thanks for reviewing the video! glad you enjoyed it & hope it starts a needed movement in the community. also, thankfully I’m still up on my DD1 I bought it raw from a desperate seller at NYCC in 2023 😂
It's not the reason con's will dissappear, it will dissappear because the younger generation may lose interest in comics altogether. The average comic buyer is 40 plus.
To a point comic conventions have been moving more towards a pop culture convention. There isn't that many comics being sold and the ones that are there are there because of pop culture reasons like a new movie coming out for a certain character. It's almost like a hangout spot for people that like pop culture
Exactly. The convention that is only focused on comic books will likely die out but the Pop Convention that also includes comic books shows no signs of going away. Atlanta's Dragon Con saw over 70,000 attendees in 2023. San Diego comic con had over 135,000 IN 2023. Almost every major Metroplitan area now has a huge pop culture con if not more than one. As far as price gouging... it has always been going on with dealers. Buyer beware ! From watching RU-vid, ive seen amazing low prices on comic books at the New York Comic con. Going thru dollar boxes at the NYCC can be very lucrative. Im not sure about cons like the Charlotte but NYC looks like the motherlode.
@@artrogue4150 Yeah sadly I feel that there's always going to be high prices at conventions. Last year there was a book that I want and the guy was from two states over and I said hey I'm interested in this book I know you're asking more because you're at a convention and so on if you don't sell it at the convention I'm willing to buy it off you for this price. At the time I gave him a very fair offer but as of now I would have been paying over the value for the book. The guy gave me a long speech speaking down to me so I decided to pass on the book I later found out that he never saw the book. So that stuff will always happen at conventions or even auctions I have saw with cars and motorcycles. But with comic books these be in turn into more pop culture events. Sadly I've been going to Conn's for almost 20 years and I have been seeing more of a push towards that then comic books. It's more about pop culture then comics.
This is true, here in Phoenix the Phoenix Comic Con changed their name to Phoenix Fan Fusion. They are more generalized now, but have been doing less video game stuff since we already have a separate gaming convention.
The ageism in this video is unbelievable. I've been a collector since the mid-1970s. I began hand-selecting pristine mint newsstand copies in 1976 -- all at cover price. And I use computers 24/7. Older collectors are not the idiots you've painted them out to be. I know a bad dealer when I encounter one, and that's been common over the decades.
Anyone can list any item for whatever that person wants to sell it for. It’s a free capatilistic😅 society That being said. Let them list for what ever they want. If someone buys it fine if no one does that’s fine too. It is what it is. You don’t have to buy from this seller Eventually the market will put him out of business or he lowers prices. Or the prices go up to match what he lists eventually.
100%!!!!!!!!!! Con Prices at Motor City Comic con were ridiculous!!!! Some prices were inflated 3 and 4x. . .. But when they looked at the slabs I brought they offered peanuts. This is fine, they can be like this if they want but then they shouldn't bitch about how hard slabs are to move or that they didn't sell anything.
That's interesting. I've been getting some great deals at recent Cons. Once the word gets around the floor that a dealer has rip off prices... people stay away and only stay around those with reasonable and/or great prices. I notice all of the dealers every now and then look around and see what the other guys are selling and their prices. This is so they stay competitive. No one wants to be known as the "dealer to stay away from". I imagine that must be a sad experience for a dealer to set up his booth at a Con, unload his inventory (which is work).... and no one wants to come and look around once they see overpriced wall comics. And any newbie might also stay away once he notices everyone else is looking around and chatting with the other dealers.
Overpriced books at cons has been going on since inception. Why would it suddenly be the end of cons when it’s been going on for decades? Smartphones have been around since 2008. Appreciate the perspective but I just don't get this take. Dealers buy low and try to sell high, in any industry. They are compensating themselves for the risk they take and tying up their money in inventory. If you're contending that dealers are pricing this way hoping that they encounter buyers who have no idea of market prices, and no smartphone, they are counting on a unicorn. That's not a business strategy. The are marking up to give room for negotiation. NOBODY goes to a con without a smartphone.
The idea that the reality f life will catch up to online streamers and they need to sell these books for life. They will not get what they want and CGC Charts and Sales Data wont mean a thing
I can’t be mad at someone putting a high price on a book. It’s worth what someone will pay for it. Plenty of resources for buyers to reference. Buyers job to do their homework.
I am in my 60's. I understand pricing. Last year I got a coverless FF 5 for 400. Had a repo cover made for it. Now I got a fun raw copy to read and share with friends and other collectors.
