all eggs in one basket ? 2 2

[aleksicwon]

Wondering if it is a good idea to sell off my collection and buy one mega key ( like AF 15 , Hulk 1 ) ?

I have stuff like ASM 300 9.8 , JIM 83 3.5 , FF 48 5.5 , Iron Man 55 9.0 etc .
I hate to get rid of it but it adds up so I can buy a mid grade or better AF 15 .

Is this a viable strategy ? I've heard people advocating this but for me it seems like I am losing diversification . 
What opinions do you guys have ?

Would also love to get some high grade Golden Age like Timelys . Are they too overpriced now ?
Seems like they really ramped up in last 10 years .
 

[piper]

You could always buy these other books again.

If you can only have one book, AF15 would be my top choice.

[Randall Dowling]

51 minutes ago, aleksicwon said:

Wondering if it is a good idea to sell off my collection and buy one mega key ( like AF 15 , Hulk 1 ) ?

I have stuff like ASM 300 9.8 , JIM 83 3.5 , FF 48 5.5 , Iron Man 55 9.0 etc .
I hate to get rid of it but it adds up so I can buy a mid grade or better AF 15 .

Is this a viable strategy ? I've heard people advocating this but for me it seems like I am losing diversification . 
What opinions do you guys have ?

Would also love to get some high grade Golden Age like Timelys . Are they too overpriced now ?
Seems like they really ramped up in last 10 years .
 

@oakman29 I think had the best take on this.  Start with the biggest books you possibly can and work your way down from there.  It'll cost you a lot less in the long run.

[piper]

3 minutes ago, Randall Dowling said:

@oakman29 I think had the best take on this.  Start with the biggest books you possibly can and work your way down from there.  It'll cost you a lot less in the long run.

I wish that I had known this approach back in the day, but truth be told, these books were less readily available pre-internet where I lived.

[oakman29]

8 minutes ago, Randall Dowling said:

@oakman29 I think had the best take on this.  Start with the biggest books you possibly can and work your way down from there.  It'll cost you a lot less in the long run.

Yep! Any run I pursue I will go for the big keys first, then buy the fillers.

[oakman29]

I would keep the books you have.

Here's what I do. I have a separate savings account, and I put 20.00, 40.00 each paycheck  whatever I can afford that week. You'll be surprised how much you accumulate. At the end of the year I buy the best big key I can afford. If I dont find anything I just let the account ride until I find something.  Everyone has their own system,  but I just find this one very easy. It doesnt take a big chuck of money from you all at once. And you can still have an impressive set of key books.

Edited January 7, 2021 by oakman29

[Hamlet]

27 minutes ago, piper said:

I wish that I had known this approach back in the day, but truth be told, these books were less readily available pre-internet where I lived.

No doubt.  I had one local shop, a used bookstore, and a couple of antique stores that occasionally had comics.  It wasn’t like an AF15 was available for me to buy locally, and I can’t imagine mail ordering one in those days.  “Fill out your order with the books you want.  List alternates in case they’ve been sold since the ad was placed.  Hope for the best”

I had trouble finding even some issues of ASM that were less than 5 years old.

[alexgross.com]

13 hours ago, aleksicwon said:

Wondering if it is a good idea to sell off my collection and buy one mega key ( like AF 15 , Hulk 1 ) ?

I have stuff like ASM 300 9.8 , JIM 83 3.5 , FF 48 5.5 , Iron Man 55 9.0 etc .
I hate to get rid of it but it adds up so I can buy a mid grade or better AF 15 .

Is this a viable strategy ? I've heard people advocating this but for me it seems like I am losing diversification . 
What opinions do you guys have ?

Would also love to get some high grade Golden Age like Timelys . Are they too overpriced now ?
Seems like they really ramped up in last 10 years .
 

do you sometimes need to sell something to raise 5k or whatever? if so, then having just one 25k book won't do you much good. right now you have options- you can sell one or two things, or more, if need be. if you just want to hold onto an AF15 for several years, and you can find a nice copy with no chipping and no cream pages, then you can't go wrong that way. in the last few years, asm300 and ff48 have both done better than AF15. but i'm bullish on AF15 long term.

you can also ask if every key is overpriced now. there's no answer without a time machine. was tesla stock overpriced at $700 per share, as so many said? apparently not. 

