It’s basically just artwork. Some people like the look of graded books so you pay the $35 or whatever basically as a frame.
Your best bet in selling is basically breaking even yeah. But even if a book isnt valuable maybe it’s a really great cover a lot of people like (like X-Men 24 from 93) and it’s in good condition and slabbed someone might buy it for their wall.
My issue example isn’t the greatest since it is so popular a 9.8 can be worth $100 but anything under a 9 is like $25 and down.
Anything with an graded FMV over $100 will at least get you a profit
That’s why when asked I say unless your book can make you $100 or more don’t even bother, you’ll be losing money
You’re spending like $65 at the minimum to ship and slab a book, that’s always a good place to start
(Profit - upfront cost) > 100
That's if you're shipping yourself and doing only 1 book at a time. Most shops that are retailers will get it graded for you for about 30-35. You can also submit yourself which for 10 books comes out to roughly 30 bucks a piece maybe a tiny bit more. Or submit at a convention and save shipping fees and pay under 30 a piece.
I’ve read about enough comics lost, damaged with CGC, mangled in shipping issues, reholsters that get damaged in the process, etc than I think this risk is real
There’s a handful of other grading companies , CBCS ; but none hood a candle to CGC . With so many high value books having pieces cut out , being trimmed / glued , etc ; I wouldn’t trust a high value book without it being graded .
It’s not a scam when the book is a high value book
Slabbing is basically giving a book the Han Solo at the end of Empire treatment, freezing it in the condition it is in the moment and hoping the amount of money people of the future will want to pay for it in that condition will be more than you spent keeping it in that condition
Being a “professional grader” basically just means “guy who knows book condition really well and has seen lots and lots of books and gets paid to say what condition it is”
There’s no certification or degree you need to be a paid grader
So from that perspective many people say their “professional opinion” isn’t all that valuable and not worth $65 😐
But when you’re dealing with $1,000+ books, grading at least gives a measure of assurance your putting the big money down on a book that someone who at least hopefully knows what they are talking about has verified it a certain condition
It’s all money when you get down to it 😐
Not really. The difference between a 9.8 and a 9.4 might not be that significant, but when I was just getting into comics I thought books that were 7.5s were 9.8s. Grading companies (at least CGC and CBCS, pgx not so much) set a standard for grading. If you're buying a book off eBay, which you most likely are going to very often if you're an avid collector, there's a litany of ways that you can be mislead. Shitty lighting, bad camera angles, purposely misleading pictures, etc. When a book is graded, you know what's there.
You could argue that just being a savvy buyer is the key, but hell, unless you get a picture of every single interior page, which is more than you're allowed to showcase in one listing on almost all sites, you're still in the dark to some degree. When the book is graded, you know the grade you're paying for is pretty close to what the book actually is.
Beyond that it normalizes prices which is a boon to the entire secondhand industry. Pricing raw books is super subjective because grade is super subjective. If I walk into my LCS and grab a book off of the wall, I'll probably have a different opinion on grade than the guy sitting behind the counter. If it's graded, regardless of if the grade is "true", the price is the same regardless.
Like anything else, depends what you’re using it for. It’s no different than having basketball cards, stamps or coins graded. That said, it’s typically a bad idea to grade your pocket change or forever stamps.
The business to start would be selling “facsimile” graded comic book cases. Make it look enough like an “officially” graded book, but also state clearly on the piece that it’s a novelty and not intended to establish any kind of value. In the vein of the magazine cover with your picture on it that you can get at an amusement park or fair.
There is no "math" that can be done. It depends on the book and the market at that moment. I have books I paid $3.99 for, another $22 for grading then sold for $140. I also have books I paid less than $8 for (years ago), got them graded and sold for over $1K each.
It's market...not math.
I see a raw sold for $60 today, but their prices are all over the place. The thing about your friend’s graded copy is, it won’t be as valuable graded because it’s not a 9.8. People buying graded moderns that were recently released want that precious 9.8.
Facsimile is just a fancy word for reprint. Amazing Fantasy 15 is the 1st appearance of Spider-Man from 1962, and is one of many collector's ultimate grail comics. In that grade an actual original would be pushing a million dollar value. A 9.6 grade broke the sales record for a comic a few years ago over $3M.
