Help me settle an Arguement

[randall]

Hey,
I'm Randall and new here and I know nothing at all about comic books and own none as well, so I guess your wondering why I'm here? Well aside from having a large Batman obsession based generally on films (sorry), I am also having a non-stop arguement with a friend as to what it would cost an avid collector to buy every single Batman comic that was ever made. So I thought I would end our petty fued by asking some experts so if anyone could give me an estimate that would be great!


Thanks in advance for any help,


Randall

[Jack Zodiac]

Trick question! The answer is nothing. Steal them.

[Herr Mike]

I'd guess Detective 27 and Batman 1 would run you close to a million bucks for a good copy. The rest might add up to 500K.

[randall]

That much! and is it a Million buck for the both or each???? Plus I'm assuming thats Dollars instead of the good old British Pounds?

[LEADER DESSLOK]

I am also having a non-stop arguement with a friend as to what it would cost an avid collector to buy every single Batman comic that was ever made.


To start, I would just buy THE BATMAN CHRONICLES Vol.s 1-5. I'm not trying to be funny, it's just that within that series, DC is currently publishing EVERY Batman "solo" story (without Superman or anyone other than Robin) in chronological order, some of them in print for the very first time. I am a HUGE fan of Bob Kane's original studio so this is like Heaven for me! Like myself, I recommend that you snatch 'em up while DC is putting them out!

Other than this, well, unless you can convince either J.K. Rowling or Oprah to marry you, I don't know how you can afford the 500K needed to buy the originals!

[Tanjint]

there's an important factor:

the actual comics, or collected editions?

you can get every Batman story for probably around 10,000 bucks or maybe even less in collected editions, trades, reprints, graphic novels etc.

Every individual Batman comic published? Between half a mil and 2 mil sounds about right.

-T

[Herr Mike]

It really depends on what condition you settle for. Near mint Det. 27 would likely top $500K, while Fine would be exponentially less. Probably around $50K.

[robbieglenn]

wish i had that sort of money....Id BECOME batman, haha.

[matthewaos]

wish i had that sort of money....Id BECOME batman, haha.

Quoted for truth

[juggling man]

I will give you my Batman collection in exchange FOR YOUR SOUL!

[Supermancho]

I'd say 0ne millionor even two are a low estimated. I guess it's even more than that.
First you must find the original issues (tough quest) and then Bill Gates must adopt you as his son.
http://www.yelims.com/IPB/Invision-Board-France-234.gif

[the goddamn batman]

I just love that someone came on the interenet to settle an argument.:biggrin:

But yes, I agree, probably a cool Million or two for every issue.

[shaxper]

I've been trying to complete the full run of the actual "Batman" title for many years now. I believe that run could be completed for under $40,000 assuming you're willing to settle for key issues in 2.0 to 3.0 condition.

There is a collector out there who owns every comic book issue ever published by DC. I've never met him, but I know several people who have. I can't imagine what that must have cost.

[dancj]

It really depends on what condition you settle for. Near mint Det. 27 would likely top $500K, while Fine would be exponentially less. Probably around $50K.
Surely a near mint copy of Dectevive #27 doesn't even exist. I'd have thought even Fine might be asking too much

[Herr Mike]

I've been trying to complete the full run of the actual "Batman" title for many years now. I believe that run could be completed for under $40,000 assuming you're willing to settle for key issues in 2.0 to 3.0 condition.

There is a collector out there who owns every comic book issue ever published by DC. I've never met him, but I know several people who have. I can't imagine what that must have cost.

Not much, just one life. :wink:

[Herr Mike]

Surely a near mint copy of Dectevive #27 doesn't even exist. I'd have thought even Fine might be asking too much

I found this:

cha-ching (http://comics.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=824&Lot_No=41193)

But yeah, it doesn't say that a 9.2 copy actually exists.

[Herr Mike]

From Newsarama, October of 2007...

PA RETAILER FINDS DETECTIVE COMICS #27

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s the classic story that any comic book fan or shop owner wants to be a part of someday: A person, cleaning out some old stuff in a house finds a comic book. Well, not just any comic book, but a copy of one of the handful of the comic books.

