Your thoughts on collection reducing

[That Ron Dude]

I'd go for #3, something different, unless space or money is an issue. Shove them in a corner and forget about them. In a few years, or maybe more than a few years, you will feel attached to them again. If you get rid of them, one day you might find yourself chasing them down again.

 

Take a tip from someone who has already made the mistake.

[shadroch]

I'd go for #3, something different, unless space or money is an issue. Shove them in a corner and forget about them. In a few years, or maybe more than a few years, you will feel attached to them again. If you get rid of them, one day you might find yourself chasing them down again.

 

Take a tip from someone who has already made the mistake.

 

But one of the problems is that it isn't a problem to track them down anymore.I remember in the early 80s it took me over a year of searching the weekly CBG ads to assemble Daredevil 1-150. Now anyone with a keyboard and a gold card can do it in a day off e-bay.I went twenty plus years without ever even seeing a Frankenstein Jr #1 but now have bought eight off e-bay.Those impossible to find early Star Treks now are listed daily.Even when I ran my stores,my inventory couldn't possibly approach what is onebay every single day.You can even put together a complete set of Spirit sections in a few weeks time.Twenty years ago,that would have been a lifetime goal.

[JohnBull]

I'd go for #3, something different, unless space or money is an issue. Shove them in a corner and forget about them. In a few years, or maybe more than a few years, you will feel attached to them again. If you get rid of them, one day you might find yourself chasing them down again.

 

Take a tip from someone who has already made the mistake.

 

But one of the problems is that it isn't a problem to track them down anymore.I remember in the early 80s it took me over a year of searching the weekly CBG ads to assemble Daredevil 1-150. Now anyone with a keyboard and a gold card can do it in a day off e-bay.I went twenty plus years without ever even seeing a Frankenstein Jr #1 but now have bought eight off e-bay.Those impossible to find early Star Treks now are listed daily.Even when I ran my stores,my inventory couldn't possibly approach what is onebay every single day.You can even put together a complete set of Spirit sections in a few weeks time.Twenty years ago,that would have been a lifetime goal.

 

It's hard to know if this is a good or bad thing. The thrill of the chase is a huge part of the joy of collecting, but beating your head against a brick wall for a decade can also be soul destroying.

[the blob]

seems that DD 1 - 150 could be accomplished fairly easily pre-ebay by attending any decent sized show, certainly one of the wizard shows, though maybe not in NM. star treks too. franky jr.... don't know about that one.

 

and think of all the shipping you'll have to pay to get them back!

 

i guess if you have dupes of a lot of these that's another story.

[That Ron Dude]

I never had the pleasure of collecting until the 90's. Before that I called myself an accumulator. The differences were that I wasn't tracking down specific issues and that I wouldn't pay much for a comic. I did manage to accumulate all the Ditko Spider-men (AF#15 was $3.50, ASM#1 was $1.50) all the early Avengers and every first issue except for Journey into Mystery #83 and FF #1. I sold most of them off for next to nothing as a university student in the early to mid seventies. Money was a big issue at the time. Of course, then, no one dreamed of how high the prices would go.

 

I began collecting in the 90's when for the first time I had money. The pattern seems to be that I buy the high priced stuff on ebay and the cheap stuff at the Chicago and Detroit comic conventions and at the Paradise comic shop.

 

Though I haunt Ebay, I think I get the same sort of thrill there, that I got as a boy when I would find a good deal. When I was about 15 I bought Avengers #2 from a kid for $.20 at an elementary school junk sale. I overpaid, considering the context it was worth a dime at the most, but it was still a huge thrill.

 

Last week I bought an Amazing Spider-Man #1 on Ebay in VG. It took me four months to find the right one at the right price. It also took me many months to budget the money. It was still a thrill.

 

I know that we all think and react differently but I think the thrill on Ebay involves the deal-making and getting something for less than you might have paid. Your point though, that we don't have a problem actually finding the item any more is something that I had never really considered, but is quite true. My first Ebay purchase was FF#2 for about $85 in the year 2000. I got a great deal. I could only carry it out though because I had just sold a stack of Cinefex for $152.50 which I had purchased at a yard sale for $1.05 about ten years earlier.

