What's your motivation?

[BassGMan]

Hey, we all love comics. That's why we are here. But we all have different styles of collecting along with different goals in mind. Building a complete collection of your favorite books, finding all those great old comics from your youth, collecting every appearance by a creator or certain character, buying for investment, flipping for a quick profit, collecting cool covers, going for the "hi-grades", etc. and dozens more. I was just wondering what everybody's "motivation" is for how they are collecting and why. I'm sure there are as many different styles and motivations as there are people on these boards.

 

My little spiel.

I love comics but I'm not much of a reader. I have that "collector mentality" so I like to buy alot of what I am interested in, although I am not a "completist" so I have relieved myself of the pressure of having to find "every one". Since I spend so much time at this hobby I figured that I might as well make it profitable and productive at the same time I was just having fun. If all I wanted to do was to make a profit, then it really wouldn't matter to me what books I was buying, just buy the ones with best investment or turnaround potential and be done. But I want it to be fun as well so the only books I buy to either keep or resell are the ones I would love to keep even if they couldn't sell. If nobody will by my copy of Werewolf By Night, then fine. I think it is a good one to keep anyway, for example. So, I'm buying all the stuff that I like while keeping in mind if it would also be a good short-term or long-term investment. It is really fun buying mostly Bronze books that I think are really cool, and also knowing that at some point I can have as much fun selling them as I did buying and keeping them, to just enable me to buy some more. Cool!

 

Anyway, that's what I do and why I do it. So, what about you guys? ------Sid

[goldust40]

I like the pretty pictures and I want a bigger collection than anyone else.

[goldust40]

All right, serious answer. If it wasn't fun (I'm referring to the non-dealers or non-professionals among us) you could easily just go and make money through other, far more lucrative means.

 

The main reasons for collecting/dealing with old comics are fun, enjoying the books, profit, owning something a little bit exclusive that not many people have, the hunt, and the satisfaction of understanding and knowing the market sufficiently to be some kind of player, however small.

 

Bottom line in my case is I like GA and SA (and BA, of course) and want to enhance my collection whilst making enough turnover to make some kind of money out of it. I don't plan to part with certain books ever, but then never say never.

[Calamerica]

1) Reliving my boyhood.

 

2) That led to me collecting the Marvels of the 1960's.

 

3) Led me to eBay in 2000. Started buying lots of comics.

 

4) Shared space with storefront - evolved on my own and ran it as a part-time "hobby". Developed affinity for "high-grades". Started selling VHS and DVD's along with comic books in the hopes to diversify on eBay.

 

5) Disagreement with brother-in-law led me to leave storefront and run it on my own. Obtained Business License and Resale permits to cover my tracks with taxes. Started taking out ads locally for comic book collections. Real learning curve there. Disagreements w/ brother-in-law were mostly about comic books and has been solved amicably. He decided to get out of the comics business and left the closing details to me.

 

6) Started hoarding certain Issues I like. Started branching out with GA, Platinum and even Victorian Age. Had to lower quality standards due to scarcity factors. Marvel started farming out the movies of Comic Book characters.

 

7) Somewhere ran into CGC. Started submitting issues to them. Tried to learn as much as possible about grading and restoration of comic books out of interest in that topic matter. Talked to Mr. Borock on phone several times, mostly his "takes" on the grading notes. I missed some spine wear on a few comic books. He might remember this, but probably not as he deals with so many others. Found out on eBay that some comic book collectors do not like CGC or the grading concept and how divided the Comic Book hobby has developed.

 

8) Collecting interests changed, and developed in other areas again. Started selling off excess comics, and did not really care if I lost a little on them. Getting rid of Moderns and Bronxe. Started collecting Promo comics and oddity comics. New worlds to explore again. Developed Seller's remorse as I want to keep certain Comic Books. Could care less about DVD's and VHS.

 

9) Finally broke down and decided to meet some live people at that CGC Forum Dinner March 20. Wizard World Long Beach, CA. Had a blast. Learned a lot again.

Upset someone because I asked two questions about the Silver Surfer. Of course I found out much later about that, not at the Dinner.

Oh well, back to the drawing board. Next time I will ask THREE (3) questions about Silver Surfer. I will think of them while I am driving there. Some drawing board, huh?

 

10) Still on eBay, but spend more time here than there on the Boards. Like the Grading Threads a lot and always trying to improve grading skills. CGC Forum is far superior to other Boards as CGC collectors have a place to call home.

 

CAL

[BassGMan]

Thanks for your stories guys. I find it very interesting when people talk about their own "story" or motivations for doing what they do in this hobby/business. ------Sid

[THE_BEYONDER]

 

What's your motivation?

 

I started collecting comics again because I thought it would make me COOL .

 

Apparently.......I was wrong.

[Silver Surfer]

I tend to buy comics I love and great covers by great artists (mainly silver and some bronze age Marvel's). Huge FF fan but I am not in a position where I can afford to put a string of the first 100 in high grade. After going on a bit of a buying frenzy of late I have tried to be more selective and more patient. I am trying to buy slightly higher grades when I can, resisting the urge to pick up just a FN/VF issue as I know in the long run this will serve me well. So many comics to choose from so I try and decide what I want the most and work from there.