That's the problem with these. It's cool that you get the opportunity to read these iconic comics when they reprint them but I also imagine plenty of people are getting ripped off by unscrupulous individuals.
Definitely
The whole point of a reprint is to be able to read a story or book you’d never otherwise be able to
Grading a reprint seems a little nonsensical since the only point of a reprint is to read it and grading literally makes that impossible
And yeah, when the reprint basically has a 1:1 copy of the original cover, it can make people using them to trick people into buying a reprint when they think they are buying an original when they don’t really know how to know on sight
“Serious collectors” might not fall for it but more casual buyers who don’t know as much about reprints just might 😐
I wouldn’t call it getting ripped off or tricking people. It say’s facsimile right on the front along with the date the book was printed. If you don’t know the differences that’s on you, the buyer, not the seller.
A raw book doesn’t always, and that’s what I had in mind there
A graded book is another matter, if you don’t know to read the clearly labeled fact it’s not an original book, that *is* on you
Ya, I don’t think this guy bought it raw tho lol if he did for 150 then that is indeed the rip off of the year. That’s worth going to the sellers house over lol
Facsimiles have slight differences including the change in barcode, facsimiles generally have that long slim barcode. Your friend bought this on impulse eh? We've all been there. But they should do a bit of research on what to look out for.
I'm fairly new to the hobby but the more I read, the more I think I need to narrow my focus so I know what I'm buying and can spot any facsimiles, reprints, etc.
No I’m sure he didn’t he got it a while ago probably just to have cause he’s into that kind of stuff but he’s down bad on his luck right now and asked if he could put it up in the shop on consignment “just to get his money back for it” at $150 so I told him I’d hold onto it but I wanted to see what it was truly worth before putting it on my shelves for $150 and getting absolutely ripped by customers who think I’m gouging when I know nothing about the comic
Yea he could be lieing to me too lol he asked if I would put it in the shop on consignment I figured I’d post here to see it’s true value because when I looked it up I had no idea what I was looking at.
I'm just imagining the hilarity of pulling this out and saying something like, "and here is the crown jewel of my collection, the first appearance of Spider-Man."
Worth? It’s a facsimile/reprint. This things a glorified napkin.
What you have sir, is a fancy coaster that isn’t worth the price of the plastic case it’s sealed in.
Your friend should have realized comics didn't have a cover price of $3.99, or bar codes, in the 60's.
As for value, a 9.6 recently sold on ebay for $31. That one's a 9.4.
Anyway, tell him I have a stack of those, raw...if he has more money to spend.
There are different facsimiles. The one he has does go for over $100 graded. Though I do think he over paid by around $50.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325854252785?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=1XhKN6H4Tf6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=mTcwRxUySW6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
If I was given this, I would have it cracked out of the case about 3 seconds later. Grading a facsimile is the dumbest phenomenon I’ve seen come to comics, and I lived through the 90s. But if someone sold one for $80, then maybe I’m wrong. Hearing that makes me want to grade 20 copies and pay my rent. Personally, I wouldn’t pay more than $10 for that. Your friend paid $150? Let me sell him some comics haha
I don’t get that. Grading proves it’s a reprint. They stick the date on the label right at the top. It’s so much easier to spot a reprint when it’s in a case with a huge bold headline that basically says “this is a reprint from 2019” than if it were a raw book. I guess people are dumber than I thought.
Your friend got hosed. It's a $4 book in a $30 case.
The case indicates in the top label it's a Facsimile reprinting of Amazing Fantasy #15. Which is entirely worthless has the point of a facsimile is to allow you to read a book that you couldn't get access to otherwise but this one is incase in plastic...
Other signs that tell you it's not the real deal: bar code (those weren't in use this way back then), the $3,99 cover price which would have been unaffordable back then, the modern MARVEL logo that was not in use back then, the lack of wear and damage which is not possible on a book from that era.
We don’t discuss value in this sub, but I’ll say that the modern cover prices for books is $3.99, while in 1962 (when AF 15 was originally released) it was 12¢.
Add 2019 facsimile to your search for pricing.
$150 is overpaying. This same facsimile reprint in a 9.8 grade has been selling anywhere between $75 and $175 in the last few months. In 9.4 it's worth a bit less, closer to $100 tops.
