Wavering passion for collecting 5 5

[Randall Ries]

On 11/12/2021 at 7:01 PM, UncleAnwar said:

I've actually debated selling all my marvel collection and buying EC horror comics from the Golden age. Haha yeah selling my comics...to buy more comics!

I love all things horror, huge horror movie buff, but just never really pursued those books for whatever reason. 

They're definitely more rare and harder to track down in general, so maybe that would reinvigorate me...who knows.

But like I said above,  there's still the fear of regret in parting with all my hero books.

Lots of good advice on here, I think I'll sit on it for a while and see if my feelings change at all

Nothing wrong with that. I think about selling my modest collection and go for a brass ring book. A nice DC golden age book, perhaps. But the market is weird. I bought all the x4 sometimes x5 or 6 signed DKR: The Master Race. Paid pretty good for those books. Nothing worth collecting but the covers, really. But then I wonder if I could get my money back out of them.

I have others. Might be nice to have just ONE book I could get that was a rocker, then put it up on the mantle or wall hang it. Buuuut. I dunno. WOULD I be satisfied? It's one of those things like quitting cigarettes. Try, try,try,try,try, HIT! And I can last for YEARS w/o a cigarette. But all it takes is for me to get tipped over emotionally or go into a self loathing jag and voila! There I am at the Piggly Wiggly buying a pack.

Comics are harmless. They're cool as Hell. Even the moderns. And I don't collect to read because most of the writing I read now sucks balls. But the Hughes covers. Oh MAN! Dell Otto? Superior. Alex Ross? Yes. Artgerm? YOW! I collect covers for the most part. If I were wealthy, there would be a lot of OA in the house.

But I understand. I have maybe 50tb's of music stored on hard drives. Piles of boxes of cassettes. Thousands of cassettes. Very few cd's by comparison. And sometimes people will drop by and I'll show them the deal and they are like "WOW!" YOU ARE SO LUCKY!" Not lucky. Worked hard and spent large to get the stuff but once you have it, you have it.

Then I seem to think
It becomes
Part of the furniture.
Ohhh it's peculiar.
They used to
Be
So
Nice.

[ExNihilo]

I'm reaching the same point.  A few years back I realized I was in a comfortable enough position that I could start affording the books that I always wanted as a kid.  Steadily I began buying up keys and realized that I found greater happiness from a few keys than I did from years of subscriptions.  And that made me decrease my monthly expenses on new books from $80 to $50 to $30 now.  I'd rather take the money I once spent on books, bank it, and use it to buy another key down the road.  Part of this is just the quality of the stories.  There are some stories I've enjoyed, but for the most part, the majority of my collection is read once and forgotten about.  I can see the popularity of digital subscriptions because it's cheaper.  If I read something digitally I enjoy, I could always buy the floppies online.  Theoretically, even if I pay a premium on the floppies, I'd probably save money in the long run since I'm only buying the issues I care about instead of having shelves of books that I don't care for.  And that brings up the final point: space.  I'm just running out of space to store my books and so at some point I'll either have to find more space (upgrade my living situation) or downsize my collection.

Reading floppies is my preferred method of reading comics.  I like that each book is a snapshot of a moment in time of what my collecting habits were.  I like owning something to potentially go back to (it's why I bought DVD's and blu-rays long into an age when Netflix streaming was so prevalent).  I like having things to pass down.  I like the history of it all and I fear that if even hardcore collectors like myself start exiting the marketplace, then maybe it would bring an end to the era of the printed comic.  And if that happened, I'd be kinda sad.

[KCOComics]

I took a break about 14 years ago. 

I wasn't so much burnt out, but life got in the way.  I got married moved to Boston and eventually had two kiddos.  I still picked up odd books when I stumbled onto them and I would visit comic shops when I could, but it was an unnecessary expense at a time when I had allot of adulting to do. 

Two things really brought me back to the hobby. First, when I had to relocate my comics from my aunt's house and I got to go through the boxes for the first time in years. I started to relive the excitement that brought me to the hobby in the first place.

And second, when my oldest son was 4 or 5 he really took an interest and we started doing it together. Driving to shows and shops, hunting down books and unboxing purchases together.... 

Sadly, at the ripe old age of 9, he's outgrown comics and is more interested in Pokemon cards. 

