48th Edition Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide6924
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Quote:Originally Posted by brysb For first time buyers. The upgrade is $18. |
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Ladic It's on the wrong side. |
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 Ima gonna steal this and look for some occasion to use it!
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IronMan private msg quote post Address this user | |
| IMHO the tone here is overly critical. Prices are both too high and too low. But many prices are pretty much correct. A once a year price guide obviously isn't going to keep up with hot variants (which often don't stay hot for much over a year) and with the latest movie/tv news. The OPG prices are typically too low on this material. On the flip side, routine run type books in average conditions trend too high. Mid grade, non key SA and BA books often sell on eBay for 1/2 of what the OPG says. There are usually reasons for too high and too low. The Overstreet Price Guide has always embraced a long term view. It seems to sorta price stuff - most of the time - as moving average that looks at several years of sales. The OPG has always been - for the most part - cautious and conservative. This has..most would argue.. been overall a good thing for the comic book collecting hobby. eBay sales aren't the only sales that are considered. A lot of comic store and major online sellers still report that they get close to OPG for books that sell for substantial discounts on eBay. I don't mean to single out any dealers. But Mile High Comics and My Comic Shop both come to mind - with different approaches. Mile High prices stuff at 2x Guide (or more) and then runs 50-60% off sales. That - according to Chuck anyway - do really well. MCS just grades really, really strictly on their consignment items. People pay the Fine Price for MCS Fine graded books because they believe they will actually get something closer to Very Fine. A cynic might also observe that some of big dealers and stores resist across the board reductions in guide prices because it means a drop in the "on paper" value of their inventory. Also worth keeping in mind is that OPG's highest covered grade is 9.2. If you take that into consideration - some of the hot modern books that people tend to scold Overstreet for not getting right are not so far off. Because we are often talking about books that are worth hundreds of dollars in 9.8 and not much of anything in 9.2. The Overstreet Price Guide has always been just a GUIDE. Not a bible. Not a list of items for sale. Not range of actual sales. Just a guide. When it had little in the way of competition it's first 20 years it may have FELT like a bible, but it never was. Even at it's zenith, prices varied greatly in different areas of the country, different comic book stores. Today - with lots of other sources of pricing information - the OPG is just one source. In today's market, smart buyers and sellers need to be consulting several sources of information. Not just one. GPA isn't going to tell you what Fantastic Four 200 in GD (2.0) is worth because no one was stupid enough to send one in to be graded and encapsulated... 5.5 (FN-) is the lowest graded copy. That might not be a great example - it's just the first thing that came to mind. But the point is valid. If you want to be successful as a buyer or a seller, you have to use multiple references in today's market for value. The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is one of those references. Just my 2 cents... |
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WTB: Your Overstreet 48th for half price after you are done flipping through it and reading all the advertisements. $12 + Media Mail Shipping is the offer. Thank you.  |
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| I enjoy the articles and the market report.I bought one because at the beginning of August, I am having a surgery and will be laying around afterwards for over 2 weeks. Reading it will be a good way to pass the time. | ||
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 I live in RI and Rhode Islanders eat chili with beans.