[comicginger1789]

14 hours ago, aleksicwon said:

Wondering if it is a good idea to sell off my collection and buy one mega key ( like AF 15 , Hulk 1 ) ?

I have stuff like ASM 300 9.8 , JIM 83 3.5 , FF 48 5.5 , Iron Man 55 9.0 etc .
I hate to get rid of it but it adds up so I can buy a mid grade or better AF 15 .

Is this a viable strategy ? I've heard people advocating this but for me it seems like I am losing diversification . 
What opinions do you guys have ?

Would also love to get some high grade Golden Age like Timelys . Are they too overpriced now ?
Seems like they really ramped up in last 10 years .
 

Alas, this is something I ponder often.

At the end of the day, I could sell of a lot of what I have for something like you are suggesting. But then I would not have many of what I feel are "cool things". I like looking at, sharing and reading multiple cool comics, pieces of art, toys, etc. If I sold all of it for 3-5 mega pieces, great but that does not make me as happy. So I know my answer lies in keeping what I have and hoping I find an AF 15 in the wall of a house someday....ya gotta dream right?

[comicginger1789]

For example, I look at my issues of Thor #337 which is part of my Simonson run, which I enjoy. I could sell it and the run and put that money towards a key ASM book I want. But the though of losing the Thor #337 saddens me, as does the prospect of having to shell out way more money than I originally paid for it in order to one day reacquire it. 

However, doing this may get me a book that right now is extremely expensive but down the road could become impossible. I sell stuff not, I pay up and maybe down the road I reacquire stuff but again, I live in the now and I like my now so it prevents me from selling off what I already have to upgrade to bigger books. 

[the blob]

What is the purpose of your collection? Is this where you stick some of your money rather than other investment vehicles? Do you enjoy comics? Are you looking for potential $ return? Liquidity? SM 300 9.8 , FF 48 5.5 , Iron Man 55 9.0 ... if you could turn those three into an AF 15 I would. I'd try to keep the JIM 83, although it is kind of low grade. The FF 48 in 5.5 is a very common and overpriced book (it is a great book, but the current prices make no sense. I can't speak for the other two in terms of how easy they are in those grades.

[aleksicwon]

23 minutes ago, the blob said:

What is the purpose of your collection? Is this where you stick some of your money rather than other investment vehicles? Do you enjoy comics? Are you looking for potential $ return? ...I'd try to keep the JIM 83, although it is kind of low grade. ...

I think I am a buy and hold guy . I don't really see myself ever selling them but I suppose one day it may happen .
I do want to upgrade some of these to higher grade but I guess that is low priority .

Edited January 7, 2021 by aleksicwon

[Mmehdy]

I like FF1, AF 15, FF5, FF ANN#1 high grade and ASM1...for SA in that order,  GA would be as affordable ...ALL Star #3 mid grade,Superman #2 mid-grade, Action 11-21 mid grade, Detective 30-40, and Cap 2-13

[Drummy]

All I can add here is that when trying to fill a bucket with rocks, put in the largest ones first.  It will be a lot easier to find and buy smaller rocks later on.

[the blob]

I see, you'd need to sell the JIM 83 as well to even be able to get a 1.5 - 2.0 of AF 15. Those other three would only get you a .5 - 1.0 copy. I feel amazingly dumb not getting a 2.0-2.5 copy for $500 back in 1994 or so when offered at a show, although i have no way of knowing now if it was a PLOD.

 

[aleksicwon]

18 minutes ago, the blob said:

I see, you'd need to sell the JIM 83 as well to even be able to get a 1.5 - 2.0 of AF 15. Those other three would only get you a .5 - 1.0 copy. I feel amazingly dumb not getting a 2.0-2.5 copy for $500 back in 1994 or so when offered at a show, although i have no way of knowing now if it was a PLOD.

