Question:
First my local comic book guy says that in the early 1970's, if you went to any
of the major cons, and there were few back then, that you could get a copy of
Batman #1 for $500 and a copy of Detective Comics #27 for a $1000. He's says
Action #1 also sold for a little more than a grand back then too. Is that true?
Second. how does one go about getting those issues today, besides the major
auction houses?
Answer:
-If you're really curious about the prices of older books, you might
want to hunt down an Overstreet guide from that era.
-I think they were probably available cheaper back then but I doubt they
were that much cheaper than they are now. Even in the 70's it would have
been difficult to get one's hands on a Batman #1 or Action #1 (or indeed,
a Mad #1, etc. etc.)
First you would have to find one of these issues available for sale.
That's not going to happen very often because the books you mention are
relatively rare in any condition and it's highly unlikely you would find
them even in VF.
You might find them at a comic-con but even then, good luck. I saw a
copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 at the Motor City Comic Con a few weekends
ago. They didn't even have a price on it. I guess it was "if you have
to ask, it's too much". From what I could see, it looked like the would
have been sub-Fair grade anyway.
Second, for the kinds of prices these books are going to command, I would
have to believe that it would be difficult to get a seller to deal
directly with you (as opposed to using some sort of selling agent like an
auction house). For this kind of money they're going to want some sort
of guarantee that you have the money before they part with anything. I
suspect they would want some sort of guarantee that you have the money
before they'll even start negotiating a price with you. An auction house
or other agent will take care of a lot of the details of insuring that
your payment is good etc. etc.
Of course, that's just speculation on my part. Perhaps someone else who
has dealt with that sort of business will give you an answer informed by
experience.
