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Is Now the Best Time or the Worst Time to Invest in Comics?
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304 posts in this topic

Prices on PCH (what I focus on) have simply gone straight through the roof over the last few years, and I don't understand why, unless possibly it's because collectors, like myself, have scarfed up the most, somewhat, and even less desirable titles and issues, leaving a void of supply.  Given that, I don't see prices coming down whatsoever, and will either remain about where they are, or possibly continue to rise.

Some of us remember 20, 30, 40, + years ago, when we could buy these books for a few bucks each, and as time went by the prices slowly rose, but at an acceptable pace.  I would say however that in the last 4 years or so, they have simply taken off, and lack of supply is my best guess as to why.  And even though older collectors may be expiring, there seems to be younger ones, curious about this Golden Age stuff, who are filling in as buyers now.

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59 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Heck Fifties, I think I did well buying this stuff at 5 bucks or less. Guys like you and Marty got to buy them at cover price! 

Well, yes, but then they mostly disappeared over the years, at least in my case, while growing up.  I gave a large box full to my little brother who eventually lost them all.  One was Showcase 4, bought for a dime in the late summer of 1956...

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On 1/18/2020 at 12:17 PM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

The stock market has been absolutely insane for the last 2 years.  I guess you take away consumer protections, and its like the training wheels have been taken away:  business is just more profitable.

I'm in this hobby for the love of it, as is everyone here.   But I don't want to lose money, and it just seems crazy to sell stock to buy books.

So . . . is now the best time or the worst time to invest in comics?

Is this a trick question?  hm

Sorry if I sound Pollyanna-ish, but m’thinks you can relax, at least for the time being. The sky isn’t falling. In fact, I know of at least one intrepid investor in the Metroplex who’d gladly take a look.at your collection and come to your rescue if such a dastardly thing occurred.  Look at your comic investment portfolio.  Any number of generous blokes on this board would gladly offer to help you divest some of those risky comics for you if you’re really concerned about a market crash.  :whistle:

Following my logic you won’t have to worry about a panic descending on the future relevance of encapsulation services or through the impending zombie ‘pocalypse! But always remember the sage words of Buckaroo Banzai who’d probably say: no matter where you go, there you are!

BTW, most late night investment ads seen airing these days favor “GOLD” ...not stocks, Extrapolating from this sagebrush logic, apparently you’re in just the right place.  (thumbsu

 

:tink:

 

Edited by Cat-Man_America
Mid-day village wordsmithy
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ROI +/- of collecting comics in the 20's.

Macroeconomics

The stock market is a public utility with the Fed monitizing debt. PLUS

Microeconomics

Bought your comics thru a niche auction house. MINUS

Bought your comics on eBay in an auction ending on a Sunday night. MINUS

Bought your comics in an estates sale. PLUS

Bought your comics in a private transaction from a non-collector. PLUS

Fun Fact: You don't make money when you sell. You make money when you buy.

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1 hour ago, Cat-Man_America said:

Is this a trick question?  hm

Sorry if I sound Pollyanna-ish, but m’thinks you can relax, at least for the time being. The sky isn’t falling. In fact, I know of at least one intrepid investor in the Metroplex who’d gladly take a look.at you collection and to your rescue if such a dastardly thing occurred.  Look at your comic investment portfolio and any number of generous blokes on this board would gladly offer to help you divest some of those risky comics for you if you’re really worried about the market crashing.  :whistle:

That way you won’t have to worry about a panic descending on encapsulation service’s or through in the pending zombie ‘pocalypse! But always remember the sage words of Buckaroo Banzai would say: no matter where you go, there you are!

BTW, most investment ads I’m seeing airing these days favor “GOLD” ...not stocks, Extrapolating from this sagebrush  logic, apparently you’re in the right place.  (thumbsuPp

 

:tink:

 

Cat-Man_America, you crack me up.

no, the books I already have will stay. But as I ponder truly leaning into the hobby with something off the chain, it’s these thoughts that stay my hand.

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6 hours ago, tabcom said:

ROI +/- of collecting comics in the 20's.

Macroeconomics

The stock market is a public utility with the Fed monitizing debt. PLUS

Microeconomics

Bought your comics thru a niche auction house. MINUS

Bought your comics on eBay in an auction ending on a Sunday night. MINUS

Bought your comics in an estates sale. PLUS

Bought your comics in a private transaction from a non-collector. PLUS

Fun Fact: You don't make money when you sell. You make money when you buy.

Meaning the only way to truly get ahead is to buy comics for less than they are worth now rather than hoping they go up in price later?

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7 hours ago, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

Cat-Man_America, you crack me up.

no, the books I already have will stay. But as I ponder truly leaning into the hobby with something off the chain, it’s these thoughts that stay my hand.

When closing my iPad last night the initial draft apparently posted (oooops, hate it when that happens).  :facepalm:

Obviously, I failed to prepare a sufficiently convincing closing argument.  lol

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31 minutes ago, Cat-Man_America said:

When closing my iPad last night the initial draft apparently posted (oooops, hate it when that happens).  :facepalm:

Obviously, I failed to prepare a sufficiently convincing closing argument.  lol

@GreatCaesarsGhost He only collect's comics cause we on the boards like him and listen to him without mrr.thumb.png.979f44470db8be34508e285f674291b1.png

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2 hours ago, Arkadin said:

This should be a poll. Worst or best time. But I really can't imagine anyone voting for "best"!

