One box method of collecting: Who does this? 0

[Westy Steve]

Hey guys,

Quite a while back when I was keeping my journals current, I wrote a piece about a style of collecting.  Since my interest in collecting comics is rekindled, I'm thinking about it again, and thought I'd open up the topic for feedback.

The concept I'm toying with is similar to what the coin collectors call a "box of twenty", where they limit the size of their collection to a small number of items.  When they reach the maximum allowable size, they have to sell an item to buy a new one. 

An example might be holding your collection to one short box.  So if you want to buy another comic and there is no room for it, you have to sell one.  It forces you to concentrate on quality and you spend much of your time upgrading.

I think with comics though, you'd have to differentiate between stuff you were going to read, and stuff you were going to collect.  Like maybe you have one short box of actual comics, and the rest of your collection is either digital or trade paperbacks. 

Why would anyone want to do this?  Storage space limitations...and a desire to have nicer books under lock and key.

Does anyone here do this?  How is it working for you?

[NoMan]

Just now, Westy Steve said:

Hey guys,

Quite a while back when I was keeping my journals current, I wrote a piece about a style of collecting.  Since my interest in collecting comics is rekindled, I'm thinking about it again, and thought I'd open up the topic for feedback.

The concept I'm toying with is similar to what the coin collectors call a "box of twenty", where they limit the size of their collection to a small number of items.  When they reach the maximum allowable size, they have to sell an item to buy a new one. 

An example might be holding your collection to one short box.  So if you want to buy another comic and there is no room for it, you have to sell one.  It forces you to concentrate on quality and you spend much of your time upgrading.

I think with comics though, you'd have to differentiate between stuff you were going to read, and stuff you were going to collect.  Like maybe you have one short box of actual comics, and the rest of your collection is either digital or trade paperbacks. 

Why would anyone want to do this?  Storage space limitations...and a desire to have nicer books under lock and key.

Does anyone here do this?  How is it working for you?

When they reach the maximum allowable size, they have to sell an item to buy a new one.

My wife makes me do this with my watch collection. Luckily she hasn't figured out that the same thing can be requested re: my comic collection.

[lizards2]

I've put a cap on my collection of 400 short boxes.  Trouble is, I don't really know how many shortboxes I have.

[Schmakt]

I don't think I could keep the collection anywhere near that small, but I am trying to limit myself by space now...

I just recently finally finished pulling together everything I want to move which will be about half my collection, and now I'm going to try to keep it to 20 short CGC boxes and 15 short raw boxes.  At some point it just became overwhelming (and way too expensive!)

The advent of digital will certainly help this.  I try to make sure I read (or have read) everything that I own and still buy what I like to read in addition to collect.  I like to read the Marvel mini-series events, but do I really need to own hard copies of House of M and Planet Hulk that I will certainly never open again?  Probably not..

[valiantman]

1 hour ago, Westy Steve said:

An example might be holding your collection to one short box.  So if you want to buy another comic and there is no room for it, you have to sell one.  It forces you to concentrate on quality and you spend much of your time upgrading.

I have considered holding a "March Madness" style fantasy tournament (on paper) for my comics before, seeding the top books against lower "ranked/valued/prized/importance" books and basically using the losers for each head-to-head match as books that I would sell (if I ever sold any).  Basically, setting up a separation between the personal collection and the "no longer needed" collection.  You could also do the same thing with randomized tournament seeding, but there's a chance you might end up with your top two books facing off way before the finals. 

Edited November 13, 2018 by valiantman

[JTD]

Personally I'm try to get down to 2 CGC boxes of keys...one box full, one to go...I just need to get rid of the 7 long boxes now...

[revat]

I'm at about 2 longs, one long of which is pretty much books that should be for sale.  I max at three longs total at anyone time.  If I go over I immediately have a sale.

[DJones]

Sounds like a terrible way to collect comics imho

[999ghosts]

I'm at 94 short boxes and 10 cgc boxes and as long as I have room to add more boxes I will! and when no more room, I will find more room...

[Robot Man]

I have had to recently do this. It used to be when I ran out of room I'd just add another box. I have a very limited area for my collection now so it just isn't practical any more. When a box is full, I now go through it and pull out books that I can live without and sell them off. It really isn't that hard to do. For years, I have "accumulated" books without much thought to this eventually happening. As I get older, I've realized I have to pare down my collection. Gives me money for books I want more too. A win win for me...

