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Why the Collectibles Market will never stop growing - probably
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Started by Flex Mentallo,

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Flex Mentallo

Flex Mentallo

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“I have now reigned above 50 years in victory or peace; beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call. I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot. They amount to 14.” Abd al-Rahman III, Caliph of Cordoba, summing up a life of worldly success at about age 70.

 

I'm sure we are all slack-jawed at what is happening to the comic market in recent times, and I would be surprised anyone saw it coming. [And consequently, the inevitable 'if only I hadn't let go of that one, it would be worth so much more today'.]

 

Quite by chance I came across the following article the other day and it seems to me to sum up the whys and wherefores of acquisition better than anything I've read on the subject before.

 

It seems that dopamine has an awful lot to answer for...

 

Why we are never satisfied

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Aman619

Aman619

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so true.  Astounding how so soon after a personal triumph one absorbs that level of achievement and is soon depressed, already hungering for more.  Like the email/social media phenomenon we all know so well... gotta pick up the phone every few minutes for another hit!  Enough is NEVER enough (someone always has more than you do) until life forces you to give up dreams of more.

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october

october

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On 2/11/2022 at 12:07 PM, Aman619 said:

so true.  Astounding how so soon after a personal triumph one absorbs that level of achievement and is soon depressed, already hungering for more.  Like the email/social media phenomenon we all know so well... gotta pick up the phone every few minutes for another hit!  Enough is NEVER enough (someone always has more than you do) until life forces you to give up dreams of more.

Was just reading this article in The Atlantic today. Pertinent...

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/03/why-we-are-never-satisfied-happiness/621304/

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rjpb

rjpb

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On 2/11/2022 at 10:07 AM, Aman619 said:

so true.  Astounding how so soon after a personal triumph one absorbs that level of achievement and is soon depressed, already hungering for more.  Like the email/social media phenomenon we all know so well... gotta pick up the phone every few minutes for another hit!  Enough is NEVER enough (someone always has more than you do) until life forces you to give up dreams of more.

This is one reason I moved from accumulating most of what I buy to flipping most of what I buy. I still only purchase stuff that interests me, so I still get that rush of acquisition on a regular basis, but more frequently and with less regard to an overall budget. I still keep enough to satisfy the desire for ownership, and have been fortunate in that I've never been much of a completionist.

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october

october

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On 2/11/2022 at 12:45 PM, buttock said:

:gossip: (that's the article Flex linked)

Jesus. I'm sure that's why I was reading it in the first place. lol

Anyone have an article dealing with early onset dementia in 41 year olds? Asking for a friend. 

Edited by october
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70s80sTimeMachine

70s80sTimeMachine

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On 2/11/2022 at 1:07 PM, Aman619 said:

so true.  Astounding how so soon after a personal triumph one absorbs that level of achievement and is soon depressed, already hungering for more.  Like the email/social media phenomenon we all know so well... gotta pick up the phone every few minutes for another hit!  Enough is NEVER enough (someone always has more than you do) until life forces you to give up dreams of more.

This pathway can even be exacerbated more so when no deep connection exists.

Sure when I was assembling my Bats run from the later GA and early SA periods, it was an incredible experience. But the most meaningful moments and fun I had in years was when I was running after and getting the actual books I read as a kid in near mint newsstand quality condition all over again. No matter how many times I look at these particular slabs, it's as if I have been teleported back in time; this is nostalgia in it's most potent form. 

 

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WolverineX

WolverineX

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On 2/11/2022 at 8:26 AM, Flex Mentallo said:

“I have now reigned above 50 years in victory or peace; beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call. I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot. They amount to 14.” Abd al-Rahman III, Caliph of Cordoba, summing up a life of worldly success at about age 70.

 

I'm sure we are all slack-jawed at what is happening to the comic market in recent times, and I would be surprised anyone saw it coming. [And consequently, the inevitable 'if only I hadn't let go of that one, it would be worth so much more today'.]

 

Quite by chance I came across the following article the other day and it seems to me to sum up the whys and wherefores of acquisition better than anything I've read on the subject before.

 

It seems that dopamine has an awful lot to answer for...

 

Why we are never satisfied

Thank you for the article.  And here I thought this thread was going to be about how comics are deflationary.  

Anyway, I am a big proponent of minimalism.  It's tough in our consumer based, capitalistic culture that equates "stuff" as happiness but I've stuck with my 2 long box rule for a while and it's been pretty nice.  

Less is more.  

 

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70s80sTimeMachine

70s80sTimeMachine

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On 2/11/2022 at 11:48 AM, MattTheDuck said:

Don Draper: "But what is happiness?  It's the moment before you need more happiness."

That little jolt when I get the "Carrier has delivered your package in or around the mailbox...or maybe in the street" text is pretty addictive.

DD has another brilliant line; something about taking us to a place where we ache to go again. This is very relevant to comic books in particular the ones that are most meaningful to us, that we have a connection with. 

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MattTheDuck

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On 2/11/2022 at 11:34 AM, 70s80sTimeMachine said:

DD has another brilliant line; something about taking us to a place where we ache to go again. This is very relevant to comic books in particular the ones that are most meaningful to us, that we have a connection with. 

Yes!  It's from one of the earlier episodes, "The Carousel," where he's pitching Kodak on their slide projector.  Nostalgia is incredibly powerful.

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Flex Mentallo

Flex Mentallo

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On 2/11/2022 at 7:34 PM, 70s80sTimeMachine said:

DD has another brilliant line; something about taking us to a place where we ache to go again.

At the age of 8 I used to visit a nearby newsagent [=drugstore] and stare at all the DC comics I had no money to buy. Of all the covers I yearned for, Mystery in Space had the greatest appeal...only 25 trillion miles away...

Mystery in Space #63 CGC 8.0.jpg

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Flex Mentallo

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On 2/11/2022 at 7:34 PM, 70s80sTimeMachine said:

DD has another brilliant line; something about taking us to a place where we ache to go again.

Into my heart an air that kills
         From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
         What spires, what farms are those?
        
That is the land of lost content,
         I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
         And cannot come again.

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70s80sTimeMachine

70s80sTimeMachine

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On 2/11/2022 at 3:07 PM, Flex Mentallo said:

At the age of 8 I used to visit a nearby newsagent [=drugstore] and stare at all the DC comics I had no money to buy. Of all the covers I yearned for, Mystery in Space had the greatest appeal...only 25 trillion miles away...

Mystery in Space #63 CGC 8.0.jpg

Indeed. One of best of it's genre from this time period. The first cover I recall was the two earths one and the ship had to pick the right earth to enter and land in.

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