Has there been a substantial increase in the number of serious comic book collectors? 1 1

[inovrmihd]

Can someone please link me to a “reputable” online chat board.  Something on face book or Instagram, but is legit (no Qanon stuff mixed in, nothing that will get me in trouble)? I just want to see how the general public (not these boards) talks about investing in comics.

[zosocane]

29 minutes ago, inovrmihd said:

Can someone please link me to a “reputable” online chat board.  Something on face book or Instagram, but is legit (no Qanon stuff mixed in, nothing that will get me in trouble)? I just want to see how the general public (not these boards) talks about investing in comics.

I watch some YouTube “haul” videos to see what younger guys are doing.  And they’re chasing high grade keys in the $100 to $1K range — mostly Copper to Modern.  All spec plays.  None of these videos focuses on the writers or artists or characters.  I doubt they have ever read or page-flipped through a Nova #1 or an ASM # 300 — they’re just flipping plastic.

[kav]

8 minutes ago, zosocane said:

I watch some YouTube “haul” videos to see what younger guys are doing.  And they’re chasing high grade keys in the $100 to $1K range — mostly Copper to Modern.  All spec plays.  None of these videos focuses on the writers or artists or characters.  I doubt they have ever read or page-flipped through a Nova #1 or an ASM # 300 — they’re just flipping plastic.

Never read a comic in their life many of em.  Just dazzled by the $$$ possibility.

[JazzMan]

9 hours ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

A person with deep pockets could also buy up every copy available and burn them. 

Reminiscent of the Stallone porno movie?

[kav]

@greggy on the way to LCS to buy new hot book:
 

 

[oldmilwaukee6er]

In my experience, Spawn has been slowly adding collectors / readers since 296 / Road to 300 and the last two issues justified a 1:50 incentive. Usagi has added a much smaller amount ... But enough to do 1:10 incentive variants for the last 3 issues. But on my Facebook groups I see newbies posting fairly regularly. 

Sometimes I see them post for a few months and then suddenly they are selling. Other times they seem to rush through the aquisiton phase of collecting and burn out. 

[JTLarsen]

Even before the pandemic boom we also saw a gradual influx of global collectors/investors. That could also be a part of this.

One thing I will say is it’s hilarious to see people advising others not to buy what isn’t currently on fire. Somewhere I got the crazy idea to buy when they’re not on fire...

[1950's war comics]

i think a lot of the coin dealers are moving into comic books, coins prices have been stagnant compared to comics, and sports cards

[1950's war comics]

the insane thing about these comic book prices is that there are countless Bronze comics that have recently rose in value that are now worth more

than the holy grail of Lincoln cents ,... the 1909 SVDB

[Gator Guru]

On 3/26/2021 at 4:39 PM, Hudson said:

I am not sure there are MORE collectors out there buying books.

I am rather certain that many collectors who were once in their 20s and 30s with mortgages and babies, are now "older" and in poessesion of more "disposable income".

This may be one of the key factors in the rise in "value".

This is the scenario that I keep see playing out. 

[Gatsby77]

I think it’s simpler than all this. Collectibles of all stripes have skyrocketed over the past 12 months because middle class / wealthy folks (those who’ve  kept their jobs) can’t spend their discretionary money on restaurants or vacations - so they’ve poured it into collectibles.

Doesn’t matter if it’s baseball cards, basketball cards, comic book cards, sneakers, vintage video games, stocks, or dogecoin - millions of people are bored and now have money to burn.

Add to that the huge rise in YouTube hype channels (another byproduct of folks being stuck at home) and you’ve got a bubble that will likely subside when folks can travel again.

Also, I think the comic book card bubble is already subsiding - sealed boxes of Marvel Universe, Marvel Masterpieces I, and 1992 X-men are all down 20-40% from 45 days ago.

My theory? Folks have already moved on to NFTs like NBA Top Shot.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Gatsby77

[THE_BEYONDER]

20 minutes ago, Gatsby77 said:

I think it’s simpler than all this. Collectibles of all stripes have skyrocketed over the past 12 months because middle class / wealthy folks (those who’ve  kept their jobs) can’t spend their discretionary money on restaurants or vacations - so they’ve poured it into collectibles.

Doesn’t matter if it’s baseball cards, basketball cards, comic book cards, sneakers, vintage video games, stocks, or dogecoin - millions of people are bored and now have money to burn.

Add to that the huge rise in YouTube hype channels (another byproduct of folks being stuck at home) and you’ve got a bubble that will likely subside when folks can travel again.

Also, I think the comic book card bubble is already subsiding - sealed boxes of Marvel Universe, Marvel Masterpieces I, and 1992 X-men are all down 20-40% from 45 days ago.

My theory? Folks have already moved on to NFTs like NBA Top Shot.

This makes the most sense.  The million dollar question is whether or not this surge in prices will create a ceiling that will never be reached again.  Many have faith that specific keys will continue to rise forever and are comfortable buying in right now.   I understand holding these books if you already have them, but I don’t know about being the latest buyer setting new highs.

I guess time will tell...

[WolverineX]

2 hours ago, Gatsby77 said:

I think it’s simpler than all this. Collectibles of all stripes have skyrocketed over the past 12 months because middle class / wealthy folks (those who’ve  kept their jobs) can’t spend their discretionary money on restaurants or vacations - so they’ve poured it into collectibles.

Doesn’t matter if it’s baseball cards, basketball cards, comic book cards, sneakers, vintage video games, stocks, or dogecoin - millions of people are bored and now have money to burn.

