Do you people have an emergency fund for things?

[That Ron Dude]

I didn't start collecting until I paid off my mortgage. My entire pay check went to my wife who managed it far more efficiently than I could. I did make some extra money creating art, usually logos and lettering. I would give at least half of that to my wife too. The rest would go to attending conventions and every once in a while, buying a comic book.

 

When the mortgage was paid and the kids were almost grown, I saw few emergencies on the horizon. I was more ready to spend on comics. But the big ticket ones almost always came from selling my art, selling other people's art which I owned, lettering, painting, and selling comics that I didn't want. Focus groups too. Focus group money went where ever I wanted it to.

 

Sending children to university, buying cars and putting a pool in the back yard all seemed more important than buying comics. One year my wife suggested I buy an FF#3 from family funds because of the hard work I had been doing. Beyond that I kept spending on comics to $20 per month.

 

I am not against buying comics and seeing them as an investment, hoping that the return will be better when they are sold. Or, if you have a lot of money or simply different priorities than I, it's just fine to buy 'em, keep 'em, and be happy to know that they are there. Many people I have met are very good at these things. I don't think I would happy living that way.

 

 

[comix4fun]

The "Peace" think ain't goin' away, folks.

 

I've been on the internet since around 1984 and have used it since then.

 

There's a lot of things I used to do in 1984 that I don't do anymore. Times change.

 

 

I, for one, had to ride my sweet BMX bike everywhere in 1984.

[Jeffro.]

I am not against buying comics and seeing them as an investment, hoping that the return will be better when they are sold. Or, if you have a lot of money or simply different priorities than I, it's just fine to buy 'em, keep 'em, and be happy to know that they are there. Many people I have met are very good at these things. I don't think I would happy living that way.

 

 

The reason why I speculate on or invest in certain comics is because comics are what I know. Is it going to make me rich beyond my wildest dreams? No, of course not. However, it's fun and again, it's what I know.

 

 

[Jeffro.]

The "Peace" think ain't goin' away, folks.

 

I've been on the internet since around 1984 and have used it since then.

 

There's a lot of things I used to do in 1984 that I don't do anymore. Times change.

 

 

I, for one, had to ride my sweet BMX bike everywhere in 1984.

 

Light blue Huffy 10 speed.

[chrisco37]

The "Peace" think ain't goin' away, folks.

 

I've been on the internet since around 1984 and have used it since then.

 

There's a lot of things I used to do in 1984 that I don't do anymore. Times change.

 

 

I, for one, had to ride my sweet BMX bike everywhere in 1984.

 

Same here! Did yours have mag wheels too?

[Jeffro.]

The "Peace" think ain't goin' away, folks.

 

I've been on the internet since around 1984 and have used it since then.

 

There's a lot of things I used to do in 1984 that I don't do anymore. Times change.

 

 

I, for one, had to ride my sweet BMX bike everywhere in 1984.

 

Same here! Did yours have mag wheels too?

 

Let's go back to the 70s. This was my sweet ride

[comix4fun]

The "Peace" think ain't goin' away, folks.

 

I've been on the internet since around 1984 and have used it since then.

 

There's a lot of things I used to do in 1984 that I don't do anymore. Times change.

 

 

I, for one, had to ride my sweet BMX bike everywhere in 1984.

 

Same here! Did yours have mag wheels too?

 

 

Schwinn Predator in Blue...with Blue Mag Wheels

 

[comix4fun]

The "Peace" think ain't goin' away, folks.

 

I've been on the internet since around 1984 and have used it since then.

 

There's a lot of things I used to do in 1984 that I don't do anymore. Times change.

 

 

I, for one, had to ride my sweet BMX bike everywhere in 1984.

 

Same here! Did yours have mag wheels too?

 

Let's go back to the 70s. This was my sweet ride

 

 

My parents must have loved me more...I had one of these...

 

[Ditch Fahrenheit]

The "Peace" think ain't goin' away, folks.

 

I've been on the internet since around 1984 and have used it since then.

 

There's a lot of things I used to do in 1984 that I don't do anymore. Times change.

 

 

I, for one, had to ride my sweet BMX bike everywhere in 1984.

 

Same here! Did yours have mag wheels too?

 

 

Schwinn Predator in Blue...with Blue Mag Wheels

 

 

 

Way to keep the weight down Schwinn. (thumbs u

[Jeffro.]

The "Peace" think ain't goin' away, folks.

 

I've been on the internet since around 1984 and have used it since then.

 

There's a lot of things I used to do in 1984 that I don't do anymore. Times change.

 

 

I, for one, had to ride my sweet BMX bike everywhere in 1984.

 

Same here! Did yours have mag wheels too?

 

Let's go back to the 70s. This was my sweet ride

 

 

My parents must have loved me more...I had one of these...

 

 

The Green Machine!

[Hulksdaddy1]

The "Peace" think ain't goin' away, folks.

 

I've been on the internet since around 1984 and have used it since then.

 

There's a lot of things I used to do in 1984 that I don't do anymore. Times change.

 

 

I, for one, had to ride my sweet BMX bike everywhere in 1984.

 

That was the year I retired my Mongoose. Drivers license baby!

[Westy Steve]

Hey, can we hear from the people who run a thin emergency fund but have no regrets? Some of you bought an AF15 when you probably should have put that money into savings, right?

 

Thing is, I get what the OP is saying...but right now, a savings account is giving you...maybe...1/4 percent? Seems like the trick is to tie up as little money as you can in savings and put the rest into liquid assets that perform well with inflation. That's just my opinion.

[chrisco37]

My bike looked a lot like this one. It wasn't a Schwinn though. Maybe a Huffy?

