Ever think about the $$$ you lost enjoying this hobby.

[Jeffro.]

You can't put a price on enjoyment.

 

Everything is ephemeral after all.

 

Agreed. You can't get bogged down with this. If you enjoyed the comics, then that's your reward.

[MrBedrock]

If you enjoyed the comics, then that's your reward.

(thumbs u

[VintageComics]

...nah...

 

Ditto.

 

If you enjoyed the comics, then that's your reward.

(thumbs u

 

I want a return on my enjoyment investment.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

ROY IS HERE!!!

 

[Bookery]

...nah...

 

Ditto.

 

If you enjoyed the comics, then that's your reward.

(thumbs u

 

I want a return on my enjoyment investment.

 

 

Those are high risk investments, however. Sure, enjoyment derivitives are up right now... but if nuclear war breaks out, or a comet is set to strike the earth... those enjoyment indexes are liable to plummet. Better off to put most of your money into blase, or even mild bemusement futures. They may be unexciting, but tend to be more dependable.

 

[MrBedrock]

...nah...

 

Ditto.

 

If you enjoyed the comics, then that's your reward.

(thumbs u

 

I want a return on my enjoyment investment.

 

 

Those are high risk investments, however. Sure, enjoyment derivitives are up right now... but if nuclear war breaks out, or a comet is set to strike the earth... those enjoyment indexes are liable to plummet. Better off to put most of your money into blase, or even mild bemusement futures. They may be unexciting, but tend to be more dependable.

Screw that. Go balls out and invest heavily in short term rapture.

[Bookery]

...nah...

 

Ditto.

 

If you enjoyed the comics, then that's your reward.

(thumbs u

 

I want a return on my enjoyment investment.

 

 

Those are high risk investments, however. Sure, enjoyment derivitives are up right now... but if nuclear war breaks out, or a comet is set to strike the earth... those enjoyment indexes are liable to plummet. Better off to put most of your money into blase, or even mild bemusement futures. They may be unexciting, but tend to be more dependable.

Screw that. Go balls out and invest heavily in short term rapture.

 

People who know me, know all my disposable income goes into Crotcheties. Even if the investment tanks, I expect no less, so it's a win-win. The robot in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" made a fortune on these, IIRC.

 

 

[999ghosts]

The only thing that hurts every time is the postage cost.... I'll never get my investment back just because of that.

 

But I love my comics, even the thousands and thousands of drek...

[BassGMan]

Just notice a great thread over in the sales section that had X-Men # 1 - #30 for $15.

 

Now when I bought these issues off the stands 20+ years back... cover price before tax was around $41.45 for all thirty of these issues purchased over the course of almost two and a half years.

 

Figure in the gas involved to get to the shop/store those thirty different times... and add the tax... plus the cost of bag and board (because who didn't b&b those hot X-Men books) and I'm just wondering how much money I have thrown away over the years.

 

Not just on X-men... but the majority of titles I can pick up now at 50 cents or less.

 

If I had all that money now, I'm sure I could purchase a AF #15's in low/midgrade at least

 

Some simple quick Rupp math shows this...

 

Did I purchase over 1000 comics in between '91 - '94? Hell yes I did.

 

If cover price averaged $1.00 - $1.50 and we take the average of $1.25 for each of those 1000 books then I'd have spent $1250.

 

If I'd have waited 20 years and bought them at 50 cents, they would have only cost me $500... or a savings of $750.

 

Now lets just say that we purchased 1000 books from '94 - '97, and 1000 from '97 - '00, and 1000 from '00 - '03, and 1000 from '03 - '06, and 1000 from '06 - '09, and 1000 from '09 - '12...

 

And for clarity, lets just keep that cover price average at a incredibly low $1.25 even though cover prices have steadily increased to around the average $3.50 today.

 

That's only 7000 books and at $1.25 average, that's $8750 (before tax, gas, b&b).

 

At 50 cents each those 7000 books now (probably already b&b) would cost $3500... thus saving you $5250.

 

Current 90 day GPA on a 3.0 Amazing Fantasy # 15 is $5950... which is pretty close to the savings listed above.

 

Yes I know the value is in the entertainment value... but still, it hurts to think in hindsight.

 

 

Interesting post! I also like to run facts and figures. For me, working out these figures like you have above is entertainment in and of itself. But for the most part, over the years as I purchased new comics, I was only collecting them for fun. Heck, I didn't even read them, I just collected them. Years down the road, even weeks down the road from these purchases, I did not miss the $15-$30 I had spent that previous Wednesday on my stash of new comics. I summed it up as something like the equivalent to going to a movie, or heck, even roller skating! It was entertainment money. So these days, 20 years or so down the road, if a few of those books are worth something (and some are, not many) then great, selling those is like getting free money. The ones I can only unload at 50 cents each is freeing up valuable space in my home. The rest I just keep, just 'cuz I still think they are cool.

 

I would never regret any reasonable expense I incurred in the name of entertainment!

