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Collecting things other than comic books, dilemma
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36 posts in this topic

I presume I’m not the only one on here who collects things outside of comic books ?

for me, I’ve a long-standing love for vinyl and as I have with comics, I’ve spent a decent amount over the years. 
 

Now, and it’s only just hit me recently, is that if I only collected one, I’d have a much better and valuable collection than I would spreading over 2 hobbies. 
Everytime I’ve bought a 3 figure record it could have been a comic and vice versa. 
 

if I had to pick, comics are my favourite so now I’m thinking of selling the vinyl and spending the profits entirely on comics. 
 

anybody else collect multiple things and have this dilemma / and what would you do ? 
 

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I have a lot of music as well; vinyl, CD.

But, you’re accumulating sources of two different stimuli, visual and auditory, and so it’s natural to see the collections develop in parallel.

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A board outage took out my answer. I'll redo it tomorrow or later. I'm too tired and pissed off to do it again. I think you already saw the original though didn't you, lips? 

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On 5/1/2022 at 4:07 AM, The lips said:

I presume I’m not the only one on here who collects things outside of comic books ?

for me, I’ve a long-standing love for vinyl and as I have with comics, I’ve spent a decent amount over the years. 
 

Now, and it’s only just hit me recently, is that if I only collected one, I’d have a much better and valuable collection than I would spreading over 2 hobbies. 
Everytime I’ve bought a 3 figure record it could have been a comic and vice versa. 
 

if I had to pick, comics are my favourite so now I’m thinking of selling the vinyl and spending the profits entirely on comics. 
 

anybody else collect multiple things and have this dilemma / and what would you do ? 
 

I do not see the concern.  You are not in a contest.  To be blunt you are not and never will be in the running for the “best” or “most impressive” comic book or record collection.  The competitors on that front are so far ahead you would need unlimited resources to get in the conversation.

So what are your collecting goals?

What makes you happy?

Those are the questions you should be asking … yourself.

I do collect more than one thing although there are some intersections.  There is no dilemma because I enjoy collecting different things.  Money is finite so I always have to make choices as I curate my collections regarding what I buy, sell, and choose to hunt.  That is part of the fun.

Edited by sfcityduck
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I collect lots of stuff.  It definitely spreads out your money.  My approach has been to focus on buying key items from each category I collect, especially if the price is on the lower side (bargain hunting).  Some of the stuff I collect

Batman comics, GA to modern, have a full run so just upgrading now which I pick up a few every year

Golden Age - Mostly classic covers, still actively buying

Spiderman - need a bunch but picking up slowly, prices are crazy, pick up a few per year

Mars Attacks - have the full set but need to upgrade a few, haven't bought anything in a while

1940 Superman Puzzles - still need a few, always watching

Peanuts Artwork - prices have gone bonkers so I think I am done sadly but real happy with what I have

Aurora model kits - actively buying, picking up a few every month but expect that to slow down soon as I get he more common kits

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I started on vinyl with a quality mixer and 2 Technics 1200s,plus a couple of milk crates of vinyl. That might help some of you gauge when this was. I was told by everyone I knew, including DJs' far more experienced than i, that this is it for me now. Most had been to my place, and seen my collection of action figures, Which back then was Star Wars and Transformers. Every single person told me this was untenable, it was either my action figures and comics, or vinyl. I had to commit or I'd never succeed. 

What can I say? They were right. I ended up selling all my vinyl and mixer and decks after about 8 months (and made a nice little profit of it, bonus), and used the money to buy my mother her favourite Christmas u< it to this day. It's this horrid clock with LEDs and a silver dolphin that plays Disney songs, but both she and my sister love it. 

My fiancee was thrilled to have the space back, and more time with me. We made it into a little study for her. She was happy with that. So it all worked out in the end. 

But yeah, the naysayers were right, for me. I could only choose one beast. The other beast made everyone else happier, and all these years later I'm still collecting figures and comics. 

My 2c

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On 5/1/2022 at 3:22 PM, sfcityduck said:

I do not see the concern.  You are not in a contest.  To be blunt you are not and never will be in the running for the “best” or “most impressive” comic book or record collection.  The competitors on that front are so far ahead you would need unlimited resources to get in the conversation.

So what are your collecting goals?

What makes you happy?

Those are the questions you should be asking … yourself.

