What Do Comic Dealers Think Of PSA, DOOM & The Current Comic Market? SDCC 2024 Comic Con Discussion

[@Ken-g1x4t]

Seeing all those wall books.. makes me realize how common they are, and how inflated the market really is

[@DanSchawbel]

I follow census growth and it continues to climb because so many raws exist.

[@jamesshiflette5629]

Also need to in account all the crack/press re-submits that go on

[@dukecaesar8031]

Yes, the downward pressure will continue on most silver and bronze keys. The covid crowd never made it to the rare variant game but that has shown the ability to hold up in the short term. Compare a Siege 3 Campbell variant to New Mutants 98.

[@jonr269]

this is why i find smaller/middle cons more enjoyable than those big cons like heros or SDCC. You can still find what your looking for and get them at a real price and not marked up 100% like you would at the bigger cons. These big cons are vendors who are just wanting to show off and if a sucker is dumb enough to buy it then they will sell it. While the mid to smaller cons are vendors who are actually trying to sell books to make money and thus selling them at the correct price while willing to make a deal even if it means they sell it less than GPA value. Case in point i just went to a mid level con this weekend where i picked up some key books at or below GPA value as they vendors wanted to make money. So i was able to pick up a mid level cgc graded Hulk #4 and a Avengers 8 book and a few other keys as well. Over what it would have cost me had i gone to one of those big cons.

[@davidsamuelson2089]

Small cons don’t have big keys and if they do they’re nutty high. Hulk 4 is not even a minor book. Avengers 8? C’mon …

[@txmoney]

The majority of the comic book collector market is just one big circle-jerk. Retailers, speculators, and flippers doing most of the buying and keeping the same books in rotation.

[@808v1]

Just buy for the art and the stories, I'm happy the cons are more than just a bunch of dudes with high-school lunch tables and endless rows of loing boxes (or am I?) yeah I am, but man the hype and the herd kinda priced me out of even bronze age collecting which was pretty cheap 10+ yrs ago.

[@DocReasonable]

All the dealers sure have a lot of books on the wall at the end of the con.

[@brute_nm]

Always great to hear a variety of opinions. Thanks for putting this together!

[@ComicBookInvestments]

great video Swags, love seeing all the different dealers perspective on this. The one thing I'll add is that all these perspectives are coming from dealers, like myself. So I'm really curious what a collector thinks once they start shipping them out. Because a dealer is only one side of the coin

[@teetoo3790]

Don't underestimate PSA as their brand is way bigger than CGC.

[@Kevin-fn1rn]

CGC has been grading books since the start

[@davecironelibrarykid]

LOVE this interview series! Really invaluable POVs from the boots-on-the-ground comic collecting business pros.

[@jesselynch1928]

I love when u do these type of videos. Also when prompted to applaud you by one of the dealers, I did. Jess

[@chiefmegadeth]

Brad with FVF comics. One of his coworkers helped me and introduced me to Graded Comics. As I said, it was my first time buying graded comics. He took me to a few other stalls. to show me around. I didn't buy from FVF comics but I did get 2 from a stall he recommended. I got super excited when I saw CGC Spawn number one 9.8 and bought it before I spoke to the guy who helped me. Wish I could remember his name? then I bought 2 others to start my Graded comics hobby! I came from Australia and this was my first San Diego Comicon ever! It was truly Amazing!!!! I have been collecting comics since I was a kid, moved on to Graphic Novels, Absolutes and Omnibuses. Now I've had a taste for Graded Comics. A new edition to my collecting has begun :)

[@kevinfay9277]

Hey bro!! It was great meeting you!! I'm always here to help and I'm glad you had such a great time!! Hope to see you again! - Kevin "FayzOneComics"

[@chiefmegadeth]

@@kevinfay9277 Do you have an online store? Thanks again!

