Unity 5 CGC 1:100 - Did someone here buy it

magnus20009 · Post by **magnus20009** » Sun Mar 17, 2019 11:01:42 pm

A copy of Unity 5 CGC 9.8 1:100 just sold on eBay for $676.66.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Valiant-UNITY- ... Sw151chTV5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did somebody here win the book? I had a snipe in for $666.66 and thought I would comfortably win at a good chunk below that figure.

nycjadie · Post by **nycjadie** » Sun Mar 17, 2019 11:07:25 pm

I bid, but nowhere near that amount. It's a staggering amount for this slab, but clearly several people wanted it badly. It's a beauty. That was a very difficult book to get at the time.

DirtbagSailor · Post by **DirtbagSailor** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 7:14:30 am

Not shocked really. I have actually (until this copy) never seen this book in 9.8 condition (usually don’t see the book available at all!) and have pretty much concluded that it would be easier to obtain the original cover art than find this book in 9.8!

AnarchoMambo · Post by **AnarchoMambo** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:54:30 am

That’s why I bought it. I thought it unlikely that this could ever turn up in 9.8 again. Does anybody out there have any candidates? I started with 3 raw copies, submitted what is by far the best of them, and received a 9.6. (which may soon go up on my Snake-Pit Wanted-to-Trade thread!)

Also, beyond that, this issue features what is arguably one of the best Suayan covers, and that is really saying something. This cover must also be considered the gold standard for Ninjak, iconic in every way, one of Valiant’s top-tier characters.

Besides, it begins Matt Kindt’s second arc on a Valiant series. The first arc begins with Unity 1, which has a bazillion existing copies, except for the Golden Tickets. Unity 5 Suayan B&W 9.8 has a chance to be unique like the Golden Tickets (found copies 9.4, 9.6, 9.6), but with the difference that it is a lot more iconic.

I, too, have spied the original art for this cover on Comic Fans. But the owner is a professed Valiant fan AND Mico Suayan fan. What are the odds that they would part with it now? Although, after this thread plays out, they might perhaps receive a slew of new offers!

I spent 2 grand on my Foreman Golden Ticket, and I do still see $695 shipped as an expensive win on this auction. But when the purchase of Unity 5 Suayan B&W 9.8 is given full context however, I believe that it is also a bargain!

But now I just blew my whole original commission budget for C2E2, and then some. I won’t even be looking for back issues now all weekend. Bummer!

But...it was well worth it[GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

magnus20009 · Post by **magnus20009** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:58:03 am

AnarchoMambo wrote:That’s why I bought it. I thought it unlikely that this will ever turn up in 9.8 again. I started with 3 raw copies, submitted what is by far the best of them, and received a 9.6. (this may soon go on my Snake-Pit Wanted-to-Trade thread!)

Also, beyond that, this issue may present one of the best Suayan covers, which is really saying something. This cover must also be considered the gold standard for Ninjak, iconic in every way, for one of Valiant’s top-tier characters.

Besides, it begins Matt Kindt’s second arc on a Valiant series. The first arc begins with Unity 1, which has a bazillion copies, except for the Golden Tickets. Unity 5 Suayan 9.8 has a chance to be unique like the Golden Tickets, but with the difference that it is a lot more iconic.

I spent 2 grand on my Foreman Golden Ticket, so I see $700 as expensive for this book. When the purchase is viewed in this way, though, it is also a bargain!

But now I just blew my whole original commission budget for C2E2, and then some. I won’t even be looking for back issues now all weekend. Bummer!

But...well worth it[GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

We really should be working together on these Boards to save each other money. I wonder what the next highest bid would have been? Feel a bit bad about costing you some money as I put in what I thought was a crazy snipe figuring the book would go likely somewhere in the 350-450 range. I did win the sellers "The Valiant" 4 1:50 so the complete "The Valiant" 1:50 run for me.

nycjadie · Post by **nycjadie** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 9:26:53 am

That seller attracted some record prices for those books. Shows some solid increases in value of 9.8s. They are incredibly difficult to get for some of these variants. Scarcity doesn’t always translate into sales prices, but I’m this case they might have.

On the other hand, I’ve had a few incredibly scarce Valiant variants sell for less than $40 lately, in 9.8. The chase seems to be on these high ratio ones, sometimes regardless of actual scarcity.

