selling comic books less or more lucrative today?

[Aweandlorder]

So you know the deal, every other day we'll have a conversation that will lead into the "comic book crash" speculation in one way or another. So here are some questions that piqued my curiosity:

1. Is comic book selling, privately or professionally, a more lucrative business/hobby today than it was before

2. If so, did you see it coming after the market "crash" in the 90s

3. If no, will it get even better?

4. If it crashes again, will it have an even bigger comeback in the future... Or will it be gone forever

5. I'm just here so I don't get fined...

 

[1Cool]

Compared to what? Compared to the 90's? Then definitely not as profitable. The number of comic shop in the 90s was staggering.

 

Compared to 10 years ago when CGC first came out then I'd say its a wash since a ton of people were making crazy money selling the highest graded copy.

[vaillant]

I wouldn’t know how to reply: the only reason I started selling and buying more massively (so to speak, I have really few books) was to optimize costs and earn some money to support purchases and reach my collecting goals, but since I am not a dealer I am never looking at them strictly from a monetary value perspective.

[Aweandlorder]

Compared to what? Compared to the 90's? Then definitely not as profitable. The number of comic shop in the 90s was staggering.

 

Compared to 10 years ago when CGC first came out then I'd say its a wash since a ton of people were making crazy money selling the highest graded copy.

 

One can also say that no one could make an honest living selling comic books from their bedroom with a laptop in the 90s

[Chip Cataldo]

One can also say that no one could make an honest living selling comic books from their bedroom sunroom with a laptop in the 90s

 

Peace,

 

Chip

[jimbo_707]

Compared to what? Compared to the 90's? Then definitely not as profitable. The number of comic shop in the 90s was staggering.

 

Compared to 10 years ago when CGC first came out then I'd say its a wash since a ton of people were making crazy money selling the highest graded copy.

 

One can also say that no one could make an honest living selling comic books from their bedroom with a laptop in the 90s

Yes, it was very difficult for a collector without a brick-and-mortar store to move comics before the internet came along. I sold most of my Bronze-Age and Copper-Age books wholesale to a dealer for $30 per long box circa 1993. And most of the Copper-Age books would slab out as 9.6's and 9.8's today. That dealer ended up going out of business, so I guess things weren't so good for dealers, either.

[AGGIEZ]

Better question...are those microphones on his purple sash?

[Aweandlorder]

Rasta Major Lazer fights with daggering fierce against jiggling cheeks!

 

 

 

 

 

[Aweandlorder]

One can also say that no one could make an honest living selling comic books from their bedroom sunroom with a laptop smartphone in the 90s

 

Peace,

 

Chip

 

Fixed twice.. Duh

[dupont2005]

Compared to when is the first question. For who is the second.

 

Before the internet the LCS had nearly no competition. When you bought comics, you paid guide. NM guide at that, regardless of the actual condition of the comic.

 

When it came time to sell, you sold at pennies on the dollar or less, to the same guy you bought them from.

 

Those were your options.

 

So today now that anyone can get FMV for anything, the shops are probably not doing as well, private collectors doing much better.

[Aweandlorder]

Compared to when is the first question. For who is the second.

 

Before the internet the LCS had nearly no competition. When you bought comics, you paid guide. NM guide at that, regardless of the actual condition of the comic.

 

When it came time to sell, you sold at pennies on the dollar or less, to the same guy you bought them from.

 

Those were your options.

 

So today now that anyone can get FMV for anything, the shops are probably not doing as well, private collectors doing much better.

 

Add to that the printed/pressed media is globally at its all time low and I think that comic books are doing tremendously well. To compare to other industries, pressing plants and print factories have closed down in the past few years faster than a word gets around about a recalled comic, and comic books are printed in the millions almost monthly, that's kinda big

[the blob]

pre-internet you did not have to pay "guide" (for everything at least). there were always deals to be hunted down, haggling, etc. provided you were in a location with multiple shops and conventions. if you lived in the middle of nowhere with one comic shop and did not want to travel for cons, yes, you were skrewed.

 

 

[dupont2005]

pre-internet you did not have to pay "guide" (for everything at least). there were always deals to be hunted down, haggling, etc. provided you were in a location with multiple shops and conventions. if you lived in the middle of nowhere with one comic shop and did not want to travel for cons, yes, you were skrewed.

