Is this the center of the universe?

[RockMyAmadeus]

Here's the scoop about these boards, and comic message boards in general:

 

The majority, maybe 75-90% of people who have something to do with comics, don't visit any message boards at all, ever. The closest most people in general get to online message boards and forums is Facebook and Twitter, and that includes comic book people.

 

Of the remainder that do, this board is probably top 3 or 4 in terms of population, visitation and activity. I would suspect Bleeding Cool is also in that group. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say that CBR and Newsarama are at the top of the heap.

 

But of those, Newsarama doesn't seem to have a forum, and Bleeding Cool and CBR forums aren't anywhere near as active as CGC's (and keeping in mind that the coin side also provides avenues of activity that are unknown to the others.)

 

I think it's safe to say that, of comics related communities, this one is *probably* the most connected and active. People go to CBR, Newsarama, and Bleeding Cool for news, info, gossip...they come HERE to talk about it, and read what others have to say about it. Again, though, we're talking about maybe 10-25% of the people, at most, who are involved in comics in one way or another...and this board has traditionally been fairly aggressive with creators, which is why there is no large presence from that side of the industry here.

 

That said, as Crimebuster stated, a hugely disproportionate amount of dealers come here, and that does have a very real effect on the industry as a whole.

 

Maybe it is a regional thing then. I can see that with some areas, but I stand by what I said. Not picking a fight. I realize that those are my experiences and are reflective of what I have seen only and on top of that I may be an outlier. However, you tend to be on the other end of the spectrum, so maybe we are both wrong and there is something more in the middle.

 

 

 

I don't see any conflict between your statements and mine.

 

Similar to your statement, almost the only people I deal with in the comics community are from message boards, so drawing from my own experience is going to skew the results, badly. I don't go to LCS more than once or twice a year, so I don't interact with comics people that way, and the only reason I go to conventions is to buy comics and get things SS'd.

 

There is almost no one I know personally in comics who is not connected to this board in some way. But...if I were to survey 100 people at random at a con, I suspect 75-90% of them would either know nothing about the existence of this board, or, having heard of it, never visited.

 

So, Quicksilver is right, after a fashion, that most comic buyers/collectors don't come here, but because of the very large disproportion of dealers who are here, this board carries, or seems to carry, much more weight than it otherwise would, which is "the real answer."

 

As always, dealers, whether they be convention, store, or otherwise, are still the funnel point between publishers, creators, and fans, often being the only point of contact consumers have with the industry, and thus wield much more influence than just about any other single entity in the industry.

[oakman29]

All I know is the best of the best collectors/collections are present on these boards,and you know what they say?......

Hang around with greatness,you learn to become the same.

[kav]

All I know is the best of the best collectors/collections are present on these boards,and you know what they say?......

Hang around with greatness,you learn to become the same.

That's how I became great

[ItsJustRyan]

I think it's easy to feel like this is the center of the comic universe, but like others have said, the majority of collectors and everyday comic readers don't hang hear or care about graded comics.

 

We just enjoy our corner of the galaxy while they enjoy there's.

[Scturo]

All I know is the best of the best collectors/collections are present on these boards,and you know what they say?......

Hang around with greatness,you learn to become the same.

 

Thank you for those kind words.

[Quicksilver Signs]

For some reason there seems to be many people who believe what's said on these boards carries weight in the real world. I don't buy it. What percentage of comic collectors are members here or even casually read the posts?

 

I would think the majority of collectors don't collect slabbed books so would not be going to CGC's site.

 

Thoughts...

I would guess less than 1%. Much less.

 

I'm thinking 10% but that may be too high. Of all the collectors I know, most don't pay attention to what's said in chat rooms and most collect raw books.

 

So why are you here?

 

This place is very informative, sometimes funny and I've bought a few books off the forum only selling area.

[69CamaroZ28]

I can honestly say that the majority of comic collecting friends I know personally read the boards but will not participate. I can also say that my LCS owner knows of the boards, as well as other customers checking it for information.

 

Many choose not to participate but the boards are a wealth of information to in so far as buying and selling trends and information.

 

This

 

I read these boards almost daily. I've sold a few books, and bought lots. The sheer volume of information in here is well worth the price of admission. (and I mean time not $)

I just don't post much

[The-Collector]

I think the proportion of participating collectors is small but many of those who do participate here are dealers or heavy hitters.

