The thrill is gone. 7 7

[shadroch]

I've told this story before, but I think it's worth sharing. At one point I was trying to assemble a collection of every Marvel comic from the 12 cent era.  I forget now, but I think it was around 700 books. I was well over 90% done, and most of what I was missing was obscure  titles and things like Millie the Model. Went down to Philly for a show and found a dealer who had lots of low-midgrade Marvel SA. I think I needed 56 books and this guy had almost twenty of them. As he was adding them up,, I had a sudden epiphany. I was about to drop a couple hundred bucks on books I didn't collect, that no one really collected and was doing so just so I could say I had completed a collecting goal no one but me cared about.  I apologized, put the books back and bought a couple of iconic covers instead. From that point on, I identified 100 key books from that era and pretty much stuck to buying them. I'd much rather have eight copies of Avengers 9( my first grail) than a complete run of Millie the Model.

To illustrate how the hobby has changed, I first encountered Wonder Man reading a Marvel Triple Action where he appeared in a short flashback in an issue featuring Power Man. I think it was MTA #15. This was in the summer. With no comic shops, I had to wait until Thanksgiving  to attend a convention where two dealers had copies. One had a copy that looked brand new but he was asking a small fortune for it. The other had a pretty beat up copy that was cheap so I bought it. It took me months to read more about the mysterious Wonder Man. At this convention, I also first saw copies of what became the Comic Buyers Guide. I soon subscribed and every two weeks I had a convention show up in my mail box. I also found out that Phil was now running monthly shows. I didn't go to them too often because my budget didn't allow it.  A year or so goes by, and I read an MTA featuring the Red Guardian. Grabbing the latest CBG I find numerous copies of the original and a week or two later, it comes in the mail. A couple comic shops pop up, but none very close to me, but within a year there are two within a bike rides distance.

 

[Nazirite]

On 11/28/2020 at 12:10 PM, shadroch said:

I've been collecting comics since 1972 and they have been a major part of my life. I've owned two comic shops, managed a third, done countless shows and been buying and selling on the internet since the day after I got my first webtv.

Two years ago, I decided to move from Las Vegas to Bisbee ,with the intention of opening a shop that would have a large comic presence. I ran into a few roadblocks and then the virus came along setting me back further.  

I never dreamed I would be in a position of almost no money coming in for 18 months and I also realized I no longer really want to work. It's been six years since I worked more than an occasional part time gig and the thought of opening a shop and being there fulltime simply isn't appealing anymore.

Two weeks ago, I decided I would break into my " retirement vault" - my 100 books worth at least $1,000 each, and sell five of them. In 2016, circumstances forced me into the same situation and I really agonized over which two books to sell. It was like ripping a child out of my arms. 

This time it was different. Avengers 1 was my pride and joy, now I look at it and see $3,000. My Avengers 4- signed by Stan and Joe Simon-that one I will hold onto. Captain America Comics- I love the Schomburg covers, but I have an original painting and two lithos that are much nicer.  I'm still finding a few books I have an emotional tie to- Defenders 10, Captain America 3, the Legion Adventures, Judge Dredd 1, but increasingly I look at the rest and I just see dollar bills. Even when one lives alone, sixty plus comic boxes take up a lot of space.

I'm reminded of my friends Mom. Her husband worked for Con Ed and over the course of his career, managed to buy $250,000 worth of stock in the company. I'm sure he intended that to provide for his family, but when he died the mother refused to sell the stock. She insisted that her beloved husband scrimped and saved to buy them the stock and it would dishonor his memory if they were to sell them. He ended up leaving CW Post to go to a state school because they didn't have the money.

 

My son, whom I am not close with, and my nephews, who I am close to , have zero interest in my books. If I die, they would be a burden on my nephew to sell. In my will, I leave my books to a comic industry charity. but they can have what is left over. 

I also have underestimated what these book are going for.  A GS X-Men I bought on these boards for $300 sold for $920 even when it turned out to be restored , and another copy I bought from MCS for $410 just sold for $1400.  While I don't "need" the money, those two books just allowed me to buy a nice patio set. 

I've thought about selling out in the past, but I'm pretty sure this time I will go thru with it. 

I look at my two bookcases full of Omni's , Archives and Masterpeces and realize I will most likely never get around to reading them.  Time to pass them along to someone who will appreciate them. 

I think I will still bargain hunt when I can, but 99% of my collection no longer means much to me. 

Forgive my rant, I thought writing this might make me feel different but it didn't.