 

I lived exactly in the middle of nowhere. There was one shop several towns over that I got to visit once a month. I could have placed an ad in the paper, but that was an expense itself and I was a kid. I guess for an adult it wouldn't have been as big a deal, but by looking at the offerings on Craigslist today, I imagine an ad in the paper in 1992 would have been more nuisance than anything else. There was also mail order, but I had tried it a handful of times and had been screwed every single time, except (ironic enough) by Chuck from Milehigh. The only guy to actually ship what he sold

[jmh722]

I see a lot of local shops here in Portland have become more like community hubs than straight-on collectors' stores. Depending on the one that you go into, there is an obvious niche, whereas in the 90's things just seemed to be geared towards maximizing on profits from the latest *hot* book no matter where you went.

I think that as long as a given store can serve a niche, there is actually really good money to be made, because frankly, thanks to the 90's bubble bursting, comics are better than ever; and I mean in terms of writing, art, genre, paper quality––everything. Comics moved away from genre fan-boy books, writers and artists bloomed as creators. It's all been awesome. Even the new 1 mil. selling Star Wars book is better by an exponent than anything that came out in the 90's in mainstream comics.

At the same time, I am really grateful for the internet and folks like CGC, because it means that I too can maximize the money I make off a book rather than getting at best 30% from a dealer.

Anyway, I think I may have mangled my answer, but those are my thoughts for you.

[Aweandlorder]

While I agree on the quality topic, I think that the 80s is really where it was as far as quality. In my opinion at least. Miller and Moore alone were a powerhouse in the industry. They re-wrote the rules and impacted the market with their storytelling. It was also the European invasion, mainly the Brits and the French that inspired the next generation of writers and artists we see today. And if you know me by now, you already know my stance on Art Adams and how I still truly believe that if we hadnt had him, mainstream comic books wouldnt look as dynamic and animated as they look today.. I know, its arguable, but thats my opinion.

 

[01TheDude]

While I agree on the quality topic, I think that the 80s is really where it was as far as quality. In my opinion at least. Miller and Moore alone were a powerhouse in the industry. They re-wrote the rules and impacted the market with their storytelling. It was also the European invasion, mainly the Brits and the French that inspired the next generation of writers and artists we see today. And if you know me by now, you already know my stance on Art Adams and how I still truly believe that if we hadnt had him, mainstream comic books wouldnt look as dynamic and animated as they look today.. I know, its arguable, but thats my opinion.

 

is it more about when the collector was in their prime discovery phase that matters? My point being that a large part of comic collecting happens in the teen years and then drops off or ends with possible revisiting later in life. I know my favorite books now are pretty much the same as they were when I was a kid. So I am all about silver and bronze books, know practically nothing about the 80s, zip about anything non-mainstream since then.

 

I say this and am hoping I have guessed correctly that you started collecting in the 1980s or were most active during that time.

 

that said-- some people take tangents when they get bored or have nothing more to collect from the favorite era and drift off to golden age or some other area.

 

For the longest time- I thought all I was doing was buying everything I could get my hands on. But it seems I had a special place for certain artists (Kirby, Steranko in particular), perhaps subconsciously or from a look and feel perspective.

[Aweandlorder]

While I agree on the quality topic, I think that the 80s is really where it was as far as quality. In my opinion at least. Miller and Moore alone were a powerhouse in the industry. They re-wrote the rules and impacted the market with their storytelling. It was also the European invasion, mainly the Brits and the French that inspired the next generation of writers and artists we see today. And if you know me by now, you already know my stance on Art Adams and how I still truly believe that if we hadnt had him, mainstream comic books wouldnt look as dynamic and animated as they look today.. I know, its arguable, but thats my opinion.

 

is it more about when the collector was in their prime discovery phase that matters? My point being that a large part of comic collecting happens in the teen years and then drops off or ends with possible revisiting later in life. I know my favorite books now are pretty much the same as they were when I was a kid. So I am all about silver and bronze books, know practically nothing about the 80s, zip about anything non-mainstream since then.

 

I say this and am hoping I have guessed correctly that you started collecting in the 1980s or were most active during that time.

 

that said-- some people take tangents when they get bored or have nothing more to collect from the favorite era and drift off to golden age or some other area.

 

For the longest time- I thought all I was doing was buying everything I could get my hands on. But it seems I had a special place for certain artists (Kirby, Steranko in particular), perhaps subconsciously or from a look and feel perspective.

 

I had 3 phases of comic book collecting.. 70s, 80s and in the past few years..

