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Thank you for any advice or tips
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Started by RPHjr7,

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SOTIcollector

SOTIcollector

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19 hours ago, RPHjr7 said:

I just started researching about investing in comics. I’m very interested in entering the market and competing. So far I learned about reading barcodes, cgc grading, and a couple other things... so my question right now and today is, regarding CGC... should i grade any comics that I believe will be worth something in the future, or how specific exactly should I be with submitting my comics in to be graded. For example: I picked up a nice set of 1-11 black lightning 1970’s... should I submit the entire volume to be graded or maybe just 1-3?  

ALSO what if you don’t know the value of a comic, can you submit anyways and CGc will let me know which tier it is?

any advice or tips about ANYTHING with investing in comics would be grately appreciated! I’m serious about investing & trading comics. Not a whole lot of money to start with but about every month I’ll be able to get a good bit. One brick a day makes a wall later. Let’s go ❤️

The advice I give to anybody who wants to invest in comics is always the same:  buy what you like.  If it goes up, it's a bonus for you.  If it doesn't, and it usually doesn't, then you've still gotten enjoyment out of it.  I've collected comics for a number of decades, owned a store, sold at conventions, and I've talked with hundreds of people who wanted to make money buying and selling comics.  Very few have ever made a significant amount of money on them, even when they have devoted a lot of time and effort to it.   That said, it seems you're determined to invest this money, and I wish you the best.  I'm sure you're aware that while you could make money, you could also lose a lot of money as well.

To determine if something is worth grading, you'll want to know what copies are selling for.  eBay completed listings are helpful for commonly-traded books, but you can only see a few months of sales.  For something that doesn't sell as often, such as Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 in CGC 9.8, your best approach is to pay for a subscription service that gives you access to previous auctions over a number of years.  For that, I use GPAnalysis.com.  Some use GoCollect. 

Is your Giant-Size Super-Stars graded by CGC as a CGC 9.8, or is the 9.8 your assessment of the grade?  If it's graded, then a subscription service that provides you real-world auction results would be useful. If your book is not graded, then your next step should be to have some experts give you an opinion of the grade, to see if it's worth having graded.

With a subscription service, you'd find that two CGC graded copies of Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 sold in 2019:  one for $515, and one for $346.  That's not what the seller got for the books.  That's the price a buyer paid including any auction house surcharges.  If I were selling a copy today, I'd consider myself lucky to net $400 and would be disappointed with a $300 sale.

As for slabbing Black Lightning #1-11, or any other run, the answer is to ignore the fact that it's a run.  Just consider each individual issue.  If you're just looking to sell for an immediate profit, then add up the cost of the book plus the cost of shipping to CGC plus the cost of grading (and, if desired, pressing) and the cost of return shipping and the amount of profit you expect to make.  Compare that to the market rate for the book, based on the grade the experts believe the book will get.  Subtract the cost of selling from the market rate (eBay fees, auction house consignment fees, shipping, etc.)  If the market rate will get you the profit you expect, then grade it.  If the market rate won't get you the profit you expect, then don't bother slabbing, whether it's issue #1, issue #11, or anything in between. 

Oh, and somewhere in there you need to take into account the fact that it won't necessarily come back the grade you had hoped for.  If you expect a 9.6 but get a 9.0, then you could easily come out with a loss rather than a profit.

Best of luck! 

 

 

 

 

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RPHjr7

RPHjr7

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14 minutes ago, SOTIcollector said:

The advice I give to anybody who wants to invest in comics is always the same:  buy what you like.  If it goes up, it's a bonus for you.  If it doesn't, and it usually doesn't, then you've still gotten enjoyment out of it.  I've collected comics for a number of decades, owned a store, sold at conventions, and I've talked with hundreds of people who wanted to make money buying and selling comics.  Very few have ever made a significant amount of money on them, even when they have devoted a lot of time and effort to it.   That said, it seems you're determined to invest this money, and I wish you the best.  I'm sure you're aware that while you could make money, you could also lose a lot of money as well.

To determine if something is worth grading, you'll want to know what copies are selling for.  eBay completed listings are helpful for commonly-traded books, but you can only see a few months of sales.  For something that doesn't sell as often, such as Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 in CGC 9.8, your best approach is to pay for a subscription service that gives you access to previous auctions over a number of years.  For that, I use GPAnalysis.com.  Some use GoCollect. 

Is your Giant-Size Super-Stars graded by CGC as a CGC 9.8, or is the 9.8 your assessment of the grade?  If it's graded, then a subscription service that provides you real-world auction results would be useful. If your book is not graded, then your next step should be to have some experts give you an opinion of the grade, to see if it's worth having graded.

