Is Pre-Code Horror undervalued? 3 3

[GermanFan]

19 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Sometimes it pays to be a geezer. I bought 80% of mine in the early to mid 1970’s. PCH (other than ECs), were under tables unbagged for a buck apiece. Maybe $4-5 bucks top on the table. $10-20 were WAY over priced. 

In those days, Timelys were hot. I bought Nedors cheap. DCs were hot so I bought MLJ, Ace, Chessler and other odd ball publishers cheap. 

Prices now are crazy! 

As I collect mostly everything in GA except most Westerns I buy anticyclic. PCH is often almost as expensive nowadays as Timelys, so I concentrate on the "cold" books. ACG is still cheap and they have good covers.

Edited March 17, 2021 by GermanFan

[GermanFan]

20 hours ago, Funnybooks said:

If we only had a crystal ball or a DeLorean...I look at collectibles like any non-essential expense...cup of cofee, pack of smokes, a daily donut or a vacation...you'll spend money on some consumable that gives you a moment of pleasure but what's left is gone but an instant form of gratification or a memory...you spend the money nonetheless, knowing that it's a "cost" that you can never recoup...I'll buy a comic book for the same type of gratification and regardless if it goes up or down, I still get the enjoyment of collecting/owning the books until the day comes that I sell/trade the book for some other form of enjoyment...spend within your means and you'll have more enjoyment in the hobby...

Spending your money on Comics is such a healthy vice in comparison to sink your money in Bars or drugs.

[ThothAmon]

Not nearly as overpriced as bronze through modern. Now those prices are cra cra.  

[Robot Man]

3 hours ago, GermanFan said:

As I collect mostly everything in GA except most Westerns I buy anticyclic. PCH is often almost as expensive nowadays as Timelys, so I concentrate on the "cold" books. ACG is still cheap and they have good covers.

I have primarily collected PCH since I saw a few as a kid. Back in the day it was pretty easy to put together full runs pretty cheap. I liked the more graphic ones the most so those are what I went for. There were several publishers that were a lot more tame content wise. Notably, Avon, Star and ACG. Although I’m pretty much complete on the rest. I’m now going for these 3 publishers when I find them reasonable. On these 3 publishers, I am talking content not covers. In the cover age, a number of these will never be cheap again, 

[october]

14 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

We are looking at current prices using the past as a reference.  It's like our parents complaining that a gallon of gas costs 30 cents.  Prices do indeed seem crazy but perhaps we're just too old 

This. To a lot of younger collectors (not me) prices from 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago, are totally irrelevant. All they have ever known are $10,000+ copies of Chamber of Chills 19, so it's not overpriced to them, it's just reality. I remember buying my 8.5 for $300, so to me it's insane. It's whatever your frame of reference is. 

[speedcake]

On 3/16/2021 at 9:04 PM, oakman29 said:

Pre code horror can be pretty pricey, but I'll tell you what's undervalued Warren Horror. Blazing Combat, Creepy,  Eerie,  Vampirella and Other Warren horror Properties.  I can now say this because I own all of them, before I didnt want to raise the prices by talking about them.😂

oak, we talked about this. First rule of Warren Horror Mags club is pooey! These mags are dumb you don't want them don't listen to Oak he's nuts nobody cares about Vampirella keep buying Ultimate Fantasy Fallout #181 and do not buy Warren mags they will only make your teeth rot out and your eyeballs explode your mom will be pretty angry about it at Sunday dinner so please don't

Edited March 18, 2021 by speedcake

[oakman29]

20 hours ago, GermanFan said:

Spending your money on Comics is such a healthy vice in comparison to sink your money in Bars or drugs.

I like to think that comics even helps me enjoy bars and drugs,  don't forget hookers!😘

[oakman29]

49 minutes ago, speedcake said:

oak, we talked about this. First rule of Warren Horror Mags club is pooey! These mags are dumb you don't want them don't listen to Oak he's nuts nobody cares about Vampirella keep buying Ultimate Fantasy Fallout #181 and do not buy Warren mags they will only make your teeth rot out and your eyeballs explode your mom will be pretty angry about it at Sunday dinner so please don't

🤐 so right! I'm an old man who doesnt know what he's saying.🙈🙉🙊

Edited March 18, 2021 by oakman29

[badback83]

20 hours ago, Robot Man said:

I have primarily collected PCH since I saw a few as a kid. Back in the day it was pretty easy to put together full runs pretty cheap. I liked the more graphic ones the most so those are what I went for. There were several publishers that were a lot more tame content wise. Notably, Avon, Star and ACG. Although I’m pretty much complete on the rest. I’m now going for these 3 publishers when I find them reasonable. On these 3 publishers, I am talking content not covers. In the cover age, a number of these will never be cheap again, 

I have a nice ACG coming in soon.  It’s an upgrade for me, pretty excited.

