$75 entrance fee for NYC Comic Con. Still debating to go as I know most booths will have what I'm looking for at inflated prices, many times way of Overstreet guide prices. The real haggling only gets going during the last few hours that a vendor will be at the show.
It's not as simplistic as your putting it. The print count doesn't matter as much as the demand for the book. If you have a book with a print count of 10, that doesn't mean it is going to command a high price if nobody wants it. Demand drives prices first before scarcity can take effect. People also just need to accept the fact that we live in an age where TV and movie hype drives prices, whether you, I, or anyone else agrees with it or not is irrelevant. The best thing to do is if you want to buy a book that you genuinely love just don't buy during any period of speculation or hype.
But the issue is the demand is drummed up by influencers looking to make a quick buck. They have to target higher print runs so they can get enough sales to justify the push. You can pump Hulk 181, ASM 129, UF 4, etc. because there are thousands of copies out there. You can't do that with golden age books. The demand is not organic and the influencers / dealers know this.
@@OpinionatedFanboy That is exactly why I don’t listen to comic book influencers - especially when it comes to books that I want to add to my collection.
My favorite counter-example for folks who think that rarity is far and away the most important factor... "Imagine your grandma wrote a book of poetry and she had a single copy professionally printed and bound. It's the only copy in existence. It must be worth a fortune!" Obviously not,. Why? Because nobody cares about the poetry your grandma wrote.
If people are willing to constantly pay 100s of dollars for a book then the book must be worth hundreds of dollars. That Hulk 340 was always a huge book. I remember buying mine for like 13 bucks back in 1991.
This coming from a guy who was all about cgc. Now hates them. And only buys keys (at the wrong time because of fomo, then sells at the wrong time and cries about how much he lost). Comics should be about love of the story first. Being worth something is a bonus. But if you only buy because they are “keys” then you’re in it for the wrong reason. If you’ve been in the hobby for a long time then most bought when these came out. If you’re recently started then yeah, you’re gonna pay if you have to have it. But never blame the seller. The price is the fault of the buyers who pay too much. And for a long time collector I hope they keep overpaying. Makes my collection “worth more” lol
That is not true; reasonability has to be a factor. My definition of overpriced is how much of the price is driven by FOMO, which, at the end of the day, is good marketing. Like stocks, some books get more FOMO and are artificially driven up. When the FOMO passes, everyone heads for the exits, and the last ones holding are the losers. Comic Cons are just visual marketing parties with an admission price.
@@comicbooknarcissist If I buy a $5 comic and the next day someone is willing to pay me $200 for it, how can it be overpriced? That is what it’s worth to the person who wants to buy it from me. Also, how can FOMO "artificially" drive a price up? FOMO will drive a price up - but not "artificially." It is the price that person is willing to pay for it at that moment.
@@johnnydropkicks@johnnydropkicks I hear you; a better word than artificial is temporary. Also, those books are worth that money to a minority of collectors, so the liquidity is not as fixed as an old key issue, like a large-cap stock like Amazon. The low-priced one on the run will drop much quicker.
@@comicbooknarcissist Agreed. But… if you remember 2021, even those old keys went through the roof. Now, the market is correcting itself and those prices are coming back down. The way I see it, there are three different methods sellers employ: the short game, the long game, and the looooooooooong game. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. If you are a collector who dabbles in selling books (me), 2021-2022 was the time to sell, but not a good time to buy. Now, 2024 is a good time to buy, but selling, not so much.
@@comicbooknarcissistNot only what you’re saying, but by OP simplistic logic, there is no such thing as manipulation, fixing or gouging in the pricing scheme of any market, not just the market for comics. He’s not wrong per se, but not right either.
Values are determined by what someone is willing to pay for them . Sure, there may be tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of these books. However, there's more people than ever collecting and speculating. And just because something's not rare doesn't mean it can't be insanely valuable, especially if there's a growing contention of people looking to purchase it.
Batman 251 is a key not just for the iconic cover; it marks the return to gritty realism in Batman after the decade-long camp period coming out of the 60s. Is it generally overpriced? Yes, but it is indeed an important issue in the run.
