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Comic book speculation4098

I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
The best time to buy a book is right before they announce the movie.
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COLLECTOR shrewbeer private msg quote post Address this user
If you're going to invest in any age of book, do so with THIS (link) in mind.

Some books are organically valuable, where everybody actually wants them. Some books are artificially hot, where everybody who's buying just thinks that someone else will want them (there's the greater fool theory). Right there is the difference in books that will hold value vs books that will crash.

Even the rock-steady golden age is not infallable. I've lost a few bucks on some books, and as a whole that market is actually in decline. The ratio of investors to people who actually want the books is getting worse by the day, and dealers are starting to shy away from them altogether.
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COLLECTOR DarthLego private msg quote post Address this user
No, the best time to buy a book is at cover price 20 years prior to the movie announcement.
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I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
Here is an example of speculation done right (believe me there are screw ups on my resume but this was a win):

Roughly three years ago I bough about 80 books in an online auction over the course of three or four days. Books ranged from golden age to modern. There were two books available from a little known golden age title.

Issue 2 was a CGC 8.5. It was the tied for highest graded with one other copy (Mile High / Edgar Church pedigree - not mine, the other copy had the pedigree). I won issue 2 for $68.00.

Issue 3 was a CGC 6.0 but was the single highest graded copy. As two lower graded copies had gone higher in the past I won issue 3 for $38.00.

Last night a buyer took issue 3 off my hands at my asking price of $469.00.

I am not sure what percentage of the books are sold off after three years but I have to say I am feeling pretty good about those auction purchases right now.
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Collector neyko private msg quote post Address this user
Originally comics went up in value because the only way to read the oldies was by getting one. Then we had reprints. Then TPB. Now we have digital. As digital grows, will fewer people have less interest in getting their hands on the original? Or will certain originals become even more valued? Will this allow more cultures to become exposed to these comics along with the movies making them of value worldwide?
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COLLECTOR conditionfreak private msg quote post Address this user
Deleted, because it sounded stupid afterwards.
Post 56 IP   flag post
Collector BrianGreensnips private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by neyko
Originally comics went up in value because the only way to read the oldies was by getting one. Then we had reprints. Then TPB. Now we have digital. As digital grows, will fewer people have less interest in getting their hands on the original? Or will certain originals become even more valued? Will this allow more cultures to become exposed to these comics along with the movies making them of value worldwide?
You make a good point. More exposure could lead to more people seeking out the original comics. Our younger culture though would much rather be playing video games.
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Collector neyko private msg quote post Address this user
There are young people reading comics online. On their iPads. I know this is completely alien to us, but they can get the entire back catalogue of Marvel for $10 a month from mom and/or dad or hack or what have you.

And yes, video games trump comics for 99% of the kids, but I think that is about 1% less than the kids in my neighborhood growing when there were other interests.
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Suck it up, buttercup!! KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianGreensnips
Quote:
Originally Posted by neyko
Originally comics went up in value because the only way to read the oldies was by getting one. Then we had reprints. Then TPB. Now we have digital. As digital grows, will fewer people have less interest in getting their hands on the original? Or will certain originals become even more valued? Will this allow more cultures to become exposed to these comics along with the movies making them of value worldwide?
You make a good point. More exposure could lead to more people seeking out the original comics. Our younger culture though would much rather be playing video games.


I'm not so sure - my son although on his device a lot does like Spongebob and the super hero movies. Currently he likes reading Spongbob comics, Power Rangers, JLA, Guardians, Rocket, Bone etc.
Eventually these books will go up as his generation becomes nostalgic for what they had as youth.
Post 59 IP   flag post
Collector BrianGreensnips private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by neyko
There are young people reading comics online. On their iPads. I know this is completely alien to us, but they can get the entire back catalogue of Marvel for $10 a month from mom and/or dad or hack or what have you.

And yes, video games trump comics for 99% of the kids, but I think that is about 1% less than the kids in my neighborhood growing when there were other interests.
Even sports like baseball are nowhere near as popular like they were when I was a kid in the 70's and 80's.Social media and instant gratification is so common to the youth of today. They do not have the patience to watch a good pitching matchup like Verlander vs Sale or something similar.
Post 60 IP   flag post
Collector neyko private msg quote post Address this user
I never had the patience for baseball. Sorry, but it is as bad as watching golf for me. A lot of kids still love baseball.
Post 61 IP   flag post
Collector doog private msg quote post Address this user
Modern books will be crazy hard speculation. You need to buy a dozen boxes and hold for 20 years. The old hard way is go to shows and stores and buy piles out of cheap boxes, but you need to learn to discern, that takes experience and research.
Better to hunt through boxes and look for mistakes, we all have some in our for sale boxes it seems. Bought a high grade Surfer 4 at a show for instance a dealer was displaying for $125, anybody could have bought it, got a 7.5.
Post 62 IP   flag post
Collector 50AE_DE private msg quote post Address this user
As others have mentioned, buy what you like and you won't get hurt by it. However, if you're buying with the expectations the books will turn a huge profit then you're going to have to do some research into what you buy. I have been buying books that I like which, unfortunately, so have a lot of other people so the prices on them are pretty high. There still are some opportunities for books that may be just as good with less people interested in them and those are the books I go after since they're still somewhat affordable.

I think one of my best purchase was a book I bought that I knew was scarce but wasn't collected as much as super hero books. About a week after I received the book, I received an email from the seller asking if I would be interested in reselling it back to him for a $600 profit. Again, this wasn't a hot book at the time and probably wasn't on a lot of people's radar but it was something I liked so even if the book's price remained flat I still would have been satisfied with the purchase.