With a subscription service, you'd find that two CGC graded copies of Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 sold in 2019:  one for $515, and one for $346.  That's not what the seller got for the books.  That's the price a buyer paid including any auction house surcharges.  If I were selling a copy today, I'd consider myself lucky to net $400 and would be disappointed with a $300 sale.

As for slabbing Black Lightning #1-11, or any other run, the answer is to ignore the fact that it's a run.  Just consider each individual issue.  If you're just looking to sell for an immediate profit, then add up the cost of the book plus the cost of shipping to CGC plus the cost of grading (and, if desired, pressing) and the cost of return shipping and the amount of profit you expect to make.  Compare that to the market rate for the book, based on the grade the experts believe the book will get.  Subtract the cost of selling from the market rate (eBay fees, auction house consignment fees, shipping, etc.)  If the market rate will get you the profit you expect, then grade it.  If the market rate won't get you the profit you expect, then don't bother slabbing, whether it's issue #1, issue #11, or anything in between. 

Oh, and somewhere in there you need to take into account the fact that it won't necessarily come back the grade you had hoped for.  If you expect a 9.6 but get a 9.0, then you could easily come out with a loss rather than a profit.

Best of luck! 

 

 

 

 

I’m grateful for your reply. Very helpful. I will take this into consideration. I’m a picky buyer, my buddy is the one who wants to buy everything under the sun haha. To be honest, I picked up the giant size super-star #1 for $30 maybe less, the local stores give big discounts. The condition in my eyes is clearly over a 9... I see no visible wear or damage on it. I’m new so of course I would grade it the most optimistic so I’m hoping to get it back as a 9.6 or above. As far as my #1 black lightnings I picked up, got em both for $10 a piece. Again, no visible wear or damage. I would take pictures but they are in plastic and don’t want to touch them. But to clarify, I’m not trying to get rich... if I buy something for $10-30, not including the grade cost and shipping blah blah blah, now and in 10-15 years can sell it for $20-60 that’s awesome to me anything more than that is a bonus. And in understanding that I am plan on traveling around with my collection after a few years of collecting and hustling that way too so I can’t cut out the auctions and just speak to real people who are fans of what I have. I have a few plans I went to college for business so I’m not completely dumb but anything new is a challenge at first. 

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Glassman10

Glassman10

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It has always struck me that when you start collecting something, it's more of a passion. I have some things that I didn't realize I collected until we started counting, like scales to weigh things.  I began to collect comics in about 1967 and there was never a thought of selling them for money. It was more like just wanting all of an issue. No Slabs, no backing boards and the ones that got bags were opalescent .  Anytime I see someone preplanning their profit, I get uneasy. Primarily it starts as love and may or may not turn into an investment. I held every comic I bought on the newsstand as a teenager fifty plus years ago and did not sell them until I could see that they no longer had the hold on me they once did and that nothing good would come of my keeping them. I still have all the scales. Those things are actually useful. 

AT one point I went to a rockies game in Denver and they were giving the beanie baby "Glory" to the first 10,000 fans in. I had two, one was my daughters. We were leaving the game in the 8th since it was a hopeless endeavor and here's this bunch of kids on the street trying to buy them. I sold both for $100 bucks and that paid for the parking and the food. My daughter asked why I did that and I told her than in ten minutes, 9,998 beanie babies were coming out of that stadium right towards those kids. I asked her how much she thought they would sell for. Smart Kid, she understood right away. 

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RPHjr7

RPHjr7

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4 minutes ago, Glassman10 said:

It has always struck me that when you start collecting something, it's more of a passion. I have some things that I didn't realize I collected until we started counting, like scales to weigh things.  I began to collect comics in about 1967 and there was never a thought of selling them for money. It was more like just wanting all of an issue. No Slabs, no backing boards and the ones that got bags were opalescent .  Anytime I see someone preplanning their profit, I get uneasy. Primarily it starts as love and may or may not turn into an investment. I held every comic I bought on the newsstand as a teenager fifty plus years ago and did not sell them until I could see that they no longer had the hold on me they once did and that nothing good would come of my keeping them. I still have all the scales. Those things are actually useful. 

AT one point I went to a rockies game in Denver and they were giving the beanie baby "Glory" to the first 10,000 fans in. I had two, one was my daughters. We were leaving the game in the 8th since it was a hopeless endeavor and here's this bunch of kids on the street trying to buy them. I sold both for $100 bucks and that paid for the parking and the food. My daughter asked why I did that and I told her than in ten minutes, 9,998 beanie babies were coming out of that stadium right towards those kids. I asked her how much she thought they would sell for. Smart Kid, she understood right away. 

