Comics - Recession proof or not?

[G.A.tor]

that is unfortunate...everyone I know, that collects comics as I do, is financially sound, so in my little microcosm of collector friends, we are all ok (at least on the surface)...

 

That last part is right on, as you never know what someone's financial situation is like until you open up their books.

 

My wife watches Til Debt Do Us Part all the time, and are some scary scenarios on there - just regular people, hundreds of thousands in the hole, and bleeding red ink daily. One was really bad, it was a pair of doctors making more cash than the majority of the board, and they were something like $6 million in debt. They just spent like drunken sailors and were about to be buried.

 

But on the surface they looked great, high wage earners, big house, luxury cars, private schools for the kids, but millions in debt.

in my opinion, personal (and extended to business) debt, is the single most serious and underlying "problem" we face in the current economy.... "spent like drunken sailors" does typify a certain percentage of the american population, and I truly fear that some are in so much trouble, that there is no recourse for them...

 

be wise with your spending, invest for retirement, and if you have disposable income that otherwise would be spent on your percentage of "entertainment " budget (and everyone needs to live a little), spend it on comics and enjoy!

[lizards2]

I spend like a drunken comic book collector on these boards and eBay

[Count]

 

Me 2

[Shark]

Me 3. Hard to stop sometimes isn't it?

[AussieRuss]

To some degree I would say that they are recission proof.

 

We need to remember that comics are collected throughout the word even if the 12c versions were intended only for the American market.

 

Even though the collector base may be a lot smaller, the downturn in the US economy does not mean the same for other economy's around the world.

 

An example is that in the past if the US caught a cold so did Australia.

 

Things have changed to some degree and if the US economy went into recession today, Australia would feel some effects of it but China has also effects Australia's economy and with the current growth in China we are seeing the oppposite over here.

 

Australia is going through a period of interest rise after interest rise to try to slow growth.

 

 

I know its not a straight forward topic to be able to answer in one line but we need to take the subject heading with a world view these days.

 

 

Russ...

[Count]

Me 3. Hard to stop sometimes isn't it?

 

Yup.

[precodekeith]

IMO - Not recession proof.

[capt_comics]

Thought I'd start a thread about comics and the recession. Are your plans to continue to buy/sell comics as you normally would or are you expecting to buy less and (try to) sell more because of the recession? Do you anticipate any prices realized going down because of the recession? I don't know about you guys, but the overall cost of things like gas, natural gas and food have put a big strain on my comics budget. Right now my comics purchase budget consists only of that money I obtain from selling comics I either don't want or have duplicates of.

 

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

 

Mike

 

Recession? There's a recession? When did this happen? There is some softening in some sectors, there's even talk that a recession could occur (which is normal coming off of the red-hot economy we've had for the past 5 years). But there is no recession right now.

 

 

[cd4ever]

I spend like a drunken comic book collector on these boards and eBay

Yes, but you ARE a drunken comic book collector. So it's ok!

 

[joeypost]

I'll be buying more and higher grade higher dollar books if they start becoming more readily available at lower price points. The main thing is to remain focused and not do it for a potential windfall later. I'm more than willing to help those less fortunate with their house payments and to purchase food. I become too attached to these silly things.

 

 

With all that white powder in your neck of the woods a recession would hardly be felt

[Silver Surfer]

Had a chat with Marnin Rosenberg a few months back and he said that every recession he has witnessed it usually ends up being a banner year. Looks like 2008 will be no exception.

[lizards2]

I spend like a drunken comic book collector on these boards and eBay

Yes, but you ARE a drunken comic book collector. So it's ok!

 

You sold me my first SA Wonder Woman the other night, and I had only had two (large) Wild Turkeys. Romance books, Wonder Womans, where will it stop....., :shrug:

[delekkerste]

Had a chat with Marnin Rosenberg a few months back and he said that every recession he has witnessed it usually ends up being a banner year. Looks like 2008 will be no exception.

 

 

Considering we've only had 5 recessions in the last 40 years (and the two in the early 1980s practically ran together, so really we've only had 4), that statement doesn't really mean very much. Not to mention the world in 2008 looks a lot different than it did in, say, 1970 or 1981 - what kind of "recession" could you have had back then when you could already buy just about any book in existence with just the cash in your wallet.

 

We'll see how "recession-proof" the comic market really is now that prices are high enough to actually "recess".

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

What market is recession proof? I don't know of any, but I know that some tend to be more resistant than others.

 

I expect High grade Silver (post 65) and Bronze to suffer the most in a downturn, simply because of the massive availability out there in all grades for these books.

 

I also expect a lot of 2nd tier Golden Age titles (Captain Marvel, Star Spangled, etc.) to really continue their long term decline. The interest isn't there in the marketplace, and prices will have to readjust, especially in a challenging market.