 

It does seem to have some sway as regards collecting trends. It is also possible we are confusing cause for effect, as the board selling area often follows trends that have begun elsewhere.

 

Anecdotally about 80% of fellow collectors i mention this site to have never heard of it and show no interest in joining.

 

My , the boards are not entirely divorced from reality and they do hold some sway. Just how much influence it has is a very tedious discussion I do not think can be resolved by debate alone.

 

[fett]

I've noticed over the past couple of years that more and more of the flipper/speculation/overhype crowd read this forum daily. One discussion can lead to all good copies of a discussed book disappearing from ebay pretty fast.

[Magneto]

I can honestly say that the majority of comic collecting friends I know personally read the boards but will not participate. I can also say that my LCS owner knows of the boards, as well as other customers checking it for information.

 

Many choose not to participate but the boards are a wealth of information to in so far as buying and selling trends and information.

 

This

 

I read these boards almost daily. I've sold a few books, and bought lots. The sheer volume of information in here is well worth the price of admission. (and I mean time not $)

I just don't post much

 

This basically sums up how I feel. Although, I wish I could contribute more and even take the time to make a sales thread one of these days, but life is busy with young kids.

 

 

[VintageComics]

I can honestly say that the majority of comic collecting friends I know personally read the boards but will not participate. I can also say that my LCS owner knows of the boards, as well as other customers checking it for information.

 

Many choose not to participate but the boards are a wealth of information to in so far as buying and selling trends and information.

 

This

 

I read these boards almost daily. I've sold a few books, and bought lots. The sheer volume of information in here is well worth the price of admission. (and I mean time not $)

I just don't post much

 

This basically sums up how I feel. Although, I wish I could contribute more and even take the time to make a sales thread one of these days, but life is busy with young kids.

 

 

The other side of not posting is that some people just don't want to get drawn into a flame fight when a topic gets heated (which seems often).

 

I think that originally these boards were microcosm in the hobby. Like a far away little star that most people didn't know existed.

 

I think now they are much larger, 14 years later and influence a lot more than people realize they do. More like the moon than a faraway distant start now with gravitational pull and some light at night.

 

I think personally, new trends start here and reach the rest of the internet.

 

And while average Joe collector living in some small town, without internet yet in his home might not know about them you can bank that many who do use the internet (I still hear people asking for paper catalogs) know about them, or hear about them, or read them.

 

How many is many? No idea but it's WAAAAY more than it used to be.

 

That's my

[N/A]

For some reason there seems to be many people who believe what's said on these boards carries weight in the real world. I don't buy it. What percentage of comic collectors are members here or even casually read the posts?

 

I would think the majority of collectors don't collect slabbed books so would not be going to CGC's site.

 

Thoughts...

 

An ebay auction only takes 2. A BIN only needs one. There are more than two avid comic collectors with money here.

[Jeffro.]

There's a real world?

 

I've heard rumors of it...

 

You need to take the red pill

[gino2paulus2]

The real world carries no weight here

I like this!!

[Jeffro.]

I would think the majority of collectors don't collect slabbed books so would not be going to CGC's site.

 

Even if you predominantly collect raws, there are still plenty of reasons to be here that have little to do with the actual process of slabbing comics.

 

 

 

[Dr. Balls]

For some reason there seems to be many people who believe what's said on these boards carries weight in the real world. I don't buy it. What percentage of comic collectors are members here or even casually read the posts?

 

I would think the majority of collectors don't collect slabbed books so would not be going to CGC's site.

 

Thoughts...

I would guess less than 1%. Much less.

 

+1

[vaillant]

Well, I don’t collect (i.e. keep) slabbed books, but this has been among the first (and few) forums I have found, and although full of jerks I found it nice, so I immediately joined.

 

Kidding apart, if one has no notion on collecting, people here have gathered a lot of sources and information, and it surely gives a good idea of your market, albeit influenced by the slant on CGC professional grading (but we are hosts, right?).

[RockMyAmadeus]

I would think the majority of collectors don't collect slabbed books so would not be going to CGC's site.

 

Even if you predominantly collect raws, there are still plenty of reasons to be here that have little to do with the actual process of slabbing comics.

 

 

 

I'm here for the free coffee.

[Hulksdaddy1]

Too high. Less than 1 % care about slabbed comics. Less than one tenth of 1 % care about this forum.

 

[solarcadet]

The universe revolves around Steve Borock and General Zod (his bast*rd son).