I don’t understand why people debate about the 1st appearance of the black suit. ASM #252 is the 1st appearance. Spectacular Spider-Man #90 and Marvel Team-Up #141 were both released exactly two weeks later. Secret Wars #8 was released 7 & 1/2 months later and is the *origin* of the black suit.
It's you tubers saying it. I was there, You are right. I think they are trying to pump up the price of Secret Wars #8. The cover is an homage to AF15 because it's the first black suit.
I like how you don't even know that a bunch of suits had a secret meeting at Jekyll Island in Georgia to develop The Federal Reserve System and also, even lesser known, a plan to trick gullible comic book collectors into thinking "First appearances" were a thing. Never even questioned it did you?
ASM #1 is a classic silver age comic. It’s Spider-Man’s first crossover with FF, which was a major competitor of the JLA; it’s the first appearance of JJ and the Chameleon. As of this comment there are 943 ASM #1s on the registry, making it a super rare find in any grade.
@@fuzzy8593 No, that won't roast the Goose... He's self conscious about living out in West Vagina. So just picture him playing battle of the banjos or something.
You’re crazy about ASM #1! C’mon man! It has the first appearance of JJJ, the first crossover appearance of the FF, the first appearance of the Chameleon (ok, not a major Spidey villain), and it’s the first issue of the most popular run in comics ever. Maybe you don’t care about first issues, but plenty of collectors like myself do!
Translation: "I sold all of my copies of these books, don't buy them at shows, buy the stuff I want to sell". ALL of these books sell really well, and very quickly, both on eBay and in private sales.
My definition of overpriced is how much of the price is driven by FOMO, which, at the end of the day, is good marketing. Like stocks, some books get more FOMO and are artificially driven up. When the FOMO passes, everyone heads for the exits, and the last ones holding are the losers. Comic Cons are just visual marketing parties with an admission price.
Dealers, Influencers, Scammers, Graders, Auction Houses found the magic formula to take money from people. Hype the books that have a healthy pop count, hype grading, show big sales on Ebay or auction houses. Rinse and repeat as movie / show hype comes up. Dump on the naive. Easy Money
I agree with you, unfortunately demand controls prices rather than rarity, which is why these types of books crash in price ever now and then, more stable books are the ones that are both popular as well as rare. I'd rather put my money into silver age marvels over the 80s and later crap, maybe I'm wrong but that's my opinion, I've seen this same thing happen in sports card collecting and coin collecting, I'm 66 years old and have been in and out if these 3 hobbies since the late 60s. I liked your analysis on this subject.
Great video. I cashed out of comic collecting a while ago because of too much on the influence/speculator side making things no longer fun and books no longer being attainable. These books listed were overpriced then and they're still (unsurprisingly) overpriced now.
Depends - for non-keys you can get those books at cons relatively cheap. If you don't go to the "hot" artists and writers you can get signatures for next to nothing. You can pick up special supplies pretty cheap too - stuff like treasury-sized top loaders. I always go to the back with the smaller dealers - they are open to negotiations and don't want to take stuff home. Picked up Batman #15 (machine gun cover) in 5.0 raw for only $100.00.
I agree with everything except ASM 1. First off, I actually really like the cover. Second, it’s more than triple the cost to get an AF15. If you were talking the a few hundred bucks, sure, but a quick GPA check puts ASM 1 in a 3.0 at 8k and an AF15 3.0 at 26k.
I would argue #94 is a wall book. Basically, it is X-Men #1. Especially since it is the X-Men 97 team and not the original team. Come on no one really cares anything about Ice-man and or beast. It is actually more rare than GS # 1. GS #1 was sold out at the time and less were printed but #94 had more returns that were destroyed and less actual sales. Making 94 more rare ! It is an early wolverine appearance It has many things going for it...if you think not ... just sell me yours at the value you give it..id be happy to pay your asking price.
@@matrix_comix I bought it off the spin rack in 1975, I don't remember really caring about the cover, but I knew the characters were something new. and different. The headline was right. Marvel was the cutting edge of heroes and DC was old and stale. He seems to think this issue is nothing special. I just differ and believe it holds a special place in comic history. Send me all your issues with the horrible cover, I won't complain
I picked up a hulk 181 re-print facsimile for $5 and it's so perfect 1:1 identical to OG except for I think the price box, I can't fathom paying a $ more for 99.99 exact same thing.