 

This is a pretty amazing read. I just wanted to thank you for preserving the books for another  generation, I’m 25. I started collecting again this year, my wife (29), supports me and is willing to try collecting herself. My daughter (15 months), smiles when I read her Superman comics and can point him out on the page, so maybe she’ll be a comic lover too . Either way, with being young even copper age seem like history to me let alone , bronze, silver or gold. And those books wouldn’t be available to me if good stewards  such as yourself didn’t love and care for them when you did. So even if your thrill is gone a new generation is waiting to pick up the torch 👊🏾.

[The Lions Den]

19 hours ago, comicginger1789 said:

Flash forward almost twenty five years and I’m still stuck in that era, having read only a very very minor amount of stuff published between 1990 and now. I’ve met other collectors my age who read current stuff or stuff from the 90s but no one who has read (or bought) stuff like Combat Kelly or Red Wolf or Spider Woman or Marvel Chillers or whatever. But I feel at hone talking about the days of old with the older collectors. I love absorbing knowledge and feeling as though I was there living it when they did, buying the stuff off the stands. 

Ah, what a time it was...8 new comics for a dollar...  

[Robot Man]

16 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

Ah, what a time it was...8 new comics for a dollar...  

I remember 10 comics for a dollar but I rarely ever had a dollar...

[Robot Man]

I dunno, should I sell or not?

[Randall Dowling]

29 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

Ah, what a time it was...8 new comics for a dollar...  

Other things you could buy for a dollar at that time instead:

-a bicycle

-a card table (without chairs)

-1 hour with a woman of ill repute

[The Lions Den]

17 minutes ago, Randall Dowling said:

Other things you could buy for a dollar at that time instead:

-a bicycle

-a card table (without chairs)

-1 hour with a woman of ill repute

A day late and a dollar short...   

[kav]

On 11/28/2020 at 1:08 PM, NoMan said:

I dunno. I've got a major key entombed in plastic sitting in a Safe Deposit Box and sometimes I wonder what the point is. I have no children. My nieces and nephews are spoiled sh*ts who wouldn't care one way or the other and if they got a hold of it they would just cash out and add a bag of money to their already silver-spoon spoiled ungrateful lives. Right now in my will it's left to a 22 year old friend of the wife's who doesn't like me and I don't like him. And no he doesn't give a sh*t about comics.

I seem to be of a minority opinion here but I believe this stuff has a shelf life if you're talking about collecting for selling later. I don't care about the movies. I know of no young person that reads comics. It's nostalgic for us, not them. Yes I understand your children read comics and books because they're special. Most kids today don't read tangible print. Try telling a kid today you've got the first Roy Rodgers action figure still in the box. Who cares?

If I sold book I could probably buy a Porsche or two and that seems as if it would be more fun. But no, I made a commitment to the 20-year grand experiment and if I arrived at the idea, it'll probably fail.

 

I'm in the same boat.  No family so leaving all my comics and OA to my buddy who owns a comic shop who I suspect doesnt really even like me.  I got no one else.

[kav]

5 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

I completely disagree... 

This pandemic shook people out of their comfort zone and perhaps opened their eyes to reevaluate priorities.   At the end of the day, this is nothing but 'stuff'. 

Agree 100%
Pls send me one of your stuff:

[Dylan.]

stop feeling depressed, and just be happy

[Hollywood1892]

On 11/28/2020 at 12:10 PM, shadroch said:

I've been collecting comics since 1972 and they have been a major part of my life. I've owned two comic shops, managed a third, done countless shows and been buying and selling on the internet since the day after I got my first webtv.

Two years ago, I decided to move from Las Vegas to Bisbee ,with the intention of opening a shop that would have a large comic presence. I ran into a few roadblocks and then the virus came along setting me back further.  

I never dreamed I would be in a position of almost no money coming in for 18 months and I also realized I no longer really want to work. It's been six years since I worked more than an occasional part time gig and the thought of opening a shop and being there fulltime simply isn't appealing anymore.

Two weeks ago, I decided I would break into my " retirement vault" - my 100 books worth at least $1,000 each, and sell five of them. In 2016, circumstances forced me into the same situation and I really agonized over which two books to sell. It was like ripping a child out of my arms. 

This time it was different. Avengers 1 was my pride and joy, now I look at it and see $3,000. My Avengers 4- signed by Stan and Joe Simon-that one I will hold onto. Captain America Comics- I love the Schomburg covers, but I have an original painting and two lithos that are much nicer.  I'm still finding a few books I have an emotional tie to- Defenders 10, Captain America 3, the Legion Adventures, Judge Dredd 1, but increasingly I look at the rest and I just see dollar bills. Even when one lives alone, sixty plus comic boxes take up a lot of space.

