ANSWER MAN: Vintage Comic Prices
BATMAN #251 cover by Neal Adams from 1973
Over on Facebook, which I don’t participate in because I’m not a grandmother, this question came in and a good friend was curious to hear my thought on it;
As a low-grade collector, I'm finding it tough to buy comics because sellers and flippers are pricing low-grade copies like mid-to-high-grade ones. Take Batman #251 - even a low-grade copy costs over $150.
I get that it's a classic cover, but low-grade copies should be more affordable, right?
I’m going to assume that this is a young collector, I recently discovered that some young people actually think Communism could work given a fair chance and that somehow Communist Regimes like the one Stalin ran are less evil than what Hitler and the Nazi’s did. Scary.
Okay let’s get into this— he’s right about the book, he’s actually wrong about the price. I did a completed auction search over on eBay* and couldn’t find a low grade copy that sold for less than $328. Is the book over-priced? In my opinion it is because I wouldn’t pay more than $30 for it, but that’s because…
1. I don’t collect low grade comics and
2. the book is dead common.
Dead common just means over the years I’ve seen a lot of these, and that leads to a level of boredom when one comes up. If you go to a show I guarantee you’ll find no fewer than 10 copies and most of them will be high grade so even that is relatively common.
The first appearance of Spider-Man is Amazing Fantasy #15 from 1962— over the years I’ve seen, held, sold, so many copies of it I no longer even pay attention when I see one.
First appearance of Superman or Batman? That would be Action Comics #1 from 1938 and Detective Comics #27 from 1939— in total I’ve probably seen either of these books 3 times in thirty years. And I’m going out on a limb that it’s likely the same copies I’m seeing— so the exact opposite of Dead Common— in fact rare enough that you’re drawn to it when it’s displayed.
Okay what about the idea that Dealers should keep these books priced low because mid to low-grade collectors can’t afford it? It doesn’t work. The market dictates the price. If a dealer were to follow this philosophy the buyer would likely be another dealer and they would just resell it at the higher price. The book is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. The goal of the seller is to get the most money they can for it, and the goal of the buyer is to get that book for a price they won’t regret for the next 20 years.
At the end of the day the original poster is correct, vintage collectibles are getting priced out of starter collector hands, so my advice would be to move on and look for books from a later era that are not yet on fire price wise and get in on the ground floor before said prices accelerate.
*when you want to check the value of something and you decide to use eBay as a guide— don’t look at books that haven’t sold— people can ASK whatever price they want, look for SOLD listings— because that’s what people will pay— and that is the true value.
