Went to a con and didn't buy a comic book 1 1

[Heronext]

There were likely a lot of $40 books there that are tomorrow's $400 books.  When you get priced out of what you are interested in, it may be time to find a new interest.

[miraclemet]

1 minute ago, Heronext said:

There were likely a lot of $40 books there that are tomorrow's $400 books.  When you get priced out of what you are interested in, it may be time to find a new interest.

Or narrow it. 

 

[justafan]

7 minutes ago, comicartfan said:

I hear what the OP is saying. There is always a certain amount of anticipation and excitement to go to a con. You look forward to it for weeks (sometimes months) and think about which dealer you want to see and what to look for when you're there. Then when you start looking around, you get sticker shock. It's real and I've been there myself. 

A couple of thoughts. One, I would shift your perspective. You gotta go into the show knowing that books, particularly hot and keys, are going to be inflated. I have been to shows where a dealer has an item priced 10-30% more than what is on their website. This is an instant turnoff and I always walk away without looking any further. Remember, we as consumers, have options. Of course I understand that exhibitors have expenses involved in being at the show. I used to do set up at one local shows and even with this small area the expenses are surprising. 

Another point I would bring up is more about the hobby and the marketplace in general. Prices are reaching levels that are just mind boggling. When a Hulk 181 3.0 sells for $1500 and ASM 300 9.8 is a $2500 book, you have to wonder when the insanity will stop. This is where a mind shift is in order. We can't control what books cost or where the market will go. But we can control ourselves. People have to come to a point, like BatmanFan said, that there will just be some books you won't own. Or maybe not in the grade you desire. 

Most people own a car. Do they own a luxury BMW or a R8 Audi ?....No. They might drive a Ford Focus or a Toyota Camry. It's not that they don't have a car, it just has to be adapted to their income (lifestyle). The same can be said for comics. I know for myself, I won't own a Batman 1 or the cover art to Batman 497 or a Hulk 1 9.0 - But I can own books that are important to me, that get me excited about the hobby and fill that fix. I don't worry about where I got them. If it was at a con, on line or at a LCS. I get enjoyment from them. 

What I would recommend it shift your thinking. Don't get caught up in what you "can't afford" or what you perceive as collectors being fleeced. Focus on the positive. Think to yourself when you leave a con without spending, "Hey, I didn't see anything that fit my need...now I have a little money more for the next con". 

 

LOL, this thread is like a support group for comic collectors.  I agree with pretty much everything said here. The problem is its getting hard to even try to refocus since everything is being marked up or inflated whether that's because the dealers costs have gone up or it's becoming that tough for dealers to acquire the stock that their margins are cut. Even the Ford Focus (discontinued) or Toyota Camry's of comics are going up in price.  It's starting to get expensive to even be a run collector let alone a completist (completionist) or key collector.  Part of the thrill that got me back into comics was that I could finally afford all those comics I used to want but couldn't have when I had to rely on my parents to buy them for me.  Sure I probably over indulged the first 2 years but my income could easily absorb the expenses.  However, even as my income has grown by 5-7% each year there's been such a spike over the last 3-5 years where prices have begun to nearly double year over year that my comic budget is being stretched. I'm finding I have to make sacrifices that are costing me enjoyment of other things in life.  When I took stock of all the things I gave up or forewent for the chase of comics and the time enjoyment of those comics vs the items I sacrificed, I began to realize that I was working and living mostly for the acquisition of comics.  I've got a home theater I haven't finished because I cut the budget to buy some SA and BA 9.8's.  I took on a very frugal lifestyle.  I hadn't gone on a decent vacation in years because I put most of that money into traveling to cons and buying comics which is more stressful since you're basically hunting and negotiating for all 3-4 days.  I cut back on coffee and video games (which was actually a good thing for my health) to save the extra $400-500 a month to buy comics.  However, my time and investments in other areas were lagging and my savings was not growing as fast as it should be which is a big no-no for me.

So instead of comics, I've started to rebalance my portfolio and put that money back into things I can get more enjoyment for the same price or less.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that comics have reached the price point in my demand curve where enjoyment of buying and owning them is being exceeded by other things.  Without buying comics for 2 months I realized how much wealth I actually have and how much more fun I'm having putting that money into other activities and investments.  I may even buy a new car (maybe the R8 Audi or SUV),

I'm probably still going to attend the last 2 shows of the year for me: Baltimore Comicon since it is so close by and always a great show and NYCC since it's my first time and I'm making a family trip out of it.   But I'll probably be only looking for a good deal or HTF item that isn't on too many radars.  So I probably won't end up buying anything either!

