So disappointing... 0

[spreads]

2 hours ago, shadroch said:

Do any of them have track records going back fifty years or more? Is the typical royal Dalton from 1964 appreciated like your average Marvel  has? 

MTG cards have a much stronger cult following than many comics, the top Magic cards from the early/mid nineties have exploded in value.  How many 5 figure comics that have come out within the last 25 years (and I'm not counting a variant one out of 3 print run). 

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2 hours ago, Myowncollector said:

They can be an investment. I am not knowledgeable about them. In a related story. I love antique furniture. I have a lot of pieces in my house that I bought because they are awesome as the main reason but 2 the value plummeted on them and they were cheap. I have them because I love them, but they are also an investment. The value can only go up. May never go up. 

But you make a terrible weak point with your beanie babies and such. I like your post normally but with a spin like that you should be running for office or hosting a news show.

Comparing flash in the pan here today gone tomorrow things to something that has been around for 80 plus years and has only increased in value ( what are you going to do next, cherry pick some books from the 80s and 90s that were hundred dollar books that are now nothing? Go ahead) isnt much of a comparison. Sure they can decrease in value, but to compare them to pogs is a joke. Weak 

I'll tell you what, i'll delete my post on beanie babies when you start using sentences and paragraphs. 

If comics are such a great investment, I have three long boxes of reader comics to sell you.  All from the 40s-70s.  Lots of Marvel/DC in there!   You can't lose.  $2 a pop!!! 

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2 hours ago, Myowncollector said:

 I love antique furniture.  The value can only go up. 

 

Nobody under the age of 50 gives a $H$T about antique furniture.  If you truly believe it's an investment, then please start checking out the estate auctions I've been too where they can't even give this stuff away.  

Edited June 1, 2020 by spreads

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On 5/30/2020 at 3:45 PM, thehumantorch said:

Agreed on all points Joe.  Collecting comics is a great hobby but there is a lot to know and a lot of overpriced books and bad sellers out there.

Interesting anecdote from today, literally just hours ago....

Met with a repeat buyer of a run of comics...as I'm leaving:

Hey do you know Barry Allen (real name Gerry Ross), he's got lots of stuff and comes to you.

Me: ahhhh yeah

Him: ya he sold me a 9.0 Star Wars 1 for $170 (in my head, groan), he has lots of good stuff, says he's an honest guy (in my head, non crooks don't say that).

Me: it's graded cgc 9.0?

Him: no but he said if it doesn't come back a 9.0 I'll refund your money (also in my head, I doubt that will ever happen, and even if he did you're out the grading fees)

Me: just be very careful dealing with him.  

Him: I just think this is a great investment....(trails off, I stop listening at this point).

 

Just felt this story was very fitting of this thread.  

Edited June 1, 2020 by spreads

[Myowncollector]

10 minutes ago, spreads said:

Nobody under the age of 50 gives a $H$T about antique furniture.  If you truly believe it's an investment, then please start checking out the estate auctions I've been too where they can't even give this stuff away.  

Too find a deal at an estate sale would require both the owners and auctioneers/sale runners to not know about the item. Not likely to happen on a 300 year old piece of furniture worth tens of thousands. 

[Myowncollector]

17 minutes ago, spreads said:

I have three long boxes of reader comics to sell you.  All from the 40s-70s.  Lots of Marvel/DC in there!   You can't lose.  $2 a pop!!! 

Guess you haven't been buying the right comics. 

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2 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

Guess you haven't been buying the right comics. 

If I show you some good comics will you smarten up?

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6 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

Too find a deal at an estate sale would require both the owners and auctioneers/sale runners to not know about the item. Not likely to happen on a 300 year old piece of furniture worth tens of thousands. 

Do the springs poke you in the back sitting on a 300 year old couch?  Please don't take pictures of the rusty and creaky bed, there's kids on this forum.

 

[spreads]

9 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

Too find a deal at an estate sale would require both the owners and auctioneers/sale runners to not know about the item. Not likely to happen on a 300 year old piece of furniture worth tens of thousands. 

In all seriousness, I see local houses with very expensive monstrosity furniture, because I see the appeal of antiques.  But then I think, I'm under 65, that thing weighs hundreds and hundreds of pounds and there's no way I would ever con/trick someone into paying what I paid for that down the road.  

[Myowncollector]

2 minutes ago, spreads said:

If I show you some good comics will you smarten up?

You can do whatever you like. I personally sold numerous books for 4 and 5 figures that I paid 2 or 3 figures for. I was happy with that return and enjoyed owning them. I have a hundred thousand comic books worth $5 are less. So you are 100% right. They weren't a good investment. I didn't buy them for an investment though. Most were free, from a house clean out or storage auction win. A lot of them just came with the handful of books I wanted to purchase. So yeah 99.9% of comics are a terrible investment.

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3 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

You can do whatever you like. I personally sold numerous books for 4 and 5 figures that I paid 2 or 3 figures for. I was happy with that return and enjoyed owning them. I have a hundred thousand comic books worth $5 are less. So you are 100% right. They weren't a good investment. I didn't buy them for an investment though. Most were free, from a house clean out or storage auction win. A lot of them just came with the handful of books I wanted to purchase. So yeah 99.9% of comics are a terrible investment.

Okay, so you get it.  A lot of people don't.  And when people start saying comics are a better investment than owning stocks/real estate - that's where I have a problem.  I sold 3k worth of comics (maxx ashcans) years ago to a guy living in his mom's place.....

