Thoughts about buying grades 3 3

[jjonahjameson11]

1 hour ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

Are we living in the same marketplace?  Few and far between?  Almost every first appearance has exploded from the dollar bins.   All it takes now is the slightest rumour.  The “heating up” threads in copper & modern have a multitude of examples.   
In bronze, look at Eternals 1.  It didn’t take time to heat up. It wasn’t long ago I couldn’t give them away.

 

Don't get me started on She-Hulk books

 

Never before has such easy money been available in comic land.

After 35+ years of sitting in the $1 bins, Eternals #1 has exploded.  So yeah, it only took 35 years, but the book exploded.  Likewise, She-Hulk #1

[THE_BEYONDER]

19 minutes ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

After 35+ years of sitting in the $1 bins, Eternals #1 has exploded.  So yeah, it only took 35 years, but the book exploded.  Likewise, She-Hulk #1

We’re talking about making money TODAY, not investing in Eternals 1 35 years ago.

 

I have a dozen or so longboxes of worthless books in storage.   Each and every time I go by there, new books are worth pulling because there were whispers of a tv show/movie.  This week, Superman 4. Last week Aliens 1. It goes on and on.....

 

[dupont2005]

I think the advice against not buying a modern under 9.8 they are talking about common recent moderns. Since “modern” in comic book terms spans what, 30 years? If something came out 6 months ago and isn’t small press you have your options and don’t need to settle for lower grades. If something came out 30 years ago and is a mega key and you’re looking at a $1200 price difference between NM and NM+ I’m one of the people who thinks chasing ultra high grades is going to be a bad decision long term. 

[Artboy99]

15 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

Very true.

A perfect example is ASM129... I was lucky to find my keeper copy shortly before the book popped again.   I had a hard time finding one that was centered without that annoying white stripe on the cover due to a miswrap.  My copy is the centered copy without the white stripe and the other is an image I pulled from eBay with the white stripe. 

 

perfect example of buy the book not the label. The 9.4 with the white spine doesn't compare to the well centered copy in my opinion and if I could buy either I would buy the well centered copy every time even if it was slightly higher priced.

The white spine copy has one positive: at least the white spine is even from top to bottom.

[Buzzetta]

4 minutes ago, Artboy99 said:

perfect example of buy the book not the label. The 9.4 with the white spine doesn't compare to the well centered copy in my opinion and if I could buy either I would buy the well centered copy every time even if it was slightly higher priced.

The white spine copy has one positive: at least the white spine is even from top to bottom.

A lot of the books from that time period have that white spine.  Another great example is ASM Issue 151 which is notoriously hard to find with a decent wrap. 

I own the 9.4.  I found the white stripe on the side to be distracting so the 9.6 on eBay would never be a contender for me within my own collection. 

 

 

[Artboy99]

1 hour ago, Buzzetta said:

A lot of the books from that time period have that white spine.  Another great example is ASM Issue 151 which is notoriously hard to find with a decent wrap. 

I own the 9.4.  I found the white stripe on the side to be distracting so the 9.6 on eBay would never be a contender for me within my own collection. 

 

 

I agree.  The spine on that 9.6 is mis-wrapped and uneven from the top of the book to the bottom and I dislike that.

Really appreciate the wonderful centering of your copy. The top of the book: the Marvel Comics banner is perfectly straight all too often it is crooked. Very nice copy you have.

Edited August 30, 2020 by Artboy99

[badback83]

20 hours ago, Jesse-Lee said:

Thanks, yeah, I guess that's exactly how I should be looking at it. I felt like I made a couple of mistakes when I got back into collecting, especially as it pertains to slabbed books. But so far the slabs are books I want to keep, not flip, so maybe it shouldn't matter as much.

Don’t get discouraged.  It happens to everyone.  I think it’s just part of collecting.  After all, they’re books you want to keep for yourself and not necessarily ones to invest in. It’s all about finding that happy median.  You’ll be just fine.

[theCapraAegagrus]

Don't "invest" in comics.

Buy what you like, at a price you can afford.

[THE_BEYONDER]

@Jesse-Lee

 

Just in case you still want a 9.8 copy of Wolvie 17

There’s one available in the marketplace for $135/best offer 

 

[Jesse-Lee]

1 minute ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

@Jesse-Lee

 

Just in case you still want a 9.8 copy of Wolvie 17

There’s one available in the marketplace for $135/best offer 

 

 

Thanks! I guess now that I have a 9.2 and a raw copy, I should be satisfied... for now.

[THE_BEYONDER]

1 minute ago, Jesse-Lee said:

Thanks! I guess now that I have a 9.2 and a raw copy, I should be satisfied... for now.

How’s the grade on that new raw copy you grabbed?

[Jesse-Lee]

2 hours ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

How’s the grade on that new raw copy you grabbed?

Pretty darn good, I think. Not a 9.8 I suppose - slight issue on the lower left corner and a little bit of slight wear along the edge of the spine, but no spine ticks and it's super clean otherwise (unlike my obviously dirty scanner, sorry about that). Still, for $2.50 it's a really nice copy.

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Jesse-Lee

[speedcake]

Buy the 9.8 linked above, then sell your current two copies.  

If I were collecting modern, I'd almost certainly only buy high grade raw copies. For established keys with proven long term value, IMO graded 9.4 to 9.6 copies are usually huge value compared with the nosebleed prices asked for 9.8 copies if you wanted to buy slabbed copies of those types of books.

But I don't collect modern.

And I generally don't buy slabs.

So feel free to ignore everything I said.

[BA773]

On 9/1/2020 at 5:09 AM, speedcake said:

Buy the 9.8 linked above, then sell your current two copies.  

If I were collecting modern, I'd almost certainly only buy high grade raw copies. For established keys with proven long term value, IMO graded 9.4 to 9.6 copies are usually huge value compared with the nosebleed prices asked for 9.8 copies if you wanted to buy slabbed copies of those types of books.

But I don't collect modern.

And I generally don't buy slabs.

So feel free to ignore everything I said.

Booo!

[Westy Steve]

On 8/29/2020 at 4:24 PM, Jesse-Lee said:

Thanks all for helping my perspective on this - I kid you not, literally this morning I found this exact issue - Wolverine 17 - in really nice condition at a nearby LCS's "back issue sale" celebrating Free Comic Book Day. Paid $2.50 for it. Also, because I never learn and I'm too impulsive, I already bought the graded 9.2 before I made this post... But the thing is, I really do like the issue, and I like how it looks slabbed.

I guess maybe my use of the word "investment" wasn't right - for books like this for me, I don't plan to sell, so I feel like if I find one in a decent enough grade and it's already slabbed, maybe it's worth it? I guess I meant "investment" in the sense that I wouldn't necessarily lose money if I bought a slabbed book for less than FMV. I'm probably just trying to justify it to myself.

One thing I've learned for certain is I could never own a comic book store, because I'd never want to sell anything!

Put that $2.50 in a quality Mylar with a thick backboard and it will challenge your perspective on how a book presents best. Books look great in slabs but the slab is a little too thick for the color to pop.  Even $30 buys a great book that looks awesome in Mylar.