I guess my advice would be two things: 

Step away for a period of time before you start selling.  You would hate to sell your ASM run and regret it, because at today's prices it would be hard to replace. 

And second, explore new genres. I always fall back on Marvel super heros, but I get allot of excitement out of science fiction, PCH, WWII books and even romance and crime books. There is allot of history to explore. 

[Vixom]

Do whatever you want. If they weren't doing anything for me I would sell them. Can always buy anything back that you want. I think comics will increase but not as much as other investments. No dc, well lots of good dc. Lots of good modern marvel art and stories. Times that by mutiples for other publishers. Golden age collecting is fun. Art collecting even better.  Write your own comic. Get into flipping. Some of the books you own you could have sold at peak highs and bought back for almost half price. Or just get new hobbies. 

 

[rjpb]

On 11/12/2021 at 4:01 PM, UncleAnwar said:

I've actually debated selling all my marvel collection and buying EC horror comics from the Golden age. Haha yeah selling my comics...to buy more comics!

I love all things horror, huge horror movie buff, but just never really pursued those books for whatever reason. 

They're definitely more rare and harder to track down in general, so maybe that would reinvigorate me...who knows.

But like I said above,  there's still the fear of regret in parting with all my hero books.

Lots of good advice on here, I think I'll sit on it for a while and see if my feelings change at all

Can't go wrong with precode Horror, EC or otherwise. The top classic covers have gotten a bit ridiculous, but there is still plenty of cool stuff out there at fairly reasonable prices. Sell some of the Marvel stuff you care less about and put the money into some nice EC books you like. 

[ageofsilver]

EC is great fun to collect. Read through the EC chat and notice the different slants taken by those who post. Some look to have all of them; some particularly seek out low condition readers, but everybody’s having fun. 

[toro]

Take a break from the comics, try some original art.  Not the high end stuff.  Things by artists you like, but don't cost a fortune.  Try other books,I switched to DC War and Marvel westerns.  Some are corny as heck, but there are some good books still out there.  Every once in awhile I will buy Little Sad Sacks or Harvey books, just for the fun of it.

[jsilverjanet]

One of the reasons I enjoy collecting independent books now is that I missed out on so many of them when I was so focused on Marvel and DC years back

The landscape is so great that I am aways surprised at books that were printed that I had no clue existed 

same with Romance books 

 

[comicginger1789]

If you want the thrill of the hunt for stuff that’s affordable (some of it anyway) chase down foreign covers of some of your favourite books in your collection 

[Xenosmilus]

On 11/12/2021 at 8:22 PM, ExNihilo said:

I can see the popularity of digital subscriptions because it's cheaper.

And they don’t take up space!!!

[Beige]

The markets red-hot right now.

If you have 100% had enough - sell up.

With the books you have, even in mid-grade, you could set your kids up in their own home, or if you are financially solid - travel for years.

Whatever floats your boat - you are sitting on so much money, that its nuts to keep what, $250,000 - $500,000 in boxes?

Maybe much more if they are high grade.

I'd grab a GPA sub for a month, add up what you have, and go from there. You could have god knows how much.

 

Put it this way - I just looked up ASM #1 - #10 on GPA - I used a 5.0 grade for each.

At 5.0 you are looking at over $40,000 for those books alone.

 

If the love has gone man - use the money for something else.

 

And good luck to you.

 

[Ken Aldred]

On 11/13/2021 at 1:22 AM, ExNihilo said:

since I'm only buying the issues I care about instead of having shelves of books that I don't care for.  And that brings up the final point: space.  I'm just running out of space to store my books and so at some point I'll either have to find more space (upgrade my living situation) or downsize my collection.

Two important but conflicting driving forces for me as well; books I care about vs limitations on physical space.

[KCOComics]

On 11/13/2021 at 1:54 AM, Beige said:

The markets red-hot right now.

If you have 100% had enough - sell up.

With the books you have, even in mid-grade, you could set your kids up in their own home, or if you are financially solid - travel for years.

Whatever floats your boat - you are sitting on so much money, that its nuts to keep what, $250,000 - $500,000 in boxes?

Maybe much more if they are high grade.

