OSPG 50th - A Major Disappointment 1 1

[snitzer]

2 hours ago, KnuckleheadMcSpazatron said:

Is the Heritage download not worth the money? I've never tried it.

There is a digital version. Heritage download AND via the Apple Book store. I have the latter and it’s awesome 👍

[lou_fine]

6 hours ago, Gambold said:

Another hurdle is slabs. The Overstreet pricing is all for unslabbed books.

I have heard this same sentiment expressed so many times by so many collectors, but where in the world does it actually state this?  

I believe the only time this statement was actually true was in the last century before slabbed books came into the marketplace and all books were sold raw back then.  When was the last time you actually saw high dollar value GA books being sold, especially when it comes to the keys?  Or for even that matter, high dollar value SA keys or even more recent books like Hulk 181 or Spidey 129.  If you take a look at some of the sample key sales that Overstreet lists in his guide, you can see 3 full page of slabbed certified sales as opposed to only 1 page for raw sales. 

My personal belief is that the Overstreet valuations is based more upon prices for both raw sales and certified sales and is very heavily weighted towards the sales method that is most common for a particular book.  So, this means that the valuation for a book like Action 1 or 'Tec 27 as extreme examples, are really based heavily upon slabbed prices because who in the world sells their copies of these 2 books raw.  On the other hand, low dollar value books would be heavily weighted by their raw prices because no rational collector would think of even bothering to slab these types of books for sale because the cost of salbbing them would be higher than what they would sell for unless they were in uber HG condition which is a condition level that Overstreet does not cover because prices are too volatile in this grade range.  Or at least that's the way that I see it.  

I believe the reason why most collectors think the prices must be based upon unslabbed books is due to the simple fact that Overstreet likes to lag the market and doesn't really like to increase prices too fast until he sees solid consolidation of prices at that level over an extended period of time (i.e. for a few years at least).  This method to his madness in terms of pricing allows him to continuously nuture and guide the comic book market upwards in a seemingly never ending trajectory as he seemingly hates to ever show any price decreases.    

 

 

[Aman619]

I seem to recall that the Guide stated that they were for raw prices  around 15 years  ago when criticism started that they were out of touch with the new CGC market.  Right about when they changed NM down to NM- for the top grade..  they made it so 9.4 and above (which was still pretty rare back then) were a “different animal of the CGC slab variety.. 

[jjonahjameson11]

17 hours ago, Gambold said:

Another hurdle is slabs. The Overstreet pricing is all for unslabbed books. We can argue all day if the huge percentage increases for slabs are correct or idiotic but they exist and they haven't "settled down."  

My own opinion is that the Guide started to lose its way when it brought in big little books, platinum comics, and other areas of limited interest that fattened the book and shrunk the type. I wish they spent more ink on the actual business of collecting, and left the articles about artists to other venues.  The market reports may sometimes be self-serving but at least they are about the market. The article writing is the weakest part of the Guide - better writers are all over the Internet and in the TwoMorrows magazines.

I agree 100% with the quoted statement above.  I felt ripped off after flipping through this years' special 50th anniversary crapola of a guide and I won't be purchasing another one.

[kimik]

The main value of the OSPG is in buying collections. I learned that lesson a decade ago when the owner got miffed I had brought a year old guide with me and he had a current one. There was no difference in the price we finally ended up at, but it was a lesson learned for me........

I have not opened my 50th edition yet, but the McFarlane cover is the reason I went for the HC edition. 

Edited September 23, 2020 by kimik

[Robot Man]

I really don’t mind the BLB, Platinium or Giveaway listings. In fact, from a historical perspective, I feel they are relevant. I think there could be an entire book devoted to giveaways. I would buy it. Without an inclusion in Overstreet, this information would probably be gone to future historians. They really take up so little room anyway. Kind of ironic that the pricing on them is way out of whack too but on the higher end! I say, keep them in. MUCH more to this hobby than “Men in tights”. 

I also like the War Report but question why it is there. How about a Horror report or Crime Report or a Romance report? Why just a war report? A pretty limited group of war collectors. Don’t get be wrong, I do really enjoy it and those guys work hard on it with a passion. 

