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I'm getting priced out of collecting
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Started by Westy Steve,

132 posts in this topic

Mr.Mcknowitall

Mr.Mcknowitall

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, FlyingDonut said:

I am completely baffled by this entire thread. Apparently they didn't teach Economics 101 in the engineering program the OP went to. 

I understand your confusion. Baffles are a device that regulates light, but can also regulate fluid flow. So you have a bit of both mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, when baffled.

Baffles are also a sort of barrier that stops interference between sound waves in a speaker. Is it possible you missed the opportunity to avail yourself of that use?

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FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

Posted
Posted
17 minutes ago, Mr.Mcknowitall said:

I understand your confusion. Baffles are a device that regulates light, but can also regulate fluid flow. So you have a bit of both mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, when baffled.

Baffles are also a sort of barrier that stops interference between sound waves in a speaker. Is it possible you missed the opportunity to avail yourself of that use?

tenor.gif?itemid=8498985

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Westy Steve

Westy Steve

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, FlyingDonut said:

I am completely baffled by this entire thread. Apparently they didn't teach Economics 101 in the engineering program the OP went to. 

Sorry you're baffled.   There was no room in our curriculum for Economics...at least not the kind you're referring to. 

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FutureFlash

FutureFlash

Posted
Posted (edited)
18 hours ago, 1950's war comics said:

War comics are still comparatively dirt cheap compared to most other genres............

First rule of War Comics Price Club is we don't talk about War Comics Price Club.:grin:

Edited by FutureFlash
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Jimbo749

Jimbo749

Posted
Posted
25 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

Sorry you're baffled.   There was no room in our curriculum for Economics...at least not the kind you're referring to. 

No economics in my engineering program either, but somehow you are supposed to be able to answer "engineering economics" questions on the licensing test.

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FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Westy Steve said:

Sorry you're baffled.   There was no room in our curriculum for Economics...at least not the kind you're referring to. 

Supply and Demand drives the Equilibrium, creating the Optimal Market Price. ^^ 

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kimik

kimik

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

I am completely baffled by this entire thread. Apparently they didn't teach Economics 101 in the engineering program the OP went to. 

No. It was English 101 for Engineers instead.

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FineCollector

FineCollector

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, FlyingDonut said:

Supply and Demand drives the Equilibrium, creating the Optimal Market Price. ^^ 

All things being equal, yes, but dirty flippers are selling to each other, shifting the demand curve, and creating a new, artificial equilibrium point. :idea:

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Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, FineCollector said:

All things being equal, yes, but dirty flippers are selling to each other, shifting the demand curve, and creating a new, artificial equilibrium point. :idea:

Very Keynesian.

If it was supply and demand in a market dominated primarily by collectors who actually care about comic books, I'd still try to keep connected to that.  But, it isn't.

 

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Michelangelo

Michelangelo

Posted
Posted

Hey OP, 

I'm in the same boat asking the same questions. I like buying keys Silver/Bronze/Copper key books and then enjoy reading digital or omnibuses of a series for the stories. 

It's something about the first appearance keys that get me excited. 2 years ago I got married and 6 months later bought a house in a red hot real estate market and it's been a pinch to say the least. Paying down the mortgage, paying back family we borrowed from, making the new house feel like our home, etc.

The last book I bought was a SC 22 months before my wedding and haven't bought a book since (due to changing priorities of where my money goes - I have no regrets at all). I have been tracking the market prices on books from my want list and I'm floored by some of the increases. Some books selling in May 2017 are 2.5x higher in May 2018.

I liked being able to save a few hundred dollars, dip in and buy a book or two, then dip out (and repeat). It's getting to a point where even if I had the disposable income I used to, I'm not sure I want to spend that kind of money on collecting. I am a true collector, I'm not in it for the quick flip and I won't buy based only on speculation.

