Gotta love Rich... Always looking on the bright side!
GT :>)
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Halegua Comic Art
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2010 2:05 PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] An excellent thought provoking article: Ten Signposts to
Identify Endangered Collecting Categories
it does indeed Bruce and that's how I knew the housing bubble was gonna to
come as early as 2003 (we did have one of the hottest markets). I rented a
house in 2000. It was brand new and the houses on either side were still
building
the owner bought it for $120k.
within a year he offered it to me at $155k. I said no thanks, and he sold it.
I continued renting
within a year it sold again for $195k
then another year $235k. then it sold twice more until it was $295,000 in
2003. That's when I moved out, even though my rent never changed in all that
time (the new manager was an a$$hole).
i was up in the neighborhood last year & drove by. It was foreclosed.
I checked online & it was for sale at $107k.. less than when it was new!!!
all along I told my friends this couldn't be real, and a correction was
coming.. Of course, like the comics hobby - no one believed me then.
I was talking to a friend I ran into yesterday. she lost $380k on 3 houses
she invested in.. it was a total rout to her.
but hey.. I hadn't seen her in a while.. and we're having dinner next week..
so the real estate bubble did get me something after all... LOL
02:55 PM 4/3/2010, Bruce Hershenson wrote:
Sounds like there are parallels to the real estate bubble of a few years
ago.
Or the Greater Fool theory. Once a few of the "big players" decide to back
off, prices can go down just as quick as they go up.
If the people buying these items have a true love of them, that's a healthy
hobby. But when the "investor types" buy because they think they are going to
sell at a huge profit in a few years, it's a recipe for disaster.
Time will tell.
Bruce
On Sat, Apr 3, 2010 at 4:13 PM, Richard Halegua Comic Art
<[email protected]> wrote:
no, it's never been really soft and Heritage didn't do anything to change
the field's direction
but it's a classic bubble hobby.. they keep thinking it only goes
up-up-up and if you read the comic boards, that is the general sentiment.
Anyone who challenges that thought is roundly admonished by the complete
majority of the dealers & collectors - even though the number of comic stores
has decreased by 75% (or more) during the last 15 years and publishers are
printing less comics.
As a matter of fact, I had dinner with a longtime friend who used to be
one of the top five comic distributors and we discussed it. there may be less
than 15% of the number of comic stores there were in 1990, but the only company
that could show the proof is Diamond and they won't tell. As a matter of fact,
they keep trumpeting the hobby.
Sean and I have been involved in that hobby for 45+ years (in my case.
40+ as a dealer) and 25+ (in Sean's case)
seeing as both of us have more faith in movie posters - I think that says
alot about the hobby and Bruce as well was a big person in the hobby in the
70s. Moreover, when you go to comic conventions, there is almost nobody under
35 except longtime dealers and a very tiny % of collectors. By and large, the
great population of older collectors has disappeared as prices have increased,
and so - the likelihood of golden age books from third-world publishers
becoming non-sought-after issues is increasing. Surprisingly, the large part of
the hobby dismisses this as well, which is proof that the hobby is populated by
the perfect people - those who wear blinders where money is concerned..
Rich
At 01:57 PM 4/3/2010, Kevin Conway wrote:
I am no comic book expert, but was once a moderate collector. Wasn't
the comic book market quite soft until Heritage entered the market in a "big
way" and heavily promoted the comic book industry about 7-10 years ago ??
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Halegua Comic Art
Sent: Apr 3, 2010 3:07 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MOPO] An excellent thought provoking article: Ten
Signposts to Identify Endangered Collecting Categories
it's a fantastic article that reports things we as longtime dealers
already know and that comic book collectors need to examine
in comics right now, there is much talk about Action comics #1 CGC
8.0 grade sold for $1mil, then Heritage sold Detective #27 8.0 for $1,075,000
and just this week Action #1 8.5 sold for $1.5mil. Because comic collectors
seem (to me) purposely ignorant that a reckoning is coming to the greater part
of the hobby, they all point to these sales & say "the comics hobby is
super-healthy.. prices will never go down". Prices in comics don't reflect
decreases because both dealers and the publishers of the price guide are in bed
together on the one hand, and they have a stranglehold on the hobby off the
other hand. The fans are also complicit in this sham as they 1) go for it
hook-line-and sinker & 2) they choose to ignore the obvious signals.
Action Comics #1 will always sell for big bucks. It is after all the
single most important comic book there is. It has interest outside the comic
collecting hobby and most copies over time will find their way into museums
where they will remain on permanent display. Action comics #2, 102, or 502....
sorry... down the road, these books will be collected by very few as the entire
comics hobby will continue to deflate over many long years until almost no-one
collects them, with the exception of the top items like Action #1, Spiderman #1
and the like.
Movie posters will no doubt follow them in great part (especially as
posters themselves stop being printed in favor of digital displays).
The only difference in posters is that, unlike a comic book, a movie
poster is likened to an artwork, can be framed and displayed in a home, while
it is unlikely that Coo-Coo Comics #1 will ever get displayed for company to
view when they come over for dinner
that doesn't mean that all posters will be collected.. Sadly, the
collecting of posters to the great majority will focus on the top titles, the
top stars and the big hits.. Much of the rest will just fade away.
Rich
At 08:28 AM 4/3/2010, Bruce Hershenson wrote:
Ten Signposts to Identify Endangered Collecting Categories
by Harry Rinker (03/16/10).
http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/ten-signposts-identify-endangered-collecting-categories?utm_source=WorthPoint+Insider+List&utm_campaign=cf94b34d78-insider-7&utm_medium=email&mc_cid=cf94b34d78&mc_eid=9c7686e1e6
Does it apply to movie posters? Comic Books?
Bruce
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Kevin Conway
Conway's Vintage Treasures
www.CVTreasures.com
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