Value of the *old* Grails .....

[Masterblaster]

Lets start the discussion with, what were the most valuable Steelbooks and if they are still ... and which ones you see depreciating even more or rising more in value (money wise)
If you have more suggestions or personal Grails dont hesitate to join in ....

At the start of Time , the most valuable steels were ...

Rambo (original amazon.de release white cover)
I Am Legend  German Release
Iron Man FutureShop Release
I Am Legend FutureShop Release
Star Wars Clone Wars *think it  was NL or Daenish Release* ?

 

[Masterblaster]

I personally dont think the IAL has any market value left in it , both versions are just regular priced . I guess if i was going for one i would go for the FS as it has the patch in it.

SW CW never really valued as a high valued steelbook ... i do know it went in the day for some good money , just dont know now ...

I still think Rambo and Iron Man are the most valuable steelbooks to have as it comes from a RiP Retailer AND first print is the best to own... 

What are these going for nowadays ? I know one time hearing and seeing around $200 and up for each one of them as OVP ...

 

Let me know what you think ?

@nefilim @ukade2327 @psychoscot @DodgyDave @Darogal @Benoit46 @pioneers @Vinyl4Giants @howiesteed @Hatori @hanoli

[pioneers]

@Masterblaster future shop iron man grail is still fetching big moneys there is someone asking $625.00 and that does not include postage or import tax if you add it all looking to pay $784.18 but it is flawless mint though and there is also one on auction at present at 110 euros with just under 3 days left but does have free shipping 

[Masterblaster]

@pioneers i really appreciate your input and letting me know the figures. I guess you are referring to them being on Ebay , unfourtantly we all know what that means LOL..

I was more interested in YOUR personal thoughts on these Grails i listed OR maybe you prefer a different Grail and have such in your possession ? I would love to give comments on those ... 

Everyone sees a GRAIL differently , im interested in understanding what Grails our members think they have...

Money values would also be great as well... Do you know what the Rambo is going for ?  

The Iron Man FS is of course only Grail to me if it is OVP and has all the stickers ... anything missing or resealed and its no use to me as a Grail....

Take care

John

 

[Hatori]

I think one of the most valuable Steels at the moment is "As Above So Below FAC" because of the low printrun for the numbered edtion and the demand. I so one sold for over 500,- Euro.

[Viper0210]

Other grails were the dark knight returns and batman begins Japanese and Korean versions. Also terminator 2 Japanese black slip. They were going for £800 each a few years ago. Now with reissues  and loss of interest in steel book collecting values have fallen. Fac is very popular at the moment but I think the bubble will burst at some point. Steel books are just not that valuable as they used to be. I did manage to get an open mint copy of the German rambo with the tattoo for £70 a few years back. Steel books are  Just fun to collect.

[Bunaldinho]

Those two were very valuable too...

GER - Wanted (Media Markt Exclusive) *2009

GER - Iron Man (Media Markt Exclusive) *2008

I do still own the sealed copy of Iron Man, @Masterblaster told you the story about it, back then...

 

[larson1977]

1 hour ago, Bunaldinho said:

Those two were very valuable too...

GER - Wanted (Media Markt Exclusive) *2009

GER - Iron Man (Media Markt Exclusive) *2008

I do still own the sealed copy of Iron Man, @Masterblaster told you the story about it, back then...

 

I have a sealed copy of the German bossed 'Wanted'. should've sold it a couple years ago when prices were high. now it sits in my showcase as an ex-holy-grail

[Bunaldinho]

Should or not to should, that is the question ... I keep my copies, except I'm in extreme financial difficulties

[Viper0210]

I think a lot of the grails are now retired and ex-grails

[psychoscot]

3 hours ago, Viper0210 said:

I think a lot of the grails are now retired and ex-grails

Have to agree with @Masterblaster and @Viper0210 the only genuine real grails left are Rambo and Iron Man. They still sell for silly money and collectors still want those editions. Outside of that its just a free for all now by secondary sellers hoping to get large sums but more often than not many editions sit on places like eBay for month after month not selling. Marvel first wave steels can still fetch a fair bit, but I've seen just as many go for very little if you are prepared to try your hands at many auctions, same with the Japanese white Batman films which used to fetch large sums but not anymore.

