*_I'll say it again, and will probably say this for years: in November 2024, 50 years after Hulk 181 to the month was published, Marvel is releasing a "secret movie"_*
Dave, a very good point, and one I’m starting to realize now is, buy as many copies as you can, of these highly desirable books. Often, if someone offered me a book, I used to say, I already have it, so passed. Ex: New Mutants 98. Then regretted it later. In the mean time I spent money on new release issues that went nowhere. Now, my focus is to grab multiple copies like you demonstrated. What would you put in your top 10, “Buy multiple copies List, under $500” for 2022. Maybe you could do a video.
Yeah, i should have taken more time to read and study before jumping in and buying right away when I got back into comics a year ago. If I could do it over, I would have ignored the litany of modern spec books I bought and instead focused on older established books.
You can never have enough Hulk 181's or GSX-1's, David. GSX-1 was the very first slab I ever bought (9.2 in 2005) and Hulk 181 was my sixth slab (9.0 in 2014). Did you know that starting with X-men #94 Wolverine appeared in only two of the first ten covers (96 and 100)? Colossus was the one who appeared most prominently. Looking forward to Wolverine and the X-men's appearance in the MCU.
Excellent video. Couple of thoughts: (1) Neither Hulk 181 or GSX #1 are rare or scarce. I wonder how many raw copies are sitting in collections of older collectors and will make their way into the market as these collectors sell for retirement purposes or sold by their estates when they pass away? What will the effect of this be on the value? (2) From the perspective of a possible value decline, it appears having a lower grade copy is less risk. I imagine this is the case because the number of people who can afford a 9.0-9.8 is pretty small, whereas the potential buyer pool for lower grades is significantly higher.
Even though they’re not as rare or scarce as the first appearance of some obscure DC villain from golden age. Or a western book from golden age. The demand for Xmen and Wolverine is like 50 times those older books. Maybe even 100 times more demand so it balances out
Great stuff bro! Such a great example of practicing what you preach! I can only imagine how much more the ones you keep will increase over the long haul!
Crazy stuff, thanks for the breakdown. I got back into collecting around the same time you started on TH-cam and I remember the prior videos. I don’t collect as an investment, only to collect what I like, but I still think your videos are very helpful in timing purchases.
I bought the one and only copy I have of Hulk 181 for $360 about 11 years ago. I couldn't imagine owning 28 of them, that's awesome. Not to mention the X-men books.
The thumbnail for this vid cracks me up. You should lie down on the floor and have someone position all those 181s you have and take the photo from above. lol. You can call it 100K bed.
I bought on a smaller scale with my smaller budget I targeted Daredevil 9 with Echo got 5 copies for 10 to 20 apiece. Everything I targeted seems to be going up but obviously some more than others. I have a 181 and a Giant size in my personal collection but would never sell those unless there was a big need to.
great video and great stash of great books! getting the ungraded ones graded means shipping and insurance a video going over shipping and insurance strategies especially for high grade high dollar books would be cool
Just wanted ur opinion My grail run is daredevil an his 1st appearance is definitely a book I’m gunning for Would u say it’s best to wait for that to Maybe dip abit Even tho nwh has been out for awhile rumors of him being in she hulk an other shows have kept this book at a high price point even low grade Would u think that getting a gsx 1 instead an a dd 1 later a bad call????
Hey man I collect and resell, I guess everyone does these days. Basically collect X-Men and resell everything else. I was able to find a ASM 316 Newstand and got it graded at a 9.8 but I haven't been able to convert it into a GSxmen. It seems most people what 2X FMV for GSX in my area (Toronto) and want ASM 316 newstand at 0.7X FMV . I'm looking for a low graded graded GSX. Anyhow always worth asking right? Low your show watch whenever you get new episodes. Love the content and thank you for it.
Don’t know that I’d call it an absolute steal, but that’s still a great deal once you account for lack of taxes, buyers premiums, etc and this book is only going to increase over time
Buying the best of breed will always be the smartest play. Eventually the market will stabilize and gains will be harder to come by, but for the forseeable future Im bullish. Over my 30 years of investing comics have been the safest investment available. Good job.
