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

[SerialGrape]

Reading this thread and looking at the prices of these books is heartbreaking for me haha.

Hulk 181 has always been my absolute grail book and to see it reach heights like this with no sign of slowing is a bit of a killer. Just came about at the wrong time as I've got my wedding and honeymoon to pay for or I'd be jumping on a lower grade copy with no hesitation. When I started collecting I thought it was crazy what this book went for (as well as being worse off financially) and I thought I'd grab it in a few years time.

It's getting further out of reach for average joes and my fear is that by the time I can afford to throw some cash at it, it's going to be far gone

That said, congrats to anyone that jumped in at the right time and has made a nice profit, it's both awesome and gut wrenching to see this book get its dues.

Edited July 28, 2018 by SerialGrape
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[jason4]

2 hours ago, SerialGrape said:

Reading this thread and looking at the prices of these books is heartbreaking for me haha.

Hulk 181 has always been my absolute grail book and to see it reach heights like this with no sign of slowing is a bit of a killer. Just came about at the wrong time as I've got my wedding and honeymoon to pay for or I'd be jumping on a lower grade copy with no hesitation. When I started collecting I thought it was crazy what this book went for (as well as being worse off financially) and I thought I'd grab it in a few years time.

It's getting further out of reach for average joes and my fear is that by the time I can afford to throw some cash at it, it's going to be far gone

That said, congrats to anyone that jumped in at the right time and has made a nice profit, it's both awesome and gut wrenching to see this book get its dues.

If you can get in even at a low grade someday at least you’re in. Then when it rises in value more so does yours and you can sell it to upgrade without having the gap widen more. Good luck hope you get one

 

[wolviefrk]

On 7/8/2018 at 12:48 PM, mattn792 said:

I wonder how many books might be counted multiple times within the census though due to pressings & yellow labels?  All it takes is for a book to be re-subbed without its original label, or for CGC to receive the label but not remove it from the census?

A buddy of mine never turned in his tags when he cracked and pressed books

 

[shane1956]

Just thought back to something I posted on the boards late September 2017 :

"You never really know but by the way it's been going I can see 9.2's hitting $10,000 at some point." 

I'm convinced this will be the reality sooner rather than later. Mark it down, I'm saying it hits 10 K U.S no later than May 1, 2019. 

Who knows, but personally I would be betting heavy on that fact . Before the speculation comments come out I will say that when it comes to Wolverine , his popularity, and being a main pillar of the Marvel Universe there is no speculation when it comes to demand for this character and first appearance. Let's face it , even with the low census numbers and latest blockbuster movie Black Panther has been a fraction of Wolverine's popularity over the past 30 years. Given that fact and balancing of popularity vs census numbers I think if FF 52 9.2 is a 10K book , Hulk 181 9.2 is an obvious 10K book as well. 

Also, before the "bubble bursting" comments come out I say this ; if it bursts for Hulk 181 it's going to take the entire Bronze age down with it .Wolverine is the Bronze age king and collectors know this .  It's not unreasonable that Hulk 181 should sit steadily at 4 X the value of B or C listers like Moon Knight . ( I like Moon Knight but really there is no comparison in overall exposure and recognition) .

Comments and criticisms are welcome but get ready for the 10K reality. 

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2018 by shane1956

[s14roller]

All I know is, I have some keeper copies that I have held onto, but sold a 5.5, 2 (7.0s), and a 8.0 which I wish I had not!  I'm sure many of us are saying the same thing.  Alas. 

[Bomber-Bob]

43 minutes ago, shane1956 said:

"You never really know but by the way it's been going I can see 9.2's hitting $10,000 at some point." 

I'm convinced this will be the reality sooner rather than later. Mark it down, I'm saying it hits 10 K U.S no later than May 1, 2019. 

