Pros and Cons of collecting comics in the age of the internet... 2 2

[Xenosmilus]

I’ve mentioned in a few posts, I’m new to collecting again after about 30 year break. It’s been fun (and still is) but it’s almost too easy nowadays! eBay and all the other auctions sites along with some very great online comic dealers are amazing for the hobby. That being said I do sort miss the “hunt” of the issues you’re looking for in the analog definition (traveling to far off shops or saving your money and waiting an entire year for the next convention). So I think that is the “CON” of my point. The “Pro” of this new era (to me anyways since I’m noob again) is that you don’t have to lose a arm and a leg  of money ( 🤞)  if you decide to sell like you did in the old days. My point, I was just curious of others thoughts on the topic..

Edited July 20, 2019 by Xenosmilus

[dupont2005]

If it wasn’t so easy I might not have gotten back into it. I have never had any real luck collecting out of bins at the LCS. I’d have never finished a run. I still find ways to enjoy the hunt by collecting small press. Some stuff is absolutely impossible to find. But luckily most things are just a click away

[Artboy99]

I collected comics from 1971 to 1990. In those days I was a Marvel collector, and tended to collect complete runs. Seeing all the variant covers to the new McFarlane Spider-man #1 turned me off and I quit collecting in 1990. Turned my attention to restoring my 1968 Chevelle ( and girls). Should have never sold the car(s), oh well.

Then in 2004 I returned to comics and started to collect what I used to own, like you I found it was to "easy".

I learned something about myself then: I like the hunt more than owning the book.

A suggestion I will make is to try collecting something different that is also harder to get. For me I turned to golden aged books and more recently high grade magazines. Go through the Gerber photo journal and find a comic title run you enjoy looking at and then try to acquire them. 

 

[miraclemet]

pro: you can find that book you want easier

con: so can everyone else

 

[Ride the Tiger]

Pros

 

[Ride the Tiger]

Cons

 

[Gaard]

For me, it's not so much easier as it is faster. I could always find what I wanted (CBG, Hal Verb, etc) ... it just took a little longer to find/get it.

[Xenosmilus]

2 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

I learned something about myself then: I like the hunt more than owning the book.

A suggestion I will make is to try collecting something different that is also harder to get. For me I turned to golden aged books and more recently high grade magazines. Go through the Gerber photo journal and find a comic title run you enjoy looking at and then try to acquire them. 

Yep, it's the same for me, I like the hunt.

I'm collecting "Where Monsters Dwell" just for that reason.  They are not too expensive and are hard to find in high grades.

Edited July 21, 2019 by Xenosmilus

[Xenosmilus]

Howard the Duck (Bronze Age) is another good run to collect (for a hunt).  They are sort of easy to find but they are cheap!  I'm paying around $50-60 average to get 9.8 WP's!

Edited July 21, 2019 by Xenosmilus

[Artboy99]

7 minutes ago, Xenosmilus said:

Yep, it's the same for me, I like the hunt.

I'm collecting "Where Monsters Dwell" just for that reason.  They are not too expensive and are hard to find in high grades.

I collected Planet Comics, and I am always trying to upgrade them. I am also collecting magazines in high grade: mostly horror.

[DavidTheDavid]

For collectors who lack discipline, self-control, or collecting focus, the Internet is a terrible, terrible thing. Just ask my wife. 

[oakman29]

47 minutes ago, Artboy99 said:

I collected Planet Comics, and I am always trying to upgrade them. I am also collecting magazines in high grade: mostly horror.

That's where I was. I had just about every key that I ever wanted, and I was kinda stagnating  on interest . Until I discovered the Warren horror mags,  and was blown away with the art ,  and stories. It really scratched that itch , and made me feel excited about collecting all over again.

[DavidTheDavid]

I resumed collecting at a dangerous time, near the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As prices ballooned on certain books, I turned to grey tones, war books, Raboys, and just tried to find my niche. 

As my joke above suggests, I went a bit hog wild when I first got back into the hobby. There was just so much awesome and excitement around so much Silver Age stuff. Golden Age felt intimidating, and still does in some regards, but there are some real treasures there. And those aren't so easily found.

[Xenosmilus]

15 minutes ago, DavidTheDavid said:

I resumed collecting at a dangerous time, near the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At least you didn't start again in 2018 like I did!

[bc]

1 hour ago, Gaard said:

For me, it's not so much easier as it is faster. I could always find what I wanted (CBG, Hal Verb, etc) ... it just took a little longer to find/get it.

Well put 

Now it's like a 24 x 7 convention with an infinite number of dealers basically only constrained by your comic budget. 

[oakman29]

22 minutes ago, bc said:

Well put 

Now it's like a 24 x 7 convention with an infinite number of dealers basically only constrained by your comic budget. 

Another reason why I dont go to SDCC anymore.  At the touch of a button I can get what I want without all the hassle that surrounds the convention. 

[Xenosmilus]

4 minutes ago, oakman29 said:

Another reason why I dont go to SDCC anymore.

I am curious about going but the lodging cost must be insane!!! I've been at the SD Convention Center for a work conference and the prices were high (if I recall around $400-500 a night but I didn't have to pay) so I'm assuming SDCC is worse.

[oakman29]

27 minutes ago, Xenosmilus said:

I am curious about going but the lodging cost must be insane!!! I've been at the SD Convention Center for a work conference and the prices were high (if I recall around $400-500 a night but I didn't have to pay) so I'm assuming SDCC is worse.

A few years ago I paid 600.00 dollars a night for the Hilton across the street. Ended up not even sleeping there because I had to wait on a dock all night to get the next years tickets. I vowed to never go again. 

[Mercury Man]

PROS:  You can live literally in the middle of nowhere, but with an internet connection, can find just about any comic you want. 

CONS:  Everybody thinks they have a $1 million dollar comic collection, because they 'saw' some comics similar for sale on the ebay. 

[WolverineX]

Insane you can find an authentic cerebus 1 with a click of a button... back then who knew if it was real or the counterfeit