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Post by KenW on Jul 13, 2018 11:48:48 GMT
Taken from a personal perspective (having 'caught the bug' several years ago now), when I first started collecting foreign comics they were sooooooo cheap .. you could pick-up a bronze age (relatively key) foreign comic for $20-$30. Not so in 2018.
Everything across the board has risen, plus scarcity is becoming a real issue as (no pun intended) issues are being bought in bulk and depleting the market. If you think foreign comics are expensive now .. you're right .. and as time moves on .. it's going to get even harder to find the ones you're looking for at anything like a reasonable price (if at all, because of market depletion).
The way I see it now, is that buyers are only going to 'get lucky' on finding a book they've been searching for at an attractive price, because inexperienced sellers do not know what they are selling (that may change as sellers get more savvy to what they actually have in their collections).
Interesting times.
What are your thoughts?
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Post by Jesse on Jul 13, 2018 14:13:44 GMT
While I can see Ken's point on key comics (both major and minor keys), I come into this hobby with a different perspective. I've always bought what I like, and most of the time those are not keys. In fact, many times the ones I like are found in the cheap boxes. Mind you, I have also paid more money for a single comic than I had paid for most of my cars, but I REALLY liked those comics!!! LOL!! Foreigns are no different. I'm buying what I like. And quite honestly, when I look at what is happening in the US market right now, I usually feel like I'm getting a deal with buying foreigns. When I see variants, most of which I don't care for, selling regularly for $10-$20 and more, I feel that spending $7 - $15 on a foreign that I like is a bargain!!! I had hung out on the fringes of collecting foreigns for a few years before I chased my first set. My real first taste was buying 2 Argentine Rambos. A friend of mine, who introduced me to foreigns and is a member here, got them signed for my by David Morrell (the author of First Blood). They are still very prized in my collection. But my recent chase for Red Sonja #1 (1977) editions is what hooked me in this niche. Dealing with sellers in Spain, Turkey and the UK has really been a treat!!! As to the future of the international comic book collecting hobby, I only see it growing. I believe the current craze over variants is going to help this niche in the long run. There are people who like collecting all the covers of a certain comic. Or maybe they chase all the covers by a certain artist. Whatever the motivation, those same collecting habits can be applied to foreign editions. Plus, you never really know what you will get. Yes, you might get a general idea after a few years, but with certain publishers, you don't really know all the stories that might come in an issue. There currently is no database of foreign comics that you can go to and look up a certain issue and get all the info on it. Yes, there ARE certain publishers and key comics that you CAN find that info for, but the vast majority are not cataloged. That makes the hunt exciting for me!!! I am not bilingual. I took a year of Spanish in high school and just barely passed!!! (I think the teacher took pity on me and passed me for my effort.) It was the only school subject that I was truly miserable at!!! But THANK GOD for Google translate!!! I can now translate words into any number of languages!!! LOL!! In short, collecting foreign comics has reignited my love of collecting comics again. I can chase my favorite issues all around the globe!! There is SUCH a variety out there, that I get frustrated when people call them reprints. These are NOT reprints, they are editions!! Look up the definitions if you don't understand that distinction. It's a small, but important, distinction. Plus, I enjoy finding covers, issues and characters, that you do not see here. It seems each country has their own unique characters and some of them (like Cat Claw from Serbia) I find to be quite interesting!! If you are thinking of getting into this niche, just try it once. Pick a favorite comic and start searching!! Reach out to other people. Use the computer to explore. I started a section on foreign markets and contacts. Let people that collect foreigns know what you are looking for. Join a facebook group, Foreign Comic Book Collectors is where most everybody here hangs out, and ask around. Heck, join our community here and create a post!!! This market is more about networking than regular comic book collecting is!! Most importantly, have fun!!!
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JF
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Post by JF on Jul 15, 2018 20:38:17 GMT
I started partial in 2013 before turning 95% foreigns buy in 2017.I can tell you that creating a Facebook account to help and get help from new people's from around the world help me increasing my finds by at least 50%.
That being said I also saw a increase in the last 2 years of pricing of keys and semi keys.More buyers/collectors,more knowledgeable sellers makes are part of the explanation.
Scarcity as Ken noticed is the main thing.The keys are so hard to get,for example ASM129 Cinco from Colombia,that all the wait and effort to get one will mAke a buyer keep it like forever or if the guy having one decided to sell it will be for a crazy price.
Foreigns vs USA are so different.Hey If I want a Hawkman 4 1st Zatanna well I go on eBay and buy one,low to.mid grade....if I want a higher grade 7.0 to 8.5 I pay more and wait...if I want a 9.8 well that will probably never happen.To compare my point let's say I want the Novaro Cuentos Misterio 58,that's the Hawkman 4 mexican,well going on eBay won't help,waiting for one to pop up on eBay will drive you nuts,asking every mexico collector if they have one available drives you nuts too and response is either that's too rare or yes but not for sale even at a crazy price...so in this case you can't even own that book in mexican version,you know it exist but even crazy money won't be able to bring this comic home(luckely I have one with tape on the spine but who cares,I have one!!!!).So I'd say in 5 years market might be even crazier on pricing of keys,hey for the 1968 Norway comics like asm1 hulk 1,the Norwegian collectors over there are already paying big bucks for those so imagine the price a gringo like me needs to put to bring one home to Canada.
I'll probably never own a South Africa BA 12 and it makese sad lolll,I'd pay a crazy price but none is available so my foreign ba12 set will probably be incomplete but that's the life of a foreign collectors,patience faith and luck might not even be enough to land a book like that,just imagine that in 5 years one pops up and we are 5 collectors wanting it badly,imagine the sale price!!!probably more than a ba12 usa high grade who knows...
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