• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Is It Possible To Quit Comics?

102 posts in this topic

My first well documented departure from collecting comics lasted quite a while, the best part of ten years, and it was only because I lost a whole collection in one fell swoop that I gave up. But the second time around I managed to obliterate the old collection in some style, and when the time came to knock it on the head for the second time round I swore I'd make a clean break.

We decided to buy the house we were happy in and I needed to find $15,000 to put a deposit down to secure the mortgage, then find solicitors fees and survey fees, so comics were the obvious 'lifestyle choice' that had to be sacrificed to get that money together.

 

It bothered me at first when I was selling books, seeing those beauties in Mylar being packed up and shipped, but after a while I became pretty much desensitised to it and I thought that was it, that they'd all go and that would be the end of it.

But between quick looks on here, The Dark Knight Rises and being a complete sodding geek I felt that pang again, so I decided to try to satiate it with a purchase of a Batman #251 9.4. But it doesn't work does it? Buying one doesn't stop the feeling, it just makes it worse.

 

So from my experiences over the last 20 years I now believe there should be a government warning on comics as they're more addictive than smoking cigarettes. In fact I'd rather give up smoking than buying comics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although I think it is a matter of priorities, I think it is an addiction for most folks.

 

We've got two kids in college, and I'm scraping for $, but I'll be dammmed if I part with the 'good stuff.'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming you're going to pick up at least one other book to keep the Bats 251 company, it sound like you're tastes are probably going to be more selective/refined this go around. If I was in such a position of being able to start fresh, I would probably miss all the books, but that feeling would likely be moderated by the thought that curating and managing what I decided to keep would be make me feel less like the comics owned me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can't completely eliminate addiction. The only thing you can really do is replace one addiction with another.

 

After watching people come and go here for 10 years, and wrestling with collecting myself, in my mind the best solution to solving the "collecting dilemma" is to always collect far below your means. Always buying the best you can afford will inevitably land you in a spot where you either have to sell the books, or make some other sacrifice.

 

It's actually an unnecessary dilemma. If the purchase price is an afterthought, you can have comics in your life and not have to feel pressure to sell them. It's the "all or nothing" mentality that ultimately gets in people's way and turns something that should be a fun diversion into a constant source of angst.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming you're going to pick up at least one other book to keep the Bats 251 company, it sound like you're tastes are probably going to be more selective/refined this go around. If I was in such a position of being able to start fresh, I would probably miss all the books, but that feeling would likely be moderated by the thought that curating and managing what I decided to keep would be make me feel less like the comics owned me.

 

The problem is typically the financial element. Most households have a DVD collection, and in some cases the total amount spent on those DVDs over the course of their accumulation is fairly substantial. But when crunch time hits, no one thinks "time to sell the DVDs" because they're not worth much, but more importantly, because they're not viewed as a financial investment.

 

I think those who wrestle with collecting would be much happier if they treated their collectibles the way they treat their consumables, and consider the money spent. If that means buying a 6.0 instead of a 9.4, that's what they should do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming you're going to pick up at least one other book to keep the Bats 251 company, it sound like you're tastes are probably going to be more selective/refined this go around.

 

Spot on. I still have about 1,000 raw books I want to move on which will be an arduous task, but I intend to do it. But I have decided on maybe 20 books or so I'd like to own in a certain grade, and this time around I won't have the kamikaze attitude I had five years ago. It makes a massive difference in the fact that it feels far more enjoyable and less of a burden.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's actually an unnecessary dilemma. If the purchase price is an afterthought, you can have comics in your life and not have to feel pressure to sell them. It's the "all or nothing" mentality that ultimately gets in people's way and turns something that should be a fun diversion into a constant source of angst.

 

 

Again, spot on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming you're going to pick up at least one other book to keep the Bats 251 company, it sound like you're tastes are probably going to be more selective/refined this go around.

 

Spot on. I still have about 1,000 raw books I want to move on which will be an arduous task, but I intend to do it. But I have decided on maybe 20 books or so I'd like to own in a certain grade, and this time around I won't have the kamikaze attitude I had five years ago. It makes a massive difference in the fact that it feels far more enjoyable and less of a burden.

 

Once you get those 20, you'll go for another 20, and eventually build your way to another sell-off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem is typically the financial element. Most households have a DVD collection, and in some cases the total amount spent on those DVDs over the course of their accumulation is fairly substantial. But when crunch time hits, no one thinks "time to sell the DVDs" because they're not worth much, but more importantly, because they're not viewed as a financial investment.

 

To be honest I didn't sell the comics to raise the money we needed, I did that mostly through working more. I sold the comics to break away and stop altogether as I felt they'd taken over me and as long as I was still in possession of that collection I couldn't stop spending money on them.

The clean break didn't quite happen, but the money I did make through them bought us some luxuries, and now I'm back into buying with a much more refined focus I feel I can manage what I want to buy a lot more comfortably and, more importantly, enjoyably.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming you're going to pick up at least one other book to keep the Bats 251 company, it sound like you're tastes are probably going to be more selective/refined this go around.

 

Spot on. I still have about 1,000 raw books I want to move on which will be an arduous task, but I intend to do it. But I have decided on maybe 20 books or so I'd like to own in a certain grade, and this time around I won't have the kamikaze attitude I had five years ago. It makes a massive difference in the fact that it feels far more enjoyable and less of a burden.

