Why is Harbinger 8 a $400 book in CGC 9.8?

magnus20009 · Post by **magnus20009** » Sun Aug 12, 2018 8:45 pm

I am confused why is Harbinger 8 a $400 book in CGC 9.8?

One just sold on a $400 buy-it-now and was up only for about an hour. The previous 2 sales were $493 earlier this year and $322 last year. Before that it was a $50 book.

One high sale is an anomaly but 3? How can this be the thirst most expensive Valiant in high grade (after Harbinger 1 and Solar 10). Surely it can’t be that rare of book as it had plenty of copies printed. Why aren’t these “high” prices causing more of this book to be graded, which is usually the case when a trend like this happens.

ckb · Post by **ckb** » Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:14 am

magnus20009 wrote:I am confused why is Harbinger 8 a $400 book in CGC 9.8?

One just sold on a $400 buy-it-now and was up only for about an hour. The previous 2 sales were $493 earlier this year and $322 last year. Before that it was a $50 book.

One high sale is an anomaly but 3? How can this be the thirst most expensive Valiant in high grade (after Harbinger 1 and Solar 10). Surely it can’t be that rare of book as it had plenty of copies printed. Why aren’t these “high” prices causing more of this book to be graded, which is usually the case when a trend like this happens.

I have over 100 copies of Harbinger 8 that were overstock at a store. They were carefully stored and bagged their entire existence. There was not a single 9.8 candidate in the bunch.

The book just does not lie flat. It was stapled funny and is always wavy. Dark spine. And they were in $0.50 boxes for decades. Thus the prices.

iggy101us · Post by **iggy101us** » Mon Aug 13, 2018 10:58 am

I got it early for around $40-$50.

It's been an expensive book for a while in 9.8. The census is so low with people still trying to complete the set registry. I think it's a $400 because of low census count and how hard it is to get it in 9.8. There is no significant appearance or storyline.

nycjadie · Post by **nycjadie** » Mon Aug 13, 2018 2:13 pm

It took me about 4-5 years to get this book, and I had to buy it. My submissions never seemed to make it through, and like CKB, I had dozens and dozens of dealer stock. It's the hardest Unity book to get in 9.8, and one of the hardest V1 books I've had. There are a couple X-O books that have also eluded me, as well as a few Rai, Archer and other books. Frustrating!

The high prices reflect how few there are, and how many people want a full Unity or Harbinger set.

DirtbagSailor · Post by **DirtbagSailor** » Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:59 pm

I was able to score this a while back, and dropped about $600 on it at the time. CGC 9.8 Signature Series signed by cover artist Frank Miller.

I have NOT seen many of these, and took a gamble on the purchase for my own PC.

Imagine my shock 1-2 years later when Universal 9.8s started selling in the $300-500 range!

AnarchoMambo · Post by **AnarchoMambo** » Fri Aug 17, 2018 9:15 am

That book is a beaut’, DBS!

I got lucky in a different way: the only copy I’ve ever owned (pulled with my regular comics at Granite City Comic in St Cloud MN in 1992) graded at 9.8 just 6 months ago. Apparently that is not normal.

magnus20009 · Post by **magnus20009** » Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:07 am

It really is all about timing. One went for $400 not too long ago. I picked mine up about 6 weeks ago for $300.

This copy has been on eBay for about a month now and each time gets relisted lower. Started at $400.... now $250

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HARBINGER-8-CG ... ctupt=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

maraxusofkeld · Post by **maraxusofkeld** » Wed Nov 28, 2018 9:29 am

magnus20009 wrote:It really is all about timing. One went for $400 not too long ago. I picked mine up about 6 weeks ago for $300.

This copy has been on eBay for about a month now and each time gets relisted lower. Started at $400.... now $250

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HARBINGER-8-CG ... ctupt=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is a nasty spine stress by the Valiant logo box, which I wouldn't associate with a 9.8 book, maybe that is the reason it has not sold as it is a 9.6 in a 9.8 holder.

Surfertso · Post by **Surfertso** » Sat Jan 19, 2019 8:48 am

So what will a Harbinger 9 go for with a census of 38 in 9.8? Another sleeper?

ckb · Post by **ckb** » Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:31 am

Surfertso wrote:So what will a Harbinger 9 go for with a census of 38 in 9.8? Another sleeper?

H9 is a notch easier to find candidates for. I expect them to sell for less than 8s. Low census does not always translate to high selling prices. It might be more of a gauge to look at the Valiant sets on the CGC registry and see how many are missing H8 and H9.

But man you never know. It just takes two motivated people.

lobo · Post by **lobo** » Thu Jul 11, 2019 4:36 pm

Recent sale prices for #8 have been dropping. Finally got my first copy for $86 on comiclink

XOisTops1 · Post by **XOisTops1** » Tue Jul 30, 2019 10:39 am

Yes, prices are much lower now..The latest on comiclink sold for $96 which is a slight increase from the previous one of $86.

XOisTops1 · Post by **XOisTops1** » Tue Jul 30, 2019 10:52 am

.....However the latest sales on ebay show them to be $111.50 and $134.50 - previous sale. So perhaps word has caught on about how tough this book is in 9.8 and people are buying these now.
I don't have one either but I'm chasing something else now.

DirtbagSailor · Post by **DirtbagSailor** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 10:17 am

This book is hard in 9.8; and due to it being a common book, few copies in 9.8 were available for quite a while.

As a result, they sold strong for a while; however, as is often the case, the collector market for Harbinger books is limited to a handful of collectors, and presently most of us have the books we need. This will change with a spike in interest, movie trailer/progress/casting/announcements, where the demand will exceed the supply.

For a while at least.

Harbinger #0 Blue is an example of a book with similar potential. Common, yes, but also rare in 9.8.

greg · Post by **greg** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 10:50 am

Harbinger #8 has many more new copies in CGC 9.8 that have shown up on the CGC Census since this topic began a year ago. At that time, the CGC census showed 22 copies in CGC 9.8. It is currently at 54 CGC 9.8, which is 32 new copies graded as CGC 9.8 in the past year.

lobo · Post by **lobo** » Wed Aug 28, 2019 10:15 pm

I suspect someone finally had a small stack pressed out and submitted. I may have a few myself to dig out. Many copies that I have seen were structurally sound but mostly had a lot of cover waves that could easily be pressed out. These cover waves kept raw copies from achieving a 9.8 grade .

magnus20009 · Post by **magnus20009** » Sun Sep 15, 2019 10:49 pm

It is now a $51 book

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Harbinger-8-CG ... SwbAJdYE4Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Why couldn’t I have waited a few months

mrwoogieman · Post by **mrwoogieman** » Mon Sep 16, 2019 1:11 pm

magnus20009 wrote:It is now a $51 book

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Harbinger-8-CG ... SwbAJdYE4Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Why couldn’t I have waited a few months

They call it FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out

We've all been there, man.

FormerReader · Post by **FormerReader** » Tue Oct 01, 2019 6:56 pm

magnus20009 wrote:It is now a $51 book

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Harbinger-8-CG ... SwbAJdYE4Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Consider me shocked. Ok not really.

nycjadie · Post by **nycjadie** » Tue Oct 01, 2019 10:55 pm

FormerReader wrote:
magnus20009 wrote:It is now a $51 book

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Harbinger-8-CG ... SwbAJdYE4Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Consider me shocked. Ok not really.

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