Saying that an issue is undercut only makes sense if we specify « compared to what », and the statement of September 6, 2026 only allows us to answer two of the three possible questions.It allows the comparison of a number to its neighbors, and that of the raw segment to the certified segment of the same number. It says nothing about evolution over time, for lack of a previous point of comparison taken with the same method. The issues whose display seems low - ten to twenty dollars for the middle issues - are especially those whose supply is massive: 146 advertisements on the second, 109 on the third. Abundance explains the level, it does not condemn it.
Three meanings of the word, only one of which can be verified here
Market lexicon uses “undercut” for three distinct ideas, and slipping from one to the other produces the bulk of poor purchasing decisions.
The first meaning is internal comparative: a booklet appears less expensive than its immediate neighbors, while nothing in its content distinguishes it. This meaning can be tested directly with a statement, provided that there are sufficient numbers for each number compared.
The second meaning is structural: the gap between the non-certified segment and the certified segment of the same number appears abnormally wide or narrow. It is also tested, but only where the two segments have enough ads to provide a median.
The third meaning is temporal: the booklet is cheaper today than yesterday. This is the meaning most used, and it is the one that no isolated statement can establish. It would take two readings taken on different dates using the same method, with the same filters and the same perimeter. Comparing the figures below to a figure found elsewhere would measure the difference between two methods, not the evolution of a market.
Internal comparison: what the other eleven show
Excluding the first issue, the median asking prices noted for uncertified copies range from $10 to $30. The second issue is priced at $10, the seventh at $13, the third at $13, the fifth at $14, the twelfth at $14, the fourth at $15, the sixth at $16, the eleventh at $18, the eighth at $19, the ninth at $20, the tenth at $30.
This list calls for careful reading, because the numbers behind these eleven figures vary by a factor of fifty. The second number is based on 146 advertisements, the third on 109, the fourth on 94, the sixth on 67. At the other end, the fifth has only 14, the twelfth three. The first four numbers describe a market; the last describes three sellers.
Once this precaution is taken, a difference persists: the tenth issue is displayed at $30 out of twenty advertisements, or double that of most of its neighbors, with a floor at $19 when the others go down to four or five dollars. A high floor reads differently than a high median. He doesn't say demand is strong; he says the cheap supply is absent.
The second — abundant, not sold off
146 uncertified listings, median $10, range $3-$100. This is the most widely offered booklet in the series. Its low display level is explained by this abundance alone, without any anomaly having to be invoked.
The tenth — a floor that holds
Twenty ads, median $30, but above all a minimum of $19. No seller goes lower that day, while most other issues offer copies under six dollars. This is the only discrepancy in the statement that cannot be explained by the number of employees.
The eighth and ninth — the top of the board
$19 and $20 median, on 40 and 35 ads. Correct numbers, levels slightly above the plateau. The difference with the $10 for the second is real but modest, and a single reading is not enough to make it a trend.
The fifth and twelfth — undetermined
14 and 3 announcements. Their medians of $14 appear in the table because they were calculated, not because they are informative. On such numbers, no conclusion on their relative level is tenable.
A low price on a massive supply and a low price on a rare supply do not tell the same story. The first reflects availability: many sellers, so little reason to ask expensively. The second reflects a lack of demand: few sellers and despite everything modest prices, which is the real signal of an abandoned booklet.
The survey does not show any cases of the second type in this series. Wherever the display is low, the supply is provided. This is information in itself, and it goes against the idea of a hidden opportunity.
Vertical internal comparison: raw versus certified
The second possible comparison compares, for the same issue, the level of the raw copies and that of the certified copies. It can only be used on the first four issues, the only ones having a certified segment provided: nineteen ads on the first, sixteen on the second, twelve on the third, nine on the fourth.
The ratios observed there are of the order of four to seven. The first number displays $250 certified against $60 gross; the second $67 versus $10; the third $91 versus $13; the fourth $88 versus $15. The highest ratio is therefore found on the second issue, the one whose raw segment is the most abundant - which is consistent: the more numerous the ordinary copies, the more the certified copy stands out.