It’s silly. I’ve had people try to reason that they want “the original art.” If they wanted the original art, they would have to get it from the artist and I could see the actual drawings having value. All comics are copies. You can get one in pristine condition for 1/1000th the cost of an old, beat up issue that is still a copy.
I managed to find Ultimate Fallout 2, 4 and 5 in the dollar bin at a V-Stock about 3 months before 'Into The Spiderverse' came out in theaters! SOOOOOO lucky!!
I bought 9 polybagged copies of UF4 from my LCS 50c box after he pulled the leftovers off the shelf. I used to buy every SM book that was released so he gave me the rare variant for free. How's that for luck. Sadly, I didn't sell 8 of them when they were $4000 each. I still have them all.
Found a polybagged one at a comic store, mint UltimateFallout4. No one bothered to look at the movie trailers months before the movie was going to be released. He put another one after I bought it $40. But just one is good
@williamlangeii4012 this comic is undervalued. It should still be at $4,000 or $5,000. Only very old people have those comics that are from the very early years. ~~1930s thru 1970s comics
I managed to find a Ultimate Fallout 4 too. A mint one at a comic store. I believe nobody bothered to watch the movie trailer. Months before the movie was to come out. Bought it for $40. He placed another one in display after I bought it
Books that are underpriced and books that are overpriced. It does not matter. What matters is desirability and if people want the product or not. The books you listed are very much in demand. Price is not set by how rare a book is, it’s set by demand. if you should have any of these books and not want them would be happy to take them off your hand
So what you're saying is you expect the value of all these comics to collapse? Because otherwise what does it really matter whether you personally believe them to be not worth what they're going for these days? There's tons of stuff in the world that people spend lots of money on that I think is worthless like caviar but that doesn't make it's market value less than what people are commonly paying for it.
Crazy how ppl approach this hobby in so many different ways. I’m not sure I’ve ever spent more than $10 on a book, and I can prolly count on 2 hands how many times I’ve spent more than $5.
You are right on with these. These books are all the equivalent of that Ken Griffey jr rookie card everyone has that exists in millions of copies and will still be worth $50 100 years from now
*Glad I found your channel!* 😜 Agree with these overpriced books you listed; the only people I can see buying these for such a high price are other people that are looking to re-sell at an even higher price lol! Since I am just a collector, I wouldn't buy many of these books for even cover price, since I have no desire for them (of course the 12 cent issues I would buy at cover price). 😅 I have had a TMNT first print (back in 1986), and I would never buy a 3rd print of anything, unless it was in a dollar bin, and I just wanted it for a 'reader copy'. The BM #251, I bought off the rack... it was a good comic, but can't believe how much people want for it nowadays! Unfortunately, the prices will keep going up on most of these, _as long as buyers are still willing to pay!_ New Sub here, and I am looking forward to your next video, with more insights. Skol Brother! ⚔
As someone who only reads comics for the enjoyment of the story anything more than the price printed on the cover is overpriced. I like watching these videos because it's interesting because I can't understand paying that much for any book.
A few years ago my neighbor passed away and left my kids with his collections of comics. Over 250 comics . I'm not really sure what to do with them. I've gone through them and found x men 1 , and a few other rare comics .
Haha love the video these are all the types of books I see on the lunchmoney comics channel. These are all for those speculator collectors. Very accurate video.
I agree with the ASM 252 and 300 being overpriced. Every con I go to I see those two WAY too overpriced. One time I saw a vendor trying to sell a cgc 9.2 newsstand ASM 300 for $1000! Outrageous
Comic book prices are always going to be determined by the love for the characters. The reason why most of the books on your list sell, is because they are ICONIC covers. I grew up with Spider-man and the X-men, so those are the comic books I have the most nostalgia for. You put any of those books up in your video on Ebay in a high grade and you are guarantee to sell them. Again, we all know that the print run on those books are high compared to Golden Age, but that doesn't matter because there are so many people that want to have those books as part of there collections.
