Owning multiple copies of back issues - why do we do it?

[dgillock]

Most of the dupes in my collection are either the result of upgrading and then being to lazy the unload the under-copy, or they are the result of buying lots of books which involve multiple copies of single issues. I don't really view my collection as an investment in anything but my leisure time, so that doesn't really play a role.

[Calamerica]

Paging Cal! Paging Cal! I think you could answer this one better than the rest of us!

 

 

I wished I could have the serious answer how all of this got started...

 

the long version:

 

when I was a boy my allowance was $1.00 per month - this is no typo - ONE DOLLAR PER MONTH allowance - that only afforded me 8 comic books @ 12 cents each = .96 - + 3% MD state sales tax would leave me with one red penny and I would buy a bubble gum ball in those clumsy machines they had back then.

 

Marvel got permission to expand titles - had to have been 1968 - and they combined Iron Man and Subby for that one-shot deal - they closed out two great titles, TALES OF SUSPENSE and TALES TO ASTONISH . So they gave Captain America and the Hulk their own Issues, and I had to put one of them back - so it was the IRON MAN/SUBBY. Iron Man was my favorite character( and TOS # 83 was the very first comic book I owned). I had read some comics before the TOS # 83, but they were my uncles' copies and I was particular about things even as a small boy - he did offer me his comics when he was done with them, but because they were once "his" I did not want them.

 

Putting back that IMSM one-shot smarted quite a bit - I thought that I would get one later from one of my buddies that traded or gave comics away. Believe it or not, not ONE of these buddies had a copy of the IMSM one-shot. I was out of luck. When I started visiting Geppi's Comic World when he was on Edmonson Avenue, he told me he had a few, but sold out. I should have asked Mr. Geppi to save me one, because he would have, Mr. Geppi bent over backwards for his customers and I am sure he does not mind me saying this now but for certain customers that struggled financially, like I did as a boy - he used to GIVE us comics but asked us to keep it quiet a bit - don't go blowing our horns because others would ( and DID) take advantage of his generosity. That is why on my death-bed Mr. Geppi will be the NUMBER ONE dealer on the planet forever as far as I am concerned.

 

Back to the hoarding of particular Issues - when I started on eBay - I got hooked right away. Staying up all hours of the night, surfing the listings, learning all about eBay - was fun - at first. Also online I found out about the Los Angeles Monthly Con, so I went there shortly after I was first on eBay.

 

My first comic book I bought was FANTASTIC FOUR # 14 with Subby on the cover holding Invisible Woman as hostage. It was about VF 8.0. I got it for $30.00. Then the dealer( a one-time wonder - never saw her again) whipped out THREE IMSM's - they were not in great condition, about VG/F 5.0 - 6.0 tops - she sold all three to me for $30.00. She also sold me two Iron Man # 1's, and a few Spawns and Amazing Spider-mans but can't recall the exact Issues anymore. I went through the Con and found SEVEN more IMSM's and bought them all. So some day back in March 2000, I already had 10 raw copies.

 

Then I saw the listings for CGC comics. I bought a IMSM VG/F 5.0 for about $30 and was thrilled. I sent my FF 14 and got it graded, a VF 7.0 - and regretfully sold it to a relative in the Chicago area and was pressured by family to do so - sold it for $150.00 - but saw a FF 14 F 6.0 sell for $650 last year when the movie was out...

 

Some say it is a obsessive disorder I have - similar to the old lady buying 250 cans of coffee when coffee spiked $2.85 per can in the late 1978-79 years - I clearly remember a picture in the Washington Post that had her smiling and boasting how she "cornered" the local coffee market - she spent over 2,000 in taxi cab fares to transport her all over the DC Metro area - but died shortly afterwards. her relatives were not happy. The photo did not have all 250 cans of coffee...

 

I naturally gravitated to high-graded material. That is what I like to collect. I like designer clothes, new cars, fine art, French wines/cuisine/movies, so I started upgrading to higher quality copies.

 

I had 818 total copies of IMSM in 2003. I sold many lower graded copies since then, off of my now-defunct website, and ebay. MANY private sales and I have the Paypal records to back that up. Some of said sales were from eBay - they kept getting out-bid by me and they asked me very nicely if I could sell them a copy or two. I ALWAYS gave them a great deal - I never asked guide or even close to

guide the lower graded ones - I did ask closer but not quite guide for the higher graded copies.

