What is the most valuable comic at DCM, (if it was in mint condition?)

[bminor]

I don't have the foggiest idea which one it would be...
I was also wondering what the value would be of the entire DCM library?
An interesting thought to ponder.
What about the most valuable series, Captain Marvel, Phantom Lady, etc.

Any ideas on this???

I am always coming up with these ideas in my head!!!

B

[Yoc]

Hmm.  Good question.  No idea.
Whiz Comics #2?  Colossus Comics #1?  Phantom Lady #17?

[OtherEric]

I think Whiz #2 is the pretty clear winner. 

[srca1941]

I think the more difficult question is what whould be the least valuable in mint?

-Eric

[bminor]

I have never heard of Colossus Comics. What is the significance. A quick google search came up with nill.

B.

[John C]

I think the more difficult question is what whould be the least valuable in mint?

This, I'll chime in on:  Probably Captain Inapak, the extremely rare comic that, oh, no, wait, here's an enormous warehouse full of the dang things.

Actually, I have a far more difficult question:  Does anybody have any information as to whether sites like DCM, GAC, and the other sharing sites have altered the market for older comics?  I'm curious if readers are now more likely to buy the physical artifact now that anybody can read the comic itself, the bottom has fallen out because we're all bottom-feeders, or people who read comics were never a significant part of the market.

[bminor]

Funny that you should bring this up!
There is one and only one comic shop in our area. I stop by it about twice a year, just to see what is going on in the new comic scene. All the new comics are way to expensive and to my views don't hold a candle to the stuff we read growing up.
Well, I am talking to the guy who works at the comic shop, I've seen him working there for years now.
I bring up the topic of GAC and DCM to him, and he tells me this story.
He came into the shop a few weeks back and says to the other people who run the shop this, " I have seen the future and this is it." He plops down a DVD containing several thousand comics on it.
Nuff said!

John C. I think you have hit the nail on the head. Why buy expensive old comics when you can get all these old scans for nothing? Why by the cow when you can get the milk for free?
I remember when Marvel used to sell a DVD's of the various series, Spidey, FF, etc. Well, why sell issues like that, buy once, enjoy forever, when a better business plan is obvious in this new age.
Sell subscriptions to these old books that you can access, but not own!

B.

[Yoc]

We're OT now but it's a fun topic.

I'm seeing this as two camps.  One camp are long time buyers who collect the physical book and might perhaps download the scans for reading if they are buying their books inside those lame coffins but they prize the physical book more than anything.  The other camp are those that perhaps never bought an issue of something but know the artist and want to see more and are more likely to download the free scans.  Starting a new collection from scratch isn't for the faint of heart and scan sites provide a great service keeping these books alive for everyone with an interest regardless of their wealth.

Hey B, when that dvd was slapped down - was it met with dread?  Given sites like us and DC, etc going same day digital sales owning a comic shop doesn't sound like a good idea does it?  If it ever did for that matter.  The ones near me are pushing toys, Japanese videos and graphic novels and the comics are being shoved into a back corner.

New question since we are talking money values - I wonder what the cash value of the Entire DCM scan collection would be if they were physical books?  Now that would be a BIG number I think!

[bminor]

Actually Yoc that was the next question that I was going to ask. What exactly would be the value of all the book on DCM!

As far as the DVD being slapped down on the counter, he did not seem to be very pleased.

But you are right, all the comic shops these days are big into cards, toys, anime, ours even has a regular role playing gamers playing at a dedicated spot in the shop every week!

B.

[Geo (RIP)]

And most local Comic Shops don't even have any Golden Age books either, (or any Silver Age books for that matter), anyway the one near me don't.
We use to have one that did but they folded years ago now.

Geo

[Yoc]

The only way to compete with digital is to make the physical product something truly extra special that just a scan can't replace or go the print on demand route. 
Sounds like all comic shops have seen the writing on the wall and diversified as much as they can.  I can't say I blame them.  Stocking back issues is certainly dwindling too.  I guess eBay, scans, etc have taken over from the shops.

[OtherEric]

I feel confident saying my scanning and sharing of Peter Wheat has increased demand for Peter Wheat books; I know I've been in MUCH tougher bidding wars recently than when I started.

But that may well be an outlier.

[John C]

That's actually a good point, Eric.  There are technically now two markets for the books we're interested in, based on whether they've been scanned.

B, you bring up what's probably going to be the big problem of the next few years:  Why don't I own anything I buy?  With the law (particularly the "anti-circumvention" clauses of the DMCA) on one side and technology ("the cloud") on the other, we're quickly moving into a space where "buy" means "you can have access as long as your keep up your subscription, too, we don't see any reason to deny you access, and your Internet connection is up."

Amazon already went down that road when they deleted an illegally-published edition of "Animal Farm" from all the Kindles.  Don't know if the "owners" were reimbursed, but even if they were, I don't like the idea that the terms of sale aren't final.

[narfstar]

I buy books particularly to scan. Books that I would not have been interested in in the past. Books that I would have gone after I ignore if they are already scanned or on the JVJ list. So it does work both ways.

[srca1941]

Me too, in a way at least. What is available for purchase, and the price always are factors, but public domain status makes a difference too. A PD book will almost always beat out a non-PD book simply because I can share it. The last bunch of GA books I bought were Hopalong Cassidy #66-67, Love Problems and Advice Illustrated #15, Super Duck #42, and Young Romance #49. I bought them in a store, and all were five dollars or less. However, a few years ago, I'd have probably passed all or most of them up, opting for some of the Atlas books they had, Captain Marvel Adventures #83, or a 1950s Superboy or Adventure Comics issue. I knew I couldn't share the Atlas or DC books, and CMA was already scanned, so I went for the low hanging fruit. (Although I may still go back for Cap just because I want it.)

I don't think any of the books I bought have been scanned, so I can't wait to do that. I started scanning Hopalong Cassidy #66 a week and a half ago, but right after I did, my computer crashed. I didn't have time to upload it, or for Carbonite to back it up, but I have a new hard drive coming today. Hopefully I can get my computer set up again soon to either rescan it, or recover it from the old drive.

-Eric