Is Now the Best Time or the Worst Time to Invest in Comics? 2 2

[october]

20 minutes ago, adamstrange said:

Maybe we should start the equivalent of a Darwin Award for comic collecting?

The bi-annual Jay Parrino crash and burn trophy. 

[lou_fine]

1 hour ago, PopKulture said:

4 hours ago, october said:

Actually, maybe not ever that, given the amount of guys that fund their hobby with credit card debt.

The above proposition makes me cringe!! 

Yeah, don't you feel sorry for the Dentist who funded some of his Edgar Church purchases with all of the credit cards that the companies were throwing his way since he probably looked like a good patsy to them when he first came out of dental school?    

[lou_fine]

1 hour ago, october said:

1 hour ago, adamstrange said:

Maybe we should start the equivalent of a Darwin Award for comic collecting?

The bi-annual Jay Parrino crash and burn trophy. 

Well, I believe he would have to shared this trophy with the big real estate agent guy (name escapes me right now???) who came onto the comic book scene like a flying tornado paying huge dollars for HG books and then departed the scene a couple years later like he was hit by a Category 5 hurricane.    

[adamstrange]

Keller

[MrBedrock]

31 minutes ago, adamstrange said:

Keller

Helen

[lou_fine]

2 hours ago, MrBedrock said:

3 hours ago, adamstrange said:

Keller

Helen

Well, even being deaf and blind, I am sure that Helen would not have been dumb enough to throw the kind of money that Gary was throwing around to acquire his comic books at the time.  

Is this Gary Keller, the same Gary Keller who's listed as an American entrepreneur and author, and also best known as the founder of Keller Williams Realty Interrnational with 180,000 associates.  If so, and his net worth is rumoured to be $200M, then I guess the bath that he took on the comic books back then was nothing but a sprinkle of water to him.  

Edited January 29, 2020 by lou_fine

[fifties]

2 hours ago, lou_fine said:

Well, even being deaf and blind, I am sure that Helen would not have been dumb enough to throw the kind of money that Gary was throwing around to acquire his comic books at the time.  

Is this Gary Keller, the same Gary Keller who;s listed as an American entrepreneur and author, and also best known as the founder of Keller Williams Realty Interrnational with 180,000 associates.  If so, and his net worth is rumoured to be $200M, then I guess the bath that he took on the comic books back then was nothing but a sprinkle of water to him.  

I have no idea what he bought, but even if it was Action 1 for 3 million, that's only 1.5% of his rumored wealth.  He may have enjoyed collecting, and then could write off the fun if he sold for a loss...

[gino2paulus2]

16 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Hey Gino. Thought you might like this. At Christmas, my daughter, her husband and I pulled out her toys I saved for her. You might recognize some of these. I guess this means I might be old enough to be your dad!  

😂 RM you were one hell of a cool Daddio man!!! Look at this!!! Stacks and stacks of wonderful stuff!! I had so much of this gear too looks like your kid and I shared the same interests hehe!! I kept all the backers to the figures and a few were in packages but nowhere near what we have here!! The freakin Party Wagon, Large Krang, the Sewer playlet all in the box WHOA!! Love the Ghosbusters stuff too that Ecto-1 is awesome!!! My folks kept all our stuff in a Non temperature controlled storage unit for decades in plastic bins and I have to say the stuff held up better than I would have guessed it would have. I had an original ghostzapper with the old batteries still in them and when I pulled it out by golly it still worked!! That’s insanity to me but still pales in comparison to how awesome these pics are!!! A goldmine of Coolness!! 

[Mmehdy]

19 hours ago, William-James88 said:

yeah, for sure. The original question is not from a true collector stand point and was only looking at comics like stocks, so I responded accordingly. Finding opportunities in comics as one does with stocks. It's all speculation. 

But this is not indicative of myself at all. The only reason why I got good deals was not because I spotted them across a wide range of books (no time for that), but because I was looking at books I loved and didn't spend more than I felt comfortable or could afford.

I have to disagree with you..you can be both a true comic book collector and an investor at the same time. You can own multiple copies of your favorite comic book...for example Whiz #25 be a true collector and an investor at the same time. The difference is a widget buyer does not give a dammm what he is buying, he is a optimistic flipper...that is it plan and simple. If comic book crash and burn...he does not care...he moves on to his next prey...video games etc...he is a numbers guy. The true collector, worst case...keeps something he can really appreciate and enjoy. We true comic book collectors can enjoy the best of two worlds....but as a backup...buy what you enjoy, and like.

[Robot Man]

6 hours ago, gino2paulus2 said:

😂 RM you were one hell of a cool Daddio man!!! Look at this!!! Stacks and stacks of wonderful stuff!! I had so much of this gear too looks like your kid and I shared the same interests hehe!! I kept all the backers to the figures and a few were in packages but nowhere near what we have here!! The freakin Party Wagon, Large Krang, the Sewer playlet all in the box WHOA!! Love the Ghosbusters stuff too that Ecto-1 is awesome!!! My folks kept all our stuff in a Non temperature controlled storage unit for decades in plastic bins and I have to say the stuff held up better than I would have guessed it would have. I had an original ghostzapper with the old batteries still in them and when I pulled it out by golly it still worked!! That’s insanity to me but still pales in comparison to how awesome these pics are!!! A goldmine of Coolness!! 

I had these stored on a large hang down rafter shelf in the garage. Just sitting in stacks. We put a new roof on a few years ago and the stuff was un-covered. Lots of dirt and dust. I wasn’t expecting a very good out come. But once lightly dusted off, they look great. We sure had fun rediscovering them. Her husband told her she was spoiled...

I also have a load of her older sister’s toys in back of these. Didn’t pull them out but a lot of original Star Wars stuff. 