[@kingreddmartinez]

👑I Saw The Whole Video ,Awesome Convos ,Opinions , & Content.I Appreciate The Information and the effort

[@Adamantium-23]

Very Informative. Thanks for making the vid. Your dealers dropped the science on the grading question. Wise words

[@SZLComics]

I don't collect to sell, just the stories and cover I love. But still appreciate your content!

[@jessepearson557]

Great video and interviews, love it - keep it up! 😁👍

[@BionicThiago123]

These are the best videos! The dealers are not afraid to tell like it is.

[@bestcore1214]

It's interesting to hear the polar opposite views about the head grader at psa. It will be interesting to see how things play out!

[@zacjolly7495]

I was thinking the same thing watching this video. Then I watched Dave from Comic Book Investments channel and find out it’s his dad that is the head grader.

[@MusseAmble]

For a long time, as the price of Chanel increased, I no longer thought I could afford it. I think I'll be happy that I have the kislux as my travel bag that I don't have to take care of. By the way, I'm sure no one will have a hard time telling the difference. Thanks for the comparison.

[@Mr.Digit115]

thanks for your effort swag, already said here a bunch i know, but these are some of my favorite videos you do,.. .i would suggest after ending w each dealer interviewed, you might give his wall books the once over you know,.....

[@CosmicTrekker]

Awesome video. These videos are the highlight of my year. Yes, I have no life, and I'm ok with that. Seriously, this is the kind of content missing elsewhere. I love how "Mr. Bedrock"/Richard just says whatever is on his mind. lol. But then you know he doesn't give a flip when he's wearing an Astros cap in California.

[@tjroo2924]

Terrific insights. Great video. Thanks

[@davidsamuelson2089]

I can go to my local dealer if I want to get gaslighted & blatantly overcharged. No need for a Con.

[@DocReasonable]

'Con' is a good word for them.

[@Kid-Comics]

I agree with Reece and his views on PSA joining into the Comic Book game. I do believe they need to work a little bit more on how the label pops, as for me and when I collect graded comics, I want the labels to pop and have an easy way of showing the grades of the book. Mostly the reason why I collect CGC books, besides it being very popular.

[@sbentsen2714]

I'm wondering if the upswing in popularity in silver age books is because a lot of Golden age books are becoming unobtainable in terms of price or buy-in, not sure. Pretty interesting though to look at 🤔🧐👍🏼

[@lukeyznaga7627]

how many times do you look into the comic book bins and even with seeing some collectible nice comics, there are at least two duplicates or more of the comic book you want?

[@timothybrandt6911]

Great video! Love seeing feedback from the dealers at different cons throughout the year.

[@VolkswagenGamer]

Brad's passion for comics is palpable. Appreciate the interviews!

[@CollectingLlama]

Interesting to see the spectrum of opinions amongst the dealers.

[@treasuryedition8264]

Thanks for this! Really great to hear this range of perspectives from dealers.

[@BoopDoopPoop]

A real time version of the Overstreet "dealers notes.". I love it ❤❤❤

[@jdc4483]

The advantage CGC has over PSA is that it was first in comics grading. Remember that CGC only has credibility, because they have credibility from the market. They have no special sauce. BUT that Zeitgeist credibility is what collectors want.

[@sbentsen2714]

Yup. It's really about confidence that the public has in the brand.

[@Augrills]

CGC was known for their harsh grading scale where nothing broke 9.8. And to compete with PSA entering the market, they threw that out the window already because everyone is going to want perfect 10s. All grading companies are scams at the end of the day. All it does is invite investors who don’t really care about the items they’re dealing with, just arbitrary numbers

[@josephbarbera9220]

I enjoyed hearing the inputs from these long time comic dealers concerning current comic sales and what they felt about PSA grading company entering the comic market. I would like personally for a grading company to have better turnaround (not having your books sit there for months) and multiple locations if possible. I am extremely nervous sending my books from NJ to Florida. The cost of grading will also be a factor.

[@Scott.B.Chapin]

Another great con video!

[@tensixtythreecomics]

Great video! Love to hear their thoughts. Did you do a separate video at psa booth?

