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

[Kevin76]

53 minutes ago, rogue14 said:

Does anyone know why the prices have increased and the demand has spiked all of the sudden? Of course this is a key book and demand fluctuates just seems out of no where.

Well Disney buying Fox has something to do with in in case you have been living under a rock, Wolverine's return to comics as well as new collectors entering the market. Everyone who doesn't have wolverine's first appearance, wants it.  

[thedude]

2 hours ago, rogue14 said:

Dang, looks like I missed out on a deal.

 

every book I offer for sale is a deal.

especially a year or two after I've sold it.

[rogue14]

5 hours ago, Kevin76 said:

Well Disney buying Fox has something to do with in in case you have been living under a rock, Wolverine's return to comics as well as new collectors entering the market. Everyone who doesn't have wolverine's first appearance, wants it.  

Well, my rock is pretty cozy so what can I say. I also don’t understand the connection between Disney buying fox and how that relates. 

[Martin Sinescu]

1 hour ago, rogue14 said:

Well, my rock is pretty cozy so what can I say. I also don’t understand the connection between Disney buying fox and how that relates. 

I think it's verrryyyy long-term speculation. FF 48 blew up the same way with people assuming that the Surfer will be a lock for a *much* better version in the MCU. It may all come to pass, but I would imagine we're talking many years here.

[kimik]

It is not solely due to the Disney buying Fox hype. This book was starting to take off before that, along with a number of other BA keys. I think we are just seeing people start to chase BA keys now that SA is starting to get out of reach for some. You can buy a nice copy of IH 181 or HOS 92, or a CGC 9.4 of ASM 129 and GSX 1, for under $3K still. For a decent looking copy of any decent SA key you are looking at $5K+, or that is the bare minimum you need to snag a beater/coverless copy.

IH 181 is the Action1 or AF 15 of the BA. It will continue to run. I just hope prices pull back this fall a bit so I can load up on a few more copies for shows next spring. 

Edited July 5, 2018 by kimik

[ADAMANTIUM]

11 minutes ago, kimik said:

It is not solely due to the Disney buying Fox hype. This book was starting to take off before that, along with a number of other BA keys. I think we are just seeing people start to chase BA keys now that SA is starting to get out of reach for some. You can buy a nice copy of IH 181 or HOS 92, or a CGC 9.4 of ASM 129 and GSX 1, for under $3K still. For a decent looking copy of any decent SA key you are looking at $5K+, or that is the bare minimum you need to 

IH 181 is the Action1 or AF 15 of the BA. It will continue to run. I just hope prices pull back this fall a bit so I can load up on a few more copies for shows next spring. 

I still think it is fair to say with higher grades continuing to climb that it makes sense that lower's follow suit, but it seems as those "get out of 'reach'" people will call foul. It might correct a bit after that but slightly.

If enough people continue to buy at these current prices, those people if ever will want to be able to make their money back, given demand I can agree that will cause prices to increase as any other valued key book.

Edited July 5, 2018 by ADAMANTIUM

[rogue14]

43 minutes ago, kimik said:

It is not solely due to the Disney buying Fox hype. This book was starting to take off before that, along with a number of other BA keys. I think we are just seeing people start to chase BA keys now that SA is starting to get out of reach for some. You can buy a nice copy of IH 181 or HOS 92, or a CGC 9.4 of ASM 129 and GSX 1, for under $3K still. For a decent looking copy of any decent SA key you are looking at $5K+, or that is the bare minimum you need to 

IH 181 is the Action1 or AF 15 of the BA. It will continue to run. I just hope prices pull back this fall a bit so I can load up on a few more copies for shows next spring. 

I’m also hoping that the prices start to drop. I’m on the hunt for a graded 7.0-9.0 copy. Just not willing to risk being able to put food on the table for it. 

[Chaos_in_Canada]

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 6:46 AM, namisgr said:

Bought my copy in 1974.     

Bought my copy back in 1981 for a whopping $15.00 which at the time was 3 X guide which I overpaid.

The Overstreet in 1981 had the book listed for $5.25 in mint and Hulk 180 was listed for more at $12.00.

The book itself was not mint by definition but at today prices I cannot complain, I had it slabbed it came back 9.2 wp

 

Edited September 29, 2018 by Chaos_in_Canada

[360racer]

The reason why this book is spiking is because people like me, that grew up on Wolverine can now afford to pay sky high prices. Like AF15 and Spider-Man, Wolverine is the modern day large character, quite possibly the largest. If you ask me, I say that both Spider-Man and Wolverine are the most important Marvel characters, end of story. If you can’t get your hands on AF15, then you’d want to buy a Hulk 181. Personally, I’ve now collected every Wolverine book in 9.8 and now I’m trying to fulfil my Spider-Man dreams, but I know that I’ll have to spend a lot more. It took me 6 years but it was doable. 

Edited July 6, 2018 by 360racer

[RockMyAmadeus]

6 hours ago, Chaos_in_Canada said:

The book itself was not mint by definition but at today prices I cannot complain, I had it slabbed it came back 9.2 wp

For a book bought from a dealer in 1981, to then grade 9.2 decades later...that's pretty amazing.

Most such "mint" books grade in the 6.0-7.5 range. 

