The end of comic collecting (long)

[kingofwhales]

I have have to dump a few thousand comics myself and never heard of comics4kids so thanks for the info.

I was buying in the 80`s, American flagg,alien legion,new mutants,ASM but i have sentimental reasons for holding on to those,it`s the late 90`s and moderns i`m moving out box by box.

I put half my collection in storage a couple months ago and it just seems silly to pay for that so i`m going to pull them and do some donating and ebay selling for the first few months of 2008.

I hope to get my collection down to six drawer boxes with a few magazine short boxes for the wider stuff.

I`m switching to trades to read an then sell on ebay so i don`t end up having hundreds of those.

 

[Jeffro.]

short version:

 

Why am I keeping all this stuff? It's worthless and I already read it.

 

 

I recently came to a similar conclusion regarding much of my 80's collection.

[delekkerste]

short version:

 

Why am I keeping all this stuff? It's worthless and I already read it.

 

 

I feel exactly the same way. I have tons of copper and Modern books, with most of the stuff from the past 10-12 years carefully cherry-picked and stored in bags and boards (9.6 is probably the average grade). I don't particularly want 95% of them anymore, but as a collector I refuse to throw them out. And, it's probably not worth the time & effort to make an effort to sell them.

 

I am also not feeling inclined to give these perfectly preserved books to Comics4Kids - sorry to be cynical, but I wonder how many of these books sit around vs. actually making it to kids in hospitals or whatnot. I also wonder how many kids even read them, and I certainly am not sadistic enough to subject the kids to that '90s drek that everyone here seems to be sending in - you guys shouldn't kid yourselves that you are doing these kids any favors.

[MutantKeys]

I'll pick them up if you dont want them :shrug:

[OldGuy]

In the last 7 years I've managed to keep my collection down to the same 12 short boxes. I buy new comics every week. About twice a year I sell them here for a fraction of what I paid and then I use that money to "rent" more new comics. When it gets down to it, the comics I don't have any plans to sell probably take up six of the short boxes, the other six boxes just constantly rotate modern books.

 

In the last year I know I haven't bought even a dozen books that will go into my permanent collection.

[the blob]

And the Sandman books were probably some of the more desirable books I had saved all these years. Now worth, at most, an average of cover price. Minus eBay fees.

---------------

 

Did you enjoy the comics when you read them? They had what, $1.25 cover prices? Seems reasonable. You expect to make money on them? Do you expect to sell some paperback you read on a plane ride 10 years ago for a profit?

 

The problem with moderns is that now they cost $3.00 or so when they give about $1-$1.25 of reading "worth".

[Fan4Fan]

I got out the first time (late 70's) when I realized I was worrying more about potential value and loss.

 

When I re-entered in the late 90's, I have largely stuck to things that I would want to re-read. If I get it and read it and feel like I'll never re-read it again, then I'll part ways... of course, if I can avoid getting it in the first place (i.e. if my library has it), all the better.

 

I still get a burnt-out feeling now and again, but then I dig out a favorite book and enjoy it.

[seank]

I`m switching to trades to read an then sell on ebay so i don`t end up having hundreds of those.

 

In the alternative, donate the TPBs to the library and take the tax deduction. You may come out ahead dollar-wise (I'm not an accountant), but you'll come out way ahead karma-wise. (If you believe in that sort of stuff.) Just make sure you insist the books are put into circulation and that the librarians know what is kid-friendly and what isn't.

[Shadow]

I don't look at the moderns I buy now with any "value" in mind. It's just something I still enjoy and probably satiates the completionist in me. I did manage to cancel 2 titles last month and should cancel some more.

[cloudofwit]

Matt, don't know if you intended it but there's a nice symmetry between the beginning and end of your thoughtful post:

 

I have been an avid comic collector for 25 years or so. I remember the very first comic books I ever read- an early issue of Micronauts where the captain gets his hand cut off on a spacewalk, the trial of the Flash, Simonson's Thor. All of which I was completely enthralled by.

...

Now, I am able to sell some of my comics for over $1 each. I also boxed up a full run of Cerebus to sell to another boardie (he only wanted nm- books). What did I do with the 'profits'? I ran out and bought more Golden Age Superman.

Seems like you are finding new ways to recapture those collecting feelings you had as a kid...doesn't sound like the end of collecting to me. More power to you. (thumbs u

 

 

and you know why I collect GA Superman, right? (You'll love this)

 

When I was 10 or so, my dad got me that hardcover Superman collection "From the 30's to the 70's", and I obsessed over all the old covers. Now I mainly buy the issues from that book!

 

The same happened with me except it was that parallel book for Batman. Although I haven't launched (yet) into buying some of those Batmans, those covers, when I see them, are usually quite attractive and desirable. I think nostalgia can be destructive but I don't think nostalgia is at work here...something deeper but I can't put my finger on it...

[trmoore54]

I enjoyed your story and I did read it all the way through...I like to read and don't have the short attention span that many have today (my 3 daughters for that matter raised on jet-speed electronic stimuli etc)...and as I believe comicdonna stated great ending as well...