I have a Hulk181 CGC 7.0 in green label because it’s missing the value stamp. What’s your opinion/thoughts on the MVS? For me I could care less. It’s a slabbed book you can’t even open and see that. Also a green label feels custom for a hulk book right? 😜
Also I still think Hulk 180 is the under rated book! It’s his first appearance damn it! I own a couple of those and even own a Foom 2 in probably VF- condition. That’s the hidden gem!
Since you like the numbers, do you calculate the much higher taxes you have to pay for collectibles as opposed to normal cap gains taxes when you sell? I never hear collectors talk about this. It can be a huge hit. If you're comparing stocks and comics I think it would be a more honest comparison to do a side by side after taking out the average expected taxes (15% vs 28%). And even when not comparing, it just gets annoying to hear collectors talk about all of the gains they've made on some book without acknowledging that maybe the gains aren't as big after taxes.
With stocks there is cap gains tax. No way around it. With collectibles you can get around taxes. For me it s a business. So I don’t ever have to pay taxes on comics. Everything is written off minus what I pay myself. (Scorp and good tax guy). For average collector. You can deal in cash. No taxable income shown. Therefore zero in taxes. That is why we still have convention. But if you did sell them through eBay or something. It comes in the form of income. Which income can easily be written off if you know what your doing. So therefor stock u have to pay taxes. Collectibles. You don’t really have to.
@@ComicBookInvestments Interesting. I was wondering if you might have some way around it as a business. As a normal collector I'd have to pay the 28% though. I'm guessing most people would fall into this category?? Selling on auctions and such.
In 1988 I sold X-Men No. 1-10, Hulk No. 181, and GS X-Men No. 1 in 5.0 or bettter condition for less than half of a GS X-Men No. 1 in 1.5 condition now ! Hah...
1/22 Hulk 181 sold at a Heritage auction for $36k a 9.6. In 6/23 at a EBay auction a 9.6 sold for $17.5k. What goes up , comes down, this video is not aging well.
I like how you say "from then until now", that's a wolverine trading card set lol. Best investment outside AF15. Never bet against hulk 181. You're gonna be rich lol
FOLKS, this is insane. These books are simply not worth this kind of money, except in some peoples minds. This same type of thing happened in the 1990's with speculators and investors in comics, resulting in a huge market adjustment..and a lot of people losing a LOT of money. THIS present trend in comic book investing will NOT last forever. Beware.
Did I really miss your books that were grade 9.0 & above? Is there any way for me to find a Hulk181 at the going market rates you explained? I'm a very serious buyer and I just can't seem to find one at the prices you've stated anywhere. Any suggestions sir would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for doing what you do. You share extremely thoroughly informative analysis so well. You're a very important commentator to the comicbook community. I am kicking myself in my ass that I missed your auction!. If you can please help me sir, I'd flip. I saw a 9.8 Hulk 181 @Atomic Comicbooks in L.A. in 2006 for just a couple hundred.......I'll never forget what it looked like and it kills me every day I didn't buy it.
@@ComicBookInvestments hey great thank you for that. Any leads are awesome. If you can believe it, the same day you held the auction, I was @Mile High Comics in Denver and even met Chuck Rozanski! But it's still not a trade up for missing your books to finally become a Hulk181er. Idk if Stan Lee would've even beat it out. Dang. I'll be on it in April! Thank you. Keep up the great work its badass.
I feel like Hulk181 loses desirability as the census count continues to rise. Im sure prices will remain strong because there is so much demand, but personally i would only invest in a high grade or mark jewelers copy..
