So I laughed when I looked to the right and saw a Google AdSense Text link hawking: “Captain America #25 Here Captain America Dead in Issue #25 History Making Comic Book In Stock” — so I click the link and lo and behold I find they’re selling the Epting cover issue for $54.99, the McGuiness cover for $49.99 and a bundle of both for $99.99.
And then I threw up a little in my mouth.
Are you kidding me? It came out YESTERDAY. What was the cover price? $2.99? I could see it going for 10 bucks, maybe 20. But 55 dollars? Is anyone gonna buy this?
eBay auctions are one thing, idiots will always put things on eBay and other idiots will buy them, but this… this is offensive.
Meanwhile, I’m totally sending my Epting cover to CGC to get slabbed, I think its a 9.8
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The day that Superman #75 came out, my old comic book store was selling it for $25.
The comic book store.
The day it came out.
I’m pretty sure that’s in violation of something.
When retailers do things like this…it makes me feel violated. Like someone came in my room and touched me in the middle of the night.
No, no, no… Not the Dark Ages of comics again…
I see month-old comics bagged and tagged at my comics shop, but I rarely see them for more than twenty bucks. This takes me back, but not to a super-happy time.
I was just thinking today: if I took my Epting-covered copy and put it on eBay with the starting price of a lone, shiny nickel, how much would it be going for by the end of the day? I’m sorely tempted to try it just for the experimental value. Oh, and also the money.
I remember when I was buying Star Wars toys in college. I was at a Wal-Mart, and these two nine-year-old boys come down the aisle and go, “Cool! Stormtrooper!” and just as I was thinking, “It’s so nice to see a new generation of kids getting into this stuff,” one turns to the other and says, “The guy at the comic book shop is paying ten dollars for these!”
Hey now Ron, the cover price is 3.99. So that’s only like… a 250% mark up instead of 333%.
I wasn’t able to find a copy in Boston yesterday, I’m going to try to find one again, you know, to keep, in a box. But I did read a copy that fell off a truck.
I am tempted to sell my McGuiness cover and get one of the reprints in a month, but that feels dirty to me.
After thinking about it some more I remember a couple of months ago in my comic shop the owner got one of the variant covers for Wolverine Origins. The one where he had the Canadian flag instead of the American flag on his face. And he bagged and boarded the copy and put it on the wall behind the register. And he had a price tag of like $95 on it! And it said on a little sign beside it…
“Wizard rates this comic release at a value of over $100.”
I lost some respect that day for the shop.
No f@#$ that! I am not playing into this speculation crap. I don’t even bag and board my comics anymore. I got my copy and I am keeping it.
$25 dollars a copy for Superman $75?? I think you’re right Conor, isn’t price gauging illegal in the USA?? Store owners wouldn’t do that to the public, would they???
Remember the big blackout a few years ago and the deli owners that got in trouble for selling bottles of water for $25?
One is a semi-survial issue, the other is a fool speculating on the future value of a comic book.
I guess if the publicity helps the industry, we should be glad for it. I’m just not sure if any new customers buy in and stick around for longer than the ride to the store to buy a book like Cap #25.
I’m sorely tempted to take advantage of these people wasting their cash on this. But then I have to remember how bad it was for comics, so I won’t participate.
But boy, that’s some easy money right there
Anyone ever see that video where the dudes wrecked the PS3 in front of all the folks waiting in line for one? Funny.
The real shame is that the “variant” is commanding a significant amount more than the “regular.” It was a 50-50 split! One is not rarer than the other! Besides, who want to see a 5-year old hulked out on a cover? What is this? A Power Pack Cap?
50-50 cover split, yet the “variant” is fetching more? Must be on the name “value” of the variant artist.
Wizard has been making a killing off this book. To me this is funny, does no one remember the 90’s? This book will be worth about 25 cents above cover cost inside of a month. What’s the point anyway?
You’re a better man than I, Josh. I just listed my copy on eBay.
If there are people out there dumb enough to buy it, I’ll happily sell it. I got expensive comics to buy each week!
Ahahahahaha
“In order to receive for FREE the ULTRA-RARE
Captain America #25 John Cassaday Variant Cover click here.”
That is what it says on http://wizarduniverse.stores.yahoo.net/cap25.html
Are you kidding???
My reciept for buying mine went for $15 🙂
A third cover! Watch out, eBay!
Good news, readers!
Bad news, speculators!
“There was HUGE overprint, and retailers will have more copies next week, from what I understand.”
– Ed Brubaker on Newsarama.
