Plan of attack for collecting it all? 2 2

[poorcollector]

If you wanted to collect every single comic published by Marvel or DC (pick your favorite) ever, how would you go about doing it?   I have made a list of possible ways I have thought of. 

• Buying collections
• Focusing on a single run at a time
• Going after hard to find books first 
• Starting from the golden age and working my way chronologically

Also to consider am I buying what is being currently published concurrently.  I personally think that if you buy concurrently you avoid a lot of inflated modern key/spec book prices. 

I understand this is a super lofty goal, but hey I am young. What would you do if this was you goal?  If you think this is just absolutely dumb and you don't want to play pretend you can tell me how dumb it is below haha. I am just curious and want to hear some of you guy's thoughts.

[valiantman]

How long would you feel comfortable saying "No" when you're asked whether you have any of the major key issues?

If you would be uncomfortable immediately, then you should definitely go for the big books first.

Otherwise, you'll end up feeling proud and disappointed at all times.

[Ken Aldred]

I had an equally lofty goal like this when I was a young teenager. 

Never achieved it, though.

Ambition requires either the sort of money that I never had, or at least compromising on condition and not being addled by OCD.

But, at least I got most of the books that are really important to me.

 

[F For Fake]

1 minute ago, poorcollector said:

If you wanted to collect every single comic published by Marvel or DC (pick your favorite) ever, how would you go about doing it?   I have made a list of possible ways I have thought of. 

• Buying collections
• Focusing on a single run at a time
• Going after hard to find books first 
• Starting from the golden age and working my way chronologically

Also to consider am I buying what is being currently published concurrently.  I personally think that if you buy concurrently you avoid a lot of inflated modern key/spec book prices. 

I understand this is a super lofty goal, but hey I am young. What would you do if this was you goal?  If you think this is just absolutely dumb and you don't want to play pretend you can tell me how dumb it is below haha. I am just curious and want to hear some of you guy's thoughts.

Once upon a time this was doable on a relatively modest income. These days, I don't see how anyone would start from scratch and get them all, even in rough shape, unless they had a substantial income. There are at least a couple of boardies who have them all, that I know of, but they started quite some time back. Prices are prohibitively high right now. I'm not sure I'd be buying keys at all these days, as I don't see how the prices can stay where they're currently at. That being said, I could be totally wrong, and today's "insane" prices may prove a bargain in the long run. But as more folks age out, retire, die off, etc, we'll see more collections coming up for sale, and fewer buyers wanting them.

I'd say if you just want to read 'em, get a Marvel Unlimited subscription and go town. Next cheapest would be Marvel Masterworks and Omnibus collections, but even some of those are out of print and can cost hundreds of dollars. 

If money was no object, knock out the keys in the condition you can afford, and then pick up the run books in bulk.

Moderns, I wouldn't sweat too much. Aside from the random book that pops and gets hot, and can cost a few hundred bucks, most moderns can be picked up for pennies on the dollar in bargain bins, or at shops or conventions. 

Regardless, have fun!

[DocHoppus182]

I’d knock out all the big keys first.  
 
There are people that have complete Marvel collections, for example.  Most of them have been collecting for decades.  
 

If one is just starting, you better rob a Leprechaun of his pot O gold. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

Every single DC book? Ever?

I'd follow this criteria

Make some money and either buy a warehouse as big as city block, or make mile high an offer they can't refuse!

I suggest the latter, and start the conversation with puff puff give!

[poorcollector]

11 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said:

I had an equally lofty goal like this when I was a young teenager. 

Never achieved it, though.

Ambition requires either the sort of money that I never had, or at least compromising on condition and not being addled by OCD.

But, at least I got most of the books that are really important to me.

 

Being happy with your collection is all that matters

Edited Thursday at 10:26 PM by poorcollector

[ADAMANTIUM]

I dont know the first step, but 

I guess you dont own them yet, so the 1st thing is how to acquire and in what order

Perhaps buy what you like most, and you'll make up the rest as you go along....

Stay within your means and have a goal! There has to be over 1000 books in detective comics alone, not including variants, buy what interests you the most and you'll be satisfied in the end!

Edited Thursday at 10:42 PM by ADAMANTIUM

[Get Marwood & I]

35 minutes ago, poorcollector said:

I am just curious and want to hear some of you guy's thoughts.

Can I ask why you want to do it Poorcollector? What is your motivation to own thousands and thousands of comics, many of which existed before you were born, and many of which will have very little appeal individually?  

[steveinthecity]

If starting from scratch, a fun undertaking might be to collect all the books from a particular publisher in a given year.  Financial considerations aside, you may find the real challenge is in locating random issues of less popular titles. Having the convention circuit currently shut down gives you fewer options for digging through boxes to find those books, though

[ADAMANTIUM]

A short term goal to get started for sure

Or a set of short term goals that will add to the big picture eventually

Gives you the thrill of the hunt rather than just buying whatever comes along

[telerites]

Ian Levine did it with DC Comics - I forget when he stopped.  His collection went from 1935 - 2014 of every DC Comic including promotionals. They were auctioned through Sotheby's.  I forget how long it took him. 

 

[1950's war comics]

37 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Every single DC book? Ever?

I'd follow this criteria

Make some money and either buy a warehouse as big as city block, or make mile high an offer they can't refuse!

