Crazy Run up on price than crash and burn. And I mean BURN! 3 3

[RockMyAmadeus]

4 minutes ago, FlyingDonut said:

Eff me! I do take that back! To the backstock, Robin!

(note, however, if you inflation adjust the dollars, the $100 Magnus in 1992 is now worth $180, whereas the $30 Magnus in 2018 would have cost you $17 in 1992, but still, $30 is more than $0).

You get a 9.8 mail away, and you're looking at a $400 book.

[RockMyAmadeus]

Ok, $250 book.

[James J Johnson]

14 minutes ago, FlyingDonut said:

Yes there is.

Just off the top of my head.

1. Fish Police 1
2. Elementals 1
3. Justice Machine Annual 1
4. Magnus Robot Fighter 12
5. Magnus Robot Fighter 0 with card
6. Harbinger 1
7. Superman 75
8. X-Factor 5
9. X-Factor 6
10. Witchblade 1

again, that's without thinking. Every single one of those books spiked and were selling for extremely high prices, and then dropped to being worthless before (in some cases) rebounding.

I have said this story before, but in 1992 I had a stack of Magnus 0s with card and was trading them for high grade Silver Age Marvels without price hesitation. That book is worthless now.

IMSM 1, Sub 1, IM 1 all never ballooned then crashed and burned. All three are still solid hobby staples. I don't even know how discussion of those 3 issues made it as a major part of a thread on books that ran up, then crashed and burned! 

[VintageComics]

On 5/24/2018 at 11:36 PM, grayzr said:

The show is a bust, that's why this book is going nowhere.

It's a sad world when comic book sales are defined by how television shows and movies do.

[VintageComics]

On 5/25/2018 at 11:56 AM, Vintage_Paper said:

Golden Age: high grade Marvel Comics #1 was tanking with every sale for several years before someone took them off the market.

Marvel #1 was a hot potato for a while because someone kept putting the same copies up for sale (with the Pay copy leading the charge and dying on the vine) around the late 2000's.

Since then you'd have trouble finding a copy as they've all disappeared.

 

[VintageComics]

On 5/25/2018 at 11:56 AM, Vintage_Paper said:

Atomic Age: high grade Mad #1 tanked as more Gaines copies were graded.

Didn't Mad #1 prices tank because a 9.9 got graded, which caused the 9.8's to drop in value (and possibly trickle down)?

[RockMyAmadeus]

1 hour ago, James J Johnson said:

IMSM 1, Sub 1, IM 1 all never ballooned then crashed and burned. All three are still solid hobby staples. I don't even know how discussion of those 3 issues made it as a major part of a thread on books that ran up, then crashed and burned! 

[grayzr]

21 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

It's a sad world when comic book sales are defined by how television shows and movies do.

I agree 100% 

Unfortunately this is the kind of world we live in now.

Books can double over night with an announcement or a rumor its just crazy.

I call it the hype era of comics.

[Aweandlorder]

10 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

Yes there is.

Just off the top of my head.

1. Fish Police 1
2. Elementals 1
3. Justice Machine Annual 1
4. Magnus Robot Fighter 12
5. Magnus Robot Fighter 0 with card
6. Harbinger 1
7. Superman 75
8. X-Factor 5
9. X-Factor 6
10. Witchblade 1

again, that's without thinking. Every single one of those books spiked and were selling for extremely high prices, and then dropped to being worthless before (in some cases) rebounding.

I have said this story before, but in 1992 I had a stack of Magnus 0s with card and was trading them for high grade Silver Age Marvels without price hesitation. That book is worthless now.

NONE of these examples compare to HOS92. Not even remotely close

[ComicConnoisseur]

9 hours ago, VintageComics said:

It's a sad world when comic book sales are defined by how television shows and movies do.

I actually think it has been the opposite. It has been a blessing that this hobby has been put on the mainstream map because of Hollywood.

      Imagine if they didn't have these movies and tv shows? The comic book keys/semi keys have stayed relevant because of all the Hollywood excitement.

Having Hollywood back your hobby is a huge plus not to be taken for granted.