 

Slowly I want to buy some key issues in above average grade that I don't alreayd onw such as Avengers #1, FF#1, SS#1, FF#16, etc. I shudder to think how much time I would spend on this hobby if I essentially had the resources to purchase whatever I wanted. Love comics as a kid, still feel the same way about them now.

[Silver Surfer]

Cal,

 

Great story but I would have been happy to answer any of your "Surfer" questions for you. Seriously though could you expand a little more on that story as I am trying to imagine why someone would respond in such a manner? You should have told him that "its clobberin time".

[Darthdiesel]

1) Reliving my boyhood.

 

Whew! That's better than relieving my manhood which happens to be my #1 motivation BTW other than the cha-ching and the bling bling of course

[Wally's Comics]

Nothing like rehashin' an old thread.

 

What made you the Collector you are today?

 

But just like the story that I presented to start that thread...

 

It is as simple as this, I love comics but there was the one that got away event in my life that burns in my backside like a hot iron. It was when my good o'le pop forced me to pass-up the deal of a lifetime - AF # 15 NM/M for $200 in 1979.

 

I guess I always want that event back so it is hard for me to pass-up a comic book

that I feel is a good deal, because you never know - that might be the one that skyrockets to infinity $$$.

[BassGMan]

Hey, I hear' ya' nerf, we have all had a few "that got away". BUT, obviously you were alot younger and less experienced when you saw that AF #15 way back when. Even if the dealer already pre-graded it, what do ya' wanna bet that it was most likely less than a NM/M. I have pulled out books that I bought many moons ago that I remembered as being NM, turns out that most were VFs. Not that a VF AF #15 is bad though. ------Sid

[Aces]

What's your motivation?

 

I started collecting comics again because I thought it would make me COOL .

 

Apparently.......I was wrong.

 

[Wally's Comics]

Hey, I hear' ya' nerf, we have all had a few "that got away". BUT, obviously you were alot younger and less experienced when you saw that AF #15 way back when. Even if the dealer already pre-graded it, what do ya' wanna bet that it was most likely less than a NM/M. I have pulled out books that I bought many moons ago that I remembered as being NM, turns out that most were VFs. Not that a VF AF #15 is bad though. ------Sid

 

I don't know chief, I'm usually a riduculously tuff grader on comics!!

 

Even during that time period people were saying the worth of Action Comics and Detective comics in NM and I would raise the bar where most people that call a book NM I would say it was VF- at the drop of a hat.

 

This book was in amazing shape! The guy that sold it said it was a spare copy that had never been read. That was easy to believe when I turned each sparking white page to hear the unclinging sound that the pages made.

 

I don't expect many to believe this event in its' entirety,

but I assure you it has definatelly made me the pack rat I am today.

 

 

Oh well.

[Steve_HOCP]

well, my motivation has changed several times:

 

 

Collecting and reading for fun...that was what started me off with a little help from my Dad.

 

I only collect X-Men...nothing else, no off-shoot comics, no solo mags...nada.

 

15 years later:

 

filling in my collection from #1 through #350 was a motivation.

 

then...it was finding better grade books than the books I currently own.

 

 

then....it was getting them graded.

 

 

then...it was replacing the newer books (#150 and up ) with CGC books and selling off the originals while waiting on my books being slabbed.

 

 

now it is all about waiting for my books to come back. So I can submit more bundles of books.

 

 

So my motivation changed I suppose, as I'm sure it does with lots of other people. I think my next venture will be the Wolverine books...THEN I will be done for sure...

 

welll....

[Wally's Comics]

well, my motivation has changed several times:

 

 

Collecting and reading for fun...that was what started me off with a little help from my Dad.

 

I only collect X-Men...nothing else, no off-shoot comics, no solo mags...nada.

 

15 years later:

 

filling in my collection from #1 through #350 was a motivation.

 

then...it was finding better grade books than the books I currently own.

 

 

then....it was getting them graded.

 

 

then...it was replacing the newer books (#150 and up ) with CGC books and selling off the originals while waiting on my books being slabbed.

 

 

now it is all about waiting for my books to come back. So I can submit more bundles of books.

 

 

So my motivation changed I suppose, as I'm sure it does with lots of other people. I think my next venture will be the Wolverine books...THEN I will be done for sure...

 

welll....

 

 

GREED IS GOOD!!!!

[Aman619]

I do it for the chicks!!

[blowout]

Nostalgia.

[Red Hook]

It's yet another outlet for my OCD. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).

[eddly]

first of all... I've been addicted to ebay for awhile... it's very satisfying when you outbid someone to win an item at the very last second... and you know you pretty well stole it...

 

basically to keep my ebay addiction alive... I had to get back into comics...

[ninanina]

Collecting a life-time of reading.

 

I've since realized reading/being familiar with the Silver Age story lines...where they introduce many of todays heroes/villains actually make reading the modern stuff a lot more enjoyable.

 

As a result of this recent discovery, I will be re-reading all my moderns after I've finished withe the Silver Age.

 

But not the clone saga. I just wouldn't be able to get through it a second time.