Did u change from Collector to Flipper? 5 5

[2Sunny]

So, I started 2 weeks ago wanting to add to my collection, but now I’m finding excitement in the idea of buying cheap and selling dear.  Has anyone else fallen prey to the siren song of profit in lieu of simply collecting?  Can you be both?

[MetalPSI]

On 11/1/2021 at 5:48 PM, Joe Peck said:

So, I started 2 weeks ago wanting to add to my collection, but now I’m finding excitement in the idea of buying cheap and selling dear.  Has anyone else fallen prey to the siren song of profit in lieu of simply collecting?  Can you be both?

I've been selling stuff I no longer want that was in my collection, but I do find myself buying books with potential when I'm out hunting.

I think it's a great way to supplement the income for the books you want to have.

Recently picked up a ASM 299 that was in great condition, I am hoping it will pay for the rest of the books I sent in that I want to keep

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 11/1/2021 at 8:48 PM, Joe Peck said:

So, I started 2 weeks ago wanting to add to my collection, but now I’m finding excitement in the idea of buying cheap and selling dear.  Has anyone else fallen prey to the siren song of profit in lieu of simply collecting?  Can you be both?

Just buy 2 copies of everything.  1 to keep. 1 to flip.

Problem solved 

[thehumantorch]

On 11/1/2021 at 6:48 PM, Joe Peck said:

So, I started 2 weeks ago wanting to add to my collection, but now I’m finding excitement in the idea of buying cheap and selling dear.  Has anyone else fallen prey to the siren song of profit in lieu of simply collecting?  Can you be both?

I've been collecting since the mid 1970s.  For the last 15 years I've also been buying collections, setting up at shows and selling.  It's hard work but it's a lot of fun and almost every collection I buy kicks some books directly into my own collection.  So yes, you can be both.

[ADAMANTIUM]

I want to say no, but I dont $1- bin dive for no reason. I'll admit it's a slippery slope. In the end collect what you love, and if you find something along the way that you can sell to a happy buyer, more power to you.

Flipping not flipping, wouldnt bother me personally,  but I got to head long into buying speculation and I drew the line.

It sucked all the fun of what I really wanted to do, which was collect.

Edited November 2, 2021 by ADAMANTIUM
Articles

[MattTheDuck]

Not really.  I've sold only a handful of books, all of them here on the Boards in the last month or so.  I will say that when I visit Estate or garage sales, I am looking for two things:  1) books I need for my collection, and; b) valuable books I don't otherwise collect.  Finding them (or anything, frankly) in high grade is a challenge.  With this in mind, I've tried to educate myself a bit on the kinds of things I don't collect that are valuable just in case I see one out there.  It makes no sense to me to pass up those opportunities, even though it's not my primary focus.

[Robot Man]

I am and always have been a collector. When I find something I like I hang on to it for dear life. 

But... I have always sold stuff to support my hobby. It is pretty much self funded. Not only do I collect comics but toys, advertising stuff, sports and historical items as well. And when I say comics, I primarily collect GA books. An expensive pursuit for sure. 

So yes, I buy things that I think I can make a buck on all the time. Nothing like losing the reason you got into it in the first place. Money is just a vehicle to buy other stuff. If you are a flipper it might as well be stocks or other things. Heck if you really like thrills, gamble. 

Most hobbyists do both. Nothing wrong with it, just appreciate what you flip. If not, you will soon be out anyway...

[Lord Gemini]

On 11/1/2021 at 7:48 PM, Joe Peck said:

So, I started 2 weeks ago wanting to add to my collection, but now I’m finding excitement in the idea of buying cheap and selling dear.  Has anyone else fallen prey to the siren song of profit in lieu of simply collecting?  Can you be both?

I definitely think of profit a bit more now than I did when I got back into the hobby last year, but I really haven't sold much yet. When I get more slabs back I will, but a lot I buy is for down the line. I have stuff from when I was heavy into collecting 10-15 years ago that is just now gaining in value, so I guess I have a little more patience because of that.

[dupont2005]

I never buy comics with investment in mind but if one goes crazy I’ll sell it

[Vixom]

If I see anything that I can buy and sell it for a profit I am buying it. I actually know people who don't. Some of them I consider smart. I don't get it. 