 

You may be right. Besides the quality of the character and the book itself, I think there are other factors in play with this huge run up. First off, it is fun to own a book that is on the rise. People want to participate in this. Many watched the similar run up with AF15 but were simply not able to participate. Perhaps Hulk #181 is the 'poor' man's AF15 . It's a bigger party and more people are invited. Also, I don't see many people selling their copies either. Usually people want to cash in on their financial gains but they are holding back. You could tell AF15 was losing it's legs when people starting selling (and bragging about it). When you start to see multiple copies listed on dealer's sites and put into auction, that's when the party is over.  Also watch the WTB threads. The WTB threads is a great indicator for demand. I'm not seeing any danger signs. I think this book has legs, very long legs too. 

BTW, as AF15 started to get out of range for many, they turned to owning an ASM1. Most buyers of ASM1 did not own an AF15. We are now seeing demand for Hulk 180. I think this demand is different because owners of #181 also want to own #180. It's not one or the other but BOTH. It's all good.

[MGsimba77]

5 hours ago, Bomber-Bob said:

You may be right. Besides the quality of the character and the book itself, I think there are other factors in play with this huge run up. First off, it is fun to own a book that is on the rise. People want to participate in this. Many watched the similar run up with AF15 but were simply not able to participate. Perhaps Hulk #181 is the 'poor' man's AF15 . It's a bigger party and more people are invited. Also, I don't see many people selling their copies either. Usually people want to cash in on their financial gains but they are holding back. You could tell AF15 was losing it's legs when people starting selling (and bragging about it). When you start to see multiple copies listed on dealer's sites and put into auction, that's when the party is over.  Also watch the WTB threads. The WTB threads is a great indicator for demand. I'm not seeing any danger signs. I think this book has legs, very long legs too. 

BTW, as AF15 started to get out of range for many, they turned to owning an ASM1. Most buyers of ASM1 did not own an AF15. We are now seeing demand for Hulk 180. I think this demand is different because owners of #181 also want to own #180. It's not one or the other but BOTH. It's all good.

The last #180 9.8 sale was very recent for 6,800. That was the 3rd highest ever on GPA. There was also a 9.8 Suscha news copy in February for 6,400. My recent purchase was in that neighborhood of 6400 but was a private transaction so no GPA. It's definitely moving!

I think most other grades of 180 are trending up as well

[Bomber-Bob]

2 hours ago, MGsimba77 said:

The last #180 9.8 sale was very recent for 6,800. That was the 3rd highest ever on GPA. There was also a 9.8 Suscha news copy in February for 6,400. My recent purchase was in that neighborhood of 6400 but was a private transaction so no GPA. It's definitely moving!

I think most other grades of 180 are trending up as well

Yes, you have the whole trilogy ! Your situation backs my point that 180 is in demand because 181 owners want both, even all three for the complete trilogy.

[mattn792]

2 hours ago, MGsimba77 said:

The last #180 9.8 sale was very recent for 6,800. That was the 3rd highest ever on GPA. There was also a 9.8 Suscha news copy in February for 6,400. My recent purchase was in that neighborhood of 6400 but was a private transaction so no GPA. It's definitely moving!

I think most other grades of 180 are trending up as well

There are fewer 9.8 copies of 180 by a factor of three when compared to 181 as well.  I’m glad I bought mine last summer.

[MGsimba77]

1 hour ago, Bomber-Bob said:

Yes, you have the whole trilogy ! Your situation backs my point that 180 is in demand because 181 owners want both, even all three for the complete trilogy.

When the bug bites it really bites!

[kimik]

I would not be worried about Hulk 181 being in a bubble, or any other BA key for that matter. Based on what I am seeing at shows, collectors are buying lower value SA keys and the big BA keys because they are relatively more affordable than the better SA Marvel keys. We saw the run up in GA then SA and now it is BA’s turn. Hulk 181 is the top BA book, so paying $10k for a 9.4 is not a stretch when that same dollar only gets you a very beat up copy of AF 15 with hopefully most of the front cover still there. Books like ASM 129, GSX 1, HOS 92, Batman 232, etc are all dirt cheap in 9.4 relative to their SA peers. Now is the time to lock them in.

[lou_fine]

17 hours ago, Bomber-Bob said:

Yes, you have the whole trilogy ! Your situation backs my point that 180 is in demand because 181 owners want both, even all three for the complete trilogy.

