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Blame the man in the mirror.......or Jerry Maguire for this post.
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7 posts in this topic

Yes, sadly we live in a cover-centric era today. It's all about what's 'HOT', the classic cover, first appearances etc. Few looking to build runs anymore and those that do, find the keys at nosebleed prices while the rest can be bought most of the times at a discount.

Edited by Gotham Kid
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People have different tastes when it comes to collecting. The great thing is that there’s no right or wrong way to collect. Is it driven by money? Yes. Driven by fear? Partially yes as well. Grading has taken some of the guessing game and fear out of buying comics. It’s a necessary evil if you will. Nothing is stopping you from cracking a book out once you buy it, that’s your choice. If reading original stories is your passion, you can save a ton and read trades which have reprinted many golden age stories. When prices have gone to these levels, this has become an investment along with a hobby. This paradigm shift is supported by many who make money. Its also by droves of collectors supporting it. Can’t have one without the other. In the end collect what you love and enjoy the hobby. Don’t get caught up in the hype or focus so much on what you dislike.

Edited by AnkurJ
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On 9/15/2019 at 7:46 AM, AnkurJ said:

People have different tastes when it comes to collecting. The great thing is that there’s no right or wrong way to collect. Is it driven by money? Yes. Driven by fear? Partially yes as well. Grading has taken some of the guessing game and fear out of buying comics. It’s a necessary evil if you will. Nothing is stopping you from cracking a book out once you buy it, that’s your choice. If reading original stories is your passion, you can save a ton and read trades which have reprinted many golden age stories. When prices have gone to these levels, this has become an investment along with a hobby. This paradigm shift is supported by many who make money. Its also by droves of collectors supporting it. Can’t have one without the other. In the end collect what you love and enjoy the hobby. Don’t get caught up in the hype or focus so much on what you dislike.

Or switch to Westerns, coverless, Plastic Man and Captain Marvel.  feeBay is loaded full of cheap books and many that don't sell even at low prices.

While I understand the reminiscence for the good ole' days of reading through the comics stashed in a pile under the bed I'm curious how many would trade that for a "market crash" where values of their collections decline 90% of what the are currently?  Or worse, society just began recognizing it as paper with no intrinsic value whatsoever. Certainly the boards would be full of hand-wringing and yearning for the good ole' days when prices were rocketing and the history, interest and appreciation for the hobby widely recognized.

 

 

Edited by path4play
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On 9/14/2019 at 9:10 PM, Frank Mozz said:

So I am watching Jerry Maguire &  reading a recent post ( I can do both with moden cable) where some of us are surprised & upset with the current HOT trend of resubmit/press & press again & again until the book takes a substantial jump in grade & I write this big giant response andafter reading it I just felt like it should get its own post.  So here is what I have to say about that & grading in general at this point in our hobby.      

    Most older collectors know the entire concept of grading comics is really BS (you're putting a book into a case so you can't read the book WTF?) Let's be honest there is no real discernable difference between a 9.0 & a 9.8 & its all about perception. ( I remember the initial reason to get get a book graded by the EXPERTS was to see if it had any resto lol) The entire so-called hobby/industry is now motivated by one thing MONEY & even older hardcore collector at one point of another have been/are caught up in this cycle (myself included). The truth is vintage comic collecting really isn't an affordable hobby anymore  (unless you like glossy reprints). The average collector is now priced out of  having a chance to own most SA/GA high-grade keys ( which was not the case just two short decades ago). However, If you have been collecting for years and never had to sell anything you may have an amazing and valuable collection ( god bless) but truth is many collectors could not afford to replace most of those books today due to the INSANE rate those books have gone up since the introduction of grading & the internet. Which like it or not has turned a relatively small hobby into big business ( don't get me started about what is happening on a daily basis with movie-related HOT books, what a joke, is the first app of Gofer Girl the book to look for this week? naturally only graded & in 9.8 ) It kinda makes me sad because growing up my local comic store used to open 3 days a week and if we were lucky the owner was on time from his real job, it was never about money it was about loving comics & surprise reading them & that's why I think many older collectors still tend to collect complete runs ( not just covers or keys which again is pure BS IMHO & definitely heavily influenced & manipulated by the introduction of grading which is about what again? making MONEY not collecting comics. Are you really telling me ACTION #2 is now historically less important than #7? Guess what it's not! I know I know #7 is his 2nd cover well #2 is his 2nd appearance EVER!

      So the next time you see a once common AF #15 2.0 that has been pressed 4x & is now a 4.0 sell for 40k the only one to blame is the man in the mirror because all of us in one way or another have bought into & are responsable for where this hobby is.

Wow Frank. I think your post is hooey.

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13 hours ago, path4play said:

Or switch to Westerns, coverless, Plastic Man and Captain Marvel.  feeBay is loaded full of cheap books and many that don't sell even at low prices.

While I understand the reminiscence for the good ole' days of reading through the comics stashed in a pile under the bed I'm curious how many would trade that for a "market crash" where values of their collections decline 90% of what the are currently?  Or worse, society just began recognizing it as paper with no intrinsic value whatsoever. Certainly the boards would be full of hand-wringing and yearning for the good ole' days when prices were rocketing and the history, interest and appreciation for the hobby widely recognized.

 

 

Somehow I think I could still make money if the whole house came down. I really don’t see that happening in my lifetime though.

And hey, I occasionally buy a few of the “cheap books” you mentioned...:roflmao:

Edited by Robot Man
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On 9/17/2019 at 7:57 AM, path4play said:

Or switch to Westerns, coverless, Plastic Man and Captain Marvel.  feeBay is loaded full of cheap books and many that don't sell even at low prices.

While I understand the reminiscence for the good ole' days of reading through the comics stashed in a pile under the bed I'm curious how many would trade that for a "market crash" where values of their collections decline 90% of what the are currently?  Or worse, society just began recognizing it as paper with no intrinsic value whatsoever. Certainly the boards would be full of hand-wringing and yearning for the good ole' days when prices were rocketing and the history, interest and appreciation for the hobby widely recognized.

 

 

Thus the point of my post " all of us in one way or another have bought into & are responsable for where this hobby is" 

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