Greg's "I wish I could buy them all" Deal Finder non-Valiant

[greg]

Similar to my "Greg's Save Me From Myself" Topic for Valiant books: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=40473" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I'm imagining a scenario where I had unlimited funds for deals that I see on graded books... which will never happen... but if it did, what books would I buy?

In this topic I'll be posting books that I would want to own, and I'll give the reason why I think it's a good choice. Most of the time, it will be because there is an important appearance in the book, but it may also be because the prices have been declining and so they could be considered a "deal" relative to what it would have cost in the past.

I'll have no hard feelings if any of you want to buy these books, since I've already admitted that I don't have the funds to get every book that looks like a deal to me.

Maybe if I can post about the books I want, that will give me some outlet for the frustration of not being able to buy them all.

[greg]

One of the criteria that I use for evaluating the prices of CGC-graded books is the "Price Per CGC Point". This calculation is only useful up to the middle grades of comics, since the high grades usually command a premium price that increases pretty quickly the higher you go.

But it is often true that if a certain comic book sells for $600 in CGC 5.0 condition, it's likely that it sells for $300 in CGC 2.5 condition, and it's likely that you could get a CGC 1.0 for about $120.
All of those prices are the same "Price Per CGC Point", which is $120 per point.

The Golden Age first appearances of Superman (1938) and Batman (1939) are the highest priced comics and they have the highest price per CGC point.
When you look at a book like Action Comics #1 or Detective Comics #27, the low grade to mid-grade copies sell for about $100,000 per CGC point.
In the Silver Age, there has been a big increase in the prices for Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962, first Spider-Man), and it currently sells for about $8,000 to $9,000 per CGC point.
The price difference, of course, is due to how many copies of Amazing Fantasy #15 have been graded vs. the number of graded copies of Action #1 or Detective #27.
The age of key issue comics is usually the explanation for the difference in the number of copies graded. Older is fewer, in almost every case.

Currently, the price for the first (full) appearance of Wolverine in Incredible Hulk #181 (1974) is about $400 per CGC point, but it is rising pretty quickly. Until very recently, Hulk #181 was about $200 per CGC point up through the mid-grades (to about 7.5). The question is whether Hulk #181 will experience any "sell off" since the prices have essentially doubled in a couple of months, or if collectors still consider the $400 per CGC point to be a bargain compared to Spider-Man at $8,000+ per CGC point and characters like Hulk at $5,000 per CGC point (Incredible Hulk #1, 1962).

Currently, the Punisher first appearance in Amazing Spider-man #129 (also 1974, like Wolverine) is about $150 per CGC point. Is the Punisher due for an increase like Wolverine? Or is the Punisher less important than he was in the 1980s and 1990s? Hard to say. The Punisher definitely has a popular Netflix series, but Wolverine is a multi-movie household name character that would likely be even more popular with Disney and Marvel in control (rather than Fox Studios). It's unlikely that the Amazing Spider-man #129 will catch Hulk #181, but ASM #129 at $200 per CGC point isn't a crazy thought if Incredible Hulk #181 (from the same year) is going to be $400+ per CGC point.

So... my first official pick in this topic is this CGC 6.5 Amazing Spider-Man #129 for $950, which is $146 per CGC point.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/192421895037" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[nycjadie]

I agree. It think this book is do for a rise.

What do you think about Giant Size X-Men 1? I think it's also due for a rise. It was stagnant for a long time, and even decreased in value for awhile. It's Wolverine's "2nd" appearance, and has a whole host of true 1sts (Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird). I'm

[corey]

I spend so much time on ebay I come across this problem alot..I'm like Fack!!what a steal and I don't have the funds! FACK!

then I close ebay and mumble to myself why I am poor

[greg]

What do you think about Giant Size X-Men 1? I think it's also due for a rise. It was stagnant for a long time, and even decreased in value for awhile. It's Wolverine's "2nd" appearance, and has a whole host of true 1sts (Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird). I'm

I like Giant Size X-Men #1 (1975), but if I had to pick the best deal in that timeframe for the X-Men, I'd have to go with X-Men #101. Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, those are good ones, but Phoenix is better in my opinion, and you can get a CGC 8.0 X-Men #101 (1976) for about $350, which is under $44 per CGC point, while a CGC 8.0 Giant Size X-Men #1 would cost $1,000 which is $125 per CGC point.

[greg]

I think my second favorite Wolverine book (since Hulk #181 is first) is Hulk #180, which has a full page appearance of Wolverine that leads into the Hulk #181 story.

If you've never seen what is in Hulk #180, you can judge for yourself whether this should be considered Wolverine's first appearance:



It's at least as much Wolverine as the amount of Bloodshot we get in Eternal Warrior #4... and more since Wolverine introduces himself.

That single page of original art sold for $657,000 back in 2014.
https://www.cbr.com/original-art-for-fi ... or-657250/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At any rate, the quick rise of prices for Hulk #181 hasn't (yet) been matched by Hulk #180, meaning that Hulk #181 was about $200 per CGC point and Hulk #180 was about $40 to $50 per CGC point.
Now, Hulk #181 is about $400 per CGC point, but Hulk #180 is still only about $60 per CGC point, with CGC 7.0 averaging under $400 in the past few sales.

I think that Hulk #180 at $80 to $100 per CGC point isn't a bad price, so the fact that you can still buy Hulk #180 for about $60 per CGC point makes it a bargain.

I don't know where this auction will end, but it starts at $499 for a CGC 8.0 Hulk #180 and currently has no bids:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/153124130943" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ckb]

Nice job blacking out my hands and desk Greg!