As I stated before in a previous blog I had a comic store when the Death of Superman issue came out and was amazed at the speculator market on that book. That was before E-Bay and now we have seen how fast a cycle can come and go with the advent of the information age.
When I checked this morning there were over 1500 listings for Captain America #25. While I saw one completed auction for both covers go as high as $200 ( and he threw in free shipping), I saw today's listings have a few selling for $25 or a little more, but many, many others sit with no bids and I saw one person selling the book for $1 opening bid.
This proves that the 15 minutes of fame idea is down to about 15 seconds or less. With the Superman book there was not a readily available secondary marketing front. This caused people to have to actually go out to stores to try and buy the product. Also it allowed the rumor mill to generate what the price of the book was worth. So when Johnny says he sold it to Bill for $20, the next person says Johnny sold it for $50 and the market takes off. The information chain took a lot longer to build and the story stayed alive about how much that book was worth for a decent amount of time. The information age compresses all of that time frame down to a day or less, add in the ability of the public to care about an artificial event for even a day and you have a very fast speculator market. A market that can be almost measured in hours if not days. If e-bay had a 6 hour or 12 hour auction window option, the smart money would have listed their books in that category.
The amount of people who have ADD is considered very high in the US and while I believe we are now ascribing a normal personality quality a medical diagnosis, it is no wonder we have ADD with the information age. The spotlight turns and focuses on our little corner of the world and just when we start to think the spotlight is really on us it has moved down the street to some new tragedy, political scandal or a natural disaster.
So to all the people trying to make a fast buck on Captain America #25, good luck, to those of you who have paid anything over cover price for the book, shame on you for being so foolish.
Finally an small aside, Lee "thanks?" for posting last night. I know it is tough to try and do someone a favor when you have to stay home and be the housewife for your wife, but there is no need to be mean to others.
It's hard when Lee goes off his meds, but we all try to be kind to him.
I think you're dead on about ADHD gripping this nation. Our culture is teaching us to be the most impatient people on the planet. Gotta have it faster, can't wait a second, need it now, now, NOW! That's why so many people are drowning in debt. They don't budget and scrimp and save for things anymore. Want a new plasma tv but can't afford it? Just put it on your credit card or take out a loan on the equity in your home. Anything to keep from having to wait a few months til you earn the money to buy what you want. This high pressure, I want it all and I want it now society is stressing everyone out. Women are dropping dead from heart attacks and strokes as rapidly as men now. It ain't a rat race no more cuz them rats just tain't fast enough. Gotta get 'em some teeny rat-skates to make 'em quicker. It's nuts. We need to remember that Patience Is A Virtue, Not Something That Will Hurt You.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm gonna ebay civil way #1-7, front line, and CA #25 as a group. That way everyone can get the horror that is Marvel as a collection!
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