There's just something about refinancing my house to buy comics that doesn't appeal to me (and of course I mean that facetiously) 

I'm at a crossroads; hoping a bubble bursts and things get back to normal. Supply and Demand drives the hobby for sure - and right now, demand is the highest it's been in years.

 

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BrntWS6

BrntWS6

Posted
Posted

I stopped collecting in the mid 90s and recently started to pick up new books here and there.  Didn't last long because i feel the cover prices are too expensive now.  I was used to $1 - $1.75...$4 is just stupid.   Wonder if eventually they will price most right out of the market.   So i am concentrating on getting my books graded to sell when i retire.

 

My first hobby is cars and for me it is much more satisfying than comics.  I buy a book and put it away for years before i see it again.  My car is always there to wrench on, drive, clean, take to shows etc.  But it can be quite expensive as well, i have 20k into my car in just modifications alone.  But that is over 16 years of owning it.

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FineCollector

FineCollector

Posted
Posted
59 minutes ago, Michelangelo said:

It's getting to a point where even if I had the disposable income I used to, I'm not sure I want to spend that kind of money on collecting. I am a true collector, I'm not in it for the quick flip and I won't buy based only on speculation.

You want to be careful proclaiming you're a "true collector" when you only buy keys, and don't want to pay market value...

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

Posted
Posted

The market is not concerned with the motives of buyers and sellers. It is only concerned that there ARE buyers and sellers. Why they buy, and why they sell, is irrelevant. 

Collectors can only hope that the people who drive prices up are also collectors, but it ultimately doesn't matter.

Keep in mind...I built the vast, vast majority of my collection from 1997-2006...when comic prices had crashed precipitously from what they were in the early 90's, when I started collecting. 

I, too, am priced out of much I want to buy. Now, I can afford to spend what it would have cost me in the year 2000 to buy a Detective Comics #31. However, 5.0 copies of Detective Comics #31 sell for 6 figures...as much as a house in the midwest, or a closet in Los Angeles.

Can I do anything about that?

No.

I can only wait until those millionaires and billionaires who currently infest the market lose interest, or I become a millionaire or billionaire myself. Will that happen while I'm still alive? Maybe. Probably not. But the market will cycle back eventually, as it always does.

But I keep doing what I do, and maybe, someday, it will happen. If it doesn't...well, I got an immense amount of enjoyment out of what I do have already, so I win.

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

Posted
Posted
On 5/9/2018 at 7:33 AM, Westy Steve said:

Our keys are so much more interesting than...say...a key from a coin collection which might be only distinguished by a different date.

If that's your takeaway, I can only say, you're missing out.

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Aweandlorder

Aweandlorder

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Michelangelo said:

I'm at a crossroads; hoping a bubble bursts and things get back to normal. Supply and Demand drives the hobby for sure - and right now, demand is the highest it's been in years.

 

Whats "Normal" give an example 

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

Posted
Posted
On 5/9/2018 at 11:41 AM, Larryw7 said:

I have to sell books if I want to buy other stuff that's more important to me. That's one of the only ways that non millionaire collectors can survive in this crazy market. I also agree with October that there are some books that were great at say 200-500 bucks that now go for thousands. I'm a Batman/Joker nut, but there's no way I'll pay 4 grand  for a .5 Detective 69 with the title stripped from the cover. The market is bonkers.

When I was at Carbonaro's show at the Penn in 2009, I saw someone with a Tec #168 on the wall...it was maybe a 3.0/3.5 raw. It was priced at somewhere around $600. I wanted it, but couldn't justify spending that kind of money. That book is now $6-$7,000 or more.

I sold all of my Joker covers...I had TWO Batman #40s....plus #23, 49, 66, 73, Tec #85, 91, 102, 118, 148....sold all of them about 5-6 years ago. I needed the money. The #118 was gorgeous. I sold them all for about $200-$300 each. 

Now, I'd have to pay 10 times or more that to get them back.

Oh well. I take heart in knowing that most of us are in the same boat.

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