GoCollect’s Collectible Price Indexes give you the ability to really dive deep into back issue market trends, find groups of comics that are rising or falling, and even look for potential bargains. Looking into the Bronze Age CPI, we’ve found a few comics that may be worth pursuing as you hunt for value in your purchases. Let’s take a look.
Bronze Age CPI
As many collectors are aware, Bronze Age back issues have taken a fairly substantial hit over the past year. Our Bronze Age CPI shows an overall drop in value of 9.76% for the comics included in the index. So, how do you find bargains in a falling market, particularly when many comics continue to drop in price? We took a look at each of the books in the index and discovered a few that dropped significantly but have since stabilized in price. While there are no guarantees that these comics couldn’t see a decline once more, the flattened curve is a sign that prices may have reached their floor. A word of caution, though: flattened curves may also be a sign of lack of sales. That’s why you have to dig deeper into the sales for each grade to determine if the overall trends are taking place on a micro-level.
First up we have X-Men #94, the second appearance of the new X-Men from 1975. Looking at the 7.0 grade, the average price paid over the past four sales has gone from $590.14, its low point on January 28, to $599.51 as of July 21.
That slight 1.6% increase in value during that time period represents the rolling average of the past four sales across 11 total sales, so definitely not a case of lack of sales. Overall, X-Men #94 has seen a scant 0.9% dip in its index value since April 7, and is showing good sales volume across most grades in the index, marking this book as a potential buy opportunity.
At first glance, Detective Comics #411, the first appearance of Talia al Ghul from 1971, would appear to be an excellent buy target, with an index value dropping a mere 0.2% since April 21. However, a closer look reveals that what we are seeing in the flattening of the trend line is actually a lack of sales:
The preponderance of flat lines is the first clue that numbers aren’t moving because books aren’t selling.
This is further revealed when looking at the 1-year, 90-day, and 30-day averages, which reveal a lack of recent sales across most grades 7.5 and above. So, what does this mean? The lack of data points to a wait-and-see approach. Furthermore, the overall low sales volume is not a trend you want to see when considering a comic for purchase as it's often indicative of a lack of demand, which could lead to a further drop in value.
There’s a minuscule decrease of 0.8% in the index for Darkseid’s first cameo appearance in Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #134, the Jack Kirby classic from 1970. In the 8.5 grade, we see a virtually unchanged value from $326.67 on March 10 to $326.70 on July 21, a trend across six sales in our rolling four-sale average.
We’re also seeing higher sales volume across most of the mid to high grades when compared to Detective Comics #411, so we know there is at least some demand for the issue. While not as firm a clincher as X-Men #94, it does point to the potential for this comic to be a buy opportunity.
Shang-Chi’s first appearance in 1973’s Special Marvel Edition #15 has a nice flat index trend line between April 14 and July 21, rising only 0.4% from 7.23 to 7.26 in that time frame. Prices in the 9.2 grade, representing eight sales in our rolling four-sale average, have nearly mirrored the overall index trends, dropping a mere 0.5% from $413.22 to $411.04.
As many are no doubt aware, this book shot up during the COVID boom, reaching heights that were likely way out of line with reality. It’s since plummeted, losing all the value it gained during the boom and more. You can see the five-year CPI trend line here:
The fact that the trend line is now flattening with decent sales volume across nearly every grade included in the index means that the buy opportunity for Special Marvel Edition #15 could be now.
It always pays to dig a little deeper, and GoCollect gives you the tools to do so. Give it a try yourself and see if you can find some Bronze Age bargains. Let us know below what your research reveals.