[the blob]

3 hours ago, lizards2 said:

I've put a cap on my collection of 400 short boxes.  Trouble is, I don't really know how many shortboxes I have.

My cap is the roughly 350-400 square feet I have upstairs to hold these things.

[jdw1991]

Currently down to two short boxes.

[Westy Steve]

17 minutes ago, MyCameo said:

+1 why torture yourself like that?

On the bright side, it makes you focus on quality.  If you keep spending, say...a couple hundred dollars a month on your collection, over time, you'll upgrade so much your collection will be some super nice books.  This method isn't for the people who have the time to re-visit every book in their collection.  It's more suited to people who lack time (or space) and realize they spend most of that time looking at their cherished favorites anyway.  I realized when I kept finding books that I forgot I owned that, perhaps, my collection needed to be consolidated. 

Edited November 13, 2018 by Westy Steve
clarity or sanity...one of those.

[bc]

I limit myself to 5 short boxes because that is all that can fit in the bottom of the bedroom closet next to the guns and ammo (4 boxes of CGC slabs, 1 box of raw books).

Recently sold a handful of SA slabs to make room for a new GA pickup. Probably got room for 3 or 4 more slabs before something has to go.

Used to have over 25 long boxes but sold most before an out of state move back in 2001. Actually glad I whittled the collection down to something that is "semi-portable".

 

[NoMan]

I know that many people around here are of the school-of-thought, "After I die, I'll be dead why not do what I want while I'm alive and collect enough junk to fill twenty country barns?! Let someone else deal with it once I'm dead."

I'm kinda the opposite and don't want someone burdened with having to dispose of my collection once I've left the CGC boards for good. Keep it to a minimum. Short and sweet. Quality over quantity. You ever had to deal with someone's estate? How about a hoarder's estate? Sure everyone knows X-Men #1 is money but now how about the other 400 long boxes worth of stuff?

Edited November 13, 2018 by NoMan

[ExNihilo]

7 minutes ago, NoMan said:

I know that many people around here are of the school-of-thought, "After I die, I'll be dead why not do what I want while I'm alive and collect enough junk to fill twenty country barns?! Let someone else deal with it once I'm dead."

I'm kinda the opposite and don't want someone burdened with having to dispose of my collection once I've left the CGC boards for good. Keep it to a minimum. Short and sweet. Quality over quantity. You ever had to deal with someone's estate? How about a hoarder's estate? Sure everyone knows X-Men #1 is money but now how about the other 400 long boxes worth of stuff?

But with comics isn't it potentially a little different?  My dad introduced me to comics and handed his comics to me for safekeeping.  I can't imagine many are worth anything, but they're significant to me because of the personal connection.  I hope to one day spread the same love for comics to my son/daughter and to similarly pass my collection to him/her.  And I would hope they would see the books with the same sentimental value.  (But then again, i don't have the massive collection you guys have so I'm not really running into the same issue of space that some other boardies are.)

[FineCollector]

I've heard of this method for things you like enough to break out and read again, but not for a collection.  It doesn't seem enough.  If you're keeping a small handful of books as an inheritance or an investment, may as well put them in a safe deposit box at the bank, it's not about enjoyment anymore.

[Robot Man]

11 minutes ago, ExNihilo said:

But with comics isn't it potentially a little different?  My dad introduced me to comics and handed his comics to me for safekeeping.  I can't imagine many are worth anything, but they're significant to me because of the personal connection.  I hope to one day spread the same love for comics to my son/daughter and to similarly pass my collection to him/her.  And I would hope they would see the books with the same sentimental value.  (But then again, i don't have the massive collection you guys have so I'm not really running into the same issue of space that some other boardies are.)

Your kids probably won't care or want them. Mine don't. If you wern't raised with them, they can't relate...

[Robot Man]

33 minutes ago, bc said:

I limit myself to 5 short boxes because that is all that can fit in the bottom of the bedroom closet next to the guns and ammo (4 boxes of CGC slabs, 1 box of raw books).

Recently sold a handful of SA slabs to make room for a new GA pickup. Probably got room for 3 or 4 more slabs before something has to go.

Used to have over 25 long boxes but sold most before an out of state move back in 2001. Actually glad I whittled the collection down to something that is "semi-portable".

 

Oh, so if someone breaks into your house they get the comics AND the guns???

[bc]

1 minute ago, Robot Man said:

Oh, so if someone breaks into your house they get the comics AND the guns???

Either that or they end up with a lot of lead body piercings....