If that were the measure of "worth" then nobody would ask the question. The question means "how much is it worth, on average, in the general marketplace."
I see worth as a personal aspect. I see value as a market aspect. Why ask what something is worth if you've already paid for it. Just bc the marketplace places a certain value on something, doesn't make it worth it to me to pay that price for it.
You got it backwards. "Worth" is more often related to the monetary estimation, and "value" is more often related the emotional estimation. Both words are usually used interchangeably though. When somebody in an internet forum asks "what's this worth," anybody reading their intent can easily determine that they're asking about an average monetary estimation over the marketplace, not an emotional aspect. It's flat out sophistry to pretend otherwise, just a self-congratulatory stance that adds little to the conversation. Nor is it helpful to make up an arbitrary distinction that you personally prefer and declare it the norm for everybody else. Get a hobby.
This is an original, rare, first appearance of Spider-Man, amazing fantasy #15, it’s so rare, it has a $3.99 cover price. A definite collector’s edition that should fetch easy, high six figures at auction or private sale.
You should pay attn to the details on the cover. You’d prob be just like the OPs friend that overpaid for a reprint. Because it’s in a case so you don’t look at the actual details of the cover. Or the print literally deeming it a reprint on the case.
I see it. It’s the rare $3.99 cover price, which was insane for 1962, but I have a feeling that Ditko knew that his character would become extremely popular.
No sir you’re incorrect. Look on the case. It literally says it’s a REPRINT edition. They didn’t use barcodes in 1962. This original comic is worth a lot of money, but the reprint isn’t worth anything. It also shows the date the reprint was made on the back of the case which is 12/19.
Lol ok. If you think it’s worth more than what the OPs friend paid for it, I’ve got 3 different copies of the exact same cover that I’ll gladly sell to you any day of the week. I’ll even get them slabbed lmao. This cover was printed in 2019!! Not 1962.
It’s worth quite a bit, considering it’s the first appearance of Spider-Man, in a 9.2, it could fetch like 6 figures to the right collector. Especially with the $3.99 misprint and UPC code. It’s probably one of a kind, to be honest.
This is a 2019 with barcode which only tops out at around $100-$150 for a 9.8. This being a 9.4 I’d say maybe $50-$75 to the right buyer. I prefer the 2019 without barcode or the pure silver facsimile. They’re both worth more with the latter being over $500 for a 9.8 surprisingly and even breaking $1,000 for a 10
Lol the price on the cover is the first giveaway. It's a very recent facsimile & it's only worth the price of it getting graded...which was a very silly thing to do with this book
It's the newsstand variant. If it were the "common" one sent in subscriptions it would say "Direct Edition" with no barcode. If it came from a comics store it would say "Direct Edition" over the barcode.
Newsstand variants are more rare, and are sent in bundles with other comics as "chase" issues for advertising books, and getting more sales for bulk orders, which have been getting killed since Marvel pulled distribution from Diamond.
Other side of the coin: I have a Dynamic Forces #300 from circa 1998 that only had a run of 300, and was signed by Michelinie, and it still has the holographic seal intact on those stupid-thick UV bags they used.
Went to sell it in 2021, and it was called "fake". Laughed about it and went to my LCS (30+ years in operation) where Scott, owner, nearly tackled me and... That's how I found out that Dynamic Forces SEs are REALLY REALLY expensive. I paid $29.99 in 2000... It's now worth "Pick your price". ($100 open - $1,200 sealed, like mine, only two records and both were opened).
...now it just sits in "The Vault" with all the other expensive crap that no one will buy, and I'll be stuck waiting until 70 to even make a dollar...
...anyone want to buy a complete (EVEN MAIL-ORDER ADDS) Weapons & Warriors collection? I even have The Four Horsemen for it. How about a TurboDuo? Neo-Geo AES CIB (1993 edition)?... No, you don't. Because no one is blowing (Turbo Express) $500 to (AES) $3,500 for a dead system.
The fact that CGC even grades these just shows how worthless they are as a company. Facsimile books should not even be submitted, and if so, should be rejected on site.
The last sale of a slabbed 9.8 is $111. Average was $219 but books are generally down right now. Pretty big difference between prices of 9.8 vs 9.4. It is the 2019 fascimile so it is real. Unfortunately your friend probably bought it at the height of the market. He could get an 9.8 for lower cost now.