It’s apples to oranges comparing comics to the stock market. You can’t incrementally buy a comic book. Normal collectors probable have one or two copies. I’d rather own stocks and reinvest the dividends back into more shares or since my employer has a 401k match, invest more in that. I guess if you have disposable income to make investments in comic books, it could be a secondary source of revenue.
between you and the golden age guru you could literally change the price of that book based on prices you make if you release them. impressive books man, love the show🤟
It's not that the comics worth more it's that the dollars worth less what will you do when there's nothing left water, food and some form of protection
the dollar is worth less which makes something frivolous retaining (and actually gaining) value better than the dollar even more impressive. the rapid devaluation of the dollar will lead people with money who don't want to see their wealth decrease to make riskier investments. People may look to crypto. Some may gamble with more volatile stocks. If they want to shoot even higher NFTs are out there. For a small number but enough to make a big impact comics and other collectibles could be seen as an investment. They are most likely more stable than SOME of the other options. I believe it is some money that would normally be invested outside of the hobby pushing big prices in the last couple years. It's a theory. But it's a lot of money pouring in while the average person in America is not doing well financially. I'm buying some old Thor issues for my personal collection, filling the run, and prices for beat up copies from 120 to 180 area of the run are way up as well. Those should not be affected by investment money going to key issues so my theory would do nothing to explain where that money and increased interest is coming in from.
*_I'll say it again, and will probably say this for years: in November 2024, 50 years after Hulk 181 to the month was published, Marvel is releasing a "secret movie"_*
I just invested in a 9.4 GSX gonna hold this for long run. Unless someone wants to pay 20-35% over FMV for it 😅😅😊😊
I think after your auction you should do a video on the selling prices compared to FMV. I think that would make for some interesting viewing.
I was thinking of doing something like that.
Dave, a very good point, and one I’m starting to realize now is, buy as many copies as you can, of these highly desirable books. Often, if someone offered me a book, I used to say, I already have it, so passed. Ex: New Mutants 98. Then regretted it later. In the mean time I spent money on new release issues that went nowhere. Now, my focus is to grab multiple copies like you demonstrated. What would you put in your top 10, “Buy multiple copies List, under $500” for 2022. Maybe you could do a video.
Ya it’s good to go for what already works instead of hoping something new will hit. I’ll do a video on that
Yeah, i should have taken more time to read and study before jumping in and buying right away when I got back into comics a year ago. If I could do it over, I would have ignored the litany of modern spec books I bought and instead focused on older established books.
You can never have enough Hulk 181's or GSX-1's, David. GSX-1 was the very first slab I ever bought (9.2 in 2005) and Hulk 181 was my sixth slab (9.0 in 2014). Did you know that starting with X-men #94 Wolverine appeared in only two of the first ten covers (96 and 100)? Colossus was the one who appeared most prominently. Looking forward to Wolverine and the X-men's appearance in the MCU.
Excellent video. Couple of thoughts: (1) Neither Hulk 181 or GSX #1 are rare or scarce. I wonder how many raw copies are sitting in collections of older collectors and will make their way into the market as these collectors sell for retirement purposes or sold by their estates when they pass away? What will the effect of this be on the value? (2) From the perspective of a possible value decline, it appears having a lower grade copy is less risk. I imagine this is the case because the number of people who can afford a 9.0-9.8 is pretty small, whereas the potential buyer pool for lower grades is significantly higher.
Even though they’re not as rare or scarce as the first appearance of some obscure DC villain from golden age. Or a western book from golden age. The demand for Xmen and Wolverine is like 50 times those older books. Maybe even 100 times more demand so it balances out
Maybe lower grade will have the high demand makes sense. It’s about the demand
Update man? I just bought a 9.4 GSX I think we’re hitting a major floor. It’s like 2020 pricing sometimes less
Incredible Hulk 181 is a solid investment in any grade. This book will always be sought after.
True
It doesn't look like you're interested in trades. I would have to cosign. Amazing collection Dave.
Great stuff bro! Such a great example of practicing what you preach! I can only imagine how much more the ones you keep will increase over the long haul!
Yes I always tell people to get this book. Because it’s still in the realm of available. Unlike the af15.
Crazy stuff, thanks for the breakdown. I got back into collecting around the same time you started on TH-cam and I remember the prior videos. I don’t collect as an investment, only to collect what I like, but I still think your videos are very helpful in timing purchases.