 

There's been too many reissues and new versions of titles once considered grails that are vastly superior in design, and modern and new collectors seem to prefer tracking those down instead of the rarer bare bones originals, and I don't really blame them. Nova, Kimchi and Blufans have produced some stunning editions especially of the Marvel titles that are so much nicer than some of the so-called originals. Why spend £600 on Iron Man when that same amount could pick up 6 other nicer looking versions. I do get that some older collectors see that particular title as some kind of badge of honour to own, along with Rambo, but neither are as good as some of the reissues. Blufans Iron Man wipes the floor with it, but there will always be a snob factor by those that own it especially if they paid a lot that its the best version, its not. I sold mine couple of years ago for £350 which is half what I could of got, but morally I'd feel bad making someone pay double that price for a bit of tin with a disc in it. 

Steelbooks glory years are fading and its becoming more mass market than probably many predicted. I would honestly advise new collector to buy the ones you really want, don't get caught up in the hype often seen on forums for titles you aren't really bothered about but feel with everyone saying how awesome it is that you have to own it to be in the "In Crowd" I've been there and you'll end up skint with titles you'll maybe watch once. 

I sold many at the beginning of this year, titles I got caught up in the hype on then months later looked at them and thought why??? I'm never going to watch you again, so they all went on eBay at cost and I feel much better having got rid of them!

The Grail is pretty much gone. I buy for the film, then the art, I'll double dip etc on that same film if the arts good, but whether that edition becomes rare or not is of little interest to me as I've no intention of selling those I love, I open them all and enjoy the work put into them and all the art and design choices they chose. Don't stick them on a shelf sealed thinking you have a valuable collection because one day in the not too distant future just like all the rare DVD's and laserdics people once bought that's all it will be, a collection, yes a nice one and lovely editions to make you smile but worth very little. If its longevity you want buy comics as rare ones don't often devalue. The only saving grace steel books have is that they are most likely one of the last physical formats the world will see, that alone will see them continuing to be made for a few years yet, but the grail titles are all but dead except maybe 2 or 3. Buy with your heart not the hype, because those valuable editions are all starting to depreciate.

[nefilim]

Well written once again @psychoscot !

Summed up my feelings pretty good. Been trying to sell my dvd collection lately. Proud of it. Spend lot of time, money and love to it. Now it's going cheap. If going at all ...

I'm going for steels I love only. Not hunting after Grails. Do understand that some want them and so on, it's ok. I'm also trimming my blu-ray collection. This hobby is insane. But then again, most are that include buying stuff you rarely enjoy. Let 'em just sit in the shelf. But if it brings along cool dudes like you all - so be it !

 

[psychoscot]

2 hours ago, nefilim said:

Well written once again @psychoscot !

Summed up my feelings pretty good. Been trying to sell my dvd collection lately. Proud of it. Spend lot of time, money and love to it. Now it's going cheap. If going at all ...

I'm going for steels I love only. Not hunting after Grails. Do understand that some want them and so on, it's ok. I'm also trimming my blu-ray collection. This hobby is insane. But then again, most are that include buying stuff you rarely enjoy. Let 'em just sit in the shelf. But if it brings along cool dudes like you all - so be it !

 

I'm in the same boat, First it was laserdisc and I spent a fortune tracking them down all round the world to find now they are basically worthless except to the odd collector who wants a certain film just for the art work and its a cool thing to own. Then DVD and I had over 9000 of them, special editions, collectors editions, boxsets and they are mostly worth very little. There are some films especially within the horror genre that have versions not yet seen in HD formats that collectors want and some collectors still want the Criterion collection titles but mostly mine either went to second hand stores or if its titles I really loved I've boxed them away for storage.

When it comes to steelbooks I have to agree with @Masterblaster that eBay isn't really a good place to take values from, as they can vary very differently from each seller, with some just trying to make a small profit to the famous scalpers trying their luck at sky high prices. That said based on the original question I will list those that over the years I have watched either increase in value or stay hightly priced and sought after. I started collecting steels very early on, not in any serious way, more I just thought they were cool, and being a film geek I've always tried to find nice editions of the films I want to own, so I was lucky enough to pick up the Marvel first wave, Star Trek, Pulp Fiction and a few others that are now considered more collectable. Steels have slowly replaced other versions the more serious I became about collecting, and places like this have advanced it to basically not really buying any barebones editions now.

 

As for what currently attracts higher prices, looking at both eBay and the various forums, certain titles appear again and again at higher prices, and mostly its not what are considered the original Grails apart from Iron Man and Rambo

Thor Dark World Kimchi lenti.... Still hightly sought after by collectors and surprisingly more so than the blufans WEA version. On UK eBay its more often than not around the £110 mark and still sells well for that price, On forum trade sections its normally around £80.

