One of the most extreme collections you will ever see

[comix4fun]

In other news, I find this video incredibly sad.

 

I get what you mean, but she seemed happy about her collection. How often did she comment on how excited she was to find a particular item, regardless of condition?

 

Exactly. This is someone who clearly appreciates the means more than the end goal itself.

 

 

 

I agree.

 

It seemed totally out there to me at first but then, after thinking about it, the only thing that seemed out there was how much of her home had been taken over by the items.

 

If you closed your eyes and didn't see the way it covered every inch of the house she could have been talking about comics or artwork. If all those items were "flats"...books or posters or artwork, it wouldn't take up all that room and seem so strange.

 

She's no more odd than most of the comic collectors I meet that are completing a run or a set of runs. Their obsession just takes up less room or is more easily concealable.

 

At least there's some joy in her voice. I know a lot of people who only feel compulsion and sadness at not being able to stop. They don't like what they are doing but don't know how to stop.

 

So I applaud her. Life is short. Do whatever you love as much as you possibly can.

[fantastic_four]

I am just trying to figure out if those numbers you posted are accurate, because they are amazing. It's a simple yes or no response to "have you really sold items for 250-300x what you paid". That's it.

 

I provided the response, but you're choosing to ignore it or are choosing to be obtuse. Maybe if you didn't take my comment out of context, you might believe what I'm saying more??!! I really don't know what more there is to say about it.

 

I didn't see an answer to his question either. I just re-read the posts to see if I overlooked something and couldn't find an answer the second time. So you were buying figures for like $1 - $2 and reselling them for hundreds? Seemed like a simple question--not sure why you're taking offense.

[comix4fun]

I thought this guy was pretty interesting as well. I heard about people have big collections, but DAM!

 

 

 

 

 

This guy handles those books like an incredible jagoff. I had to stop watching.

 

 

[sterlingcomics]

I thought this guy was pretty interesting as well. I heard about people have big collections, but DAM!

 

He likes Strawberry Shortcake (5:00 mark). Someone page greggy. He has a playmate.

[miraclemet]

 

 

This guy handles those books like an incredible jagoff. I had to stop watching.

 

 

he also sounded like a jagoff when talking about comics...

 

and I don't understand him tearing thru the stores $1 bins tossing the books around.

 

 

[hockey&comicsguy]

You're dwelling on the payout when in actual fact I was responding/refuting the assertion that she would be lucky to get what she put into the collection.

 

Well, yes, I am dwelling on the payout, because making 250-300x in the span of months is a 25,000% profit....which is pretty incredible. I understand parting out collections, I do it all the time. I have even covered large purchases with the resale of a single item. What I haven't done often is sell things for the kind of markups you are talking about. Even my home runs are usually in the 10-50x category, which is still pretty damn good.

 

So you're response is to be condescending when the intent was to prove it is possible for someone to come out ahead in this manner? I wasn't doing this to grandstand but to refute the claim that the only way to amass a collection like this is by taking a bath.

 

I am just trying to figure out if those numbers you posted are accurate, because they are amazing. It's a simple yes or no response to "have you really sold items for 250-300x what you paid". That's it.

 

I provided the response, but you're choosing to ignore it or are choosing to be obtuse. Maybe if you didn't take my comment out of context, you might believe what I'm saying more??!! I really don't know what more there is to say about it.

 

Since a straight answer isn't forthcoming, I'll take it as a "no" and keep my day job.

 

 

FWIW his answers seemed straight as an arrow to me.

[Dr. Balls]

In other news, I find this video incredibly sad.

 

I get what you mean, but she seemed happy about her collection. How often did she comment on how excited she was to find a particular item, regardless of condition?

 

A moderate addiction is not always hurtful; but when in excess it is bad for your health. People who collect buy, buy, buy….the more they buy, the better they feel; it fills a void in their life that exists. That's how it goes. I'm not trying to be preachy or anything - because to each their own, and I'm a collector (obviously) myself.

 

But, I am lucky to have people, goals and desires in my life that give me variety - so I don't have to intently focus and feel good about one singular thing to such an extreme. Even if you're happy, like the person in this video, you're missing out on things in life - because you're devoting so much time, money, personality and resource to one, single thing. That's why it made me sad to watch that.

[fantastic_four]

FWIW his answers seemed straight as an arrow to me.

 

I'm still unsure whether he meant he sold them at a 250% - 300% markup or a 25,000% - 30,000% markup--verifying which of the two that he meant was the clarifying question that never got answered.

[gcstomp]

His answers were straight as could be, with a couple of examples including 1 where he flipped a single piece for 250 times his investment.

 

He also made it clear it was not at all about boasting, that many of us without a doubt have had nice flips, and was annoyed with you seem fixated that he had a few instances of being able to get that kind of multiple back (250 times, clearly stated) rather than appreciate his point. The point being there was no reason this particular collector would need to suffer a loss.

[seanfingh]

His answers were straight as could be, with a couple of examples including 1 where he flipped a single piece for 250 times his investment.

 

He also made it clear it was not at all about boasting, that many of us without a doubt have had nice flips, and was annoyed with you seem fixated that he had a few instances of being able to get that kind of multiple back (250 times, clearly stated) rather than appreciate his point. The point being there was no reason this particular collector would need to suffer a loss.

 

I thought the point was "home run after home run" when you keep putting yourself in a position to hit "home run after home run."