I want the Giant Size X-Men just to round out some of those first appearances that I've been collecting.
I bought the one and only copy I have of Hulk 181 for $360 about 11 years ago. I couldn't imagine owning 28 of them, that's awesome. Not to mention the X-men books.
Great Analysis... The one thing you dont account for in your sales data is page quality which can have a massive shift in price with the 9.8s
Hey Dave your website is not super great on safari browser just FYI. Might need some tweaking for iPhones.
Yes we figure this out about a week ago. As most of us use chrome. It’s something we want to fix for the next one. Also we want to build an app
The thumbnail for this vid cracks me up. You should lie down on the floor and have someone position all those 181s you have and take the photo from above. lol. You can call it 100K bed.
Hahha I am laying down around them. Just on the floor and not the bed
I'm speechless!! 👍👍🙂
I bought on a smaller scale with my smaller budget I targeted Daredevil 9 with Echo got 5 copies for 10 to 20 apiece. Everything I targeted seems to be going up but obviously some more than others. I have a 181 and a Giant size in my personal collection but would never sell those unless there was a big need to.
1. How long will you keep them? 2. Why aren't you grading them?
Who’s the artist of that Superman, Wonder Woman print on your wall?
I honestly can’t remember. It was over 8 years ago I had them commissioned
great video and great stash of great books!
getting the ungraded ones graded means shipping and insurance
a video going over shipping and insurance strategies especially for high grade high dollar books would be cool
If only I could afford 1 giant size x-men and you have how many???
Have really enjoyed the channel for the last year, keep the content coming
Goals..🙌
When it's comes to comic book collecting..👍
Just wanted ur opinion
My grail run is daredevil an his 1st appearance is definitely a book I’m gunning for
Would u say it’s best to wait for that to
Maybe dip abit
Even tho nwh has been out for awhile rumors of him being in she hulk an other shows have kept this book at a high price point even low grade
Would u think that getting a gsx 1 instead an a dd 1 later a bad call????
Hey man I collect and resell, I guess everyone does these days. Basically collect X-Men and resell everything else. I was able to find a ASM 316 Newstand and got it graded at a 9.8 but I haven't been able to convert it into a GSxmen. It seems most people what 2X FMV for GSX in my area (Toronto) and want ASM 316 newstand at 0.7X FMV . I'm looking for a low graded graded GSX.
Anyhow always worth asking right?
Low your show watch whenever you get new episodes. Love the content and thank you for it.
Did you see the auctions on Dave's website that just concluded? He had a couple graded issues of gsx on there. I was so close to buying one.
Cool to see so many copies of Hulk #181 and GS X-Men #1. Bought a bunch a long time back. Wish I bought more. Will check out your auctions.
Thanks. Yes I’ve been telling people about hulk 181 as a good investment for years
I've been offered a CGC 5.0 Hulk #181 w/ white pages and custom Hulk CGC label for $4,000 cash. Tempted to pull the trigger on it...
Don’t know that I’d call it an absolute steal, but that’s still a great deal once you account for lack of taxes, buyers premiums, etc and this book is only going to increase over time
@@BoxCatKeys I agree.
I’d be interested to know how “up” or “down” you are on the books you’ve bought over the past year.
Mostly up. A few I’m down. But like I said. I think I’m. 6mo or so. They will be breaking records. So I’ll be up on all of them.
Great stuff. Enjoying these videos
Glad you like them!
Buying the best of breed will always be the smartest play. Eventually the market will stabilize and gains will be harder to come by, but for the forseeable future Im bullish. Over my 30 years of investing comics have been the safest investment available. Good job.
It’s March 2023 and prices already came down . Covid money inflated these prices in 2021 . There is a 9.0 sitting on eBay for 9k .
Dave, wow that's a lot of copies. What is the highest grade you own for each Hulk 181 and GSX 1?
I got a 7.5 of a hulk 181 and probably a 9.0 of gsx.