I'd grab a GPA sub for a month, add up what you have, and go from there. You could have god knows how much.

 

Put it this way - I just looked up ASM #1 - #10 on GPA - I used a 5.0 grade for each.

At 5.0 you are looking at over $40,000 for those books alone.

 

If the love has gone man - use the money for something else.

 

And good luck to you.

 

That's the otherwise of the coin. 

These silly funny books have grown enough in value to meaningfully and positively change people's lives. 

I wouldn't be critical of anyone who cashed out in order to improve their lives. 

[Ken Aldred]

On 11/13/2021 at 2:17 AM, KCOComics said:

And second, explore new genres. I always fall back on Marvel super heros, but I get allot of excitement out of science fiction, PCH, WWII books and even romance and crime books. There is allot of history to explore. 

That’s been important to keeping me involved over a 40+ year period, mixing up the content; different Ages, genres, publishers, etc.

The sheer variety stops it from becoming boring.

[Motor City Rob]

I really like this topic. The best idea I've seen is to "sleep on it". Whether that's a day, a week, or six months....take a little break before doing anything. Then, go with what your heart tells you. There is no right or wrong here.

[Ken Aldred]

On 11/13/2021 at 3:27 AM, ageofsilver said:

EC is great fun to collect. Read through the EC chat and notice the different slants taken by those who post. Some look to have all of them; some particularly seek out low condition readers, but everybody’s having fun. 

Not to sound like too much of a fanboy, but New Trend ECs are utterly brilliant.

[UncleAnwar]

On 11/13/2021 at 1:54 AM, Beige said:

The markets red-hot right now.

If you have 100% had enough - sell up.

With the books you have, even in mid-grade, you could set your kids up in their own home, or if you are financially solid - travel for years.

Whatever floats your boat - you are sitting on so much money, that its nuts to keep what, $250,000 - $500,000 in boxes?

Maybe much more if they are high grade.

I'd grab a GPA sub for a month, add up what you have, and go from there. You could have god knows how much.

 

Put it this way - I just looked up ASM #1 - #10 on GPA - I used a 5.0 grade for each.

At 5.0 you are looking at over $40,000 for those books alone.

 

If the love has gone man - use the money for something else.

 

And good luck to you.

 

The grades vary, I'd say average mid grade range, mostly raw.

My 1st issues are graded but lower end, Ff1 2.5, dd1 4.5, X-men 1 2.5 etc.  I've got a couple bronze graded that are decent,  asm129 8.0, hulk 181 6.5.  But like I said they're almost all raw.

I love your dollar estimate haha but I don't think they're all worth quite that much.  $100k maybe? Idk, I haven't bothered to price them all out, I'd only do that if I got serious about selling. Still nothing to sneeze at obviously, worth way more money than I put into them up front!

[UncleAnwar]

On 11/12/2021 at 9:17 PM, KCOComics said:

I took a break about 14 years ago. 

I wasn't so much burnt out, but life got in the way.  I got married moved to Boston and eventually had two kiddos.  I still picked up odd books when I stumbled onto them and I would visit comic shops when I could, but it was an unnecessary expense at a time when I had allot of adulting to do. 

Two things really brought me back to the hobby. First, when I had to relocate my comics from my aunt's house and I got to go through the boxes for the first time in years. I started to relive the excitement that brought me to the hobby in the first place.

And second, when my oldest son was 4 or 5 he really took an interest and we started doing it together. Driving to shows and shops, hunting down books and unboxing purchases together.... 

Sadly, at the ripe old age of 9, he's outgrown comics and is more interested in Pokemon cards. 

I guess my advice would be two things: 

Step away for a period of time before you start selling.  You would hate to sell your ASM run and regret it, because at today's prices it would be hard to replace. 

And second, explore new genres. I always fall back on Marvel super heros, but I get allot of excitement out of science fiction, PCH, WWII books and even romance and crime books. There is allot of history to explore. 

I've got a 6 year old and 5 year old boys.  That factors in as well. Would be cool if they got into it someday and I was able to pass them down.

So far they couldn't care less about comics, but they're still really young so who knows.

Like I said in my original post, the best part a out all of it was the experience I think. My brother and I have had a blast buying and selling and trading and going to cons and shops. 