I suggest the latter, and start the conversation with puff puff give!

mile high has very few GA books left...they have about 99% of their stock in moderns and drek

Edited Thursday at 10:58 PM by 1950's war comics

[comicginger1789]

I agree that this would be near impossible without and unlimited income. If you had millions of dollars to spend and didn’t worry about getting the best deal, sure.

While I respect such a goal, personally it’s pointless. I like that for me my collection has an end goal. I have certain things I want and I’m content hunting those for all time. Buying it for the sake of having it all does nothing for me. I don’t want a lot of Silver Age DC stuff or copper age Marvel stuff so why would I buy it just to have? 

I’ll stick with buying as much of what I love as I can while I am on this earth brings me great joy! And I find I learn new things every year, about artists or books I never knew existed. So while my collection has a finite end now, it tends to grow once in a while as a see new things to add to my “oh now that would be great to have” list.

[poorcollector]

15 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Can I ask why you want to do it Poorcollector? What is your motivation to own thousands and thousands of comics, many of which existed before you were born, and many of which will have very little appeal individually?  

Personally I have a few reasons for collecting comics. I enjoy Marvel because it is what I grew up with.  Owning all the Nazi covers, and older stuff really appeals to me because it is literally like owning a piece of history.  I enjoy the artwork from the golden age all the way through to today, and I also enjoy the stories of most of the main runs.  I am also a very OCD individual and incredibly goal oriented.  Yes,  I agree that some books have little appeal individually, but those are also the books that can be found for pennies on the dollar.  If I enjoy the history, art, and story of the vast majority of what Marvel has published why not get the cheap stuff if possible and complete the collection. 

[poorcollector]

5 minutes ago, comicginger1789 said:

I agree that this would be near impossible without and unlimited income. If you had millions of dollars to spend and didn’t worry about getting the best deal, sure.

While I respect such a goal, personally it’s pointless. I like that for me my collection has an end goal. I have certain things I want and I’m content hunting those for all time. Buying it for the sake of having it all does nothing for me. I don’t want a lot of Silver Age DC stuff or copper age Marvel stuff so why would I buy it just to have? 

I’ll stick with buying as much of what I love as I can while I am on this earth brings me great joy! And I find I learn new things every year, about artists or books I never knew existed. So while my collection has a finite end now, it tends to grow once in a while as a see new things to add to my “oh now that would be great to have” list.

Part of the appeal to comic collecting for me and some other is that there is no end.  Once you complete a run or a specific set of books can they be upgraded? Do you truly believe that you will stop collecting comics books once your one goal is completed?

[Remyvt]

I would

go after keys first

I feel like your point about collecting moderns concurrently to catch books before they get expensive is fair but that it is greatly offset by all the $4 and $5 books you would be able to get for $1 or less maybe not even a year later. Plus most of the variants drop after their initial blow up. 

collect runs starting my favorites because it’s highly likely I will give up long before I achieve this goal. My first instinct was to collect the least popular stuff first because 1) you can get a large quantity faster 2) you get these super cheap and you never know what might get more expensive down the road when it gets its day in the sun, however again I feel like I will not see this monumental task to completion and then I’ve just got tens of thousands of cheap books I have no interest in and nobody else wants either.

Which brought me to my ah ha moment. Find the other people who tried and take their collections off their hands after they’ve burned out.

 

[Get Marwood & I]

52 minutes ago, poorcollector said:

Personally I have a few reasons for collecting comics. I enjoy Marvel because it is what I grew up with.  Owning all the Nazi covers, and older stuff really appeals to me because it is literally like owning a piece of history.  I enjoy the artwork from the golden age all the way through to today, and I also enjoy the stories of most of the main runs.  I am also a very OCD individual and incredibly goal oriented.  Yes,  I agree that some books have little appeal individually, but those are also the books that can be found for pennies on the dollar.  If I enjoy the history, art, and story of the vast majority of what Marvel has published why not get the cheap stuff if possible and complete the collection. 

If you're doing it for the love of the medium, then low cost volume first will be satisfying. In my experience though, the longer you leave the keys, the further their prices can move out of sight. So if you're goal will only be satisfied by including them, getting them first will save you money in the long term, freeing more funds for low cost volume down the line. My other word of caution, again from experience, is to consider fully the reality of purchasing many many comics which you may one day look at and wonder why you own them. It can happen - a high volume of 'uninteresting' books, purchased just to complete an arbitrary wider target, can lead to eventual feelings of contempt for those issues which in turn could erode the fun of attaining the overall target. My advice is to pick a smaller target, focussed around characters, genres or series that you really love.  Good luck 

[1950's war comics]

when Ian went for the entire DC run ,,, this unlikely book (Buzzy #70)was one of the last ones he acquired ...long story about it somewhere on these boards ... a good read too

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wilbil]

5 minutes ago, poorcollector said:

Part of the appeal to comic collecting for me and some other is that there is no end.  Once you complete a run or a specific set of books can they be upgraded? Do you truly believe that you will stop collecting comics books once your one goal is completed?

your goals remind me exactly of stephen bechtel. he could buy any philatelic item he wanted at any price, but he always stated that took the fun out of it. he would only pay up to what the scott catalog stated as the price. he would not pay one cent more.

the goal: collecting a minimum of one example of every philatelic item.

the results were and still are incredible and a gift to many researchers, collectors and museums. the world is definitely a better place because of his discipline, enjoyment of the hobby and....ocd.

i do not think your goal is pointless. i endorse it. it is in the fun and the learning and the sharing.

good for you!