Good luck with the auctions, Dave! I'm sure they'll be successful!! There's some great books available!
I have a Hulk181 CGC 7.0 in green label because it’s missing the value stamp. What’s your opinion/thoughts on the MVS? For me I could care less. It’s a slabbed book you can’t even open and see that. Also a green label feels custom for a hulk book right? 😜
Also I still think Hulk 180 is the under rated book! It’s his first appearance damn it! I own a couple of those and even own a Foom 2 in probably VF- condition. That’s the hidden gem!
Love your content, checking out the auctions now!
Good luck with your auctions David...:)
Wow, what a sick collection of books! How many copies of each book are out there? Is there a good website or resource to find these numbers?
There is probably 20k or more of each out there.
Since you like the numbers, do you calculate the much higher taxes you have to pay for collectibles as opposed to normal cap gains taxes when you sell? I never hear collectors talk about this. It can be a huge hit. If you're comparing stocks and comics I think it would be a more honest comparison to do a side by side after taking out the average expected taxes (15% vs 28%). And even when not comparing, it just gets annoying to hear collectors talk about all of the gains they've made on some book without acknowledging that maybe the gains aren't as big after taxes.
With stocks there is cap gains tax. No way around it. With collectibles you can get around taxes. For me it s a business. So I don’t ever have to pay taxes on comics. Everything is written off minus what I pay myself. (Scorp and good tax guy). For average collector. You can deal in cash. No taxable income shown. Therefore zero in taxes. That is why we still have convention. But if you did sell them through eBay or something. It comes in the form of income. Which income can easily be written off if you know what your doing. So therefor stock u have to pay taxes. Collectibles. You don’t really have to.
@@ComicBookInvestments Interesting. I was wondering if you might have some way around it as a business. As a normal collector I'd have to pay the 28% though. I'm guessing most people would fall into this category?? Selling on auctions and such.
@@ddscout23 You can look into sole proprietorship. I've been told, then you can write off all fees related to collecting/selling your comics.
Incredible collection, so jealous.
And you have those all why?
Because I wanted to. They are a good investable comic
In 1988 I sold X-Men No. 1-10, Hulk No. 181, and GS X-Men No. 1 in 5.0 or bettter condition for less than half of a GS X-Men No. 1 in 1.5 condition now ! Hah...
I've a giant size X-Men psa 9 card. I keep it like a treasure
How many Hulk # 1's do you have ..or had ? Has that been a better investment than those 2 books ?
I have to get a hulk 181 somehow! That’s the one book I want to add to my collection
Unfortunately, Dave has them all.
@@spinnerrackstudios 😂😂
Hahha
If someone asked your top 3..hulk 181..giant size x men...and 1 more ? Maybe avengers 1?
Af15
@@ComicBookInvestments thanks
Follow up for 2023???
Yes. But follow up will be around summer time
1/22 Hulk 181 sold at a Heritage auction for $36k a 9.6. In 6/23 at a EBay auction a 9.6 sold for $17.5k. What goes up , comes down, this video is not aging well.
I like how you say "from then until now", that's a wolverine trading card set lol.
Best investment outside AF15. Never bet against hulk 181. You're gonna be rich lol
Yes af15 is where it’s at. But I cannot afford those.
So the raw copy of GSX1 I bought for $600 after getting it graded from CGC at a 9.0 I win 😂😂
Well really it did beat both Apple and Amazon when you account for the capital gains taxes you'd pay on those.
sharing is caring
*_Are you not hording X-Men 94? Why not?_*
Nope. It’s the weaker of the 3 X-men wolverine app.
Think I heard you mention you had 3 go-to books: What’s your third one?
Love these books, great overviews as always!
amazing fantasy 15
FOLKS, this is insane. These books are simply not worth this kind of money, except in some peoples minds. This same type of thing happened in the 1990's with speculators and investors in comics, resulting in a huge market adjustment..and a lot of people losing a LOT of money. THIS present trend in comic book investing will NOT last forever. Beware.
So it's already over?! You sold them all gone that quick!?!