 

I had almost 70 CGC'd copies but I sold off almost all of the ones below VF 8.0. Most of these were on eBay and I always made money on those. But it is not about the money.

 

I want to be known as THE collector that specializes in that one Particular Issue - similar to a NYSE Specialist that say. markets IBM stock. S/he only trades/makes a market for that particular IBM stock.

 

Some Specialists( and the Firms they work for) market SEVERAL stocks - one might do General Motors, Ford and Intel. One might do 3M and Chevron. I started hoarding other Issues besides IMSM. The 2nd favorite comic I like to hoarde is the BEATLES DELL 1964. This comic is VERY hard to get in high-grade because of several reasons:

 

a) the 35 cent cover price just was, hard to believe, a turn off by the parents that gave kids money in that era; the 35 cent cover was no object for the older girl that had their own money thus NEMS publishing must have gambled that there would

be far more of the latter than former. They guessed wrong.

 

b) despite the estimated 28% sales they had of that comic, there were TOO MANY other magaizines competing for the Beatle's fans - thus the other 72% were returned for credits by the distributors.

 

c) both demographic buyers had a tendency to rip out at least one of the pin-ups( their favorite Beatle) in that Issue. A few have all four beatles' pin-ups ripped out.

 

d) As with most squarebound comics, printing them was tedious and troublesome at best - many made it in the scrap heap as trash because the indifferent workers in those printing factories knew that they only needed to get the majority of them out and just be "close" to perfect. Many stories over the years from former Color Printing co in NYC and Sparta Press in IL have been similar to this.

 

e) My final guess is that yes, the Beatles Dell was intended for the young girls who were fanatics of the Fab Four. The comics were destined to be read many times the way comics were intended to be in that era - an affordable entertainment venue, and DISPOSABLE! Girls were not thinking of saving the copies to get money back for them years later.

 

I also have several full runs of the SILVER SURFER 1968 series. He was 25 cents in the day, and I just could not afford him, but I really wanted to buy him.

 

Also are a few ASM's such as # 62 w/ Medusa cover.

 

Already in many cirlces I am known as the IMSM guy - people I have no clue who they are actually send some to me - I have no idea where they get my address from - they are probably former Sellers in my past bidding that kept records or just plain remember me as odd - and I get coverless copies, covers only, tee-shirts, and I even got a photograph of the front cover for a christmas card once!!!

 

But I know I did not expand too much on the WHY I do this - maybe I am reliving my childhood in one heckava-way out and giving it all I got!

 

Sure hope you enjoyed this long rant!

 

CAL

[comicseekers-migration]

Paging Cal! Paging Cal! I think you could answer this one better than the rest of us!

 

 

I wished I could have the serious answer how all of this got started...

 

the long version:

 

when I was a boy my allowance was $1.00 per month - this is no typo - ONE DOLLAR PER MONTH allowance - that only afforded me 8 comic books @ 12 cents each = .96 - + 3% MD state sales tax would leave me with one red penny and I would buy a bubble gum ball in those clumsy machines they had back then.

 

Marvel got permission to expand titles - had to have been 1968 - and they combined Iron Man and Subby for that one-shot deal - they closed out two great titles, TALES OF SUSPENSE and TALES TO ASTONISH . So they gave Captain America and the Hulk their own Issues, and I had to put one of them back - so it was the IRON MAN/SUBBY. Iron Man was my favorite character( and TOS # 83 was the very first comic book I owned). I had read some comics before the TOS # 83, but they were my uncles' copies and I was particular about things even as a small boy - he did offer me his comics when he was done with them, but because they were once "his" I did not want them.

 

Putting back that IMSM one-shot smarted quite a bit - I thought that I would get one later from one of my buddies that traded or gave comics away. Believe it or not, not ONE of these buddies had a copy of the IMSM one-shot. I was out of luck. When I started visiting Geppi's Comic World when he was on Edmonson Avenue, he told me he had a few, but sold out. I should have asked Mr. Geppi to save me one, because he would have, Mr. Geppi bent over backwards for his customers and I am sure he does not mind me saying this now but for certain customers that struggled financially, like I did as a boy - he used to GIVE us comics but asked us to keep it quiet a bit - don't go blowing our horns because others would ( and DID) take advantage of his generosity. That is why on my death-bed Mr. Geppi will be the NUMBER ONE dealer on the planet forever as far as I am concerned.

