(Moderns) switching to tpb?

[Chiefs1313]

I'm tired, mainly my wife is tired, of having tons of boxes and/or modern books laying around.

 

Any downside to switching my pull list to tpb? Cost about the same?

 

My pull list is mainly DC and a little marvel and never the "ultra rare" variant.

[FineCollector]

Looks good on a shelf, but has zero resale value.

[AnhDepTrai]

go digital and cost less

[chrisco37]

I did it awhile ago (as well as pare down what I buy in general). Don't feel like I've missed out on anything other than the hassle a bagging and boarding books that, most likely, couldn't be resold for more than a $1 each if I was lucky.

[techvoodoo]

Got to wait longer to read. Potentially less resale value. Still takes up space. I did it for the moderns I like to read. In hindsight I probably should have bought the largest iPad and just went digital.

[Chiefs1313]

I don't know about resale value as a downside, especially compared to digital. Tpb obviously hold value over digital, but is it less than singles? Tpb should be less resale, but shouldn't be much less, right?

[Leroys311]

I've went that route for most modern titles. In my situation it works out nicely because my 2 oldest sons like to read them as well. I'd prefer them reading the trades opposed to my single issues.

[krighton]

yeah if you're going to toss potential future value to the wind, just go digital. If the single ends up being a 'hot' comic...then yes, the TPB is worth considerably less.....if you never sell your comics and don't consider them an investment then your decision is easy.

[darkstar]

Looks good on a shelf, but has zero resale value.

 

zero resale value for trades?

 

ok.

[romanheart]

If you don't purchase for collector value then I would only go digital

[gcstomp]

Buying trades looks better on shelf. Easier to read a storyline. Buy good deals at shows and you will hold better value than the average modern storyline bought issue by issue.

[IntoAnother]

A few of the larger online shops run sales every so often on TPB's with discounts typically ranging from 40-75% off. A few local shops in my area also run sales, usually 25-50% off of TPB's. As long as you are patient and stock up when the time is right you can pick up quite a few for a fair price.

 

 

[Arkham]

I was in a similar boat, OP. Only difference was my wife didn't care.

 

I have done the following:

 

- Sold most of my raw and insignificant slabbed books and used the funds to buy bigger keys that I wanted to have in my collection.

 

- Kept raws and slabs that were important and sentimental to me and really honed my collecting focus.

 

- Purchase digital instead of "readers" and consume via my iPad

 

- Purchase trades/omnibuses and absolutes of truly loved creators with significant re-read value.

 

In the past 12 months I've gone from having an entire room in the house full of boxes, to less than a bookcase. I've added keys to my collection that I never thought I'd own and I am overall on with the state of my collection.

 

The iPad is awesome for reading comics, colours really pop and you can carry hundreds with you at any one time. Perfect for travel/commute/laziness.

 

 

 

 

[Chiefs1313]

Buying trades looks better on shelf. Easier to read a storyline. Buy good deals at shows and you will hold better value than the average modern storyline bought issue by issue.

 

This was my initial thought when posing the question.

[Brian48]

When I started reading comics again 4-5 years ago, I stuck with the TPBs or HCs, despite the longer wait. Just easier to handle, took less space, and I can read the whole story in one sitting without waiting month to month. One of the good things about modern books I thought was that I can buy them strictly for reading pleasure without worrying about resale value since there isn't any for the most part.

 

Now I have a whole book shelf of books and will probably go digital going forward. Well, at least when I finally upgrade from my aging Ipad2.

[Chiefs1313]

For those that went all digital, do you feel guilty for leaving your LCS? Do you still go to your LCS?

[Arkham]

For those that went all digital, do you feel guilty for leaving your LCS? Do you still go to your LCS?

 

My nearest is 100km south. I did feel a bit guilty about that because I was having a huge spend there weekly and it's not as big an industry in Australia - so LCS's need support, but I still try to get trades and statues from them when I can.

 

At the end of the day, I felt more guilty about spending more on comics than I could be when I could be spending less and putting more money into renovating the house or paying off the mortgage.

 

 

[Ken Aldred]

I did it awhile ago (as well as pare down what I buy in general). Don't feel like I've missed out on anything other than the hassle a bagging and boarding books that, most likely, couldn't be resold for more than a $1 each if I was lucky.

 

Looks good on a shelf, but has zero resale value.

 

Looks good on a shelf, but has zero resale value.

 

zero resale value for trades?

 

ok.

 

I think it’s a fairly similar situation for both individual issues and trade paperback / hardcover collections.

 

Most don’t hold the retail price you paid for them, reselling at a fraction, but some do end up going higher, for example, Marvel Omnibus Editions, DC Archives, especially when out-of-print. Also applies to moderns such as the first print Annihilation HC collections, not just the aforementioned reprints of GA / SA / BA books.

 

You can usually find dealers offering 30-40 % discounts at conventions, or online.

 

[HeroX]

I was in a similar boat, OP. Only difference was my wife didn't care.

 

I have done the following:

 

- Sold most of my raw and insignificant slabbed books and used the funds to buy bigger keys that I wanted to have in my collection.

 

- Kept raws and slabs that were important and sentimental to me and really honed my collecting focus.

 

- Purchase digital instead of "readers" and consume via my iPad

 

- Purchase trades/omnibuses and absolutes of truly loved creators with significant re-read value.

 

In the past 12 months I've gone from having an entire room in the house full of boxes, to less than a bookcase. I've added keys to my collection that I never thought I'd own and I am overall on with the state of my collection.

 

The iPad is awesome for reading comics, colours really pop and you can carry hundreds with you at any one time. Perfect for travel/commute/laziness.

 

 

 

 

I did exactly this a couple years ago and couldn't be happier.

[Bill1]

If I were to stop collecting, which is what you are talking about doing, then I would go with digital. Trades, while nice to read, are about like saving your local newspaper everyday forever. Not worth it from this collector's standpoint.