[Myowncollector]

5 minutes ago, spreads said:

In all seriousness, I see local houses with very expensive monstrosity furniture, because I see the appeal of antiques.  But then I think, I'm under 65, that thing weighs hundreds and hundreds of pounds and there's no way I would ever con/trick someone into paying what I paid for that down the road.  

Just because something is old doesn't make it valuable unless it is super old. Most estate sales people will make sure they have someone in the house first to buy anything the owner doesn't know they value of and then sell it for more elsewhere and get the full price instead of just a cut. But yeah, old furniture might look great but if it is common it has little value. A lot of people don't have the vehicle or man power to get it home. I have a desk fetish. Or anything with cabinets or drawers. Although sofas can command a lot of money. Victorian era made in England France. I stick to wood.

[Genuine Article Comics]

saying comics are a bad investment is like saying the stock market is a bad investment......it all depends on the comic and the stock you choose to purchase.  Comics can be very good investments if you bought/buy the right books for the right price at the right time.

Edited June 1, 2020 by Angelo.

[Myowncollector]

20 minutes ago, spreads said:

Okay, so you get it.  A lot of people don't.  And when people start saying comics are a better investment than owning stocks/real estate - that's where I have a problem.  I sold 3k worth of comics (maxx ashcans) years ago to a guy living in his mom's place.....

Things get lost in translation. When I said comics have done nothing but gone up I was talking about keys. My brain doesn't even factor in people buying non keys. And when I actually bought keys it wasn't for an investment. I seen in catalogs first Spider-man, I want this for Christmas. Got a lil $ I bought comics. It wasn't a uncool thing in my neighborhood. Heck I think we played with gi joes until we were old enough to get drivers driver's license. If someone was key hunting prior to 1990 or so they are a millionaire just because of comics. Someone just starting now will probably lose $. If they become good at it, they will make some supplemental income. If they become a master like myself haha they can make a living doing it but would of done better investing elsewhere. 

[Myowncollector]

39 minutes ago, Angelo. said:

saying comics are a bad investment is like saying the stock market is a bad investment......it all depends on the comic and the stock you choose to purchase.  Comics can be very good investments if you bought/buy the right books for the right price at the right time.

You are right. Comics can be good investments. But most people are clueless. If you don't agree you might be one of them. I see what people are buying, post on here, YouTube videos. Its cringe worthy. They are going to lose $. Their book went up 10 or 15 percent in 5 years while just the S&P alone did better each year. Going to lose 10% at least when they sell that book. Not maxing out their 401, buying their books on credit. Name books that one could buy now and in the next 2 to 4 years that will increase enough in value to be a good investment? I will probably shoot them down. Personally I don't have a answer. 10 years ago I could name dozens. Even 5 years ago. 

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51 minutes ago, Angelo. said:

saying comics are a bad investment is like saying the stock market is a bad investment......it all depends on the comic and the stock you choose to purchase.  Comics can be very good investments if you bought/buy the right books for the right price at the right time.

Have you been reading anything that I wrote?

[shadroch]

You two are funny.

[littledoom]

On 5/28/2020 at 10:58 PM, crandmck said:

Just got some books back from CGC.  For the most part, the grades were about what I expected, except for two of them that I purchased from (what I thought were) reputable dealers.  They both came back at 7.0, but one (Conan #1) was graded by the dealer as VF/NM and the other (Iron Man & Subby #1) was graded by the dealer as VF/NM to NM-.  Not only am I disappointed, but I feel ripped off, because I paid a couple hundred bucks too much for these books, apparently!  I bought one book online and one at a show.  I could understand if the grade were off by 1.0, but 2 whole points!  Jeez!  

Honestly, the Conan is very sharp. I know I'm not a very good grader, but when I compare it to the DD#5 (in the same batch and also 7.0) it looks WAY nicer, no comparison.  It seems like at least a VF, but... *sigh*

Here are the grader's notes:

Conan the Barbarian 1 10/70 Marvel Comics

light bends to cover
light cover tanning
light spine stress lines to cover
light staining to cover

Iron Man and Sub-Mariner 1 4/68 Marvel Comics

light creasing to cover
light finger bends on cover
light spine stress lines to cover
moderate cover tanning

Should I have had either of these pressed?  Water under the bridge, now, but for future reference...?

This will be the last time I "believe" the grade from any dealer--until I get better at grading, at least.  And apparently buying a raw book online is just a big gamble... even from a well-known dealer.

Is it common to have the CGC grade be so far off from the dealer grade?

I don't give a f what the grade placed on the bag is.... I've been doing this way too long to not take comics out the polybag and look at the front and back.. I do that for comics I'm paying a dollar for or hundreds of dollars for.. I don't take anything home that's not sexy

[Keys_Collector]

4 hours ago, shadroch said:

You two are funny.

 

[Ryan.]

16 hours ago, Myowncollector said:

They always did go easy on foxing and tanning. Would have 9.6s with it and they would have been 9.6 without it.  Way to easy imo. I hate both. Someone said they are now taken more seriously. I dunno. I dont slab a book unless it is 9.8 or has printing defects. Haven't noticed it on books I have purchased. They may now recently grade it tougher, I dunno. 

I haven't noticed them being particularly harsh on tanning recently, though they may go easier on older books regarding certain defects. 

I do think they are overly harsh on small stains, especially when the stains do not substantially affect eye appeal.