Anyone see Greg's Overstreet Market Report

ckb · Post by **ckb** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:27 pm

...in the new guide? Any chance of getting it posted here?

Dr. Solar · Post by **Dr. Solar** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:35 pm

Piggybacking here, but is the new guide out in stores yet?

whovianone · Post by **whovianone** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:36 pm

Yes, please do!!!

greg · Post by **greg** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 5:30 pm

Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #37, pages 89, 90 (top)

<<text version>>

Greg Holland
ValiantComics.com

The market for Valiant Comics in recent years appears to be more stable than in years prior. Anyone wishing to obtain a collection of Valiant books can still find the majority of the issues far below cover price in online auctions or overstocked dealers. As usual, print runs are one of the main keys to determining demand. Valiant books from 1993 were printed in such large quantities that they may continue to sit unsold for another dozen years, while books from 1991-92 and incentive variants have disappeared from the majority of back issue supplier inventories.

Current demand for a few Valiant books should not be interpreted as demand for all Valiant books. Though a complete Valiant collection (1991-1996) consists of just over 800 issues, half of the eighty-million total Valiant books in print were printed in 1993. As a result, Valiant regular issues from 1993 are nearly impossible to sell for more than a few cents each, which is true of most 1993 Marvel, D.C., and Image comic books as well. Less than 10% of Valiant books in print sell consistently for even cover price, while fewer than 5% of the books are consistent sellers for $5 or more. At these price levels, the cost of shipping is a major factor in the final auction prices realized. Sellers who attempt to increase profit through higher shipping charges generally see lower auction prices as bidders compensate. Some bidders now avoid shipping-profiteers altogether.

While actual Valiant auction sales demonstrate a strong demand for particular issues, it is not enough to simply have the word ‘Valiant’ printed on the cover. Pre-Unity Valiant issues are usually among the most consistent sellers. The term “Pre-Unity” has become standard for describing the earliest 1991-1992 Valiant books. Here’s the list of the Pre-Unity issues: Archer & Armstrong #0, Harbinger #1-#7 (and #0 Pink cover), Magnus #0-#14, Rai #1-#5, Shadowman #1-#3, Solar #1-#11, Vintage Magnus #1-#4, and X-O Manowar #1-#6. These particular issues were printed before Valiant print runs skyrocketed, though most would be considered strong sellers if compared to recent new comic sales figures. All are fantastic finds anywhere near cover price, and they are excellent examples of comics where the characters, art, story, and direction all come together with tight continuity. To understand Valiant and the Valiant back issue market, one must know the Pre-Unity Valiant stories.

Valiant incentive books, distributed to both retailers and as fan rewards, are usually recognizable as having a gold logo price box in the top left, as opposed to white. In addition to gold and sometimes platinum variants, three of the most popular incentives are actually red variants of blue covers. Because issues of Chaos Effect Alpha (1994), Unity #0 (1992), and Harbinger #0 (1992) are primarily found with blue covers, the red (or pink) variants remain sought after as back issues. The lower print runs but consistent sales of incentive books has generally stabilized these higher prices, but it should be noted that any significant quantity of these books entering the market could greatly impact the prices paid. Valiant collectors represent a very small portion of the overall comic book marketplace, therefore supply increases of any size might have a dramatic effect. As a specific example, the continuous auction sales of X-O Manowar #1/2 Gold variants have seen at least an 80% drop in the prices paid between 2003 and 2006.

When comparing auction sales totals for all individual Valiant books, issues which have been CGC graded account for over half of the back issue market dollars. The primary candidates for CGC have been Pre-Unity and variant issues, though CGC 9.8 examples of the most common Valiant books are also available (and often cheap). CGC 9.8 continues to be the grade-of-choice for most collectors, but some are commenting that 9.6 books usually offer very high quality for a much lower price.

The Acclaim Comics lines from 1997-2000 brought new versions of Valiant characters to print. Valiant collectors allowing their collections to include Acclaim have noted that later issues, particularly 1999, are often hard to find due to very low print runs associated with declining sales. Of particular interest are the variant covers or marketing promotional comic books of the Acclaim issues. The active market for these books is much newer than the market for Valiant, contributing to fluctuating prices when books of interest are auctioned. In some cases, Acclaim comics are still being discovered as promotional issues were often unsolicited and remain undocumented.

