Lord_Knikon Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Hey guys just wondering what you usually set aside in your monthly budget for comics? How much do you spend on back issues vs new comics? Do you buy them through ebay? Do you get subscriptions or buy from a shop? I am trying to get back into collecting but i feel so lost about storage solutions and what i really want to collect I am just feeling a little overwhelmed but in a good way. I would be thankful for any advice. ComicConnoisseur 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revat Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 If you’re not about storage, the just get marvel unlimited (or the dc equivalents) and read online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post billbrown7080 Posted December 18, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted December 18, 2018 (edited) I stopped buying in 2012.... but from 2007 until 2012...I was FULLY addicted to comics... Every week I was the first person at the comic store when it opened, I kept records of what I bought and how much. I averaged around 70 New Issues A month...and spent about 300 dollars a month buying The current comics. I look back now, It was a truly special time in my life, I just LOST my father 3 weeks ago, He was a life long comic reader and collector he tried from the time I was a kid until I was 19 to get me interested in Comics. in 2006, My grandfather Moved across the street from My dad and I after his wife died, He had A 175 Box collection of comics, with him now being so close, My dad and I went over to his house all the time and My dad would walk me through his collection, I got FULLY Addicted. from 2007 to 2012, I read probably over a hundred thousand comics, some of the best times I've ever had was talking with my dad about A comic after I read it, especially the classics, which he read years ago, and Now we finally could talk about them(I'll never forget talking about Tales To Astonish #59 with him, Hulk Vs Hercules.....or JIM #112, Hulk Vs Thor....and My favorite Tales Of Suspense #79, Sub-Mariner Vs Iron Man) . in 2013, My grandfather passed and We inherited his entire collection, My dad was in poor health at this time, from 2013 to 2016, I went through the collection,Buying new bags and backers for every comic and new boxes, then Grading every comic and making lists(every step of the way my dad watched and I could tell it brought him so much joy)...My 3 year quest to go through the collection is and Will always probably be one of the greatest experiences of my life. in 2016 My fathers health got critical....He then passed away 3 weeks ago... I've been trying to think of things that make me happy to help get me through this awful time.... I was considering buying comics again every week, but I just found out there are sites online where you can read The current comics 1 day after they come out... I'm currently 6 years behind on story lines, I left off directly when The Avengers Vs X-Men event ended... I'm planning on trying to get caught up on the last 6 years of stories using one of these sites.... Then I might start buying comics again weekly...or maybe I'll just use one of these sites... as for back issues ...I'm the RARE collector who has really never bought any comics... I inherited A massive Collection and I have traded A few Doubles and Triples for some missing KEYS I needed...but thats about it. In the future I would like to start trying to buy a few of The Major Keys that I'm Missing, I think I'm gonna shoot for 1 Monster Key A year and maybe 2 or 3 Medium size Keys... I've got about 35 Keys that I'm missing and would LOVE to Have... Long post, sorry Edited December 19, 2018 by billbrown7080 kk ExNihilo, Erndog, jfree580 and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury Man Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, billbrown7080 said: I just sold my father 3 weeks ago Human Trafficking is illegal. (In all seriousness, sorry for your loss. Cherish those memories). Edited December 18, 2018 by Mercury Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvelmaniac Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 For the last two - three years my budget has been $0.00. I am retired and on a very tight budget right now and the books I need to complete my runs (Early JIM and ST issues 1 - 30) have gotten out of hand even for low grade readers. I have not purchased a "New" comic since the 90's, Marvel vs DC and the Onslaught Storyline, when everybody "died" and then they started over with Hero's Reborn I was done with new issues. I did however spend at least a hundred a month on eBay/MyComicShop.com and at local cons for back issues to complete my runs from about 2005 - 2010. jfree580 and vaillant 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 (edited) "Hey guys just wondering what you usually set aside in your monthly budget for comics?" About $2k give/take $500. "How much do you spend on back issues vs new comics?" Back issues easily outweigh new comics. Outside of DC titles, Marvel's reboots kinda suck other than ASM and X-Men. Getting into current stories (or art) is pretty difficult. Edit: Captain America is not bad right now. "Do you buy them through ebay? Do you get subscriptions or buy from a shop?" I buy a lot off of eBay. Mainly full runs or TPBs. I have a couple of shops for single issues. All CGC books I get from here or eBay. Edited December 18, 2018 by TwoPiece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilskip Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 This month I blew right past the "for the love of