I ditched everything in the 90s around when X-Men 1 came around.. It was more luck than anything, otherwise i prolly wouldve been sucked right into that whole mess back then..

For years i remember having friends call me and invite me to come with them to comicons and I would just look at wizard magazines and see all that exuberant amount of schmaltz and say... err, Ill pass, maybe next year..

But, relating to your question, I can say that I hold the 70s dearer more than any other years as far as collect-ability is concerned, simply because I had a wonderful childhood and the books I read back then were very close to me.. batman and detective, superboy and dial h for hero in early 80s actually, Hulk Spider Mans.. Then I got back into it again in the mid 80s, and started drawing, so it wasnt really for collecting but mainly getting into the art end of things, so Art Adams blew my mind away, also alot of the frazettaesque artists, Stevens, Schultz, The Hampton brothers.. Also Mark Beachum, Hsu, Corben..

But when Dark Knight came around, and DC introduced their Mature line of comics; Swamp Thing, Sandman, Green Arrow.. Then titles Like Justice League International.. Mannnn alive, that was like.. Mind blowing.. So different.. Remember when they were dubbing the line "DC Comics arent just for kids"

But that wasnt enough, the B&W market was very mature and inspiring and different, Fantagraphics, Kitchen sink, some Vortex like Mr X and Yummy Fur, Puma Blues.. I mean there were just so many different comics introduced to the market, different storytelling techniques, both on the mainstream and the underground levels..

I love whats happening with comics today, but I dont think that someone in their late teens can see a difference in comic books now then, say, 10-20 years ago.. That's why I said the 80s were when the big change happened... At least in my eyes

Damn did I really write all this???

[dupont2005]

I know my favorite books now are pretty much the same as they were when I was a kid.

Mine aren't. But many of them come from the same period.

 

When I was a kid I did like Elfquest and Usagi Yojimbo and Groo, but I also liked a lot of garbage. I still like Usagi Yojimbo, Groo, and Elfquest from the period (The following stuff not so much), but I no longer like the McFarlane Spiderman I did, or the Lee X-Men. I don't think the Robin solo series is cool. I don't think Gambit and Jubilee are cool at all. I actually laugh at how bad some of the stuff I liked was. All the Silverwolf comics. Shadowhawk. And I've expanded far beyond that and now some of my favorites are Copper Age comics I never read as a kid. Love And Rockets, Eightball, Omaha. And then some I did read here and there, but didn't appreciate as much then as I do now. Savage Sword Of Conan, random Archies and Disneys, Cerebus.

 

So while I do tend to like the period of my childhood, I'm reading titles outside of my childhood interests. I don't think there's any doubt the Copper Age was full of good stuff, no matter what decade you were a kid. Which of course can be said about any period of comics just about.

[the blob]

clearly a lot easier to make money as a retailer pre 1994 or so than today.

 

a lot easier to make money as a collector today.

 

frankly, i don't know how the collecting (and spending a lot of money) aspect of the hobby lasted as long as it did with this "___is worth $___ in guide" stuff, people buying comics and then taking that $20-in-guide book to a comic shop and being offered 25 cents or whatever. true, if you had a decent enough collection you could sell at local shows on the weekends, but you had to get to that point first. i remember people trying to sell their books at my childhood comic shop in the 80s and pretty much anything they brought in, SA Spideys, whatever, he'd offer them 5 cents each for (or nothing at all).

 

one guy got so pizzed off he set up shop outside the front door and was just giving comics away

[ComicConnoisseur]

clearly a lot easier to make money as a retailer pre 1994 or so than today.

 

a lot easier to make money as a collector today.

 

frankly, i don't know how the collecting (and spending a lot of money) aspect of the hobby lasted as long as it did with this "___is worth $___ in guide" stuff, people buying comics and then taking that $20-in-guide book to a comic shop and being offered 25 cents or whatever. true, if you had a decent enough collection you could sell at local shows on the weekends, but you had to get to that point first. i remember people trying to sell their books at my childhood comic shop in the 80s and pretty much anything they brought in, SA Spideys, whatever, he'd offer them 5 cents each for (or nothing at all).

 

one guy got so pizzed off he set up shop outside the front door and was just giving comics away

That model was terrible, as even coin and sports card dealers would pay you 50 percent of guide during the 80s and early 90s for coins and cards. Comic book collectors got hosed for the most part back in the 80s and 90s by comic book shops of that era.