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So how many comic collectors are there?

Started by Silver,

28 posts in this topic

Silver

Silver

Posted
Posted

I know there is no definitive answer to this question, but I think it is interesting to discuss:

 

"How many ACTIVE comic book collectors are there?"

 

I certainly think there are alot of people out there with collections who are not active in the hobby (I know some), but have some nice books. I am curious about how many people are actively collecting by looking for and purchasing back issue comic books for their collections. Thousands? Tens of thousands? ....

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whetteon

whetteon

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Probably somewhere in the thousands. I hesitate to say tens of thousands because I rarely see that number unless I visit a convention. But I guess that all depends if you include those people who go to comic conventions once a year active collectors or not.

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skybolt

skybolt

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Probably somewhere in the thousands. I hesitate to say tens of thousands because I rarely see that number unless I visit a convention. But I guess that all depends if you include those people who go to comic conventions once a year active collectors or not.

 

I've never attended a con, but consider myself an active collector.

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rjpb

rjpb

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If you include collectors whose collections consist entirely of copper and/or modern books ( and I do) then it is probably well over 100,000. Many of these collectors may never buy anything outside of their LCS, others may only occaisonally buy a missed issue or earlier issues of a title on ebay or from a mail order dealer, but they are still collectors, and while some will lose interest before they spend much more than a few dollars on any single issue, others will eventually expand their collections to include older or more expensive items. I have a friend who after not reading comics for nearly 20 years started buying Batman a few years back and has slowly been filling in a run going backwards via ebay and Metro - (though lately he's been spending money on Batmobiles) - he's never been to a con, is only marginally aware of CGC, and doesn't consider himself a part of comic fandom, but is a collector nonetheless.

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the blob

the blob

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at least 100K, although some are probably in and out of inactive status. if you have a closet full of comics, but haven't bought a comic in 3 years, what does that make you?

 

and remember, there are niche collectors who collect some comics as part of their niche...e.g., westerns, movie comics, disney, etc. I think that probably pushes it well over 100K.

 

look at the huge numbers of IDs on ebay alone bidding and selling stuff. and not just the shilling IDs!

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the blob

the blob

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Posted

ok, re-read tha "active" collector part.

 

still think 100K, easy. just think of the shops out there, couple thousand? they need more than a dozen customers to survive, need 50-500.

 

and if you just buy new stuff, but keep it, does that make you not a collector? a lot of people going to shops mainly just buy the new stuff on the rack, but in thr right situations one would think they'd buy a back issue if it presented itself properly.

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awe4one

awe4one

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I'd put the number around 150,000-200,000. Go with the higher estimate if you want to include Manga readers.

 

Not everyone reads Superhero comics and there is a small but not insignificant group out there that stick strictly with independents...

 

Jim

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rjpb

rjpb

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The highest print run out there of a monthly book is close to what I would assume the number would be. I think that is around 100k or so.

 

I don't know that you can figure it that way - there are collectors who buy very few if any new comics - and many more who don't buy any top sellers.

Even on these boards - if you look at responses indicating what members plan on buying out of the new releases - there is no individual new comic that even half the board buys - and that's among collectors who buy stuff every( or nearly every) week. I would say 100,000 is the minimum number.

 

Even if one could multiply the number of comic shops by an educated guess at the number of regular customers, one still isn't accounting for collectors who use subscription services, collectors who don't buy enough new books to be considered "regular customers", and collectors who don't buy new books at all.

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the blob

the blob

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yup, i don't think i ever regularly buy any of the top sellers off the rack.

 

ok, i bought justice 1 because the art was cool.

 

but i did not buy a single new comic off the rack from the start of the "onslught" silliness to Conan 1, so what was that, 4 years? In fact, I had not been inside a shop from the end of '99 until conan 1. yet i bought thousands of back issues on ebay and at shows.

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the blob

the blob

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how many copies does wizard sell? i'd guess that's 1/4 - 1/3 of the casual and serious and in between collectors out there

 

how many copies of the OPG sell every year? (and look at the average for the past 5-7 years because people don't always buy the new one) i suspect that also may give an idea of 1/4 - 1/3 of the collectors

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october

october

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I would say 100,000 is the minimum number.

 

I agree. If a book like All Star Batman & Robin sells 300,000 copies, that's pretty indicative of the size of the new comic buyers. I realize that some people may have bought more than one, or dealers might be hoarding copies, but you also have to take into account the regular new comic readers who didn't buy it (like me). I would put the number of monthly or bi-monthly new comic readers at least 200,000, with a top number of 400,000.

 

Back issue collectors are harder to estimate, because there are quite a lot of them who may not be active in the new comic market, may not buy on eBay, and may not attend conventions. I would think they are close to the same number of back issue collectors as new issue buyers though. There are so many websites, eBay sales, and conventions; a few thousand people can't be propping up that market.

 

I would estimate the total of new and old comic collectors to be around 500,000. That includes people who are in and out of the hooby though.

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rjpb

rjpb

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Posted
how many copies does wizard sell? i'd guess that's 1/4 - 1/3 of the casual and serious and in between collectors out there

 

how many copies of the OPG sell every year? (and look at the average for the past 5-7 years because people don't always buy the new one) i suspect that also may give an idea of 1/4 - 1/3 of the collectors

 

I can't imagine that Wizard buyers account for more than a tiny fraction of collectors - any comic shop owners care to estimate what percentage of their regulars pick it up. The Price Guide sales might not be a bad starting point for guesstimating the number of collectors who are serious about buying back issues - but for most anything that's less than 20 years old I find checking previous ebay sales is the more reliable way of figuring out what something is worth - so if that were my only or even main area of interest I don't know that I would bother buying the Guide every year. What are the sales for Overstreet?

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