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Market is Insane
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331 posts in this topic

33 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

I used to think that and yet people continue to buy run books that I slab in high grade. (shrug)

There's still new people making inroads to the hobby. People I have never heard of in 10 years of being a full time dealer are buying stuff regularly.

I hope you're right Roy.  I don't think the key heavy market is good for sustainability in the long run.  I'm not suggesting the BIG CRASH OF 20** is coming, it's more that I see the high prices putting people on the sidelines.

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Thank lord for collected editions and omnibuses. Imagine if you had to collect runs to read old stories.

There's a Modern character run I'm considering collecting in SS 9.8s. I'd have no idea where to start if I was gonna go after a vintage run... Superman/Batman is just too ridiculous cost-wise to even consider.

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7 minutes ago, TwoPiece said:

Superman/Batman is just too ridiculous cost-wise to even consider.

And this is another factor that pushed up key issue prices. If the run is basically unobtainable, and someone can only afford a few issues, they are naturally going to gravitate to the keys or best covers. 

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2 hours ago, entalmighty1 said:

I hope you're right Roy.  I don't think the key heavy market is good for sustainability in the long run.  I'm not suggesting the BIG CRASH OF 20** is coming, it's more that I see the high prices putting people on the sidelines.

I think that's starting to happen already ... I would say your 'average' Boardie has only so much disposable income that he/she can dedicate to the hobby after the regular expenses of life have been looked after ... There have been some amazing books offered lately here, but can the average person afford them if they spend responsibly?

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5 hours ago, TwoPiece said:

Thank lord for collected editions and omnibuses. Imagine if you had to collect runs to read old stories.

 

Yup. I'm very relieved that we now have several additional options available for reading unbroken runs of comics, and that we've moved past the monopoly that back issue dealers formerly had on this activity.  Quite liberating.

Edited by Ken Aldred
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5 hours ago, TwoPiece said:

Thank lord for collected editions and omnibuses. Imagine if you had to collect runs to read old stories.

There's a Modern character run I'm considering collecting in SS 9.8s. I'd have no idea where to start if I was gonna go after a vintage run... Superman/Batman is just too ridiculous cost-wise to even consider.

Of course, collected editions bring with them their own collecting woes. Print runs on volumes these days are miserably low, with most of your "normal" non-limited omnibus and hardcovers clocking in well under a thousand copies, many only in the hundreds. There was a time when you could sort of wait around and pick them up whenever you wanted, but these days you have to make a decision if you want something before it goes out of print. Sure, some volumes linger for months, even years. Others are gone in weeks. The Romita variant of ASM Omni #4 (I have no idea why the Romita cover is a variant whereas the hideous Frank Cho cover is the direct version) sold out in a few days and is already climbing in value.

Your point stands, absolutely, and I'd also add thank heavens for Marvel Unlimited and Comixology as well as Humble Bundle and other venues. If you truly just want to READ comics, there are more ways to do so than ever before, many of them very cost effective. I guess I just wanted to complain about omnibuses (omnibii) for a minute, since I missed out on ASM 4 and am gonna have to bite the bullet now. Bah.

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12 hours ago, TwoPiece said:

Thank lord for collected editions and omnibuses. Imagine if you had to collect runs to read old stories.

Old school collectors looked at it as a marathon. For some, it took a lifetime but it was always the thrill of the chase that kept them going and not the end of the race.

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7 hours ago, F For Fake said:
12 hours ago, TwoPiece said:

Thank lord for collected editions and omnibuses. Imagine if you had to collect runs to read old stories.

Of course, collected editions bring with them their own collecting woes

I actually almost NEVER read trades.

I prefer to hold and read actual comics. To me part of the satisfaction comes from knowing I'm reading a comic.

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7 hours ago, VintageComics said:

Old school collectors looked at it as a marathon. For some, it took a lifetime but it was always the thrill of the chase that kept them going and not the end of the race.

I get it. But handling/storing single issues as opposed to a book/books of 6+ issues can be daunting after a certain threshold.

It was fun for me to collect and read the New 52 Justice League, which is the only complete run that I own.

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7 hours ago, VintageComics said:

I actually almost NEVER read trades.

I prefer to hold and read actual comics. To me part of the satisfaction comes from knowing I'm reading a comic.