There will always be good and bad players in any market. I agree with most of your points, but it feels like you are labeling all dealers as "bad" which is not true. There are fantastic dealers out there that give great deals to their customers- even at Cons! Look for the good dealers at shows who are selling at fair prices- and move on from the overpriced ones.
You bring up some great points. For example, I went to a local and smaller comic-con last month and a dealer had an Incredible Hulk cgc 3.0 with cream pages with an asking price of 35k....I couldnt believe his mark-up. It's the easiest thing I need to see to know that I don't want to spend my money with that person. Am I here to really haggle down 22k to FMV, is it here just for wall appeal, or do you really just don't actually want to sell the book? Those are the questions that go through my mind when dealers price the way they do. I had actually brought an ASM 129 cgc 7.5 signed Stan Lee w me as a potential trade bait, and he had asked me what I wanted for the book, I told him "you can't afford it" lol and walked away. Nice videos as always GOOSE
Nobody is buying these books. They are marked up so you can haggle. If a dealer is hoping a geezer without a smartphone is going to pay cash for a $4000 book they might as well play Powerball - probably better odds.
@@adamchace From what I've heard, they're marked up so that they don't sell. Dealers use the wall books like advertising on a busy convention floor ("Look what I have"), but the issue is that, if they sell that caliber of book, it's difficult to replace, so they lose their "eye candy." They'd much rather sell you the more easily replaceable books from their long boxes than their wall books.
Cons aren't dying.. or gonna die or fade away. People like going to Cons for various reasons. Yes, there are always gonna be vendors with overpriced books but guess what? There will always be people willing to buy those overpriced books. I won't be one to pay over GPA but some people will.
Went to a comic con last summer. Saw a slabbed Cloak & Dagger #1 (first solo series) overpriced at several hundred dollars. Was curious and checked a back issue bin elsewhere not far from there, found the same issue raw for $15 (CAD). I myself bought my copy for like $10 (CAD) a few years ago. Never going to a convention ever again.
Im going to be selling at cons this summer and fall and all my books will be priced to Overstreet ,CPG and current eBay sales to find fair market price. I want books to sell, not me just stand there lol
Not even just cons. There was a guy on Whatnot selling a New Mutants 98 CBCS 9.8 for $3500 the other night. After I saw that I left the stream. Didn't even want to see what else he had lol.
Nah I think comic cons will still live on (except fandom fest that con had so much potential) to me cons are a great way to meet people and artists and a safe and appropriate way to meet celebrities to get there autograph.
Goose, with respect, I think you just need to chill. LOL Overpricing a comic book (or anything else for that matter) is not "criminal." No one is holding a gun to anyone's head and forcing them to buy it at that price. The reality of the situation is simply this: wall/"big boy" books are pretty easy to move if they are priced at FMV, but they are also incredibly difficult to replace in one's inventory. So, what incentive does the dealer have to actually sell it when that book's presence is attracting so many eyes of buyers on a busy convention floor? (It obviously attracted Spro's eyes; didn't it?) Dealers use their wall books like billboards: "Look what I have," but once you're at their booth, they'd much rather sell you the more easily replaceable books from their long boxes. Oh, and you should probably check your age-ism. I've been collecting comics for decades, but I'm never without my smartphone when at a con, show, LCS, etc., and I don't know anyone my age who isn't.
I got vanguard Illustrated #1 , a hot Dave Stevens book that's VF+ at a local con. Pittsburgh area 2:weeks ago for $20 and the guy had it on display wall. You can find both good deals and dealers also make mistakes. I'm going to a local comic con tomorrow. An old school show at a hotel. 70 tables, Bob Hall of West Coast Avengers fame signing. I'm jazzed, and if certain dealers have stuff over priced, um I just won't buy from them. Works itself out really.
I think some of the overpricing (dealers at cons; Mile High) is out of regret for having sold big books at market that then doubled in value a few years later.
There is definitely a thing called "Con pricing." Many dealers employ this and many dealers dont. At the end of the day, everybody likes to get a deal. I almost always give deals when I sell at shows even when pepple don't even ask for one. Plus I also try to price fairly based on condition and demand. People who price certain books insanely high, might not want to sell rhem anyway. They could just be using PC books to draw attention to their booth/table. Of course you run the risk of having to sell PC books if someone accepts your price. Also, if you ask most dealers if they have any wiggle room on the price , they will make you a better offer. Conventions going away, I truly don't think so . But I also do most of my buying online and selling at shows.
