rumrunner71

Totally get that, and couldn't agree more with your last statement about these last few years. I'm glad to have made a bit of cash with the boom in prices but some of those prices in the last two years....yeesh. Definitely coming back to reality

I'm a bit split on the comics market crashing completely. On the one hand, yeah, I don't want to lose a ton of money in what I already have. But on the other hand, I wouldn't mind seeing some of the books I'd like to own become more affordable.

I will admit to nothing...unless you're a subscriber

I think having this thread preserved for posterity does more than the PL. Isn't the PL just for buyers and sellers?

Yep, and all that will be left is investors in big dollar books. Not people collecting because they love it or people trying to complete a run. Sad, but I have to agree with you, as much as I hate to say it.

Then there's those innovators with a talent for having a wank, who turn it into a business

Don't get me wrong, I read every ish of Wizard in the 90s. But Jesus Christ, it was basically Maxim for comic books. By their forecasts back then, the safest comic investments were anything bordering on softcore p*rn. How much hype does Lady Death really need?

Congratulations, you won the internet for today Seriously cool book and equally seriously cool history. Thanks for sharing this with us and glwts!

This is great. Running a business is different from having a hobby or even having a talent. It's a sh*t ton of work....but work that has to get done. When you can't deliver, it's time to stop selling your services. There's a lot in the thread about empathy, but this is business, with a lot of money at stake. Sure, there's room for good business relationships that can give some flexibility with personal circumstances. But at the end of the day, your customers only owe you one thing: timely payment for a job well done. They don't owe you patience. And "empathy" doesn't mean they owe you their business. That doesn't make them "wolves." It makes them customers holding you accountable.

I feel like you got some good answers here: the impact of mass production in driving demand for originals, the perfection of "imperfections," the stigma of the PLOD, the sense that repairs are not original, etc. There were also some who said resto doesn't impact their decisions that much. I'm not sure that everyone misunderstood you. You got some solid responses. What else are you hoping to hear?

I think some of it is rarity of the book in grade. Seeing a 1930s or 40s book that has survived and been cared for enough to be a higher grade without resto is really impressive. But I wonder if we would even be talking about this as much if resto didn't get such a distinctive PLOD from CGC? Was resto as big of a deal pre-CGC? (Assuming it was disclosed, of course)

I remember the gas station clerk by my house growing up, showing us a stack of 25 Death of Superman books and telling us how he was going to retire on them. I bet that's why I don't see him at the gas station anymore

I agree with all this, except the movies causing the wild prices in 2020 to 2022. There were other factors at play then in all of the collectibles markets.

Feb 1981 - clearly, a banner month in the industry

That'll teach him to go wandering in the cemetery with his courtroom robes on

Same here, but at least I have found a rock-solid predictive trend in prices: if I own it, it's going down; if I want it, it's going up.

I knew there was a reason Supes kept him around

Well, somebody's "GEM MINT" X-Force 1 came back as 9.4, eh?

Welcome to the boards. If you search the forums, you'll find a lot of debates about pressing. The long and short...it depends. What's the value of the books you're looking at pressing? It sounds like you are at least somewhat interested in their value. Is "quite a bit more" than $1-3 like $20? Or like $100? Pressing will add to your costs and time and might not be worth it. If you are just wanting to enjoy them, would the press help your enjoyment? I would say it's pretty rare to press everything. I'll do it if there is a significant, pressable defect that undermines the grade. But even in those cases, not always.

I seem to recall a thread or two that were about storing in safes (and why not to.) Have you searched that specifically? There might be some discussions with good advice.

That's a great cover! I wasn't too familiar with Centaurs until the Comiclink auction a while back, but dang it, now I've got a whole 'nother area to sink my money into. Thanks for posting this!

Adorable:) I hope you all have a great time!

I feel that too. My kids are both still young, and there is some interest, but not like I had at that age. I hope they find their place in the hobby. But if not, I'll become the biggest fan of (insert whatever random passion they develop)

What a great idea for a thread! My story is about the first comic cons I went to with my dad. I started collecting when I was about 12 or 13, and I found out about a comic con happening near us. This was the mid 90s. I asked my dad to take me, and he reluctantly agreed. He had no interest in comics, but he was one of those dads who was always supportive of our hobbies growing up. (Side story: I started collecting Choose Your Own Adventures when I was an adult, and my dad kept a list of all of the ones I had in his wallet and would check it each time he went to an antique store of flea market. That's how he was.) So, back to the con. My dad was disabled (bad back) so he couldn't walk the floors all day. He would go sit in the cafe area and let me wander. When we met up later that day, he told me how he had met three "comic guys" while waiting. The cafe had gotten full around lunchtime, and these guys had asked if they could sit at his table. My dad was always super friendly, so he let them sit and chatted with them. He told them why he was there, and they told him to bring me by their booths later in the day. The problem was, he couldn't exactly remember their names. After some back and forth, he finally remembered, and we eagerly went to each. The three guys were Jimmy Palmiotti, Joe Quesada, and Joe Jusko. My dad had no idea who they were, he was just being friendly. I got sigs from each of them, and I'll never forget Joe Q telling me how cool my dad was and how lucky I was for him to spend his Saturday sitting and waiting for me while I did something I loved. When we got home, I showed Dad a copy of Wizard with Joe J, Joe Q, and Jimmy, and all he said was, "Huh, well, they seemed nice." To this day, I still have the cards and comics they signed. Dad has been gone almost ten years now. I can't walk into a con without thinking of him, and the memory makes it even better now when I take my own kids to them.

Same. I thought printer errors were listed but blue label