I do collect more than one thing although there are some intersections.  There is no dilemma because I enjoy collecting different things.  Money is finite so I always have to make choices as I curate my collections regarding what I buy, sell, and choose to hunt.  That is part of the fun.

I’m not wanting to compete with other people, I know full well that there are countless people with collections I could only dream of ( across comics and vinyl )

if anything I’m striving to have the best collection that I can have but as long as I split my money I won’t achieve that which all of a sudden is making me think, what if ? 
 

I fully know that it’s just at an idiosyncrasy of mine.  

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The "what makes you happy" piece is the key.  Without actually knowing you, and based solely on your posts in this thread, what you've been doing is not making you happy.  Life is much too short, and there way too many things to make one unhappy to allow a recreational activity to add to your frustrations.  The challenge is taking a precipitous action - like selling all your vinyl to buy comics - and then discovering it hasn't really solved your "problem."  Be d*amn sure.  As some on here have found, they end up having to re-buy all the things they sold at much higher prices.

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On 5/1/2022 at 1:16 PM, MattTheDuck said:

The "what makes you happy" piece is the key.  Without actually knowing you, and based solely on your posts in this thread, what you've been doing is not making you happy.  Life is much too short, and there way too many things to make one unhappy to allow a recreational activity to add to your frustrations.  The challenge is taking a precipitous action - like selling all your vinyl to buy comics - and then discovering it hasn't really solved your "problem."  Be d*amn sure.  As some on here have found, they end up having to re-buy all the things they sold at much higher prices.

Very well said.

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On 5/1/2022 at 6:16 PM, MattTheDuck said:

The "what makes you happy" piece is the key.  Without actually knowing you, and based solely on your posts in this thread, what you've been doing is not making you happy.  Life is much too short, and there way too many things to make one unhappy to allow a recreational activity to add to your frustrations.  The challenge is taking a precipitous action - like selling all your vinyl to buy comics - and then discovering it hasn't really solved your "problem."  Be d*amn sure.  As some on here have found, they end up having to re-buy all the things they sold at much higher prices.

Both make me happy and have done for many years. Comics shade it though. 
I think I’ve this desire to have a collection that’s the very best it can be but that won’t happen when I’m splitting disposable income over two hobbies. 
I think I’ll just spend the bigger cash in comics and keep vinyl to a minimum as probs unwise to just sell up. 
 

I get there’s a million more important things going on in the world but this hasn’t half played on my mind !!! 

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I've had a lot of hobbies in my life.  Comics, sports cards, guns, PC building, and animal charities/shelters.  Animal and veteran related charities are the only past times I'm involved in these days. The most rewarding as well IMO.

Edited by Brian48
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I collect multiple things, mainly:  raw comics/signed comics/signed sport cards/OA,

The way I personally go about my collecting is does it look good to me.  I'm I going to enjoy having it and not regret it.  It doesn't matter which of them I am buying as long as I like it, I won't regret buying it and it adds to my overall collection, which makes me happy to have it, hence no dilemma.  In other words I look at it not as collecting individual parts, but as a whole which I call my collection.

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On 5/1/2022 at 8:18 AM, The lips said:

I’m not wanting to compete with other people, I know full well that there are countless people with collections I could only dream of ( across comics and vinyl )

if anything I’m striving to have the best collection that I can have but as long as I split my money I won’t achieve that which all of a sudden is making me think, what if ? 

Not trying to put you down, I'm just, perhaps not clearly, stating that you have to define what you want to seek out and why?

For me, when it came to records, I collected mainly Beatles, Dylan, U2 and some 60s psych. I had lots of other music, but that was just for listening (I didn't think of it as a "collection").  Collecting the Beatles was what made me realize that I didn't need every record when what I really wanted was every song and every take - whether on an original issue or not.  That saved me a lot of money.  With advances in technology and the release of ungodly high quality Beatles session tapes on CD, that made me realize all of the official releases were sonically compromised before they ever made it to vinyl, I decided to sell most of my vinyl and migrate to cd as much as possible especially with the new masters and official releases of session tapes.  Now, I have a ton of Beatles music (the equivalent of 50+ cds of Get Back sessions alone) at a much higher quality, lower cost, and space savings than what I used to have.  For U2 and Dylan, almost everything once on bootleg is getting an official release - so I've upgraded as new material has come out.  Where my limits are tested is when I go to my local record store and see something cool (like a still sealed copy the 13th Floor Elevators first album from the later 1960s) that once would have been a grail for me up on the wall looking like a pristine piece of art.  (I passed on the $1,000 record.)