Depends - If you go to cons to buy BIG books, you might pay BIG prices. But I stick to the bins and often get books way cheaper than I can find anywhere else.
I've seen about 50-60 different comic books extremely overpriced at Comic Cons, Ebay, Mercari, Etsy, even at local small comic shows. Many times the sellers know exactly what the book is actually worth, or don't try to check Overstreet or any price guides, including recent past sales. You're correct, they are counting on the dumb guys(speculators) walking in and being sold. Very rarely, a comic will be so overpriced, because the seller actually wants to keep it, so they put an outrageous price on it and list it, just to show "hey I have this book, and you don't!"
In Toronto Canada, there is Fan Expo coming August 2024. The cheapest day to go is Thursday for 44$ per person, $12 for kids 6-13. Weekends are $55!! Along with all.prices being over market value, there is no point to go. They should refund your entrance fee if you buy something while at the show, please....
It can happen online too, sadly. Sometimes auction fever takes over. I saw a crumbling ASM 129, raw copy, that was no more than a 1.0 go for $900 on Whatnot. And the buyer was overjoyed and everyone in the chat was cheering.
Everyone needs to go to some cons. Just for experience. If you're young, go have fun. For me now it's now a waste of money. Don't go head over heels to meet celebrities. Rather, save my entrance fee money and put it towards something i want. Typically, cons when I went were overpriced. You pay to go in. You overpay for items. Waste a bunch of time trying to find something. You have to deal with the crowds. Over pay for food. It's just not worth it anymore for me.
Exactly. It's very easy to sell wall/"big boy" books at FMV; it's very difficult to replace them in your inventory. If you want to hang onto a book to keep on your wall to act as a billboard on a convention floor, you price it like this.
Sticky Goose,you are right comic con dealers are scam artist cause I brought AMS#129 CGC 5.0 for $500 plus shipping on eBay last year which was a great deal and at a con I went to the same book and grade was going for 2K is way over priced so people will quiet buying comics at cons if they keep doing this crap to people.
It sucks because these kind of dudes are making it harder to get the interest of future buyers and new comers to comic books. If the newer generations to come can’t afford to read one or even get one at a reasonable price, then these hard copies are just going to be fire starter paper. Digital copies and buying digital copy comics I feel is going to completely rip out the middle man. I just bought a raw copy of Wolverine #1 from this local comic book shop in NM condish @ 175. I over paid and I knew it but I did it to help the guy out. I’ll never send this copy to get locked up and slapped with a value number because when my kids get older I want them to be able to read and touch an actual Wolverine #1 copy that their dad over paid for 😂 moral of the story to my kids is that we all struggle and need to look out for one another especially the ones that need it.
Could it possibly be the vendor is placing their PC books at a I don't want to sell price but if it happens it happens price? Also attempting to jazz up their display like I have "big boy books" I personally would have inquired about their motive. I recently was at calgary expo and got some great deals some keys which I was surprised. I've heard it would be pricey but got them at fmv- and didn't have to pay ebay shipping
Just my opinion I don’t think the dealer has any intention of selling that book. I feel like they price certain older books WAY above the market so that it won’t sell and is just an eye catcher for the booth. I know the person who owns mile high comics has said he doesn’t want to sell his older books that’s why they price them now they do.
The con pricing issue is definitely a problem, and it is worse when you see the same sellers at every convention. However, Cons will not die since people go to these things for the experience and not to just buy books. We just need to be smart and not buy from these people, and hopefully eventually they will go away or get the point.
Kudos on the repeated usage of the word “schmuck.” It’s a great Yiddish word that’s vastly underused and can be so easily applied to a large percentage of the population. So bravo on that. As for pure cons, not SSDC or Megacon, because like you said those are more pop culture events and are only growing in size year after year. But just for people actually looking to score good deals on comics at these things, it’s really going to be tempered by the administers of the cons themselves. How much are they charging vendors for space? Because if vendors have to charge higher than EBay prices for books just to cover their expenses, then yes they will die out or make serious adjustments. There will ALWAYS be a few schmucks trying to sell a book for 3000% markup, no matter what the economical environment. They are like cockroaches, but we can’t set the bar to the lowest common denominator. Just call them out and don’t buy from them. Natural selection will take care of the rest. Great take by your wife on the “pyramid scheme,” I could see how someone could view it like that, but to your assessment, it’s more of an unintended causality. Great video and topic!
Cons will be around for a long time. Prices of comics? I mean, it's all over the place. I see dealers doing stupid prices all the time. Simple.... don't buy them.