I'm reminded of my friends Mom. Her husband worked for Con Ed and over the course of his career, managed to buy $250,000 worth of stock in the company. I'm sure he intended that to provide for his family, but when he died the mother refused to sell the stock. She insisted that her beloved husband scrimped and saved to buy them the stock and it would dishonor his memory if they were to sell them. He ended up leaving CW Post to go to a state school because they didn't have the money.

 

My son, whom I am not close with, and my nephews, who I am close to , have zero interest in my books. If I die, they would be a burden on my nephew to sell. In my will, I leave my books to a comic industry charity. but they can have what is left over. 

I also have underestimated what these book are going for.  A GS X-Men I bought on these boards for $300 sold for $920 even when it turned out to be restored , and another copy I bought from MCS for $410 just sold for $1400.  While I don't "need" the money, those two books just allowed me to buy a nice patio set. 

I've thought about selling out in the past, but I'm pretty sure this time I will go thru with it. 

I look at my two bookcases full of Omni's , Archives and Masterpeces and realize I will most likely never get around to reading them.  Time to pass them along to someone who will appreciate them. 

I think I will still bargain hunt when I can, but 99% of my collection no longer means much to me. 

Forgive my rant, I thought writing this might make me feel different but it didn't.

 

I'm sorry to hear this

[Buzzetta]

12 minutes ago, kav said:

Agree 100%
Pls send me one of your stuff:

Sure... 

 

Keep in mind that I want top dollar for it... and I mean top dollar.  While money does not buy happiness, money allows for opportunity and more opportunity is better than less opportunity. 

[kav]

1 minute ago, Buzzetta said:

Sure... 

 

Keep in mind that I want top dollar for it... and I mean top dollar.  While money does not buy happiness, money allows for opportunity and more opportunity is better than less opportunity. 

It's just stuff!!!  Send it!! 

[shadroch]

13 minutes ago, Hollywood1892 said:

I'm sorry to hear this

 There is nothing to feel bad about. Simply time to turn the page and start a new chapter.

[Hollywood1892]

12 minutes ago, shadroch said:

 There is nothing to feel bad about. Simply time to turn the page and start a new chapter.

But your putting the entire book down, it's not just a new chapter.

[oldmilwaukee6er]

20 hours ago, Robot Man said:

I dunno, should I sell or not?

 

I used to collect Kreiss psycho ceramics but they grew cost prohibitive, I stopped finding them in the wild and I sold em. I still have a few look-a-likes that I picked up including the large cookie jar. 

Edited November 30, 2020 by oldmilwaukee6er
post edited by Wertham

[DavidTheDavid]

Ya, I empathize with a lot of this, too. I have bought and sold so much, collected with little restraint at times, made financial mistakes, then defined and redefined my collection numerous times. With the current global health crisis, especially as it is playing out where I live, I am quite content collecting contemporary artists like Francesco Francavilla, Michael Allred, and Alex Ross. We have made several financial moves to improve our home and lives as winter's onset approaches: we became a one-car family, we took advantage of a CARES provision to move money, and I have sold practically all my GA and SA books, and most of my BA, too, to make home improvements while leaving other monies alone. Through all the years of manic collecting and buying and selling, and then financial upheaval as I became a first-time parent in my 40s, changed careers after two decades, my enthusiasm has waxed and waned. Right now, I could sell all my comics without batting an eye if we needed it, and I find myself extremely picky about what I'm willing to spend fun money on. Even so and as others have noted, interests don't have to be all-consuming all the time, if at all. Letting "serious" collecting take a back seat while I ride out the pandemic is an easy decision. I subscribed to the clz database and really like it. I look forward to cataloging my collection over the winter. My goal is a curated collection that represents my interests and respects my my other priorities in life.

Peace out, folks, stay safe, happy collecting. (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

Edited November 29, 2020 by DavidTheDavid

[Hollywood1892]

1 hour ago, Randall Dowling said:

 

-1 hour with a woman of ill repute

You couldn't get 1/150 of that nowadays 

[Jordysnordy]

I have been collecting comics for 38 years and had continued buying new comics to keep my runs going. At one point I had about 10000 books and I began to think what will happen if I drop dead before I can sell my collection. My kids have little interest in them and selling 10000 books can be very daunting if you don’t know anything about comics. While I am sure they could liquidate if they needed to, I am sure they would leave tons of money on the table simply because comics are not what they are interested in. I have a buddy who is in the same situation so we agreed that if one of us should die prematurely the other would sell the collection and keep 10% for his work. In the meantime over the last few years I have sold about 90% of my collection on the boards and this makes me very happy as I know they are going to people who will really enjoy and cherish the books. I have met so many great people since I joined the boards and have been lucky enough to meet many of you in person over the years.

[comicginger1789]

I want to meet lots of you in the future. When and where and how I don’t know but I’d like to!