Yes indeed, as I clearly remember picking up the Hulk 181 first even though that was the most money I had ever paid for a BA at the time.  Too hard to resist as it was up there all nice and shiny as a wall display at a dealer's table at one of the locals cons I had gone to back then.  Clearly remembered that the dealer wouldn't back down on the price, but now it looks like it all worked out in the end anyways.  

Picked up the Hulk 180 after that and then begrudgingly picking up the 182 even though I had no real interest in it, but just wanted to finished off the trilogy.  The only other Hulk's I picked up in the 100 series was the couple of issues in the high 170's when Warlock was hot.  Don't believe I bothered with the Hulk 102 because it just seem like an odd issue number at the time , as compared to the Cap 100 and the wonderful and beautifully crafted Silver Surfer 1 to 6 square bound run which I did keep.  

Edited July 30, 2018 by lou_fine

[JTD]

I have a 9.2 181white pager that I bought from Lone Star Comics in 1984...it was marked as VF+...I always wanted a nice 180...2 years ago I bought a 9.4 white pager off these boards for $800 and thought it was a little high...looking back, glad I did...just checked eBay and the top 4 or 5 listings have BIN over $2000 for a 9.4...the high sale recently being $1795...

Edited July 30, 2018 by JTD

[Bomber-Bob]

7 hours ago, JTD said:

I have a 9.2 181white pager that I bought from Lone Star Comics in 1984...it was marked as VF+...I always wanted a nice 180...2 years ago I bought a 9.4 white pager off these boards for $800 and thought it was a little high...looking back, glad I did...just checked eBay and the top 4 or 5 listings have BIN over $2000 for a 9.4...the high sale recently being $1795...

But the new problem you now have is an upgrade of your #181 to match the #180 .  

[JTD]

30 minutes ago, Bomber-Bob said:

But the new problem you now have is an upgrade of your #181 to match the #180 .  

Yep...if I could sell mine for $6k, I would still have to come up with $4k more...5x more than my biggest single comic purchase, which was the 180...maybe someday...

 

 

[Bomber-Bob]

39 minutes ago, JTD said:

Yep...if I could sell mine for $6k, I would still have to come up with $4k more...5x more than my biggest single comic purchase, which was the 180...maybe someday...

 

 

I'm not advocating anything but I have to comment that some of my biggest wins in comic collecting have come from occasionally spending more than my normal limits.

[lou_fine]

3 hours ago, Bomber-Bob said:

I'm not advocating anything but I have to comment that some of my biggest wins in comic collecting have come from occasionally spending more than my normal limits.

And unfortunately, the opposite is also true.

Some of my biggest missed opportunities is not willing to step up to the plate and spending more than my normal limits. 

[Kevin76]

4 hours ago, lou_fine said:

And unfortunately, the opposite is also true.

Some of my biggest missed opportunities is not willing to step up to the plate and spending more than my normal limits. 

A lot of people are like that. I'm an aggressive buyer when I want something bad enough or if I believe it has potential, it's mind blowing when a buyer refuses to throw in an extra $100 or so to get what they want. I see it on comiclink all the time.  Buy price $5000  Offer price $4900.  a year later same book, same grade  Buy Price $8000.  

[Lundon44]

Man, reading this thread and seeing what's going on with this book right now is both exciting and heart breaking. On one hand it's amazing to see on of the books I love most becoming one of the most coveted books to own today. But on the other hand, if I had just held on to my 9.2 a few weeks more I could've potentially made another $4000CAD! Jeez! I literally sold mine off in mid May for FMV which was about $5000 US at that moment. I even had low ballers offering me $4000 and $4500US. My sole purpose to selling it was in hopes to upgrade it for a better grade. I've literally spent almost the last 8 yrs upgrading my 181's in hopes to one day own a 9.8.

My original copy was a raw VF+ to NM- copy. I sent it away for sigs and slabbing and it came back better than one could have expected with Herb Trimpe, John Romita, Stan Lee and Len Wein's signatures on it. Plus even a cool Wolverine and Wendigo face remark by Herb Trimpe. Sadly, the grade got knocked down to a 7.5 white pages because Stan got some silver marker on his hand and it smeared a tiny bit on Wolvie's face. I was happy but devastated by the grade. 

