1999 - Man, who wants to own a book in a picture frame? (Wolverine 145 had just thrown me back into collecting in earnest)
2000 - Hey, you know...if I'm planning to buy a top grade book and not read it and store it for the future...maybe this "CGC" isn't such a bad idea... (First purchase, Wolverine LS 3 in 9.8 - now a triple signed SS 9.8)
2011 - I haven't bought a book in like two years! Stupid trip to Afghanistan! Hey, what the (bleep) is this Signature Series thing??? (Yellow labels, bah! Like I'm going to take a whopping five minutes to research THAT...)
2012 - Wait, why not have a bunch of my favorite books signed by their writers and/or artists?!? Brilliant! (I went a tad bit overboard at first, but have reached a happy medium)