Are any posters/collectors under 25 - asking to determine the trajectory of the hobby 2 2

[inovrmihd]

In the 20th century, the two biggest hobbies were coin and stamp collecting.  Fast forward to present day, and stamp collecting is dead, and if you go to a coin convention, my experience is you won’t see anyone under 45.  I spoke to the head of the coin department of a major auction house, and they told me the same thing (they couldn’t get their own kids interested), and while there is still plenty of money to be had in coins, my impression is that there has been very little in the way of price increases over the last 30 years.  My impression is the hobby (coin collecting) is dying.  

I am wondering if there are a lot of serious collectors for golden and silver age comics (I am talking high end slabbed)  that are “young”.  Obviously we have seen huge price increases, and the hobby appears to be on fire, but how many if any of the people setting the price for high grade silver and gold comics are new people coming in as opposed to people who have been involved for a decade, and if they are whether they are more than casually interested, (eg. their interest is more serious than they saw a youtube video telling them how to flip comics or are buying because a crypto influencer told them to diversify)?  Any thoughts appreciated.

[lemonman6]

A month or two ago I sold a collection of Silver Age Flash comics to someone that I met in person. The guy buying the comics bought along his teenage son and the books were actually for the son. The dad apparently got his kid into comics which was cool to see. He was also really enthusiastic looking through the collection and finding the keys like the 1st Grodd. I’m 99 percent sure based on his knowledge of the Flash character, that the son wanted the comics for himself and not to flip or anything.

Comics have fun stories, great artwork and have been made into movies. It’s not always difficult to get kids into them. Stamps and coins feel pretty niche in comparison.

Generally speaking, younger collectors are out there but they don’t always go towards Gold, Silver and high dollar stuff because they can’t afford it. I generally see tons of younger collectors who love modern comics. Some will graduate to more expensive books as they get older. The really expensive stuff is probably a mix of people of different ages. Not everyone is a crypto millionaire.

Edited May 18, 2022 by lemonman6

[flashlites]

This is a very interesting subject. My son is 14 his enthusiasm for comics comes from a combination of me, movies and video games. He buys modern comics and has little interest in the Silver and Gold stuff like his father. He does not really like single issues, preferring to wait for the collection in graphic novel form. I feel like this may be the future of the hobby. Graphic novels and digital content, with some interest in the past. But any burning desire for the older stuff would be quickly dashed by the price for the average collector.  When I was 14 I could make $10 by mowing 2 lawns and could buy a cool Golden Age or Silver Age comic in the 1970's. That is not really possible anymore for the major characters. But if you hunt and are willing to accept and be happy with a 1.5 or a 2.0 you can still obtain some really cool stuff for under $100, but for how long? I will see if I can get him to come on the boards and speak to this directly here in a day or two.

[Pantodude]

I've edited this now three times. I guess that's b/c the verdict isn't out yet on what exactly has changed since the pandemic started, and what, if any, of those changes will endure.  Your post is directed at "high end slabbed" GA and SA.  Whether there are many or a growing number of young serious "true collectors" might not be as important to the viability/appreciation of that market as in years past.  I credit the realization by the general public that comic book keys, espcially in slabbed form, could be a viable alternative investment class.  That might have added more serious collectors for both low-end and high-end GA and SA books.  Time will tell.     

Edited May 19, 2022 by Pantodude
clean up

[ft88]

Let’s say 1% of the over age 40 in America has $1 million. So maybe  1-1.5 million People. But under 25 maybe 0.1% have $1 million of their own. Not in trust etc. So maybe 50,000 people. I bet of those 50,000 there are more High dollar collectors than the older folks. But absolute numbers are dwarfed by the number of oldsters who have money. 

[AJLewandoski]

Well I don't quite hit your threshold, but I'm 27. I don't really know anyone else my age with a collection like I have.

Most of what I have is lower grade, silver and bronze Marvel keys with some slightly better condition stuff if I found it for a good deal, but I also have popular series or runs from every era.

I dont have a lot of golden age stuff because the price of admission even on non key books is just too high on an issue by issue basis for what I'd want to collect. 

