked with the same "what were they drinking?!" derision that many of us direct toward Hummel figurines. 

[G.A.tor]

This book stinks. Can’t give them away

[jhkunc]

So, what would a "VF" conditioned IH 181 w/ the whole page that has the MVS cut out be worth? (price range). I think it's different that ones where cut the sliver of where the MVS is cutout. Also, how would CGC and/or CBCS classify that if one were to grade it? Just trying to gauge some information prior to pursuing this book. I haven't been quoted a price yet. Wanted to be prepared before it happens. Thanks in advance for any information from you all.

 

[valiantman]

1 hour ago, jhkunc said:

So, what would a "VF" conditioned IH 181 w/ the whole page that has the MVS cut out be worth? (price range). I think it's different that ones where cut the sliver of where the MVS is cutout. Also, how would CGC and/or CBCS classify that if one were to grade it? Just trying to gauge some information prior to pursuing this book. I haven't been quoted a price yet. Wanted to be prepared before it happens. Thanks in advance for any information from you all.

 

I would guess $800 to $1,000.  It would get a Qualified (Green) label from CGC as an incomplete book.

[360racer]

Some red hot action happening here

https://www.pedigreecomics.com/auction/comic/061956/incredible-hulk-181-cgc-98-ow-w

[october]

A 5.5 sold this month for $2300. That's what 9.2s were going for four years ago. 

[Artboy99]

7 minutes ago, october said:

A 5.5 sold this month for $2300. That's what 9.2s were going for four years ago. 

or what 7.0-7.5's were going for in April.

[ADAMANTIUM]

8.0's were priced high to catch 9.2's and 7.0/ 7.5 followed suit, which explains why a 6.5 sold today for $2,500.... the 5.5 sold for $2,300, but was an auction.... so while I think hulk 181's demand is still very high, if you look there aren't really that many for sale on ebay. Other sites have met with eBay prices and sell just as well. 

Make of all that what you will

 

Edited June 15, 2018 by ADAMANTIUM

[STORMSHADOW_80]

8 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

8.0's were priced high to catch 9.2's and 7.0/ 7.5 followed suit, which explains why a 6.5 sold today for $2,500.... the 5.5 sold for $2,300, but was an auction.... so while I think hulk 181's demand is still very high, if you look there aren't really that many for sale on ebay. Other sites have met with eBay prices and sell just as well. 

Make of all that what you will

 

Wow there really isn't that many copies for sale anymore

[ADAMANTIUM]

3 minutes ago, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

Wow there really isn't that many copies for sale anymore

ya, if you look up incredible hulk 181, and even in "all categories" search, there are only 45 listings..... now that's  

either people are being priced out, holding their copies, are buying multiples and may be done, or all of the above  idk

Edited June 15, 2018 by ADAMANTIUM
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[blackbears86]

Does anyone here think issues #180, #182 have room to move with collectors being priced out of #181?  (especially issue #180?) 

[alexgross.com]

8 minutes ago, blackbears86 said:

Does anyone here think issues #180, #182 have room to move with collectors being priced out of #181?  (especially issue #180?) 

alot of people here think so, no question. but, despite 180 being his first appearance in one panel, 181 will still always be “the” wolverine book that everyone seeks out. can’t beat that cover!