Comic Book Speculation, Is It Worth The Risk?
So right now in comics we live in the Speculation Age. As far as I'm concerned the Modern Age is over. Let's start by defining speculation. And I'll give a broad definition. At its core speculation is when you buy a book because you believe it will go up in value and you will be able to sell it later at a profit. Now that's a very broad explanation. By no means am I an expert. There are some very good sites out there that have very detailed articles and tons of great info. One of my favorites is CBSI, go check them out at www.comicbookinvest.com
They have some great people pumping out articles with tons of knowledge. And in this hobby knowledge is power.
So I'm going to discus if speculation is worth the time and money.
So there are different ways to speculate.
Some people take the "Wednesday Warrior" approach where they will go out to comic shops on Wednesdays, which is new comic day and buy up lots of copies of a book. They do so hoping that the book will increase in value so they can flip it for a profit. I don't like this way of speculation and don't personally do it myself. I personally call this "The Walking Dead Effect", where people believe that any new book will be the next Walking Dead. You can end up spending a lot of money on books that may be worthless later on. Or maybe you hit the jackpot but that's the risk you take with this approach.
You can also speculate by buying up copies of a certain back issue or issues that you think will increase in value. Due to a certain thing that makes the book special, like a first appearance of a new character. For example I've been speculating on Jason Todd for the past couple years and have been buying books like Batman 635, where he first appears as the Red Hood and Batman Annual 25 where it tells his origin. Now I'm buying these books because I belive that he will be in a Batman movie and they will increase significantly in value so I can sell them at a profit. Now again if nothing happens with the character you can be stuck with a lot of books that you can't sell, so be cautious.
Now another way I speculate that sort of isn't specualtion is when a character is announced for a movie or tv show and the market dictates what books are the ones to buy. I try to stealth buy them at shops or conventions. And what I mean by that is I dig through boxes looking for that hot book that the dealer may have overlooked. Now where the speculation comes in is when to sell. Do you sell right away if you can make a profit? Or hold out with the hopes it will continue to rise.
Now from my experience if it has to do with a character, especially a villain on a TV show, the hype is short lived and you should probably sell fast. Characters announced for movies usually have more longevity due to the fact that the movie usually won't be out for a year or two and the character will most likely appear in several films to come.
There are also what are called "investment books" that aren't really speculation. Like Amazing Fantasy 15, the first appearance of Spiderman. We know that will never be a cheap book but when is the time to buy it. Should you spend several thousand dollars on a low grade copy and flip it in a year if it's steadily increasing, or hold it for 10 or 20 years with the hopes that it increases 10 fold.
I mean when we look at the prices these books sold for 10 years ago to now it's crazy how much the price and demand have gone up.
So that's my little note on specualtion. I'm sure there are plenty of places where you can find better info but I thought I'd through in my two cents. I think if you take the time to do your research and really study the market trends you can be a successful speculator. But it's not easy to make money as a speculator and it definitely doesn't happen overnight. The uneducated speculator can be very dangerous. You can lose a lot of money fast and be stuck with books that aren't even worth the paper they're printed on. So don't just jump in head first and buy hot books off eBay. Put the time in and work at it. And know that not every book will be a winner. I've done well on some books that I've speculated on and I've also been stuck with some books that I can't even give away.
So let me know your thoughts on speculation and the current market. Have you won, have you lost?
They have some great people pumping out articles with tons of knowledge. And in this hobby knowledge is power.
So I'm going to discus if speculation is worth the time and money.
So there are different ways to speculate.
Some people take the "Wednesday Warrior" approach where they will go out to comic shops on Wednesdays, which is new comic day and buy up lots of copies of a book. They do so hoping that the book will increase in value so they can flip it for a profit. I don't like this way of speculation and don't personally do it myself. I personally call this "The Walking Dead Effect", where people believe that any new book will be the next Walking Dead. You can end up spending a lot of money on books that may be worthless later on. Or maybe you hit the jackpot but that's the risk you take with this approach.
You can also speculate by buying up copies of a certain back issue or issues that you think will increase in value. Due to a certain thing that makes the book special, like a first appearance of a new character. For example I've been speculating on Jason Todd for the past couple years and have been buying books like Batman 635, where he first appears as the Red Hood and Batman Annual 25 where it tells his origin. Now I'm buying these books because I belive that he will be in a Batman movie and they will increase significantly in value so I can sell them at a profit. Now again if nothing happens with the character you can be stuck with a lot of books that you can't sell, so be cautious.
Now another way I speculate that sort of isn't specualtion is when a character is announced for a movie or tv show and the market dictates what books are the ones to buy. I try to stealth buy them at shops or conventions. And what I mean by that is I dig through boxes looking for that hot book that the dealer may have overlooked. Now where the speculation comes in is when to sell. Do you sell right away if you can make a profit? Or hold out with the hopes it will continue to rise.
Now from my experience if it has to do with a character, especially a villain on a TV show, the hype is short lived and you should probably sell fast. Characters announced for movies usually have more longevity due to the fact that the movie usually won't be out for a year or two and the character will most likely appear in several films to come.
There are also what are called "investment books" that aren't really speculation. Like Amazing Fantasy 15, the first appearance of Spiderman. We know that will never be a cheap book but when is the time to buy it. Should you spend several thousand dollars on a low grade copy and flip it in a year if it's steadily increasing, or hold it for 10 or 20 years with the hopes that it increases 10 fold.
I mean when we look at the prices these books sold for 10 years ago to now it's crazy how much the price and demand have gone up.
So that's my little note on specualtion. I'm sure there are plenty of places where you can find better info but I thought I'd through in my two cents. I think if you take the time to do your research and really study the market trends you can be a successful speculator. But it's not easy to make money as a speculator and it definitely doesn't happen overnight. The uneducated speculator can be very dangerous. You can lose a lot of money fast and be stuck with books that aren't even worth the paper they're printed on. So don't just jump in head first and buy hot books off eBay. Put the time in and work at it. And know that not every book will be a winner. I've done well on some books that I've speculated on and I've also been stuck with some books that I can't even give away.
So let me know your thoughts on speculation and the current market. Have you won, have you lost?
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