Beyond the fourth issue, comparison becomes impossible. The fifth had one certified announcement, the ninth one, the sixth two, the tenth, eleventh and twelfth three each; the seventh and eighth none. Treating these figures as medians would amount to generalizing from an isolated announcement.
Compare without saying in relation to what
“Underrated” without a referent is not a testable statement. Specifying the comparison term — neighbors, certified segment, or earlier date — transforms an impression into a verifiable or refutable statement.
Take an ad for a market
Eight of the twelve fascicles had three or fewer certified advertisements. A median is arithmetically calculable and interpretatively empty.
Invent an evolution
A single statement is a photograph. Comparing it to a figure gleaned elsewhere, obtained with other filters, only measures the difference between two methods.
Confusing requested and obtained
All amounts quoted are prices posted by sellers. A booklet that no one wants can remain expensive for a very long time without it meaning anything.
Compare unknown states
Internal ranges reach $5 to $300 on the same number. Without status information, two announcements in the same issue are not comparable to each other.
Mix issues and batches
The complete series were excluded from this survey. Dividing the price of a lot by twelve to compare it to a number price produces a number that does not correspond to any possible transaction.
Testing the thesis on a case: the tenth booklet
The preceding reasoning is better applied than stated. Let's take the only number that stands out, and run the three tests.
Internal comparison test first. Its median of $30 is double that of its immediate neighbors, ninth at $20 and eleventh at $18. The three sample sizes are twenty, thirty-five and twenty announcements respectively — comparable, so the difference is not a sample artifact. The test is conclusive: the tenth is actually displayed higher than what surrounds it.
Vertical test next. Its certified segment had three listings, from $55 to $190. Three advertisements do not carry a usable median; the test is therefore inconclusive, and this must be said rather than using the figure.
Temporal test finally. No previous measurements taken using the same method are available. The test is impossible, and no formulation can circumvent this absence.
Result: out of three tests, only one succeeds. It shows a higher display than the neighbors, with a floor that does not go down. This is not proof of undercutting – it would be quite the opposite – but it is a solid observation, and it is better than a conviction based on three figures, two of which measure nothing. This is exactly what a well-conducted survey should produce: rare and tenable conclusions, rather than numerous and fragile conclusions.
What a buyer can make of these observations
Three practical conclusions stand out, and none take the form of buying advice.
The first: on the middle shelf, the choice is made on the condition and not on the price. When a median is based on a hundred listings and the range is five to three hundred dollars, the buyer who compares amounts is comparing noise. He who compares state descriptions compares something.
The second: the tenth issue deserves to be followed, not because it is underrated, but because its high floor is the only discrepancy in the reading that no number explains. Tracking means tracking again later with the same method, not buying now based on an isolated number.
The third: any assertion of evolution in this series requires a second reading. There is no shortcut — the only way to obtain a valid point of comparison is to produce one, under the same conditions, on another date.
These three conclusions have one thing in common: none of them designates a booklet to buy. It's voluntary. An ad statement provides information on what is available and at what level it is offered; it provides neither information on what buyers actually agree to, nor on what the object will be worth. An article that deduces a purchase recommendation from these figures alone would cross a line that the data cannot cross.
None, in the strict sense, according to this statement. Issues with low display are those with massive supply — up to 146 ads on the second issue. A low price backed by abundant supply describes availability, not a valuation anomaly.
Because its floor is $19 on twenty ads, while most other issues offer copies under six dollars. It is a signal on supply – no seller is selling off – and not on demand, which an advert report does not measure.
Not from this statement alone. Establishing an evolution requires two measurements taken with the same method, the same filters and the same scope. A comparison with a figure from another source would measure the difference between the two methods.
It is there where both segments are provided, that is to say on the first four issues of this series, where it is between four and seven. Elsewhere, the certified segment had zero to three announcements, and the calculated ratio would have described only one particular announcement.
By noting, on a specific date, the number of advertisements found for each issue, the median of the prices displayed and the limits of the range, excluding lots and reissues. Repeated a few months later identically, this reading becomes a measure of progress; taken only once, one photograph remains.
Two readings are better than a hunch
My Comics Collection keeps each estimate with its date and number, making the next statement comparable to the previous one — the only way to observe developments rather than assume them.