I hope thats true Conor, both my local stores are sold out and i don’t pick-up my books till tomorrow. The only other thing I’m thinking is that maybe some of the local bookstores will get a few copies in for their comic rack.
I talked to a store manager of a large chain in Chicago this morning and he said that the publisher and distributor were both sold out already. That was about 10 AM CST. My LCS owner told me yesterday that he put in a second order last week just because all Civil War tie-ins have been selling well so I may see more. Really doubt it though. If Diamond has any left they will probably give them to their biggest cutomers, not the mom and pop store here.
Just got my copy today, only because I have a subscription box at my comic shop. Funny how last week, I picked up all the Civil War issues of Cap, just because of the “Brubaker” name. Never thought it’d blow up like this…
Forgot to mention that some of the first copies to sell on Ebay today were bundles of both covers (1 each) that sold for $200.
“Forgot to mention that some of the first copies to sell on Ebay today were bundles of both covers (1 each) that sold for $200.”
Ahaha….suckers!
I don’t feel bad for people that needlessly spend that type of money. To quote Obi-Wan:
Who’s more foolish…the fool or the fool that follows him.
i ilive in a small town in Va and i pick my comics up on saturday, if i go into the store tommorrow do you think that there will be any copies left?
Ugh, this shit makes me sick. When some major character dies, it attracts the people who couldn’t care less about comics and has them taking up the supply for those that do. I feel bad for people who didn’t get their copy yesterday because some moron thinks that an issue that EVERYONE will own will be worth some dough later on.
I was lucky enough to grab the second to last issue at my store, and I didn’t give a care to which cover it was because I knew it was a 50/50 print.
Really, it’s just annoying because the people that are buying these issues for insane amounts of money are only fueling the fire for next time. Like when Marvel kills Iron Man when the movie comes out next year (or something like that…)
i buy it normally, i just don’t have a pull list because if i quit comics and don’t go to the store the next time i do i’ll have to buy all the books i missed and i don’t have the money for that
I’m with Ron with the vomiting in ones mouth…but I do this when I see most variant covers…so what can I say
Josh: to further test the hypothesis that we are in fact married to the same woman, tell your bride about this moral quandary and see how much of a “moral quandary” she thinks it is. All mine heard was “I spent $4 on something people are paying $80 for today. Should I let it sit in our house?” To her, it is a no-brainer, and by extension I have no brain.
heres the direct quote from cbr:
When we spoke with Marvel Wednesday afternoon and asked if the issue was already sold out, a Marvel spokesperson told CBR News that there is a healthy overprint available at Diamond for reorders and Marvel is taking aggressive steps to make sure retailers have the books in hand.
i dont think anyone on this board needs to be reminded that idiots who thought a copy of a book w/a 100,000++ print run would be worth something in ten years are f***ing stupid. how many x-men #1’S are in 50cent boxes & the industry is barly recovering. tell the f***ing leaches to go home & ruin someone else’s hobby instead of ours again 😛
Mrs. Flanagan: “We should go buy more copies of that!”
Hi guys,
I work in a Comic Store (Josh
Leland that was great!!!! that made me laugh harder than i have all day! remember no stupid questions, just stupid people ha!
I haven’t run into anything like this with my current shop in Chicago, but I loved my old shop in Madison.
Back when Origin came out I was just heading to college for the first time, so I wasn’t going to be able to pick it up on release. I talked to them and asked if they’d hold me a copy. Being that they had pull lists (I didn’t get comics often back then. I’d hit the store every month or two and grab what I missed) he made me one for those and a few others that I’d be able to pick back up when I came home.
The first printing went like crazy as did a few of the others. My store was awesome enough to pull all the issues for me, first printing, and sell them to me at cover price months later when I finally got back.
I imagine my store now would so the same as long as I let the owner know I was going to be out for a while, but who knows. I’ve heard of some stores here keeping extra books off shelves just to up the price when the shelved ones sell out. Day of.
Buyer beware. Marvel did a huge overprint of this book. Next week there will be 60,000 copies delivered by Diamond.
Richard
http://1rightopinion-comics.blogspot.com/
So is there any possibility of me still picking this up in a comic shop for reg price?
I’m new to comics but I konw it could be worth something, someday.
Right?…
At my LCS, the pwoplw with Cap on their pulls got it for 10% off cover. The people who just wanted to buy a copy had to pay 10 bucks.
So is there any possibility of me still picking this up in a comic shop for reg price?
I’m new to comics but I konw it could be worth something, someday.
