Not for the faint of heart. Psychological nudity inside. Avoid!!!

[Marvelous]

Looking for a few reasons why people buy multiples of HG comics who aren't speculators? I collect comics to read and I also have multiples of some key issues because I am speculating that they might go up in value. Is there such a thing as a person who is Pure 100% collector and 0% speculator when they seek out multiple copies of HG comics? Or just seek out individual HG comics they never intend to read and bag and board to preserve? I warned you this would be shocking stuff.

[joe_collector]

 

 

[drbanner]

 

[Marvelous]

THE TROLL MAN COMETH! Way to destroy a thread because you can't answer the question Spec_Boy.

[Marvelous]

 

[OldSchoolTerry]

Enjoy any nice cold Grolsch beers at lunch today?.....

[Marvelous]

I prefer Pilsner Irquell. The beer that created a 1,000 other beers.

[Marvelous]

BTW How many pure collectors do you know?

[OldSchoolTerry]

Ok, Pilsner Irquell it is.....as for how many pure collectors are out there, on these boards, it's probably close to zero. It seems like almost everybody on here is an e-bay seller, or at least sells occasionally, which I don't find anything wrong with. There are probably very few "pure collectors" out there, who care solely about buying books to read or just admire, and will never ever sell them. I feel I'm pretty close to a pure collector, and I've still on occasion bought an extra copy of a book, or bought a book I had no intention of ever reading, simply because I felt it would be worth something someday.

[Marvelous]

I am strictly a new comic collector/reader and old comic collector/speculator. I like to read the old stuff as well, but usually do that in TPB form or cheap low-grade reader copies.

[blutobc]

I don't know how Ian is funding his DC purchase quest, but his goal would seem to be pure collector.

[mrwoogieman]

BTW How many pure collectors do you know?

 

 

Lots and lots, but they're old-timers for the most part...

[fantastic_four]

as for how many pure collectors are out there, on these boards, it's probably close to zero. It seems like almost everybody on here is an e-bay seller, or at least sells occasionally, which I don't find anything wrong with.

 

I've sold one comic book in my entire life, and it was to another forum member. I only sold it because I had upgraded it to a higher-graded copy. Does that make me a pure collector?

[kryptonitecomics]

as for how many pure collectors are out there, on these boards, it's probably close to zero. It seems like almost everybody on here is an e-bay seller, or at least sells occasionally, which I don't find anything wrong with.

 

I've sold one comic book in my entire life, and it was to another forum member. I only sold it because I had upgraded it to a higher-graded copy. Does that make me a pure collector?

 

It's a dealer GET HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

I think the distinction is this:

 

A collector buys books he/she actually wants. A speculator buys books that he/she thinks other people will want.

[delekkerste]

I think the distinction is this:

 

A collector buys books he/she actually wants. A speculator buys books that he/she thinks other people will want.

 

I agree completely. Being a collector/non-speculator does not preclude you from buying one or more extra copies of a particular book. You could be buying multiple copies because you just really, really like the book. Or want to face the challenge of completing multiple runs/mini-runs. Or just personal satisfaction. You're only a speculator if you are buying multiple copies with the intent to resell in the future at a significant profit.

 

The degree to which you are a pure speculator depends on if this is your sole motive or if you also have some kind of connection to the books. I know a lot of people who are indeed speculating in books but who hide behind the flimsy shield of, "I can't be a speculator (despite my obviously speculative behavior) because I'm a big fan." That just doesn't cut it in my book.

 

IMO, Joe_Collector does NOT fall into this category of people - he's just a self-admitted pack rat who collects multiples of what he likes for fun. Nothing wrong with that (not that there's anything necessarily wrong with being a speculator either, but I think there are a lot of specs out there who are in denial of what they are).

 

Gene

[Illiterati-migration]

I think the distinction is this:

 

A collector buys books he/she actually wants. A speculator buys books that he/she thinks other people will want.

 

I agree completely. Being a collector/non-speculator does not preclude you from buying one or more extra copies of a particular book. You could be buying multiple copies because you just really, really like the book. Or want to face the challenge of completing multiple runs/mini-runs. Or just personal satisfaction. You're only a speculator if you are buying multiple copies with the intent to resell in the future at a significant profit.

