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Incredible Hulk #181 - is it *that* red-hot?
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Started by Getoutandstayout,

1,931 posts in this topic

Poekaymon

Poekaymon

Posted
Posted (edited)

My issue with all the "things are crazy, the sky is falling, crash incoming!" type posts we seem to be bombarded with incessantly these days is not necessarily that they are wrong--they could very well be 100% correct, but that sentiment is primarily precipitated by quadruple and quintuple eyewatering gains in all sorts of seemingly random books (and the recent card craze), and then that sentiment gets applied to the mega keys which haven't gone up nearly as much, as in this thread.  But, comrades, there are way, way worse things to worry about first, and you have lots of canaries in your coal mine before it comes for H181.

So if Star Wars #1 goes back to 2k (last sale $7k), and NM 98 goes back to 900 (last sale $2500), and ASM 238 goes back to $1k (last sale $2600), and Ultimate Fallout #4 goes back to $500 (last sale $2900), and X-Men 1991 #4 goes back to $100 (last sale $400), and ASM 252 goes back to $500 (last sale $2250), and ASM 361 goes back to $500 (last sale $1400) [and that's just off the top of my head--then we have whole swaths of Turtles, Star Wars, variants, Knull, etc etc that is even grosser], after all that, then we can talk about the broader industry correction and the effect it might have on stuff like AF15, FF48, H181, X-Men #1, etc.  (Though I might argue that people would retreat to mega keys rather than abandon the hobby altogether so that might help prop up the megas. But that's for next time.)  

Edited by Poekaymon
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ghn999

ghn999

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On 3/22/2021 at 9:41 PM, Pantodude said:

Actually, do you know if it faded after it was graded, or is this a recent slab or CGC otherwise graded it with the same amount of fading?   It seems to me that, the fading aside, the book looks real nice....like 5.0 or more nice, which suggests that CGC already downgraded it for the fading.   If so, you should be okay selling it as a 3.5.   

The hulk 181 was already faded when i sent it in. 

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alexgross.com

alexgross.com

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On 3/23/2021 at 8:25 PM, Poekaymon said:

My issue with all the "things are crazy, the sky is falling, crash incoming!" type posts we seem to be bombarded with incessantly these days is not necessarily that they are wrong--they could very well be 100% correct, but that sentiment is primarily precipitated by quadruple and quintuple eyewatering gains in all sorts of seemingly random books (and the recent card craze), and then that sentiment gets applied to the mega keys which haven't gone up nearly as much, as in this thread.  But, comrades, there are way, way worse things to worry about first, and you have lots of canaries in your coal mine before it comes for H181.

So if Star Wars #1 goes back to 2k (last sale $7k), and NM 98 goes back to 900 (last sale $2500), and ASM 238 goes back to $1k (last sale $2600), and Ultimate Fallout #4 goes back to $500 (last sale $2900), and X-Men 1991 #4 goes back to $100 (last sale $400), and ASM 252 goes back to $500 (last sale $2250), and ASM 361 goes back to $500 (last sale $1400) [and that's just off the top of my head--then we have whole swaths of Turtles, Star Wars, variants, Knull, etc etc that is even grosser], after all that, then we can talk about the broader industry correction and the effect it might have on stuff like AF15, FF48, H181, X-Men #1, etc.  (Though I might argue that people would retreat to mega keys rather than abandon the hobby altogether so that might help prop up the megas. But that's for next time.)  

i agree with you for the most part. hulk181 is a mega key and is alot like the big SA keys. but it has been flying up in price the last 1-2 months in much the same way some other books have exploded, and in a way that's not consistent with previous reality. so, i think that's why it's often lumped in with the really crazy books that have appreciated 5x in a month. but it's easily up at least 100% in many grades and still going. long term it is still a top 5 book to own for investment value, if not for the coolness factor. 

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Vince G

Vince G

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Posted
10 hours ago, Bludriver said:

This sudden spike in prices has me worried. Just too many crazy prices across the board. If there is any Bronze Age book that deserves it is Hulk 181 but leaps like this scare me. I have never seen anything like this in this hobby.

 

Many of us have never seen anything like this and yes, that worries me also.  

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Pantodude

Pantodude

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I'm not worried about it so much anymore.  It is becoming clearer that we are dealing with well-heeled collector crossover (from sports card trading hobby), and the few that have spoken about it describe it as a natural progression.  That gives me some comfort because they already have the collecting gene, and even if they didnt and just invested in books, they already have a history of investing in a hobby like ours in some respects and helping it grow. 