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esaravo private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @BrianGreensnips - Wishing you a speedy recovery from a hopefully successful surgery. | ||
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BrianGreensnips private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by esaravoThank You. |
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by IronMan I'm fine with other people using it as a guide. For me, it's useless. I can get info just as inaccurate from a free source online. Sites like https://comicbookrealm.com/ let you interact with the people setting the prices. You can load your collection into the database and have it graph the overall value changes for your collection as the guide is updated. I know they actually review the prices. I know they make an effort to list all the publishers and underground comics. I know they are responsive if you tell them there is a discrepancy. Overstreet is static & outdated. It's always bothered me that they were selective with what they list. A B&W comic can be more collectible than a color comic, but they listed none when I purchased my first price guide. I don't think anyone is being over-critical. I would hope that the prices are "mostly correct" since they've been the industry standard for years and many shops use it to price their comics. Using that as a point to justify it's validity is not unlike the debate of which came first... the chicken or the egg. My biggest dissatisfaction ties to the fact that they want to be a long term standard and they disregard current market trends. If they list a modern comic for cover price when it can't be bought for less than $75 in the marketplace, that makes it useless. I also know a story of one Overstreet advisor (RIP) writing an article about the importance of a specific silver age comic because he'd just acquired a long box of high grade copies very cheaply. He used Overstreet as a tool to manipulate the market for his own personal gain. Ignoring current marketplace prices makes it a tool for retailers to buy comics cheaper than what the market is charging and it screws naive collectors into think their comics are worth less. If Overstreet was the only game in town, I'd praise them for doing the work. Others have come along and done the work now, so Overstreet needs to keep up or I'll spell it out exactly as I see it. Overstreet intentionally listed errors for many years so that they could know if others were stealing their data. When Jon Warren went to work on the Wizard Annual Price Guide, he wanted scans of the first and last issues of each series so he'd have evidence that they existed. Even he did not trust the accuracy of the listings in Overstreet. I know this to be true because a friend of mine was supplying him with scans for this purpose. I know that it's impossible to list everything and have the data 100% accurate and correct. As a quality inspector, I don't expect perfection. I do expect people to want to improve. There is no evidence that Overstreet wants to improve or even keep up with people offering a similar service. |
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BrianGreensnips private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by X51I think that is what is great about this hobby. There are a lot of options for collector's with different wants or needs. To each his own, right? |
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 It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious.
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GAC private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by IronMan Well Said!!! |
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Ima gonna steal this and look for some occasion to use it!
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IronMan private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @X51 I'll try to briefly respond to a few things... You can load your collection into the database and have it graph the overall value changes for your collection as the guide is updated. I know many have suggested and have been suggesting for a very long time that OPG needs to do this. I've been told the data isn't stored in a format that doing such is easy. Hard or not, it is something needing done. (Comic book realm)...I know they are responsive if you tell them there is a discrepancy. Overstreet is static & outdated. If you write or email Oversteet with discrepancies, they will respond back to you. If they use the update they will often list your name in the guide as having provided input. I had someone send me information a few years ago about the first Godzilla comic that was a giveway at theaters. I suggested he send it in to OPG himself. He got credit, his name mentioned in the next guide. If they list a modern comic for cover price when it can't be bought for less than $75 in the marketplace, that makes it useless. A lot of $75 modern comics are cover price a few years later. Overstreet is cautious and it's a yearly guide. It is not the place to get value of hot moderns. Ignoring current marketplace prices makes it a tool for retailers to buy comics cheaper than what the market is charging and it screws naive collectors into think their comics are worth less. This criticism can be applied to ANY pricing source. Because NO pricing source is 100% accurate nor lists everything. Not even close. So by your logic, every error in any pricing source screws over the naive collector. Well - bitter truth is naive collectors are going to get screwed, regardless. The only defense is becoming better informed. Better informed means using more than one information source. AND learning about grading. A point comes where they are no longer naive. If they do the work. It works both ways. People bring in boxes of later silver and bronze age run books in 2.0-4.0 thinking they have a fortune. And retailers have to explain the stuff is common, they have lots of it and it only sells in their 50% off sales. But what is really ironic about this criticism is that when the Overstreet Price Guide first came out it was dealers/retailers that were the fiercest critics. Because BEFORE a price guide came along, virtually all the knowledge concerning the value of old comic books was in the hands of a relatively few people. They were buying nice stuff for next to nothing - and now Bob Overstreet came along and was telling people how much this stuff was worth. You truly can't please everyone.... ...so Overstreet needs to keep up... Totally agree. Overstreet intentionally listed errors for many years so that they could know if others were stealing their data. I have no idea if this is true. But it seems like - from a business point of view - a very good idea. ...Jon Warren went to work on the Wizard Annual Price Guide, he wanted scans of the first and last issues of each series so he'd have evidence that they existed. Even he did not trust the accuracy of the listings in Overstreet. This Seems prudent on Mr. Warren's part. It was after all supposed to be his work and his price guide. Not a copy of the OPG. There is no evidence that Overstreet wants to improve or even keep up with people offering a similar service. I don't believe "no evidence" is accurate as I can think of things they have done to improve. Download editions, big print editions, expanded the number of advisors including collectors, not just dealers. But we agree, they do need to look at what the competition offers and make some changes. offer some new services. Well, forget the brief thing...I apparently don't do brief... |
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 PEDIGREED... Again!
