Key Collector App - What's the verdict? 2 2

[VintageComics]

On 2/3/2019 at 6:44 PM, ComicsAndCode said:

I might be in the minority with my opinion, but I think this app does a disservice to the comic hobby. It pretty  much fosters the speculator mentally of collecting and sadly it does have the ability to artificially inflate prices of “key” issues. Also there is little visibility in what goes into valuation, what is the data sample size and data sources.

You're not in the minority.

There's nothing wrong with the app but demand for tools to speculate is driven by many things...and one is an emotional detachment from anything you are investing in.

And there is no end of apps, courses, programs, etc to 'teach' people how to speculate.

Thing is, once everyone is at the point where they are looking for that information you're already past the point where it's really worth investing in. You've missed the boat.

We all wanted the hobby to get bigger (I've been in it since the mid 1970's) and we all (well most of us) want our collections to rise in value but this is the cost of those things happening.

I try to teach my kids to value tangible things but it's becoming exceedingly difficult to do in a digital world that detaches us from everything tangible.

[Key Collector Comics]

40 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

You're not in the minority.

There's nothing wrong with the app but demand for tools to speculate is driven by many things...and one is an emotional detachment from anything you are investing in.

And there is no end of apps, courses, programs, etc to 'teach' people how to speculate.

Thing is, once everyone is at the point where they are looking for that information you're already past the point where it's really worth investing in. You've missed the boat.

We all wanted the hobby to get bigger (I've been in it since the mid 1970's) and we all (well most of us) want our collections to rise in value but this is the cost of those things happening.

I try to teach my kids to value tangible things but it's becoming exceedingly difficult to do in a digital world that detaches us from everything tangible.

This is a sensible reply and the probably the one logical criticism that I've heard in over a year.  Still, a lot of comments are drawing a line and putting emotionally unattached speculators on one side and passionate collectors on the other.  I have many interactions with people who use the app, some are very heavily interested in speculation but they are also huge comic book fans and enjoy researching and being involved in it.  I can't imagine there would be many people who would get into the hobby on any level without being interested in the subject matter.  

There are also reasons someone might speculate and sell their comics.  New comic books are $4.  Key issues from every era can be costly.  In 2019, collecting comics doesn't fit into many restricted budgets.  If someone is supplementing their weekly purchases or back issue wish lists by selling other issues, who's to say its a bad thing?  No one can say for certain what someone is doing with their money or comics

[Key Collector Comics]

52 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

You're not in the minority.

There's nothing wrong with the app but demand for tools to speculate is driven by many things...and one is an emotional detachment from anything you are investing in.

And there is no end of apps, courses, programs, etc to 'teach' people how to speculate.

Thing is, once everyone is at the point where they are looking for that information you're already past the point where it's really worth investing in. You've missed the boat.

We all wanted the hobby to get bigger (I've been in it since the mid 1970's) and we all (well most of us) want our collections to rise in value but this is the cost of those things happening.

I try to teach my kids to value tangible things but it's becoming exceedingly difficult to do in a digital world that detaches us from everything tangible.

And its not a speculation app

[Gaard]

I attended a seminar recently teaching me how to make buku bucks in real estate.

[VintageComics]

38 minutes ago, Key Collector Comics said:

This is a sensible reply and the probably the one logical criticism that I've heard in over a year. 

[cosmic_surfer]

55 minutes ago, Key Collector Comics said:

And its not a speculation app

C’mon man... embrace the reality. Speculators and noobs that do not know what they want to collect are your target demographic.

There’s nothing wrong with that. You are just meeting the demand for this type of information. 

We need those speculators and noobs keep stimulating the market. Keep feeding them your Hot book alerts!

[Aweandlorder]

21 minutes ago, cosmic_surfer said:

C’mon man... embrace the reality. Speculators and noobs that do not know what they want to collect are your target demographic.

There’s nothing wrong with that. You are just meeting the demand for this type of information. 

We need those speculators and noobs keep stimulating the market. Keep feeding them your Hot book alerts!

This is funny but spot on.

The first time I heard about the app is when people here were bit**g that it promoted Deadpool vs Hawkeye 0 as Spider-gwen's first appearance (can anyone find this post somewhere? being lazy)

I swear to you I had a slab of that book sitting in my store for 3 years doing nothing... The next day I sold it for a cool $200

 

[ygogolak]

6 minutes ago, Aweandlorder said:

This is funny but spot on.

The first time I heard about the app is when people here were bit**g that it promoted Deadpool vs Hawkeye 0 as Spider-gwen's first appearance (can anyone find this post somewhere? being lazy)

I swear to you I had a slab of that book sitting in my store for 3 years doing nothing... The next day I sold it for a cool $200

 

The regular cover? It sells for $60 now.

