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Should I buy Silver Age keys now?
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Started by Colin Nash,

107 posts in this topic

Colin Nash

Colin Nash

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Posted (edited)

I returned to comic collecting 18 months ago. I started by collecting some slabbed Silver Age comics, an age which has always been dear to me.  However, I find I can no longer compete with the crazy bids that are now being placed in auctions like Comiclink.com.

Last month, Jan 2021, I annoyingly missed out on an X-Men #4 cgc 7.0 due to computer lag on my laptop. Think it went for $2500, thats up $600 from Dec 2020. Ok I thought, thats life, I'll try again next time. To my horror, the current bid in the Comiclink February auction for the same comic is a staggering $3710 !! (The auction still has 3 days to run).

This now seems to be the norm on Silver Age major keys. A crazy time to be buying comics? I think there are General Investors, and not, Comic Collectors, out there throwing money at any Collectable they can get their hands on.

Should I still buy in this crazy environment, or should I sit it out for a couple of years in the hope things level themselves out? Even then, what prices will they be selling for?

Edited by Colin Nash
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alexgross.com

alexgross.com

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Posted
3 hours ago, Colin Nash said:

I returned to comic collecting 18 months ago. I started by collecting some slabbed Silver Age comics, an age which has always been dear to me.  However, I find I can no longer compete with the crazy bids that are now being placed in auctions like Comiclink.com.

Last month, Jan 2021, I annoyingly missed out on an X-Men #4 cgc 7.0 due to computer lag on my laptop. Think it went for $2500, thats up $600 from Dec 2020. Ok I thought, thats life, I'll try again next time. To my horror, the current bid in the Comiclink February auction for the same comic is a staggering $3710 !! (The auction still has 3 days to run).

This now seems to be the norm on Silver Age major keys. A crazy time to be buying comics? I think there are General Investors, and not, Comic Collectors, out there throwing money at any Collectable they can get their hands on.

Should I still buy in this crazy environment, or should I sit it out for a couple of years in the hope things level themselves out? Even then, what prices will they be selling for?

the pandemic has created some extraordinary price runups, for sure. i've never seen price increases happen this dramatically and rapidly across the board, all at once. i too have slowed my buying lately because prices are much higher on most keys than gpa and gocollect data suggest they should be. 

i do think there are still some good values out there. hulk1 has not gone up much for several years, and seems overdue. ff1 is on the move but still has room to grow. tos39 may also have more room to grow. and hulk 181 never fails to be a good buy, especially with white pages. 

xmen4 got very hot with the new wandavision show. but all xmen books seem to be on fire now too. i think post-pandemic life will flatten prices for awhile, whenever that happens. 

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Rip

Rip

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Posted
3 hours ago, Colin Nash said:

I returned to comic collecting 18 months ago. I started by collecting some slabbed Silver Age comics, an age which has always been dear to me.  However, I find I can no longer compete with the crazy bids that are now being placed in auctions like Comiclink.com.

Last month, Jan 2021, I annoyingly missed out on an X-Men #4 cgc 7.0 due to computer lag on my laptop. Think it went for $2500, thats up $600 from Dec 2020. Ok I thought, thats life, I'll try again next time. To my horror, the current bid in the Comiclink February auction for the same comic is a staggering $3710 !! (The auction still has 3 days to run).

This now seems to be the norm on Silver Age major keys. A crazy time to be buying comics? I think there are General Investors, and not, Comic Collectors, out there throwing money at any Collectable they can get their hands on.

Should I still buy in this crazy environment, or should I sit it out for a couple of years in the hope things level themselves out? Even then, what prices will they be selling for?

I would be very careful about putting big money into many Marvel keys right now. X-Men 4 at this time would be a very poor investment to buy. I would even argue X-Men 1 isn't the greatest investment especially in low grade.

That's not too say there still isn't some good deals out there. But its a time to be extra careful.

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Pantodude

Pantodude

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This is a tough spot for anyone in the situation of having a pending keys want list.   

[edited:  was too damn long]

But you asked whether it would be better to buy now or sit out until things "level themselves out."   The question presumes that things will continue surging and level out in two years, so like scenario one above.  The answer to that question is whether, based on current appreciation trajectory, you can afford the expected prices in two years.  That is simple math.   If you do not need to wait (only you know that), your question suggests you should act now.  

Edited by Pantodude
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Mr.Fantastic

Mr.Fantastic

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34 minutes ago, www.alexgross.com said:

the pandemic has created some extraordinary price runups, for sure. i've never seen price increases happen this dramatically and rapidly across the board, all at once. i too have slowed my buying lately because prices are much higher on most keys than gpa and gocollect data suggest they should be. 

i do think there are still some good values out there. hulk1 has not gone up much for several years, and seems overdue. ff1 is on the move but still has room to grow. tos39 may also have more room to grow. and hulk 181 never fails to be a good buy, especially with white pages. 

xmen4 got very hot with the new wandavision show. but all xmen books seem to be on fire now too. i think post-pandemic life will flatten prices for awhile, whenever that happens. 

This is what I would be more interested to know. Which keys are considered values at the moment. For every Xmen 1 or 4 that that has spiked in price, which keys are holding their value or creating a base for a higher run later. Currently Im searching for a nice Avengers1 or  books outside the current speculation of the Wanda/Vision MCU theories. I may even buy a few GA books like some early Actions.