[@drprocess2989]

Neko with Blue Chip is the man. Great dealer!

[@sidneyrivera3578]

I cannot believe that PSA didn’t consider the weight, size, and visual clarity of the label to how it affects the people selling the product (dealers).

[@tensixtythreecomics]

I want to know if psa will take their own path with notes. Will they adjust outdated notes like hulk 181 as first Wolverine. All these dealers will go where the money is. I don’t know anything about cards. They have to appeal to comic customers

[@leveragecomics5067]

I’ll trade you all my equivalent hulk 180’s grades for your hulk 181’s?

[@michaelstone446]

Brilliant video, Swag. Thank you. Relax, relax 😆😆😆

[@luke-space]

Why do I feel that the head guy at PSA may have taken Richards pocket money as a kid. That felt pretty deep rooted content

[@comicsandculture]

😂😂😂

[@FlipNPageZ]

Agree, lots of deep rooted pain that’s gone unresolved.

[@luke-space]

@@FlipNPageZMikey needs to organise a KZbin Comic Dealer Fight!! #GoFundMeCDFO (Comic Dealer Fight Off)

[@comicswatching4851]

The excellent and consistent volume and audio mastering in this video is highly appreciated

[@iceman2796]

I enjoyed the comments about PSA. I think their cases look terrible. I haven't collected cards in decades. I know PSA is beyond slow and overwhelmed with their card grading. I don't see their comic business doing any better. I'm not big on graded books anyway. I usually only do mega key grails graded.

[@mitchmehdy1865]

Great stuff and you ask the right questions! Keep it up

[@raulmendieta9696]

Hey PSA!? Let collectors choose their case. Maybe have a 2 tier system. Key issues go into heavy premium cases and regular comics go into less heavy cases. 👍

[@MarcSpectorComics]

Trust me they are listening to the critiques the question will be what will they do with the information

[@jimmyg41]

Cool, I was wondering when this would come out. I ran into you after your interview with Neko. Cool to see you out there.

[@TokiMadeira]

kislux versace bag is so cute

[@PaulDavidCooper]

One dealer said the heavy PSA slabs would crash his rack. PSA head grader was pushing the PSA vault as option; if that is the case, it *might* become less important how heavy the slabs are. A prized comic could change owners multiple times without it ever leaving the vault.

[@davecampbell3547]

Who's the Head Grader and what's the drama with them?

[@johnburch8744]

I think it might be Dave’s dad from Comicbook Investments” YT channel. He did a video introducing his dad and his new role at PSA

[@Leshil]

Mark Wilson

[@richardolney1822]

@@johnburch8744 Yeah Dave's father who has the biggest arms on planet Earth haha, dude has to have 30 inch arms.

[@davecampbell3547]

Why the trash talk though?

[@Leshil]

@@davecampbell3547 Just do some searching on the internet and you'll come across some things.

[@DemzWon1]

Why did u censor when they say hobby

[@verified893]

Didnt think Brad would piece out his collection. The market will shake up once those books come out.

[@ajguez]

That’s what I’m talking about! Great video! Every year these dealer interviews are fire!!

[@comicbookboy1989]

Watching Vincent (Metropolis) by muting the entire interview, watch his body language. He is the reason CGC 9.9s are coming out of nowhere. The guys just feels scammy to me.

[@StarTrooper]

I'd love to see the new cases for PSA be smaller. CGC/CBCS cases are so hard to store. I can't collect them anymore they take up too much space.

[@DocReasonable]

There's no telling how many CGC books are compromised. Looking forward to PSA.

[@CFCMahomet]

PSA is entering the grading market at what seems like the time that there is a shift back towards raw books.

[@winterpurple4587]

PSA don't have to "wait" for the market to accept them to gain momentum right away. They can start slabbing and buying their own high value books off the shelf. They have the financial resources to bankroll that. And just like that there will be recorded "sales" of very high value books in PSA slabs. That's basically what the people behind NFT's did. The guy selling an NFT for a million was the same guy who bought it for a million. But on "paper" it was a different guy. And just like that the craze began. It only didn't last because it's not physical. People tired of it after a couple of years. But PSA won't have the same problem with comics.

