Hottest Magazines: Trump Rules, but Clark Catching Up Fast

Donald Trump rules the Hottest Magazines. But coming up hot on his heels is Caitlin Clark. The Hottest Magazines is a curated list of the magazines moving up the eBay sales lists. GoCollect pulls the stats straight from eBay and sorts them by volume moving in the marketplace over the past 30 days.

1. Playboy #V37 #3 (+4)

One of the most sold magazines of the year takes the top spot once again. It’s been a fantastic ride for this 1990 issue with 107 sales across all grades in 2024. There are 583 graded copies in the CGC census, which is a huge number for the magazine collecting hobby. There have been eight sales since October 24, including a 9.4 selling for $575, a 9.0 going for $500, and an 8.5 fetching $375. The top price paid overall was for a 9.8, which went for $4,000 on June 19 in a fixed price eBay sale.

2. Time #204 #3 (-1)

This cover, with Trump raising his fist after the assassination attempt, has been a hot commodity since its release date of August 5. There are already 179 graded copies, and values are skyrocketing. A 9.8 sold in a September 15 eBay auction with 65 bids for a then record of $1,136. That record was subsequently shattered when another 9.8 went for $2,054 in an October 27 auction with 14 bids. Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is – for now – the biggest draw in the magazine collecting hobby.

14. Comics Scene #2 (#v3 #13) (new to the list)

More a draw for comic collectors than magazine collectors, this second issue in the second run of the magazine sports a Spider-Man cover drawn by Todd McFarlane. The 1988 issue also celebrated Spider-Man’s 25^th anniversary. It’s a magazine that has performed well over the past month, with a 9.6 selling for $150 on October 13 and a 9.4 Signature Series – signed by McFarlane - going for $349. The peak sale also occurred in 2024: a 9.8 sold for a slashed $1,500 on May 4.

15. Slam #249 (new to the list)

The draw of Caitlin Clark brought record viewing numbers to the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament and to the WNBA this year, so it’s no surprise that her magazine covers are also garnering attention and big sales. This issue from April – Clark’s rookie cover - has seen multiple 9.8 graded copies sell in the past few months, including an August 3 sale for $458, one on September 28 for $519, and another on October 10 for $256. That’s out of 249 copies already graded, including two 9.9 graded copies. While the drop in value for a 9.8 is a little concerning, collectors are clearly holding onto their copies as there have only been four sales to date. And lest you think this is one and done for Clark, Time Special Edition: Sports Greats #nn comes in at #18 on our Hottest Magazines chart and also features the Indiana Fever guard on the cover.

23. Bitcoin Magazine #1 (+72)

It’s hard to believe that Bitcoin Magazine has been in existence since 2012. First published on May 1 of that year, we’ve seen some big recent sales of the first issue. An 8.0 went in an October 16 eBay fixed price sale for $1,500. This was just a notch below the $1,585 price paid in the October 12 eBay auction of a 9.6 graded copy with 29 bids. There are 245 graded copies. None in the 9.8 grade has ever sold and there are two 10.0 graded copies that have also never sold. Of the six grades ranging from 7.0 to 9.6 that have recorded sales, all have current averages in the four-figure range. Suffice it to say that this is a magazine that could really shoot further up the charts if some of those higher grades come on the market.