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Mr.Fantastic

Mr.Fantastic

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41 minutes ago, silversurfer275 said:

x men 4 going up makes sense with wandavision being super popular right now that comic is for sure gonna take a jump.And thats whats happening right now im sure it will go down once the hype has cooled off.

What are the first appearances of Falcon/Winter Soldier or Loki doing since their shows are set to premiere soon? I honestly haven't followed them, but are they also seeing increases?  I would think these shows could have the same or greater popularity as Wanda/Vision.

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Timeless icons

Timeless icons

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Mr.Fantastic said:

What are the first appearances of Falcon/Winter Soldier or Loki doing since their shows are set to premiere soon? I honestly haven't followed them, but are they also seeing increases?  I would think these shows could have the same or greater popularity as Wanda/Vision.

There's a SS Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan Captain America 6 variant cgc 9.8 on comiclink ending soon. It's almost at 1k right now. I have a soft spot for that book to begin with as I really do like the Winter Soldier. The sigs are in decent spots too (rather than straight across a character's face...:cry:). Last GPA in 2019 was $900 for a S.Stan and Chris Evans copy so this is about right at the moment. Add a bit of extra heat on that price by the close of auction though. Considering the show is right around the corner, I'm sure it will see a bit of an uptick at close. Journey into Mystery 85 has been on the move in the mid grade sector and below for a while now. 

 

https://www.comiclink.com/Auctions/search.asp?FocusedOnly=1&where=auctions&title=captain+america+6&GO=GO&ItemType=CB

Edited by Timeless icons
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PKJ

PKJ

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Posted

In this market it is tough to pick one that is a must have under current conditions, While X-Men 1 is on fire you are certainly buying at the highest ever on record. Even others look more attractive than X1 right now just due to how much that book has exploded. Like most I am glad to have grabbed them in the past, AF15 has been an expensive book but the new age collectors seem to be looking past it right now, no idea what it or FF1 would do if they got behind those two. I did see a guy get 10K (or close as that was his offered price and responded it was sold) on FB for a 1.8 FF1 so maybe they are in tune as that seemed very strong. GSX1 is also starting to go nuts, so BA is on fire as well.

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Timeless icons

Timeless icons

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Posted

DC keys have some good buys right now. Since DC still doesn't seem to have their momentum on the Silver Screen yet and consistency still isn't there for them, there are lots of good pick ups in the DC realm. If compared to many Marvel titles, many of the DC keys are still decent options at least IMO. 

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Jasonmorris1000000

Jasonmorris1000000

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15 minutes ago, Timeless icons said:

DC keys have some good buys right now. Since DC still doesn't seem to have their momentum on the Silver Screen yet and consistency still isn't there for them, there are lots of good pick ups in the DC realm. If compared to many Marvel titles, many of the DC keys are still decent options at least IMO. 

I agree.  If you want more affordable silver age first appearances, DC is perfect right now.  Although Detective Comics #227 (1st Martian Manhunter) and Showcase #4 (Flash) are never going to be cheap.  I always wondered why Barry Allen's first appearance was considered to be the beginning of the Silver Age even though Jonn Jonzz was just a little earlier.  I also really like the Charlton Ditko super heroes (Blue Beetle, Question, and Captain Atom)  When I couldn't afford Spider-Man's I bought those instead along with the Creeper from DC.  I never liked Hawk and Dove though.

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WolverineX

WolverineX

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Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, Colin Nash said:

I returned to comic collecting 18 months ago. I started by collecting some slabbed Silver Age comics, an age which has always been dear to me.  However, I find I can no longer compete with the crazy bids that are now being placed in auctions like Comiclink.com.

Last month, Jan 2021, I annoyingly missed out on an X-Men #4 cgc 7.0 due to computer lag on my laptop. Think it went for $2500, thats up $600 from Dec 2020. Ok I thought, thats life, I'll try again next time. To my horror, the current bid in the Comiclink February auction for the same comic is a staggering $3710 !! (The auction still has 3 days to run).

This now seems to be the norm on Silver Age major keys. A crazy time to be buying comics? I think there are General Investors, and not, Comic Collectors, out there throwing money at any Collectable they can get their hands on.

Should I still buy in this crazy environment, or should I sit it out for a couple of years in the hope things level themselves out? Even then, what prices will they be selling for?

NO.  Only buy the reasonable ones like Showcase 22, ST110

Edited by Wolverinex
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Pantodude

Pantodude

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Caution (by staying on the fence) is always a good option, but ideally you can determine what part is crazy and what part represents a long-term or permanent rise in value.  For example, if the number of folks buying books has permanently gone up (pandemic permanently introduced more collectors into our hobby), those prices are not slowing or going down any time soon.  That is tricky to determine.  I for one think that has happened at least partially, especially among younger folk.  Once the pandemic over, some folks (especially those well-heeled ones) who discovered their collecting DNA might remain hooked.  

Edited by Pantodude
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Jasonmorris1000000

Jasonmorris1000000

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5 hours ago, FoggyNelson said:

I’m not sure I would buy keys in this environment😷😷😢☹️

I've bought a few keys recently (Universal Hulk #181 and Strange Tales #89 (1st Fin Fang Foom))  I had copies before but when I sent them in to get graded, they came back with purple labels.  I didn't particularly want to sell stuff off in order to afford them but I felt that I had no choice.  I don't think prices on those books are going to go down.  

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