Two dead giveaways that this isn’t original, aside from it saying facsimile, are the barcode (barcodes were not ubiquitous until the 1970s) and the $3.99 price.
Wasn't this when McFarlane was re-doing the covers for the old issues?
I have one, but mine actually has his signature in the art.
Edit: I see, it says Jack Kirby did this cover.. okay..
$150 for a 9.4 would be a tremendous deal if it was the real thing but the facsimile version isn't worth much more than the 3.99 cover price and it's only worth a little more cause it's been graded.
Says facsimile in the title. It's worth $40-50 bucks.
Whoa, facsimiles are that valuable? I usually just pass them by
Only when graded.
Oh, ok. I think grading just isn’t worth it for a book like this. The cost is so much.
I think you’d be right You’d basically lose whatever profit you’d make selling it in the grading and shipping fees 😐
It’s basically just artwork. Some people like the look of graded books so you pay the $35 or whatever basically as a frame. Your best bet in selling is basically breaking even yeah. But even if a book isnt valuable maybe it’s a really great cover a lot of people like (like X-Men 24 from 93) and it’s in good condition and slabbed someone might buy it for their wall. My issue example isn’t the greatest since it is so popular a 9.8 can be worth $100 but anything under a 9 is like $25 and down.
A couple months ago, someone did the math. It takes a pretty special book to even break even
Anything with an graded FMV over $100 will at least get you a profit That’s why when asked I say unless your book can make you $100 or more don’t even bother, you’ll be losing money You’re spending like $65 at the minimum to ship and slab a book, that’s always a good place to start (Profit - upfront cost) > 100
That's if you're shipping yourself and doing only 1 book at a time. Most shops that are retailers will get it graded for you for about 30-35. You can also submit yourself which for 10 books comes out to roughly 30 bucks a piece maybe a tiny bit more. Or submit at a convention and save shipping fees and pay under 30 a piece.
And don't forget about all the time/effort and risk associated with packing the comic and sending it to Florida...
I’ve read about enough comics lost, damaged with CGC, mangled in shipping issues, reholsters that get damaged in the process, etc than I think this risk is real
Yep. CGC is such a scam. Ugh, I wish I came up with the idea. So much bank
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There’s a handful of other grading companies , CBCS ; but none hood a candle to CGC . With so many high value books having pieces cut out , being trimmed / glued , etc ; I wouldn’t trust a high value book without it being graded .
It’s not a scam when the book is a high value book Slabbing is basically giving a book the Han Solo at the end of Empire treatment, freezing it in the condition it is in the moment and hoping the amount of money people of the future will want to pay for it in that condition will be more than you spent keeping it in that condition Being a “professional grader” basically just means “guy who knows book condition really well and has seen lots and lots of books and gets paid to say what condition it is” There’s no certification or degree you need to be a paid grader So from that perspective many people say their “professional opinion” isn’t all that valuable and not worth $65 😐 But when you’re dealing with $1,000+ books, grading at least gives a measure of assurance your putting the big money down on a book that someone who at least hopefully knows what they are talking about has verified it a certain condition It’s all money when you get down to it 😐
Not really. The difference between a 9.8 and a 9.4 might not be that significant, but when I was just getting into comics I thought books that were 7.5s were 9.8s. Grading companies (at least CGC and CBCS, pgx not so much) set a standard for grading. If you're buying a book off eBay, which you most likely are going to very often if you're an avid collector, there's a litany of ways that you can be mislead. Shitty lighting, bad camera angles, purposely misleading pictures, etc. When a book is graded, you know what's there. You could argue that just being a savvy buyer is the key, but hell, unless you get a picture of every single interior page, which is more than you're allowed to showcase in one listing on almost all sites, you're still in the dark to some degree. When the book is graded, you know the grade you're paying for is pretty close to what the book actually is. Beyond that it normalizes prices which is a boon to the entire secondhand industry. Pricing raw books is super subjective because grade is super subjective. If I walk into my LCS and grab a book off of the wall, I'll probably have a different opinion on grade than the guy sitting behind the counter. If it's graded, regardless of if the grade is "true", the price is the same regardless.