[@davidsamuelson2089]

Idiots are going to be separated from their money no matter what. Unregulated markets get scammers. You lose your money in worthless NFTs it’s your fault.

[@Augrills]

Scammers going to scam

[@ronaldbourgeois1255]

What are the psa slabs like for golden age comics.

[@DanSchawbel]

Golden age comics aren’t safe either. A ton of raws exist with boomers who will eventually get them graded. Even a new Tec 31 was just added to census this past week.

[@dukecaesar8031]

I attended a pulp convention this week which was a lot of fun. Loads of cool material even older than the superhero content. But yeah, multiple copies of even this stuff in the same room. That said if "investors" taught themselves the concept of value investing, they might find some opportunity in these more niche spaces.

[@davidsamuelson2089]

If you want to invest, get a mutual fund. Guaranteed money. If you want to gamble, throw it at the unregulated market that is comics.

[@J_Eusebio]

@@davidsamuelson2089Golden Age books are probably more of a solid buy

[@matrix_comix]

GA books are catnip for old white dudes. Wouldn’t be surprised if they are buried with them.

[@Mr.Digit115]

@@davidsamuelson2089 nuf said.

[@johnphipps3287]

It's good to hear books are selling.

[@teamstrike1st]

Psa making a dent on cgc comic grading is like saying cgc will make a dent in psa card grading. I dont think so

[@B-T619]

Loving these dealer interviews. Only thing missing is Christian, I always his interviews.

[@pingadol1555]

PSA label looks like my Hanes underwear from the 70's.

[@reggiecolby542]

That you still wear???😅

[@pingadol1555]

@@reggiecolby542 Yes with bacon strip stains.

[@reggiecolby542]

@@pingadol1555 hahaha!

[@johnburch8744]

Man, does anyone know who that “head grader” is that that guy was talking about? I do know that Dave from “Comicbook Investments” YT channel, his dad is the new head at PSA. But not %100 sure if he’s the same guy. If he is…YIKES!

[@dzetwo1]

That is the same guy. , but with the good feed back they are getting I hope they make the changes

[@thecomickeeper5127]

It is Dave's dad . Damn, sounds like he's not very well liked . Must investigate further . .

[@shawnarain8605]

Yeah i wonder 😮 whats going on????​@@thecomickeeper5127

[@LUMBEEPHENOM2012]

Why is he not well liked?

[@mrtorrance1263]

18:53

[@J_Eusebio]

Swag, you interview very well! Got a NM 98, ASM 300, and a ASM 238 MJ insert w/tattoozz, where would you send them, CGC CBCS or PSA, I am in Dallas so CBCS is close.

[@drprocess2989]

Really depends on goal and the anticipated grade. If goal is to maximize investment, CGC will get the best return - at present time. If grades are low, I wouldn’t even bother to grade them. If goal is to encapsulate simply to protect your collection, doesn’t matter. Maybe the most affordable.

[@poing333]

What Dr said is mostly true but actually CBCS has the safest cases atm...they're at least UV protected. But PSA will absolutely have safer slabs Q1 2025, so it depends if you wanna wait. Personally, I'm a huge fan of CraftiComics flex slabs (home encapsulation) as a preservation & display option.

[@prettyflyforafilipin]

Time to get those DC keys 🔑

[@FlipNPageZ]

Who was it that was wanting to purchase both Batman #1 ?

[@joshuawyatt4381]

"Swags, let me start by saying that Comic Dealers, like used car-dealers, only get to this level by having superhuman levels of honesty and integrity. So while the PSA slab may have features that make it less prone to tampering, book-swapping, shaken-slab syndrome, or Newton Rings...we can all agree that the CGC label still looks better. And though last year I said "buy the book, not the grade", what I meant to say is "buy the label and pray that the inner well is not warped this time." And this has absolutely nothing to do with the wall full of CGC slabs behind me, because I am the embodiment of integrity."