But, I too, was disapointed there were not more features on the history of fandom and the guide itself. Some stories from old time collectors and dealers and photos from early cons ect would have been good. The yearly “Hall of Fame” pages are a waste. As is the Price Guide Price Guide and several other features. And do we really need 20 pages of ads for Metro and others? Yeah, I get why but seems a bit redundant. 

I started with #2. It has been a long and very fun ride. I expected a little more and was disapointed too. Hey, even the cover was a letdown and just didn’t seem “special”

Edited September 23, 2020 by Robot Man

[exitmusicblue]

A handful of the market reports were particularly insightful for me.  And some of the big news had somehow escaped me, like the dueling Marvel 1 and Cap 1 9.4 pedigrees.

But agreed that cutting down on redundant/multiple ads and replacing it with good content such as OG collector interviews or exposes would be fun.  I enjoyed past coverage of EC, Larson, etc.

Edited September 23, 2020 by exitmusicblue

[Robot Man]

Heck, get rid of the market reports. Same O same O every year. We all know what GA/SA/BA books are hot. We all know that movie books are driving the “flipper” market. Who cares what books the grading companies are slabbing? I read them but find myself flipping past a lot of them. 

There are lots of pages that could have been eliminated to add to the nostalgia factor and history in this hobby after 50 years. 

Just didn’t seem much different from the front cover on... and I won’t be buying the extra edition. 

[Zonker]

2 hours ago, Moater said:

What happened to the post about the Annual being for raws and the Overstreet Comic Price Review being for slabs?

That was a "KnuckleheadMcSpazatron" contribution.  The mods now have apparently made him go poof.  Must have Bugged someone...

 

[lou_fine]

11 hours ago, Moater said:

21 hours ago, Aman619 said:

I seem to recall that the Guide stated that they were for raw prices  around 15 years  ago when criticism started that they were out of touch with the new CGC market.  Right about when they changed NM down to NM- for the top grade..  they made it so 9.4 and above (which was still pretty rare back then) were a “different animal of the CGC slab variety.. 

What happened to the post about the Annual being for raws and the Overstreet Comic Price Review being for slabs?

 

9 hours ago, Zonker said:

That was a "KnuckleheadMcSpazatron" contribution.  The mods now have apparently made him go poof.  Must have Bugged someone...

Yeah, I read the post this morning and I certainly didn't find anything at all offensive about it as it was just talking about the Overstreet Comic Price Review mag.  

Anyhow, as far as I can tell, the Overstreet Comics Price Review only ran for 17 issues from 2003 through to 2005 and was rally tageted for those HG books slabbed in CGC 9.4 and above since the Annual Guide did not report on anything above their top of guide 9.2 condition level:

The solution was Overstreet's Comic Price Review, a monthly publication specializing in tracking the tumultuous market for certified comic books graded at 9.4 and higher. 

So, as far as I can tell, just because they had this review running for a few years to primarily report on more recent books in CGC 9.4 and above does not necessarily exclude the Annual Guide from including the impact of slabbed prices in the determination of their valuations.  They most assuredly did since virtually all of the high dollar value older books did not sell in raw condition and generally always sold as graded slabs.    

[David Stone]

On 9/20/2020 at 8:44 PM, Gambold said:

I could go with that explanation except for two problems. The first is that few people know about this second book, it hasn’t been well promoted, and it’s not even out yet...and Amazon has no release date for it as of this writing.  Given the low incentive for people to pay for another Overstreet book a few months later, I don’t have a lot of confidence in the quality of the content. 

Second, the current Guide says “Special 50th Anniversary Edition” in a gold banner on the front cover. That suggests that special anniversary content is inside and that this particular Guide is thus a unique, even collectible purchase. That is not true, there is nothing special inside, it’s just another Overstreet guide as I stated before. 
 

 

 

Really wish things had gone smoother for this book! Here is the update from the Gemstone website with the shipping date for Overstreet @ 50:

Overstreet @ 50: Five Decades of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, originally set to be released during what turned out to be the heart of the COVID-19 shutdown, has been rescheduled to arrive in comic shops on Wednesday, November 4, 2020.

