The Four Color Media Monitor

Market Realist has a story about a woman who bought a graded copy of Werewolf by Night for $15 at a garage sale, and now wants at least $52000 for selling it on the market again:

Even though it's well known that people don't get as much as they expect on "Pawn Stars," that doesn't stop people from aiming high. In many cases, seller who demand ambitious prices for their items don't budge and walk away empty-handed. This was the case with the owner of a graded "Werewolf By Night" comic book, Myia, who refused to accept anything below the appraised amount for her item. While Corey Harrison asked for a realistic price for the 'Holy Grail' of Marvel collectibles, the seller refused to go below $52,000 for the $15 item.

Myia brought an encased, graded copy of the rare comic book to Harrison's table, claiming it was something that could help her pay for college. "This is a 9.8 graded comic book of issue 32, which is the first appearance of Moon Knight," she said in her interview about the item. Right off the bat, Harrison knew that it was a great item as he asked the seller where she got it from.

Great if she bought it for so little. But why sell it to somebody who's only bound to sell in it turn to the next craver of collectibles to store in a vault, instead of trying to sell it to a museum? Another example of how unfunny a joke the speculator market really is.

And Moon Knight's debut has already been reprinted in paperback/hardcover archives like the Marvel Epic Collections, along with much of the rest of his appearances up to the mid-1990s. So what's the use of buying a back issue in the first place when if you know where to look, you'll find the same story reprinted in more ideal formats, and more comfortable to read that way? Why won't these same buyers ever consider reading's more valueable than monetary value?

Labels: history, marvel comics, Moon Knight, msm propaganda, sales