Update on June’s Most Valuable 9.8 Newsstand Comics From Copper Age
I published the first ever sales report on the most valuable 9.8 newsstand comics from Copper age in June 2020. (The next one will be towards the end of September). In this article, lets take a look at these comics and see if any of the prices have shifted.
Below is a table showing:
- Issue
- Prices of 9.8 direct editions in June 2020. This is to let you derive the newsstand premium for that book in June 2020
- Prices of 9.8 newsstand editions in June 2020
- Prices of 9.8 newsstand editions in September 2020
- Differences between (3) and (4)
| Issue | Direct Price (Jun 2020) | Newsstand Price (Jun 2020) | Newsstand Price (Sept 2020) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mutants 98 | USD 850 | USD 950 | USD 1,300 | + USD 350 |
| Uncanny X-Men #266 | USD 450 | USD 900 | USD 500 | – USD 400 |
| Hulk #340 | USD 800 | USD 800 | No Sale | NA |
| G.I.Joe #26 | USD 400 | USD 700 | No Sale | NA |
| Spectacular Spider-Man #101 | USD 350 | USD 650 | No Sale | NA |
| Amazing Spider-Man #252 | USD 600 | USD 600 | USD 900 | + USD 300 |
| Marvel Secret Wars #8 | USD 300 | USD 450 | USD 650 | + USD 200 |
| Transformers #79 | USD 150 | USD 450 | No Sale | NA |
| Amazing Spider-Man #306 | USD 100 | USD 400 | No Sale | NA |
| Batman #428 | USD 270 | USD 350 | USD 350 | 0 |
The scarcity of 9.8 newsstand
Out of the 10 comics listed, 50% had no sale and no listings on Ebay. This shows just how hard it is for some issues to have a 9.8 newsstand. In fact, the longer the book is absent, the stronger the pent up demand will be.
This is why you should keep an eye for 9.8 newsstand, especially for issue that has not seen any newsstand premium yet. I highlighted a few here in this article but there are more options out there.
It is interesting to see if any of these will experience a sharp spike in prices when a copy of its 9.8 newsstand shows up
Price Performance
Now, lets look at the price performance of those books that managed to have sales data.
New Mutants #98
Date of Publication: 1991
Sale number: 180k to 220k
Key strengths of this book
1. First appearance of Deadpool
New Mutants 98 saw the biggest increase in price for newsstand editions while prices for direct editions remain the same. This means the newsstand premium has increased for this book over the past 3 months.
In June, there was only a 10-20% newsstand premium. Now, the premium has increased to almost 70% for this book. This shows that even for common books like New Mutants 98, newsstand editions can still hold its newsstand premium.
Uncanny X-Men #266
Date of Publication: 1990
Sale number: 420,000
Key strengths of this book
1. First appearance of Gambit
Uncanny X-Men #266 is the only book that suffered a drop in newsstand prices. The drop was pretty steep i.e. -$400. However, there is a chance that this is due to the sellers not knowing what he or she has.
From July to Sept, there were 3 sales of Uncanny X-Men #266 9.8 newsstand. Below is screenshots of these 3 sales.
The 2 copies that sold for $500+ had no “newsstand” written in the listing. This already tells me that the sellers might not be aware of the newsstand premium and sold their copies for cheap.
The only copy that sold for $900 had the word “newsstand” in the listing. Even with that price, it still sold.
Hence, the $500 average price might be due to mis-pricing by un-knowledgeable sellers, rather than a drop in the newsstand premium for X-Men #266.
As further evidence for this hypothesis, there is current no newsstand copies of this book in 9.8 condition. This means buyers are grabbing any copies that are listed, even if it is priced at $900.
Amazing Spider-Man #252
Date of Publication: 1984
Sale number:
Key strengths of this book
1. First appearance of black costume
In the last update, Amazing Spider-Man #252 had no newsstand premium as both editions were selling at the same price. 3 months later, there is now a newsstand premium being developed for this book.
Direct editions of Amazing Spider-Man #252 9.8 is selling for $750 while newsstand editions are selling for $900. That is a difference of $150 or 20% newsstand premium. It is still not high but might be the start for something significant down the road.
Marvel Secret Wars #8
Date of Publication: 1984
Sale number:
Key strengths of this book
1. Origin of alien symbiote
In the last report, there was a 50% newsstand premium for Marvel Secret Wars #8. A regular 9.8 edition was selling for $300 while a newsstand edition was commanding $450.
3 months later, both direct and newsstand editions have seen an uptick in prices. A direct 9.8 edition is now selling for $450 while a newsstand 9.8 is worth $650. That works outs to be a newsstand premium of around 50%.
In other words, the newsstand premium is still being maintained despite the direct editions increasing in prices.
Conclusion
Overall, the 9.8 newsstand being highlighted in the previous sales report experienced a significant increase in price. Beyond that, some even experienced an increased in newsstand premium.
One other thing to note is how few listings there are for newsstand 9.8. I believe this will be a strong value driver in the future.
Great article as always. Bronze Age is starting to take off. Smart plays in here.
Thanks Mike!