Comic Books - A Solid Investment?
Monday December 1, 2008
Saw this article about Rick Whitelock, a comic book investor/buisnessman who retired at the age of 40 by buying and selling comic books. The article is about how comics are still a solid investment in this time of stock prices rising and falling. Rick has been buying and selling comics for years, and knows the ins and outs of the business. If I'm not mistaken, this is the same Whitelock who is on the Overstreet board of advisers. I think this goes to show you that there is a strong reason why Whitelock has done so well - he is passionate and knowledgeable about the comic book market. Jumping into investing in comic books is tantamount to buying stocks at random, which is to say not a good idea. Be sure to do your research and not buy comics on whims or just because it is "old." If you're not careful, you could lose a lot of money.Related Material:
- Find The Value Of Your Comics
Image Copyright Aaron Albert
Comments
The idea that comic books are a solid investment stands true but buyer beware.
Not all comics are, any serious buyer or a good dealer will tell you so.
Only a small number of modern issues will stand up to the test of time.
Best investment books are not going to be cheap usless you are incredibly lucky and find someone who has a cash of vintage Marvels that have been packed away for 30 or 40 years all in Hi grade condition and the owner has no idea what their worth (every collectors dream).
I’ve been a collector for over 40 years and a dealer for about 10 years and have seen many titles come and go, what’s hot today maybe worthless in a year. I have found the best investment books are those that have already passed the test of time and condition is everything. CGC graded books for now seem to be the best investment books today, but I have allot of concerns when it comes to buying and the re-sale of these items. counterfit books are one of my biggest concern, being sealed you maybe buying an stack of paper or an old comic with a freshly printed cover on it. I would recommend that anyone considering buying one of these books that you have the book verified first by an outside source.
My second concern is scanning, as a dealer on ebay I see many top dollar books being scanned so buyers can have a close look, which is great but what’s the only thing outside of mis-handling and exposer to water to a comic book and will definitely destroy any comic, especially sensitive are vintage comics because of the paper used, is bright light and heat the two things books are exposed to with a scanner.
The full outcome of this practice we wont see for years but make my word, books that have sold for tens of thousands of dollars will be sealed packs of crumbling of brown paper years from now.
Today there is no way to see if a book has been scanned or how many times it’s been exposed to an intense light source, scanners put out any where from 1000 watts to 10,000 watts of light and can get up to a few hundred degrees in seconds.
Only time will tell, as a dealer I would tell buyers if you have the money to buy Hi-dollar books buy them from the dealer and get to know them first build a good relationship with them and you have a better chance of getting what your wanting.
stay away from ebay and online stores, there are just to many ways to get burned and trusting someone you dont know is one of the best ways I’ve found.