Add to that the huge rise in YouTube hype channels (another byproduct of folks being stuck at home) and you’ve got a bubble that will likely subside when folks can travel again.

Also, I think the comic book card bubble is already subsiding - sealed boxes of Marvel Universe, Marvel Masterpieces I, and 1992 X-men are all down 20-40% from 45 days ago.

My theory? Folks have already moved on to NFTs like NBA Top Shot.

I've also noticed a bit of a drop off as well. 

[letsgrumble]

On 3/26/2021 at 7:13 AM, MatterEaterLad said:

Weird thoughts at 5:00 am:

1) There are more venues hyping books. In sports betting you'd call them touts. More podcasts, youtube channels, and Instragram feeds (though I like the IG claim sales and think they're great, especially in a year without cons). Lots of these venues are all about spec, from pushing quasi big books like Hulk 180 to stuff like ROM 1 (there were rumors of a movie). All of this hyping up the market to serious collectors and comic fans with budgets large and small.

2) Then there are those who aren't into comics but get sucked in by the hype. Comics are like bitcoin to them. There was a non-collector in a FB group this week who said he was selling two rental properties to buy comics and wanted to know what he should buy beyond an AF15. I told him the ultra-rare Squirrel Girl #1 Adamantium Edition in 12.0 -- keep looking, it's out there!

Good thoughts for 5:00 a.m. - there is so much accessible comic speculation info out there on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, etc. It has a wide reach. Some of these YouTube videos get 40K, 50K, 60K views per week. You don't even have to read or enjoy comics - just look up the top-10 hottest comics on your favourite comic spec app. The research is done for you - now go and buy. As a longtime collector, I have seen the new influx of comic buyers out there, who seem to have an unlimited budget and scoop up everything "hot" in sight. It doesn't bother me, except when I'm missing that one issue in a run that I've collected over the past 20 years, and now have to pay 50X more for it (if I want it) because ComicTom posted a video about it.

[zosocane]

Some observations about the huge price spike we saw was over the last ~ 90 days. 

1.  Which books were going insane?  Marvel super-hero comic books, pretty much any key and semi-key from early Silver Age to moderns. 

2.  Excluding Batmans, how did DCs perform over the last 90 days, even with WW84 and the Zack Snyder Justice League Gimmick Movie being released or hyped during that period?  Flat to modest gains.  Nothing crazy.  

3.  Yes, people are bored, spend more time on IG and eBay, and have discretionary income to spend ... but I believe Wanda-Vision (released, not coincidentally, 90 days ago) opened up a huge door of possibilities for Marvel Studios for the rest of this decade.  This has caused a lot of people (including speculators, to be sure) -- after an 18-month hiatus for Marvel Studios following Avengers Endgame, which saw the market drop a bit the last half of 2019 thru the first half of 2020 -- to be jacked up again about what Marvel Studios is going to do for the rest of the decade.

5.  I also believe the Spike has reached its peak and now we'll see some leveling off and some price correcting for the balance of the year, but no crash in vintage Marvel books.  Falcon/Winter Solider, Loki, What If?, Moon Knight and many others in a long string of TV shows are going to continue tent-poling the market for years to come.

6.  All of this is without any of us having gotten even a whiff of what Marvel Studios has up its sleeve for the X-Men and Fantastic Four sub-universes.  Imagine how the market will react when those franchises come to life, and that probably won't happen until 2023 or 2024, at the soonest. 

[InfantTerrible]

the high prices are here to stay. Superheroes are mainstream now.

Just look at the prices for that mega-blockbuster Apr-1 Heritage auction, really rich people are bidding there

Edited March 29, 2021 by IronMan_Cave

[Gatsby77]

8 hours ago, IronMan_Cave said:

the high prices are here to stay. Superheroes are mainstream now.

Just look at the prices for that mega-blockbuster Apr-1 Heritage auction, really rich people are bidding there

I'm not sure of that. Specifically *because* comic book money is competing with so many other collectible classes.

• Collectible sneakers made the cover of BusinessWeek last week
• Key basketball cards have outperformed key Baseball cards over the last 12 months, and key baseball cards have gone *crazy*
• NFTs made Saturday Night Live this weekend

And I've only dipped my toe in vintage graded video games, but I can say without hesitation that, given $10k in cash to invest, I'd put it in graded video games over comic books. 

Every single one of these categories has out-performed even key Marvel comic books over the last 12 months.

Edited March 29, 2021 by Gatsby77

[Lazyboy]

16 hours ago, zosocane said:

6.  All of this is without any of us having gotten even a whiff of what Marvel Studios has up its sleeve for the X-Men and Fantastic Four sub-universes.  Imagine how the market will react when those franchises come to life, and that probably won't happen until 2023 or 2024, at the soonest. 

Yeah, just imagine what will happen when all the people who've been in comas for the last 20 years are finally exposed to the X-Men!

[InfantTerrible]

16 hours ago, zosocane said:

 

6.  All of this is without any of us having gotten even a whiff of what Marvel Studios has up its sleeve for the X-Men and Fantastic Four sub-universes.  Imagine how the market will react when those franchises come to life, and that probably won't happen until 2023 or 2024, at the soonest. 

We had like 10-12 X-Men movies in the past 20 years, from mediocre at best to downright bad ........I think people can live without the franchise for while

Fantastic Four on the other hand.....now that has the potential to explode

[zosocane]

5 hours ago, Lazyboy said:

Yeah, just imagine what will happen when all the people who've been in comas for the last 20 years are finally exposed to the X-Men!

Over the last 20 years, how many X-Men films were by Marvel Studios?