AnarchoMambo · Post by **AnarchoMambo** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:55:04 am

I think that whenever there’s an EBay listing for an “ONLY ONE” scarce issue, everybody is watching. Then the seller’s other auctions get to go along for the ride, fetching better prices.

Juki · Post by **Juki** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 12:09:47 pm

Very nice catch Anarchomambo! I tried bidding as well.

Maybe everyone in this thread should make a pack not to bid against each other?

Haha, or pool our money together and bid as one? Haha.

AnarchoMambo · Post by **AnarchoMambo** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 12:56:44 pm

Thank you, thank you! I would rather have the OA, but this may be almost as unique, as I did not really think that this book would EVER turn up in a graded 9.8!

I hope that I am proven wrong. If anybody reading this has a raw copy, dig it up! Pressable? Getting books like this onto census helps Valiant’s collectibility, and the high-profile sales helps Valiant!

Which brings me to my next point. Forming a bidding coalition would not only diminish what should be the highest visibility Valiant sales, IF IT WERE NOT IMPOSSIBLE THAT ALL BIDDING COALITIONS ARE DOOMED TO FAIL!

Think about it. There are tons of people who ghost this site. They would love to know that there’s only one bidder between them and some key book.

Also, how would you determine who has the “rights” to bid? The first to find? The highest “professed” theoretical max bid?

I think it is clear that this is a bad idea, even though it’s grounded in a very good impulse to protect the members of our club.

Last night, CKB did something here on the board that really helped members fill out their collections with post-Unity books that may have done poorly on EBay. That’s what helps dedicated members on the board to really thrive and feel a part of this community. Attempting to price-fix what should be collectible Valiant’s best sales on a worldwide auction marketplace does not help Valiant one bit. And lastly, Valiant needs to do their part by continuing to print great books. With some notable exceptions lately, I think there is some indication that that may be true once again.

Juki · Post by **Juki** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:09:17 pm

AnarchoMambo wrote:Thank you, thank you! I would rather have the OA, but this may just as unique, as I did not really think that this book would EVER turn up in a graded 9.8!

I hope that I am proven wrong. If anybody reading this has a raw copy, dig it up! Pressable? Getting books like this onto census helps Valiant’s collectibility, and the high-profile sales helps Valiant!

Which brings me to my next point. Forming a bidding coalition would not only diminish what should be the highest visibility Valiant sales, IF IT WERE NOT IMPOSSIBLE THAT ALL BIDDING COALITIONS ARE DOOMED TO FAIL!

Think about it. There are tons of people who ghost this site. They would love to know that there’s only one bidder between them and some key book.

Also, how would you determine who has the “rights” to bid? The first to find? The highest “professed” max bid?

I think it is clear that this is a bad idea, even though it’s grounded in a very good impulse to protect the members of our club.

Last night, CKB did something here on the board that really helped members fill out their collections with post-Unity books that may have done poorly on EBay. That’s what helps dedicated members on the board to really thrive and feel a part of this community. Attempting to price-fix what should be collectible Valiant’s best sales on a worldwide auction marketplace does not help Valiant one bit. And lastly, Valiant needs to do their part by continuing to print great books. With some notable exceptions lately, I think there is some indication that that may be true once again.

Agreed. My comments were all in jest as there is no way an "EBay Club" would actually work. It just seems ashame that most of us here were bidding on your book. That just shows you how special it is though.

nycjadie · Post by **nycjadie** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:41:18 pm

All is fair when bidding for items, but I am not opposed to a friendly discussion about going together on a lot, and splitting items amongst friends. Often times, I just want a book or two out of something, and that kind of partnership makes sense to me.

paradise · Post by **paradise** » Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:49:16 pm

This conversation about bidding coalitions and not competing against each other is fun, until you are the seller, as many of us are, both buying and selling books all the time. If you are the seller on a book and a bunch of potential bidders agree to sit out because someone called dibs, it makes for a pretty bad day for the seller, as a lot of how Ebay works depends on the fervor of multiple bids generating visibility on the site and additional attention and thus, a higher total.

I have been outbid many times on a piece of art I really wanted, but that's the game. Offer your best and hope you win.

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