Edited May 18, 2022 by AJLewandoski

[Jaylam]

Most young people today probably don't have the sentimental attachment that older generations have, however, I have noticed at conventions (pre-pandemic), there were a fair number of young people, and to my surprise maybe even more females than males, looking for one or two books in particular. I ran into one girl that looked to be about 20 really scouring dealer after dealer for a decent raw copy of X-Men #101 (first Phoenix). I finally asked her what was so special to her about X-Men #101, and she simply said, "because Phoenix is my favorite character from the X-Men movies and I want a copy of her first appearance". So we might be able to say that the super-hero movies of the last 20 years have at least had some effect keeping the hobby going, but the younger set may have a narrower focus as I witnessed with this girl. 

[thehumantorch]

We set up at 10 to 15 shows a year.  There are lots of young men and women buying comics

[Jaylam]

On 5/18/2022 at 6:48 PM, thehumantorch said:

We set up at 10 to 15 shows a year.  There are lots of young men and women buying comics

This is what I was wondering. The true litmus test is what are dealers and shop owners seeing as their clientele? 

[thehumantorch]

On 5/18/2022 at 5:05 PM, Jaylam said:

This is what I was wondering. The true litmus test is what are dealers and shop owners seeing as their clientele? 

More than 10 years ago our typical buyer was older and male.  We noticed we were getting more female buyers and more younger buyers and it's wonderful and that trend is growing.  The OP mentioned gold and silver and while many of the younger buyers are buying Copper to Moderns some are buying Bronze, Silver and Gold.  I think the hobby is very healthy.

[flashlites]

I saw a youtube recently of an interview with a dealer at a convention last year, who was asked a very similar question.. He said the hobby is alive and well and brought up the popularity of the movies over the last 20 years. He said these kids who at 20 years old and younger have all grown up on this stuff and when they come of age they are going to go after this source material. Because they love it and they know where it all originated. He said we have not even begun to see the impact that this younger generation will have on the hobby.

[Jaylam]

Similar to this topic, my daughter's fiancé's brother is a big Batman fan. He's in his mid 20's and has some Batman graphic novels and more recent Batman related stuff, but since he found out I'm into comic books, was asking what older Batman comics he could get for reasonable prices as he would like to get some nice copies of a few books that are at least pre-1980's. So the market is out there among the younger set, it's just the buying power is not there yet, at least for pricier, key stuff, but they are starting to show interest in the old stuff and beginning to search things out and get a feel for what they can afford. (I recommended early 70's Neal Adam's material as some of it is still affordable and of excellent quality of course).

[alexanderjk]

My son is 19 and caught the collecting bug during a visit to L.A.’s Golden Apple Comics. I spent YEARS trying to interest him in the hobby, but it was that visit to that landmark shop that ignited the interest. His interests are affordable modern age titles like Spawn, and runs of modern JLA and Tec. His only interest in SA is my 1-300 DD run, which he’ll inherit when I pass away. 

Sadly, it’s REALLY rare that I encounter teens interested in comics, despite their love of the MCU films. I teach high school English, and my kids know of my love of comics from the many DD Funko Pops I have displayed on my desk, and the imagery I use on my presentations (I teach theme and symbolism using imagery from the MCU). But in the last decade, I’ve had exactly one kid who actively collected comics. 

Edited May 19, 2022 by alexanderjk

[zosocane]

On 5/18/2022 at 11:54 PM, alexanderjk said:

My son is 19 and caught the collecting bug during a visit to L.A.’s Golden Apple Comics. I spent YEARS trying to interest him in the hobby, but it was that visit to that landmark shop that ignited the interest. His interests are affordable modern age titles like Spawn, and runs of modern JLA and Tec. His only interest in SA is my 1-300 DD run, which he’ll inherit when I pass away. 

Sadly, it’s REALLY rare that I encounter teens interested in comics, despite their love of the MCU films. I teach high school English, and my kids know of my love of comics from the many DD Funko Pops I have displayed on my desk, and the imagery I use on my presentations (I teach theme and symbolism using imagery from the MCU). But in the last decade, I’ve had exactly one kid who actively collected comics. 

