Well, the time has almost come! I am currently editing the price guide in its new format and I want to know what you want to see. Have a request? Throw it down here. Is there an obscure set you think we should list the pricing for? Let me know.

I'm taking any and all suggestions. I want NSU to be more interactive than ever. So, let's hear those requests!

Also, if you won a prize from Superhero September, they will be sent out soon. The Star Wars Almanac put me way behind in just about everything else. I will be posting an official announcement regarding the new SW Almanac soon, as well.

Thanks, everyone!

Well going by the October/November Price Guide format, it seems some prior suggestions may have been accepted or discarded already, but here goes . . .
The font has to be made bigger. If that means more Guide pages, fewer articles, or fewer listings, the font has to be BIGGER.

I still don't understand the priorities for what sets are in and what are out of the Guide. To me, no space should be given to vintage sets like 1957 Hit Stars, 1965 Hogan's Heroes, Beatles, Beverly Hillbillies, Davey Crockett, among others. They belong solely in the Almanac.

Why is so much space dedicated to Decision 2016 cards? I get Star Wars is huge, but it has 7 pages in the Guide and some of the pricing remains blank. There really should be no blank lines after a couple of issues have passed.

Then there are iconic sets like the 1962 Mars Attack where most of the base cards have a separate listing, but also most have the same range. They can be consolidated into a few lines with only the first, last and maybe some special base card photo, getting a higher value than the others.

There are no Buffy cards listed anymore, or Harry Potter, but the Walking Dead gets way too much coverage for a fading title. Ricky and Morty has a lot, too much?

Here's a new idea. A bunch of really outstanding sets from past card makers like Press Pass, Breygent, Inkworks and Art Box have been dropped from the Guide. I get it, but bring back the best products of one of them every issue and spend a page or two on those cards. Do it as an article if its better, but those sets represent the innovations of the last 20 years and shouldn't be relegated entirely to the Almanac.

I'm sure everyone has there own ideas of what stays in and what should be edited out, but rather than personal preference, it should be based on demand and activity. New sets should be in for the first year. Even new small sets should be in if there is activity. Old sets should be left in if there is demand and activity. Anything without much activity or demand should be dropped from NSU issues. Franchise titles should have the best and most active sets listed, but not all of them just to be complete.

And finally, there should be no separate listings for any card below a certain minimum range. Pick the minimum you want, but seeing individual card lines that are "1.25 - 3.00" are unnecessary. To me, seeing autograph cards between "5 - 12" are common signers. You can put that in the header prices, they don't need to use space for their own listing.

It's a difficult task to set up a decent supplemental price guide and it won't be comprehensive or please everyone, so thanks for asking card collectors and I hope you get some useful feedback.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Why is so much space dedicated to Decision 2016 cards? I get Star Wars is huge, but it has 7 pages in the Guide and some of the pricing remains blank. There really should be no blank lines after a couple of issues have passed.

Wow, there’s a lot of 2016 Decision! Maybe since it’s an election year it is somewhat relevant, but much of that should be condensed or eliminated for the next issue because the election will be over by then.

The blank pricing is probably an acknowledgment of the card existing. It’s kinda hard to believe that sets from 2017 & 2018 don’t have any market data, but maybe some are short prints that don’t pop up enough to formulate a price range.

Also, eliminating those blanks might be troublesome in the case of the Star Wars autographs. Stars like Harrison Ford might not have enough market info to come up with a price range. So not listing his auto card might confuse a novice collector that his auto card is a common if there is a “common auto” listing. Of course, if someone considers a Harrison Ford auto card a common is a whole different story
At least with the blank there, it’s an acknowledged that it isn’t priced. Maybe listing the card numbers in the header with “not enough market data” could save space.

What if the featured product articles include the current pricing of that set in the article itself? This eliminates some things from the actual price guide, or at least gives a reason to include pricing on a set that hasn't been listed in a while but it won't take up valuable Price Guide space.

I had a bunch of suggestions in the Aug/Sep issue thread that might also be useful.

quote:

Originally posted by Heroes For Hire:

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
Why is so much space dedicated to Decision 2016 cards? I get Star Wars is huge, but it has 7 pages in the Guide and some of the pricing remains blank. There really should be no blank lines after a couple of issues have passed.

Wow, there’s a lot of 2016 Decision! Maybe since it’s an election year it is somewhat relevant, but much of that should be condensed or eliminated for the next issue because the election will be over by then.

Sorry, that's my bad writing. Decision 2016 has about a page and a half, Star Wars has the 7 pages. Both are too much coverage to me, but Decision 2016 is the stranger one.

I will probably be in the minority here but i think the price guide is pointless. In all the years i have collected cards i have never referred to the price guide to help to decide if i will make the purchase or not.

It is however useful to know what cards were in a set if you do not know.

