In light of the SA price explosion, is GA the place to put new funds instead? 5 5

[Mr.Fantastic]

After coming back into comic collecting last year I have been saving to purchase SA Marvel keys (#1 issues).  But, I never thought prices would currently explode the way they have, and the books I wanted are increasing faster than I can save. Browsing current and upcoming auctions I find myself drooling over GA books and have thoughts of waiting on the SA keys and just buying GA books that I like. Thoughts on giving up on my original plan and pivoting into the Golden Age of comic books at this time??

Edited March 24, 2021 by Mr.Fantastic

[Funnybooks]

1 minute ago, Mr.Fantastic said:

After coming back into comic collecting last year I have been saving to purchase SA Marvel keys (#1 issues).  But, I never thought prices would currently explode the way they have, and the books I wanted are increasing faster than I can save. Browsing current and upcoming auctions I find myself drooling over GA books and have thoughts of waiting on the SA keys and just buying GA books that I like. Thoughts on giving up on my original plan and pivoting into the Golden Age of comic books at this time??

Don't do it...nothing to see here......I hear modern is where the action's at...

[drbanner]

Seems to be the way to go right now, although certain GA genres continue to be on fire (precode horror).

[piper]

Prices seems high to me on Classic Covers for Pre Code and GGA books, but that’s just my opinion.

 

[pickycollector]

Hard to believe but... I recently started buying EC books  

[Funnybooks]

1 minute ago, pickycollector said:

Hard to believe but... I recently started buying EC books  

[Paul © ® ⚽️💙™]

49 minutes ago, Mr.Fantastic said:

After coming back into comic collecting last year I have been saving to purchase SA Marvel keys (#1 issues).  But, I never thought prices would currently explode the way they have, and the books I wanted are increasing faster than I can save. Browsing current and upcoming auctions I find myself drooling over GA books and have thoughts of waiting on the SA keys and just buying GA books that I like. Thoughts on giving up on my original plan and pivoting into the Golden Age of comic books at this time??

Stay in Silver, silver boy!  

[Funnybooks]

11 minutes ago, G G ® ™ said:

Stay in Silver, silver boy!  

Stay in your lane Silver!

[sfcityduck]

The real money is in coppers.  I'm justifying the entire spending history of my childhood just on some Usagi Yojimbo appearances and an Aliens 1 (who knew?).   I didn't even know they had value.  Made me dig deeper into copper, and I now realize that the cost of  every X-Men comic I bought off the stand can be recovered if I just off sell a first appearance of "Mister Sinister" (who?) in an X-Men I bought to keep my run going (but never read).  Crazy.

Edited March 24, 2021 by sfcityduck

[Black_Adam]

Start buying silver and bronze age Gold Key, Charlton and Harvey keys while they are still affordable! 

[sagii]

28 minutes ago, Black_Adam said:

Start buying silver and bronze age Gold Key, Charlton and Harvey keys while they are still affordable! 

Don't forget some DC silver and bronze by comparison: I still say for how ingrained in the popular geek culture that they are considering their(Teen Titans) fortune changing 80's run for DC (but mostly due to the enduring cartoon series), 'Brave and the Bold #54 'and 'DC Comics Presents #26' are the most criminally undervalued keys in all of superhero comics 

Edited March 24, 2021 by sagii

[Rip]

Diversify. Right now GA may not be moving leaps and bounds but I would say you are a fool if you don't at least dabble in it

[BakerFanOne]

You raise an interesting question.  Supply and demand economics are quite different between Silver and Gold as Silver has in general much more demand but also a much larger supply.  Also, most Silver is available in a broader array of grades with many 9.4+ copies where certain Gold books may have 2-3 copies in 8.0+.  But since movies and tv shows seem to be driving the astronomical price acceleration in silver and bronze keys, I would continue to favor them from a pure investment perspective as you can possibly stock up on multiples if you get in early enough.  But as many would say, collect what you like and you will rarely be disappointed.  

Edited March 25, 2021 by BakerFanOne

[BoogieWoogie]

I'm not sure. GA is really tricky to me, I don't have any in my own collection, and I don't know how newer collectors look at GA books. I think GA will see some major shifts in what's considered collectable from that era as younger collectors make up more of the dollars in the hobby. Which GA books will millennials and Gen Z value is the real question IMO 

[rjpb]

GA keys and classic covers have seen major price increases in the last few years already. Even just cool covers that may not be considered "classic", especially if the comic is uncommon, have seen big jumps. Many Timely's, especially Caps, have seen a 50-100% jump in value in just the last year or so. There is no doubt stuff out there that will see further increases, and some stuff that was "hot" a couple years ago, but has cooled a bit (like Timely/Atlas GGA humor books), may be ready for revived interest, but GA has by no means stalled in value as Silver and Bronze have taken off. 

[rjpb]

4 hours ago, drbanner said:

Seems to be the way to go right now, although certain GA genres continue to be on fire (precode horror).

As with any genre, results are uneven. The long established classic covers keep going up, but a lot of the newer "classics", books that went from $100 to $1000 in VG a couple years ago, seem to have stalled out, and maybe even dipped slightly as more copies surface for sale. The run of the mill stuff from popular publishers like Ajax, Merit and Superior still sell, but aren't really "on fire" the way they were a year or so ago. ECs seem to be doing well, as are Gilmore titles, but the less exciting stuff, like Ace books without a classic cover, have less heat than the genre in general. 

 

As a side note, one thing really on fire right now are 1930s and 40s pinup mags with painted covers in VG+ or better, especially with Bolles, Quintana and Driben covers, frequently selling for 3 to 5 times what they would have a year or so ago.

[Paul © ® ⚽️💙™]

1 hour ago, BakerFanOne said:

But as many would say, collect what you like and you will rarely be disappointed.  

+1

I never buy a book specifically to make money. I used to years ago, and I found it a hollow experience.

I buy books I love. If they turn out to be assets in the long run, then great. Having said that, I buy so few books these days that the ones I do buy are usually very desirable by the world and his brother.

But hey, whatever floats your boat. 

[Spyder!]

I know that there never actually seems to be a decline in prices, so I’m sure I’ll be wrong, but what is happening with SA keys right now just seems insane to me. These increases just don’t make sense. Did the number of collectors in the market triple or something? I just don’t get it. I think these books are due for a correction. 

[bpc3qh]

1 hour ago, G G ® ™ said:

+1

I never buy a book specifically to make money. I used to years ago, and I found it a hollow experience.

I buy books I love. If they turn out to be assets in the long run, then great. Having said that, I buy so few books these days that the ones I do buy are usually very desirable by the world and his brother.

But hey, whatever floats your boat. 

I find that I often place value-bets on books that I think might have investment potential, so if I win them at the bid amount I'm happy, but will never get into a bidding war for those books. Whereas, I will go to the mat for books I really want. Even still, the investment books are books that I like, so that if I'm wrong about the market, I don't find myself saddled with books I never wanted in the first place.

[Paul © ® ⚽️💙™]

32 minutes ago, Spyder! said:

I know that there never actually seems to be a decline in prices, so I’m sure I’ll be wrong, but what is happening with SA keys right now just seems insane to me. These increases just don’t make sense. Did the number of collectors in the market triple or something? I just don’t get it. I think these books are due for a correction. 

The same thing is happening in trading cards.

I put the whole thing down to people fixating on something to love, to look forward to, i.e.going stir crazy from all the lockdowns.