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martymann private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have tried for over three years to have Overstreet list the Variant Edition of my graded/verified copy of PETER PENNY and his MAGIC DOLLAR. I have sent then scans, fax's, copies of the CGC Certification and more scans but no reply. Unless it's listed in this new edition in the Promotional Comics section I'll assume they do not appreciate requests.  Marty |
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by BrianGreensnips Exactly. |
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by IronMan Essentially, we agree to disagree because the negatives outweigh the positives for me. I'm not going to mail in an update suggestion or request and hope they read it. I never seek credit for any updates I submit. I make request because I want the information to be accurate and accessible. My bigger concern is that someone who was an advisor said he couldn't get them to correct certain data. Harbinger #1 was listed for $5 when the retail price in the market spiked to $90. It is not cover price today. If Overstreet suppresses prices on modern comics, then it becomes a tool to devalue comics. It therefore would not be a guide, but a tool to steer the marketplace instead. |
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by martymann Here is the latest listing:  |
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Ima gonna steal this and look for some occasion to use it!
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IronMan private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by X51 Harbinger 1 is listed for $65. In 9.2. That is probably a little on the low side for a RAW 9.2 copy. but only a little. I've sent in corrections and if they were sufficiently documented changes were made. IDK who the someone that was an advisor is and IDK what data they wanted changed. And who knows, maybe some people have sent in corrections to the online price guides and the information wasn't used. But anyway, you make some good points and agree to disagree it is. |
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PEDIGREED... Again!
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martymann private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by OGJackster Thank you!...listing is still the same...for some reason they don't what to acknowledge my copies existence. Marty |
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IronMan private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by martymannHow is your copy different? The OPG listing shows one variant. |
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 I'm a #2.
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BigRedOne1944 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Lots of good discussion here. Guides are fine and all.... Overstreet, Wizard, On-line Sorces, It doesn't really matter to me they are all just guides. I tend to use to my own guide...... Comic Books, like any other collectable is ONLY worth what someone is willing to give you for it. |
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martymann private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by IronMan The OPG listing for the variant measures 7-1/4" x 11" my copy measures 7-1/16" x 10-1/8" with extra illustrated panels on the cover. mm |
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Ima gonna steal this and look for some occasion to use it!
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IronMan private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @martymann OK. After some research, I see what you are talking about. If you have previously done what I suggest below, my apologies and IDK why it hasn't been updated. But here is how one typically gets corrections done..... If you want Overstreet to update a listing, you would need to provide them with pictures of ALL THREE different versions. It's unlikely that staff working on the Guide have seen this uncommon giveaway comic - never mind all three variations. They list two different versions and if you only send in pictures of yours, it's easy to assume that what you have is the standard size comic. And even CGC's census entry is confusing, because they list two different printings - one slightly larger. Then list one graded copy of a variant. At first I thought the larger version was probably the CGC variant. At 11 inches tall it would have to go into a magazine slab, not a comic book slab. So here - for everyone's convenience - are pictures of all three known editions. Send all three of these pictures along with a short note to the OPG. Mark it to Bob Overstreet and/or Mark Huesman's attention. I bet it will be updated next year. Regular Edition, normal comic book size  Regular Edition, taller (magazine) size  Variant Edition - normal comic book size  It makes one wonder if there is a taller version of the variant.... |
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PEDIGREED... Again!
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martymann private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @IronMan Thanks for all of your research...I'll try what you recommend! Marty |
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Quote:Originally Posted by IronMan Yup, very insightful. This has been a pet peeve of mine for several years now. A 9.8 value should be part of the listing. Comics have evolved but I haven't seen much evolution in the OPG. IMP they should also get back to the OPG Updates. Seems to me it would also boost their income, interest and maybe jobs. What do you think? |
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andy49 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| the prices of 9.8 books are too erratic to put in a guide published once a year some sort of marketplace update might make sense |
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by OGJackster Updates and special features dedicated to specific types of books would allow them to make money while converting the data to a digital format. |
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Ima gonna steal this and look for some occasion to use it!
