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When they were hot...
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117 posts in this topic

A few weeks ago I was set up at a convention. It was slow, so I had a chance to dive into dollar bins of my fellow dealers.

 

At one booth, I found a lot of good stuff that I quickly flipped for $5-$15 each, but I what got me really excited was that I found a TON of independent comics that used to be hot. And, because I'm that sort of a guy, I bought nearly all of them. They included (among others):

 

Adventurers #1

Justice Machine Annual #1

Trollords #1

Redfox #1

The Realm #1

 

I took them back to my booth, bagged and boarded them, put $5 on each, and put them on my display rack (down at the bottom right-hand corner), out of prime real estate.

 

And here's the funny thing: I sold A LOT of them. I didn't make a huge profit or anything, but a lot of people my age who stopped at my tables noticed them, had a good laugh, and then forked over the cash so they could get their copy and remember the mid-to-late 80s.

 

Copper collectors are a strange lot. I'm proud to be one of them.

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A few weeks ago I was set up at a convention.

 

where was this one at?

 

Grand Rapids.

 

It was not great for sales. A ton of people over the three days -- more than 15,000, I suspect. They were just not buying comics. They were buying toys and prints and video games and all that stuff. Just not the stuff I was selling.

 

I hustled my off and came home with a little profit after expenses. But a lot of dealers did not do very well at all. It was a good buying convention. The last few hours of Sunday I was walking around buying as much as a I sold, probably, because the prices were so good.

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A resurgence in interest generally occurs around the time something (or some fad) which was once popular becomes 25 years old.

 

Rule. Of. 25.

 

Obviously, every comic doesn't increase when it turns 25 years old. But those which once had demand can see a resurgence in at least some demand around the 25th year. Nostalgia, more disposable income, mid-life crisis, whatever you want to say about the cause... the effect is at least common enough to be described, even if it isn't 100% certain.

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It's also true in fashion. Why else would you see the vented sunglasses, neon colors and tights-as-pants fads come back, when they were all hideous the first time around? Same thing with comics.

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It's also true in fashion. Why else would you see the vented sunglasses, neon colors and tights-as-pants fads come back, when they were all hideous the first time around? Same thing with comics.

Exactly. I tried to capture that thought when I said "or some fad". (thumbs u

 

Music:

Taylor Swift's 2014 album title is 1989. 25 years earlier, as if she remembers anything from the year she was born. It sells the second time around.

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/FANTASY-QUARTERLY-FEATURING-ELFQUEST-1-NM-9-2-1ST-APPEARANCE-OF-ELFQUEST-Pini-/171965453310?rmvSB=true&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=LSlrbGpTtd7qgj9p%252FkdayU26xX0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

and

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FANTASY-QUARTERLY-1-FIRST-APPEARANCE-OF-ELFQUEST-Amazing-Find-WHITE-PAGES-/191732517734?hash=item2ca4260b66:g:duEAAOSw~bFWPASO

 

 

That seems awfully cheap for that. I am not sure why they have not tried to cartoon-ize that series. They have years of source material to work with.

 

With that said, some raw sales in the last few months have been much higher. I guess it all depends on which 40somethings looking to touch their childhood are on ebay that day.

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/FANTASY-QUARTERLY-FEATURING-ELFQUEST-1-NM-9-2-1ST-APPEARANCE-OF-ELFQUEST-Pini-/171965453310?rmvSB=true&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=LSlrbGpTtd7qgj9p%252FkdayU26xX0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

and

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FANTASY-QUARTERLY-1-FIRST-APPEARANCE-OF-ELFQUEST-Amazing-Find-WHITE-PAGES-/191732517734?hash=item2ca4260b66:g:duEAAOSw~bFWPASO

 

 

That seems awfully cheap for that. I am not sure why they have not tried to cartoon-ize that series. They have years of source material to work with.

 

With that said, some raw sales in the last few months have been much higher. I guess it all depends on which 40somethings looking to touch their childhood are on ebay that day.

 

The 1st example you pointed out was a deal I worked out with the seller, what can I say, Im good like that ;)

the 2nd one you mention (which I watched as well) has "3 pages torn at time of printing"

which explains why it sold for so low.

This book sells for upper 300 in 9.8 as you know

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A resurgence in interest generally occurs around the time something (or some fad) which was once popular becomes 25 years old.

 

Rule. Of. 25.

 

Obviously, every comic doesn't increase when it turns 25 years old. But those which once had demand can see a resurgence in at least some demand around the 25th year. Nostalgia, more disposable income, mid-life crisis, whatever you want to say about the cause... the effect is at least common enough to be described, even if it isn't 100% certain.

Okay thanks.

 

I guess that makes sense.

 

 

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