What was the point to slabbing any of these? 3 3

[romanheart]

People lose their minds on a 9.8. If a book they need in their collection has that number they lose their head.

So I can see people slabbing thinking there is a chance to get that number and make a premium on a book.

[lighthouse]

 

38 minutes ago, valiantman said:

There are millions of collectors.

33 minutes ago, Ryan. said:

He might not be wrong. My shop has a loyalty program that tracks by phone number. My current count of discrete "loyalty" customers is more than 2% of the population within a 25-mile radius of my shop. Yes, I get customers who drive 100 miles specifically to shop in my store, and I do get customers from other states who swing by when they are in town for other reasons. But it's a big number of locals regardless.

There aren't "millions of collectors" of slabbed keys. There aren't "millions of collectors" of full runs of Bronze Age horror titles. There aren't "millions of collectors" of every garbage title produced every month. But millions of collectors? Sure, maybe.

[valiantman]

8 minutes ago, lighthouse said:

 

He might not be wrong. My shop has a loyalty program that tracks by phone number. My current count of discrete "loyalty" customers is more than 2% of the population within a 25-mile radius of my shop. Yes, I get customers who drive 100 miles specifically to shop in my store, and I do get customers from other states who swing by when they are in town for other reasons. But it's a big number of locals regardless.

There aren't "millions of collectors" of slabbed keys. There aren't "millions of collectors" of full runs of Bronze Age horror titles. There aren't "millions of collectors" of every garbage title produced every month. But millions of collectors? Sure, maybe.

Most guys I know have "some comics".  They're not necessarily active collectors, but they would respond to a discussion about comics by saying "I have some comics from when I was younger."  Scale that up just for the U.S., then think about it globally. Tens of millions.  I'm not an active coin collector, but I have some coins.  I'm not an active sportcard collector, but I was 30 years ago and I still have them.  Millions of collectors still have comics and cards... and they have some (often uninformed) opinions about the conditions.  Slabbing (both cards and comics) have made the "normal" grades for unslabbed collectibles seem higher than they are.  The average 30 to 35 year old raw comic is probably an 8.5, and there are millions of them.

Edited May 11, 2020 by valiantman

[Ryan.]

7 minutes ago, valiantman said:

Most guys I know have "some comics".  They're not necessarily active collectors, but they would respond to a discussion about comics by saying "I have some comics from when I was younger."  Scale that up just for the U.S., then think about it globally. Tens of millions.  I'm not an active coin collector, but I have some coins.  I'm not an active sportcard collector, but I was 30 years ago and I still have them.  Millions of collectors still have comics and cards... and they have some (perhaps uninformed) opinions about the conditions.  Slabbing (both cards and comics) have made the "normal" grades for unslabbed collectibles seem higher than they are.  The average 30 to 35 year old raw comic is probably an 8.5, and there are millions of them.

That's a good point. When I think "collector" I think someone active in the collecting community, such as buying from LCS' or attending conventions or engaging in online message boards or watching related content on Youtube or SOMETHING that would be a generally accepted activity in the hobby that would lead one to purchasing a comic. 

However, probably all of my male friends, most of whom grew up in the 90s and watched at least the X-Men Animated Series, definitely have a handful of comics lying around somewhere. This includes one friend who recently found a beat up copy of Gambit 1 (1993), looked up prices for graded copies on ebay, and now insists that he's sitting on a comic worth $100.

[valiantman]

1 minute ago, Ryan. said:

This includes one friend who recently found a beat up copy of Gambit 1 (1993), looked up prices for graded copies on ebay, and now insists that he's sitting on a comic worth $100.

That's exactly who I'm talking about.  Very, very few collectors will ever have to face the reality that they don't have 9.8 raw comics, that they can't sell $1 books for $100, or that they're generally less_than_average_intelligence_persons.  Their lives are bliss. 

[NWOslave]

On 5/8/2020 at 6:49 PM, Lest 2 Art said:

But why? They're not worth much so it's not for resale, protection, or resto detection. Is it just because you guys think slabs are cool? Can't you be sentimental with a 2Mil Mylar and Fullback?

no. if im going to get a signature in today's environment i want it authenticated. slabs look better than top loaders.

[William-James88]

23 hours ago, valiantman said:

Most guys I know have "some comics".  They're not necessarily active collectors, but they would respond to a discussion about comics by saying "I have some comics from when I was younger." 

Any of those guys you know in their 80s? 

[lizards2]

6 minutes ago, William-James88 said:

23 hours ago, valiantman said:

Most guys I know have "some comics".  They're not necessarily active collectors, but they would respond to a discussion about comics by saying "I have some comics from when I was younger." 

Any of those guys you know in their 80s? 

It depends what your definition of "know" is....,