 

The degree to which you are a pure speculator depends on if this is your sole motive or if you also have some kind of connection to the books. I know a lot of people who are indeed speculating in books but who hide behind the flimsy shield of, "I can't be a speculator (despite my obviously speculative behavior) because I'm a big fan." That just doesn't cut it in my book.

 

IMO, Joe_Collector does NOT fall into this category of people - he's just a self-admitted pack rat who collects multiples of what he likes for fun. Nothing wrong with that (not that there's anything necessarily wrong with being a speculator either, but I think there are a lot of specs out there who are in denial of what they are).

 

Gene

 

You bastards had better know what I'm hoarding by now (LOSH 300 & GL 195... and a little Crisis from time-to-time). That, coupled with the fact that I actually buy NEW books every month AND read them should tell you who the REAL collector is around here. Well, collector and irrationally obsessed maniac...

 

Bow before me, knaves, for I am your KING!

[Marvelous]

I think the distinction is this:

 

A collector buys books he/she actually wants. A speculator buys books that he/she thinks other people will want.

 

I agree completely. Being a collector/non-speculator does not preclude you from buying one or more extra copies of a particular book. You could be buying multiple copies because you just really, really like the book. Or want to face the challenge of completing multiple runs/mini-runs. Or just personal satisfaction. You're only a speculator if you are buying multiple copies with the intent to resell in the future at a significant profit.

 

The degree to which you are a pure speculator depends on if this is your sole motive or if you also have some kind of connection to the books. I know a lot of people who are indeed speculating in books but who hide behind the flimsy shield of, "I can't be a speculator (despite my obviously speculative behavior) because I'm a big fan." That just doesn't cut it in my book.

 

IMO, Joe_Collector does NOT fall into this category of people - he's just a self-admitted pack rat who collects multiples of what he likes for fun. Nothing wrong with that (not that there's anything necessarily wrong with being a speculator either, but I think there are a lot of specs out there who are in denial of what they are).

 

Gene

 

I think the vast majority of people in these boards love comics and only buy what they like. That includes dealers as well. Just because a person chooses to make a living selling comics doesn't make him a speculator, does it? You could actually say a person who loves comics so much that he also makes his living owning a LCS is the truest form of non-speculator couldn't you? Not only is he making money doing the thing he loves, he is also providing a valuable service that helps keep the comic industry going for the rest of us. To me the only pure speculators would be those who don't care or are indifferent to comics and only buy them strictly for money making purposes. That being said, I think there is only a very small percentage of people who buy multiples of comics that aren't thinking those comics will have some greater monetary value and are going to be hard to find in the future. Most people are collectors first and to some degree, large or small, speculators second. A person spending hundreds or thousands of dollars buying multiples of comics he also loves isn't doing it because he thinks they are going to loose value in the future IMHO.

[joe_collector]

That being said, I think there is only a very small percentage of people who buy multiples of comics that aren't thinking those comics will have some greater monetary value and are going to be hard to find in the future.

 

 

Actually, in my case it's just the opposite. I KNOW how utterly common my Silver, Bronze and Modern books are, and kick myself that I can't break the "collector persona" and blow them off to speculators before the poop hits the fan.

[Marvelous]

That being said, I think there is only a very small percentage of people who buy multiples of comics that aren't thinking those comics will have some greater monetary value and are going to be hard to find in the future.

 

 

Actually, in my case it's just the opposite. I KNOW how utterly common my Silver, Bronze and Modern books are, and kick myself that I can't break the "collector persona" and blow them off to speculators before the poop hits the fan.

 

 

This is very interesting. You are a person that spends your hard earned money on multiples of comics that YOU KNOW aren't hard to find and will eventually go down in value drastically when some future cataclysmic event causes the comic market to crash. You say your are NOT a speculator, but you HOPE you will loose your collector mentality to blow your comics off on a speculator before pending doom comes. So you are praying to become speculator that you despise and are not now. When you call a meeting of people that do the same thing, how many show up? This is a job for Dr. Phil. I don't get it. To each their own.