How many is “too many”? 5 5

[Old_Man_Adam]

39 minutes ago, Kevin.J said:

Nah, a sales thread sounds like too much work and I am still filling gaps, if I sold anything I would be compelled to fill that gap again 

The problem is real , Ill just remain here quietly jealous 

[comicginger1789]

9 hours ago, Summydad1 said:

When I say quality over quantity I am not judging anyone for what they love and what they collect. I mean “quality” as in quality of choices made not just hoarding tons of books so you can have a massive collection. That is of course just how I do it. And by the way your quantity of TOS and Cap is definitely quality.

I think there is a general consensus if a collection is quality. For example, someone with a collection of Silver and Bronze age books in decent shape would definitely be considered quality, assuming there were a number of commonly collected titles in there. A collection of 2000-3000 comics that came out between 1985 and 1995...I feel one would be hard pressed to have a collection that large consisting of desired books. Maybe desirable condition but unlikely to have 2000-3000 desirable books from that era. 

As for the original question of how many is too many...however many makes a collector happy if the right amount. If you are someone who has 6 long boxes of keys only and that is your thing, awesome. If you are someone who collected runs of Bronze Age titles only, awesome. I have met people with collections like mine (around 3000) and I have met people whose entire basements are filled (60000-70000 comics). I think the only way it can become a lot is if it burdens your life in some way. If you are hording comics and barely scraping by, you may want to re-evaluate your spending. 

Is there an average size? I feel like there are a large number of collectors with 1000 books or less. These collectors are focused and just have what they truly love and this is generally the size of a collection that someone sells when and if they do. So the most common size is in that range. I feel that as it starts to climb closer to 10000, you will find fewer and fewer collectors with that many books. Once you exceed 10000, I feel like there are not as many and that you are in a totally different tier.

[comicdonna]

I have less than 100 raw books, and 10 slabs.  

[comicdonna]

Here's a link to the how big is your collection thread.

 

[Ken Aldred]

9 hours ago, comicdonna said:

I have less than 100 raw books, and 10 slabs.  

Yup. A shame that digital comics weren’t available back in the 70s, as my collection would’ve been considerably leaner than it is today, but likely not quite as selective as yours; pared down maybe to several hundred originals, rather than my actual situation now of hoarding over 10,000 in raws and slabs, and also several additional boxes of collected edition hardcovers.

I would’ve focused just on getting high grade originals of my favourite issues, and having the rest in more compact digital format for reading. Same quantity overall, maybe, but more spatially economical.

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Ken Aldred

[Ken Aldred]

I’d call a lot of Copper and Modern Age comics ‘quality’ if they deliver what happens to be good story and art for you personally, even if they’re still barely worth cover price as a back issue. So, quality is subjective.  

That might be trying to be too liberal, though, as the existence of some titles, such as Sonic Disruptors, is typically very hard to justify.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Ken Aldred

[F For Fake]

15 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said:

I’d call a lot of Copper and Modern Age comics ‘quality’ if they deliver what happens to be good story and art for you personally, even if they’re still barely worth cover price as a back issue. So, quality is subjective.  

That might be trying to be too liberal, though, as the existence of some titles, such as Sonic Disruptors, is typically very hard to justify.

I was at a yard sale this morning, and sure enough, found a copy of Sonic Disruptors 1 in the comics! Almost bought it just to share, but even at 50 cents the price was too high!

[Ken Aldred]

10 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

Almost bought it just to share, but even at 50 cents the price was too high!

Even with a 9.8 candidate, you’d think twice at that nosebleed price.

[THE_BEYONDER]

49 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

I was at a yard sale this morning, and sure enough, found a copy of Sonic Disruptors 1 in the comics! Almost bought it just to share, but even at 50 cents the price was too high!

And.....

Here comes the movie announcement 

[marvelmaniac]

14 hours ago, FineCollector said:

I despise the phrase "quality over quantity".  I built a run of Tales of Suspense 58-99, and Captain America 100-454 some years ago which still makes me very happy.  According to you experts, how much of that is quality, and how much is quantity?

I agree 100%.

I have 2000 books in my "collection" and have been amassing the collection on a "Budget" since 1979. I have complete runs of the Marvel Major Superhero Titles (without the #1's), Atlas/Marvel Westerns/Pre-Hero Horror and a lot of these books are in PR 0.5, FR 1.0, FR/GD 1.5, all raw.

