Poll: How old are collectors? 3 3

[Dark Knight]

On 5/5/2024 at 3:47 PM, batman_fan said:

Look at it this way, one year closer to that sweet sweet senior discount at the movies.

Woohoo can't wait!!! 

[Sauce Dog]

On 5/2/2024 at 1:26 PM, universal soldier said:

 hopefully you are wrong. If not, I've got some fancy TP that will last me through my incontinence years.

110% not representative of the whole community, it shows that only people old-as-balls use this forum (which is not a surprise. CGC does a poor job advertising it or their registry, and anytime I've found someone 'young' who even knows about these places they've been quick to sass me how 'old' it is). Most new collectors I've met through instagram or other social channels are in their 20s (only one younger than that who is a local kid, but I also don't go to LCS anymore so not sure what the walk in age ranges are like) 

Edited May 6 by Sauce Dog

[Neo "The One"]

52 wow.  Spot on.

[lizards2]

63 - old enough for Social Security, too young for Medicare 

[Hepcat]

On 4/30/2024 at 9:22 PM, thehumantorch said:

Actually, I think they're hurting my knees, every time I lift a long box.

Well I didn't hurt myself but I almost had a different kind of disaster involving my double wide comic boxes. Several weeks ago I had taken the two boxes of "To Be Upgraded" and "Doubles for Trade" down from the top left of the filing cabinet on the left in which I keep my really good comics:

It  was awkward but quite simply I needed to re-familiarize myself with the precise contents of those two boxes. But I realized that the two boxes on the floor constituted a safety hazard since when they're on the floor I have no room to step back and I could be thrown off balance backward when I pull out one of the top drawers. So I heaved the boxes back up into their upper left corner. But I'd forgotten that I'd left the key on top of the filing cabinet right above the lock. With horror I realized that sliding the box toward the wall I might have pushed the key back behind the cabinet! That would have been a disaster since those cabinets are really heavy even without the comics.

Fortunately I had not. When I lifted the box again the key was underneath it. What a relief!

Edited May 8 by Hepcat

[rlextherobot]

On 5/6/2024 at 7:22 AM, Sauce Dog said:

110% not representative of the whole community, it shows that only people old-as-balls use this forum (which is not a surprise. CGC does a poor job advertising it or their registry, and anytime I've found someone 'young' who even knows about these places they've been quick to sass me how 'old' it is). Most new collectors I've met through instagram or other social channels are in their 20s (only one younger than that who is a local kid, but I also don't go to LCS anymore so not sure what the walk in age ranges are like) 

I think there's also a perception that this forum is strictly for the discussion, sales of, and general celebration of slabbed comics which alienates a segment of the collector market as well. I thought that was the case before discovering the original art sub-forum, and then expanding into the sales and general sub-forums. 

 

[Telegan]

I honestly don't think this forum is indicative of "the whole".  Branch out to the comic book sub-reddits and you'll see plenty of kids and middle-aged weirdos collecting comic books, looking to learn, talking about the latest storylines and what they enjoy most.   There are also Discords, IG, YouTube, etc where people talk comics all the time.  I'm also on a private Discord with some friends where we talk about everything including sports and comic book trends, latest hauls, etc.  It's a big world out there.

[F For Fake]

Turned 47 earlier this year. I once filled in on a buddy's paper route for about a week. Never did that again. I need my beauty rest, I can't be up at 5am rolling papers and walking around damp lawns! I'm delicate!

[Robot Man]

On 5/2/2024 at 9:47 AM, universal soldier said:

Looks like a lot of us are all around the same age but hopefully not representative of the hobby as a whole. Most of my earliest purcahses were obviously funded by my parents and then later allowance. I never had a paper route but my first "job" was going to my dad's dental office and cleaning the chairs and other equipment as well as sterilizing the dental tools. I did this from 11- 13 so clearly some OSHA and child labor law violations by letting a minor run an autoclave unsupervised.  Man, the 70's were really a different time. 

