Are you content with your collection? 2 2

[Grant Turner]

About 8 years ago I sold my comic book collection to devote my full attention to comic art.  

I managed to raise about some decent money and used it to pretty good effect.  I acquired some great pieces, and some pieces I liked but didn’t love.  Those pages I used to trade up. Some trades I made huge gains, some were loses, but I was able to continue to refine and grow the collection and now have about 2x what I started with in art.

But flash forward to the present, and the truth is, I love everything I have.  I no longer have anything I’d want to offer up for a trade.  

And now here’s the thing.  With no trade options, and not being independently wealthy, I now have anywhere between $500- $2500 I would be willing/able to spend on art. As the hobby gets pricier and pricier, that might, but 9 times out of 10, probably won’t, be enough to get the pieces I want (I collect Silver and Bronze Age Marvel).

Obviously, deals are still out there, but I’ll need to be vigilant and more than a little lucky to keep my collection growing.

All that to say, I’m actually content with what I’ve amassed. I’ve got some real cool first appearance pages. Pages by all of my favorite artists. It’s a small but mighty collection.

What about you guys? As you find yourself priced out of the hobby are you happy with what you’ve got?  
 

(here’s a link to my CAF page If you want to see what I’ve got)

https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=130820

[Ecclectica]

As a little fish in this hobby, I would say that I'm really pleased with my collection.

Regrets of not buying when I had the chance, I have several, but remorses with what I have bought so far... none.

[grapeape]

Grant Turner I like your CAF Gallery. You have the right attitude. Small but mighty is just fine. Enjoy what you have. Hit conventions and watch eBay. Occasional good deals still show up.

🍇 🦍 

[grapeape]

On 5/24/2022 at 11:17 PM, Ecclectica said:

As a little fish in this hobby, I would say that I'm really pleased with my collection.

Regrets of not buying when I had the chance, I have several, but remorses with what I have bought so far... none.

That’s good to hear 😃 We should be enjoying this. 👍 👍 

 

[JadeGiant]

Grant, you have a great collection and I can tell by how you acquire art that you have curated a collection that very much suites your taste for art. Ver well done!

For me, the answer to the question is an emphatic "yes" - I learned that this is a decision I had to make early on as there are always pieces that are out of reach for me in terms of availability and cost. At some point in your collecting journey (different for all of us), you start to curate your collection and think in terms of what you want it to look like in the future. I don't want to stop collecting today, but if I did I would be very happy with where I ended my journey. 

I have always told myself that I would like to start turning various non art collectibles into funds to by art but never have gotten around to it. I think I am nearing that time as I see some additional time availability in my future. 

[Dayzen]

Nice collection Grant. I was content and then recently decided to change and concentrate on published pages. 
 

I’ve been selling off pieces and trying to buy pages that fit the new direction. 
Im enjoying the change and it’s a way for me to get excited again. 
 

Im sure it’ll change again but for now Im having fun. 

[rlextherobot]

Satisfied is a hard to define. Are there more pieces I would like to own? Yes, absolutely. Am I willing to sacrifice anything I have, or forego other things in my life to get them? No, I don't think I am. If prices were less inflated would that change? I think it's a possibility? But at the end of the day I don't look at what I have and feel like anything is missing. 

[rikemice]

Content? Yes.

Done? No way.

There's ALWAYS something out there I want. But prices have pushed much of it beyond my reach. So I decided to trim the fat and have had several pieces up at Heritage for the last few weeks. I've had some gains, and some losses, but it's been good overall and is going to allow me to focus on a couple of larger buys and go for quality over quantity.

[delekkerste]

On 5/25/2022 at 2:07 AM, Grant Turner said:

What about you guys? As you find yourself priced out of the hobby are you happy with what you’ve got?  

Very happy. I mean, sure, there are things that I still would love to own, things I know that I will never get at this point, things I wish I had bought or bought more of, things I wish I hadn't sold, etc. But, all-in-all, I'm extremely happy with my collection and am very content with what I have.

I consider anything I get these days - which is a dozen pieces so far in 2022, more than what I bought in 2020 & 2021 combined - as just gravy at this point. And, the current prices make it a lot easier to just say "Nah, I don't need ________ that badly" and to make me more appreciative of the pieces I already own.  

