Question about collecting. (subject specifically: personal enjoyment vs spec books) 3 3

[BlackTerror98]

I am a 22 year old college student and my comic book friend I knew for years is 7 years older then I am and has a more stable income and stable job then I do. Recently we started butting heads due to him thinking any book that's not a key is basically trash. He always puts down DC Golden age and calls timely the overpriced racist comics of a by gone era. He has some big books I could probably never afford like X-Men #1 in a 6.0 (off-white-White) and his other big book is FF #5 6.5 in off-white-White). Anyway, I had $1900 to spend so I spend it on Marvel Mystery Comics #51 CGC 6.0 off-white pages (a book that's been on my want list since I was 12). He looked at the book like it was basically trash becasue it was not a key and not worth the money. He said I should have bought Ultimate fallout 4 even though that book does NOT exicted me in anyway. Some time passed and a 3.5 sold for $1950 (eBay) and a 4.5 sold for $2150 (eBay) and another one that was a 2.5 sold for $1500. So I think I got a really good deal on a book that I always wanted. I got Wonder Comics #6 (cream to off White) during the pandemic for $475 and last month the same book graded at a 5.5 (Off-white to white) sold for $995 (2 graded 5.5) and a 3.5 (cream to off White pages) sold for $507 dollars and a 1.5 (off white to white pages) sold for $216. So I think I did good on that as well and my big investment book is Action Comics #44 (6.5 cream to off White pages) got for $900 (2018) when 2 months ago a 2.0 (Cream-off white) sold for $687 and a 3.5 (cream to off White pages) sold for $1750 and a 4.5 sold for $2970 (off white to white pages).

 

I tried to show him that Golden Age books are solid investments and books I genuinely enjoy and love to look at but he always thinks with the mind set of getting  books for the money aspect of the hobby.. the reason he has big books is because he buys spec books and flips them with no care of love for the books he puts thousands of dollars into but I don't have the funds to get into spec books when I wanna pull the trigger on a book I've been looking for at a good price. It took me 5 months to build up $1900. Any thoughts on the matter as fellow collectors? 

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by Matthew Kyle Brasile

[Muno42]

You do you and buy what you like. Perhaps it is time to find another topic of discussion with your friend.

[nmtg9]

Tell him to  🤬 off. 

Edited April 1, 2021 by nmtg9

[BlackTerror98]

23 minutes ago, Muno42 said:

You do you and buy what you like. Perhaps it is time to find another topic of discussion with your friend.

I agree. Also he thinks comic book collecting is basically dead but I beg to differ. Everything with him is negative but at the end of the day he does genuinely care about me and does give me killer gifts for my birthday like this book 

[BlackTerror98]

7 minutes ago, nmtg9 said:

Tell him to  🤬 off. 

😂😂 He may be a pain in the but he genuinely does care about me and does get me good birthday presents so I can't really complain more then that 😂 

[kav]

4 minutes ago, Matthew Kyle Brasile said:

😂😂 He may be a pain in the but he genuinely does care about me and does get me good birthday presents so I can't really complain more then that 😂 

sounds like a frenemy that keeps you in line with gifts so he can berate you at his liesure.  I've had 'friends' like this-boy was I happy when i ditched em.

[kav]

Tell him he can collect ultimate fallout if he likes you'd rather focus on rare books-

[kav]

You can also mention that advice is best when it's asked for.

[BlackTerror98]

21 minutes ago, kav said:

sounds like a frenemy that keeps you in line with gifts so he can berate you at his liesure.  I've had 'friends' like this-boy was I happy when i ditched em.

Never really thought about that... I should really do some thinking about this matter.

[Robot Man]

If he were really your friend, he would support your decision and realize that we all collect what makes us happy. 

To be honest, you both seem VERY preoccupied more with the “investment” side. 

There are no right answers. 

I personally am a GA guy. I love obscure books and hunting them down. All about the thrill of the hunt. I buy what I like spending what I am comfortable with. 

Three wonderful choices by the way. And all should appreciate well in value. 

[Ken Aldred]

I can’t stand abusive and narrow-minded snobs like this guy, who clearly has limited experience and knowledge of the medium.

There’s no direct or consistent correlation between market price and intrinsic quality.  You might be just as, or even more thrilled by reading a comic from a dollar box, with a great story and superb art.  It isn’t necessarily about prestigious keys. Focus on what you enjoy, from any period, company, genre, character, artist, writer, and ignore the kind of amateur criticism that was aimed at you.

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by Ken Aldred

[BlackTerror98]

19 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

If he were really your friend, he would support your decision and realize that we all collect what makes us happy. 