In this case, it was 1939’s Detective Comics #27, featuring the first appearance of Batman. The copy is in good shape, with very minor edge wear, a light dust shadow, and a “Siamese centerfold” - meaning extra paper made it through the press during the printing process. The store/retailer whose hands it ended up in – Todd McDevitt of New Dimension Comics, a Western Pennsylvania chain with five locations around the Pittsburgh area.

“They found it and suspected it had some value, so they took it to another local comic shop where they felt like they were not being treated fairly,” McDevitt said. “Then they called me. They were skeptical at first, but once I spent some time with them and the book they agreed with my appraisal of the book and we made a deal for there.”

In appraising the book, McDevitt graded the issue at Fine to Very Fine. But even that slight distinction between grades has meaning – according to Overstreet Price Guide, there’s a $110,000 price difference between copies in those two conditions. “The real kicker is that it's nice copy, newly discovered and not obviously restored,” McDevitt said. “Most of the copies out there are worked on and many buyers shy away from that. The right guy who has been waiting for just this kind of copy will be thrilled.”

While most retailers would classify this as a “once in a lifetime” event, for McDevitt it’s actually his 3rd in a lifetime event. “Years ago, I made a sweet little old lady very happy when she flopped some old books on my counter and asked ‘are these worth anything to you?’ There was an ultra rare All-American Comics #16 in there and other great Golden Age books. She was shopping for a new car the next day.”

In this instance though, the seller was fairly savvy – as McDevitt said, they’d already tried another comic shop and knew what they were dealing with. There just aren't many "little old ladies" any more, apparently. “They came in armed with a price guide. Even with the little old lady story, I'll never try to steal a deal. My reputation is too important. In fact, they were so happy dealing with me that they are writing a letter to recommend me to another big collection in the wings where they are not sure who to trust.”

McDevitt declined to say how much he paid for the book (“slightly less than my soul”), but confessed that, after 21 years in business, he was ready and waiting for such an opportunity. “I made sure that if this situation ever came up that I would not let it get past me,” McDevitt said. “I paid what I would have paid for any other book like it. It's just that the decimal point moved over a bit…”

So – what about the other half of the “classic story?” What’s McDevitt going to do with the book now that he’s got it?

“I had a chance to sell it four days after I bought it, but I turned it down partially so I could savor it for a while,” the retailer said. “I'm a businessman, but a part of me wants to keep it. But it's for sale right now.”

McDevitt added that despite the possible increase in his selling price in which the process could result, he’s not going to have it graded and slabbed by CGC right away, due to a few concerns. “The extra paper will make that tricky in the case. I suspect they could put it in a magazine holder. I would hate to fold it back in, even though the paper quality would allow it without concern. Besides, I want to read it. I think this Batman guy might catch on!”

But, ultimately, McDevitt will sell it. How does a retailer find a buy for a book like this? As surprising as it may be to some, there are buyers looking for these types of book who literally have the money standing by – although there’s an element of matchmaking involved with the business transaction.

“Word about a find like this gets out very quickly,” McDevitt said. “As I mentioned, I made one phone call and had a buyer the next day, but decided to hold onto it for now. Every dealer has the ‘I know a guy who wants that book’ story. The early enthusiasm for it makes me more confident that I made the right decision, and I suspect after the word spreads that ‘right guy’ will surface. It took a while for me to sell the All-American #16, but once I found the customer who it made a fit with, it sold right away to him.”

And in the end, while the transaction will ultimately put some money into the business, the story of the find is also currency of a sort. “When I'm trading stories with other retailers at the bar at a convention, I don't hear too many like this,” McDevitt said. “Now I’ve got one. But all in all, to say how often a thing like this happens, it’s tough to gauge. Some say that Pennsylvania is a hot bed for these types of finds. I'm always asked what I picked up lately at shows, just because they expect it from here. So now, I guess that I’m looking for my 4th once-in-a-lifetime find.”

[shaxper]

One of my good friends was actually part of that transaction. Really exciting stuff. The truth is that, while rarer these days, Golden Age finds do still happen a lot. They're simply less romanticized because the owners know what the comics are worth these days. My LCS owner made a huge acquisition only last year. I believe he payed something in the neighborhood of $20,000 for a golden age lot including a low grade Batman #1 and Green Lantern #1. There were many other key issues as well, though none as impressive to me.