Tangled Kimchi Quarter slip/Lenti ....Stunning steel and still one collectors seem to want, for a while it was over £100 on eBay and around £60/70 in trade sections. This one you "can" be lucky and pick up for less but its very rare.

As Above FAC.... Due to its small print numbers attracts a good price and even in trade sections it still sees north of £70, and on eBay well over £100. On occasion I've seen this sell on eBay for north of £150

Elektra FAC another small numbers release that has seen it sought after especially as it is Marvel and although not Marvel studios, collectors want everything Marvel. This often fetches £70 to £90 on Ebay and sometimes more. Its rarely listed in trade sections as the GB host wouldn't be too pleased as many missed out on this with such a small print.

Sucker Punch Amazon DE "First Edition" .... I've seen this one recently for less with someone only looking for £50 on eBay but normally this is definately a secondary Grail with prices staying high both on eBay secondary markets. Usually it sits around the £60 to £70 mark but I have seen this sell for well over £100 in auctions. Rare to see it in the trade sections but normally if listed its usually around the same price as eBay. I expect this to either increase with renewed interest after the HDzeta release, or possibly as has been the case on other reissues become much cheaper with interest now in the new versions

Iron Man/Iron Man 2 Play .... Still for many the 2 IM steels that are the most popular, and still selling at good prices. Dont expect to see these for less than £65/70 at best even in the trade sections and often a lot more on eBay.

Under The Skin Zavvi ... A marmite film, but beautiful art finish and of course Scarlet has seen this one become very collectable and very expensive. EBay prices usually begin at £80 and then just go sky high. You might be lucky to find a friendly forum trader who hates the film though and get it for nearer £50

Guardians Of The Galaxy Various .... This more than any of the second wave films seems to be the most expensive and sought after. With the terrible UK Cassette still fetching upwards of £60 and the blufans and Kimchi versions a lot more often selling for over £100

John Wick Nova/FAC ..... With the cult popularity of this hopefully continuing series of films, the first release has seen a dramatic increase in price. The Nova lenti not long after release could still be bought for not much more than GB prices on eBay, but as the title grew in fame so did the price, it now sits around £80, and even traders on the forums don't want to part with theirs for much less. The FAC editions usually go for the same price but can be seen at over £100 and the boxset £150 and upwards

 

These are just some of the ones that over the months surfing online have caught my attention. With all the reissues and different versions many either don't retain their value and many can be bought for less than cost. Blufans/Zavvi Marvel titles fit that catagory and vary wildly in price, if you're lucky enough you can still find these at around cost or a little bit more, and if you are REALLY lucky these have gone for less than GB price. White Batman films were once highly priced and sought after but as with many of the much older titles, they have kind of slipped from many peoples memory, which has seen them fall in price if you look hard enough. I picked up the White Jap Batmans for £40 each sealed, which is half what they used to go for. You do still see them for much more, but mostly by scalpers who relist them again and again because they just aren't that highly sought after anymore.

The original grails were sought after by those early collectors, but with each you generation coming to the hobby they bring their own grails, so each year we see sought after releases which by the next year will have fallen in grace. When you take that into account the only 2 "real" ones still left standing are Iron Man FS and Rambo Amazon DE, but it was interesting to note the ones above as they aren't brand new releases and they are retaining their value and collectablitly.

 

[Darogal]

For me only Iron Man 1 Futureshop as a Grail. This is also THE Steel i want to buy sometime!

@Masterblaster wrote my opinion in his post! 

All the other ones are interesting and nice to have but  no grail for me.

[nefilim]

49 minutes ago, psychoscot said:

I'm in the same boat, First it was laserdisc and I spent a fortune tracking them down all round the world to find now they are basically worthless except to the odd collector who wants a certain film just for the art work and its a cool thing to own. Then DVD and I had over 9000 of them, special editions, collectors editions, boxsets and they are mostly worth very little. There are some films especially within the horror genre that have versions not yet seen in HD formats that collectors want and some collectors still want the Criterion collection titles but mostly mine either went to second hand stores or if its titles I really loved I've boxed them away for storage.

When it comes to steelbooks I have to agree with @Masterblaster that eBay isn't really a good place to take values from, as they can vary very differently from each seller, with some just trying to make a small profit to the famous scalpers trying their luck at sky high prices. That said based on the original question I will list those that over the years I have watched either increase in value or stay hightly priced and sought after. I started collecting steels very early on, not in any serious way, more I just thought they were cool, and being a film geek I've always tried to find nice editions of the films I want to own, so I was lucky enough to pick up the Marvel first wave, Star Trek, Pulp Fiction and a few others that are now considered more collectable. Steels have slowly replaced other versions the more serious I became about collecting, and places like this have advanced it to basically not really buying any barebones editions now.