     Sportscards with rookie cards are also another hobby still relevant because of new big sporting events every week on TV. TV introduces the comic book heroes and sports superstars to millions of potential new customers and fans.

Most of other hobbies are dying or dead because they have no modern tv or movie exposure. Their old audiences have died with no new modern ways to get new audiences introduced to their hobbies. Stamps? Lionel Trains? lol.

Comic book characters actually caught a break when Kevin Feige took them to a new modern level.

 

 

 

[FlyingDonut]

3 minutes ago, Aweandlorder said:

NONE of these examples compare to HOS92. Not even remotely close

Who is talking about HOS 92? This is what you said:

"There is not one instance in comic book history of a book that performed as high, lasted as long, then crashed as bad as the above hypothetical"
 

Harbinger 1 was a $200 book in 1992. It was a quarter book in 2002.

Magnus 0 with card was a $200 book in 1992 - it was worthless in 2002.

I can go on.

Feature Book 26 was the most valuable comic listed in the first Overstreet Price Guide. You can't sell it now.

Demand is cyclical. 

[valiantman]

8 minutes ago, FlyingDonut said:

Harbinger 1 was a $200 book in 1992. It was a quarter book in 2002.

Magnus 0 with card was a $200 book in 1992 - it was worthless in 2002.

Nope.  It was bad, but not that bad. Harbinger #1 might have been a $200 book at the tippy-top of demand, and not for any significant length of time, but it was generally a $100-$150 book, and it never fell below $8 online if it still had the coupon because there were about 5 of us online at the time buying every single copy on ebay. Every. Single. Copy.  $8 was the lowest they ever went, and most sold for about $10 to $15.  If someone took scissors and cut out the coupon, sure, it was about a dollar book at one point... but with the coupon cut out that's about a 4.0 condition modern, so it should be worthless.

Magnus #0 with card was not worthless in 2002, either.  If someone was selling Harbinger #1 or Magnus #0 with card for twenty-five cents (or less) in 2002, they were just giving away the money because they could have gotten $5+ all day long, as many as they could list, with no questions asked on the 'bay.  Granted, we're still talking about a 95% drop in prices, but neither book ever fell below $5... a small stack of Harbinger #1 with coupon or Magnus #0 with card would have always been worth $100+ never needing to be relisted.

Today, CGC 9.8 Magnus #0 with card is about $200 or so, and CGC 9.8 Harbinger #1 with coupon is $700+.

We're talking about bad situations in comics, but let's not make them worse than they actually were.

[James J Johnson]

10 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

I wrote: IMSM 1, Sub 1, IM 1 all never ballooned then crashed and burned. All three are still solid hobby staples. I don't even know how discussion of those 3 issues made it as a major part of a thread on books that ran up, then crashed and burned! 

You responded with a picture of a child sitting on Spider-Man's lap being comforted. I'm curious as to its relevance to my post. Is there a relevance that I'm failing to grasp? I don't want to miss yet another point like I did Cal's, in my child-like ignorance.

 

Edited June 15, 2018 by James J Johnson

[FlyingDonut]

21 minutes ago, valiantman said:

Nope.  It was bad, but not that bad. Harbinger #1 might have been a $200 book at the tippy-top of demand, and not for any significant length of time, but it was generally a $100-$150 book, and it never fell below $8 online if it still had the coupon because there were about 5 of us online at the time buying every single copy on ebay. Every. Single. Copy.  $8 was the lowest they ever went, and most sold for about $10 to $15.  If someone took scissors and cut out the coupon, sure, it was about a dollar book at one point... but with the coupon cut out that's about a 4.0 condition modern, so it should be worthless.

Magnus #0 with card was not worthless in 2002, either.  If someone was selling Harbinger #1 or Magnus #0 with card for twenty-five cents (or less) in 2002, they were just giving away the money because they could have gotten $5+ all day long, as many as they could list, with no questions asked on the 'bay.  Granted, we're still talking about a 95% drop in prices, but neither book ever fell below $5... a small stack of Harbinger #1 with coupon or Magnus #0 with card would have always been worth $100+ never needing to be relisted.

