How many collectors in the U.S.?

[Davenport]

I'd say maybe 200,000-300,000 readers buying new comics at least once a month and maybe 20,000-30,000 collectors who buy back issues in some capacity Comic shops maybe 1500-2000 left

ICV2 posts hard sales numbers from Diamond. Make of them what you will: CLICK

BATMAN #696 $2.99 DC 61,290

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #620 $2.99 MAR 59,860

 

And the number one was was:

BLACKEST NIGHT #7 $3.99 DC 130,613

 

Back issues is where it gets tough to imagine just how many collectors exist.

There seems to be a ever-growing glut of venues and outlets. Take in the full back issue spectrum, from eBay listings, Mile High, NewKadia, Lone Star on one end and ComicLink, Heritage, etc. on opposite end and it is MASSIVE retailing.

[batman_fan]

I think in the Bay area, there are probably between 10 and 15 at any given time. This is for the entire Bay area which is several million people (over 7 million in 2008). Many of the old school shops have dumped their back issues. Also, any shop that is surviving is focused on many different items so I would say the number of customers does not equate to the number of comic collectors. That said, ask your local shop have many people they have on setback. My guess (just a guess) is a store selling new books has at least 200 people on set back.

[october]

In 1993, Diamond had about 10,000 accounts. This was made up of approximately 7,000-8,000 storefronts, and 2,000-3,000 personal/catalog/show accounts (keeping in mind that the internet did not quite exist as a functioning resource yet.)

 

There are probably less than 2,000 storefronts in the entire country at this point. Diamond has roughly 3,500 active accounts.

 

Collectors? People who buy a comic book and do not, for whatever reason, dispose of them? Probably, in 1993, about 150,000 (though there were reports as high as 500,000-1,000,000...this is doubtful.)

 

In 2010, probably about 30,000, as others have already reported.

 

30,000 = .01%, or 1/10,000th of the US population. That averages 10 people per population center.

 

If collectors are defined as people who buy a comic and store it, isn't 30,000 exceptionally low given that there are 2,000 stores that need to be supported by that customer base? Those numbers work out to 15 people per store, not nearly enough to keep any of them in business. Those 30,000 people would also need to buy up the 50,000+ comics that pop up on eBay, CLink, Heritage, etc. each week. That just seems like far, far too few people to support the number of businesses built around selling comics in some capacity.

 

I'd put the number of collectors in the 150,000 - 300,000 range. That's 100 customers or so per store, and probably enough people to keep all of the dealers and auction houses in business. That would also be somewhat consistent with circulation numbers. 100,000+ copies of the hottest issue are generally sold per month, so unless there are some serious hoarders out there I think it's safe to say that the number of collectors is at least above that.

[HouseofComics.Com]

I agree, the number is in the hundreds of thousands. (Perhaps I should've said low six figures instead). The number of collectors overseas is probably in the five figures.

 

They do come and go though--I think if you keep your comics that you collected previously you're just taking a break. I hear from people all the time who haven't bought a comic in five or ten years and I get my share of people who are buying their first comics, after having their childhood comics thrown out 20-40 years before.

[the blob]

If someone like me, who barely even bothers trying to maintain an ebay presence half the time, has made about 800 comic sales to unique customers, I can't imagine I have sold to something like 2 - 2.5% of the comic collectors out there (admittedly, 50 or so have been foreign).

 

i think the number is higher than 30,000, going into the six figures, but many of them are very casual collectors with very narrow interests who don't buy much and a chunk of them just buy new issues (but don't necessarily toss them).

 

my brother used to buy 20-30 new issues of the rack a month. he didn't throw them out as he might want to re-read them. he made a half-hearted attempt to not destroy them because he knew he'd eventually give me the boxes of what he had accumulated. was he a collector? he'd only buy a comic because he wanted to read it. but when he got into preacher early in the game, but having missed the first couple of issues, he paid over cover price to catch up with #1 and #2. a collector or someone who wanted to read them/didn't feel like getting/waiting for the TPB?

 

how many copies of OPG get sold a year? how many copies of wizard up until a few years ago when people stopped reading it? i have a tough time imagining someone buys an OPG who isn't a collector (or dealer, who invariably have their own private collections) or someone buys Wizard. and then you have to figure that's a fraction of the # of actual collectors out there.

