Hey guys, been lurking the site for a while, made my account a few months ago, but this is my first post on the site - I apologize if this is being posted in the wrong place.
A little about myself. I'm a 27 year old graduate student, been collecting ASM for about the past 15 years (although in a more serious mode for the past 10 years). Started off by picking up basically any issue, then started to move onto the more valuable stuff, and as the years went by I began to focus more and more on the lower number issues. Currently, my 'top' issue would be a 6.0 ASM 5, though I am proud to own a nearly complete issue 12-450 run.
The reason I am posting in this thread, is to seek advice from the members of the club I hope to someday be a part of. For about the past 5 years, AF15 has become more and more an obsession for me - while at the same time appearing further and further out of grasp. Between soon to be kicking in student loans, a wedding in the next year, and moving onto my PhD, the day that I have a spare $7,000-10,000 to pick up a copy is looking far away.
As of late, I have been contemplating if it would be wise to cash out a majority of my collection (or trade), for an AF15. While it would be hard to part with certain issues, I feel that financially it might be the best option. Any suggestions if this would be a wise move on my part?
The other, more crazy idea, that I have been contemplating is attempting to take out a personal investment loan, attempting to grab a copy for a good price, and flip for a small markup (then repeat the process, until I am able to repay the loan + purchase a book). Has anyone gone about getting into high end books like this?
Ending my long post, I am just looking for suggestions on what might be some reasonable ways to obtain this Holy Grail, given my situation.
Thanks for any suggestions,
Joseph