I was a hustler from a very young age. I started out digging out pop bottles at the beach and in alley trash cans. 3 cents for small ones and 5 cents for big ones. Would trade in at the local liquor store for comics, gum cards and candy. Graduated to cutting lawns with a push mower at a buck a lawn. Progressed to a paper route and graduated to a box boy at the local market at 14. Been working ever since. Retired now but still doing freelance graphic design work. My parents raised me right…

[Robot Man]

On 5/6/2024 at 7:35 PM, Hepcat said:

Well I didn't hurt myself but I almost had a different kind of disaster involving my double wide comic boxes. Several weeks ago I had taken the two boxes of "To Be Upgraded" and "Doubles for Trade" down from the top left of the filing cabinet on the left in which I keep my really good comics:

It  was awkward but quite simply I needed to re-familiarize myself with the precise contents of those two boxes. But I realized that the two boxes on the floor constituted a safety hazard since when they're on the floor I have no room to step back and I could be thrown off balance backward when I pull out one of the top drawers. So I heaved the boxes back up into their upper left corner. But I'd forgotten that I'd left the key on top of the filing cabinet right above the lock. With horror I realized that sliding the box toward the wall I might have pushed the key back behind the cabinet! That would have been a disaster since those cabinets are really heavy even without the comics.

Fortunately I had not. When I lifted the box again the key was underneath it. What a relief!

I’ve got some boxes like that top shelf. I get into them frequently but am damn careful when I do. Still got a strong back. No problem with long boxes and even pulled a motor out of my motorcycle recently. I am blessed so far…

[Telegan]

On 5/6/2024 at 9:35 PM, Hepcat said:

Well I didn't hurt myself but I almost had a different kind of disaster involving my double wide comic boxes. Several weeks ago I had taken the two boxes of "To Be Upgraded" and "Doubles for Trade" down from the top left of the filing cabinet on the left in which I keep my really good comics:

It  was awkward but quite simply I needed to re-familiarize myself with the precise contents of those two boxes. But I realized that the two boxes on the floor constituted a safety hazard since when they're on the floor I have no room to step back and I could be thrown off balance backward when I pull out one of the top drawers. So I heaved the boxes back up into their upper left corner. But I'd forgotten that I'd left the key on top of the filing cabinet right above the lock. With horror I realized that sliding the box toward the wall I might have pushed the key back behind the cabinet! That would have been a disaster since those cabinets are really heavy even without the comics.

Fortunately I had not. When I lifted the box again the key was underneath it. What a relief!

Going off-topic a bit here, but who makes those filing cabinets you have?  Is the brand name HON?  Do you know the model numbers?  It looks like the shelves slide out and you have the comics stacked front-to-back like in a box?

[Hepcat]

On 5/9/2024 at 8:30 PM, Telegan said:

Going off-topic a bit here, but who makes those filing cabinets you have? ... Do you know the model numbers?  It looks like the shelves slide out and you have the comics stacked front-to-back like in a box?

Yes, the shelves slide out and I have the comics stored front-to-back like in a box. Global makes them:

https://www.globalindustrial.ca/c/storage/cabinets/file_cabinets/lateral_file_cabinets?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI642ylpGChgMVDwatBh34fgWKEAAYASAAEgLQsvD_BwE#PG-75252-17408

They're widely sold including at Staples.

Edited May 10 by Hepcat

[LadyDeath]

On 5/7/2024 at 7:27 PM, Telegan said:

I honestly don't think this forum is indicative of "the whole".  Branch out to the comic book sub-reddits and you'll see plenty of kids and middle-aged weirdos collecting comic books, looking to learn, talking about the latest storylines and what they enjoy most.   There are also Discords, IG, YouTube, etc where people talk comics all the time.  I'm also on a private Discord with some friends where we talk about everything including sports and comic book trends, latest hauls, etc.  It's a big world out there.

Very true. Forums like this are a niche thing, not many exist on the Internet anymore. The subreddit comicbookcollecting on Reddit is most likely a lot of younger people. Always flooded with Bronze/Modern books and people obsessing over Hulk 181, Secret Wars 8 or ASM 316. This place is a good alternative for folks who want that golden age fix, thankfully.

Edited May 10 by LadyDeath

[Hepcat]

On 5/10/2024 at 9:01 AM, LadyDeath said:

Always flooded with ... people obsessing over Hulk 181, Secret Wars 8 or ASM 316. 

Thanks for reminding me why l just say "No, I'll pass" to those places.

Edited May 10 by Hepcat

[1Cool]

50 and still rocking.  I'm not surprised by the chart other than the 55 - 59 year olds beating out the 50 - 54 year olds for top spot.  You guys are the quiet majority since it seems like everyone I meet at Cons lately is in the 50 - 53 year old bracket.  Kind of sad there are more over 70 year olds coming around then people under 35   Most of us where under 35 when we started coming to the boards so it's not like younger people don't buy books - I know we did.  Times change and what is important will always change generation to generation.