In my opinion, a lot of the flippers are not just flipping comics to pay their rent, they're also flipping them so that they can buy more expensive books. I believe that's partially the reason why some of the silver/bronze keys have gone up so much so quickly. How many times have you seen new collectors come by talking about their newly purchased "key", only to find out they either overpaid for the book or the book wasn't in as great condition as they thought. Unfortunately, they're buying into the hype and wind up making mistakes, but the person that sold the book to them is walking away with more money in the pot for that silver/bronze key.
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Collector Gabriel85301 private msg quote post Address this user

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Collector doog private msg quote post Address this user
I sell my non keys to buy books I like (which are not necessarily keys) but I save every key I happen to get, no matter how lame. Ten years from now, I will start to sell, only dying with a few books or series I care about. The old folks home only has so much space I figure.
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I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by 50AE_DE
In my opinion, a lot of the flippers are not just flipping comics to pay their rent, they're also flipping them so that they can buy more expensive books.


If I hadn't flipped the better books I bought in the 1980s, signed Walking Dead books, etc. I am not sure I would have ended up with some of the more expensive golden and silver age books in my collection.

Flipping books has allowed me to trade up and to pay the bills. It has also helped me to turn a lump sum into more of an income stream.
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Collector neyko private msg quote post Address this user
Watch what I do.

And then do the complete opposite. You'll make a fortune.
Post 67 IP   flag post
Collector Homer private msg quote post Address this user
Ok do you want to know the real secret to making a small fortune in comic books?








Start off with a big fortune.
Post 68 IP   flag post
I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
Here are a few more books I sold from the auction lot I mentioned earlier (80 or so books total):

Aquaman 30 Raw 7.0 Paid $26, sold $40 on consignment




Brave and the Bold 73 CGC 9.0 Paid $41, sold $95 on consignment




Cryin' Lion 2 Paid $16, sold $34 on consignment




Cryin' Lion 3 Paid $19, sold $39 on consigment




Mister Miracle # 1 CGC 9.2 Paid $59, sold $139 on consigment




New Gods # 2 CGC 9.2 Paid $20, sold $105 on consigment




Phantom Stranger #33 CGC 9.6 Paid $61, sold $110 on consigment




Spyman 1 Raw 8.5 Paid $27, sold $79 on consignment




Teen Titans 48 CGC 9.4 Paid $34 , sold $85 on consignment


Post 69 IP   flag post
COLLECTOR Wolverine private msg quote post Address this user
Whys X-Men 94 so valuable?
Post 70 IP   flag post
Collector neyko private msg quote post Address this user
I vote for listening to Dr Chaos.
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I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
This probably deserves it's own thread but at SDCC Tom King revealed that Catwoman will give an answer to Batman's marriage proposal from issue 24 in issue 32. After six long months we finally get an answer.
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COLLECTOR shrewbeer private msg quote post Address this user
@drchaos are you dealing full time yet? From the sound of things in a few threads here, you may just have to quit your day job

Certainly envious of your con-hopping adventures lately
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I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by shrewbeer
@drchaos are you dealing full time yet? From the sound of things in a few threads here, you may just have to quit your day job

Certainly envious of your con-hopping adventures lately


My day job quit me several months ago. I had a couple promising interviews that did not pan out. After NYCC I plan to ramp up the job search. Until then there are too many days I need to take off for a potential employer to take me seriously.

Right now comics and stock trading are my full time job.
Post 74 IP   flag post
Collector neyko private msg quote post Address this user
A friend who is very good at speculating has gotten out of comics and into original art. He says people are just too smart in that everyone is jumping on all the keys, using eBay for a price and so on. And his passion is Marvel which makes things even tougher.

From a guy who is pretty bad at speculating I can tell you to stick with comics that you love and wouldn't mind being stuck with because chances are you will know the trivia of those books, the numbers, appearance and what they go for without thinking about it.

Don't try and be a "former me" who thought I could just jump in and really do well with the limited books/labels/eras I love doing so on a part time basis. That is like trying to beat the stock market using Ameritrade.
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I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
@neyko I used to use Ameritrade.
Post 76 IP   flag post
I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life. kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user
@drchaos what's a good alternative to ameritrade?
Post 77 IP   flag post
Collector neyko private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaptainmyke
what's a good alternative to ameritrade?


I am glad you asked. I would go with a low fee Vanguard Admiral Index Fund. Generally looking st 10-16% return a year though past results can't be a predictor of future performance.
Post 78 IP   flag post
Collector neyko private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by drchaos
The best time to buy a book is right before they announce the movie.


Or right before it jumps in value.
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Collector thelastbard private msg quote post Address this user
After over 30 years of hardcore collecting, I still can't help reading through previews and trying to figure out what will the next hot book be... Trending writers, artists, storylines, etc, but a lot of it is based on what I like to read myself, luckily. Of course, I sit on the books anyway for the most part.

If Mister Miracle's return taught us anything, I'd watch Ragman, which is in Previews now for October release based on the creative team and the return of a classic and DIFFERENT hero. On the interesting cover side, Neal Adams Deadman Glow in the Dark cover (Deadman and Batman glow in the dark to skeletons, sure!!!).... Gotham City Garage starts up... Batman: White Knight... That's JUST looking at DC's pre-orders from the current Diamond Previews (August) for October release. Don't forget about the Batman Who Laughs, too, though he will make his debut earlier in Dark Nights Metal #2 and an issue of Teen Titans in Sept.

Marvel, Thor 700, of course, but I'm getting distracted by all of the lenticular covers and such. Too much going on there, though I'm pre-ordering several books.
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