[@poing333]

I'm still laughing about this a week later😂 tyvm 😂

[@janicearroyo-wright8529]

Dealers don't decide which holders or grading companies will gain a foot hold...buyers decide.

[@matrix_comix]

No see, the sad importance of these sleaze balls outweighs what the actual customer wants

[@drprocess2989]

My friend, I wish this were true. Unfortunately, much of this is actually decided by the auction companies.

[@goldschool9050]

CGC knows their customers are suckers

[@Leshil]

Curious to see what happens if unemployment keeps going up with comics.

[@janicearroyo-wright8529]

Unemployment is super low at 4.3% but inflation, and housing costs are super high. I'm lucky I bought my house in 2016.

[@Leshil]

@@janicearroyo-wright8529 Low historically, but the jump from 3.8 to 4.3 while seemingly small tripped the 0.5% signal for a recession. Google it and you'll see what I am talking about. Bound to happen sooner or later. If I am broke, I'll just stare at everyone elses sweet collections. lol

[@comicbookfanboy19]

I’m more interested to see what happens if the tax cut provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires in 2025.

[@teetoo3790]

Shout out to Golden Age Guru. Really nice guy. 👍

[@reggiecolby542]

Yea he rocks

[@leveragecomics5067]

You see that the new CGC cases have been damaging the comic spines?

[@ricknestor8930]

i've had troubles with the new PSA grader Mark Wilson . so , thereby they're put for me .

[@LUMBEEPHENOM2012]

What happened

[@reggiecolby542]

Gave his shoty card a bad grade?

[@reggiejenkins6458]

What was the issue?

[@michaelblatherwick5324]

Bro boy at 30 minutes in talking about his stash of Hulk181… Imagine multiplying this by the number of top 25% of all dealers. Prices are a bubble.

[@davidsamuelson2089]

You cannot “safely” park your money on a comic. It’s not an investment, it’s gambling. You must understand this basic concept.

[@teamstrike1st]

But every major key like xmen 1, hulk 181 etc are worth more now even with the dip in the market than let's say 2012. So would still say you can park on good books. I got my spawn 1 cgc ss McFarlane 4 years ago, I can sale today at about a 30% profit on ebay easily. And the movie isn't out yet

[@matrix_comix]

Gawd the slime fest continues with EVERYONE in this video. I had to skip straight over Vincent as I just ate breakfast and needed to keep it down.

[@erikwarfield5411]

😂😂😂 well said!

[@Future-Classic-Cars]

I live in the UK and we have CGC here in London, which is convenient for me, what nobody has thought about- is how tf do you submit a comic book to PSA if you live outside of America. Cos' guesd what! There is comics outside of the USA!

[@CosmicTrekker]

CGC basically has 2 locations : US and UK. PSA has about 7 locations globally : 3 in the US as well as a location in Hong Kong, Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo. People submit to CGC in the US even if they don't have a location in their city. I'm sure you'll be able to mail your book somewhere just like most everyone else does with CGC.

[@Future-Classic-Cars]

@@CosmicTrekker I appreciate what you're saying there yes well makes sense if there a hub of some sort to send out still- that's okay! Then.

[@poing333]

When you speak without thinking 😂

[@Future-Classic-Cars]

@@poing333 When you pick somone else up on something with wrong- judgment- shows you are not somone to displace immature illiterate responses to others.

[@maxgottfried]

So is PSA in competition with CGC??

[@eddinsssx2667]

Been hearing multiple people saying bad things about the head PSA grader.

[@leveragecomics5067]

What else are you hearing?

[@RedPilledRants]

So which comic grading service do comic dealers prefer?

[@J_Eusebio]

15 Hulk 181’s! I want one ☝️

[@xellosmetallium8519]

Interesting, thanks

[@Hectekk]

As a consumer why would I care about a dealer's complaints about slab weight and shipping charges? I would rather have a quality made slab. My opinion.