For comics, I don't seek out "keys."  They are readily available as long as you are willing to pay the price.  For my enjoyment of collecting, I research and identify cool items I think are worth pursuing (many that are off the beaten path), and then I seek them out.  I especially like having a theme to pursue, especially if it creates a nice mini-run or grouping with other books.  I have no desire to be a completest any more.  I find my collecting very satisfying, even though (1) the hunts can take a long time and (2) I don't end up joining very many "club" threads.   

An example:  Neal Adams just died after a very long career in which he is famous for his cover art.  There are very long threads devoted to Neal Adams covers.  CGC has been around for decades.  But the only person who has bothered to identify, chase down, and submit to CGC a copy of Neal Adams' very first comic book cover is me.  I guess everyone was focused on the readily available "keys" and never thought about (or even considered the existence of) the relatively hard to find "first."   

There is a lot of stuff like that out there that I'm still seeking out in every comic age - but I focus on GA through Copper.  I tend to post threads on my hunts after I've made the kill because I like to share cool stuff.

I'm doing what makes me happy.  

All I'm saying is that whatever that is for you, you should do it too.

Edited by sfcityduck
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On 5/1/2022 at 7:49 AM, darkstar said:

You'll have a better time if you keep a narrow focus on what to collect and have the patience to stay within it. 

You are much smarter than I. 

Between collecting cars, guitars, a bit of comic art. I dont collect anything but comics.

 

Damn, I forgot collecting vinyl(beatles,Elvis) mainly. Toys up the arse too! I would probably kill for a John Lennon or George Harrison,  or even Paul McCartney autograph (even though I have one).

Edited by oakman29
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On 5/1/2022 at 9:19 PM, sfcityduck said:

Not trying to put you down, I'm just, perhaps not clearly, stating that you have to define what you want to seek out and why?

For me, when it came to records, I collected mainly Beatles, Dylan, U2 and some 60s psych. I had lots of other music, but that was just for collecting.  Collecting the Beatles was what made me realize that I didn't need every record when what I really wanted was every song - whether on an original issue or not.  That saved me a lot of money.  With advances in technology and the release of ungodly high quality Beatles session tapes on CD, that made me realize all of the official releases were sonically compromised before they ever made it to vinyl, I decided to sell most of my vinyl and migrate to cd as much as possible especially with the new masters and official releases of session tapes.  Now, I have a ton of Beatles music (the equivalent of 50+ cds of Get Back sessions alone) at a much higher quality, lower cost, and space savings than what I used to have.  For U2 and Dylan, almost everything once on bootleg is getting an official release - so I've upgraded as new material has come out.  Where my limits are tested is when I go to my local record store and see something cool (like a still sealed copy the 13th Floor Elevators first album from the later 1960s) that once would have been a grail for me up on the wall looking like a pristine piece of art.  (I passed on the $1,000 record.)

For comics, I don't seek out "keys."  They are readily available as long as you are willing to pay the price.  For my enjoyment of collecting, I research and identify cool items I think are worth pursuing (many that are off the beaten path), and then I seek them out.  I especially like having a theme to pursue, especially if it creates a nice mini-run or grouping with other books.  I have no desire to be a completest any more.  I find my collecting very satisfying, even though (1) the hunts can take a long time and (2) I don't end up joining very many "club" threads.   

An example:  Neal Adams just died after a very long career in which he is famous for his cover art.  There are very long threads devoted to Neal Adams covers.  CGC has been around for decades.  But the only person who has bothered to identify, chase down, and submit to CGC a copy of Neal Adams' very first comic book cover is me.  I guess everyone was focused on the readily available "keys" and never thought about (or even considered the existence of) the relatively hard to find "first."   

There is a lot of stuff like that out there that I'm still seeking out in every comic age - but I focus on GA through Copper.  I tend to post threads on my hunts after I've made the kill because I like to share cool stuff.

I'm doing what makes me happy.  

All I'm saying is that whatever that is for you, you should do it too.

Thanks, that’s sound advice. 
 

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