There are a lot of articles going around talking about the current state of the comic book industry. Should we be buying? Should we be selling in the middle of a recession? Or should we hold our key issues for the next market boom? The fact of the matter is the stock market has declined over 30% year-to-date (YTD) and small businesses are closing down every day but that hasn’t stopped hardcore collectors from getting the comic books they want for there personal collections (PC). Ladies and gentleman, please take note –
Let me introduce to you the 1st Edition, of many more to come, of the State of the Comic Book Union. With hardcore facts, confirmed sales, and supporting data to help showcase further these amazing sales that are happening. Consider this a temperature check, of where we are, and possibly where the market is going. What you decide to do with this information--buy or sell, is up to you.
There were a couple of sales that caught my eye recently on ComicLink, Heritage Auctions, and eBay. All of the following sales I am about to disclose to you were all auction type sales with multiple bids. Despite many businesses shutting down, there seems to still be auctions pushed out every week by various 3rd party consignment sites.
THE GRAILS
Amazing Spider-Man #129 – one of those key comic books you see in all kinds of grades, but a 9.8!? Yes, one ended on ComicLink last week and this comic SOLD for $11,000. Keep in mind the 3% buyer's premium that ComicLink charges at checkout. According to GoCollect, the Fair Market Value (FMV) for this comic book in a CGC 9.8 is $12,000. There have only been 2 sales so far in 2020 for a 9.8. The most recent occurred on 3/8/2020 for $11,400 (Heritage) and the other on 3/4/2020 for $13,100 (eBay).
Giant-Size X-Men #1 – another example of that comic book you just got to have. So many 1st appearances in this issue. We all know what this comic book is all about, but a 9.8!? Yes, I said that right. A CGC 9.8 exampled was listed last month on ComicLink and the auction ended just last week. Needless to say, there was interest. It SOLD for $9,105. Again, keep in mind the 3% buyer's premium. When using GoCollect's FMV & Sale History tool, you can see the last sale, and the ONLY sale in 2020, was on 3/8/2020 for $10,800 (Heritage). Wow!
THE MODERN
Edge of Spider-Verse #2 – one of the hottest modern comic books out there now. This comic book doesn’t seem to be losing any steam and has shown its resiliency in this current market we find ourselves in. This particular CGC 9.8 example sold on Heritage Auctions last week. It had 11 bidders and 57 people "tracking" the auction. It SOLD for $360, but keep in mind the buyer’s premium for this particular auction site which Heritage Auctions adds to all their listings, so the buyer paid $432. GoCollect has the past 3 sales for this comic book: $475 (4/1/2020), $483 (4/1/2020) and $480 (3/31/2020). D(&*($%, that’s a HOT book!
THE VARIANT
Spawn #185 (Headless Variant) – now this is a comic book you do not see that often. This is the rare Todd McFarlane headless cover variant for the first issue of the Spawn "Endgame" narrative that spanned from issues #185-196. What a ghost! According to the CGC census, there are only 14 9.8s in existence: 6 blue labels and 8 yellow labels graded. Not many copies exist in high grade, but one did pop up last week for a short 5-day auction on eBay. After 14 bidders placed 42 bids, this comic was sold for $1,025. According to GoCollect, there have ONLY been 2 sales EVER recorded. There was one copy that SOLD on 1/18/2020 for $2,000 and another copy SOLD on 7/9/2018 for $1,100. In case you wondering, this comic book was released on 9/30/2008.
Conclusion
There you go. Just a snippet of what is going on in the Comic Book Industry as we know it. Some sales hanging around FMV, some over and some others a little below FMV. As you can see, there are some hardcore collectors out there that no matter what the market conditions are, they are BUYERS. The hobby is strong, collectors are collecting and comic fanboys are indeed selling, selling those keys nonetheless. Stay tuned for the next installment of the State of the Comic Book Union as I delve into lower grade keys and grail books and see if there is a correlation. Until next time you comic book junkies………………..
Please share your thoughts and comments you have on these major sales. What comic books are you currently watching? Did you participate in a recent auction and it ended higher than expected? Or did it end lower than expected and you jumped on it? Which 3rd party comic book sites are your favorites to participate in? Are you currently a buyer or a seller during these dire times and market uncertainty we find ourselves in?
GoCollect is the #1 comic book price guide for tracking sales data of all graded comic books in real-time. Fair market values are now at your fingertips. Check out all the features at www.gocollect.com