To be honest, you both seem VERY preoccupied more with the “investment” side. 

There are no right answers. 

I personally am a GA guy. I love obscure books and hunting them down. All about the thrill of the hunt. I buy what I like spending what I am comfortable with. 

Three wonderful choices by the way. And all should appreciate well in value. 

You know you are right. I never really thought about it more since I am usually a very head strong with my beliefs. And come to think of it I guess I am occupied with the investment side becasue for 1) I love seeing something I spend my hard money on get appreciated over time and it brings me joy (who wouldn't get joy out of it 😂) 2) my dad said always buy things with the mindset of enjoyment and investment. 

Edited April 1, 2021 by Matthew Kyle Brasile

[kav]

23 minutes ago, Matthew Kyle Brasile said:

Never really thought about that... I should really do some thinking about this matter.

When I was young-your age- I let people abuse me in this kind of passive aggressive manner.  As I got older I could see the manipulation and insecurity that led these people to abuse me and had no tolerance for it when I opened my eyes.  Cant believe the way I allowed myself to be treated back then.  Start young is my advice, at weeding these people out and seeing the actual dynamic that is occuring.  Often when you get upset at their nastiness they say 'whoa calm down I was just joking!"
Yeah jokes that make me feel bad aint jokes-they are domination attempts.
This book was also helpful:

[the blob]

1 hour ago, Matthew Kyle Brasile said:

I am a 22 year old college student and my comic book friend I knew for years is 7 years older then I am and has a more stable income and stable job then I do. Recently we started butting heads due to him thinking any book that's not a key is basically trash. He always puts down DC Golden age and calls timely the overpriced racist comics of a by gone era. He has some big books I could probably never afford like X-Men #1 in a 6.0 (off-white-White) and his other big book is FF #5 6.5 in off-white-White). Anyway, I had $1900 to spend so I spend it on Marvel Mystery Comics #51 CGC 6.0 off-white pages (a book that's been on my want list since I was 12). He looked at the book like it was basically trash becasue it was not a key and not worth the money. He said I should have bought Ultimate fallout 4 even though that book does NOT exicted me in anyway. Some time passed and a 3.5 sold for $1950 (eBay) and a 4.5 sold for $2150 (eBay) and another one that was a 2.5 sold for $1500. So I think I got a really good deal on a book that I always wanted. I got Wonder Comics #6 (cream to off White) during the pandemic for $475 and last month the same book graded at a 5.5 (Off-white to white) sold for $995 (2 graded 5.5) and a 3.5 (cream to off White pages) sold for $507 dollars and a 1.5 (off white to white pages) sold for $216. So I think I did good on that as well and my big investment book is Action Comics #44 (6.5 cream to off White pages) got for $900 (2018) when 2 months ago a 2.0 (Cream-off white) sold for $687 and a 3.5 (cream to off White pages) sold for $1750 and a 4.5 sold for $2970 (off white to white pages).

 

I tried to show him that Golden Age books are solid investments and books I genuinely enjoy and love to look at but he always thinks with the mind set of getting  books for the money aspect of the hobby.. the reason he has big books is because he buys spec books and flips them with no care of love for the books he puts thousands of dollars into but I don't have the funds to get into spec books when I wanna pull the trigger on a book I've been looking for at a good price. It took me 5 months to build up $1900. Any thoughts on the matter as fellow collectors? 

 

Those are some sweet books. The Wonder comics is a bit of a niche book, but that is a killer Timely cover and what can be better than Superman sticking it to some Nazis?  Don't worry about what he says, do what you like. $1900 wouldn't get you much in the way of books he thinks are worthwhile anyway. Do I think these are great investments? I have no idea. There is stuff that was $1900 3 months ago that is $3000 now. Are these older books likely to get sucked into some hype cycle? Maybe not. Have they appreciated in the last 10 years like Marvel keys? No. But that Marvel mystery is a really classic cover and is in nice shape. It could become a GA "it" book if it is not already. I think it has a better chance of being a $3800 book than either of those two marvel keys doubling any time soon. Would I have that Marvel mystery over an ASM 300 in 9.6, which is roughly the same price? You betchah. I've owned 3 ASM 300s and have seen guys with 30 of them at their booth.

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

Buy what you love.. as for the trash.. well.. 