Right?…
If you’re new to comics, I would recommend reading them cuz you like them. It’s worth something right now, because people are willing to pay for it because there’s a demand. In a week, there will be reprints, and we’ll learn that the only people who were willing to pay money for them already did so.
If you’re patient, I guarantee that reprints will be available in large supply before the next issue comes out.
At my LCS, the pwoplw with Cap on their pulls got it for 10% off cover. The people who just wanted to buy a copy had to pay 10 bucks.
That sucks.
Nothing like a vurp.
If your gonna sell them, sell them now because in a month the place will be flooded with them.
Retarded….
Mama always said, stupid is as stupid does.
Actually, as of today, the Epting covers are pretty much getting 0 bids at all:
http://collectibles.listings.ebay.com/Superhero_Captain-America_W0QQfclZ3QQfromZR11QQsacatZ32751QQsocmdZListingItemList
You could have predicted this would happen, because I put mine up for auction last night. (It’s like the way you make it rain by washing your car.) I may take it down; I am satisfied with the experiment. Anyway, this seems to have been more of a 24-hour phenomenon.
Wow, that was a quick bubble.
I figured it would have lasted longer than two days but with Marvel saying that they held back shipments changes things.
It’s, as Marv from Sin CIty would call it, “The Bad Old Days” again.
I got the last one in the store for cover price of course. The hell if i’m selling it on e-bay.
Sure I could make quick cash, but there’s a certain …principle of it for me. Of course I’m not apeing those who do, I’m just talking for me.
I gotta hand it to my LCS, they were doing 1 per customer limits from the moment they opened on Wed. I appreciated that, eventhough Cap is already on my pull list. They were having fun trying to bust people for buying more than one. Went to another shop last night for the hell of it (NOT to buy more Cap issues) and the guys were complaining about all the people who came in looking for Cap 25–I get the problem, but then I had to take a step back–only comic shop people would complain about increased business.
Isn’t it amazing how speculation just sucks the fun out of the story?
Personally, I’m glad it’s kind of tapered off. Hopefully the schmucks that paid premium dollar for it will learn their lesson. Man, to go back to those dark ages again…Ugh!
Just looked on ebay…judging by the 40+ pages of listeing for issues, I’d say there’s no “scarcity in the marketplace” that would drive up prices. This is lame, and I think will be totally forgotten by next Wednesday
Everyon is supposed to get more copies next week. Also first print copies.
A fool and his money are soon parted. Sooner if he doesn’t have to leave the house.
damn – and here I thought I could finally start making some money with my comics?
“A fool and his money are soon parted.”
Was waiting for that line to pop up. And of course it’s from Master Flanigan, quothing pithily. And ain’t it true?
“At my LCS, the pwoplw with Cap on their pulls got it for 10% off cover. The people who just wanted to buy a copy had to pay 10 bucks.”
“That sucks.”
I think it’s cool, here’s why — all that Cap #25 profit a store makes can now got to filling up on other books and stock for all the regular readers, stock they might not order in such big amounts, or keep around, or take a chance on. Basically, the gullible non-fanboys are moo-ing in like a herd to feed the animal that feeds the fanboys, who will be there long after the herd leaves (and it looks like the herd left yesterday…)
Nonfanboy reader buys Cap#25, thinks:
“Wha…..t? I don’t get this…you mean I have to buy all these other books to understand this story? Who are all these characters? I don’t understand what’s going on. Why isn’t this whole “death of Captain America” thing not a story that can be fit in like, 20 pages? I don’t understand…”
(their inner monologue as they chow down at the local fast food joint)
“”Wha…..t? I don’t get this…you mean I have to buy all these other books to understand this story? Who are all these characters? I don’t understand what’s going on. Why isn’t this whole “death of Captain America” thing not a story that can be fit in like, 20 pages? I don’t understand…”
(their inner monologue as they chow down at the local fast food joint)”
Seriously.
What a single issue to just read because people are making a big deal of it. Civil wha?? Registration huh?? Steve who??
Here are a few more reasons to hate Wizard:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZwizarduniverse
This is the link to all eBay auctions for the Wizard Universe. Please Note: Civil War: The Confession ‘Death of Captain America’ CGC 9.8 (Advance Order) So they have the rating before the comic comes out? Does this interfer with the integrity of the rating system? And who is bidding $34.80 for a book retailing $3.99? I hate the comics rating system, so this adds fuel to the fire.
Ha, I was at Borders today and they had both versions of Cap #25 for cover price. Last Thursday I would have bought the lot of them. Sadly…