[Artboy99]

19 hours ago, Westy Steve said:

So I went to a comic book show this weekend.  I only had a couple hundred $$$ to spend at the show because times are tight right now. 

For the first time ever, I went home from a show without a book.  I couldn't find anything I wanted that was either (a.) in my price range (b.) not "drek"  (c.) too new to be interesting to me or (d.) above ebay prices.

In fairness, I did see one book I wanted, but I put it down for a moment and someone else picked it up and bought it.  Aw well.

My friend who went with me experienced the same thing. 

Yes, there was  a lot of $20 books for $10, but I need those like I need a hole in the head.  Any semi-serious, somewhat key bronze or older book seemed too high and the newer stuff doesn't float my boat.  I could have bought some mid-grade silver age stuff, but that just seems like tying up money to me.  Golden age offerings that were even somewhat interesting started at $500.

No flames, guys.  Can we just talk about the lack of material in that price range?

edit:  Just to be clear, I got to the show early.

It is entirely possible that the books you are interested in have dramatically risen in market value in the last year and are no longer in your perceived price range.

I will cite examples applicable to myself:

the Famous Funnies 213 CGC 8.0 on Heritage: GPA data from a year ago have the book selling at $1450, then the Aug 2018 Heritage auction it sells for $6000! I am finding a lot of golden age books are rising dramatically in price.

Hulk 181. Look at GPA data. Books selling in June 2018, have "suddenly" risen in value by 40% or more.

This applies to many books not just keys.

I also think that often dealers at shows all have the same books for sale. Every dealer has ASM 300, ASM 252, etc. so it could be that you didn't feel there was much there because the inventory all looks the same.

In the end, $200 just doesn't go as far as it used to.

[Dormian]

I have changed my collecting habits over the years to accommodate the rising prices.  I love sea covers and I have sought out those often in the discounted boxes.  I decided to get a sampling of Golden Age artists like LB Cole, Baker, Schomburg (Xela), etc.  I have picked up a sampling of pedigrees like Okajima, Rosa and others. It is a flexible and evolving hobby and I still enjoy it. Some items on my want list might be completely out of my range. Hulk 1 just not going to happen but I did come across a JiM 83 in my price range so you never know.

[KingOfRulers]

4 hours ago, Westy Steve said:

I was there on Friday only.  It was the smallest Friday crowd I've seen in the last few years...it was very easy to get in with almost no wait in line at all.  It was pretty easy to get around. My buddy and I joked that this might be their last year based on how few people were there Friday.   Comic book dealers appeared to be steady but slow, usually with one person looking at wall books at a time.  There was the usual crowds looking through the $1 books...not sure if they were buying or not.   I didn't see as many cosplayers as the last couple years, and I was OK with that.  I personally would be interested in hearing what Saturday was like compared to last year.

I have no idea how you arrived at that observation as it was the complete opposite in reality. Perhaps we were processing attendees at box office more efficiently/faster than we have before, so the lack of waiting in a mammoth line made it seem like a smaller attendance. Other than that, I don't know. 

We didn't know what to expect as 2017 attendance dipped when compared to 2016. Thankfully, all is well from our end. Friday attendance was excellent--we are actually very happy with the attendance this year overall. Tampa Bay Comic Con 2018 was the second highest attended Tampa Bay Comic Con of all-time. Tampa Bay Comic Con 2016 holds the attendance record. Attendance dipped some in 2017 (third highest attendance). Attendance this year was up from 2017, putting it in-between 2016 and 2017 attendance.

[Dormian]

12 minutes ago, KingOfRulers1 said:

I have no idea how you arrived at that observation as it was the complete opposite in reality. Perhaps we were processing attendees at box office more efficiently/faster than we have before, so the lack of waiting in a mammoth line made it seem like a smaller attendance. Other than that, I don't know. 

 We didn't know what to expect as 2017 attendance dipped when compared to 2016. Thankfully, all is well from our end. Friday attendance was excellent--we are actually very happy with the attendance this year overall. Tampa Bay Comic Con 2018 was the second highest attended Tampa Bay Comic Con of all-time. Tampa Bay Comic Con 2016 holds the attendance record. Attendance dipped some in 2017 (third highest attendance). Attendance this year was up from 2017, putting it in-between 2016 and 2017 attendance.