Did I really miss your books that were grade 9.0 & above? Is there any way for me to find a Hulk181 at the going market rates you explained? I'm a very serious buyer and I just can't seem to find one at the prices you've stated anywhere. Any suggestions sir would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for doing what you do. You share extremely thoroughly informative analysis so well. You're a very important commentator to the comicbook community. I am kicking myself in my ass that I missed your auction!. If you can please help me sir, I'd flip.
I saw a 9.8 Hulk 181 @Atomic Comicbooks in L.A. in 2006 for just a couple hundred.......I'll never forget what it looked like and it kills me every day I didn't buy it.
Ya the auction is over. We will have another in April. You just gotta hunt for the good prices. I’d check out auctions
@@ComicBookInvestments hey great thank you for that. Any leads are awesome. If you can believe it, the same day you held the auction, I was @Mile High Comics in Denver and even met Chuck Rozanski! But it's still not a trade up for missing your books to finally become a Hulk181er. Idk if Stan Lee would've even beat it out. Dang. I'll be on it in April! Thank you. Keep up the great work its badass.
Got 2 raw GSX1(s). Let’s do some business 🙂
these are such keys
Whatever. I have 2 9.8 giant size. Sold my extra 9.6 181 You might talk about it. Sold for 36000.
Dang. U got 2 9.8s. I think the nicest I got is a 8.0. Your 2 is worth more then all mine combine hahhaha
I feel like Hulk181 loses desirability as the census count continues to rise. Im sure prices will remain strong because there is so much demand, but personally i would only invest in a high grade or mark jewelers copy..
It’s apples to oranges comparing comics to the stock market. You can’t incrementally buy a comic book. Normal collectors probable have one or two copies. I’d rather own stocks and reinvest the dividends back into more shares or since my employer has a 401k match, invest more in that. I guess if you have disposable income to make investments in comic books, it could be a secondary source of revenue.
It’s more like looking at your returns. My whole point of my channel is to show that comics are a form of investment. Not just things to read.
😲🤯
between you and the golden age guru you could literally change the price of that book based on prices you make if you release them. impressive books man, love the show🤟
No man on earth should be so damn lucky😡
I thought I had a lot with 3 copies of hulk 181. I have a 9.6 and 2 qty 9.0. My dumb ass sold a 2 5..... funny I never bought a giant size....
So what I got from this is that I have to take out a loan to get the same amount of books you have 😂
unless he purchased at well under market value (which is possible), he purchased a mortgage worth of just these two books in a year.
Lmfao here I am already given up on a key I will never have and this guy have like 20 of them lol
Don't give up bro. One day...
*_"9.1"_*
Could you spare a sub a hulk 181 hahaha!
Show off! You had a good mentor!
yes i did, but ya i've been buying hulk 181 for years
@@ComicBookInvestments It's always good to have a great dad teaching his kids!
It's not that the comics worth more it's that the dollars worth less what will you do when there's nothing left water, food and some form of protection
the dollar is worth less which makes something frivolous retaining (and actually gaining) value better than the dollar even more impressive. the rapid devaluation of the dollar will lead people with money who don't want to see their wealth decrease to make riskier investments. People may look to crypto. Some may gamble with more volatile stocks. If they want to shoot even higher NFTs are out there. For a small number but enough to make a big impact comics and other collectibles could be seen as an investment. They are most likely more stable than SOME of the other options. I believe it is some money that would normally be invested outside of the hobby pushing big prices in the last couple years. It's a theory. But it's a lot of money pouring in while the average person in America is not doing well financially.
I'm buying some old Thor issues for my personal collection, filling the run, and prices for beat up copies from 120 to 180 area of the run are way up as well. Those should not be affected by investment money going to key issues so my theory would do nothing to explain where that money and increased interest is coming in from.
If there's no food, water or protection left, where we've all parked our money will be the least of our problems.
Congrats. You’re rich. No need to rub our noses in it.
Yeesh...... what a grouch!
Agreed
Pompous 6 year old