Not only can you do both but it's easy. Keep what you like, sell what you don't care about. I bought books and kept buying for over a decade thinking they would never increase in value much more than keeping up with inflation. When they did I bought with the goal of selling. When it is time to sell I sell. I don't care what the book is. Only regret is when I don't time the peak. Besides the few exceptions where I missed the peak by a lot. I can buy back any book for less money. Not that all the books went down. They just didn't increase as much as other investments. I am a big collector until a bunch of people decide comic books are a good place to invest money or a character shows up in a Disney show. 

[The Heckler]

I’ve been collecting since the late 70s. I am not a wealthy man but the older I get, the more expensive my tastes have become. There is no way I could fund the books I want without canibalizing my collection and taking advantage the massive gains my books have accumulated in the last 40 years. If I can make a few duckets off a trending book I will absolutely do that, dirty flipper label be damned  The profits are just going back into the stacks anyway.  I often ask myself what I would do if I won a million dollars, and the answer is always the same. Two chicks man. And bigger books.

Edited November 2, 2021 by The Heckler

[theCapraAegagrus]

No.

[djpinkpanther67]

Yes. I sell books to get books I really want.

[comicginger1789]

On 11/1/2021 at 8:58 PM, thehumantorch said:

I've been collecting since the mid 1970s.  For the last 15 years I've also been buying collections, setting up at shows and selling.  It's hard work but it's a lot of fun and almost every collection I buy kicks some books directly into my own collection.  So yes, you can be both.

Agree, you can def do both. When your sole focus becomes buying to sell, then you are a seller and less so a collector.

I bought Jungle Comics 1-3 from Blackthorne last week. Why? I wanted the Stevens cover and figured I would get all 3 issues. I also bought a Jungle Action 6 with the purpose of grading and likely selling. You can totally be both. I also buy the odd collection, keep some and sell the rest. I don't need it all. Plenty of keys and stuff I don't love that others do and I am happy to sell that along to keep funding my own collection. 

[BigLeagueCHEW]

On 11/1/2021 at 5:55 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

Just buy 2 copies of everything.  1 to keep. 1 to flip.

Problem solved 

[csaag]

Was a collector from the late 70's to 1990 or so. Haven't "fallen prey to the siren song of profit" but rather realized I don't want to do to my kids what my father will do to me (namely leave me with a house full of stuff I'll be stuck getting rid of).  So I'm trying to convince the wife to begin the long process of getting rid of our accumulated things which we no longer really need. That includes the comics. So when some type of MCU tie-in or other event suddenly increases the value of a formerly inexpensive comic, I'm happy to move it to a new home. it's mainly been the low priced stuff since I have no shortage of them.  The expensive slabs may get willed to the kids, plus they're nice to pull out and loving at look at from time to time.

[Robot Man]

I recently picked a large collection of these. About 150 books. First thing I did was pull out 25-30 I wanted for my personal collection. Then I started selling off the rest. Many I got because I knew I could sell quickly. So far, have sold about half and tripled my money. So I got 25-30 nice books for free and made a nice chunk of change to maybe buy a nice book or two that I won’t have to dig into my joint bank account to pay for. And still have more to sell down the line. Rinse and repeat...

[valiantman]

On 11/1/2021 at 7:55 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

Just buy 2 copies of everything.  1 to keep. 1 to flip.

Problem solved 

I always wanted 3 copies of everything.  1 to keep, 1 to sell when I feel like it, and 1 to sell in an emergency.

That way it takes two emergencies before a book is no longer in my collection. 

[1Cool]

Yes - I started out a collector in middle school through college and sold off my collection to get cash and then I started "flipping" books for profit at the age of 30 since it seemed easy to segway my love of comics into a means of paying for my vacations and giving my retirement account a boost.

[rexinnih]

On 11/1/2021 at 8:12 PM, dupont2005 said:

I never buy comics with investment in mind but if one goes crazy I’ll sell it

This for me. I haven't really bought new comics since the early 90's and in the past 18 months, my "collection" has moved to an "investment" due to price increases. I won't buy stuff specifically with the intention of flipping but am selling bits and pieces as the price gets too good to pass up selling or a new MCU character is announced.