That’s facts. That’s my mentality. Any age comic today in 30 years from now will be worth more. I plan on stacking my collections and do some hustling here and there. I’m definitely not trying to get rich, if I get lucky that’s different. Haha 

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RPHjr7

RPHjr7

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2 minutes ago, Glassman10 said:

Indeed, the expectations between a 6.5 and a 9.8 clearly mark the trail of tears that lead you along the muddy grading path. 9.8 is a rare bird.  Actually a 6.5 ain't bad. 

Haha I’m just being confident. Let me get some things graded and I’ll come back with my results. Whatever the grade is, doesn’t matter to me, eventually I can find a sucker a few years down the road and I’ll get my money back ❤️🤪

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steveinthecity

steveinthecity

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22 minutes ago, RPHjr7 said:

I picked up the giant size super-star #1 for $30 maybe less, the local stores give big discounts. The condition in my eyes is clearly over a 9... I see no visible wear or damage on it. I’m new so of course I would grade it the most optimistic so I’m hoping to get it back as a 9.6 or above. As far as my #1 black lightnings I picked up, got em both for $10 a piece. Again, no visible wear or damage. I would take pictures but they are in plastic and don’t want to touch them.

It’s ok to “touch” comics.  I for one, would love to see what those two Black Lightning’s look like condition-wise.  

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RPHjr7

RPHjr7

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23 minutes ago, steveinthecity said:

It’s ok to “touch” comics.  I for one, would love to see what those two Black Lightning’s look like condition-wise.  

If not tonight, tomorrow for sure 

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seanfingh

seanfingh

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1 hour ago, RPHjr7 said:

I’ll see what I can do tonight and I’ll post them in the please grade section. ❤️

Please do - you are most likely in need of a serious education as it relates to grading standards.  I had been collecting continuously since 1984 when I got my first books graded in 2004-2005.  It took me years to consistently grade to CGCs standards, and I had been an active hobbyist for 20 years.  I don't say this to discourage you, but merely to inject some realism into your journey.  For example, most 70's books that you find at stores/shows will top out in the 8.0-9.0 range.  9.0 books to the naked eye, or more accurately the untrained eye, look absolutely fantastic. Typically good gloss, seemingly sharp corners, white whites etc.  Only when you have reviewed dozens and dozens of 9.2-9.4 and 9.6-9.8 will the microscopic defects start to jump out at you, and you can tell them apart.     

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Deadpoolica

Deadpoolica

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6 hours ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

That particular reply was in reference to "Giant-Size Fantastic Four #1".

Are you talking about Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 (1974), or Fantastic Four Giant-Size Adventures #1 (2009)?

You know what? I take it back; You should definitely "invest" in comics. :smirk:

^^^^^^

 

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Glassman10

Glassman10

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2 hours ago, RPHjr7 said:

Haha I’m just being confident. Let me get some things graded and I’ll come back with my results. Whatever the grade is, doesn’t matter to me, eventually I can find a sucker a few years down the road and I’ll get my money back ❤️🤪

Bad premise to get in a biz that actually relies on trust.  Further, value is based on perception, not scarcity.  I have some Hopalong Cassidy here that are worth less than when they were printed in '48 based on condition. There are estimated 10,000 copies of AF 15 out there and even so, it pulls major dollars because everyone wants one, not because it's rare.  If I gave any advice I hoped you'd take to heart, it's lose "the sucker mentality". You won't go far. 

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SOTIcollector

SOTIcollector

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2 hours ago, RPHjr7 said:

Any age comic today in 30 years from now will be worth more.

Given what I've seen over the years, that statement is extremely unlikely to be true.  If it were true that comics always go up after 30 years, then 30 year old comics would all be worth more now than when they were printed.  However, today 95+% of the comic books printed in 1990 are not worth more than they cost new, even if you don't adjust for inflation.  In fact, if you have the resources to buy in bulk, you can buy boxes of comics from the 1990's for 5-10 cents per comic. 

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Joosh

Joosh

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You mentioned spending a couple thousand/month on comics for investment... with that budget you could save up for major key issues, purchasing one or 2/year. That’s the smartest play for strictly investing in comics long term. When liquidation time comes, it’s just as much work to sell a $200 Black Lightning #1 as it is to sell a $25K Amazing Fantasy #1. The AF15 will probably be an easier sell too.

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