 

I stopped reading/buying comics about 1974-5 (about the time I graduated HS)...saved the 800 or so books I had and didn't get back into things until about 5 yrs ago...many people that I would tell I had comics and liked comics would ask me do you still/buy/read/collect today and I said no, as far as collecting it's not the same...there are so many titles and it has exponentially grown so much I'm too busy now with other things to keep track/plugged in etc...I would keep tertiary tabs on artists that caught my eye etc but I actually became more interested in literary fiction (somewhat minored in lit in college) and read voraciously short and long fiction and semi-collected hardcover 1st edition for awhile (once a collector always a collector...)...

 

Anyways, without getting too long-winded or losing our "shorter-attention" span audience, I empathise with your situation, but I would (if asked) advise to focus on a smaller cache of books...I've basically been culling down my Silver Age Marvel collection to a focus on ASM/FF/JIM-THOR in that order with a few other things that I'm having a hard time parting with (TOS 1-38 for example)...

 

Sounds like you enjoyed it while you did and your story has an extremely rewarding happy ending in the long run...should you re-energize with the GA it sounds like you can't go wrong...a lot of beautiful books out there...GOOD LUCK!

[HouseofComics.Com]

I like long posts too. This thread is great.

 

 

When I was 10 or so, my dad got me that hardcover Superman collection "From the 30's to the 70's", and I obsessed over all the old covers. Now I mainly buy the issues from that book!

 

That makes a lot of sense to me. My favorite issue of Batman is #86 because it has two stories from Batman from the 30s to the 70s, plus a Joker story.

 

As for being enthralled, it just can't be the same. For instance, I just bought a run of JLAs from Joeypost. It begins just before the first issues I ever had as a kid and goes through all the ones I had and read to death. I was so happy to see #147 which is part-one of a gigantic JLA/JSA/Legion crossover. I reread it (my original copy is boxed away) and every panel just seems so perfect because I read it a number of times in the 70s. Well, right after that was a copy of #148 and I've actually never owned a copy of this before. Did this story enthrall me, the thrilling conclusion to the issue I've loved for three decades? No, not really. I found it mildly interesting.

 

I do have to disagree with some of the people on CGC and high-grade books. Those are fun but there's a whole world out there who just want to read the books and the lower-priced the better. They are our main customers! Westerns, romance books, fillers, readers, they all sell. This is a golden age of collecting for readers and for hole-fillers. The internet has allowed an awful lot of people to come back to the hobby and allows them to pick up an awful lot of books. Sure, most of it isn't very interesting stuff. But they are enjoying the hobby and that's what's important.

 

Marc

[piper]

 

It's nice to read stories like this. I think that too often we focus on the bad aspects of our hobby (e.g. pressing).

 

Good Luck with your GA Supermans!

[CAP Freak]

Matt,

Very interesting post, since I can relate to alot of what you wrote. My final take away, Sounds like you should have a full booth at the next VCC.

I have to agree.

[CAP Freak]

Matt,

Very interesting post, since I can relate to alot of what you wrote. My final take away, Sounds like you should have a full booth at the next VCC.

I have to agree.

[THE_BEYONDER]

I have a 4 shortbox limit on my collection. I too feel easily buried & owned by the stuff. I prefer to have just 2 shorts, but sometimes I spill over.

 

Would love to reduce my collection to 4 short boxes.

 

 

I've been feeling really buried & owned by all my stuff lately.

[TupennyConan]

The minute I read its bittersweet, melancholy title, I knew this would be a quality thread. Keep the posts coming comics fans.

[Point Five]

This is a golden age of collecting for readers and for hole-fillers. The internet has allowed an awful lot of people to come back to the hobby and allows them to pick up an awful lot of books.

This is a great point, and a thought-provoking one for me. The internet may have devalued a lot of books, but the flip side of that is that it's also made a tremendous amount of books accessible that were formerly inaccessible. Hard to quantify the value of that, but damn, it's pretty cool!

 

Honestly, I probably would have given up comics 10 years ago (and came pretty close in the mid 90s) if the internet hadn't opened up new possibilities of collecting for me. The idea of collecting a scarce, esoteric GA title like Weird Comics (1939-1941) would have been laughable before the internet...I could have lived the rest of my life without even seeing any of the books. I've collected about half of the title in the last few years, and every single book, bar none, was procured through the internet in some way. Food for thought.

[shiverbones]

Before the internet is was actually hard to find most bronze horror. You just never saw it! Local shops were always out, it wasn't worth enough for dealers to bring to shows. I can remember seeing HOS 103 for the 1st time after wondering what that wrightson cover looked like for YEARS!

[Scrooge]

Those are fun but there's a whole world out there who just want to read the books and the lower-priced the better. They are our main customers! Westerns, romance books, fillers, readers, they all sell. This is a golden age of collecting for readers and for hole-fillers. The internet has allowed an awful lot of people to come back to the hobby and allows them to pick up an awful lot of books. Sure, most of it isn't very interesting stuff. But they are enjoying the hobby and that's what's important.

 

Marc

 

Sounds you're describing me! I'm having fun.

 

I still buy moderns but like OG I cull my collection regularly to make room. I hang on to very few runs and am okay selling once in a while.