 

I remember a Doonesbury where Jimmy Fudpucker, the rock star retires and is asked, "What are you going to do?" He replies, "Collect stamps." Then he calls up his personal manager and with a blase face says, "Hello Fred, buy all the Nigerians."

 

I am not there yet. Buying "Where Monsters Dwell #1" from Paradise for $5 when it was all over the Chicago Con for $25 in a similar condition was still a thrill.

 

The joys of a low budget.

[runningman]

I enjoyed reading this post. You summed up some of the joys of collecting very well

[october]

Excellent post. With a large enough bank account, virtually every book is obtainable. People love to crow about how rare high grade stuff is, but really it's just another arbitrary limitation that can be easily overcome by flashing enough green. Setting a strict budget, or refusing to pay over a certain percentage of guide, can create a hunt every bit as engaging and difficult as trying to find silver age books in NM.

 

After all, what's harder to find: a Showcase 4 in 9.0 (with enough money one could be bought within the hour) or a Showcase 80 in VF for 15% of guide (there are a ton of VFs out there, but it would take months of dilligent searching to find one that cheap)? In the end, 99.9% of the time it's about setting limitations for yourself. There are only a handful of books out there that are unavailable for any price.

[Fan4Fan]

Excellent post. With a large enough bank account, virtually every book is obtainable. People love to crow about how rare high grade stuff is, but really it's just another arbitrary limitation that can be easily overcome by flashing enough green. Setting a strict budget, or refusing to pay over a certain percentage of guide, can create a hunt every bit as engaging and difficult as trying to find silver age books in NM.

 

After all, what's harder to find: a Showcase 4 in 9.0 (with enough money one could be bought within the hour) or a Showcase 80 in VF for 15% of guide (there are a ton of VFs out there, but it would take months of dilligent searching to find one that cheap)? In the end, 99.9% of the time it's about setting limitations for yourself. There are only a handful of books out there that are unavailable for any price.

 

[tth2]

People love to crow about how rare high grade stuff is, but really it's just another arbitrary limitation that can be easily overcome by flashing enough green. Setting a strict budget, or refusing to pay over a certain percentage of guide, can create a hunt every bit as engaging and difficult as trying to find silver age books in NM.

Sounds like apples and oranges to me. One is about collecting a book. The other is about scoring a deal.

[joe_collector]

Sounds like apples and oranges to me. One is about collecting a book. The other is about scoring a deal.

 

No, I look at it as collecting as many nice books as you can by maximizing your available cash. The other way is to collect as many nice books as you can by simply opening your wallet.

[Fan4Fan]

Sounds like apples and oranges to me. One is about collecting a book. The other is about scoring a deal.

 

No, I look at it as collecting as many nice books as you can by maximizing your available cash. The other way is to collect as many nice books as you can by simply opening your wallet.

 

[mrwoogieman]

I agree, collecting is more fun for me when I put monetary limits on the items acquired for the collection.

[october]

People love to crow about how rare high grade stuff is, but really it's just another arbitrary limitation that can be easily overcome by flashing enough green. Setting a strict budget, or refusing to pay over a certain percentage of guide, can create a hunt every bit as engaging and difficult as trying to find silver age books in NM.

Sounds like apples and oranges to me. One is about collecting a book. The other is about scoring a deal.

 

That's rediculous. So if I want an ASM 129, but can only afford it at 10% of guide, that automatically means I am not collecting the book, I am only interested in scoring a deal? By your logic people who want expensive books, but can only afford them at a large discount, are never collectors.

 

My point was that the "hunt" is largely determined by a person's pocketbook, not by actual rarity. With enough money, all these "rare" books suddenly become available almost immediately.

[tth2]

That's rediculous. So if I want an ASM 129, but can only afford it at 10% of guide, that automatically means I am not collecting the book, I am only interested in scoring a deal?

No, then you buy a lower grade copy that fits into your budget range.