I occasionally hear this in one of my other hobbies, that of collecting houses.  My take is simply this; in 10 years, you will be 10 years older, and prices will be 10 years higher...Now I realize that comic books are certainly not as essential as a roof over one's head, but regardless, it's still a tangible consumer commodity subject to both inflation and desirability.  In both cases, houses or comic books, some will go up more so, some comparatively less, but the point is, they'll all go up in perceived value.

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18 hours ago, fifties said:

Prices on PCH (what I focus on) have simply gone straight through the roof over the last few years, and I don't understand why, unless possibly it's because collectors, like myself, have scarfed up the most, somewhat, and even less desirable titles and issues, leaving a void of supply.  Given that, I don't see prices coming down whatsoever, and will either remain about where they are, or possibly continue to rise.

Some of us remember 20, 30, 40, + years ago, when we could buy these books for a few bucks each, and as time went by the prices slowly rose, but at an acceptable pace.  I would say however that in the last 4 years or so, they have simply taken off, and lack of supply is my best guess as to why.  And even though older collectors may be expiring, there seems to be younger ones, curious about this Golden Age stuff, who are filling in as buyers now.

As I recall, after a decent run-up in the 90s, the more run of the mill PCH that wasn't broken out into classic cover status took a drop in the early 2000s, in no small part due to availability on ebay. Most of it selling for much less than guide if put up for auction. Even classic covers were somewhat flat until just a few years ago. The same was true of a lot of L.B. Cole stuff, some of which had increased dramatically in the mid 90s, and then dipped in value, taking over a decade just to get back to where they had been in value. 

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10 hours ago, tabcom said:

ROI +/- of collecting comics in the 20's.

Macroeconomics

The stock market is a public utility with the Fed monitizing debt. PLUS

Microeconomics

Bought your comics thru a niche auction house. MINUS

Bought your comics on eBay in an auction ending on a Sunday night. MINUS

Bought your comics in an estates sale. PLUS

Bought your comics in a private transaction from a non-collector. PLUS

Fun Fact: You don't make money when you sell. You make money when you buy.

I've gotten some pretty sweet deals on ebay auctions ending Sunday night. Yeah, it's probably the best time to end an auction on high demand book, but stuff does slip through.

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19 hours ago, Robot Man said:

I would say the worst. Prices are all at an all time high right now. Everybody seems to be a flipper. Margins are so tight. People are paying through the nose to flip quick for a tiny profit. It’ll only a short time before prices either stagnate or drop. 

I have always thought collectibles and comics a bad investment. I have always looked at them as a hobby. But I have been in the hobby close to 50 years so I guess that blows that theory...:roflmao:

I disagree. For the last 50 years every collector, or naysayer has said the same thing..over and over again...its the worst time to buy, its never gonna go up...we are at the top of the market..just like the  guy who sold me Cap1 for 1k said years ago.

If you buy quality material in top condition at a current market fair price...you will be ok..the sky is not falling..prices are gonna fluctuate as trends take over from the 70's to today..things go in and out of favor.

My advice on buying is if you have the money for 10 mid grade GA comics or you can buy 1 ultra high grade comic...I would go with the quality not the quantity especially for investment purposes. 

As far as investment is concerned I would avoid any restored comic book above 1k..unless it A1, Bat 1 or something like that.

It also depends on what the word investment means to you...if it buying a book you have always wanted in a high grade or a widget...just like a coin or stamp on anything. If widgets, buy high quality unrestored GA/SA books as these will be the easiest one to dispose of quickly with particular attention to page quality. White page books will and always will be in very high demand for GA/SA material.

 I hope you fall on the collector/investor side of things such that you can enjoy the investment. GOOD LUCK
 

Edited by Mmehdy
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On 1/18/2020 at 1:17 PM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

The stock market has been absolutely insane for the last 2 years.  I guess you take away consumer protections, and its like the training wheels have been taken away:  business is just more profitable.

I'm in this hobby for the love of it, as is everyone here.   But I don't want to lose money, and it just seems crazy to sell stock to buy books.

So . . . is now the best time or the worst time to invest in comics?

On 1/18/2020 at 2:30 PM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

Tell Gene to Bring It

 

 

On 1/18/2020 at 2:31 PM, Gotham Kid said:

 

On 1/18/2020 at 3:08 PM, lou_fine said:

Now the two of you are really asking for it by taunting him like this.  (tsk)  lol

Maybe we should bring Boston Corbett in on this since he just might have come close to making good on his copy of NM 98 by now after a whole decade plus. :taptaptap: :taptaptap:

It'll be fun to watch a good old fashion  :slapfight:  :slapfight: between the Wall Street financial whiz kid and the old university economics professor to see who can say the following:

Thus Endeth the Lesson!!!  lol lol

giphy.gif 

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