God stop!"sign with slabbed books. Part of them were my Xmas presents. I stopped buying monthly comics early this year. Wasn't spending more than $50 on those at the time. Pick up tpbs and get everything else from MCS with trade credit, ebay and whenever an online retailer has a major sale of stuff I want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Haven't bought a new comic since the cover price went from 50 cents to 60 cents-think that was around '81-'82. So 100% of the monthly budget is on back issues typically purchased from ComicLink, ComicConnect, the Sales fourms here or one of the many reputable dealer sites affiliated with this board. feeBay is the least preferred option. I also frequent several local conventions every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber-Bob Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 I've honestly never set a budget for anything in my life. If I want something, and I can afford it without credit or a loan, I buy it. With comics, I let the books come to me, passing if I can't currently afford it. I stopped buying new Moderns so I have more money if I see a vintage book offered. It's much more satisfying to buy one cool vintage book than hundreds of Modern drek. Karl Liebl, october and oakman29 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NP_Gresham Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Great question ,and good idea. Unfortunately I do not budget for comics. Which prevents the regrets I might have for going over budget, but does nothing for restraint Budgeting is never a bad idea. I should try that once ..... nahhh ComicConnoisseur 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billbrown7080 Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 On 12/18/2018 at 6:54 AM, Mercury Man said: Human Trafficking is illegal. (In all seriousness, sorry for your loss. Cherish those memories). Thanks...I edited it... and I will...My world has just completely changed since he passed, I lived with him My entire life, He was fully disabled in 2006, but really became critical in 2016. but we had some truly special times ....and My experiences with comics ranks right up at the top....I am so incredibly thankful that I got into comics while he was here and we could share these experiences together...because If he would have been gone, and then I got into comics, It just wouldnt have been the same... He tried so many times to get me interested when I was kid and I just never did...But man when it finally HIT ME...Him and I again had some special times talking comcs... Mercury Man and jfree580 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Teacher Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 The last new comic I purchased was Amazing Spider-Man #700. Back when I was buying new comics and TPBs, I was buying my new issues from a discount service (G-Mart Comics in Illinois). When i was collecting hot and heavy, I allocated approximately $75 per month. Since I have no interest in new comics, that $75/month is put to better use. Joe Ankenbauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExNihilo Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/17/2018 at 5:24 PM, Lord_Knikon said: Hey guys just wondering what you usually set aside in your monthly budget for comics? How much do you spend on back issues vs new comics? Do you buy them through ebay? Do you get subscriptions or buy from a shop? I am trying to get back into collecting but i feel so lost about storage solutions and what i really want to collect I am just feeling a little overwhelmed but in a good way. I would be thankful for any advice. I probably spend $80 a month at my LCS, but I keep thinking about whittling that amount down to $40-$50. Nearly $1k a year towards comics that are largely worthless outside of the short term enjoyment from some of the stories. And even then, it's a crapshoot. I probably can't recall half of the stories i've read the last few years simply because they weren't memorable. I do like to pilfer through the $0.25, $0.50, $1 bins at my LCS and will occasionally pick up 10-20 comics if I see a run has been dropped in there. But the times i've seen runs is more like every few months and not every month. The rest of the money I spend is simply because I feel like I "want" something badly at that given moment. Like, JSC books look all pretty now, but in 20 years if the content on the inside isn't anything special, then I probably could have just looked up an image online for free instead of spending $30 on a book just for cover art. I guess TL;DR, I don't set money aside, but probably need to be more focused on what I'm spending my money on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not A Clone Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 I'd say I spend around $150 a month on new comics. My weekly is about $40-50. I used to spend a lot more, but I cut DC out completey. I just wasn't enjoying them. Currently I read any Spider title, Hulk, Venom, Daredevil, Thor, Avengers & FF. If Cates is writing something I'll read it too. He's quickly becoming one of the best ever. Out of these, I'll only keep the Spidey & Venom stuff. I'll sell off the rest on eBay. There's usually a hot book or two in each run that makes my $ back or even come out ahead. I also hated having so many boxes, so now I have my max amount figured out. If I need a new box for Spidey stuff I know it's time to unload something else lol. Back issues really varies. I've cut back on these until I really want something and it has to be in the grade I want. I've also been spending more on getting