[joe_collector]

That's rediculous. So if I want an ASM 129, but can only afford it at 10% of guide, that automatically means I am not collecting the book, I am only interested in scoring a deal?

No, then you buy a lower grade copy that fits into your budget range.

 

Hey, I bought a nice copy for $25 from a guy who wanted it in the hands of another "true collector" rather than flipped like a cheap 'ho.

[october]

That's rediculous. So if I want an ASM 129, but can only afford it at 10% of guide, that automatically means I am not collecting the book, I am only interested in scoring a deal?

No, then you buy a lower grade copy that fits into your budget range.

 

I don't get this....especially coming from someone who loves high grade stuff. Are you saying that having any copy of the book is the only thing that should matter to a real collector? Or are you saying that anyone who buys a book at less than market value is not a collector?

 

Let me get this straight. Lets say I like VFs and I want a ASM 129 in that condition. I can't afford it, so I hunt and I root until I finally find one. If I buy it, that means I am only interested in the deal??? How is this different from someone who won't buy a book unless it's NM, but refuses to pay more than 2x or 3x guide for it?

 

I think you are trying too hard to draw a distiction between bargain hunters and high grade collectors. In the end, both groups are just setting artificial boundaries for themselves in order to make the hunt more fun. With enough cash, virtually any book is obtainable in virtually any grade....with obvious exceptions.

[johnenock]

I'll chime in. I say keep the ones you'll regret selling. I had about 300 pre-code horror comics that i sold in '95(because I noticed I hadn't looked or bought any for about six months) to Redbeards Book Den. Now, every day that I look at my silver/bronze collection, I kick myself for not having these. Put them aside, eventually you'll want 'em again. Once a collector, always a collector.

[tth2]

That's rediculous. So if I want an ASM 129, but can only afford it at 10% of guide, that automatically means I am not collecting the book, I am only interested in scoring a deal?

No, then you buy a lower grade copy that fits into your budget range.

 

I don't get this....especially coming from someone who loves high grade stuff. Are you saying that having any copy of the book is the only thing that should matter to a real collector? Or are you saying that anyone who buys a book at less than market value is not a collector?

 

Let me get this straight. Lets say I like VFs and I want a ASM 129 in that condition. I can't afford it, so I hunt and I root until I finally find one. If I buy it, that means I am only interested in the deal??? How is this different from someone who won't buy a book unless it's NM, but refuses to pay more than 2x or 3x guide for it?

 

I think you are trying too hard to draw a distiction between bargain hunters and high grade collectors. In the end, both groups are just setting artificial boundaries for themselves in order to make the hunt more fun. With enough cash, virtually any book is obtainable in virtually any grade....with obvious exceptions.

Now you`re saying something different from your original post, which never made any reference to minimum grade, only price (or discount thereto): "Setting a strict budget, or refusing to pay over a certain percentage of guide, can create a hunt every bit as engaging and difficult as trying to find silver age books in NM", subsequently followed by "So if I want an ASM 129, but can only afford it at 10% of guide..." So it sure sounded like it was the deal, rather than the book, which was of interest to you.

 

Using your VF ASM 129 example, I guess whether it`s the book or the deal depends on how realistic your parameters are. My guess is that 10% of guide is pretty unrealistic for this book in VF, so my impression is you`re not really interested in the book but just looking for a killer deal that you can brag about forever. If you said, on the other hand, that your parameter was 50% of guide, which I think might be aggressive but doable for a raw VF copy, then okay, I take your point.

[Fan4Fan]

Using your VF ASM 129 example, I guess whether it`s the book or the deal depends on how realistic your parameters are. My guess is that 10% of guide is pretty unrealistic for this book in VF, so my impression is you`re not really interested in the book but just looking for a killer deal that you can brag about forever.

 

So folks who buy the highest-graded copy never brag?

[comicguy96]

well for me collecting is about budgeting and getting what i want for the price i want (which i shard school and bills give me very lil money). but dude keep what you want and sell the rest (in other words keep ur fav titles) that will also save on space if that is an issue