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What percentage of your Net Annual Income is for comics

Started by loadstone,

Percentage of Net Income spent on comics  

219 members have voted

  1. 1. Percentage of Net Income spent on comics

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14 posts in this topic

loadstone

loadstone

Posted
Posted

Hi, welcome to my first non-scientific poll. :fear: My main goal here is to see how far some of us will go financially for our collections in a year (this past year actually). Seeing as it's also conveniently that time of the year when we put off examining our W-2s and look towards reaping credit card rewards and depleting our FSA's we should take the chance to review our Net Income as we prepare for out taxes. I saw similar polls that asked about collection worth as a portion of annual income, the most someone would spend on a comic, but nothing that told me how much the collectors on here dedicate out of their annual incomes to collecting and how far they've gone.

 

I'd like to see where most collectors prioritize their collecting and where among them I fit. Frankly I think I spent more than I should this year but truly enjoy the ownership and hunt. But as a family man I'm trying to remain conscious of the impact on my annual budget and how it affects my family. I frequently see large purchases on here as well as on other sites and can understand if you have a sizable bankroll, or run collecting as a business/investment, or are just an overzealous single-minded collecting fanatic but unsure if those are the norm or the exceptions. I do realize we're in a bull market with comics with all the movies and TV shows coming out driving high prices. I saw an interesting discussion and philosophies started by mintcollector with insight from G.A.tor in another poll but it's kind of old and like to see what percentage they and others dedicate currently. I know there's a good mix of high rollers, the fanatical collector, business/investor/dealer, and OCD regular joe on here which should make a decent sample size.

 

So please choose what percentage of your annual net income you spend on comics per year. And note what, if any, income comes from outside sources that you use to supplement your purchases in the second poll.

 

Annual Net Income is visible on your W-2. If you haven't received it yet or don't receive one, it can roughly be calculated by counting your total bank deposits/cashed.

 

Total Annual Comics Cost: This should include all of the following:

1. comics: new/subscription, raw or CGC back issue purchases

2. comic supplies and storage including bags/boards/boxes/archiving materials/cataloging supplies

3. shipping costs on purchases

4. comic membership fees and association fees (not including seller related fees or expenses)

5. CGC certification or appraisal services

6. Insurance riders or premiums strictly for insurring your collection

7. Security features or fees such as safe deposit boxes, vault, in-home safes, desecants or dehumidifiers

and if you travel to shows incurring costs over $50 include travel expenses if it is not for your comic business.

These can be calculated in many ways but some banks, credit cards, and paypal offer tools to sum up purchases by category.

 

So the way this can be calculated is:

Annual % of income spent on comics = (Total Annual Comics Cost/Annual Net Income) x 100

If over 100%, yikes! :insane:

 

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Cimm

Cimm

Posted
Posted
Nice. ;) Yeah, figured those 1-percenters would include both those who have only a 1 subscription and those who are really REEECH!

I'm neither,so what does that say about your poll?

 

Sorry, oakey, but if 6-10K is less than 1% of your income, you're reech in my perspective... I spend 8-12K per annum, but it equates to around 25-30% of my annual income.

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oakman29

oakman29

Posted
Posted
Nice. ;) Yeah, figured those 1-percenters would include both those who have only a 1 subscription and those who are really REEECH!

I'm neither,so what does that say about your poll?

 

Sorry, oakey, but if 6-10K is less than 1% of your income, you're reech in my perspective... I spend 8-12K per annum, but it equates to around 25-30% of my annual income.

Then why am I so broke,must be that expensive California living. :tonofbricks:

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loadstone

loadstone

Posted
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Posted

Yep Oakman29, it was tricky for me calculating my Net as well. It doesn't look so bad if you divide by gross income but sheesh it's painful to realize how much is left over after everything gets taken out voluntarily and mandatory. Yeah, I kinda went on an ebay/Heritage/LCS binge. Mostly playing catchup. Last time I collected was in high school 20 years ago. Now that I have all this independence and money it just seems too easy to not buy but I've begun to set strict rules and define the type of collector I want to be or become. 18 responses is still a small sample size but I'm starting to see that I am, so far, on the high side of this poll at 26% of my Net Income. Which means over $1 out of $4 of net income earned was spent on comics and comic related purchases (too bad there aren't any credit rewards with 3%+ cashback on comics but there should!). To me that's just too much to maintain year over year unless I get raises in excess of 10% a year. Sorry, I guess I'm just not going to be as hard core as some of the other guys on here and I know I don't have the bankroll that some of the others who run it as a business do. I'm assuming those that chose 61% or more probably run their collections as a business buying and selling high end issues or large quantities.

 

My goal for this year, unless I just get too good an opportunity for a good deal on some high-grade key issues, is to reduce my total comic expenses to no more than 20% if I'm able to sell off some of the extras and offset with net comic investment gains I've incurred over the past year. I'm seeing this as the trend for best source of supplemental income for comic buying in my second poll.

 

Strangely enough, "Crack and stuff" seems the next most lucrative option for supporting ones comic habit. Sadly, it's not one of the markets I'm able to deal in as a law abiding citizen. (LEGALIZE IT!!!) Gee I wonder why not many lottery winners/gamblers are those willing or able to use any lottery/gambling winnings for buying comics. Damn you Vegas! I'm going in March and betting on all the longshot NCAA matchups, $100 on black for roulette, $100 in slots, $1000 for blackjack while trying to count cards and use variations of basic strategy and then blow any winnings what-so-ever on drinks and strippers. Yeah, that's why it's at 0%.

 

Otherwise, I hope to have it down to 15% max. I suspect I'll quickly be able to eliminate a lot of the expenses from last year as I spent over $500 on several Drawer Longboxes and 1000 E Gerber Silver and Standard Full backs and mylite 2 & 4s, and a little over $10k to completed my run of 100+ SA issues. So that should make my goals pretty easy. Now I just have to stop pressing the "Bid" button!

 

Thanks!

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jimbo_707

jimbo_707

Posted
Posted

Varies year to year; some years I've spent nothing. This year, I'll likely spend more on comics than I'll earn because I basically cashed out of the stock market and now I'm putting everything I have into building my collection.

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