In the era of social media and toxic fandom what is the point in Comic -Cons? I mean if your favorite artist is signing hundreds of books his or her autograph is hurting the value of your book.
It's a free market, if the guy is grossly over pricing the books, he doesn't sell them and lowers the price or keeps them. That's the free market this country is built off of. These are comics, not epi pens. The market determines the price, not RU-vid content creators 😂
Honestly, they're already dead. I live in a a metropolitan urban area and we haven't had a comic con in the area since COVID. It seems as if cons mostly happen in 'B' and 'C' tier cities, which is usually a sign of waning consumer interest; they're looking for cheap venues and bored retirees and suburban kids. Regarding convention prices, it's not just comic cons, prices have become garbage in venues ranging from vintage computing to gun shows, I haven't seen anything resembling a 'deal' at conventions in ages.
Wow, this is Bob in Connecticut and that is a very very bold statement that comic cons will die. It’s insane now trying to get into a comic con compared to years ago. It was very simple.. the comic con in New York in San Diego is bigger than the Super Bowl. If you buy the right comic books, you don’t have to work I picked up my amazing fantasy 15 6.0 for only $4000 I was offered $100,000 cash in October I’m not selling it it’s only worth $80,000 my tales of suspense 39 8.5 I only paid $5300 and now it’s $70,000 plus comic cons are only going to get bigger and better but the dealers always ask for insane prices. It’s hard to get a deal on amazing fantasy 15 like I said if you bought the right Comic Books, 10 or 15 years ago you would never have to work again.
Over the last 15 to 20 years comic-con's have died out now to be replaced with pop culture conventions which are far more to do with the celebration of comics, anime, video games, etc more so now than ever before. The old guard of the comic scene are either retiring or trying to sell or get rid of anything they dont want anymore since the scene just isn't there for it anymore. Most new "comic" fans are those that only recently got into any of them solely on the MCU films, yet they dont wanna pay premiums for books they can find free scans online. The old guard is struck in their ways & refuse to adapt to the new customer base, let alone even try & cater to them. They only want that old money paying big prices for books that just arent worth what the sticker price on them says. Within the next 5 years, we are gonna see these old sellers be cut in half in terms of any more attendance at these events and honestly good riddance to them! The modern con-goer doesnt have thosands of dollars to throw around for a single key or graded comic book & those that do are getting their stuff online or far more reputable sellers then getting taken advantage of at an event. Comic books themselves are the least popular now than they have ever been before with the Advent of taking those comic book stories and making them into very profitable TV shows/movies. New fans dont really care about having physical copies of their media when they can get everything they want online in a data format that doesn't require a lot of storage just to keep their collection safe.
Your take is wrong. What's wrong with it all is how many F-ing Exclusives are being peddled at Conventions for $40-50 bucks. Do you remember the Adi Granov Moon Knight #15 Trinity Comics Exclusive? It came with a numbered Trading Card COA. They sold the set for like $60. I got the Virgin for $9 on Whatnot. There are way too many Variant Covers today. The only good thing I can say about it is artists are getting paid for their work! Comic OA is finally starting to see it's due. More and more people are getting into it.
That guy looks familiar. U are looking filthy casual marvelous. Those guys have always been around. I don’t go to them. I go to guys that have interesting books priced reasonable. But don’t go anymore. If I need something I will go to what not. Looked the guy up. Well known stock photo used in memes
People at the cons can ask anything or any price for their books graded or raw and if people are dumb enough to pay it and get burned then that's their problem, sometimes in life you get burned on somethings and its a good life lesson, it teaches people to be more careful in the future.
How come you like comic books, collect comic books, and yet your videos are always about negative things about comic books which I don't understand completely.
You know what I hate. You say peak value of Fantastic Four #5. First its the 1st apperance of Doctor Doom. A Marvel Key. It is not a book to be charted to say it is at its peak and so forth. The dealer does not want to sell the book but its good there to be displayed. Your upset about the 9500.00 price tag because you want the book and its like a addiction rush to have the book. You dont give a crap about the history or the book or the history of the Fantastic Four.
I myself haven’t gone to any cons this year the ones I went to last year had very few comics. Cons are going more artists and celebrity has been signings honestly. I loved getting cgc yellow labels at one point cause they were actually worth it. The cost of cgc yellow labels is now so expensive they’ve lost any value they once had. You can literally buy these at about half what it would cost ya at a con on eBay afterwards. And you’re not worrying about getting a 9.8. Cons aren’t going away it’ll just be more advertising signings and announcements old school comic sellers will stop setting up eventually.