Eliminate the price guide it has little meaning the internet and eBay has made such a thing obsolute

We certainly don't need prices for individual base or chase cards for modern sets, if the price guide remains it has to be relevant. Either change it and cover different sets each issue (A-E issue 1, H-L issue 2) with bigger font and relevant prices or just scrap it and save printing costs. As others have said the Internet sets prices now.

quote:

A bunch of really outstanding sets from past card makers like Press Pass, Breygent, Inkworks and Art Box have been dropped from the Guide. I get it, but bring back the best products of one of them every issue and spend a page or two on those cards. Do it as an article if its better, but those sets represent the innovations of the last 20 years and shouldn't be relegated entirely to the Almanac.

Great suggestion, Raven! Don't be surprised if some variation of that thought appears in a future NSU article.

For me, the price guide in it's current state is hard to look at. I would rather see more sets over the years with a fewer listing behind it.
Example
Umbrella academy
base price
then and now insert single price/ set price
Heist at the Museum single price/set price
Quotes single price set price
Acetate single price/set price
and then at max a half dozen of the cards that are moving or have a vastly different price then the rest.
It would keep the listing compact and give the reader a general feeling of a what a set might be going on.

I agree in the internet age the price guide is the least interesting part of the magazine because prices are all over the place.

I agree with most of what's already been said. However, I will add that I wish the price guide was separate from the actual magazine. NSU used to do this and it was very convenient, especially at shows.

The price guide as a separate component would allow for the expansion of material in the magazine. Favorite old features could be returned and additional advertising could be included.

The first thing I do when I pick up the latest NSU is turn to the Price Guide and see what new sets have been listed or what up/down arrows indicate updated pricing on certain cards. I have read hobby publications that way since I started collecting cards years and years ago, when I could subscribe to 3 or 4 different ones at the same time.

I'm not disputing comments about Price Guide accuracy or relevancy in the internet age, but for some people taking away the Price Guide is like taking away the Promo Cards inside would be for others. What's left to buy it for? A few articles about the hobby, some of which may not even apply to what you are collecting?

Improve the Price Guide sure, especially to cover the in-demand newer products that have the most activity and the most current interest. Remove it and you have a real problem selling a magazine with articles and ads. That's just my opinion, but NSU is the only one left folks.

I too believe that the Price Guide's day is long past. Years ago when the guide was more comprehensive I only ever used it to discover what was in a set. Now I don't even bother to look at it, even more so now that it is part of the magazine. As others have said the Internet now provides more up to date data.

regards

John

I hardly ever look at the price guide anymore, since the internet is setting these prices way more quickly. I do use it occasionally to see what a particular card or set may be going for if I am following an auction or sale, but only as a secondary resource. However, I also understand the guide pretty much makes the magazine, so removing it completely may not be an option.

As others have said, increase the font size and decrease the number of lines allocated to a particular set, unless it is huge or has some monster number of inserts. Splitting up the guide each issue (A-L, M-Z) might also help, and could allow you to include some sets that may be getting squeezed out currently.

I find that I am migrating to older sets these days (70's or earlier), so the articles on new products don't really hold much appeal to me lately. However, I also realize that new product is what keeps the hobby going and may bring in new collectors, so I certainly understand it. Coverage of older sets is always welcome.

As always, I appreciate the time and effort that is put into the magazine, and this forum has personally been a great resource for information on the hobby, as well as a fun place to hang out. Thanks, NSU!

I don't check the price guide much either. I wonder if NSU would experiment with a "Hot 100" approach. What are the 100 best-selling cards across the board, and then assuming they were released at least a year before, note what they sold for 2 months ago, 4 months ago, 6 months ago, and then jump to a year ago. New cards would just say new until the next issue. Give collectors a history and allow them to see the trend further back in time than Ebay allows. That would have value to someone deciding what to buy at a show or online. Do I buy a card on the rise while I still can or choose another one I want that has been coming back to earth?

You could do it by group: autographs, parallels, and others. Since sketches tend to be 1/1, you would just keep them in the mixed group. You could still have a section for recent sets and older sets that have been getting more activity. Let the Almanac contain all the other sets. To encourage Almanac sales, I would add an exclusive promo card.

You could also show what the "Hot 100" cards were 6 months and/or a year ago when you get to that point.

Jess

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:

I will probably be in the minority here but i think the price guide is pointless.

.

Apparantly not.

I have to agree that the price guide has become obsolete. There are so much more properties being released each year and the price guide only covers some and not all due to limited size. You either need a sperate price guide as originally done with all listings (per 2000's) or scrap it altogether. JMHO

If the Price guide has to be kept .
Why not break it down into monthly rotating sections .
EG one issue A to G next H to M after the fourth issue restart with A again.
There would then be room for new issues wich after their initial entry would revert back to their alphabetical listing.
Less paper and possible larger font.

I’d like an expanded “Notes” section in the “How To Use The Price Guide” Department. It could be a pseudo “market report” that points out the trends that were reflected inside the price guide and/or on the Hot Lists over the previous couple of months.

How about listing the 2019 Marveless Kids Stickers?
The Printing Plates are probably main value of the set though. Maybe list those in a general header with “commons” in a price range of $30-$80? Let collectors decide what characters are commons.

Here’s another I’d like to see listed. It’s probably a $8-$20 or so card.
2017 Marvel Annual 2016
Civil War II #CW0
Scottie Young Autograph Achievement

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Heroes For Hire,