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MH Chuck's Vault

Started by drice6900,

19 posts in this topic

drice6900

drice6900

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Thought you might be interested (from today's newsletter):

 

Howdy!

 

Hasn't this been a crazy week? With all of the financial ups and downs that have been reported, I sometimes wonder just what in the heck is going on. That having been said, I feel more than a little bit smug when I read over, and over again, about how certain "AAA safe" financial instruments have hit the toilet. In the meantime, my comics and pottery collections have not only retained their value, but actually risen substantially. Ironically, the government decided a couple of decades ago that collectibles and art were "unsafe," and thus could not be included in any form of retirement plan. Pah! I've been stashing away artwork and scarce collectibles for the past 40 years, and they have gone nowhere but up. In the meantime, I have also been able to greatly enjoy owning my prize possessions, which is a lot more than folks who bought stock in Fannie Mae, or Lehmann Bros. bonds, can say this week. My motto has always been that you NEVER give your hard-earned money over to someone else to "manage" for you. To maintain emergency liquidity I keep some cash on hand, and slowly over the years, I have also purchased a few US government bonds. Otherwise, I have kept all of my earnings invested in collectibles. With a high grade 9.6 AMAZING FANTASY #15 (just to cite one example) reportedly selling for $130,000.00+ at auction just a few months ago, it's hard to argue with the long term rate of return on collectibles. That same book (presuming that you could find one for sale...) could have been purchased for about $2,000 in 1980, or $100 in 1970. Not all collectibles appre! ciate at that outrageous rate, but the fact remains that the appreciation rate of scarce tangibles can oftentimes outpace even the best of stocks and bonds.

 

The one obvious issue with investing in collectibles is safe storage. For my very best pieces, I keep a number of large safety deposit boxes at my bank. That's an annual cost, but it ends up being minor relative to the overall appreciation of my best pieces. I think of it as being just another form of insurance. My more common items I have kept in storage until two years ago, when I (slowly) began building a vault/library for my collection. A major milestone was passed this morning, when the fixtures for the library were delivered. I was up until 10 PM last evening painting the floor of the library, so that my comics bins and bookshelves could be placed in permanent position. All that painting was really hard work, but now that it's finished I am just delighted! The library is actually pretty small (about 400 square feet), but through the utilization of highly efficient fixtures I should be able to store about 20,000 comics in that cozy room, as well as all of my Disney bisque china figures, and about 5,000 paperbacks and hardbacks. It will take me all winter to put everything away, but when I have free days in between my many out-of-state buying trips, you will find me happily sorting comics in my new library!

 

Because I spent so much time managing the unloading of my library fixtures this morning, I need to stop writing now, and head for Denver. I am leaving for Baltimore on Sunday evening, so this will be my last chance to catch up with my office e-mail, and to meet with the Mile High staff. Quite honestly, however, aside from answering e-mails there really isn't much for me to do in Denver. The folks in our management team are so used to me being on the road that they can pretty much keep the company running without my input. I do like to discuss overall strategy with them, however, as the comics market has just as much fluidity at times as any other business.

 

chuckcomicslibrary.jpg

 

 

There's more, but its just the usual 60-80% off sale stuff. (thumbs u

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Mutie Fan

Mutie Fan

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Good lord. What did they grade that one at?

 

4.0, but other than the *slight* fading, the book is very nice.

 

The structure of the book looks great but that fading is terrible. How long was the book exposed to light to get that level of fading?

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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The structure of the book looks great but that fading is terrible. How long was the book exposed to light to get that level of fading?

 

No idea, I bought it for $32 off EBay, sight unseen, with a small "Guaranteed a 4.0" as the only comment. :insane:

 

Money well-spent, as it's a tres cool, one-of-a-kind book.

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Aman619

Aman619

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Chucks a pissser aint he? He fancies himself a millionaire eclectic investor/collector but there he is in his little flourescent basement painting the floor himself.

 

but the big surprise was that the whole email story DIDNT wind up being another plea for a new discount sales.

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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He fancies himself a millionaire eclectic investor/collector but there he is in his little flourescent basement painting the floor himself.

 

What's even more bizarre is that he talks about "collectible investment returns" and, like most people, he'll pop off with all that dusty pottery and moldy books still sitting in his precious safe.

 

At which point I'll go in and quickly lowball the relatives, remove all the books, then write an online blog about how they were all "devils" with "racist attitudes" who "were just going to throw the books out anyway". :grin:

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paperheart

paperheart

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He fancies himself a millionaire eclectic investor/collector but there he is in his little flourescent basement painting the floor himself.

 

What's even more bizarre is that he talks about "collectible investment returns" and, like most people, he'll pop off with all that dusty pottery and moldy books still sitting in his precious safe.

 

At which point I'll go in and quickly lowball the relatives, remove all the books, then write an online blog about his they were all "devils" with "racist attitudes" who "were just going to throw the books out anyway". :grin:

 

:signfunny:

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the blob

the blob

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1) Thank goodness for Chuck. With his mile high prices he keeps about 20% of the comics off the market and in his warehouse. It is annoying when he picks a bargain box clean before I can hit it at a show, but I do salute him for propping up the market for low end material.

 

2) I wonder how well his pottery would do if he tried to unload a big chunk of it in this market. For something to have appreciated in value you need other people willing to pay for it. Unless, of course, this pottery is a favorite collectible for oil industry executives and the like. And I guess bankruptcy lawyers too.

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