The 2004 bankruptcy of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., resulted in an auction for the Valiant/Acclaim copyright assets in 2005. With Acclaim gone and copyrights now under new ownership, the return of Valiant characters is imminent, perhaps an official announcement will be available by the time this report sees print. It will be interesting to see what effect new stories from containing these characters may have on the market for the original Valiant books, whenever that day arrives.

Dr. Solar · Post by **Dr. Solar** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:01 pm

Sweet! Nice report!

greg wrote:At these price levels, the cost of shipping is a major factor in the final auction prices realized. Sellers who attempt to increase profit through higher shipping charges generally see lower auction prices as bidders compensate. Some bidders now avoid shipping-profiteers altogether.

Thanks for including this, Greg! It's worth it if just one crappy eBay seller fixes their outrageous shipping charges.

squeein' shipping profiteers...

whovianone · Post by **whovianone** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:13 pm

Wow, our glorious leader as an Overstreet advisor. I think I'm all verclempt!

ckb · Post by **ckb** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:00 pm

Two Thumbs Up for Greg.

I like the last paragraph.

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:17 pm

Greg's da man!

Dr. Solar · Post by **Dr. Solar** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:22 pm

Dr. Solar wrote:Piggybacking here, but is the new guide out in stores yet?

Nevermind. I picked up a copy from my LCS on my way home from work.

cobra_commander · Post by **cobra_commander** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:01 pm

Daniel Jackson wrote:Greg's da man!

greg · Post by **greg** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:17 pm

whovianone wrote:Wow, our glorious leader as an Overstreet advisor. I think I'm all verclempt!

Watch out, I'll be a "Senior Advisor" soon... I think I'm already on year five.

greg · Post by **greg** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:21 pm

ckb wrote:

Two Thumbs Up for Greg.

I like the last paragraph.

I missed an edit...

I originally said "new stories from Valiant", but then I changed it to "new stories containing these characters"...
but I left the "from" in there, for no particular reason.

"...new stories from containing these characters..."

ckb · Post by **ckb** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:00 pm

greg wrote:
ckb wrote:

Two Thumbs Up for Greg.

I like the last paragraph.
I missed an edit...

I originally said "new stories from VALIANT", but then I changed it to "new stories containing these characters"...
but I left the "from" in there, for no particular reason.

"...new stories from containing these characters..."

Didn't even notice. Too excited to notice typos.

depluto · Post by **depluto** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:30 am

greg wrote:
ckb wrote:

Two Thumbs Up for Greg.

I like the last paragraph.
I missed an edit...

I originally said "new stories from VALIANT", but then I changed it to "new stories containing these characters"...
but I left the "from" in there, for no particular reason.

"...new stories from containing these characters..."

I like your moxie, maintaining that typo in your <<text version>>

cobra_commander · Post by **cobra_commander** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 2:01 am

depluto wrote:
greg wrote:
ckb wrote:

Two Thumbs Up for Greg.

I like the last paragraph.
I missed an edit...

I originally said "new stories from VALIANT", but then I changed it to "new stories containing these characters"...
but I left the "from" in there, for no particular reason.

"...new stories from containing these characters..."
I like your moxie, maintaining that typo in your <<text version>>

I like your moxie for using the word moxie

I rarely ever come across that word in everyday conversations

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 2:24 am

Nice job, Greg. Honestly, I envy the position you are in... I'd love to be doing market analysis and writing for a magazine like that too...

Good form, man.

leonmallett · Post by **leonmallett** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 3:29 am

Nice read Greg. What about sticky-ing it somewhere hereabouts?

*SQUEE* · Post by ***SQUEE*** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:04 am

Good read and excellent work Greg

.

Chuck · Post by **Chuck** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:55 am

Great work Greg

mrwoogieman · Post by **mrwoogieman** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:01 am

tarheelmarine · Post by **tarheelmarine** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:05 am

Very nice article. Very informative for the non-Valiant collector.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 1:58 pm

Greg u rock

gavster · Post by **gavster** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 3:01 pm

Very good exposure for the cause, balanced and true to what is going on.

betterthanezra · Post by **betterthanezra** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 3:13 pm

Greg you'll be a senior adviser once you start greeting people at Wall Mart

-Brian (fun read like allways)

SnotDrip · Post by **SnotDrip** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 4:21 pm

Awesome coverage Greg - Congrats

...the return of VALIANT characters is imminent, perhaps an official announcement will be available by the time this report sees print.