So... When does school start?

[SILLYSHIP--pirate eye--]

I stayed away from these type of threads in the past due to all the arguing, but I'm all about getting my learn on.

1. Who should I CGC through? I'm in NM
2. How do I get the best deals?
3. I'm saving for me and my Mom's future, should I put the ''sweet" books in a safe deposit box and buy a microfilter paper insert (I've heard they can be bought online) and CGC when I'm ready to sell, or does CGC'ing now make sense?
4.Who's better PGX or CGC?
5. How will the future be affected by the CGC rgister? Will people be busting books out because "RAW" books will be new to the market and more desirable to "Speculators"?
6. How does Formaldehyde work for comic books?

[rowand]

I'm not very knowledgable but I do have some observations.

First, the twin purposes of slabbing are to have a 3rd party grade the book and to create a product for investment. I hear speculation that the grading by CGC and others is mutable and those who create vast amounts of business for them might just get a markedly better grade than any of us one shots would. Perhaps that might be bettered by having one of CGC's larger clients as your source.

Second, I see slabbed books as a marketing tool to non-readers of comics with too much cashflow who are looking for an alternate investment tool. You will have better results selling to dentists and doctors and their agents and investment councilers if you look at them as a demographic and slab accordingly. Big name titles. Key issues. Colorful covers. Good Girl Art. Stuff with BUZZ deserved or not.

Investments are always tricky. We are a culture that no longer reads. Not just comics but anything. In sociology there is a "diamond" theory that is used to explain the viability of a culture. You start small usually with a few families moving into an area. Population increases until it reaches a max. What happens then is the key!

If the population the dwindles Sociologists then conclude that the structure of whatever society has been formed is probably doomed. The Egyptians and the Aztecs, for examples, both had strong and powerful cultures that disappeared largely due to their inability to keep the birth to death ratio high enough. They faded away more than they were conquered. We are loosing readers at a steady, large pace. Comic collecting does not meet my personal requirements as an investment vehicle.

I only 'em collect 'cause I love 'em. I love to read 'em. I love the feel of them. I love my pride of ownership! I think I might not loose too much later on the whole buy, resell thing!

[rowand]

If you are going to try restoration or anything with your comics then please gather as much data as possible on the art and then go out and buy some lots of older stuff like Poor condition Westerns you care little about and try stuff on them first. Somebody sells acid-free stuff so go ask them how they do it! Report back here if you would and let us know how it goes.

[Gallinator]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Comic books are poor investment vehicles!

[fulltimer56]

but they do make for GREAT reading!!! :D

[SILLYSHIP--pirate eye--]

Gall Why are they poor investments, I just don't get that. What else can I buy for $400-$600 a pop, put in a safe deposit box and watch it go up in value?

[slucas76]

but they do make for GREAT reading!!! :D

AND HOW!

[mordo]

sillyship,

If you are saving for you and your Mom's future, I'd recommend opening a 401k account (and/or IRA) and contributing the maximum amount every year. I think I remember reading that you are in your early 30's. With that being the case, by the time you are in your mid 50's you should have accumulated a lot of money in your account (and other investments) and when you are ready to retire by your late 50's or 60's (if you choose to do so), you will be financially very well off to enjoy your golden years.

For me, 10% of my paycheck is going to my 401k account. It's money out of sight and out of mind as far as I'm concerned. It'll help me out considerably when I retire but I only wish I did this when I was in my 20's or early 30's.

Real estate may be another option for you. Buy a house or condo, and either slowly wait as it rises in value over time, or buy/sell a few times in your lifetime and watch yourself get richer. I'm not a real estate person unfortunately, but some people in my family have done this and have become financially comfortable because of it.

I am not sure comics can give you the same kind of longterm return. There is too much risk involved and you don't know if the comic market will be strong in 25 to 35 years. There may not be as many comic buyers (for older back issues) as there are today. Comics also are not very liquid which would limit your return and how quickly you can receive your money. Lack of liquidity could put you at the mercy of the market unless you are willing to hold out till you get the price you want.

I'd approach comics as a third or fourth option in terms of investing. I know the bulk of my retirement funds will come from my 401k account. If I ever buy a home, that will be up there too in terms of my future income. I dabble a little in the stock market and have a decent savings account too. After that, whatever my comics bring me if I choose to sell any of them will be an added bonus.

Good luck and choose wisely!

[fulltimer56]

AMEN, mordo!!

[Greg]

Gall Why are they poor investments, I just don't get that. What else can I buy for $400-$600 a pop, put in a safe deposit box and watch it go up in value?


Right now and the next few years comics will be selling for a premium due to baby boomers who have a lot of disposable income, trying to buy a little bit of their youth back. You can see the same thing in the car market. However, as these people start to die off in the next 20 to 30 years the prices have a good chance of falling. This could be completely wrong, but there are many investments that are not as risky with more likely a higher return. They just may not be as fun. For instance lets say you start saving at 30, you can put $500 in a 401(k), estimate about a 7% return, for 25 years. You would have a little over $405,000 by the time your 55. That is not too shabby, with Social Security and Pensions if they're still around, you should be able to retire a few years early and wait for those to kick in. It is even better once you start looking into the stock market which has an average return of 10-12% over time.

