Tintin Forums

I have been a keen follower of Tintin collectibles, in particular the books in English editions.
Over the last few months I have observed increasing activity on eBay regarding the sale and purchase of UK first editions, Golden Press editions, the Making of Tintin series, and peripheral books such as the Golden Fleece, Blue Oranges, Harry Thompson's Hergé biography, Herge & Tintin Reporters, etc.
Seems to me that more and more people are bidding, and the sale value has nearly doubled,relative to what a similar product used to cost a year ago.
Could this growth in the market be the fallout from the recent publicity for Tintin?
What impression do other eBay hawks have on the current trends - any differing opinions?
I've also noticed the fall in availability of the above mentioned books in the traditional second-hand market, including on AbeBooks. Even really pricey ones go fast.
Thoughts on this are welcome.

I have noticed that the very early editions of the books and the 'Making of..' series etc., are going for much higher prices than suggested in the recent 'Book Collector' magazine. I've also noticed that the same few people are buying a lot of these books. I'm not sure if they are collectors or dealers, but I've been shocked at how high some of the winning bids have been. It certainly seems there are some wealthy Tintin enthusiasts out there..

At the end of the day it only takes a couple of people to bid on such items to drive the price up.

The items are quite rare and its the scarcity that drives the price up rather than the value. Some of these items are getting rarer and they don't appear very often

R

Recently I had the privilege of viewing the sale of the 1952 'holy grail' Secret of the Unicorn. Existence of the book had reached mythical proportions. It ended up at £800+ which in my view is decent but not brilliant for such a rare book!
Tintin in Tibet and the Black Island (1st English editions) score over £50 each.
Till recently I was waiting (for a long time) for prices of the Tintin movie books to come down. That never happened.If anything they seem to be racing away.
I agree with you Jocko that you need only two to hike the prices. That was the case before. What I have found different in recent times is that it is not just the odd two or three but a whole bountiful who chance their arm. I guess what I am leading to is the fact that more and more people are becoming interested in tintin history and are hoping to pull some in for themselves. But as cafe_noir sees it - the usual suspects win. Wonder if this highlights a cultural change towards Tintin especially in the 'English' markets?

I agree with what's been said about it only taking two bidders to drive the price up if they are bidding against one another. I've had my eye on a couple of Tintin items but when I recognised the high bidder I knew I wouldn't be willing to match the very high bids they win usually items with.
I wonder if the announcement of the Spielberg/Jackson film has meant that some dealers are buying up rarer editions in the hope of making a killing when the film comes out and interest in Tintin reaches a peak?

Cafe_noir, I think you have it! The movie and the recent publicity of tintin, celebrated by numerous book releases has led opportunists to stack up. My gut feeling says they have got it right. I cannot see Tintin's publicity going down.

A recent insight to e-bay madness was gained when today a 1958 first edition UK Methuen publication of the King Ottokar's Sceptre sold for £225 !!! Incredible.
I was planing to invest a £10 to own a piece of history. Guess that would have been an understatement. Looks like any Tintin memorabilia is now to measured with pots of gold -:). As far as I am aware there have been no changes in story or pictures in the later English editions as opposed to this first edition.

Maybe one reason would be the upward spiral in the world economy? In good times people tend to spend more money on all kinds of luxury items.

I think that the prices also depend at what price the seller starts their auction at. If they know it's worth something then the starting price may be too high thus bumping the bids to a much higher price than the actual item is worth. By the way my First edition Golden Fleece may make an appearance on ebay. NOOO not really ..it's far too precious to me and only cost me one pound in '86. Back to ebay, it's not only books that go for silly money Tintin PVC figures can fetch quite high prices for what they are. I have been buying and selling them for the last 7 months or so. Some are really hard to get hold of. There is a Nestor figure (made in 1994) and that seems to be the most expensive. Bullyland a German figure manufacturer made some samll Tintin figures back in 1974/77 and the Thompsons from that set are like gold dust.

Chances aint lost if you cant buy first time.The people who buy the books may list them on there again. £800 for Secret of the Unicorn thats extreme pricing there.I often keep a look out on Ebay for such rare items.Though i have never brought one myself.For The Secret of the Unicorn 1952 Book how much would you be willing to pay.I myself about £50.