 

No I have a large collection , I was just giving example of some .

[Pantodude]

I'm not sure if you are referring to diversification as a collector or diversification as an investor?  Both?  haven't you heard, comics are not for investing! 

For an investor, i can see the draw of having just that one mid-grade AF15.  Simple, even practical maybe.  As a collector, eye-candy to boot.  But what kind of collector are you?

I am a  huge fan of Hulk, Batman, Spidey, and Supe, but I like many others a lot too.  So while I have high-end books for my fav characters, I could never pursue one to the complete exclusion of the other.  Diversification is in my DNA.  I have an AF15 6.0, so you might think "easy for you to say!"  But theoretically I could have pursued a higher grade AF15 and foregone all else, but I didn't, right?  I have also completed some runs that have been most fulfilling.  I would not trade all that in (especially after having handled/enjoyed it for so long) for just one higher-end book of my choosing.   Would it be different if I were starting from scratch and had to decide then to get one book instead?  I doubt it, as I am more collector than investor.    I have "investments" so I can have more fun with this.  

If diversification is in your DNA, buy what you love but stick to a strategy/buy smart as suggested by the boardies above.  My appreciation of this hobby requires context and feeling immersed in it (within reason!  of course).  So that has been my guide.   

Above all, nosce te ipsum.   Especially if you are a collector, don't let folks discourage you from buying a book you like because it is not a mega key or not in a condition or high-enough grade for their investment or other purposes.  If they enjoy the hobby (or more likely, the investment) that way, good for them.  But the book is for YOU.    

Edited January 8, 2021 by Pantodude

[bc]

Investment, diversification, liquidity - terms I never even considered during my peak of collecting in the '70's. 

Now that they are pervasive in our hobby, liquidity is a key factor for me. Would I love to own an IH181 in 9.8? Sure it's a big money book, but how large is the pool of potential buyers compared to having 20 mid-low grade copies of said book to appease the much, much larger pool of entry-level buyers. These entry level books don't make headlines, but they offer solid incremental investment potential. The books you listed in your original post have a high level of liquidity IMHO.

Diversification is the easiest one - simply "buy what you like". As others have mentioned, it's your collection, you are the only one who needs to enjoy them.

If long-term (buy & hold) investment potential is all you're looking for, then sell everything and buy the highest graded key that you think will appreciate during your timeframe. AF15 certainly is a popular candidate, but what % return are you expecting over your timeframe? Very few investment vehicles offer a guaranteed rate of return over a timeframe, it's nearly impossible to apply that to a collectible class.

As for as HG Timely's go, best to peruse the GA section of the boards for more insight. I own mid-grade copies (4.5-6.0) of early Timely's which provides me all 3 factors - liquidity, diversification and investment potential. These have actually been some of the most satisfying books I've added to my collection.

Good luck either way! Keep us posted on your decision.

-bc

 

[nmtg9]

I've just sold about 40% of my collection with the aim of buying one or two key books. 

I'm a run collector not interested in investment but whatever I buy I hope will increase in value if I want to sell on in the future. 

I need Avengers 1 to complete volume 1 but I'm also thinking that there is little room now for that appreciate in value. Likewise I'm looking at Daredevil 1 as a possibility but not sure where that will go. 

GSXM 1 is looking a good bet maybe, but I have never followed the market really. 

I just know I will get pleasure from owning a big key more than the 3400 comics I had sat around taking up space I didn't have. Still got another 5500 in my collection that I do enjoy owning. 

Whatever you decide, don't rush your decision. 

[aleksicwon]

33 minutes ago, nmtg9 said:

I'm a run collector not interested in investment but whatever I buy I hope will increase in value if I want to sell on in the future. 

I need Avengers 1 to complete volume 1 but I'm also thinking that there is little room now for that appreciate in value. Likewise I'm looking at Daredevil 1 as a possibility but not sure where that will go. 

 

I would really like to start putting some runs together but I keep getting distracted by keys and other opportunities . I wish I has some focus , so many choices out there .