Aesthetically, I agree, that single issues > TPBs. There's just a simplicity to owning thousands of comics within hundreds of books, on a bookshelf, rather than thousands of issues in thousands of bags/boards in boxes.

Some TPBs also don't include the covers for each issue, which I don't like. Hickman's Infinity series doesn't include the covers before each story, for example, and I hate it. I have all 6 Infinity comics, though, and can appreciate their covers nonetheless.

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10 hours ago, VintageComics said:

I actually almost NEVER read trades.

I prefer to hold and read actual comics. To me part of the satisfaction comes from knowing I'm reading a comic.

I love trades when they are the best/most affordable option available but otherwise, I'd rather read the original comics. It's part of the experience. Digital is not an option.

I have two issues with trades/masterworks/omnibus/etc editions. One is that they are often a little too slick. A little too polished. If I want to read a 1960s ASM, I want the newsprint. I want the (at times subpar) coloring. My other issue is that you aren't getting the entire comic. For example, I have a couple Sgt Rock archives but they only reprint the Sgt Rock and Easy Co stories. Any back up stories are not included.  Some trades do reprint entire issues of comics, some don't

Edited by Jeffro™
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Just now, Westy Steve said:

What's interesting about this thread is that collecting lower grade as an answer to the affordability problem doesn't seem very popular.  People who want to collect "Comic A" but can't afford it in high grade have resigned themselves to collecting "Comic B" in high grade.  Personally, I'd rather collect low grade just to have the book.  I think it would be fun to put together a silver age key set in 1.0.  Of course, right now, I'm not sure I can even afford that! :)

 

Nothing wrong with that strategy at all.  I've seen 1.0's that look better than 4.0's.  That kind of circles back to the original point of this thread of collecting the label, and not necessarily the book.  People get way too hung up on the number in the corner as opposed to the overall appearance of the book.

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2 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

What's interesting about this thread is that collecting lower grade as an answer to the affordability problem doesn't seem very popular.  People who want to collect "Comic A" but can't afford it in high grade have resigned themselves to collecting "Comic B" in high grade.  Personally, I'd rather collect low grade just to have the book.  I think it would be fun to put together a silver age key set in 1.0.  Of course, right now, I'm not sure I can even afford that! :)

It just hurts my 'soul' (if there ever was such a thing) to look at most low-grade comics. There are some exceptions out there. Since the cover is the only thing you see in-slab, I only want comics I can truly appreciate within the plastic tomb. Most low-grades have some major/moderate cover degeneration. If I were to crack open a book, then a complete low-grade wouldn't be out of question.

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1 hour ago, TwoPiece said:
9 hours ago, VintageComics said:

Old school collectors looked at it as a marathon. For some, it took a lifetime but it was always the thrill of the chase that kept them going and not the end of the race.

I get it. But handling/storing single issues as opposed to a book/books of 6+ issues can be daunting after a certain threshold.

There are board members on this forum with not only 10,000's of comics in their homes but 100,000's of comics in their homes.

That's what old school collectors did. They collected. It's not a burden, it's the whole point.

But this discussion is making evident the differences in mindset between the old school and the new school (no disrespect intended).

There's an underlying theme in the new generation that is probably perpetuated by the onset of digital media, which has changed how we process information. And we are becoming less patient because of it.

The same patience that allowed people to enjoy the intro on an 8 minute song, or spend a lifetime collecting, or speak on the phone for 2 hours with someone has been replaced with 3 minute 'hits' that are hollow and artificial, or the Adrenalin rush of owning something cool for a short time or many messages with everyone but no real conversations that leave a mark on you.

And I know I sound like an old guy yelling 'get off my lawn' but that's not really it.

I'm young enough to 'get it' today and still old enough to remember the entire transition from the 70's to today.

Imagine wanting to fill a run of comics for your collection, snail mailing a check - a frigging hand signed check, then waiting 4-6 weeks for a reply and then getting sent back either your check or a substitute book because the one you wanted wasn't in stock?

As silly and frustrating as it sounds, I think it may have been more satisfying than the instant gratification of today. lol

If only because it wasn't about accomplishing the run, it was about the journey and the pursuit of putting it together.

Back then it was mostly about the pursuit because the accomplishment took so much time.

Today is all about the accomplishment and everyone gets there quicker so it's not appreciate as much.

 

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