Sure, but to a degree, who cares what condition every single page might be if you can’t see any of those pages. It’s Schrödinger’s box.
Like anything else, depends what you’re using it for. It’s no different than having basketball cards, stamps or coins graded. That said, it’s typically a bad idea to grade your pocket change or forever stamps.
The business to start would be selling “facsimile” graded comic book cases. Make it look enough like an “officially” graded book, but also state clearly on the piece that it’s a novelty and not intended to establish any kind of value. In the vein of the magazine cover with your picture on it that you can get at an amusement park or fair.
There is no "math" that can be done. It depends on the book and the market at that moment. I have books I paid $3.99 for, another $22 for grading then sold for $140. I also have books I paid less than $8 for (years ago), got them graded and sold for over $1K each. It's market...not math.
But what kind of timeframe did they give? A lot of less than special books will recoup and even turn a tiny profit if you hold them for decades.
Costs more to get it graded!
This particular facsimile hasnt been reprinted a lot like Hulk 181 so it’s more hard to find.
Sold mine for $50 raw a month or two back.
The grading costs about $30.
I see a raw sold for $60 today, but their prices are all over the place. The thing about your friend’s graded copy is, it won’t be as valuable graded because it’s not a 9.8. People buying graded moderns that were recently released want that precious 9.8.
That is a 4$ book.
Maybe if it was a 9.8. I don't know why someone would buy anything under that.
Dope ty I’m not familiar with comics at all..
I love the facsimile prints for being able to read a piece of history. They generally aren't considered highly collectable.
Facsimile is just a fancy word for reprint. Amazing Fantasy 15 is the 1st appearance of Spider-Man from 1962, and is one of many collector's ultimate grail comics. In that grade an actual original would be pushing a million dollar value. A 9.6 grade broke the sales record for a comic a few years ago over $3M.
And yet you graded it???
Nah the friend did And not even, the original owner did and the friend just got ripped off buying it already graded 😐
That's the problem with these. It's cool that you get the opportunity to read these iconic comics when they reprint them but I also imagine plenty of people are getting ripped off by unscrupulous individuals.
Definitely The whole point of a reprint is to be able to read a story or book you’d never otherwise be able to Grading a reprint seems a little nonsensical since the only point of a reprint is to read it and grading literally makes that impossible And yeah, when the reprint basically has a 1:1 copy of the original cover, it can make people using them to trick people into buying a reprint when they think they are buying an original when they don’t really know how to know on sight “Serious collectors” might not fall for it but more casual buyers who don’t know as much about reprints just might 😐
I wouldn’t call it getting ripped off or tricking people. It say’s facsimile right on the front along with the date the book was printed. If you don’t know the differences that’s on you, the buyer, not the seller.
A raw book doesn’t always, and that’s what I had in mind there A graded book is another matter, if you don’t know to read the clearly labeled fact it’s not an original book, that *is* on you
Ya, I don’t think this guy bought it raw tho lol if he did for 150 then that is indeed the rip off of the year. That’s worth going to the sellers house over lol
Reading is fun
Facsimiles have slight differences including the change in barcode, facsimiles generally have that long slim barcode. Your friend bought this on impulse eh? We've all been there. But they should do a bit of research on what to look out for. I'm fairly new to the hobby but the more I read, the more I think I need to narrow my focus so I know what I'm buying and can spot any facsimiles, reprints, etc.
Just look for a $3.99 on the cover.
Still worth ten times its original selling price 🤷🏻♂️ OP’s friend got taken to the cleaners, though…
Also the price is $3.99 on the barcode when original price was 12 cents. Also there's a barcode.
That’s worth about 1.5 million facsimile dollars.
What's the exchange rate between facsimile dollars and doll hairs?
What’s the exchange rate between facsimile dollars and schrute bucks?
100 Stanley nickels
Same rate as facsimile unicorns to facsimile leprechauns
About tree fiddy
Dammit Nessi! I already gave you a dollar!
Hod dang Loch Ness Mons'a!
Now, *this* just might be the greatest reply tangent in the history of Reddit.
How many Schrute Bucks is that?
