Starting to Collect a New Run - Start w/ cheaper fillers or with Expensive Key Issues 1 1

[JonkerBonkers]

Hello Everyone - I am learning more as I have collected over 2/3rds of The Incredible Hulk 1978 Series from scratch (actually found 6 issues at an Estate sale).  I have other Copper Age series complete (Punisher/X-Factor/Transformers/Silver Surfer).  I am a glutten for punishment, but I am thinking about starting to collect the Thor series also.  What is the consensus for getting a series done quicker, going for cheaper, more available, non-key issues to quickly increase the size of the new run, OR go for the Key issues, have less issues overall, but you're vested in the expensive ones!   Just wondering what "Comic Collecting Pro's" do, because I did the cheaper, non-key issue way and I am still missing Hulk 181 and 340 (will NEVER get 181, I like owning a house, lol) and I wanted to get feedback either way before I get into Thor.  Thanks for the Feedback! 

[SuperBird]

always always always keys first. 

[Ant-Man]

Agreed. I never did it this way and it certainly costs more in the end. The keys increase at a much greater rate than the fillers.

[oakman29]

Always the hardest keys first, then move to the lesser keys. Then the fillers.  If you collect runs you will never finish the run if you start with the fillers. Once you get the big keys the rest of the run is a helluva lot easier to finish. 

[WolverineX]

Go for the most expensive.  Then move down.  Good time to start buying now that everyone is starting to hold onto their cash more

[Parabellum]

On 4/5/2022 at 5:52 PM, SuperBird said:

always always always keys first. 

This^^^^^^

I took this advice in case I wanted to complete a 9.8 GI Joe run. This was before there was a hint of GI Joe blowing up to its current prices.  The major keys of this run are 1, 21, 26, 27, 155, and the Special. They always went for decent money but they where pretty stable for years.  But as we all know in the comic collecting world things can change over night.  So I took the money I had saved and bought all the above books with the exception of the Special.  I paid roughly $2k for the 5 books (21 being almost half of that).  Within 24 months these books have a FMV of $8500-9500.  The rest of the run goes between $150-500 a book with a few running $600-700 (disregard CPV's, variants and newsstands) depending on demand and census numbers.  The Special has increased a bit but nothing too crazy.  So at this point I can choose to either maintain just the keys or go for the run.  If I choose to go for the run I can honestly take my time with filler books and minor keys their prices tend to stabilize rather quickly.

Edited April 6, 2022 by Parabellum

[Lazyboy]

1.  The cheap(er) keys. These are the books that will explode on the rumor that the non-first-tier character who makes their debut in the issue will be in a movie. A $3 book could become a $100 book overnight. Spend the $3 now. Of course, this does require some knowledge of the contents of the issues.

2. The more expensive keys. These are the ones with a track record and always have the potential to continue increasing.

3. The other popular/expensive issues. Though not key, these issues get more attention for whatever reason (cover, guest artist, first issue, last issue, etc.) and have the potential to increase more/faster than other issues.