What we have coming up is a perfect complement to our pre-existing price guides. Because where the video games, the music performances, and even the comic books would end - the magazines would open up and extrapolate. That statement doesn’t get any more literal than the case of Nintendo Power Magazine, which was the talk of the town after recently surpassing the 6-figure mark for a near-perfect copy of the inaugural issue.
But the American magazine is so much more than just a footnote. Long before a world of computers and instant access, a magazine article would breathe life into an event or a world that you could never have access to otherwise, and in fantastic length and detail. It’s a handheld realm where historic moments, people, and subjects are documented, scrutinized, and well-preserved in the fashion of their time.
A now nearly obsolete medium that printed some of the first words of legendary writers, authors, and visionaries. You wanna talk first appearances? Or how about who’s on the cover? And yeah, It was also where you went to find out what was on television that night.
Truth is, there is no concrete definition of what a magazine really is.
Not even size ultimately matters in the discussion. That’s why we’re leaving this price guide completely open for growth and expansion, and we’re starting off with some fresh basic vice: Your Playboys (You waited so patiently for them to hit the site!!), Sports Illustrated, and Nintendo Power. Those are what sell on the regular.
Then we’ve got a plethora of others including Wizard, wrestling mags, more video game mags, more sports mags, comic book insiders, previews, scenes and revues to sort through and get on the site. Come to think of it, one of the reasons for expediting this new price guide is that our cups of data runneth over with undelivered content. We just needed a place to stick it!
What started out as solely a comic book price guide now has a very comprehensive grasp of the collectibles world.
Record-breaking collectibles values are still being set on a weekly basis, and conventional magazines are finally a part of the conversation. High-graded early Sports Illustrated continues to do very well, as are some later issues of Playboy now, but, if you want my picks - go directly against the grain:
For those who don’t want (or rather can’t afford) Norma Jean on a Playboy cover, find the May 14th, 1956 issue of Time magazine instead for a very clean and ultra-glam Marilyn Monroe.
Pick up issues 95 & 96 (Nov. 11 / Nov. 25, 1971) of Rolling Stone magazine where they published Dr. Hunter S. Thompson’s rejected Sports Illustrated coverage on the Mint 400 motorcycle race in the Las Vegas desert. Or try and hunt down a copy of the January 1993 issue of Outside Magazine (this is easily the hardest to find of the lot) to find Jon Krakauer's original article “Death of an Innocent: How Christopher McCandless Lost His Way in the Wilds.", which would become the novel and movie Into the Wild.
Regardless of what I want, GoCollect aims to pick up ALL of the coolest and rarest magazine sales and present them to you in full colour, as they happen. Truth is, we’re never quite sure what the market is going to suggest. Where we have the sharpest eye is toward the future and making room for every collectible to have its place.
Alpha release
This first-of-its-kind price guide debut is currently only available to those with an active account, whether Free or Pro, so be sure to sign up and head over to see all the new features!
The GoCollect Graded Magazine Price Guide has officially launched and will be growing each day! Take a look!
*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.