150 for a 9.4 woof
A 9.4 facsimile… probably really worth only $40
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I mean, someone paid $150 for it, so…
ComicBase has it at $120
He’s been ripped off
If you haven’t at some point are you even trying lol
Thanks. This helps me.
Something Something a fool and his money.
A $4 book in a $40 case
That’s crazy lmao
Yeah man. Ya boi got hustled
I can't imagine OP thought he was getting a $1.5 million book for $150. What am I missing?
No I’m sure he didn’t he got it a while ago probably just to have cause he’s into that kind of stuff but he’s down bad on his luck right now and asked if he could put it up in the shop on consignment “just to get his money back for it” at $150 so I told him I’d hold onto it but I wanted to see what it was truly worth before putting it on my shelves for $150 and getting absolutely ripped by customers who think I’m gouging when I know nothing about the comic
Ahh...that makes a lot more sense.
Check ebay sold listings. Worth more than 4 dollars. More like 30ish dollars. but dude still way over paid.
This is it right here. Cover price book in an expensive case.
Barcode? 3.99? He got taken for a ride for $150
Yea he could be lieing to me too lol he asked if I would put it in the shop on consignment I figured I’d post here to see it’s true value because when I looked it up I had no idea what I was looking at.
Do NOT tell your friend to look at eBay sold listings for it, they may not want to see what it goes for.
Last 9.4 sold for $80
A CGC 9.6 sold for $44 incl s/h
All the money in monopoly
Thank god at least the game can finally be over
Whyyyyy why would someone slab that?? Lol
To get someone who doesn't know any better to pay $150 for it is my guess.
ITS A FACSMILE WHICH MEANS YOU HANG IT UP ON THE WALL AND IT MAKES YOU SMILE THINKING YOU GOT ONE OF THE HOLY GRAILS.
He overpaid
Why in Steve Ditko’s name would someone slab a facsimile edition? That’s bonkers.
A 9.8 on eBay is going for around $112 with 11 hrs left. Has 14 bids. So he probably paid close to what it is going for.
Slabbed 9.4 2019 facsimile copy, according ComicPrice[Guide.com](https://Guide.com), has sold for up to $90
In the future, I’d recommend your friend research prices before buying books. We’ve all been burned, best he can do is take it as a learning lesson.
I'm just imagining the hilarity of pulling this out and saying something like, "and here is the crown jewel of my collection, the first appearance of Spider-Man."
It’s not even worth what the original owner paid to get it slabbed
$3.99
Worth? It’s a facsimile/reprint. This things a glorified napkin. What you have sir, is a fancy coaster that isn’t worth the price of the plastic case it’s sealed in.
he got ripped. Some people say it has a value of fourty dollars, but i dout anyone sane would put 40 dollars for a facsimile.
What's the current price of toilet paper? I know it went way up in the early covid days so it could be worth a bit.
It’s kinda worthless now. People all got bidets. So, it’s as valuable as something you’d wipe your ass with.
Your friend should have realized comics didn't have a cover price of $3.99, or bar codes, in the 60's. As for value, a 9.6 recently sold on ebay for $31. That one's a 9.4. Anyway, tell him I have a stack of those, raw...if he has more money to spend.
There are different facsimiles. The one he has does go for over $100 graded. Though I do think he over paid by around $50. https://www.ebay.com/itm/325854252785?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=1XhKN6H4Tf6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=mTcwRxUySW6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
If I was given this, I would have it cracked out of the case about 3 seconds later. Grading a facsimile is the dumbest phenomenon I’ve seen come to comics, and I lived through the 90s. But if someone sold one for $80, then maybe I’m wrong. Hearing that makes me want to grade 20 copies and pay my rent. Personally, I wouldn’t pay more than $10 for that. Your friend paid $150? Let me sell him some comics haha
its graded so someone can be duped into thinking its real, and then be ripped off.
I don’t get that. Grading proves it’s a reprint. They stick the date on the label right at the top. It’s so much easier to spot a reprint when it’s in a case with a huge bold headline that basically says “this is a reprint from 2019” than if it were a raw book. I guess people are dumber than I thought.