This companion book celebrates and documents the 50-year history of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide with an extensive interview with Bob Overstreet, commentaries from Paul Levitz, Maggie Thompson, Beau Smith, David T. Alexander, Buddy Saunders, Matt Nelson, Steve Borock, and others. There’s also a behind-the-scenes look at the development of the Guide, a cover gallery, the Overstreet Hall of Fame, and more.

Overstreet @ 50 clocks in at more than 400 pages. It features an Incredible Hulk cover by Joe Jusko and will be available in hardcover ($30) and soft cover ($20) versions. The hardcover is exclusive to comic shops.  

Since the book is more than 400 pages long, I can understand why they decided to publish this in a separate volume. Just too much material to squeeze into the regular Guide. I contributed a few articles on the OPG to this volume, so I may be biased, but I think the book will be worthwhile for people who are interested in the history of the Guide. Like you, I wish they could have promoted it better, but they were blindsided by Covid-19 shutting down Comicon and so much of the economy. I think the Guide is printed in Canada, Gemstone is in Maryland, they had to publish the Facsimile edition of OPG #1, the three cover versions of the regular Guide, the Big! Big! version, coordinate with the Hero Initiative to get that book printed, and publish this book all while dealing with different government shutdown orders, shipping schedules, etc. That is really a lot to do, so I am inclined to be forgiving about the extended schedule. It has been a hard time for everybody!

[Gambold Vintage]

Thanks for that information.  Yeah we can give them the benefit of the doubt ton this, but I do think the time of blaming Covid for product delays, poor customer service, shipping issues, weak product lines and whatever has come to a close.  

Nothing changes the fact that the current Guide, which is what 99% of of the potential buyers are going to buy, is marketed as a "special anniversary edition" and there is absolutely nothing special or anniversary-related inside its covers, or in the choices of cover art, or ANYTHING.   

BTW - someone mentioned a digital version.  If they are referring to the PDF dump as a digital version, that is basically worthless, being a PDF. A true digital version would be in a database format, or at least a spreadsheet. It's 2020 - could someone at Gemstone PLEASE modernize the Guide? 

 

 

[snitzer]

4 hours ago, Gambold said:

Thanks for that information.  Yeah we can give them the benefit of the doubt ton this, but I do think the time of blaming Covid for product delays, poor customer service, shipping issues, weak product lines and whatever has come to a close.  

Nothing changes the fact that the current Guide, which is what 99% of of the potential buyers are going to buy, is marketed as a "special anniversary edition" and there is absolutely nothing special or anniversary-related inside its covers, or in the choices of cover art, or ANYTHING.   

BTW - someone mentioned a digital version.  If they are referring to the PDF dump as a digital version, that is basically worthless, being a PDF. A true digital version would be in a database format, or at least a spreadsheet. It's 2020 - could someone at Gemstone PLEASE modernize the Guide? 

 

 

The Apple Store version is not a PDF. How is a spreadsheet more modern? Did you even bother to look or are you just complaining now? 😂 

Edited September 27, 2020 by snitzer

[Gambold Vintage]

I'm happy to stand corrected, but could you send a link for this "Apple store" version?  Searches on my iPhone and my Macbook in the App store for "Overstreet Guide' or "Overstreet Comics" bring up nothing.  Screenshots attached. 

A spreadsheet is more useful because it allows you to sort or filter the entries in any way you choose. A database would be even better, although I understand that not everyone is going to have the requisite software to use one.  

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by Gambold

[snitzer]

Book store yo. It’s a book. Don’t ask me to read it to you once downloaded 

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-overstreet-comic-book-price-guide/id1531161216

Edited September 27, 2020 by snitzer

[Gambold Vintage]

Thanks for the link.  That's not what I mean. By a digital guide, I meant something that can allows the use of digital search, filter and reporting tools.  I did download the sample and checked it out. It pretty much functions as a large PDF file with bookmarks on key titles.  They OCR-scanned the book...they aren't providing the data in a database or spreadsheet format. See attached. 

 

 

[snitzer]

No one is stopping you from making an xls. Have fun 👍