I sold it a year later for $1000CAD. Took that money and bought a 9.0. About 3 summers ago I came across a 9.2 white pager at my local Fan Expo and the guy let me trade up for $800 CAD. A year later I cracked it and pressed it hoping to squeeze some extra juice out of it. Came back a 9.2 but lost the white pages 

Then it was this past mid May I sold my 9.2 in hopes again to upgrade to a 9.4. Clearly, I picked the absolute worst time to sell and left a lot of cash on the table. I was stuck for a bit and was desperate to even find another 9.2 to replace mine but prices were soaring by this point. A few weeks ago a friend jokingly came across a stunning 9.6 white pager and told me to take a look. He said he knew the guy and he'd take $10.5k US. This guy had grails on grails. Clearly money was of no importance to him lol. I messaged the guy just for fun to see if we could work out an offer. He was super nice. I offered him $8500US plus my Iron Man #55 9.4. He agreed. So I spent the last few weeks selling off some modern slabs I no longer cared about, took my sale cash from my 9.2, packed up my Iron Man and now my shiny new 9.6 is in transit to me. I honestly never thought after all these years I would ever own this book especially a 9.6. I know I picked a horrible time to pay, and this whole experience was full of ups and downs, but it was well worth the time and stress. Mind you I really wanted a 9.8 all those years ago. But now that grade it probably unattainable lol.  

Everyone with their own copies or looking for one.. just enjoy the ride!

[rogue14]

2 hours ago, Lundon44 said:

Man, reading this thread and seeing what's going on with this book right now is both exciting and heart breaking. On one hand it's amazing to see on of the books I love most becoming one of the most coveted books to own today. But on the other hand, if I had just held on to my 9.2 a few weeks more I could've potentially made another $4000CAD! Jeez! I literally sold mine off in mid May for FMV which was about $5000 US at that moment. I even had low ballers offering me $4000 and $4500US. My sole purpose to selling it was in hopes to upgrade it for a better grade. I've literally spent almost the last 8 yrs upgrading my 181's in hopes to one day own a 9.8.

My original copy was a raw VF+ to NM- copy. I sent it away for sigs and slabbing and it came back better than one could have expected with Herb Trimpe, John Romita, Stan Lee and Len Wein's signatures on it. Plus even a cool Wolverine and Wendigo face remark by Herb Trimpe. Sadly, the grade got knocked down to a 7.5 white pages because Stan got some silver marker on his hand and it smeared a tiny bit on Wolvie's face. I was happy but devastated by the grade. 

I sold it a year later for $1000CAD. Took that money and bought a 9.0. About 3 summers ago I came across a 9.2 white pager at my local Fan Expo and the guy let me trade up for $800 CAD. A year later I cracked it and pressed it hoping to squeeze some extra juice out of it. Came back a 9.2 but lost the white pages 

Then it was this past mid May I sold my 9.2 in hopes again to upgrade to a 9.4. Clearly, I picked the absolute worst time to sell and left a lot of cash on the table. I was stuck for a bit and was desperate to even find another 9.2 to replace mine but prices were soaring by this point. A few weeks ago a friend jokingly came across a stunning 9.6 white pager and told me to take a look. He said he knew the guy and he'd take $10.5k US. This guy had grails on grails. Clearly money was of no importance to him lol. I messaged the guy just for fun to see if we could work out an offer. He was super nice. I offered him $8500US plus my Iron Man #55 9.4. He agreed. So I spent the last few weeks selling off some modern slabs I no longer cared about, took my sale cash from my 9.2, packed up my Iron Man and now my shiny new 9.6 is in transit to me. I honestly never thought after all these years I would ever own this book especially a 9.6. I know I picked a horrible time to pay, and this whole experience was full of ups and downs, but it was well worth the time and stress. Mind you I really wanted a 9.8 all those years ago. But now that grade it probably unattainable lol.  

Everyone with their own copies or looking for one.. just enjoy the ride!

Wow!! Great books!

Every time I see a post with multiple copies I’m amazed and a bit disappointed that I didn’t get a few myself when prices were more within reach.