What should a 1:200 variant be worth?7459
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 Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
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Tedsaid private msg quote post Address this user | |
| So, I've done something I promised myself I would never, ever do... I bought a 1:200 variant. Limited variants are artificially inflated comics that tend to not have much staying power (I would guess) in terms of price, and the 1:200 are just extreme examples of that. Not as extreme as the 1:500 or the 1:1000 or 1:5000 absurdities, but still. Anyway, as with any comic, especially expensive ones, I bought it because (a) I LOVE the beautiful and badass art on this cover; and (b) I expect it to go up significantly in value. But I've never bought a super-limited book like this (picture below). What do you guys think? My thoughts are, most high-price variants are either very beautiful or very cool covers, so desirability makes a huge difference, not just the availability. Such as the classic Supergirl Adam Hughes cover (1:10), or the Dell'Otto ASM #667 (1:100, and two years ago was priced around $4000. Not sure what it is now); or the fantastic Middleton Batgirl 23 cover, that wasn't limited at all but is selling for ~$150 slabbed now and $60 raw. Also, I think the character matters. Harley Quinn is super-popular. So that's one of the reasons I think this is going to be a hit. I was looking at eBay pre-sales (The comic is Heroes In Crisis #1, and it comes out Wednesday), and the 1:200 cover was going for $300 middle of the week. Ten days ago it was $225. Now it is ~$350 or more. What do you guys know about 1:200 variants? Inherent value of a 1:200? Bubble factors? Expectations as to the print run? Chances that they "overprint" it and cheat the market? Think it will go up, go down, do nothing? Or, did I just put this thought in your head and you're going to go out and buy a copy?  |
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| Post 1 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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Redshade private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Tedsaid I think that you already know the answer to your question. Do I want this comic for 25c? No thank you. |
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| Post 2 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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ONLINE_209 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Nice cover but that book is too rich for my blood | ||
| Post 3 • IP flag post | ||
 I'm a #2.
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BigRedOne1944 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I must agree that is one bad ass cover! That being said, I can acquire the photo for free. As for the ridiculous prices on these gimmick books? PT Barnum said it best and it still holds true today..... "There's a sucker born every minute" |
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| Post 4 • IP flag post | ||
 You think I'm joking, I'm not.
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earthshaker01 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It's hard to get excited over any comic they purposely pint only a few hundred of. It doesn't make it rare because say in this case all 200 are likely accounted for. Rare books would be less than 200 copies of an old book known to exist, when the original print run was say 50k copies, like an old golden age. You can't just print your way into rarity. So for me other than eye appeal variants are worthless down the road, except to the person that owns it amd thinks it has value. God for bid I ever see another so called rare variant cover or a sketch cover. Show.me a high grade golden age and I'll show you rare or a golden or silver age variant. |
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| Post 5 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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Ginosdad private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It seems to me that “collectors” have stopped buying comics and are now buying covers. @BigRedOne said it..you can get the photo for free. Print it on glossy photo paper and get it signed and framed. You don’t need the rest of the book. That said, I have my fair share of variant covers as well. Just wishing they would put as much effort in the content of the book as they do the variants. | ||
| Post 6 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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poka private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Tedsaid - it is worth what buyer and seller agrees. Taking that aside, the starting price would depends on the cover price, ie a 1:200 for a comic price of $0.25 is worth less than one with a comic price of $3.99 This specific is high in demand (managed to get myself a few for reasonable price  and I have seen sales prices as high as $400.Only time will tell |
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| Post 7 • IP flag post | ||
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Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
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Tedsaid private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by poka That's interesting. It would not have occurred to me that that would matter. Quote: Originally Posted by poka That makes me feel better about my instincts on this, as you have a knack for finding the good comics to speculate on. What do you consider a reasonable price here? I won't know if I have one, or two, or three, until after Wednesday ... I bought two and bid on one, but who knows if they will come back and say, Sorry - All sold out! |
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Collector
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poka private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Tedsaid Cover price matters because 1:200 means that retailer needs to buy 200 from Diamond to buy one 1:200 at cover price, and obviously even after discount it is cheaper to buy 200 comics with a lower cover price. Cannot really give you an advise what the price should be for selling - depends on the condition of the book and how prices will move after Wednesday - but good luck |
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Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
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Tedsaid private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by poka Doh! Of course, that totally makes sense. I was not thinking straight. Must be past my bedtime. Quote: Originally Posted by poka Thanks! |
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| Post 10 • IP flag post | ||
 I'm good with splotches.