[F For Fake]

It feels like nothing is undervalued to me in the current market. PCH is all the rage with the Instagram/FB crowd, so it seems to be right in the crosshairs of most collectors.

As for stuff I DO think is undervalued...I'm not tellin'! At least not until I buy more! 

[Dylan.]

On 3/16/2021 at 10:55 AM, bc said:

Here's some real pre-code horror...

 

 

 

An Overstreet Advisor grading this as an 8.0

The book that never stops giving.

-bc

It's the 52nd appearance of Dylan. One day this book will be more recognizable than Hulk 181! This is awesome!

[Dylan.]

Arent ACG, and certain EC, maybe some Harveys still attainable? Do you think some non keys will become keys? We've seen it in the past happen

 

[buttock]

On 3/16/2021 at 7:16 PM, thehumantorch said:

We are looking at current prices using the past as a reference.  It's like our parents complaining that a gallon of gas costs 30 cents.  Prices do indeed seem crazy but perhaps we're just too old 

Yup.  I've made this point several times over the years.  Ecologists refer to it as the "shifting baseline".  You either pay what it's worth at the moment, or you pass.  You don't pay what it was worth.  

[sfcityduck]

"Overpriced" is an irrelevant concept when it comes to talking about a class of collectibles.  A collectible is only "overpriced" if you can get it cheaper elsewhere.  "Overpriced" is a concept that only applies to a single example of a class collectibles (e.g. X dealer has overpriced Black Cat 50 because I can buy it down the street for half that price).  

What I think the OP is really trying to say is that the upside, from a price growth perspective, on PCH is diminishing.  He may well be right.  That analysis, which is about making money not enjoyment, requires a comparison of the upside on PCH to the upside on other potential purchases (which could be comics or something else depending on whether you are talking about just making money or making money on comics). 

[speedcake]

2 hours ago, dylanthekid said:

It's the 52nd appearance of Dylan. One day this book will be more recognizable than Hulk 181! This is awesome!

Narrator: "It was not awesome."

[blazingbob]

2 hours ago, speedcake said:

Narrator: "It was not awesome."

It will become the poster child of "Before you learn how to grade".  Comes with a book of excuses.

[the blob]

On 3/16/2021 at 9:16 PM, thehumantorch said:

We are looking at current prices using the past as a reference.  It's like our parents complaining that a gallon of gas costs 30 cents.  Prices do indeed seem crazy but perhaps we're just too old 

Maybe look at them from the perspective of how many hours a minimum wage worker needed to work to buy them then vs. now? (Let's say today's minimum wage is $11 an hour, which is the national average.) These books are often 50-100X more expensive now. Other prices, mostly, have not gone up as much.

[the blob]

On 3/17/2021 at 7:16 AM, GermanFan said:

Spending your money on Comics is such a healthy vice in comparison to sink your money in Bars or drugs.

Beer in Germany is so affordable though. I really liked the beer culture there. And I like German food too. I guess it is the German in me.

[Black_Adam]

I noticed on eBay a Haunt of Fear #17 (classic Ingels cover) in CGC 4.0 sold recently for $725 and a CGC 5.5 sold for $1,630! 

I'm not sure undervalued is a term I would use to describe the current comic market, at least when it comes to EC PCH.

[thehumantorch]

1 hour ago, the blob said:

Maybe look at them from the perspective of how many hours a minimum wage worker needed to work to buy them then vs. now? (Let's say today's minimum wage is $11 an hour, which is the national average.) These books are often 50-100X more expensive now. Other prices, mostly, have not gone up as much.

Agreed.  Prices have gone up more for precode than minimum wage or other inflationary comparisons.  But what can we do at this point?