2011 Update on Prices - Updated Sept 2011

Mike J · Post by **Mike J** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:17 pm

Billy W has been posting around inquiring about prices, Ryan's EW VVSS went for high dollars . . . this has all got me thinking tonight . . . . . how much would a full set go for (if I tried to do out the math by title)

Wanted to share the below; do realize it's a guess based on what I think they would sell at right now.

Before you look, I'll share some of the assumptions made:

1) Regular issues would sell between 50 cents and 1 dollar based on convenience. Adjustments were made for runs such as Harbinger, Solar, Rai, Magnus where certain regular issues command more.

2) Newsstands would sell between $3 and $5 each, some adjustment for end run issues.

3) A loss was not recognized for trying to get rid of Deathmate issues.

4) Books are ungraded NM

Here we go . . . .

And remember these are just guesses . . . . thoughts?

IanAlexavier · Post by **IanAlexavier** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 8:19 pm

Neat analysis.. but I think that would only work with single purchases. If you bought the whole lot in one purchase the lot would go for much less, I believe.

Billy Walker · Post by **Billy Walker** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:19 am

Mike J,
Thank you for your thought into this. Yes, when I opened my remaining boxes of Valiant's I started thinking about the collection I sold back in 2004. I went so far as to try and track down the purchaser. He now lives overseas and I have no way to contact him. I spent years putting that collection together and enjoyed it immensely.

Now that my oldest is almost seven he has an interest in Batman, Star Wars, super heroes, etc. That is what caused me to dig out my remaining Valiant/Acclaim boxes.

When my set sold in 2004 (pre-Great Recession) it went for right at $2,025. Some indications, and Mike's appreciated analysis, projects today's price right around $2,800-3,000. I'm using $2,800 from Mike as well by removing the Bloodshot 0 Platinum. It wasn't included in my sale. I'm rounding up a bit here so please comment if $2,700 is a more appropriate value.

So, has a complete set of Valiants increased 35-50% in the past seven years? If so, that's a pretty sizable increase in today's economic climate.

Brother J posted elsewhere that

Brother J wrote:When I auctioned off my VVSS complete set on eBay (back in November 2007), I pulled over $1000 just for them. I was pretty happy that I cashed out on them when I did.

viewtopic.php?t=18352&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

If the VVSS set was $1,000, could you have put together the rest of the set for less than $2,000 three to four years ago? Where would that put the value of a 2007 collection? How does this compare to 2011?

I can talk at length about the enjoyment I've had in re-reading some of the issues left in my collection. Being an Eternal Warrior fan I've missed the fact that I only have two or three issues remaining and cannot read the run. That, in turn, makes me miss the old collection on several levels.

This, of course, makes me wonder what the replacement cost would be in today's market. This seems to be an interesting thread topic so please let me know what you think...

Billy

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 11:42 am

depends on how fast you want to replace it, if you take your time most issues minus vvss can be found very cheep i only paid 8 for my harby 1 and thats the most i paid for any book the rest were cheep but i had to wait and find them

dave · Post by **dave** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 11:54 am

I think if the Black Diamond went up for sale that it would go for less today than it did in 2004. I'm not sure that the demand is the same, in addition to the weak economy. In 2004 there were many people trying to complete a collection, many of whom were members of this board.

This is just my humble opinion though.

Billy Walker · Post by **Billy Walker** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:56 pm

Dave,
So you're thinking a set in today's market would be closer to $2,000 than to $2,700-$3,000?

Where is the poll function when you need it?
Billy

ckb · Post by **ckb** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 2:29 pm

I think Mike's analysis is fair, and looking at the low value it's around what I would expect they would sell for individually. As a collection you are going to get less, though.

dave · Post by **dave** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 3:32 pm

I honestly believe it might sell for under $2000 with the economy being the way it is. If VEIReborn or someone like him were still trying to complete a set with a few other bidders it might go sky high of course, but I can't think of anyone trying to complete one right now.

This being said, I do not watch e-bay auctions closely, so I am far from an expert on the subject.

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 4:26 pm

dave wrote:I honestly believe it might sell for under $2000 with the economy being the way it is.

Not just the economy as a whole, but the readership. The hobby loses readers which means it loses people even vaguely familiar with Valiant. Unless there's some reason for people to research the line, it's likely to become a more and more obscure microcosm of a diminishing hobby as it is.

Mike J · Post by **Mike J** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:22 pm

IMJ wrote:
dave wrote:I honestly believe it might sell for under $2000 with the economy being the way it is.
Not just the economy as a whole, but the readership. The hobby loses readers which means it loses people even vaguely familiar with Valiant. Unless there's some reason for people to research the line, it's likely to become a more and more obscure microcosm of a diminishing hobby as it is.

That's a really good point my friends and I have debated for a while.

For what it's worth, I'm toying with the idea of selling my set. Maybe it wouldn't fetch the dollars I would like but some other priorities have creeped up again and it's hard for me to justify holding onto it.

