Ever just get overwhelmed by your collection??

[Point Five]

Honestly, I recommend giving away a lot of the dollar bin stuff once you've read it (or at this point, even if you haven't). It takes up too much room for what it is, and it is always replaceable. It's a great feeling to get that space back.

 

 

[Chip Cataldo]

I'm only overwhelmed when I think of how much I've sold, which is everything.

 

Y'all would spoon your pants if you knew all of it.

[kav]

Be careful about clearing out your collection. I did this in the 80s and got rid of useless books like GSXM 1 and Ms marvel #1 X Men 90-110 etc.

[Chip Cataldo]

Feel free to send your overflow my way, guys.

[jcjames]

Be careful about clearing out your collection. I did this in the 80s and got rid of useless books like GSXM 1 and Ms marvel #1 X Men 90-110 etc.

 

[gradejunky]

HaHa....all good advice y'all! Yea, it is just time to sell I think. I am a seller at heart, but just can't sell what I don't know what I have at this point.....iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiif that sentence even makes sense right now....

[Silver Surfer]

Occasionally I get overwhelmed when I look at my massive junk.

[Mystafo]

Occasionally I get overwhelmed when I look at my massive junk.

 

and boom goes the dynamite

[kav]

[kimik]

Good advice. I'm trying to sort about 100 long boxes from collections we've bought. Every time I walk pass the pile I stop and sort for 5 minutes and it's starting to add up.

 

If you let me help sort and buy anything I find that I deem worthwhile for $1 per book it would be organized a lot faster........

[Lucky Baru]

The internet has made the hobby so much easier to complete runs and find keys. However, it has made it hard to walk away from the hobby. Back in the day, if you couldn't find it at your local shops or a few cons, mail order was your solution but the catalogs didn't show up every day Nor did the replies to the mail you sent out trying to buy books. Thus, you could do other things to keep a collection in order. Now it is a key stroke away and it eats into your free time if you let it.

 

I hope you find a solution to your issue.

[piper]

Keep the books that you just cannot part with.

Try and maintain no more than 3 collecting focus goals for the rest.

What's left after that, get rid of and raise some cash.

Of course if you can't bear to part with anything, then you got problems.

 

[Lazyboy]

Keep the books that you just cannot part with.

Try and maintain no more than 3 collecting focus goals for the rest.

What's left after that, get rid of and raise some cash.

Of course if you can't bear to part with anything, then you got problems.

 

Focus is for the weak.

 

Organization, however, is essential.

[catrick339]

Keep the books that you just cannot part with.

Try and maintain no more than 3 collecting focus goals for the rest.

What's left after that, get rid of and raise some cash.

Of course if you can't bear to part with anything, then you got problems.

 

Focus is for the weak.

 

Organization, however, is essential.

 

This.

 

Whether collecting or buying and selling, you have to commit to keeping your stuff tight and neat.

 

My personal collection is now down to looking for certain select DC and Marvel SA issues, plus the occasional GA Action Comics, plus the dream of the Magic Garage Sale for a Superman 1, but the stuff for the shows ebbs and flows like the tide.

 

Gotta got those eighteen longboxes in alphanumeric for the next dollar show! Got a couple more PCH, set 'em aside for the next Cornucopia thread! Ooh, a reeeeally pretty Special Marvel Edition 15, is it nice enough to slab? Hey, look! Early issues of Popular! Anything on BAZ's want list?

 

All of this while working a real job at 55+ hours a week. It can be done, but be sure you have TV/DVD/STEREO available in your workspace for some background while you toil.

 

The Basement Crypt Of Comics has satellite dish, DVD/VHS player, plus a pair of GOOD stereo speakers from the setup in the library/den/bar that takes up the front half of the basement, and the garage Man Cave has its own stereo plus satellite dish plus wood stove plus a comfortable recliner to kick back in when I've had enough. Be sure to leave a secure spot to set your favorite adult beverage where it won't spill or drip condensation on your comics.

[sundrycollect]

There are key books in my boxes that i dont even know about. Once in a while I stumble across one like first deadshot or marvel premiere 15.

 

Ain't that the truth...I don't have a good grip on what I have at this point and my collection isn't that big...about 5000 books. It is sort of fun though, rediscovering the collection!

[Buzzetta]

This thread makes me want to list another 50 items on eBay...

 

This year I have sold off some things not to raise money in so much as to clear space. I would rather...

Selling off a full run of X-O Manowar and Archer, Bloodshot and Armstrong was more valuable to me than selling a single slab since it cleared out a small box of comics.

[sundrycollect]

Keep the books that you just cannot part with.

Try and maintain no more than 3 collecting focus goals for the rest.

What's left after that, get rid of and raise some cash.

Of course if you can't bear to part with anything, then you got problems.

 

Focus is for the weak.

 

Organization, however, is essential.

 

Agreed! Collect what you like...no matter what it is...and have no shame in culling the collection every now and then!

 

By the way...The Chuck Rozansky mantra of "never sell" just can't work for most people. I have culled twice...and only really regret one or two books of the ~1000 I got rid of. (Avengers 4 being one....argh.)

[vaillant]

I like to keep my collection manageable. Having way too many books somehow seems to be collecting & hoarding for the sake of it.

One has to be ruthless and be prepared to focus more. Less is more in lots of things, and way more enjoyable. If you are in to reading them and absorbing the pop culture of the actual books it's the only way for me. I have a stack of approx. 50 unread books which never seems to go down as I read between 1-2 per day and am always buying, but then I prune when I get too many. As a result I really enjoy the books as they were meant to be enjoyed and don't get swamped. I know many won't agree but it works for me, and keeps things fresh and enjoyable. I'm not interested in money or investment so my outlook is different I suppose.

Considering I have been collecting for over 50 years my collection is very modest.

 

Grantley's reply is the one I like most, as it suggest various implications of collecting which are not always considered.

 

As for the OP's question: I agree that he should first focus on limited objectives to get rid of duplicates and books he really do not care about: don’t worry if "that copy" might be better: save this reasoning for a few books you love or care more about, and let the other duplicates end up in the "for sale" box(es).

 

My personal problem comes from the fact that I have been collecting on many fronts since 2007 (and especially since 2012), and not chiefly for the pure enjoyment of the material as it’s usual with comics collecting, but for interests and research areas (for this, I am not "swamped" just by comics, but by books, magazines et al.) that I care about.

So, Grantley, how would you proceed when a good portion of the material is rare, not easy or almost impossible to replace, and accumulated while focusing for a specific research (and writing project) but you have space problems you can’t seem to solve?

 

 

[MetalPSI]

My collection doesn't overwhelm me, but it overwhelms others when they learn it's mostly 90's drek

[Beastfeast]

I finally focused my keepers to one short box that even gets hit by the bug to sell.

 

BUT, I buy from $1 bins compulsively to sell and put that money toward bigger books. It's mainly worked out but I have a lot more stuff lying around that I shouldn't.