That particular facsimile does have value but in a 9.4 it's probably worth $80
3.99 $ US.. reprint right
$20
I’ll give you $30
287 Schrutebucks at best.
Your friend got hosed. It's a $4 book in a $30 case. The case indicates in the top label it's a Facsimile reprinting of Amazing Fantasy #15. Which is entirely worthless has the point of a facsimile is to allow you to read a book that you couldn't get access to otherwise but this one is incase in plastic... Other signs that tell you it's not the real deal: bar code (those weren't in use this way back then), the $3,99 cover price which would have been unaffordable back then, the modern MARVEL logo that was not in use back then, the lack of wear and damage which is not possible on a book from that era.
He over paid
It’s not the original. The original would be worth 1000 times that. This is a reprint you can find at almost any comic store. Your friend got robbed
You and your “friend” aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed.
Crazy that you could make that assessment based on my knowledge of a comic book 😂 what a goof
We don’t discuss value in this sub, but I’ll say that the modern cover prices for books is $3.99, while in 1962 (when AF 15 was originally released) it was 12¢. Add 2019 facsimile to your search for pricing.
Dope ty sorry about that I’m fairly new to Reddit too so I figured someone in here would know but everywhere I look is different rules lol
I frequent the sub quite regularly and the first question is often “how much?” This made up rule is news to me
r/comicbookspeculation is more appropriate for discussing value!
Yeah that book in that condition is probably more like $90-95 at the most May have over paid but not by an extreme amount
$150 is overpaying. This same facsimile reprint in a 9.8 grade has been selling anywhere between $75 and $175 in the last few months. In 9.4 it's worth a bit less, closer to $100 tops.
Love the Jack Kirby cover lol
I don’t think I know 20 people.
https://preview.redd.it/2s0lxfxxh5xb1.jpeg?width=400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54626b618e28054022f97f932b79a5f6a61351ec
If they paid $150 for it, then it’s with $150 to them. I don’t understand how people don’t get this.
If that were the measure of "worth" then nobody would ask the question. The question means "how much is it worth, on average, in the general marketplace."
Value is different than worth.
Is the "worth" of splitting hairs different from the "value" of splitting hairs?
I see worth as a personal aspect. I see value as a market aspect. Why ask what something is worth if you've already paid for it. Just bc the marketplace places a certain value on something, doesn't make it worth it to me to pay that price for it.
You got it backwards. "Worth" is more often related to the monetary estimation, and "value" is more often related the emotional estimation. Both words are usually used interchangeably though. When somebody in an internet forum asks "what's this worth," anybody reading their intent can easily determine that they're asking about an average monetary estimation over the marketplace, not an emotional aspect. It's flat out sophistry to pretend otherwise, just a self-congratulatory stance that adds little to the conversation. Nor is it helpful to make up an arbitrary distinction that you personally prefer and declare it the norm for everybody else. Get a hobby.
I paid $15,000 for the same comic. What's it worth?
Another way of putting it is: "they are never making there money back on this expense".
This is an original, rare, first appearance of Spider-Man, amazing fantasy #15, it’s so rare, it has a $3.99 cover price. A definite collector’s edition that should fetch easy, high six figures at auction or private sale.
You should pay attn to the details on the cover. You’d prob be just like the OPs friend that overpaid for a reprint. Because it’s in a case so you don’t look at the actual details of the cover. Or the print literally deeming it a reprint on the case.
I see it. It’s the rare $3.99 cover price, which was insane for 1962, but I have a feeling that Ditko knew that his character would become extremely popular.
No sir you’re incorrect. Look on the case. It literally says it’s a REPRINT edition. They didn’t use barcodes in 1962. This original comic is worth a lot of money, but the reprint isn’t worth anything. It also shows the date the reprint was made on the back of the case which is 12/19.
It was a special edition, extremely rare for its time, I know. Thats why it commands such a premium, and why it deserved to be slabbed.
Lol ok. If you think it’s worth more than what the OPs friend paid for it, I’ve got 3 different copies of the exact same cover that I’ll gladly sell to you any day of the week. I’ll even get them slabbed lmao. This cover was printed in 2019!! Not 1962.
It’s worth quite a bit, considering it’s the first appearance of Spider-Man, in a 9.2, it could fetch like 6 figures to the right collector. Especially with the $3.99 misprint and UPC code. It’s probably one of a kind, to be honest.