 

As for what currently attracts higher prices, looking at both eBay and the various forums, certain titles appear again and again at higher prices, and mostly its not what are considered the original Grails apart from Iron Man and Rambo

Thor Dark World Kimchi lenti.... Still hightly sought after by collectors and surprisingly more so than the blufans WEA version. On UK eBay its more often than not around the £110 mark and still sells well for that price, On forum trade sections its normally around £80.

Tangled Kimchi Quarter slip/Lenti ....Stunning steel and still one collectors seem to want, for a while it was over £100 on eBay and around £60/70 in trade sections. This one you "can" be lucky and pick up for less but its very rare.

As Above FAC.... Due to its small print numbers attracts a good price and even in trade sections it still sees north of £70, and on eBay well over £100. On occasion I've seen this sell on eBay for north of £150

Elektra FAC another small numbers release that has seen it sought after especially as it is Marvel and although not Marvel studios, collectors want everything Marvel. This often fetches £70 to £90 on Ebay and sometimes more. Its rarely listed in trade sections as the GB host wouldn't be too pleased as many missed out on this with such a small print.

Sucker Punch Amazon DE "First Edition" .... I've seen this one recently for less with someone only looking for £50 on eBay but normally this is definately a secondary Grail with prices staying high both on eBay secondary markets. Usually it sits around the £60 to £70 mark but I have seen this sell for well over £100 in auctions. Rare to see it in the trade sections but normally if listed its usually around the same price as eBay. I expect this to either increase with renewed interest after the HDzeta release, or possibly as has been the case on other reissues become much cheaper with interest now in the new versions

Iron Man/Iron Man 2 Play .... Still for many the 2 IM steels that are the most popular, and still selling at good prices. Dont expect to see these for less than £65/70 at best even in the trade sections and often a lot more on eBay.

Under The Skin Zavvi ... A marmite film, but beautiful art finish and of course Scarlet has seen this one become very collectable and very expensive. EBay prices usually begin at £80 and then just go sky high. You might be lucky to find a friendly forum trader who hates the film though and get it for nearer £50

Guardians Of The Galaxy Various .... This more than any of the second wave films seems to be the most expensive and sought after. With the terrible UK Cassette still fetching upwards of £60 and the blufans and Kimchi versions a lot more often selling for over £100

John Wick Nova/FAC ..... With the cult popularity of this hopefully continuing series of films, the first release has seen a dramatic increase in price. The Nova lenti not long after release could still be bought for not much more than GB prices on eBay, but as the title grew in fame so did the price, it now sits around £80, and even traders on the forums don't want to part with theirs for much less. The FAC editions usually go for the same price but can be seen at over £100 and the boxset £150 and upwards

 

These are just some of the ones that over the months surfing online have caught my attention. With all the reissues and different versions many either don't retain their value and many can be bought for less than cost. Blufans/Zavvi Marvel titles fit that catagory and vary wildly in price, if you're lucky enough you can still find these at around cost or a little bit more, and if you are REALLY lucky these have gone for less than GB price. White Batman films were once highly priced and sought after but as with many of the much older titles, they have kind of slipped from many peoples memory, which has seen them fall in price if you look hard enough. I picked up the White Jap Batmans for £40 each sealed, which is half what they used to go for. You do still see them for much more, but mostly by scalpers who relist them again and again because they just aren't that highly sought after anymore.

The original grails were sought after by those early collectors, but with each you generation coming to the hobby they bring their own grails, so each year we see sought after releases which by the next year will have fallen in grace. When you take that into account the only 2 "real" ones still left standing are Iron Man FS and Rambo Amazon DE, but it was interesting to note the ones above as they aren't brand new releases and they are retaining their value and collectablitly.

 

Cheers ! Nice to see some true figures (£ $ €) for these "grails".

I (also) pointed out in another thread (started by @Darogal ?? - could not find it now ? - the thread) That ebay is no place to get your figures. Prices are totally different in "the real world" - lets say in Finnish Net Auction. I compared Japanese White Batman Returns (new).

But is auction ever ?

[psychoscot]

1 hour ago, nefilim said:

Cheers ! Nice to see some true figures (£ $ €) for these "grails".

I (also) pointed out in another thread (started by @Darogal ?? - could not find it now ? - the thread) That ebay is no place to get your figures. Prices are totally different in "the real world" - lets say in Finnish Net Auction. I compared Japanese White Batman Returns (new).

But is auction ever ?