Disclaimer:
This is my opinion based on information gained in an educational environment, may not apply to the real world.

[rowand]

Sorry if my point was unclear. They are poor investments because first comics are artificially inflated in value because the only ones buying the big ticket items are non comic readers and they have no intrinsic value to them and second reading is a dying art and sooner rather than later we will have no lover of the medium to sell to.

That is a trend to watch but remember I voted for Nixon and both Bushes so following my examples and thought processes is suspect at best!

If you want to invest in comics set a little money aside and be around places where comics are bought and sold. Talk comics and place yourself in a position where you can provide cashflow for really good value that others are undervalueing. Then enjoy and hope that you won't loose too much along the way!

With me it was my favorite artists stories. I would raid 25c bins for any and all Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Wally Wood, Jim Starlin, or Barry Smith comics and went without lunch several time to get them ALL!

[disneyteddies]

In other words, don't put all your eggs in one basket.

[Blufalkn2]

"Buy em', read em', share em' with your kids ! (if your fortunate enough to have them)."

This, in my humble opinion is the only way comics will still be around for us to enjoy in our golden years. Start building the fan base at home! I think that those of us who really enjoy our comics have to keep the industry alive (crappy deal I know). The "investors/speculators" will disappear soon enough.

Comics ARE a good investment! An investment in the time we spend with our kids, building their imagination, building their reading skills, and building a relationship with comics they won't soon forget. When they are grown and gone, they will hit their LCS and pick up a few of their favorite titles from their youth simply because it reminds them of hanging out with mom/dad on the couch getting an in-depth explaination of the "super-soldier" serum or what exactly is the Watcher doing on the moon!

Yeah, I keep them in mylar and want the best possible grades I can find, but thats simply so I will have them in years to come and my money-grubbin off-spring can fight over them when I am gone If only for a good laugh when I am looking down from heaven!


READ WITH YOUR KIDS!! IT'S CONTAGIOUS!!!

[SILLYSHIP--pirate eye--]

Well, you folks are definetly influencing me, but I still think that there is a an investment value in comics. I am considering other ways though AND THANKS TO Y'ALL I HAVE DECIDED TO HIRE AN ACCOUNTANT TO HANDLE MY $. I still say that owning a nice collection will still be worth money because even though reading is dying, the interest is not. People don't have to paint (a supposedly dead art) to invest in paintings, and the same goes for Hot Rods, Muscle Cars, furniture etc. The only things I see really dying in collectibles as of late are coins, stamps and to a much lesser degree LP's.

However, all said and done, real estate is the best investment and I will be looking at that soon.

[SILLYSHIP--pirate eye--]

"Yeah, I keep them in mylar and want the best possible grades I can find, but thats simply so I will have them in years to come and my money-grubbin off-spring can fight over them when I am gone If only for a good laugh when I am looking down from heaven!"

I need it for me and the living, my Mom and me, not for any kids, so maybe I should, according to others opinions, be selling out now to the baby boomers. Thing is, I'm not a baby boomer, and many of us here are not. And the prices stilll keeping rising. Silly isn't it?

[Blufalkn2]

Yeah, but the prices seem to be going up on the newer stuff at greater gains the the older (pre-90's) books. I am just having 90's flashbacks as far as the "value" boom that we are currently experiencing.

I have also noticed that prices are coming down a lot quicker than in the past decade. (peak in the first month after release, then plummet)

Basically what I am saying is: If you want to cash in on the current boom, "get while the gettins' good"!!!

[SILLYSHIP--pirate eye--]

Totally, I have a friend over tonight and since I'm into comics, he asked me to look up Venom #1 (Ltheal Protector) it is absolutely stupid that you can buy a "Black cover" 9.4 of this for the same price as a GA book in say 6.5. Lessoned learned. The market is still full of speculators....But hey, if the money is good???????????

[disneyteddies]

I bet this guy is glad he got it CGC'd.

http://cgi.ebay.com/GHOST-RIDER-1-1973-CGC-9-8-NM-MT-HIGHEST-GRADED-NR_W0QQitemZ180058108201QQihZ008QQcategoryZ82487QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[oxbladder]

Yeah no kidding. I would NEVER EVER pay that much for GR even in that high a grade.

[disneyteddies]

That's not even his first appearance...(Marvel Spotlight #5). Stace and I got my best friend both these books for his birthday a few years ago and we only paid about 70 bucks for both of them, even though they were in vf condition. He now has them framed and on the wall of his Framing Gallery...out of the sun. LoL.

[disneyteddies]

Why someone would pay 6500 bucks for that one is a real mystery to me?????