Edited July 6, 2018 by RockMyAmadeus

[Chillax23]

I agree it is a monster book and the king Bronze Age book - but is no one concerned that people hoard this book and have 8-10 copies sometime (and maybe more) ?

i think some of the gains in value are legitimate but when a 7.0 has a $2,100 90 day and then a copy pops for $2,600 that seems like speculation and possibly market manipulation. 25% gains in anything overnight seem concerning to me. So is the next 7.0 going to be $3k? I would imagine it is not hard to manipulate GPA especially on hot books - I would just worry if I am the one paying 25% over FMV

[mattn792]

2 hours ago, Chillax23 said:

I agree it is a monster book and the king Bronze Age book - but is no one concerned that people hoard this book and have 8-10 copies sometime (and maybe more) ?

i think some of the gains in value are legitimate but when a 7.0 has a $2,100 90 day and then a copy pops for $2,600 that seems like speculation and possibly market manipulation. 25% gains in anything overnight seem concerning to me. So is the next 7.0 going to be $3k? I would imagine it is not hard to manipulate GPA especially on hot books - I would just worry if I am the one paying 25% over FMV

One thing to remember with eBay sales -- discounts and rewards.  I bought a 9.2 at the end of March for a $4600 best offer.  However, I also got $100 off with one of those wonderful eBay coupons, and another 2% back from my credit card.  So in reality, I was actually into the book a shade over $4400.  Plus I got some eBay bucks out of the transaction as well. 

Incidentally the book sold on consignment for $5800 earlier this week.  I've dabbled in the price wave since late 2016 with a handful of copies, and I'm still astounded by the ongoing price appreciation.

[rckstr1253]

On 7/4/2018 at 5:10 PM, Kevin76 said:

Make more money, sell off what you can live without

Doing my best on that.  I might settle for green or purple label at this point

[rckstr1253]

Do you guys think come winter time a 5.0 will be slightly lower than the current going rate...maybe around $1500?

[mattn792]

19 minutes ago, rckstr1253 said:

Do you guys think come winter time a 5.0 will be slightly lower than the current going rate...maybe around $1500?

Based on current price trends, I'd say not a chance.  The market is probably going to plateau at some point, but demand for the book is so high at the moment that a downward correction in pricing doesn't seem to be in the works any time soon.

33 minutes ago, rckstr1253 said:

Doing my best on that.  I might settle for green or purple label at this point

DO NOT SETTLE for a non-blue/yellow label book.

[rogue14]

3 hours ago, rckstr1253 said:

Doing my best on that.  I might settle for green or purple label at this point

Feel like I’m in the same boat. Would love a blue label. Prices at the moment are out of my reach though.

Lowest cgc offer I’ve had is 3100 for a 7.5. Don’t know if that’s good or not but still too high for me.

does anyone know how often gpa is updated?

[rckstr1253]

2 hours ago, rogue14 said:

Feel like I’m in the same boat. Would love a blue label. Prices at the moment are out of my reach though.

Lowest cgc offer I’ve had is 3100 for a 7.5. Don’t know if that’s good or not but still too high for me.

does anyone know how often gpa is updated?

Yea it totally sucks......i actually had plans to get a coppy by august but with the price jump from after the price they were going for in january, is insane.  How could demand increase that much over 3 momth period than say over a year or longer.

[Chillax23]

37 minutes ago, rckstr1253 said:

Yea it totally sucks......i actually had plans to get a coppy by august but with the price jump from after the price they were going for in january, is insane.  How could demand increase that much over 3 momth period than say over a year or longer.

It is a combination of demand + speculation.

With the speculation linked to the Disney/Fox merger. Same thing is happening with FF48 and FF49 and X-Men 1  

All great books with great characters and large fanbases - so while there is certainty demand, I think there is a ton of speculation. 

[shane1956]

In the past two weeks there have been two Ebay sales of Hulk 181 in 9.2 . The first $6200 U.S and the second $6400 U.S. Sure there may be some speculation but really Wolverine is a top 3 Marvel character . That's been the case for well over 20 years. Although this book isn't as rare as say and AF #15 it's a fair price to pay to get a top three character is such high demand. As I said before the money is there and people are able to spend it. 

I'm not surprised at all with the princes. In fact I would be surprised if it didn't continue to climb. 

 

[Chillax23]

1 hour ago, shane1956 said:

In the past two weeks there have been two Ebay sales of Hulk 181 in 9.2 . The first $6200 U.S and the second $6400 U.S. Sure there may be some speculation but really Wolverine is a top 3 Marvel character . That's been the case for well over 20 years. Although this book isn't as rare as say and AF #15 it's a fair price to pay to get a top three character is such high demand. As I said before the money is there and people are able to spend it. 

I'm not surprised at all with the princes. In fact I would be surprised if it didn't continue to climb. 

 

I agree that Wolverine is a top 3 Marvel character and that it is a huge book. However the spike in price is too much and too quick not to be speculation based. Plus it corresponds with the run up in FF keys and X-Men 1 which happens to be timed to the Fox/Disney news. 

What was the price of a 9.2 copy before the Fox/Disney announcement?  

Look what has happened to FF48 and FF5 and XM1 since the announcement - seems similar .....