 

 

 

[Santos208]

Nothing out of pocket to buy big books. Flip smaller books, save it up, in a months wait i can make over $500 profits if I sell a lot, then I go and buy a big boy book and add it to the PC.

 

Of course, you have to understand the flip game and know when to sell, you also have to buy smart, and buy hot issues that are always in demand.

 

This is how I play the game, this way I never have buyers remorse. If I want a big time book, I flip my smaller books and wait till I have flipping profit cash before I make a purchase.

 

Instead of stashing all my comic profit money into a savings account and see no growth over time I just buy "big" issues or popular issues that I know will be hot down the road and cash out when the time is right. Rinse and repeat.

[Gem_Mint]

At this point, my paycheck doesnt go into comics.

 

Its the same paypal money thats being used to purchase big books...

 

unwanted books are then sold to replenish the paypal account.

 

Eventually all the big books would be sold, those funds will be used to purchase a mega key.

[Artboy99]

Hey, can we hear from the people who run a thin emergency fund but have no regrets? Some of you bought an AF15 when you probably should have put that money into savings, right?

 

Thing is, I get what the OP is saying...but right now, a savings account is giving you...maybe...1/4 percent? Seems like the trick is to tie up as little money as you can in savings and put the rest into liquid assets that perform well with inflation. That's just my opinion.

 

I bought a CGC 3.0 AF 15 in Feb 2013 that I sold in Apr 2013 for 1200.00 more. I also bought a Hulk #1 in feb 2013 that I sold in Apr 2014 for +2300.00.

I have no regrets. Performed better than any investment I could have bought at the time in my opinion.

 

Thing is, I am a single guy with no other responsibilities than myself. Allows me to do some "wacky" things. If I had a family and children I would be very different. Likely I wouldn't be into comics at all and saving for an education fund.

[dupont2005]

Hey, can we hear from the people who run a thin emergency fund but have no regrets? Some of you bought an AF15 when you probably should have put that money into savings, right?

 

Thing is, I get what the OP is saying...but right now, a savings account is giving you...maybe...1/4 percent? Seems like the trick is to tie up as little money as you can in savings and put the rest into liquid assets that perform well with inflation. That's just my opinion.

"as little as you can" doesn't mean "one hundred percent of my net worth, to the point I can't see a doctor or repair my car without a fire sale."

 

And there are things more liquid as well as being a safer investment than comics.

 

"Whoops, I dropped my Roth IRA while scanning it, now it has a spine ding and isn't worth anything!"

 

People can rationalize why they have zero in the checking and thirty grand in comics all they want, but when they're begging people to buy from them so their kid can have braces they don't look like the savvy investor.

[hockey&comicsguy]

Maybe some use their comics for emergency funds. If you think about it, comics are an investment for some. People often divest some of their investments to pay for things. The problem is that comics are often not very liquid.

 

I think the situation is rather straight forward. I've seen modern reports that say up to 75% of Americans don't have enough money to cover 6 months worth of bills. My guess that of this 75%, a large number don't have enough to cover even 1 or 2 months worth of bills, let alone an unforeseen issue such as a car breakdown or injury.

 

I would think comic book collectors would likely fall into numbers that align with the general populace.

 

 

[Westy Steve]

Hey, can we hear from the people who run a thin emergency fund but have no regrets? Some of you bought an AF15 when you probably should have put that money into savings, right?

 

Thing is, I get what the OP is saying...but right now, a savings account is giving you...maybe...1/4 percent? Seems like the trick is to tie up as little money as you can in savings and put the rest into liquid assets that perform well with inflation. That's just my opinion.

"as little as you can" doesn't mean "one hundred percent of my net worth, to the point I can't see a doctor or repair my car without a fire sale."

 

And there are things more liquid as well as being a safer investment than comics.

 

"Whoops, I dropped my Roth IRA while scanning it, now it has a spine ding and isn't worth anything!"

 

People can rationalize why they have zero in the checking and thirty grand in comics all they want, but when they're begging people to buy from them so their kid can have braces they don't look like the savvy investor.

 

I agree that as little as you can doesn't equal all funds. But as far as your other points, If you have a Roth IRA, which I presume is invested in stocks, then you are relying on the management of those companies or stock funds to do a good job. You are still taking on risk. Is that risk bigger than the risk you'll drop your book? Can you definitively say which risk is bigger either way? If so, you should short one and buy the other and make yourself rich.

 

I also disagree with your braces example. How long does it take to sell an investment grade book? How immediate of a purchase are braces? Seems like you'd have a few months to raise the funds. Pay the light bill....bad. Buy braces...maybe not so bad.

 

FWIW, my kids all have savings accounts built up from cash received over the years on their birthdays, holidays, ect. After watching those accounts languish for a long time at 1/4%, I finally used it to buy gold when it was on the way up and doubled their money. That was a (somewhat) lucky fluke, but I then put the funds into comics and it's about doubled again. But liquidity is not a consideration.

 

I can say I have comicbooks that are extremely liquid. You probably do too. One could focus on buying books that were extemely liquid and probably enjoy collecting...like for example trying to collect only key 1st appearances...fun and liquid.

[dupont2005]

I've had a collectible auction going since yesterday. It may or may not sell at the price I've listed it at, but it will eventually sell, within ten percent or so of what I've listed it at.

 

But if my bank account was about to be overdrawn and I had automatic payments rolling in, that wouldn't be good enough. I'd need to sell it today to keep above water, which would mean most likely selling for far less than 90% my asking price.

 

At that point it's not really an investment any more than a VCR you can take to the pawn shop is.