 

and then toss in the manga collectors/readers out there?

[the blob]

plus though, there might be 2000 store fronts with diamond accounts, but i'd venture to guess that many are also card/sports memorabilia shops and you only nut a few fanatical collectors in that area to really pay the rent. i see guys who come in once a week and buy a case of cards (at $5 or whatever a pack) and then make a game of opening them all up in the shop seeing which good chase cards they got. they're doing that for 2 or 3 sports and buying other odds and ends. they're like good file customers. it wouldn't surprise me if 30-40% of one of my main LCSes business is sports cards/stuff and they have "comics" in their store name. there are A LOT more than 30,000 card collectors, despite what may have happened to card prices in the last few years (basically going down to more realistic levels re: supply/demand),

[RockMyAmadeus]

In 1993, Diamond had about 10,000 accounts. This was made up of approximately 7,000-8,000 storefronts, and 2,000-3,000 personal/catalog/show accounts (keeping in mind that the internet did not quite exist as a functioning resource yet.)

 

There are probably less than 2,000 storefronts in the entire country at this point. Diamond has roughly 3,500 active accounts.

 

Collectors? People who buy a comic book and do not, for whatever reason, dispose of them? Probably, in 1993, about 150,000 (though there were reports as high as 500,000-1,000,000...this is doubtful.)

 

In 2010, probably about 30,000, as others have already reported.

 

30,000 = .01%, or 1/10,000th of the US population. That averages 10 people per population center.

 

If collectors are defined as people who buy a comic and store it, isn't 30,000 exceptionally low given that there are 2,000 stores that need to be supported by that customer base? Those numbers work out to 15 people per store, not nearly enough to keep any of them in business. Those 30,000 people would also need to buy up the 50,000+ comics that pop up on eBay, CLink, Heritage, etc. each week. That just seems like far, far too few people to support the number of businesses built around selling comics in some capacity.

 

I'd put the number of collectors in the 150,000 - 300,000 range. That's 100 customers or so per store, and probably enough people to keep all of the dealers and auction houses in business. That would also be somewhat consistent with circulation numbers. 100,000+ copies of the hottest issue are generally sold per month, so unless there are some serious hoarders out there I think it's safe to say that the number of collectors is at least above that.

 

.5 and Oct. - Less than 2,000 storefronts, keeping in mind that there are still a lot of people who buy comics, but do not collect them. They still need storefronts to buy from, as the number of newsstands that sell comics is nearly non-existent at this point. As well, in Southern California that I have seen, there are ZERO stores that deal solely in comics, be they new issues, back issues, or a combination thereof. Most of them sell other "comics related" (or not) items to stay afloat, such as toys, statues, trades, etc.

 

Remember...there are still a lot of people who buy comics to read, but do not keep them when they are done, for various reasons (space, no desire, etc.) The amount of speculation in new books these days is probably less than 1%..if even that....so you are right in that there are probably 250K-500K READERS (because, of course, not everyone is reading Darkest Night who buys new comics, or Walking Dead, or Unwritten, etc.) in any given month....but of those, how many save them after they're done? Probably between 20-40K. My LCS...the best in the area...has about 20-30 people who buy back issues on a regular basis, and some of those resell on eBay. Their subscription service, however, supports 300+. Other local stores, like Legacy in Glendale, CA probably sell back issues (because they are not competitively priced) to about 2-3 people a month. (I've never understood stores who refuse to compete with eBay as far as back issues go, but what do I know?)

 

I'd love to see sources, though, that would influence those estimates.

[kimik]

In Edmonton, population ~1 million including bedroom communities, we have 12 (maybe a couple more) stores selling new and back issue comics. Alberta is a bit of an aberration in Canada since we have a relatively young population and high family disposable income level relative to the rest of Canada, but the market is fairly strong here. I have noticed at the local shows that there is a much greater appetite for bigger $$$ books than 5 or 6 years ago as well which is nice to see.

 

If any dealers are looking for a new show to go to, they might want to check out the 2-day Calgary con (www.calgaryexpo.com). Last year 500Club, humantorch and I did well (Brian made a killing ) , and another dealer said he moved over $10K of books by the second morning - the majority being Dells and Westerns from the looks of things .