EBay doesn't show what the real price is, just what scalpers try and get. It gives a starting to point but not any real values. You need to actually see what things sell for across trade sections, marketplaces, eBay and other auction sites and work out an average figure from that. White Batman is a good one to use, its fallen out of favour and although still listed at silly prices here and there it can be bought for MUCH less with a little patience. Its market value is not what the eBay sellers want because they aren't managing to actually sell them. The market value is what it does actually sell for and these days thats not much more than £40

@Darogal If you can get Iron Man for less than £80 its a worthwhile buy, but don't waste more than that. Its now only snob factor to own it, and say Oh yes I own that, but as an actual steel its bettered by a long way by Blufans edition. I had IM FS and sold it because its just not that nice. If you want THE original Grail then that will always be Rambo

 

[Darogal]

vor 1 Minute schrieb psychoscot:

EBay doesn't show what the real price is, just what scalpers try and get. It gives a starting to point but not any real values. You need to actually see what things sell for across trade sections, marketplaces, eBay and other auction sites and work out an average figure from that. White Batman is a good one to use, its fallen out of favour and although still listed at silly prices here and there it can be bought for MUCH less with a little patience. Its market value is not what the eBay sellers want because they aren't managing to actually sell them. The market value is what it does actually sell for and these days thats not much more than £40

@Darogal If you can get Iron Man for less than £80 its a worthwhile buy, but don't waste more than that. Its now only snob factor to own it, and say Oh yes I own that, but as an actual steel its bettered by a long way by Blufans edition. I had IM FS and sold it because its just not that nice. If you want THE original Grail then that will always be Rambo

 

it´s just my opinion and i love the whole Marvel Universum - Rambo is really good but not more for me ... so i see it in that way how i like the films. but the good point about this is, it´s just everybodys taste and about that you can´t get in dispute with someone else.

[psychoscot]

1 hour ago, Darogal said:

it´s just my opinion and i love the whole Marvel Universum - Rambo is really good but not more for me ... so i see it in that way how i like the films. but the good point about this is, it´s just everybodys taste and about that you can´t get in dispute with someone else.

There are copies still floating about, ask in the trades section in the various forums and you might be lucky enough to snag it for around £100 to £150 unsealed and maybe a little more sealed. I would strongly advise against going through eBay. Everyone I've known thats got one on there has received a damaged copy, and being so old now there are a lot of people see what they can get and sell a dusty old copy thats scratched and dented and been on a shelf for years. I too am a Marvel collector and have everything pretty much released since the first steels, but I just couldn't warrant keeping a steel thats just not that nice in hand when I could have 2 weeks in the Canary Islands if I sold it LOL! "Which is where I went after selling it! lol"

[howarmat]

Its amazing to see the hobby crumble.  As mentioned grails just dont exist much anymore.  the 4 listed up top are probably more or less true grails.

 

I actually got both the moulin rouge and Romeo and Juliet Ironpacks from China.  Those are probably the best example i have in my own.  I guess I have all the black and white Japanese steels as well and saw those selling for outrageous prices but me personally dont see why as the print run should be quite high on those.

FAC AASB doesnt deserve the price it goes for.  I have several releases with smaller print runs but yet this sells for such inflated price.  I still want to pick it up and would easily pay $200 for it but not 600+ that it does for.

 

Bottom line is very few releases should be on the "grail" status and demand the money they do.  And no one should ever invest in steels hoping to get a new "grail" version of something really. The support just isnt there anymore for that type of thing.

[Scary Hair]

This is where I am not a real collector as such ?.

My grails are personal ones . ONES that I missed or wanted later after realise .

I see a lot of people hoping on a bandwagons of hype elsewhere not on MP . 

To have to prove your a part or a club or the biggest fan is jot my style at all .

Half the time I dont have a clue , the rest of the time I am amongst a group of amazing people who are aways willing to help me learn .

That IF someone asks me the most rere , disability , finish , retiler I can give them a fair honerst answer .

 

[Viper0210]

Just now, Scary Hair said:

This is where I am not a real collector as such .

My grails are personal ones . ONES that I missed or wanted later after realise .

I see a lot of people hoping on a bandwagons of hype elsewhere not on MP . 

To have to prove your a part or a club or the biggest fan is jot my style at all .

Half the time I dont have a clue , the rest of the time I am amongst a group of amazing people who are aways willing to help me learn .

That IF someone asks me the most rere , disability , finish , retiler I can give them a fair honerst answer .

 

@Scary Hair the definition of a true collector. Collector what you like and enjoy whether it's one or many things.