I took my kids to Pink's Hot Dogs in LA during Spring Break and I just noticed that Golden Apple Comics is around the corner on Melrose.    But next time i will know and visit.

Comic book collecting is too damn expensive in 2022 pretty much for anyone that doesn't earn their own income independently.  I think the 21 and under crowd is few and far between, although you do see them at shows (typically with mom or dad to act as a funding source).  But at shows i'm seeing a fair number of 20-somethings buying comics, mostly Copper Age to Modern.  More important, and for the future of the hobby, on Instagram I'm seeing a lot of 20-somethings sucessfully dealing.  As an example, Hiram Duarte (a Miami local) is in his late 20s, and on IG (and through a lot of hard work), Hiram has developed quite a name for himself since the Pandemic by regularly providing fresh material -- he specializes in Golden Age and Silver Age books -- to his sizeable-in-number IG followers on weekly live shows.

Edited May 19, 2022 by zosocane

[speedcake]

Look at the typical comic book Youtuber. Young, 20 or 30 somethings, male and female both. Their audiences are most likely made up of others like them, as well. There are many of them. And there is a healthy comic book collecting community on other social media platforms, also mostly driven by the younger generations most likely to have a presence there.

Comic collecting seems pretty healthy, to me. 

Edited May 19, 2022 by speedcake

[GrasshopperFF]

On 5/18/2022 at 7:21 AM, flashlites said:

This is a very interesting subject. My son is 14 his enthusiasm for comics comes from a combination of me, movies and video games. He buys modern comics and has little interest in the Silver and Gold stuff like his father. He does not really like single issues, preferring to wait for the collection in graphic novel form. I feel like this may be the future of the hobby. Graphic novels and digital content, with some interest in the past. But any burning desire for the older stuff would be quickly dashed by the price for the average collector.  When I was 14 I could make $10 by mowing 2 lawns and could buy a cool Golden Age or Silver Age comic in the 1970's. That is not really possible anymore for the major characters. But if you hunt and are willing to accept and be happy with a 1.5 or a 2.0 you can still obtain some really cool stuff for under $100, but for how long? I will see if I can get him to come on the boards and speak to this directly here in a day or two.

We have similar stuff going on in our home. My 11 year old son is most interested in the hobby. But even my 16 yo daughter, who closely follows Marvel movies, appreciates the value of key-origin collecting the SA and Golden Age books.
There is clearly a gap of cost that needs to be bridged, whether through inheritance or investment planning. But seeds have definitely been planted about rarity and artistic “coolness” equating to a store of value. 
This is a cool topic to kick around. I’m 52 and still new to the hobby. But I’ve spent quite a lot of money in my rookie year. While movies and YouTube segments shape some of my thinking, I’ve swung at some big keys and feel pretty good about those investments for the long term. No short term flipping here. 
The money and interest the over 45 crowd brings to the table will keep this hobby boiling, IMHO. And the seeds being planted to others will cultivate them to come along too. Fractional share buying is a strange concept to me, but it seems to have some level of traction. 

[Jaylam]

To move the conversation beyond age and gender demographics, is interest in the hobby spreading and expanding across racial and ethnic groups as well?  

[zosocane]

On 5/19/2022 at 6:26 AM, GrasshopperFF said:

I’m 52 and still new to the hobby. But I’ve spent quite a lot of money in my rookie year. 

Wow, that's awesome.  Welcome aboard! 

[shadroch]

I can't think of a Golden Age book that I have sold to a youngish person. Or a female of any age.

[thehumantorch]

On 5/19/2022 at 6:01 AM, Jaylam said:

To move the conversation beyond age and gender demographics, is interest in the hobby spreading and expanding across racial and ethnic groups as well?  

I certainly have buyers that aren't Caucasian.  I think the percentage is growing although they are still a minority.  I think that generally they aren't recent immigrants and have grown up with the comic characters we're all familiar with.