I totally agree. Most of the ones you mentioned are way overpriced in general. GS X-men #1 has me scratching my head. All second or third tier character first appearances.
You’re discussing some of the biggest books of all time. People are always going to pay a premium for that. And even with books that are mass produced, like a NM98, it says something about how desirable the books are that the prices stay high. Yes there are always copies available, but they always sell. There is always a buyer and as long as there is this prices are going to stay high. I think a better video would have been comparing prices at shows to comps on eBay and what books at shows are constantly priced higher than their comps.
All collectibles are over priced and there are a lot of reasons why a book may trends up or down. the bottom line is that the book is worth however much someone is willing to pay for it. There are collectibles out there that I would love to add to my collection that are worth thousands of dollars but I am not willing to pay that kind of money so either I find a lower grade for a lot less money or don't buy it. To each their own if they are willing to pay top price but nothing wrong with those that are not.
Fair market value is determined by buyers, not sellers. If the books sell for prices you claim are “ over-priced”, I would suggest that you are actually undervaluing said books. The only way that any commodity goes up in value is if enough transactions are made above the current market price. There will always be outliers, books that sell well below or well above what current fmv dictates, but comic book values have continuously trended up because collectors are willing to pay for what they want. This happened long before “influencers” and “fomo” even existed. Smart collectors know how to see through the bullshit.
Every comic book you showed in this video has a high demand that is why they cost what they cost. I understand where you are coming from BUT it is what it is.
I have 3 of the books from this list hanging on my wall right now, but i like to think i got them at a great price so didnt overpay. Regarding the 3rd print of TMNT #1, that still only had a print run of 36,000 so small by copper/modern atandards. Finding them in high grade does demand a nice premium, but if were specifically focused on comic cons, then i would imagine they will be overpriced.
In 2006, I saw an ungraded New Mutants 98 at a comic shop. Probably 9.4-9.6. $99.00. All I thought at the time was "Who would spend $99.00" on that. Now it's one of the most slabbed books with more than 18,000 copies just on the CGC census at a 9.4 or higher. over 29,000 total slabbed. CBCS has another 700 at 9.4 or higher, and over 1300 total. It's not rare...its not rare in high grade.
ASM #1 is definitely an Amazing book (no pun intended), but yeah I can see where you are coming from, right now mid grades go for $10,000-$15,000, and high grades go for $15,000-$20,000. You could just buy a 1.0 copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 with that money.
I still cannot believe that secret wars issue 8 goes for about 1000 even though I’ve seen those a lot of times in good condition, meaning it’s not that rare
I'll add a little info for Ultimate Fallout 4, Newsstand Edition. Absolutely stupid rare book. I had one and got it graded at a 9.6, which made it one of five at 9.6 with only one at 9.8. There were only a couple other books to use as a basis (a 9.4 that recently sold, and speculated price), but I ended up selling it for 15k two years ago. I personally felt like the price was inflated, but I also hope it goes up for the buyer.
X-Men #94 is a book that tons of collectors want, especially those who can’t afford a GSXM #1. You really have to go back to the Golden Age to find comics truly scarce.
I slab books as part of my living. The market decides is the standard answer which is true. I just do not dwell on why the price is what it is. On the other side of value, it's so tough to get 9.8s on books with black spines as color breaks are very noticeable and deadly for the grade. Books with black spines are very undervalued.. Oh, I bought 200 copies of Wolverine mini #1 back in 1982 at a cover discount, probably 50 cent each. I sold out 10 years later, the last 50 copies, for $7 each!! Nice profit!!
You have to go by the age range and income of individuals. Majority of us are unable to get a hold of golden age, silver, some copper. It is all by demand. Mostly outside of the internet, no? They don't want to be subjected to scams and price manipulations on the websites, I've noticed
My hope is that these are priced the way they are because the dealers are having to pay high prices to acquire these from collectors.. but I doubt that’s the case.