[Bird]

When I first found out about CAF I thought to myself "I think my collection is better than any I will find there, FOR ME" and with one exception I was right. I had the best collection out there for me. I probably had 700-1000 pieces at the time and regret selling many but still love my collection. I have been content for a few years, I have added a few things but I used to go to the post office every other day (to the point where we were looking for houses this past year one was next to a post office and the girls were laughing "perfect for dad!")

I plan to move sometime in the next year or so (we are looking for the one that is "just right") and am wondering what I will do with the 32 pieces I have framed - keep them all up, put them all in itoyas or some combo of the two. It will be interesting to see where I decide to go. 

 

[Grant Turner]

On 5/25/2022 at 12:07 PM, delekkerste said:

Very happy. I mean, sure, there are things that I still would love to own, things I know that I will never get at this point, things I wish I had bought or bought more of, things I wish I hadn't sold, etc. But, all-in-all, I'm extremely happy with my collection and am very content with what I have.

I consider anything I get these days - which is a dozen pieces so far in 2022, more than what I bought in 2020 & 2021 combined - as just gravy at this point. And, the current prices make it a lot easier to just say "Nah, I don't need ________ that badly" and to make me more appreciative of the pieces I already own.  

That’s me too! It’s all gravy now!

(and you’re spot on. With prices as they are, it’s much easier to look and admire than look and desire)

[Timely]

I’m not content. To me, content is just 1 step away from selling off. I have been content in other hobbies, then sold off everything for another chase.  
I will say I’m happy with what I have, but looking for more!

[Brian Peck]

I have been collecting for over 35 years, years ebb and flow depending on how many piece I acquire. I am content with my collection There are still specific pieces I am looking for particular artists I don't own an example for. So I will continue collecting but find I am much more selective in which I purchase. Very little impulse buys as I used to do. But then again I have only been to a few cones in the last couple of yers.

[G.A.tor]

I got a very late start to collecting art. I’m singularly focused on silver surfer. But so little quality material seems to be available that I’m no where near content 

[batman_fan]

I am happy with the stuff I have acquired over the years but definitely not done (I hope).  I really want an early Charles Schulz from 1950 to 1953

[thethedew]

On 5/25/2022 at 2:19 PM, Bird said:

I had the best collection out there for me.

Same.

(Kudos on the balanced perspective)

[MAR1979]

I was very lucky I started collecting art in 1999.  10 years later I had obtained my "Holy Grail" in a place I never would have expected.  Have a bunch of other major and minor grails. I try not to focus on what i missed out on but on what I succeed in obtaining and how it will help me retire early.  What I am most proud of is all my hundreds of art acquisitions were above board and never once did I pay an artist less than what was the going rate at time of purchase.

While i still make trades, it appears my buying days may have ended as my last purchase was Early March 2020.  All good things....

 

 

[Xatari]

I feel somewhat spoiled as it was a very early purchase of my grail that got me really into OA… sort of the cart before the horse. Sure glad I haven’t looked back the past few years. The pieces I’ve collected, but more importantly, the friendships I’ve made have been amazing. Having a group to collect with has been incredibly rewarding.  Like several others have shared, I’m content but certainly see adding pieces when appropriate. 

[grapeape]

On 5/25/2022 at 12:19 PM, Bird said:

 the girls were laughing "perfect for dad!")

 

 

My two girls are grown young ladies now. But I can relate. They've tolerated the madness that goes  along with this thing of ours. They can't say much though. I suffered Barney, Spice Girls and Heaven knows whatever nonsense  they put us through during  the teen years. I'm blessed though cuz our girls are top notch human beings.

Bird is right. I have regrets but I have pieces in my gallery that express who I love and admire. It's based on pleasing aesthetic, nostalgia, intuitive and sometimes counter intuitive impulses guiding what I collect. I wanted to put up art on CAF not just for me but for the OA community. Then I have a stash of unseen art. Maybe it will be sold. Maybe I don't want inquiry after inquiry so I keep it to myself. 

I am involved always in trying to add to my collection but I don't have a time machine to go back to more reasonable times.

 

 

[Rodey]

I was going though my pages the other day and think exactly about all of this. I'm glad I have 2 or 3 pages that I totally enjoy and got at a reasonable price. Overall, I'm very happy with what I have. If something pops up that I like, and it's a decent price? Sure I'll grab it.