 

Once you get those 20, you'll go for another 20, and eventually build your way to another sell-off.

 

It will probably take me 6 or 7 years to get those 20. I really don't feel the need to buy anything I see these days. I just know what I want and am happy to sit back and save to get them. A year off really did help me look at collecting in a different perspective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem is typically the financial element. Most households have a DVD collection, and in some cases the total amount spent on those DVDs over the course of their accumulation is fairly substantial. But when crunch time hits, no one thinks "time to sell the DVDs" because they're not worth much, but more importantly, because they're not viewed as a financial investment.

 

To be honest I didn't sell the comics to raise the money we needed, I did that mostly through working more. I sold the comics to break away and stop altogether as I felt they'd taken over me and as long as I was still in possession of that collection I couldn't stop spending money on them.

The clean break didn't quite happen, but the money I did make through them bought us some luxuries, and now I'm back into buying with a much more refined focus I feel I can manage what I want to buy a lot more comfortably and, more importantly, enjoyably.

 

Ah, I see.

 

Management is definitely key. If you make a plan and stick to it, you'll have no problems. The problem is never the hobbies themselves, just a lack of discipline and impulse control. (thumbs u

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming you're going to pick up at least one other book to keep the Bats 251 company, it sound like you're tastes are probably going to be more selective/refined this go around.

 

Spot on. I still have about 1,000 raw books I want to move on which will be an arduous task, but I intend to do it. But I have decided on maybe 20 books or so I'd like to own in a certain grade, and this time around I won't have the kamikaze attitude I had five years ago. It makes a massive difference in the fact that it feels far more enjoyable and less of a burden.

 

Once you get those 20, you'll go for another 20, and eventually build your way to another sell-off.

 

It will probably take me 6 or 7 years to get those 20. I really don't feel the need to buy anything I see these days. I just know what I want and am happy to sit back and save to get them. A year off really did help me look at collecting in a different perspective.

 

(thumbs u

 

Stick to that, and you won't ever have to quit. Life's too short and shltty to completely deprive yourself of something you enjoy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming you're going to pick up at least one other book to keep the Bats 251 company, it sound like you're tastes are probably going to be more selective/refined this go around.

 

Spot on. I still have about 1,000 raw books I want to move on which will be an arduous task, but I intend to do it. But I have decided on maybe 20 books or so I'd like to own in a certain grade, and this time around I won't have the kamikaze attitude I had five years ago. It makes a massive difference in the fact that it feels far more enjoyable and less of a burden.

 

Once you get those 20, you'll go for another 20, and eventually build your way to another sell-off.

 

It will probably take me 6 or 7 years to get those 20. I really don't feel the need to buy anything I see these days. I just know what I want and am happy to sit back and save to get them. A year off really did help me look at collecting in a different perspective.

 

(thumbs u

 

Stick to that, and you won't ever have to quit. Life's too short and shltty to completely deprive yourself of something you enjoy.

 

I was never focused. I thought I was but the goalposts constantly moved. I do remember buying a complete run of Walking Dead when I was trying to collect Batman and thought I was clever selling them for $1,000 when we first moved into the house. A kick in the bollocks that was, and yet another lesson into the collecting mentality I suppose.

 

This time around I certainly know what I want and that's all it will be. It actually felt great to see a $100 book the other day and think 'That means a lot to me, I'll take it' without having to work payment terms on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's probably not comics.

If it were only comics, they are everywhere at this point in time, instantaneously. You could spend whole days reading back issue comics cover to cover, viewing original art, reading comic book histories, exploring artists, inkers, writers, and publishers. Dive right in, and stay in to your heart's content.

 

Buying, unpacking and archiving to satisfy buying, unpacking and archiving is probably an insatiable loop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming you're going to pick up at least one other book to keep the Bats 251 company, it sound like you're tastes are probably going to be more selective/refined this go around.

 

Spot on. I still have about 1,000 raw books I want to move on which will be an arduous task, but I intend to do it. But I have decided on maybe 20 books or so I'd like to own in a certain grade, and this time around I won't have the kamikaze attitude I had five years ago. It makes a massive difference in the fact that it feels far more enjoyable and less of a burden.

 

Once you get those 20, you'll go for another 20, and eventually build your way to another sell-off.

 

It will probably take me 6 or 7 years to get those 20. I really don't feel the need to buy anything I see these days. I just know what I want and am happy to sit back and save to get them. A year off really did help me look at collecting in a different perspective.

Gav this is the way I collect too,it helps to keep me focused.One big book a year,and I build up a great collection without putting a burden on my family.It does take alot longer to build the collection,but at least for me I get a sense of self satisfaction knowing that I don't have to sell books because I need to keep the lights on at home.Because I went on a rampage buying spree the month prior.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's probably not comics.

If it were only comics, they are everywhere at this point in time, instantaneously. You could spend whole days reading back issue comics cover to cover, viewing original art, reading comic book histories, exploring artists, inkers, writers, and publishers. Dive right in, and stay in to your heart's content.

 

Buying, unpacking and archiving to satisfy buying, unpacking and archiving is probably an insatiable loop.

 

Collecting has very little to do with the objects themselves.

 

How many times have we seen collectors complete a run they've been chasing for a long time, only to just sell it all off and start over with something else? And I would wager a vast majority of people spend way more time shopping for comics than they do actually enjoying what they already own. It's all about the ride.

Link to comment
Share on other sites