[@davidsamuelson2089]

Isn’t almost every book worth grading already in a CGC case?

[@tonyspare2468]

Bob sounds like the kind of guy that sends you a book in a priority box, it cracks, then you get "bad Bob".

[@drprocess2989]

Haha I’ve never done business with the guy. But, had the same feeling. Not sure “bad Bob” would go out of his way to resolve a dispute amicably.

[@teetoo3790]

The goal of these cons is to get your characters optioned for a movie or TV show. It's not about comic book collecting like it was.😢

[@jeffkeller9009]

Keep the grade smaller, buy the book, not the grade. Preferred the really old CGC grading label with small grade size.

[@miguelh4750]

Guru getting out of some H181's, now is the time to move them !

[@JC-dg6vo]

gimme gimme gimme...I want to buy.

[@anthonypidone4453]

Did you pick up any big keys at SDCC?

[@RareManga]

How can you have so many 181 and not watch deadpool wolverine?

[@matrix_comix]

You’re thinking he actually cares about comics

[@reggiecolby542]

Had him.since he was a kid

[@CaptCanuckles]

Off topic, but why are your shipping fees among the highest on eBay?

[@A_Heathen]

Guru said more customers last year without actually saying more customers

[@erikwarfield5411]

Arrrgh!!! 🤬 I wish this video would have existed years ago! "Brad" from FVF...the amount of times I had that SOB in my shop kissing my ass and talking himself up as a "big time collector", nickel and diming me like he was in some kind Third World street market, only to see him on here selling books at SDCC! Christ, I'm glad I live in the German countryside now. 😂

[@pauly237]

Sad but understandable that it's now mandatory for big keys to be slabbed.

[@Supertomscustoms]

The last thing we need is sport cards collectors coming into the comic hobby. They’ll chase the dumbest, shiny, manufactured rare garbage. If too many of them cross over we’ll have comics printed on 1/4” card stock with 1/1 purple foil logos.

[@kurtboesen5173]

LMAO 😂😂😂

[@nas7815]

That’s already in the comic industry.

[@shawnmichaud4484]

.....you're describing comic collecting exactly lol. Chasing variant covers, books based on movie character announcements, etc...

[@Supertomscustoms]

@@shawnmichaud4484 very true, but it's 10x worse for card collectors. They'll gamble on a $500 box holding a single random card in hopes of getting a swatch of some guy's jock strap that will only be in the league for 3 years max.

[@darthrooster1]

That’s what Whatnot is for. It’s their landing zone.

[@OzComiX]

Did I hear right? The president of comic grading for PSA owns a comic book business and now it’s run by his kids? Does it smell fishy to anybody else? It’s like WATA and heritage all over again.

[@michaelstarr1285]

Comics aren't worth half the price they are asking.

[@thomaspalmer6453]

Show prices are always higher, but if you have hard cash, you can get deals.

[@jabezcreed]

First

[@dandelatorre1870]

Reese’s Comics was the most unfriendly comic vendor, not impressed.

[@matrix_comix]

An unfriendly dealer? Too bad you didn’t put a camera in front of him to help push his product. He probably would have been nicer.

[@dandelatorre1870]

@@matrix_comix yes, I bought a lot from him too and afterwards started to talk to him who basically brushed me off.

[@Fin-gj2th]

Dude is talking sht about Dave from Comic Book Investment's dad running PSA, lol, haters gonna hate

[@shawngoodwin4781]

Seems like maybe PSA is DOOMed

[@reggiecolby542]

They still make more money than prob all 3 other comic grading companies together lol the run the best grading company for the biggest collectible items and industry lol and have been for years and years

[@Max-million]

PSA has no chance, way too many CGC collectors and CGC slabs out there already, no way people who already have substantial collections will mix in. I’m sure CGC will answer back with more “value.”

[@DanSchawbel]

Bingo

[@Max-million]

@@DanSchawbel ✅