Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.
Nothing is more satisfying than verification that our prized collection might eventually support our retirement or undeserving child’s endowment. To think that we might have made a profitable investment is a testosterone thing.
On this subject, I have been cautioned by a few hobby participants that it’s not all about increasing value. My contention is that eventually it’s always about increasing value. One thing is for sure, if you’re not looking to make a great investment, you won’t.
One way to legitimize your efforts is to compare your purchases against existing sold lists. Problem for us magazine guys, there hasn’t been a whole lot of price comparison available. Lucky for my readers, your author is the #1, foremost, ultimate source for graded magazine pricing evolution, both private and public. I have graded, sold, and own more graded SI’s than all other sellers combined. I only make this admonition because I want to establish the creditability behind the numbers I’m publishing.
In an effort to update current values, I went back to the Price Values Guide I established two years ago in my Blog #19. Interestingly, I found the original guide, for the most part, was still quite accurate regarding current sales realized. The major difference always seems to be at the top end of the spectrum. No surprise, if you own one of a kind stuff, you dictate the price. What may surprise you is the sell prices of those items. But you will not find pricing verification anywhere, as these items are in collections and have not been re-sold since their original purchase.
In fact, not one CGC 9.8 top 10 SI mag cover has changed hands in the past two years.
As a collector you should read into that extremely important statement – the big money isn’t selling – they’re still buying. If you’re a collector, that is really good news.
Key to using this guide:
- CGC census matters. None Higher – POP 1 designations will out value others of the same grade.
- Lower populations will out value higher populations.
- “Unlimited” valuations of the Best of the Best are always set by the seller.
- Grades lower than CGC 9.0 can be factored by a sliding scale continuation.
- Valuations are first cover only.
- Guide values are an average of all the variables. For example, a 1967 Bobby Orr CGC 9.0, None Higher – POP 1 sold at Heritage auction this month for $6,360. If your CGC 9.0 – 9.4 mag slips out of the Top 10, I’ve experience sell prices at or below $1,000.
| 2020 Sports Illustrated Evaluation Guide |
| Never Read | Top 10 Star | 11-20 Star | 21-100 Star |
| 9.0 | $2,500 | $1,000 | $500 |
| 9.2 | $5,000 | $2,000 | $750 |
| 9.4 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $1,500 |
| 9.6 | unlimited | $8,000 | $3,000 |
| 9.8 | unlimited | unlimited | $6,000 |
One comment on a Top 10, FC, Sports Illustrated, never read, CGC 9.6 – 9.8, None Higher, POP 1 – I’m talking Mantle, Jordan, Gretzky, Mays, Clay, Clemente, Aaron, Rose, and maybe a couple more – bring a minimum of $50,000 if you want to own one – and that might not be enough.
In the end, do your homework. Put yourself in the best position to succeed. You’ll have fun and you’ll be happy you chose SI magazines.
I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of TIME and SI magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.
Great collecting to you and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/TIME!
For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit
www.sportsillustrated98.com