So are people saying that "Low Grade, Well Loved, Raw Books" do not count as a collection because they may not be desirable to some?

So according to those folks...My Daredevil 1 in FR 1.0 or my ASM 2, 3, 4 and F.F. #2 in PR 0.5 do not count???

I found them desirable and was excited to own them and add them to my "Collection" and others feel the same way.

I am part of a Facebook Group called "Low Grade Comic Collectors".

I was an Automotive Service Tech for 33 years and the Salesmen at the dealership used to tell me all the time...

"There is an A** for every seat", that means a beater is still a car and someone will want it, it does not have to be a High $$$ Benz to classify.

THANKS for letting an Old Man rant. 

[Ken Aldred]

46 minutes ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

And.....

Here comes the movie announcement 

Yup. Then I can see there being a rush of demand on eBay and Facebook that will drive 9.8s up to maybe as high as an insane $10 level.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Ken Aldred

[comicginger1789]

15 hours ago, FineCollector said:

I despise the phrase "quality over quantity".  I built a run of Tales of Suspense 58-99, and Captain America 100-454 some years ago which still makes me very happy.  According to you experts, how much of that is quality, and how much is quantity?

To me, that is "quality quantity". Whilst someone may not love every single issue in those runs, their existence of being together is a desirable thing. 

Now if you replaced Tales of Suspense and Captain America with "Valley of the Dinosaurs" and "Fraggle Rock" well....it would be up for debate.

[MR SigS]

On 9/17/2020 at 5:24 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Considering the vast history of comic book production, 8k does not seem like "too many" (at all).

I agree, but can you imagine someone's significant other applying this to collecting shoes? They've been around much longer than comics.

[theCapraAegagrus]

7 minutes ago, MR SigS said:

I agree, but can you imagine someone's significant other applying this to collecting shoes? They've been around much longer than comics.

 

[Gem_Mint]

18 hours ago, piper said:

Love your You Tube Videos!

Thanks!

[Crimebuster]

I have around 10k, and am at my space limit, so I periodically sell off chunks to make space for new purchases. My tastes and collecting goals have changed a lot over the past decade so this is an ongoing process that probably won't stop any time soon. I collect full runs mostly, so they take up a lot of space!

[comicginger1789]

7 hours ago, marvelmaniac said:

I agree 100%.

I have 2000 books in my "collection" and have been amassing the collection on a "Budget" since 1979. I have complete runs of the Marvel Major Superhero Titles (without the #1's), Atlas/Marvel Westerns/Pre-Hero Horror and a lot of these books are in PR 0.5, FR 1.0, FR/GD 1.5, all raw.

So are people saying that "Low Grade, Well Loved, Raw Books" do not count as a collection because they may not be desirable to some?

So according to those folks...My Daredevil 1 in FR 1.0 or my ASM 2, 3, 4 and F.F. #2 in PR 0.5 do not count???

I found them desirable and was excited to own them and add them to my "Collection" and others feel the same way.

I am part of a Facebook Group called "Low Grade Comic Collectors".

I was an Automotive Service Tech for 33 years and the Salesmen at the dealership used to tell me all the time...

"There is an A** for every seat", that means a beater is still a car and someone will want it, it does not have to be a High $$$ Benz to classify.

THANKS for letting an Old Man rant. 

I would say that’s quality. To me quality is the books themselves regardless of condition. I mean condition does come into play but I’m pretty sure majority of collectors would drool over and desire what ya have even though they are rough.

But not too much drool...don’t wanna knock them from 1.8 down to 1.5

[Dr Zen]

I'm currently at 13,408. 

I was right at 14,000 a couple of years ago when I moved in the blazing hot summer. Damn near killed me.

 

[ExNihilo]

3,823 on about 12 IKEA length shelves.

Plus 2 long boxes of slabbed books.

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by ExNihilo

[Mercury Man]

9 hours ago, Ken Aldred said:

I’d call a lot of Copper and Modern Age comics ‘quality’ if they deliver what happens to be good story and art for you personally, even if they’re still barely worth cover price as a back issue. So, quality is subjective.  

That might be trying to be too liberal, though, as the existence of some titles, such as Sonic Disruptors, is typically very hard to justify.

Spot on.  I think some people confuse "quality" with "monetary value".  My favorite comics to own are ones that are only worth about $10 max, because they are specific to my childhood, a place in time.