Like anything you wanna buy low sell high. Honestly all my comics come from a goodwill bin . I pay about 5-10 cents and find awesome ones I found a Superman 71 and 73 and many others . There’s always going to be beginner buyers that don’t do research before they make a purchase . Everything shot up during the pandemic that was the time people were selling ! Vintage shirts clothing is hot rite now but besides that comics vhs records people want deals. If you bought during the pandemic you have to hold unless you need the money desperately you have to hold because you’ll sell low and it’ll come rite back in your face bounce back
Just went to a convention a few days ago with my daughter. I can confirm about ASM 194. I have checked this book out on Ebay a lot the past few weeks leading up to the show as it will fill a hole in my ASM run. I could not believe how much many of the vendors wanted for it. Absolutely ridiculous. Needless to say I didn't buy one so its back to Ebay lol.
I think a lot of this speculation in part, has to do with the generation of comic collectors and buyers. I am from the 12 cents comic buying generation and so those are the comics I think are valuable...I have no attraction to buying these recent books.
Let's talk music. I've noticed the TOOL shirt, on a couple of videos. You ever seen them perform live ? I saw 'em few times. One of the best live bands, ever. This video isn't so bad, keep it up.👍
Silver Surfer #4, the Thor cover, that one drives me crazy. I need to upgrade, but it's not worth trying, at the moment. Thanks for addressing this issue.
Love the information you are sharing. That first appearance of DeadPool in New Mutants #98 I have 2 copies of that book. The cover is okay but the art and the storyline inside that book SUCK Big time. I bought it off the shelf when it first came out.
your channel keeps popping up on my feed. Comics hit a all time high during the cov--i--d years, if you built your collection during the last 4 years you overpaid.
Happily, most of mine were bought at cover when I was a kid. My 8.5 # 181 was a bit pricey back in the day but now it will sell for stupid money. Demand will get the $$$ though, even though there could be countless copies floating around. They may get a little dusty in the meantime.
That's why I collect Golden Age. At least I know not every Tom, Dick and Harry has a copy. Paid $20.00 for a Batman 251 long time ago. Sold it last year for $2400.00. My $300.00 GSX1 sold for $7500.00 2 years ago. Good riddance.
You gonna apply prices to your banter? “All of these books are too expensive at cons.” Ok what should we be paying? What did you see them at the last con for that triggered the video? Is there a context or are you just rambling?
I like this channel...but him blanket stating hulk 340 is damn sure not worth a few hundred dollars is clearly factually wrong. You just cant make statements that are that easily price checked due to demand over the years and be taken seriously.
Ultimate Fallout 4 will always be an overrated book IMO. It's hovering around $900 in a 9.8 and back during the bubble, it was selling for close to $5000. Influencers made $$$$$$ pushing "keys" onto gullible buyers during Covid/free money times.
Usually don't mind your videos, but what was the point of this video?? People want certain books and they sell for high prices???...ok. Comic collecting is not original art collecting, and nor are comics they priced at that level. Owning certain books makes people happy and feel involved in the hobby...these are often emotional purchases and often over priced at shows(tourist market for comics). Collecting anything in general can be described as overpaying for an item....but it makes us happy (we r a weird species 🙂)
These books are definitely Wall Fodder. Seems like they're on EVERY single wall. I've gotten sick of looking at them at cons, truly. Put up some rare late issue Spawns, or 149 plus GI Joe. Meanwhile, Ive long since purchased my replica copies for 4 bucks to read and enjoy. (And keep my hard earned money.) Good video.
Comics are only over priced if you don’t know how to talk the price down and have knowledge on what it’s actually priced at. I’ve gotten many books at cons that were key issues for much less that is true value by talking to the vendor and getting the price lowered. From looking at the book and pointing out issues with said book and what it’s grade really is to pulling up the value of the book online. The only people who see the sticker price on a book and thinks it’s to high and pays that price are those who have no clue at what they are doing. I’ve seen so many people at these convention paying sticker price without even making an attempt to make an offer.
MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO ME., WHY BUY TRANSFORMERS ISSUE 1, WHEN U CAN BUY A HANDFUL OF GEN 1 TRANSFORMERS TOYS IN O.G BOXES DOUBLING IN VALUE OVRE BOOKS.