Regardless, i firmly believe that a well-heeled collector, once involved in the comic book hobby, is unlikely to ever leave this hobby.  Why would they?   I barely have any money and I can't pull away.  :)  And our hobby is not only inherently deeper/richer than sports or trading cards, interest and confidence in the hobby is very visibly fanned by Disney/Marvel, the most successful movie/show creators and developers of all time, with the promise of much more to come for decades.  And of course DC is also gearing up to do a lot more, too.  Consequently, I expect that even the most investment-minded collectors would love to remain in the hobby, with the joy of collecting comic books an added bonus.   

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Albert Thurgood

Albert Thurgood

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Regarding the high prices lately... with the insane contracts being awarded to sports stars, you only need a few of them to continue their interest in comics and they would be able to easily afford these very high prices for keys.

At a more modest level, the same could be true for people working for high-paying tech companies... there is an ebayer in the Bay area that has displays of a lot of high end books.

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Poekaymon

Poekaymon

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6 hours ago, DTM700 said:

A 9.2 and 9.0 went for 15k and 13k respectively last night on CLink. Wowzers!

Maybe I'm just used to the market, but I don't find those numbers particularly surprising.  Especially not when we have stuff like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/274720529818 and this https://www.ebay.com/itm/174653655749 

 

 

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DTM700

DTM700

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5 minutes ago, Poekaymon said:

Maybe I'm just used to the market, but I don't find those numbers particularly surprising.  Especially not when we have stuff like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/274720529818 and this https://www.ebay.com/itm/174653655749 

 

 

It does me. This was a 6k - 7k book just a few months ago; with no news of a movie/tv show reboot that I’m aware of the run up seems unwarranted. But I guess you could say that at just about any key in any age with this market.

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Poekaymon

Poekaymon

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21 hours ago, Albert Thurgood said:

Regarding the high prices lately... with the insane contracts being awarded to sports stars, you only need a few of them to continue their interest in comics and they would be able to easily afford these very high prices for keys.

At a more modest level, the same could be true for people working for high-paying tech companies... there is an ebayer in the Bay area that has displays of a lot of high end books.

A lot of people gained a ton of disposable income last year, especially people who were collecting other things, like more traditional art.  We are also gaining billionaires at the highest rate in history.  And comics in general seem to be gaining acceptance/legitimacy, so other collectors are coming in.  For example, I sold some high end books a few months ago to a guy who had previously only collected coins and "shoes."  Didn't even know the latter was a thing, but suddenly he wanted a bunch of X-Men keys.  A lot of the people on this forum have been collecting comics for 40 years, day in and day out, and they may not really appreciate that comics have had a bit of a stigma as far as collectibles go.  I have clients who spend tens of millions of dollars on sculptures.  If those people decide they want comic collections, look out.

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Poekaymon

Poekaymon

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1 minute ago, DTM700 said:

It does me. This was a 6k - 7k book just a few months ago; with no news of a movie/tv show reboot that I’m aware of the run up seems unwarranted. But I guess you could say that at just about any key in any age with this market.

Exactly--an approximate doubling of value, for one of the highest profile books there is, is not whatsoever surprising in this market which has seen almost everything else, including random books, double or more.  For example, at the top of this page I list a bunch of lesser keys which have not only doubled, but have tripled or quadrupled in that time.  

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MGsimba77

MGsimba77

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6 minutes ago, Poekaymon said:

For example, I sold some high end books a few months ago to a guy who had previously only collected coins and "shoes."  Didn't even know the latter was a thing,

There's a show on one of the classic TV networks (MeTV) called collectors call. They had a show on this guy who collected sneakers like vintage Jordans stuff like that. He had so many all in their original box most valued easily in the thousands. Sneakers from the 80s up until recently, some were low production. Anyway you'd be surprised at how many people are into vintage Jordans! Its definitely a thing!

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ADAMANTIUM

ADAMANTIUM

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Posted (edited)

I've said it before....

People complain that movies are driving prices, and then when movies aren't the reason driving prices up, it's the same complaints....

Edited by ADAMANTIUM
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ADAMANTIUM

ADAMANTIUM

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16 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I've said it before....

People complain that movies are driving prices, and then when movies aren't the reason driving prices up, it's the same complaints....

On the other hand collectors and collectables are very near and dear, if I walked in and said I'd pay $10,000 for your hair, wouldnt you then look at me and question? Naaaaah .... wait really? Naaaaah, you're pulling my chain

200-1.gif

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