I was thinking of trying to market to maybe some alternative audiences by using CLink or maybe Heritage if they do such a thing. Not sure ebay would be the best avenue.

I like the thought process though on what to expect. While I certainly agree you would recognize a substantial discount if unloading all at once there is a slight chance of premium if you find someone who's not invested in the Valiant market and can one stop shop. Unlikely I know, but just a thought.

mrwoogieman · Post by **mrwoogieman** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:00 am

I know a guy who sold his set last year....

Billy Walker · Post by **Billy Walker** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:50 am

mrwoogieman wrote:I know a guy who sold his set last year....

How complete was it? What did it sell for?

ckb · Post by **ckb** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:48 am

Billy Walker wrote:
mrwoogieman wrote:I know a guy who sold his set last year....
How complete was it? What did it sell for?

He's refering to his own set, which was broken up before sale. It sold surprising well.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:26 pm

any idea how much Valiant stuff has been lost to trash crushed burned or such ?

dave · Post by **dave** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 1:48 pm

superman-prime wrote:any idea how much Valiant stuff has been lost to trash crushed burned or such ?

16,782 books so far.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:25 pm

that few i figured turok 1s would be upwards of 300 k

mrwoogieman · Post by **mrwoogieman** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:27 pm

ckb wrote:
Billy Walker wrote:
mrwoogieman wrote:I know a guy who sold his set last year....
How complete was it? What did it sell for?
He's refering to his own set, which was broken up before sale. It sold surprising well.

All to a good purpose to be sure.

JonesyAZ · Post by **JonesyAZ** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:31 pm

This is a cool topic, since I am the exception of most modern comic fans who've returned to the artform. In that I bought a random $40 box of Valiants on CraigsList and have since completed a basic reader set for the love of the stories and nostalgic value

I know that I have paid for about $1,000 give or take since I have recently also been buying a few gold books here and there

When I went with my friend Jacques to the Tucson-Con at the end of last year, I ran into a fellow who asked me out of the blue if i've heard of Valiant Comics? After sharing my story, he told me that he was also a guy who remembered them back in the day, and was interested in buying an entire set as time/money allowed. It was clear to me that his passion was burning to collect Valiant much like mine was for awhile.

The point is, I sincerely believe that there are people out there who would buy a full set if it was available for purchase. Granted, the cost will likely never be like it was back in the 90's. But we all know that Valiant was a special time in comic history

mrwoogieman · Post by **mrwoogieman** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:41 pm

Just following up on my posts, I have no idea what the end price was for everything that I sold.

A lot of it was sold on these boards, the full runs by title were all ebay, I also had a bunch of stuff that wasn't part of a full run but was Valiant/Acclaim related such as the Nintendo books, promo items, newsstands, etc., etc. The Acclaim set was complete as well, including the Valiant hero titles (and variants) and the non-Valiant hero related Acclaim titles too.

Couldn't begin to parse out what just the full run of Valiant only titles with variants sold for though, sorry.

It was a lot of effort, I do remember that part of it!

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:51 pm

i remember buying a good few pieces of that

mrwoogieman · Post by **mrwoogieman** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:32 pm

superman-prime wrote:i remember buying a good few pieces of that

Yes, thank you.

IMJ · Post by **IMJ** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:05 pm

I love my Valiant set too, but I might be unloading my own collection in the next couple of years. I've been toying with the idea of ridding myself of anything that's not 1st or 2nd tier in my collection of... stuff.

I've got Iron Man stuff that isn't even 2nd tier importance to me, so that should tell you where I hold my Valiant collection in regard. I think Valiant was great, but ultimately it's not something I can hold onto if I had to make a cut from my large collection of... stuff.

myron · Post by **myron** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:54 am

dave wrote:
superman-prime wrote:any idea how much Valiant stuff has been lost to trash crushed burned or such ?
16,782 books so far.

well we do know of one guy that used to shred Dr. Mirage books and use them for packing material...

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 9:18 am

myron wrote:
dave wrote:
superman-prime wrote:any idea how much Valiant stuff has been lost to trash crushed burned or such ?
16,782 books so far.
well we do know of one guy that used to shred Dr. Mirage books and use them for packing material...

And don't forget all of the Turok books that have been used to protect other books during shipping....

arghh! · Post by **arghh!** » Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:14 pm

JonesyAZ wrote: The point is, I sincerely believe that there are people out there who would buy a full set if it was available for purchase. Granted, the cost will likely never be like it was back in the 90's. But we all know that Valiant was a special time in comic history

I have put out quite a bit of cash (for me) on Valiants in the last few years too. I have just a few books left to complete my set but they are mostly the expensive ones.

ValiantFans.com Board - Since 2004

2011 Update on Prices - Updated Sept 2011

2011 Update on Prices - Updated Sept 2011

35-50% in Seven Years???