[Latverian Tourism Board]

On 5/10/2024 at 12:11 PM, 1Cool said:

50 and still rocking.  I'm not surprised by the chart other than the 55 - 59 year olds beating out the 50 - 54 year olds for top spot.  You guys are the quiet majority since it seems like everyone I meet at Cons lately is in the 50 - 53 year old bracket.  Kind of sad there are more over 70 year olds coming around then people under 35   Most of us where under 35 when we started coming to the boards so it's not like younger people don't buy books - I know we did.  Times change and what is important will always change generation to generation.

There are more than twice as many under 35 than there are over 70 here. Considering the demographics of forums, I’m surprised to see such a strong bell curve, with most respondents under 55 who are still striving for financial maturity. Personally, I think that points to a healthy market, and pushes the heat death of our hobby out a few more years.

Someone posted some graphs in the comic price trend thread, and that looked good to me, too. I read a lot of worry about collapse from the 21-22 highs, but a median trend line ignoring that bump still looked to be rising slowly, which also indicates some health left, imo.

Much like the stock market and economy, we all have so much access nowadays, I believe the Happiness Quotient and general sentiment have become even stronger market indicators. Sometimes, we do the damage to ourselves. 😉

[1Cool]

On 5/10/2024 at 1:36 PM, Latverian Tourism Board said:

There are more than twice as many under 35 than there are over 70 here. Considering the demographics of forums, I’m surprised to see such a strong bell curve, with most respondents under 55 who are still striving for financial maturity. Personally, I think that points to a healthy market, and pushes the heat death of our hobby out a few more years.

Someone posted some graphs in the comic price trend thread, and that looked good to me, too. I read a lot of worry about collapse from the 21-22 highs, but a median trend line ignoring that bump still looked to be rising slowly, which also indicates some health left, imo.

Much like the stock market and economy, we all have so much access nowadays, I believe the Happiness Quotient and general sentiment have become even stronger market indicators. Sometimes, we do the damage to ourselves. 😉

I appreciate your dedication to accuracy and agree 13 is more than 6 but for a group of over 200 responders it's only a blip. I don't have a clue what most of what the rest of your statement means but I think you are saying the market is strong and will remain strong.  I'd think you are probably correct for the next 10 - 15 years but I don't like the outlook after that time frame.

I've been to dozens and dozens of comic cons all over the eastern US and I will have to say the graph reflects very accurately the ages of people I see actually buying comics when I'm at the cons (sounds a bit low if you are talking about traditional run collectors).  Younger buyers are out there but 20% of the market sounds about right to me.

[Hepcat]

On 5/10/2024 at 1:36 PM, Latverian Tourism Board said:

...but a median trend line ignoring that bump still looked to be rising slowly, which also indicates some health left, imo.

What I find troubling is your conflating "health" with "rising prices".

[Latverian Tourism Board]

On 5/10/2024 at 1:55 PM, 1Cool said:

I appreciate your dedication to accuracy and agree 13 is more than 6 but for a group of over 200 responders it's only a blip. I don't have a clue what most of what the rest of your statement means but I think you are saying the market is strong and will remain strong.  I'd think you are probably correct for the next 10 - 15 years but I don't like the outlook after that time frame.

I've been to dozens and dozens of comic cons all over the eastern US and I will have to say the graph reflects very accurately the ages of people I see actually buying comics when I'm at the cons (sounds a bit low if you are talking about traditional run collectors).  Younger buyers are out there but 20% of the market sounds about right to me.

The rest of the statement is just related to a slowly growing trend line being a good thing. The 21-22 blip was just that, a blip related to a strong external factor, imo. I see a healthy market. 
 

As for accuracy, I’d disagree that the difference between 6 and 13 out of a sample of 200 is insignificant, but agree to disagree. No stress, just logging my .02. 😁

[Latverian Tourism Board]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:27 PM, Hepcat said:

What I find troubling is your conflating "health" with "rising prices".

Along with a good trend line, and maybe not the demographic disaster some see. I’m not sure why prices rising, along with my other points, would trouble you as to defining a healthier market than maybe some think, (In my opinion, which is important to remember here), but sorry if that bothers you. I’m a long time collector with a lot of cellectibles, just so you know. And 47. (Old) 😁