I guess I didn’t want to be like my parents and just pitch everything. 

[fifties]

2 hours ago, Mmehdy said:

The true collector, worst case...keeps something he can really appreciate and enjoy. We true comic book collectors can enjoy the best of two worlds....but as a backup...buy what you enjoy, and like.

I think you have it reversed;  a true collector buys what he enjoys as his primary objective.  Any backup of additional copies might perhaps be held for resale.  In my case, I have some back up copies for books in fine or better condition, one each as readers.

[William-James88]

2 hours ago, Mmehdy said:

I have to disagree with you..you can be both a true comic book collector and an investor at the same time. 

I did not say you couldn't. I ask you, please, do not put words in my mouth. Were it my way, I'd rather previous members didn't start with this whole "true comic book collector" which sounds beyond elitist. We are all here on these boards talking to eachother, how are we anything but true comic book collectors.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

Well a quarantine year has gone by, and I’m not sure that any clarity has been brought to the topic of this thread. Seems like prices have gone up, and fewer people have been letting go of their collections. I think the hobby is getting propelled by emotion, so I’m not sure now is the best time to invest. Nevertheless, my hunt continues. . . 

[sfcityduck]

On 1/28/2020 at 10:28 PM, fifties said:

I have no idea what he bought, but even if it was Action 1 for 3 million, that's only 1.5% of his rumored wealth.  He may have enjoyed collecting, and then could write off the fun if he sold for a loss...

I will not forget the massive bath he took on Flash Comics at a Heritage auction.  It was brutal.  You could see what he paid in prior auctions and you could see what he was making.  Even without factoring in Heritage’s cut it was a horrific abject lesson.  And word was he was selling because he needed the money.  Real estate is boom  and bust and those guys can get hammered.  I can’t think of anything recent comparable other than the bath D. Adams took on the WW 1 he bought as a short term flip to dress up the AS 8 and Sensation 1 he brought to market and the poor guys who bought that AS 8.  But that story is just a cautionary tale whereas the Flash Comics were a tragic opera.

Edited March 14, 2021 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

To be clear, I do not “invest” in comics.  I generally do make money when I sell, but it is not a financial strategy for me.  It is just a fun diversion or icing when I make a nice profit.  I think of it as funding acquisitions. The real value for me is the fun of the hunt, telling stories, learning stories and info from others, especially here.

Edited March 14, 2021 by sfcityduck

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

5 minutes ago, sfcityduck said:

To be clear, I do not “invest” in comics.  I generally do make money when I sell, but it is not a financial strategy for me.  It is just a fun diversion or icing when I make a nice profit.  I think of it as funding acquisitions. The real value for me is the fun of the hunt, telling stories, learning stories and info from others, especially here.

Well said. I think my earnings are better in the stock market, and when I divert them to this pursuit, all I can really hope for is to avoid a bath

[ChillMan]

The comic hobby is not fully developed yet.  There are opportunities to make huge $....if you can hold onto them for 10 years or more.

Buy More Fun 31, Human Torch #3(#2), etc, for your kids or grandkids.  Also current valid drivers licenses & passports of dead celebrities.

Buy GA comics with 1st appearances of the best characters who haven't exploded yet.

[Robot Man]

Yep, exactly. Our economy is essentially strong. There are lots of folks sitting on money they can’t get out and spend. Thusly, many are spending like drunken sailors on line.

I have yet to see panicked people dumping their collections and the marked quickly absorbs any that come to market. Prices on just about any genre,in any condition have seen huge price increases. 

Take a book like Incredible Hulk #181. OK, a big key with huge demand. How many copies are currently on eBay? I don’t know but probably tons of them. This book has seen $5k increases every month since Dec. This is crazy. 

I have been slowly trying to complete another EC collection. Luckily, I am down to just the “average” issues. I have seen prices triple since the health crisis started. These are probably the most reprinted books in the hobby. For a long time they rarely sold for more than Guide. Not anymore. I recently bid on an average Weird Fantasy on the bay. A year ago, I could have bought it for less than $200. A year ago. I was blown out of the water when it sold for $560.

I see a leveling off and maybe a little dip in the near future especially when cons start back up. Some of these crazy “investors” could get a little hurt. I just don’t see “the Sky is falling” coming up. 

I have collected for 50 years. I have watched comics continually rise. Little dips here and there but back they come. I have asked myself when prices will drop the whole time and I have been continuously wrong.

The market is strong and will continue to stabilize and prosper at least in my life time and beyond contrary to the “doom and gloom” that was predicted when this thread started. 

[Robot Man]

37 minutes ago, sfcityduck said:

I will not forget the massive bath he took on Flash Comics at a Heritage auction.  It was brutal.  You could see what he paid in prior auctions and you could see what he was making.  Even without factoring in Heritage’s cut it was a horrific abject lesson.  And word was he was selling because he needed the money.  Real estate is boom  and bust and those guys can get hammered.  I can’t think of anything recent comparable other than the bath D. Adams took on the WW 1 he bought as a short term flip to dress up the AS 8 and Sensation 1 he brought to market and the poor guys who bought that AS 8.  But that story is just a cautionary tale whereas the Flash Comics were a tragic opera.

Were those Flash books the Church copies that turned out to be restored? 

With very low interest rates, the housing market is booming in SO CA. It is a seller’s market right now. Once the rates rise, and they will, those hoping for a flip will have to wait to make a profit. 

Now is a good time to be a seller of just about everything. Those who buy will able to make a profit if they are patient and can afford to weather the upcoming corrections. 

[ChillMan]

Hulk #180 is clearly the 1st app of Wolverine.  Do your own research, and use your own eyes.  Don't believe the media when they say the $2.2M Batman #1 is a Top-5 comic....there are dozens of better ones....and some are going to be worth 5X that soon.