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IronMan private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by OGJackster The OPG has published pricing updates in the past. The first one was in 1982. From 1982 to Jan 1993 they published updates at varying frequencies - by the end they were I believe doing them bi-monthly. It was 1993 when Overstreet purchased Gary Carters Comic Book Marketplace magazine and relaunched it as the Overstreet Comic Book Marketplace. The Overstreet Comic Book Marketplace included updates to the Comic Book Price Guide. Overstreet's CBM ran 25 monthly issues - and then relaunched as Overstreet FAN magazine, which also included updates to the comic price guide. Where CBM's articles were more focused on older material and collectors, FAN was Ovestreet's answer to Wizard. FAN ran 24 issues. Overstreet had a few other publications running around this time as well - I believe the Overstreet Comic book Monthly and the Overstreet Golden and Silver Age Quarterly also had some pricing updates. It was the end of 1994 when Oversteet cancelled the Comic Book Marketplace and Golden & Silver Age quarterly to launch FAN and relaunch Comic Book Marketplace (which did not update prices - it was back to the original format of articles for those interested in the history of comic books and characters) I can only assume that Overstreet (purchased by Gemstone in 1994) did not find publishing pricing updates profitable enough to continue. They also must not have found it worthwhile to continue FAN as a competitor to Wizard. At least not in print. Gemstone continued to do FAN as an online publication until just recently. Jeff Vaughn (Vice President of Publishing at Gemstone) oversaw it. FAN finished it's print run in 1997. Wizard ceased publishing in Jan 2011. Should Overstreet do updates? How could anyone but the people running Gemstone know? My own personal feeling - and I know other advisors share it - is that moving into the digital, online field and selling subscriptions and add on services like managing collections or inventory is clearly the future. I mean even Microsoft now prefers to sell Office as a subscription rather than a disk. Print's future is shaky. The world is going digital. As for the 9.8 pricing question. I think GPA's model is the ideal one here. Professionally graded and encapsulated books represent a known quantity. Seriously - it's fool that pays the 9.8 price for a raw book. The Overstreet Comic Book Price guide is a guide for RAW books. Not graded and slabbed books. As a practical matter, prices for grades of 9.4 or better are probably left to the slabbed books. Overstreet appears to have missed an opportunity to offer pricing for professionally graded and encapsulated books. George at GPA saw the moment and seized it. A guide wasn't the ideal for slabbed books. You could with the right deals have real time data. We know a CGC/CBCS 9.6 is in fact a 9.6. ebay's sale of a raw 9.4 may or may not be a 9.4. A GUIDE is useful for RAW books. With slabbed books, you can report actual sales and let things like 90 day and one year averages work as a "guide". For most books anyway. GPA is actually pretty useless on books that rarely get sold. Who knows what Ace Comics 11 in 6.0 is really worth? There has never been a recorded sale in that condition because there has never been a copy grade 6.0. Actually there hasn't been ANY sale of ANY condition since June of 2015. And that was an incomplete copy. You might as well look it up in the OPG (and figure it's too low...) Real time reporting like GPA has other shortcomings. For all of you with subscriptions to GPA, you see regularly where an 8.5 of a book is showing a lower 90 day average than 7.5. It'a an anomaly. A guide wouldn't list such. But a real time reporting of actual sales might - for a short period of time - have such weirdness. Maybe I'm rambling? Sorry. I'd love to see the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide move online. Be more frequently updated. Offer subscriptions and services like collection and inventory management. I only have limited information on why it hasn't happened yet. But Gemstone/Overstreet have not been entirely static. They have added products. Grading Guides, Guides to collecting, Guides to Big Little Books, Guides to Toy Rings. The Art Guide and Toy Guide don't bear the Overstreet imprint, but publishing the Overstreet guides furthers the legitimacy of their other related price guides. Which brings me full circle. Now more than ever, today's market requires smart buyers and sellers to consult more than one pricing source. I personally use Overstreet, GPA and completed sales on eBay routinely. Occasionally checking Comic Link, Heritage and Comic Connect. But even in the past Overstreet wasn't a Bible, was not enough by itself. I subscribed to The Buyers Guide (later Comics Buyers Guide) back in the old days of no such thing as the internet and eBay. This was where you learned of the hot books and what was selling for more than "guide" |
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
I was there buying the updates...  |
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
Yup, me too. (not to be confused with #metoo LOL!)  |
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PEDIGREED... Again!
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martymann private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I remember getting this as a gift only to realize that it only covered comics from 1961 to 2006...no Golden Age.  mm |
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