[bane]

Who cares. You can't take it with you.

[stroszek]

I do, but it doesn't bother me since I'm good friends with my LCS owner. Once he closes up shop, I'll probably stop buying new comics and only seeking out modern runs once they've been out for a while and are being sold at a steep discount. But as long as my money goes to keeping him and his store in business, I consider it a very worthwhile investment.

 

 

[Bookery]

Years down the road, even weeks down the road from these purchases, I did not miss the $15-$30 I had spent that previous Wednesday on my stash of new comics. I summed it up as something like the equivalent to going to a movie, or heck, even roller skating! It was entertainment money. So these days, 20 years or so down the road, if a few of those books are worth something (and some are, not many) then great, selling those is like getting free money. The ones I can only unload at 50 cents each is freeing up valuable space in my home. The rest I just keep, just 'cuz I still think they are cool.

 

I would never regret any reasonable expense I incurred in the name of entertainment!

 

Exactly. People forget, (probably because of the bizarre way in which comics guides have incorporated everything ever published and listed it as a "collectible"), that comics, like most things, are not supposed to be worth anything once they've been bought and used. It's the rare exception, in all products, that becomes collectible, and worth any premium.

 

The sofa you bought for $2000 10 years ago is now a $50 garage sale item. Last months $10 paperback is .50 cents at the flea market.

 

In the OP's post, the error is thinking you lost value if what you paid for goes from $20k to $5k. Like all used stuff, it's supposed to be next to valueless. The value has already been gotten, many years ago. So actually, you haven't lost anything... you've been fortunate and actually gained $5k. In this regard, comics that you sell off at bulk 10-cents each are still a gain, since you are getting something back... sort of like a return on the old glass bottles of Coke.

 

The exception of course is if big "collector" dollars were paid to begin with... $50 on a Boris the Bear #1 that you now get .10 for. That might hurt. But buying any commodity, especially for entertainment, at original retail and someday getting something out of it at all is actually a bonus.

 

[Mister_Comics]

All I know is that any comic I sell I end up ahead because I bought all my 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's comics off the stand. No way I will take a loss. I never got caught up in paying high prices for comics or anything for that matter. Say what you will, but I have one of the finest comic collections around and I only had to buy them all off the shelf for cover price. I never could understand why someone would brag about paying some ridiculously high price for anything. I think more highly of the guy that gets something for near nothing. To me he saved himself money instead of throwing it away. Thats just how I feel about collecting. And I just recently quit buying comics because I just don't see these new books as making any kind of profit because they make too many. Plus the superheroes of today are not the superheroes I remember. They have changed them too much for me to enjoy. And I'm winding down on the collecting because of my age. So I'll say I never think about the money spent on my comics. Its just not a loss for me.

[Dano]

I've always wondered about folks that say they've "wasted" money on something that gave them joy. If it's a waste, how did it give you joy? I've never met an older person that regrets doing the things that they loved. If anything, they usually wish they had done more. I suppose we could all build little bunkers and eat dried food and never go outside again...

 

Dan

[jools&jim]

 

I'm sure this is overstating the obvious, but comics were published to be sold new at their full retail price. For those of us who collect older books, the reason we have a hobby at all today is because somebody out there was willing to pay full retail for them back in the day...

 

[Shadow]

I look at it through the enjoyment lens for new books. That being said, I like my LCS and have went there for years so I feel guilty when I wonder why I still buy some of my titles. I'm down to 4 and really dont like the JLA reboot. Seems empty and missing something. But, ever optimistically, I want to be there when it turns.

 

I still buy books and I know that they are virtually worthless if I try and sell them. But it's for the story. Price you pay I guess.

[Bosco685]

Who cares. You can't take it with you.

 

I have to agree with you.

 

Please add me to your will.

[conditionfreak]

Haven't lost money on comic books.

 

I MIGHT when and if I sell. But right now, I have not lost a thing. I have actually made money on those few I have sold.

 

That is what bothers me about the housing market, and the so-called "under water" thing. People who have homes that are now worth less than they paid for them, have not lost anything. If they do not sell.

 

Just live in them (you have to live somewhere), until the price goes back up. No different than renting.

 

Duh.

[BOOT]

... but still, it hurts to think in hindsight.

 

This will help soothe the pain...

 

You have over 15,400 posts. If each post takes about 5 minutes to create and post, that is 77,000 minutes, or 1283.33 hours.

 

If you worked those hours at just the current minimum wage of 7.25 per hour, you could have earned over $9,300...

 

...which you could have spent on comics. (thumbs u

[Bosco685]

... but still, it hurts to think in hindsight.

 

This will help soothe the pain...

 

You have over 15,400 posts. If each post takes about 5 minutes to create and post, that is 77,000 minutes, or 1283.33 hours.

 

If you worked those hours at just the current minimum wage of 7.25 per hour, you could have earned over $9,300...

 

...which you could have spent on comics. (thumbs u