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Incredible Hulk #181 - is it *that* red-hot?
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1,931 posts in this topic

56 minutes ago, mattn792 said:

It was also the highest graded copy in that particular auction, plus the 8.0 and 8.5 copies went for about $500 above their recent averages.  181 had a huge upswing from 2016-2018 (I think, I might be off by a year), this could be the start of another.  Or its just an outlier.  We'll see.

Anyway you slice it, it's a huge jump vs other recent sales.

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:bump:

Wow, I guess the answer to the question posed in the title of this thread here is that it must be pretty cold since it's been almost 3 whole long months since the last post in this thread.  :devil:

Nevertheless, any thoughts on this sale of Hulk 181 for $47,500 in Wednesday's CC auction:  hm

https://www.comicconnect.com/item/897304

inc1.9776_3.jpg

Personally, I thought it was a pretty strong price for a CGC 9.8 graded copy, especially considering the rather clearly visible off-center white line at the spine which is kind of a visible eye sore to me.  :p  (shrug)

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48 minutes ago, lou_fine said:

any thoughts on this sale of Hulk 181 for $47,500 in Wednesday's CC auction:  hm

https://www.comicconnect.com/item/897304

inc1.9776_3.jpg

Personally, I thought it was a pretty strong price for a CGC 9.8 graded copy, especially considering the rather clearly visible off-center white line at the spine which is kind of a visible eye sore to me.  :p  (shrug)

Nice investment of $35 or whatever CC is charging for their Official QES sticker of visual approval.

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2 hours ago, aardvark88 said:

Nice investment of $35 or whatever CC is charging for their Official QES sticker of visual approval.

Well, the one advantage of the QES sticker over the CVA Exceptional sticker is that it specifies the exact criteria that made the book qualified for the sticker in the first place.  It's almost like getting the CGC grading notes for free when you see a slabbed book certified by CGC.  (thumbsu

Based upon this one here, I would most definitely disagree with their assessment as to the "beautiful spine" as I see it more as a fugly spine from my own point of view.  To each their own, I would imagine, but to me this one here is more like:  :p  O.o

Whereas the CVA Exceptional sticker is just a generic sticker, at least the QES sticker gives you a list of the criteria met and hence always good to go for the ones with the deep colors and perfect edging from my own point of view.  Especially since these books that meet certain of the QES criteria might just be the best candidate for a potential upgrade.  hm  :wishluck:

 

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2 hours ago, mattn792 said:

Proof positive that QES is defined as Quietly Exploiting Suckers.  That spine cut isn't the worst I've ever seen, but on a 9.8 it should certainly disqualify that particular book from being held up as an example of top of the heap eye appeal.

I am sure that these QES and CVA Exceptional stickers are really targeted towards the CGC label collectors who have overdosed themselves on the CGC Kool-Aid and are more than ecstatic to pay multiples more for a CGC 9.8 graded copy of a book, as opposed to a CGC 9.6 graded copy of the exact same book.  hm  

Especially since the overwhelming majority of them couldn't tell the difference between the 2 books without the label, even if their lives depended upon it.  :devil:

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1 minute ago, lou_fine said:

I am sure that these QES and CVA Exceptional stickers are really targeted towards the CGC label collectors who have overdosed themselves on the CGC Kool-Aid and are more than ecstatic to pay multiples more for a CGC 9.8 graded copy of a book, as opposed to a CGC 9.6 graded copy of the exact same book.  hm  

Especially since the overwhelming majority of them couldn't tell the difference between the 2 books without the label, even if their lives depended upon it.  :devil:

Oh absolutely, and in all honestly, I have no idea why I expect either company to pretend they're operating with integrity.  Pay money, get smiley face is what it comes down to with both of them.

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Hmmnn I think I'd have to question the QES designation on that particular copy. The idea is not totally without merit considering the wiggle room in grading from CGC. It doesn't seem like the sticker had much impact on the final hammer price however so maybe people were dismissing it this case. 47.5k is solid but not pushing the envelope for a 9.8. That being said its still beautiful and I'd take in a heartbeat. 

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12 hours ago, blowout said:

45K for a mis wrap?

 

A mis stake on the part of the buyer I would say.

I would say so, yes. My criteria is no white landing strips on 9.8 books that I am willing to pay 10's of thousands for.

The whole IH 181 thing is like mob mentality. There is nothing rare about them. There are 126 9.8's in existence. Gives us an idea how many lower graded books there are as well. There are only 9 Batman 227's in 9.8. I wouldn't dare buy IH 181 in such high grade. Not sure I could get my money back if I needed to. One sucker buys a 9.8 for almost 50 thow. Ok. Doesn't make them all worth $50k. Just one dude who has more money than sense.

I hope for a lot of peoples sake Wolvie suddenly doesn't hold the public's attention anymore. When that book softens, it's going to soften hard for a lot of people. Like Green Lantern 76 did. People were buying that book in 9.6 for $30k not all that long ago. I could get one for $9k now. That's a big drop. The auction houses, GCG with their little stickers and Metropolis are laughing all the way to the bank.

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High grade sales of GL 76 make 9.6 sales of ASM 14 look like a daily occurrence.

I take nothing from the occasional freak sales as "lesson learners".

12 years ago, someone who values $54K way less than I do paid that for a 9.6 ASM 14.

Who cares? There are always sales to people that make no sense to most everyone else.

It took 12 years before a 9.8 Batman 227 sale at $13K in 2009, didn't look ridiculous next to all of the sales after it.

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