Today, CGC 9.8 Magnus #0 with card is about $200 or so, and CGC 9.8 Harbinger #1 with coupon is $700+.

We're talking about bad situations in comics, but let's not make them worse than they actually were.

I was buying both Harbinger 1s and Magnus 0s out of quarter stock at conventions in 2001 and 2002. Yes, I was then selling them on line for $5 - you probably bought some of mine. Dealers at shows at that time had all Valiant books in the same boxes.

[valiantman]

19 minutes ago, FlyingDonut said:

I was buying both Harbinger 1s and Magnus 0s out of quarter stock at conventions in 2001 and 2002. Yes, I was then selling them on line for $5 - you probably bought some of mine. Dealers at shows at that time had all Valiant books in the same boxes.

OK, well, then it was your dealer friends at shows who were leaving the money on the table, because there was always a demand in the market as a whole.  I'm sure local demand fell in lots of places, but the "online community" never let the books fall that low.  You're right, I probably bought them from you... and if you sold me some of your Harbinger #1 for $5, then you missed out a little, because I always paid $8 when I picked my own number. 

[WoWitHurts]

10 hours ago, grayzr said:

I agree 100% 

Unfortunately this is the kind of world we live in now.

Books can double over night with an announcement or a rumor its just crazy.

I call it the hype era of comics.

Like Iron Man #219. NO ONE cared about this book before the movie. Most people don't care about IM comics generally I think. A $5 that people want north of $40 now. It will crash pretty soon.

[FlyingDonut]

1 minute ago, valiantman said:

OK, well, then it was your dealer friends at shows who were leaving the money on the table, because there was always a demand in the market as a whole.  I'm sure local demand fell in lots of places, but the "online community" never let the books fall that low.  You're right, I probably bought them from you... and if you sold me some of your Harbinger #1 for $5, then you missed out a little, because I always paid $8 when I picked my own number. 

That was the golden age of arbitrage. Online prices hadn't trickled down to dealers at local shows - that was for almost anything. Lasted until about 2003-4.

[Gatsby77]

1 minute ago, valiantman said:

OK, well, then it was your dealer friends at shows who were leaving the money on the table, because there was always a demand in the market as a whole.  I'm sure local demand fell in lots of places, but the "online community" never let the books fall that low.  You're right, I probably bought them from you... and if you sold me some of your Harbinger #1 for $5, then you missed out a little, because I always paid $8 when I picked my own number. 

I never found Harbinger # 1 for less than $8.

However, I did find NM copies of Magnus 1 and 12 in $1 boxes (Bethesda, MD), and god bless Capital City Comics (Madisons, WI). Summer 2004 -- picked up Magnus 0 (w/ card), Armorines 0 gold, Unity O red, Harbinger 0 pink and Hard CORPS 1 gold and more for $4 apiece. That store was amazing.

[Jeffro.]

On 5/24/2018 at 12:35 PM, ThreeSeas said:

I can remember back during the Black and White craze in the 80's there were more than a few books that shot up to the $10 to $40 range only to fall way back down. I do not remember ever paying more than cover price as my then LCS was good to me and made sure I got the issues that I was reading/collecting. 

Good example. I still have a copy of Comics Value Monthly somewhere that shows some of the inflated prices on those really hot b&w indy books. 

[Gatsby77]

The greatest velocity of rise and fall I've seen was Captain America # 25.

The book went from selling for cover price ($2.95) to selling for as high as $60 within 36 hours of release.

As in, sets of 50 copies sold for $2,000 on eBay within two days of release.

But by the following week it had settled back down to $10-12 online -- and I later picked up a few copies for cover price from a LCS when their re-orders came in.

It was so crazy that folks who set 3-day auctions on eBay won out, while those who set 7- or 10-day auctions left a lot of money on the table.

This was the first mainstream craziness I'd seen for a modern book in the eBay era. And worthy of comparing to other similar books from a generation earlier (Superman 75, Alpha Flight 106), which stayed at higher prices far longer because eBay and other online sales venues didn't exist at the time.