He also has a similar massive collection with a little different focus, he went avengers and hulk and iron man/tales of suspense for some of his runs.

We have both been obsessive about it for 20 or so years.  Getting the money to buy our books was part of the fun too, we would flip anything and everything.  Comics, toys, trailer hitches, camper toilets, electronics, chandiliers, everything under the sun, you name it. 

But we've both got families and little kids now, maybe that's part of it too. I don't have the time or energy to flip anymore and I can't justify spending my salary on comics with a family and a mortgage and all that these days.

Again, tons of good advice and stories on here.  Thanks guys!!

Edited November 13, 2021 by UncleAnwar

[Buzzetta]

On 11/12/2021 at 4:15 PM, UncleAnwar said:

So I've been a comic collector since the mid 90s, and have amassed a pretty sizeable collection over the decades.

I'm hoping the feeling will pass, but I've been feeling kind of burned out/over with the whole thing for a little while now.

I still love comics, but now that I've locked down all of my collecting goals I'm faced with the inevitable question of "what's next"?  

Ive only collected Marvel, and over the years I've managed to get to complete runs of Fantastic Four 1-300, X-men 1-300, Amazing Spiderman 1-400, daredevil 1-200, Strange Tales 101-160, Cap 100-300, and bunches of smaller titles like complete Web of, Spectacular,  Nova, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, Tomb of Dracula etc.

Just curious to hear from other collectors to see if you've faced burnout and what you've done about it. I've thought of maybe selling them all off but I still feel like I'd probably regret it someday. 

But on the other hand they just sit in storage now and don't so much for me anymore. Sure I read them here and there but I've realized that the joy for me over the years was the collecting aspect.  Traveling around to different city's for comic shops and conventions with my brother was what made the whole thing fun. The process of getting all those books was awesome and I'll always have those memories regardless. 

One thing that has put a damper on continuing is the ridiculous prices that even minor keys command these days. I can't imagine just getting into collecting now, it's so freaking expensive. I remember buying low issue ASM's for $50 each back in the day. Now those same issues would be several thousand dollars.  Nuts.

Anyway, anyone faced a similar situation?  Anyone sold and regretted? Anyone kept going and found the passion again?

It's not just you.  I have said some of what I am about to say months ago.  I have said other parts of what I am about to say years ago.  I am at a point now where I basically have everything I could ever dream of owning within my range.   Here is what I find myself questioning.

Do I need to upgrade a Silver Age ASM from a 9.6 to a 9.8 or a 9.2 to a 9.4?  Is there supposed to be fun in that or am I just throwing money at a number on a label.  Now there is still a difference to me in upgrading a 7.0 to a 9.0 if I can but, who knows...   At what point does one become satisfied with what they have?  Comic collecting and collecting in general seems to support the idea of chasing after a never ending list of stuff. 

I quickly realized, once we started working from home in the beginning of 2020, that I lived in a warehouse.  It was a well organized warehouse of stuff but a warehouse nonetheless.  I have said it for months that I have been flipping things since I was a teen for almost 30 years and I said last year that I was probably going to take a break from all of this at the end of 2021.

You are not alone.  There is no shame in being happy with what you have.  I have been selling over the last year and a half a lot of things to make space, to reclaim space and money spent.  I question why I bought some things to begin with.   One thing I have noticed is that there are many things I have parted with that as I type this I forget.  So if I cannot remember what was sold off, did I really need it to begin with?

There are still things that make my eyes open in wonder though.  I sold off a LOT of Transformers but still bought a recent one as it is a proper remake of one of my favorite toys as a kid.  This to me is a keeper.  I will keep the majority of comics and start to sell them off upon retirement.  I never amassed a huge comic collection in quantity to begin with so that is not the problem.  I can see myself finding a page of art that I would not want to miss out on or a good deal on a Golden Age book... but I think I am past the point of buying just to buy or to have something to do. 

I don't know. Try what I did.  Sell off things at first that you can easily buy back or reclaim if you wanted to.  See how it feels.  Me?  I am more in love with the space in this house I have reclaimed than the items that once collected dust there.   Maybe you will do the same. 

 

Edited November 13, 2021 by Buzzetta

[KPR Comics]

Sell it all.  If the collecting bug comes back, rinse and repeat.