Good news! Tampa Bay Comic Con is one of my favorite events to attend. The registration line did move very fast this year.

[Westy Steve]

58 minutes ago, KingOfRulers1 said:

I have no idea how you arrived at that observation as it was the complete opposite in reality. Perhaps we were processing attendees at box office more efficiently/faster than we have before, so the lack of waiting in a mammoth line made it seem like a smaller attendance. Other than that, I don't know. 

We didn't know what to expect as 2017 attendance dipped when compared to 2016. Thankfully, all is well from our end. Friday attendance was excellent--we are actually very happy with the attendance this year overall. Tampa Bay Comic Con 2018 was the second highest attended Tampa Bay Comic Con of all-time. Tampa Bay Comic Con 2016 holds the attendance record. Attendance dipped some in 2017 (third highest attendance). Attendance this year was up from 2017, putting it in-between 2016 and 2017 attendance.

Glad to hear that!  TampaCon is my favorite convention because it's not too far from home and has more of a comic book focus than the others.  You're correct that my attendance estimate was based on how long I had to wait in line, which was much faster this year.  No offense intended.

[KingOfRulers]

11 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

Glad to hear that!  TampaCon is my favorite convention because it's not too far from home and has more of a comic book focus than the others.  You're correct that my attendance estimate was based on how long I had to wait in line, which was much faster this year.  No offense intended.

I didn't take any offense.  Last year's Friday weapon's check and bag check really bogged down the entire line so that it ran the length of the entire building, even though most people didn't have anything that needed checking. We fixed that major problem. Also, we queued attendees inside the building prior to the show starting, so the line wasn't stuck outside in the heat (this procedure came into effect last year as well though).

Too bad you didn't find a book to buy though. New Force had an awesome array of books. I haven't been a big buyer or box digger for years, so I am more out of touch with the market, but I am in touch enough to know where prices have gone lately for the key superhero stuff (sky high). I reckon people keep paying the rising price.

[Junkdrawer]

It’s been in vogue to be paying next years prices today for quite some time now, for the good stuff anyways 

[Robot Man]

I have always said, at every con, those who make the most money are the promoters...

As long as they are making money, the show is a success in their eyes. 

Edited August 7, 2018 by Robot Man

[Heronext]

I have come to accept that the well-known and hot keys are better purchased in online venues / auctions than at comic-cons.  It's a shame to have to ignore these books at a show but it's the truth.

There are plenty of sleepers however and that's what you need to be on the lookout for.  Find nice books or keys that haven't "arrived" yet, there are plenty out there - the ones you will want in a couple of years after you hear others talking about them.  Figuring out tomorrow's keys and getting in early on them is part of what makes collecting fun for me these days.

[KingOfRulers]

18 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

I have always said, at every con, those who make the most money are the promoters...

As long as they are making money, the show is a success in their eyes. 

Well, that's certainly not true. At least not absolutely. If you can say that, you should also say that those who lose the most money are the promoters as they have the most on the line should the event fail. Look at the difficulties Wizard World has had over the last few years. They have lost far more than they have made in that period of time. And they are just the easy example because they are the highest profile that has been at a major financial loss. They aren't the only ones though. There are constantly shows of varying sizes popping up around the country. Some succeed, many don't--as with most businesses in any industry.

Us staying in the black is of course an important metric, but it is not the only metric. Financial success or failure for exhibitors, artist alley, and guest artists is a metric of great importance to us.

Edited August 7, 2018 by KingOfRulers

[RockMyAmadeus]

1 minute ago, KingOfRulers1 said:

Well, that's certainly not true. At least not absolutely. If you can say that, you should also say that those who lose the most money are the promoters as they have the most on the line should the event fail. Look at the difficulties Wizard World has had over the last few years. They have lost far more than they have made in that period of time. And they are just the easy example because they are the highest profile that has been at a major financial loss. They aren't the only ones though. There are constantly shows of varying sizes popping up around the country. Some succeed, many don't--as with most businesses in any industry.

Us staying in the black is of course an important metric, but it is not the only metric. Financial success or failure for exhibitors, artist alley, and guest artists is a metric of great importance to us.

Get your correct account back, newb!