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Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have given up trying to make sense of this industry. But I don't need to make sense of it; I just need to understand what it currently is. And yep, this cover crys out to buy me for the masses, so that's what it will be. Doesn't seem to matter that it is pre-manufactured rarity or just a cover. My thoughts on "cool" variant covers in 99.9% of the scenarios is as follows: Long term (10 - 15 years): Probably will not sustain the going current value Short term (Now): You did real well on this. |
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| Post 11 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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Paulbg2000 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I tend to tread lightly with variants...If I like the cover, I'll buy it. My mindset has always been that i'm going in losing money because I like the cover. The only variants I buy purely on it being a variant is on key issues (I think the last one I snagged with that mindset was Crush's first appearance) That being said, that's a great looking cover!!! I know that the value of the book will be determined by it's story and the variant cover value will be determined by the market...which remains high for books with key points in the story and tapers off after a few years for others...A 1:200 book in a forgettable or bad storyline is probably going to be worth less than a 1:200 in a memorable one over time by the market. It's a gamble, but at the end of the day as long as you're happy with the cover then that's all that really matters. |
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| Post 12 • 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.
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drchaos private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Not all 1:200 covers are created equal. Let's look at the one you selected. 1. Popular artist - check, Dell'Otto is tops 2. Awesome artwork on cover - check, looks great to me 3. Popular character - check, Harley is popular and I always liked Booster Gold 4. Good writing - maybe, I haven't read the book but King's Batman run is popular People will always like good art but the Pink Bulletproof cover of Harley Quinn # 1 (pictured below) got as high as $1,500 in 9.8 before crashing below $500 so you never know.  |
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 Collector
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DJC_II private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I don't know if I'm going to voice any difference of opinion here. The trouble I find with high priced variants is the cost is already high. Leaving very little room for the book to go up. Usually, books that are high now didn't start off high. Usually books that start high fall lower over time. That being said, it's a beautiful cover, a lot of fun, and hopefully you do well. It's a gamble though. You're gambling. We all do it. |
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I'm good with splotches.
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Nuffsaid111 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have no idea if this is accurate, but I use it as my mantra for not purchasing variants when the draw of the insect to the flame burns within me: 80-90% of variants drop from initial buy in 95% of key bronze/silver/gold increase after purchase If I just keep repeating that above, the attraction to the flame goes away. Gambling with 10-20% likelihood of success is not appealing to me Gambling with 95% likelihood of success, even if only small gains, is very appealing to me |
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| Post 15 • IP flag post | ||
 I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life.
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kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user | |
| The 1:200 will be a $200 cgc 9.8 slab all day long and grades below that will be priced accordingly like everything else. I find it routine and familiar. | ||
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Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
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Tedsaid private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by drchaos Great summary. One correction: the art is by F. Mattina, not Dell'Otto. They are both excellent modern cover artists, and have similar styles though. I really liked the Dell'Otto Harley Quinn you posted, but I actually preferred the art in the more common color variant, rather than the B&W, or the "pink" version you posted. And I consider these to be truly ridiculous on the "artificial variant" spectrum. It's pretty much the same art, the exact same comic ... why pay more for a lesser version, with no color, or one of those "pencil" sketch covers? But then why do we collect comics at all? You can just read them digitally, for pennies. Anyway, I feel more confident about a variant with only one version, only one way to buy a comic with that art. And yes, while I think there is an inherent "gimmick" in the artificially limited issues, I'm not sure what makes that different from the "naturally" limited comics ... a golden age Superman with only 200 copies left, or a Bronze Age Spider-man that comes back a 9.8 ("Highest graded!" ), or a Batman Damned with 110,000 copies and a Bat-wang (now solidly above $70). Nothing about this hobby really makes any kind of sense. I think the biggest factor in these sorts of comics is the attention they get, which can quickly wane. They are so limited that they never (or hardly ever) come up for sale. And so they are easily forgotten. That's why the one drchaos posted has dropped to below $500. (I saw one on eBay just now for less than $250.) And that's why it probably won't come back. I think if the market is TOO thin, it just fades from lack of attention. The Hughes or Middleton comics I mentioned won't fade, because there are still thousands of them. I'm surprised the (beautiful) Dell'Otto Spiderman is still high. But of course I can't find record of it on eBay or ComicLink or ComicConnect. (I don't have a subscription to GPA.) So my only source telling me it's worth $4000 is a two-year-old article on hot variant covers. Who knows if that has any staying power. So yeah, if I get one, I'll maybe grade it and sell it, before it fades. If I get three, I might keep one. Or maybe I'll sell all three, wait five years, and then pick one up at bargain rates. Wouldn't that be nice? |
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Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
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Tedsaid private msg quote post Address this user | |
| FYI, with the help of a friend, I just checked GPA on that Dell'Otto Spider-man variant, the 1:100 #667. Last two sales were a 9.6 (Nov 2017) and a 9.8 (Aug 2017), for $8,000 and $10,000, respectively. DAMN. It is a beautiful cover, but MAN those are some high numbers. You just know someone, somewhere, is sitting on one and has no idea. Maybe an exec at the printing company has a box he forgot about in a closet or something. |
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