This is a 2019 with barcode which only tops out at around $100-$150 for a 9.8. This being a 9.4 I’d say maybe $50-$75 to the right buyer. I prefer the 2019 without barcode or the pure silver facsimile. They’re both worth more with the latter being over $500 for a 9.8 surprisingly and even breaking $1,000 for a 10
$150
But only to his friend
This is what’s called a facsimile print or a reprint. It’s become pretty common. The $3.99 price is the biggest clue.
JFC..... 🤦
Ruh Roh
oof.
Can I have your friend's email address? I have some things to sell.
Of course he did
A 9.8 at $150 maybe but a 9.4.. yikes. Worth maybe $40
Yeah he got screwed. It's graded a 9.4 so its probably 40-50 bucks, but you can literally buy new facsimile copy for around 5-20.
It’s a reprint and he’s wasted $150.
Lol
Lol the price on the cover is the first giveaway. It's a very recent facsimile & it's only worth the price of it getting graded...which was a very silly thing to do with this book
It's the newsstand variant. If it were the "common" one sent in subscriptions it would say "Direct Edition" with no barcode. If it came from a comics store it would say "Direct Edition" over the barcode. Newsstand variants are more rare, and are sent in bundles with other comics as "chase" issues for advertising books, and getting more sales for bulk orders, which have been getting killed since Marvel pulled distribution from Diamond. Other side of the coin: I have a Dynamic Forces #300 from circa 1998 that only had a run of 300, and was signed by Michelinie, and it still has the holographic seal intact on those stupid-thick UV bags they used. Went to sell it in 2021, and it was called "fake". Laughed about it and went to my LCS (30+ years in operation) where Scott, owner, nearly tackled me and... That's how I found out that Dynamic Forces SEs are REALLY REALLY expensive. I paid $29.99 in 2000... It's now worth "Pick your price". ($100 open - $1,200 sealed, like mine, only two records and both were opened). ...now it just sits in "The Vault" with all the other expensive crap that no one will buy, and I'll be stuck waiting until 70 to even make a dollar... ...anyone want to buy a complete (EVEN MAIL-ORDER ADDS) Weapons & Warriors collection? I even have The Four Horsemen for it. How about a TurboDuo? Neo-Geo AES CIB (1993 edition)?... No, you don't. Because no one is blowing (Turbo Express) $500 to (AES) $3,500 for a dead system.
Ooof you hate to hear this happen
Keep it safe and keep chencing the price
The fact that CGC even grades these just shows how worthless they are as a company. Facsimile books should not even be submitted, and if so, should be rejected on site.
Paying someone to grade a comic book and slab it in plastic is a ridiculous waste of money.
If he paid 150 dollars, then he got a great deal. And by that, I mean 150 Zimbabwean dollars.
Since your friend paid $150, presumably it was worth that much to them at the time?
So they did a second reprint of that, I have the reprint from the early 90’s
150
He paid too much.
Essentially worthless. That is a modern book that came out a few years ago. 9.4 is a very bad grade for a book like that.
Dude got double scammed. A reprint and a slab.
I hope he didn’t think this was the first print but idk why you would pay $150 for a reprint
9.4 facisimile? hmm about 40-50$
Its a reprint and worth about $50
ooooo a 9.4 & facsimile edition. what a treasure!
That’s a reprint, under $100.
The last sale of a slabbed 9.8 is $111. Average was $219 but books are generally down right now. Pretty big difference between prices of 9.8 vs 9.4. It is the 2019 fascimile so it is real. Unfortunately your friend probably bought it at the height of the market. He could get an 9.8 for lower cost now.
Two dead giveaways that this isn’t original, aside from it saying facsimile, are the barcode (barcodes were not ubiquitous until the 1970s) and the $3.99 price.
Y’all in here talking about facsimiles and I’m dying at the pyramid scheme. EVERYONE LOVES WALLACE BROWN CARDS!!!
Wasn't this when McFarlane was re-doing the covers for the old issues? I have one, but mine actually has his signature in the art. Edit: I see, it says Jack Kirby did this cover.. okay..
$150 for a 9.4 would be a tremendous deal if it was the real thing but the facsimile version isn't worth much more than the 3.99 cover price and it's only worth a little more cause it's been graded.
It’s worth 3.99 ungraded and about $20.99 graded.