[miraclemet]

I was just happy to hear that she let her kids play with much of her collection...

[gcstomp]

I am sure no one is interested at this point, but I find this interesting, life is full of these type of misunderstandings. The internet is such a shallow communication tool that is missing the nuance of face to face chat, which itself is prone to misunderstandings, trying to get one thought from one brain to another is in itself a small miracle.

 

The 250 times return deal part seems to have rubbed a couple of people the wrong way because maybe it was perceived as boasting? Lying? There were mocking replies with laughy face emoticons and saying we could all quit our jobs, etc.

 

Here is the poison passage: "Doesn't happen all the time, but when you're surrounding yourself with that many items and variations within a specific line, your bound to hit home run after home run. "

 

I read it as this female collector, having accrued virtually every rare variation possible in this line, is bound to hit "home run after home run' if she so chose to liquidate in a somewhat careful manner. After all, he has spent not half as much time and energy as this lady, and even he has hit some instances of getting 250 times his money, without maximizing (grading) the figure.

[Sal]

I didn't read it at all as though Andy - or F_F or anyone else - thought Joseph was boasting, and I really, really doubt he meant it that way.

 

It's possible to ask a question in disbelief without thinking the other person is a liar or braggart. At least it is in my neck of the woods

[mackenzie999]

Hey, GI Joe guys...I still have all my old Joes, about 40 of them circa 64-73, and tons of outfits and equipment. It's in decent shape but played with, in comic terms I'd say ranging from good to very fine. Almost no packaging though, again these were the toys I played with growing up. Does Joe stuff like this have any value in general, or does it all have to be MIB stuff?

 

 

[comicwiz]

I thought this guy was pretty interesting as well. I heard about people have big collections, but DAM!

 

 

 

 

 

This guy handles those books like an incredible jagoff. I had to stop watching.

 

 

There's a few videos where he's going through his storage lockers. Being careful handling things that might be valuable is probably a recessive genetic trait.

[bedrockcomics]

Small fortune just in those plastic tubs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[COI]

In other news, I find this video incredibly sad.

 

I get what you mean, but she seemed happy about her collection. How often did she comment on how excited she was to find a particular item, regardless of condition?

 

A moderate addiction is not always hurtful; but when in excess it is bad for your health. People who collect buy, buy, buy….the more they buy, the better they feel; it fills a void in their life that exists. That's how it goes. I'm not trying to be preachy or anything - because to each their own, and I'm a collector (obviously) myself.

 

But, I am lucky to have people, goals and desires in my life that give me variety - so I don't have to intently focus and feel good about one singular thing to such an extreme. Even if you're happy, like the person in this video, you're missing out on things in life - because you're devoting so much time, money, personality and resource to one, single thing. That's why it made me sad to watch that.

 

I think many of us engage in this kind of extreme behavior, but in different forms that are not so tangible and obvious. Her extreme behavior manifests itself in the form of physical/material items that overrun her house, but she has a clear goal in mind and is extremely focused and organized, not to mention that she seems to genuinely appreciate the items she collects. That's why I don't find it sad; a little nutty maybe, but not sad.

 

As for her missing out on life, I don't see how what she does is any different than those who spend 12 hours a day gaming, or talking on message boards and facebook all evening, or spending hours in the gym, or bar hopping 5 nights a week; it's all extreme behavior. Why denigrate the collecting habits of this woman, while at the same time applaud the collecting accomplishments of comic book BSDs like Doug Schmell or Tom Brulato, or Bangzoom, or the handful of boardies here who have thousands of jaw-dropping books? Putting together the kind of collections they have, and maintaining them, takes this same kind of extreme dedication. How much time do they spend scouting auctions, traveling to conventions, making deals, etc...? Why is that not sad to you?

 

I know a lot of collectors that could probably take things this far if they had a supportive spouse, and the financial resources to do so.

[COI]

Where can you find the rest of that series at? Please pm. Crazy. That's almost like "organized" hoarding, which I guess is what collecting really is. Almost makes me want to look around my office, and sell all my stuff off .

 

As the video is playing, click on it again and it'll take you to its location on youtube. Once on youtube, you can find all the other parts.

[COI]

Wow. I get crazy when a short box cannot fit into my closet. I couldn't imagine being surrounded like that. Did anyone notice the clipboard around the 5 minute mark? I wonder if her whole collection is color coded.

 

I can't even fill up a couple of long boxes without going crazy, and I hate organizing which is why I find this so fascinating.

[lizards2]

I almost feel like I'm sort of 'normal' after watching this

Hopefully this hasn't been posted yet...

 

This is part 7 of 18. I haven't watched every part yet, but this series of videos is absolutely jaw-dropping. This woman has a massive house which is completely overrun (but in a very organized way) by toys, and in particular, GI Joe toys (the vintage dolls and the "Real American Hero" stuff).

 

This is an incredible, and in some ways frightening look at collecting taken to its most extreme. Again, what strikes me the most about this collection is not only its overall size, but the unimaginable investment of time, effort and money associated both with acquiring and organizing these pieces. It's one thing to drop some insane amount of money on a piece of OA or a high grade Marvel key, but it's another to spend that kind of money AND have the insane dedication it would take to put together this kind of collection. If you have any interest in how far other collectors can take their hobbies, I recommend kicking back and watching this series of videos from the beginning.