 

High grade pre-65 Silver and high quality Gold books (in all grades) will be more resistant, but not immune from sharp dips and valleys in their prices. They'll hold up the best....for the most part.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Old Fashion PB and J]

Between the comic shop owner I talk to regularly, and the people I sell to at shows it seems that money for the working class collector is tighter. And the obvious choice is to cut down on buying. I have sold less key books as late, but have done steady business on books 1-4 dollars. As for my own spending, yea I havent been buying much for my own collection being im a contractor and people arent spending alot of money on there homes, making work slow for me. This week, I spent way more then I should have and I feel I should probably drop 1-2 new titles per week...

 

But.... If your a buyer now is a good time, less people are buying on ebay leaving auctions wide open for low bid sales. My pickups this week were Cap 111 and 114, and justice league 19. I think all 3 with shipping will cost 40 dollars. Good time to buy, but doesnt look like a good time to sell. So my theory is that people are already being effected, such as myself.

[delekkerste]

What market is recession proof? I don't know of any, but I know that some tend to be more resistant than others.

 

I guess the comic market is so recession proof that the LCS I have been going to for more than a decade just announced they're closing up shop at the end of March.

 

 

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

What market is recession proof? I don't know of any, but I know that some tend to be more resistant than others.

 

I guess the comic market is so recession proof that the LCS I have been going to for more than a decade just announced they're closing up shop at the end of March.

 

 

Bummer.

[skypinkblu]

Thought I'd start a thread about comics and the recession. Are your plans to continue to buy/sell comics as you normally would or are you expecting to buy less and (try to) sell more because of the recession? Do you anticipate any prices realized going down because of the recession? I don't know about you guys, but the overall cost of things like gas, natural gas and food have put a big strain on my comics budget. Right now my comics purchase budget consists only of that money I obtain from selling comics I either don't want or have duplicates of.

 

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

 

Mike

 

Recession? There's a recession? When did this happen? There is some softening in some sectors, there's even talk that a recession could occur (which is normal coming off of the red-hot economy we've had for the past 5 years). But there is no recession right now.

 

 

That 4.5% unemployment is killing us!!!...

 

I think we are 4.7, but 4.5 or 4.7, is not high at all, it's actually on the low side. It SOUNDS high, but it's not a real figure. When Unemployment figures are measured, they do not count people who have stopped looking for jobs, but they also do not count all the people who are working off the books, and there are many of them...the number of people who want to be paid by cash, or are doing things like selling on Ebay, steadlily increases each year.

I've worked with unemployment statistics for many years...and I laugh each time I see a figure like that being touted as being hiigh. You are never going to have 100 % employment, it's impossible..and some of people included in those figures are new mothers, students...etc. It's also seasonal, figures are ALWAYS higher in the winter months, construction plays a big part at least in the NE.

[moonlite]

I have spent the last 7 years digging myself by hand out of a big hole I had dug to move to my present location to be near terminally ill family. Seems like I always take 2 steps forward and 3 steps backward but I have always been able to come up with a plan to survive. Feel just like a cockroach sometimes.

 

At the store, I have seen sales drop on one thing and come back in some other form of sales. Comics is a tough market right now because as someone said, it is my perception that there is less money at the mid-range income. More people are going from monthlies to tpbs too.

 

A lot of people around here work in plants and manufacturing. They are closing and laying off people all the time and sending work overseas. I was talking to a guy not far from my age that had worked at a plant supplying ford parts for 15 years. They are likely to close in about a year, after being bought out and stripped of everything including the retirements. So this guy has worked there 15 years and has no retirement now to show for it.

 

I have customers that don't want to work and many times don't. they move back home, live on unemployment as long as possible, and then will work somewhere for a month or two and just not bother showing up for work.

 

Its pretty bad here, alot of the young people don't want to work, get bad employment histories and then complain when no one will hire them. There are ads at alot of places for help wanted though.

 

As for my comic buying habits, well I don't buy the highest grade but I try to buy a bargain in a decent grade. Fine copies from here are usually really good enough for me to collect. Since I am not paying alot, I could likely care less if they go up much or down some.

 

I am dead set against the government intervention to bail out these mortgages. I made my decisions when buying a house and I am paying for them still. I didn't get an ARM this time (bought in 98) but I did when I bought my first house in 1991. I sucked it up and paid what I signed up for. Same with all the bills I have been paying off. Companies will make deals and let you pay half what you owe to get out of it but thats not what you signed up to be responsible for and its not right for them to just write it off when you were out buying on credit.

 

The government bailing out people all the time has led to a problem in my humble opinion. Sometimes its needed (Like natural disasters that are hard to foresee) but other times, its from people who made their own bed.

[Calamerica]

I don't know about you guys but it's felt like a recession

in the US economy since 2000...

 

This could be on par for being one of the longest economic burbs

in history.

 

 

 

 

 

well worded and well-founded...

 

CAL