Post by G on Oct 14, 2012 10:17:36 GMT -5
I got to wondering about something based off of what I seen from the "What's hot now" thread.
I remember in the early 90s, I got myself into the know of comics. I knew what was going on. And I had a firm grasp of the major storylines and the pulse of the atmosphere that was comics then. At it's peak, I could see comics coming and know which ones would make me some money and make the picks beforehand. Or, once the comics were on the rack, I could go into a comic store right after new comics had been released and scour the new comics and pick up the 1 out of 10s I knew were going to make money and walk out with money in the bank. It was damn good times back then. And most of the time, I was right. Oh sure, there were times I was wrong. But more often than not, I was making money because my picks were way more right than wrong.
Skip forward to the late 90's. Due to the market being dead and being on hard times myself, I got out of comics and was on hiatus for a few years.
Flash forward to the early 2000's. I'm back! And now CGC and Ebay are all the rage! Seems like a rebirth in comics! Just what I wanted! So I dive back in and try to get acclimated to what is going on. Trouble is, I just can't get a grasp on things. Things are more jumbled up now than a undone jigsaw puzzle. Just when I think I am on the right track, I learn others found something I had no clue about and they made the money and I was left holding junk.
To further try and help me, over the years I joined message boards, and bought from comic services such as DCBS. I bought $50-$100 a month for over a couple of years. And I ordered and read Previews trying to make educated picks. For some reason, I ended up getting all the books that everyone else owned, plus a lot of duds I took chances on, and somehow, the 1 or 2 that slipped through the cracks ended up being the ones that got hot and conversely made money. It was frustrating. I used to be so good at this!
What I am seeing now, is in most cases, I don't think many people have a good idea what will be hot. Sometimes, its kind of obvious. But when it is, it is over purchased and there is no back market for it. More often, its the comic that no one was paying attention to. And then 1-3 months after it comes out, people start going....Hey, look at this book. It's hot! And then there is a mad scramble to get the comics before everyone else jumps on or before prices are too high. And then, once everyone buys, its back in the dumps again in most cases 6-12 months later.
I think today's game is a lot more a roll of the dice if done beforehand. You almost have to be the one who isn't following what everyone else thinks will be hot. You have to be looking at those books no one would take a chance on. Because the books everyone else thinks are hot will be bought in mass quantities. In some cases, I've seen a few books be hot beforehand and on release day, the dealers are the one who under ordered and that created demand. But more often, there was enough supply that all the speculators got a head fake and joined the crowd.
So I bring this topic up as a question. In this day and age, things are different.
Is it easier to speculate before a comic comes out or once it hits the stands, paying attention to trends and sweeping in before everyone else realizes a certain book just flew under the radar?
I could be wrong, but I'm starting to think it is the latter. I often here no buzz about a book that gets hot before it comes out and then not long after it does, people post, this book is getting hot and by time I see it posted, in most cases its too late for me. But if I was the one who was saying that, I may have caught the trend before everyone else seen it.
There is obviously a gameplay here. A plan. A way of going about things. I'm always looking for that bit of insight on things like these. The rules of 20 years ago don't apply today. It's a new shell game.
I'm curious to what people think is the best method and which one works better more consistently.
I remember in the early 90s, I got myself into the know of comics. I knew what was going on. And I had a firm grasp of the major storylines and the pulse of the atmosphere that was comics then. At it's peak, I could see comics coming and know which ones would make me some money and make the picks beforehand. Or, once the comics were on the rack, I could go into a comic store right after new comics had been released and scour the new comics and pick up the 1 out of 10s I knew were going to make money and walk out with money in the bank. It was damn good times back then. And most of the time, I was right. Oh sure, there were times I was wrong. But more often than not, I was making money because my picks were way more right than wrong.
Skip forward to the late 90's. Due to the market being dead and being on hard times myself, I got out of comics and was on hiatus for a few years.
Flash forward to the early 2000's. I'm back! And now CGC and Ebay are all the rage! Seems like a rebirth in comics! Just what I wanted! So I dive back in and try to get acclimated to what is going on. Trouble is, I just can't get a grasp on things. Things are more jumbled up now than a undone jigsaw puzzle. Just when I think I am on the right track, I learn others found something I had no clue about and they made the money and I was left holding junk.
To further try and help me, over the years I joined message boards, and bought from comic services such as DCBS. I bought $50-$100 a month for over a couple of years. And I ordered and read Previews trying to make educated picks. For some reason, I ended up getting all the books that everyone else owned, plus a lot of duds I took chances on, and somehow, the 1 or 2 that slipped through the cracks ended up being the ones that got hot and conversely made money. It was frustrating. I used to be so good at this!
What I am seeing now, is in most cases, I don't think many people have a good idea what will be hot. Sometimes, its kind of obvious. But when it is, it is over purchased and there is no back market for it. More often, its the comic that no one was paying attention to. And then 1-3 months after it comes out, people start going....Hey, look at this book. It's hot! And then there is a mad scramble to get the comics before everyone else jumps on or before prices are too high. And then, once everyone buys, its back in the dumps again in most cases 6-12 months later.
I think today's game is a lot more a roll of the dice if done beforehand. You almost have to be the one who isn't following what everyone else thinks will be hot. You have to be looking at those books no one would take a chance on. Because the books everyone else thinks are hot will be bought in mass quantities. In some cases, I've seen a few books be hot beforehand and on release day, the dealers are the one who under ordered and that created demand. But more often, there was enough supply that all the speculators got a head fake and joined the crowd.
So I bring this topic up as a question. In this day and age, things are different.
Is it easier to speculate before a comic comes out or once it hits the stands, paying attention to trends and sweeping in before everyone else realizes a certain book just flew under the radar?
I could be wrong, but I'm starting to think it is the latter. I often here no buzz about a book that gets hot before it comes out and then not long after it does, people post, this book is getting hot and by time I see it posted, in most cases its too late for me. But if I was the one who was saying that, I may have caught the trend before everyone else seen it.
There is obviously a gameplay here. A plan. A way of going about things. I'm always looking for that bit of insight on things like these. The rules of 20 years ago don't apply today. It's a new shell game.
I'm curious to what people think is the best method and which one works better more consistently.