[Key Collector Comics]

12 minutes ago, Aweandlorder said:

This is funny but spot on.

The first time I heard about the app is when people here were bit**g that it promoted Deadpool vs Hawkeye 0 as Spider-gwen's first appearance (can anyone find this post somewhere? being lazy)

I swear to you I had a slab of that book sitting in my store for 3 years doing nothing... The next day I sold it for a cool $200

 

Cameo appearance 

[Aweandlorder]

25 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

The regular cover? It sells for $60 now.

It was the Alamo con version signed by latour & robbie... the year before I couldnt give that book away

[cosmic_surfer]

18 minutes ago, Key Collector Comics said:

Cameo appearance 

 

[Lazyboy]

4 hours ago, Park said:

I downloaded the app and it’s pretty cool.

I am debating as of yet whether or not the information regarding the appearance of Spidey’s black costume is the ruination of our hobby.

I’m sure it almost certainly is though.

The bastige.

Every piece of misinformation hurts, especially when it comes from someone pretending to be some kind of authority.

And do you really think that's the only error on there? I kind of want to get the app now just so I can see how many pieces there are after I tear it to shreds.

[Rhymenoceros]

8 minutes ago, Lazyboy said:

Every piece of misinformation hurts, especially when it comes from someone pretending to be some kind of authority.

And do you really think that's the only error on there? I kind of want to get the app now just so I can see how many pieces there are after I tear it to shreds.

If you're willing to put in the time to compile a list of all the legitimate errors you find, I'm sure he would appreciate the helpful info. Chances are with 14k books there are a couple. 

Edited May 25, 2019 by Rhymenoceros

[Key Collector Comics]

42 minutes ago, Lazyboy said:

Every piece of misinformation hurts, especially when it comes from someone pretending to be some kind of authority.

And do you really think that's the only error on there? I kind of want to get the app now just so I can see how many pieces there are after I tear it to shreds.

Sounds good.  I’d love to have an editor 

[Key Collector Comics]

35 minutes ago, Rhymenoceros said:

If you're willing to put in the time to compile a list of all the legitimate errors you find, I'm sure he would appreciate the helpful info. Chances are with 14k books there are a couple. 

The harsher the critic the better 

[Gaard]

I REALLY would like to check this program out. It sounds really useful.

Unfortunately, I haven't really kept up with tech stuff. I certainly do not own one of those smart phones. My son was showing me his phone one day and I told him "that's not a phone, that's a device." 

When/if your program becomes available to the PC, let me know.

 

Did you know toasters, these days, do 4 slices at a time?

[Bookery]

In partial response to the above post... I just paid for an annual subscription on my desktop.  Have only had a couple of minutes to scan the site, but it appears everything is there.  Looks interesting.  I didn't realize how inexpensive the subscription is.  That's a lot of work just from what I've seen for $19.95 (year) (about the cost of a package of mylars).  As one might glean from my previous posts, I'm a reference book and data junkie.  My office is lined with hundreds of reference books.  Some are excellent, some not so great, but it is rare not to find something useful in all of them.  You (Key Collector) have set yourself up for a major workload, keeping up with all of the myriad changes and fluctuations out there.  I had it lucky with pulps... since they pretty much died out in the 1950s, not a lot of new information popping up on a daily basis, and few variants to deal with (but, yes, there actually are a few in the pulp world).

[Aweandlorder]

14 minutes ago, Gaard said:

I REALLY would like to check this program out. It sounds really useful.

Unfortunately, I haven't really kept up with tech stuff. I certainly do not own one of those smart phones. My son was showing me his phone one day and I told him "that's not a phone, that's a device." 

When/if your program becomes available to the PC, let me know.

 

Did you know toasters, these days, do 4 slices at a time?

It's probably no coincidence that this new player is doing better with new collectors as opposed to old

pre 2000s - guide/newsletters

early 00s - message boards

2010s - blogs/pages

2020s - phone apps

[Key Collector Comics]

54 minutes ago, Gaard said:

I REALLY would like to check this program out. It sounds really useful.

Unfortunately, I haven't really kept up with tech stuff. I certainly do not own one of those smart phones. My son was showing me his phone one day and I told him "that's not a phone, that's a device." 

When/if your program becomes available to the PC, let me know.

 

Did you know toasters, these days, do 4 slices at a time?

Will do.  

It’s available on PC. Keycollectorcomics.com

[Key Collector Comics]

35 minutes ago, Aweandlorder said:

It's probably no coincidence that this new player is doing better with new collectors as opposed to old

pre 2000s - guide/newsletters

early 00s - message boards

2010s - blogs/pages

2020s - phone apps

It’s on the website too. The search and design  is unrefined but going through redesigns now. Regardless, the information is there.