[8milemax]

In Edmonton, population ~1 million including bedroom communities, we have 12 (maybe a couple more) stores selling new and back issue comics. Alberta is a bit of an aberration in Canada since we have a relatively young population and high family disposable income level relative to the rest of Canada, but the market is fairly strong here. I have noticed at the local shows that there is a much greater appetite for bigger $$$ books than 5 or 6 years ago as well which is nice to see.

 

Wait! you can buy comics in Canada?

[the blob]

Remember...there are still a lot of people who buy comics to read, but do not keep them when they are done, for various reasons (space, no desire, etc.) The amount of speculation in new books these days is probably less than 1%..if even that....so you are right in that there are probably 250K-500K READERS (because, of course, not everyone is reading Darkest Night who buys new comics, or Walking Dead, or Unwritten, etc.) in any given month....but of those, how many save them after they're done? Probably between 20-40K.

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

I think far more people keep them than you think. Is it collecting or just keeping stuff? I dunno. Some people dig them as art and at $3-$4 a pop it's kind of tough to toss them after you've gotten your 10 minutes out of them, just like people buy sci fi and fantasy paperbacks to read, but they keep them. I just don't think comic readers think of them like last month's issue of Esquire or whatever, even if you don't think of them as worth anything a lot of people just don't view them as disposable entertainment. maybe they eventually give them away or toss them when the comic shop says they're worth 5 cents but i just don't see boxes of comics in the trash, do you? and if they were getting tossed most of the time I'd see A LOT more homeless guys selling comics on the street.

[RockMyAmadeus]

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I think far more people keep them than you think.

 

Could very well be. These are, after all, very, very broad estimates.

 

Is it collecting or just keeping stuff?

 

I think we can define "collecting" as "any organized attempt at saving and/or acquiring items of a like nature", which differentiates it from "stuff I've been meaning to toss, but haven't yet"...is that a definition we can agree on? Whether it's tossing them all in a box in the garage, or alpha/numeric, bagged and boarded, online catalogued, and everything in between...it's the "organized" part, no matter at what level, that really makes it "collecting", as opposed to "headed for the trash bin" (and only crazies organize trash.)

 

I dunno. Some people dig them as art and at $3-$4 a pop it's kind of tough to toss them after you've gotten your 10 minutes out of them, just like people buy sci fi and fantasy paperbacks to read, but they keep them. I just don't think comic readers think of them like last month's issue of Esquire or whatever, even if you don't think of them as worth anything a lot of people just don't view them as disposable entertainment. maybe they eventually give them away or toss them when the comic shop says they're worth 5 cents but i just don't see boxes of comics in the trash, do you?

 

No, but you DO see them in recycling bins...maybe not boxes, but individuals copies in amongst last month's magazines.

 

and if they were getting tossed most of the time I'd see A LOT more homeless guys selling comics on the street.

 

 

I dunno about THAT.

 

I've said this before, but I really think comics collectors have a really different view of comics than Joe Q. Public does. I watched a dealer toss long boxes full of books..variants even...because it was not cost effective to store them. It was cheaper for him in the long run to throw them out. It pained me to see this happen, but I realized the same thing...I don't have infinite space, and who wants 600 copies of Hulk/Darkness #1 variants? More, who wants to pay storage fees on 600 copies of Hulk/Darkness #1 variants?

[Point Five]

I would think the vast majority of comic readers keep moderns after reading, if only because they think (probably incorrectly) that there's at least a slim chance the books will skyrocket in value down the road.

 

 

[PurpleZeke]

I actually think a lot of the moderns have some of the best writing in many a years! Just my thought, plus with reduced print runs (especially from the 90's) I don't mind hanging on to my moderns.

 

Before you decide to throw out a box of decent condition moderns, please contact me with shipping costs even if non popular titles, I can pick through for myself (and yes if I pay shipping I will probably keep a few for myself) and give the rest away to youth groups etc... Just an idea as I hate the thought of a bunch of comics being thrown out rather than donated which could in the long run lead to more comic collectors, granted I fully understand how the lack of storage space can lead to such measures.