[BlackTerror98]

1 minute ago, kav said:

When I was young-your age- I let people abuse me in this kind of passive aggressive manner.  As I got older I could see the manipulation and insecurity that led these people to abuse me and had no tolerance for it when I opened my eyes.  Cant believe the way I allowed myself to be treated back then.  Start young is my advice, at weeding these people out and seeing the actual dynamic that is occuring.  Often when you get upset at their nastiness they say 'whoa calm down I was just joking!"
Yeah jokes that make me feel bad aint jokes-they are domination attempts.
This book was also helpful:

Thank you I really appreciate it! I realized some of those lessons back in high school during the 2016 election and more so after with the field I picked. It's harder for me to make guy friends since am very head strong in my views and beliefs which causes issues with people who get offended when I call them "dude" or "bro" so I usually hangout with my female friends and my girlfriend but yeah seriously though I do appreciate it! I will definitely give it a read! It's hard to live and understand real life (real work life) when where ever I go to learn about it has 15 feet of soft cushions to protect everyone from people who will hurt their feelings so I never experience reality and being the odd one out with a different mind set is fighting an up hill battle by it self I guess 😂 

[kav]

1 minute ago, Matthew Kyle Brasile said:

Thank you I really appreciate it! I realized some of those lessons back in high school during the 2016 election and more so after with the field I picked. It's harder for me to make guy friends since am very head strong in my views and beliefs which causes issues with people who get offended when I call them "dude" or "bro" so I usually hangout with my female friends and my girlfriend but yeah seriously though I do appreciate it! I will definitely give it a read! It's hard to live and understand real life (real work life) when where ever I go to learn about it has 15 feet of soft cushions to protect everyone from people who will hurt their feelings so I never experience reality and being the odd one out with a different mind set is fighting an up hill battle by it self I guess 😂 

You dont have to convince anyone of anything and changing people's mind is impossible.  It's best if no one even knows your beliefs.  They are yours and yours alone.

[AJD]

I'd take your three books in preference to anything silver age every day of the week, all other things being equal. But if my friend was collecting silver age I'd be happy for him to get books he likes.

And while many say "buy what you love", I think the price of collectible books has reached the point where you have to have at least one eye on value as well.

[BlackTerror98]

25 minutes ago, the blob said:

Those are some sweet books. The Wonder comics is a bit of a niche book, but that is a killer Timely cover and what can be better than Superman sticking it to some Nazis?  Don't worry about what he says, do what you like. $1900 wouldn't get you much in the way of books he thinks are worthwhile anyway. Do I think these are great investments? I have no idea. There is stuff that was $1900 3 months ago that is $3000 now. Are these older books likely to get sucked into some hype cycle? Maybe not. Have they appreciated in the last 10 years like Marvel keys? No. But that Marvel mystery is a really classic cover and is in nice shape. It could become a GA "it" book if it is not already. I think it has a better chance of being a $3800 book than either of those two marvel keys doubling any time soon. Would I have that Marvel mystery over an ASM 300 in 9.6, which is roughly the same price? You betchah. I've owned 3 ASM 300s and have seen guys with 30 of them at their booth.

I love anything Schomburg I also love anything Fred Ray, or Jack Burnley plus am on a college budget so I get what I can get and find that I am looking for with realistic goals! 😂 Wonder comics, Black Terror, Exicting Comics, Thrilling Comics basically all Nedor books are now going up in price becasue I know some kids my age who can't afford any timely books so they get what they can afford that's Schomburg. And some of his work is still Beautiful on Nedor books! 

 

Sadly I noticed marvel keys after the movie comes out drops like flies... It's kinda sad that it's all spec untill it's over and then it drops. I have ASM 129, Avengers #1 and Tales to astonish #27 so I have some keys but my Collection is mainly Golden age books! ASM 300 sadly is a book that will go up and down with time.. after the venom movie it dropped which doesn't give me too much hope for the current prices

[BlackTerror98]

28 minutes ago, AJD said:

I'd take your three books in preference to anything silver age every day of the week, all other things being equal. But if my friend was collecting silver age I'd be happy for him to get books he likes.

And while many say "buy what you love", I think the price of collectible books has reached the point where you have to have at least one eye on value as well.

I agree 100% I have some keys like ASM #129, avengers #1, tales to astonishing #27 and a few others but when it comes to Golden age I realized I had an easier time selling my Action Comics #66 (Japanese WWII cover) then I did selling my Werewolf by night #32 and it was below the average price for an 6.0.... Same with my Black Terror #7 sold that book within 2 days and then couldn't get rid of my New Mutants 98 cgc 9.8 I got right before the first movie and it was also below the average price... I just find it odd guess am an odd one out but 

Edited April 1, 2021 by Matthew Kyle Brasile