Some ebay sales figures for first issues of UK comics

[NP]

Two weeks ago I put this comic on abay with a starting price of £2.00. It sold for £1131.00. I was astonished.

Drinks are on Steve Zodiac?!

[Bethanys grandad]

Two weeks ago I put this comic on abay with a starting price of £2.00. It sold for £1131.00. I was astonished.

Drinks are on Steve Zodiac?!

Is this a rare issue ? I remember buying this title when it come out in the sixties , must admit not seen this issue , as pocket library's are now my main collecting theme

[abacus]

A lot of play is made of a comic being number1.Often this is an excuse for the seller to ask for more money.I bought a comic from the market recently I think it was called Danger Girl, who I had never heard of but the cover looked interesting and it was accompanied with a first edition certificate.The thought occurred to me that a certificate produced at the same time as the comic is meaningless .The comic could be rubbish.I didn't like the comic in the end and wish I hadn' t bought it even though I had only spent a pound for it.
Footnote.
In the 90s Image US bought out a short series called BIG BANG COMICS which was a collection of comics imitating the golden age style of superheroes.The interesting thing is that around the third issue they produced a comic number 0 and that must be a first.Inside the comic they give a long explanation for this which is tied up with store sales.

[stevezodiac]

It was the last number in the series so may not have been distributed very well. I was e-mailed by Duncan McAlpine author of the Comic Book Price Guide for Great Britain and he was not aware that it was a rare issue.

[geoff42]

Anyone who has a spare £1600 could buy the first two issues of Whizzer and Chips with free gifts in good condition, currently going on ebay (separately, that is). I've dreamed about it but my ISA account is off limits no matter how many pints of cider I may have imbibed.

[Lew Stringer]

Anyone who has a spare £1600 could buy the first two issues of Whizzer and Chips with free gifts in good condition, currently going on ebay (separately, that is). I've dreamed about it but my ISA account is off limits no matter how many pints of cider I may have imbibed.

They're unlikely to sell at that price so unless the seller drops his prices no one will benefit.

As I've said before, I sold a copy of issue 1 with gift in excellent condition a few years ago for £60. That's a more realistic price I think than the £999 or whatever he's charging.

[geoff42]

They have been on offer for a while now but, considering the rarity, someone just may think: "F##k it, they're mine!" Were I a millionaire, I would have bought them regardless because I could and not think about what I had just spent.. I would think that I bought them for a collection and not an investment. There's a difference there when one splashes outl Unfortunately, i'm nowhere near to splashing out that much. I envy those who can.

[geoff42]

I've recently spotted a Cheeky Weekly no. 2 with free gift for £63 .... may have gone higher in the last bid. And i'm fairly certain whizzer and chips no.1 with free gift will go much higher these days. Remember that Shiver and Shake nol 1 with free gift that went over £600? The summer specials from 1970's now command over £15 or £20. I've paid that much. The prices are inflated, but there are so many bidders willing to compete. I know this from experience.

[Lew Stringer]

They have been on offer for a while now but, considering the rarity, someone just may think: "F##k it, they're mine!" Were I a millionaire, I would have bought them regardless because I could and not think about what I had just spent.. I would think that I bought them for a collection and not an investment. There's a difference there when one splashes outl Unfortunately, i'm nowhere near to splashing out that much. I envy those who can.

Envy is a detrimental and pointless emotion, Jeff. Just focus on the comics you can afford, same as anyone else. I've just bought a 1939 Wonder annual for under £7. There are bargains out there.

[babington]

The most recent copy of Whizzer & Chips No.1 with the gift sold for £160 in Sept 2014. Here are some more recent eBay sales of gift issues which suggest that in many cases, gift issues cost just over £30, with some obvious exceptions being more expensive.

Buster & Big One (02/27/65) G £35.88 (with gift)
Emma No. 1 F £33.56 (with gifts)
Jackpot No.1 F £12.50 (with gift in envelope on cover)
Monster Fun No.1 VG £77 (with free gift)
Nutty No. 1 G/VG £26.66 (with gift, and pink flyer)
Plug No.3 F £28.59 (with free gift)
Star Wars Weekly No.1 F £36 (with free gift)
Thunder No. 3 w. gift VG £39.66 (3 x sheets stickers in envelope)
Tornado No.2 VG £33 (with gift, not made up)
Tracy No. 1 F £32 (1979, with gift badge in envelope)

[David McDonald]

You know them prices are not outrageous, especially with the gifts they are number one's and they will always be collectable. Would I pay that for them myself, probably not. I am not a stickler for condition, and gifts I don't go for much and I am not likely to be selling them on. But...

[geoff42]

ah, no worries, Lew, as regards envy. I did mean it in a light tone. I never go to bed at night and beat my pillow in frustration because I lost out to a richer man. There's always another day. Comic prices fluctuate wildly. One day, a Fury no. 1 with free gift goes for over a hundred pound; a month or two later, I bid less than £15 for another copy with free gift and win. You just never know when a certain day may bless you.

[NP]

In the 90s Image US bought out a short series called BIG BANG COMICS which was a collection of comics imitating the golden age style of superheroes.The interesting thing is that around the third issue they produced a comic number 0 and that must be a first.Inside the comic they give a long explanation for this which is tied up with store sales.

I think there'd been a number 0 before then, but anyway, as a kid, I made my own comics, and one in particular I enjoyed drawing so much I made another earlier issue which I called Number 0. That was about 1967, and may be the first such issue 0. Of course, it was thrown out years ago and I can't prove it. (The comic was called FAB!, because, y'know, it was 1967).

[klakadak-ploobadoof]

Not a No. 1 but a newsagent advertising card for the first issue of SMASH!
A couple of weeks ago it sold on eBay for £255.00.

[Lew Stringer]

Very nice find! I like promos like that.

Although Odhams calling Smash a "colour comic" was being a bit economical with the truth wasn't it? Only four pages in colour, the rest in black and white. Admittedly that's three more colour pages than Valiant, Tiger, Lion and Buster had in 1966 but even so...