stuff slabbed. For whatever reason, I usually find that I have more to spend on back issues during the summer (or maybe it's just that I have more time during the summer). ADAMANTIUM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not A Clone Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/18/2018 at 9:53 AM, TwoPiece said: "Hey guys just wondering what you usually set aside in your monthly budget for comics?" About $2k give/take $500. "How much do you spend on back issues vs new comics?" Back issues easily outweigh new comics. Outside of DC titles, Marvel's reboots kinda suck other than ASM and X-Men. Getting into current stories (or art) is pretty difficult. Edit: Captain America is not bad right now. "Do you buy them through ebay? Do you get subscriptions or buy from a shop?" I buy a lot off of eBay. Mainly full runs or TPBs. I have a couple of shops for single issues. All CGC books I get from here or eBay. After Secret Wars, Marvel really did drop the ball on a lot of stuff, but since Cebulski took over they have really started to turn it around. They have some really great stuff out right now. Spencer's ASM has been really good, Soule's Daredevil run was really good, Al Ewing's current Hulk run is great if you enjoy a monster vibe. Cate's Venom run is absolutely outstanding along with everything else he has written. I just finished his Thanos arc (#13-18) and it was great. If you have Unlimited I'd check it out. Avengers has really picked up the pace recently also and I'm starting to like it a lot now. I'll check out the new Cap series. I didn't read that writers Black Panther so I wasn't sure about him. One common theme with the really good titles is they are "fun" again. ADAMANTIUM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not A Clone Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/18/2018 at 5:14 AM, billbrown7080 said: I'm currently 6 years behind on story lines, I left off directly when The Avengers Vs X-Men event ended... I'm planning on trying to get caught up on the last 6 years of stories using one of these sites.... Then I might start buying comics again weekly...or maybe I'll just use one of these sites... I'd definitely get Marvel Unlimited to catch up. It's great! It's updated weekly with a big batch of old stuff plus everything that came out the week from 6 months earlier. So everything up through June 2018 is on there right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 9 hours ago, Not A Clone said: After Secret Wars, Marvel really did drop the ball on a lot of stuff, but since Cebulski took over they have really started to turn it around. They have some really great stuff out right now. Spencer's ASM has been really good, Soule's Daredevil run was really good, Al Ewing's current Hulk run is great if you enjoy a monster vibe. Cate's Venom run is absolutely outstanding along with everything else he has written. I just finished his Thanos arc (#13-18) and it was great. If you have Unlimited I'd check it out. Avengers has really picked up the pace recently also and I'm starting to like it a lot now. I'll check out the new Cap series. I didn't read that writers Black Panther so I wasn't sure about him. One common theme with the really good titles is they are "fun" again. I haven't taken a stab at Daredevil. I'll take a look next Wednesday. I also haven't had a chance to grab (Immortal?) Hulk #1. Venom just doesn't interest me. Iron Man and Thor both being duds really bothers me. The Iron Man writing is so bad and the Thor artwork doesn't look good at all IMO. Those turned me off to giving ASM a chance for a whole month. ASM and X-Men have given me more hope to continue looking at Marvel titles, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeypost Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 tree-fitty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 5 minutes ago, joeypost said: tree-fitty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilowatt Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 I had a LCS that was nearby and I loyally bought books, mostly new issues, from there for close to 20 years. Unfortunately, the owner had a stroke and with the loss of his memory could not run the store any longer. Having a shop so close, I would go there and buy way more then I intended to. The convenience of having a shop within walking distance was like an oasis in the desert. After he closed I started to watch my savings and was amazed at how much I actually spent there. I`ve learned my lesson a few years back, and now since I don`t have that luxury anymore, I`ve found other ways to get my fix. Online reading is one, and shows are probably my top way to get great deals. Dollar bins and big sales at these shows will save you some cash. An occasional online order is there if I really want something or I`ll drive to a shop just to see what they have. I bought many of the keys over the years and on occasion I`ll grab an upgrade or something nice for the collection. I`ve learned that not buying the new titles will let you save for the really nice older stuff. The big thing that will hook you is speculation. Don`t get sucked in buying multiple titles and think you`ll get rich flipping them at a high profit. You have to know what you`re doing or you`ll get burned big time. Take it from a guy that spent nearly 43 years collecting comics, read what you enjoy, watch what you spend, start with the key books within your budget, try to get others interested in the hobby, ask questions and most importantly have fun. bc, evilskip and mnaz1988 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