[KingOfRulers]

Just now, RockMyAmadeus said:

Get your correct account back, newb!

 How do I do that? Who do I have to email to make that happen?

[RockMyAmadeus]

Just now, KingOfRulers1 said:

 How do I do that? Who do I have to email to make that happen?

Just send a PM to the great and powerful Arch...he can fix it. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

PS...went to your Indy Con this year....had a very nice time. Your artist alley was well stocked. Great con.

 

[ADAMANTIUM]

7 minutes ago, KingOfRulers1 said:

 How do I do that? Who do I have to email to make that happen?

This thread should help you out, it's by @Architecht 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2018 by ADAMANTIUM

[DavidTheDavid]

19 hours ago, justafan said:

LOL, this thread is like a support group for comic collectors.  I agree with pretty much everything said here. The problem is its getting hard to even try to refocus since everything is being marked up or inflated whether that's because the dealers costs have gone up or it's becoming that tough for dealers to acquire the stock that their margins are cut. Even the Ford Focus (discontinued) or Toyota Camry's of comics are going up in price.  It's starting to get expensive to even be a run collector let alone a completist (completionist) or key collector.  Part of the thrill that got me back into comics was that I could finally afford all those comics I used to want but couldn't have when I had to rely on my parents to buy them for me.  Sure I probably over indulged the first 2 years but my income could easily absorb the expenses.  However, even as my income has grown by 5-7% each year there's been such a spike over the last 3-5 years where prices have begun to nearly double year over year that my comic budget is being stretched. I'm finding I have to make sacrifices that are costing me enjoyment of other things in life.  When I took stock of all the things I gave up or forewent for the chase of comics and the time enjoyment of those comics vs the items I sacrificed, I began to realize that I was working and living mostly for the acquisition of comics.  I've got a home theater I haven't finished because I cut the budget to buy some SA and BA 9.8's.  I took on a very frugal lifestyle.  I hadn't gone on a decent vacation in years because I put most of that money into traveling to cons and buying comics which is more stressful since you're basically hunting and negotiating for all 3-4 days.  I cut back on coffee and video games (which was actually a good thing for my health) to save the extra $400-500 a month to buy comics.  However, my time and investments in other areas were lagging and my savings was not growing as fast as it should be which is a big no-no for me.

So instead of comics, I've started to rebalance my portfolio and put that money back into things I can get more enjoyment for the same price or less.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that comics have reached the price point in my demand curve where enjoyment of buying and owning them is being exceeded by other things.  Without buying comics for 2 months I realized how much wealth I actually have and how much more fun I'm having putting that money into other activities and investments.  I may even buy a new car (maybe the R8 Audi or SUV),

I'm probably still going to attend the last 2 shows of the year for me: Baltimore Comicon since it is so close by and always a great show and NYCC since it's my first time and I'm making a family trip out of it.   But I'll probably be only looking for a good deal or HTF item that isn't on too many radars.  So I probably won't end up buying anything either!

At one point, I wanted to collect ASM, but now Is am building SSM. Lots of great covers, includes the years I was actually into comics as a kid, and has some great stories along the way. And it will never break my budget.

The rising prices have turned me off some keys. I just don’t care about Hulk 181 at this point for example. I’m looking especially for DC war and horror, a lot of which is still reasonable, and a selection of GA books. I’m paying off an LB Cole cover, but it’s not one of the super sought after issues that costs more than I should spend. I started back in the hobby maybe six years ago, so I still lack the experience a lot of folks here have but prices are definitely cray cray on so much. It’s discouraging at times.

[Artboy99]

4 hours ago, DavidTheDavid said:

At one point, I wanted to collect ASM, but now Is am building SSM. Lots of great covers, includes the years I was actually into comics as a kid, and has some great stories along the way. And it will never break my budget.

The rising prices have turned me off some keys. I just don’t care about Hulk 181 at this point for example. I’m looking especially for DC war and horror, a lot of which is still reasonable, and a selection of GA books. I’m paying off an LB Cole cover, but it’s not one of the super sought after issues that costs more than I should spend. I started back in the hobby maybe six years ago, so I still lack the experience a lot of folks here have but prices are definitely cray cray on so much. It’s discouraging at times.

I think this is why I turned to collecting magazines, and comics with covers I like that are not thousands of dollars. Don't get me wrong I still buy the odd book that is pricey, but far less of them than I used to.