 

Back to the hoarding of particular Issues - when I started on eBay - I got hooked right away. Staying up all hours of the night, surfing the listings, learning all about eBay - was fun - at first. Also online I found out about the Los Angeles Monthly Con, so I went there shortly after I was first on eBay.

 

My first comic book I bought was FANTASTIC FOUR # 14 with Subby on the cover holding Invisible Woman as hostage. It was about VF 8.0. I got it for $30.00. Then the dealer( a one-time wonder - never saw her again) whipped out THREE IMSM's - they were not in great condition, about VG/F 5.0 - 6.0 tops - she sold all three to me for $30.00. She also sold me two Iron Man # 1's, and a few Spawns and Amazing Spider-mans but can't recall the exact Issues anymore. I went through the Con and found SEVEN more IMSM's and bought them all. So some day back in March 2000, I already had 10 raw copies.

 

Then I saw the listings for CGC comics. I bought a IMSM VG/F 5.0 for about $30 and was thrilled. I sent my FF 14 and got it graded, a VF 7.0 - and regretfully sold it to a relative in the Chicago area and was pressured by family to do so - sold it for $150.00 - but saw a FF 14 F 6.0 sell for $650 last year when the movie was out...

 

Some say it is a obsessive disorder I have - similar to the old lady buying 250 cans of coffee when coffee spiked $2.85 per can in the late 1978-79 years - I clearly remember a picture in the Washington Post that had her smiling and boasting how she "cornered" the local coffee market - she spent over 2,000 in taxi cab fares to transport her all over the DC Metro area - but died shortly afterwards. her relatives were not happy. The photo did not have all 250 cans of coffee...

 

I naturally gravitated to high-graded material. That is what I like to collect. I like designer clothes, new cars, fine art, French wines/cuisine/movies, so I started upgrading to higher quality copies.

 

I had 818 total copies of IMSM in 2003. I sold many lower graded copies since then, off of my now-defunct website, and ebay. MANY private sales and I have the Paypal records to back that up. Some of said sales were from eBay - they kept getting out-bid byme and they asked me very nicely if I could sell them a copy or two. I ALWAYS gave them a great deal - I never asked guide or even close to

guide the lower graded ones - I did ask closer but not quite guide for the higher graded copies.

 

I had almost 70 CGC'd copies but I sold off almost all of the ones below VF 8.0. Most of these were on eBay and I always made money on those. But it is not about the money.

 

I want to be known as THE collector that specializes in that one Particular Issue - similar to a NYSE Specialist that say. markets IBM stock. S/he only trades/makes a market for that particular IBM stock.

 

Some Specialists( and the Firms they work for) market SEVERAL stocks - one might do General Motors, Ford and Intel. One might do 3M and Chevron. I started hoarding other Issues besides IMSM. The 2nd favorite comic I like to hoarde is the BEATLES DELL 1964. This comic is VERY hard to get in high-grade because of several reasons:

 

a) the 35 cent cover price just was, hard to believe, a turn off by the parents that gave kids money in that era; the 35 cent cover was no object for the older girl that had their own money thus NEMS publishing must have gambled that there would

be far more of the latter than former. They guessed wrong.

 

b) despite the estimated 28% sales they had of that comic, there were TOO MANY other magaizines competing for the Beatle's fans - thus the other 72% were returned for credits by the distributors.

 

c) both demographic buyers had a tendency to rip out at least one of the pin-ups( their favorite Beatle) in that Issue. A few have all four beatles' pin-ups ripped out.

 

d) As with most squarebound comics, printing them was tedious and troublesome at best - many made it in the scrap heap as trash because the indifferent workers in those printing factories knew that they only needed to get the majority of them out and just be "close" to perfect. Many stories over the years from former Color Printing co in NYC and Sparta Press in IL have been similar to this.

 

e) My final guess is that yes, the Beatles Dell was intended for the young girls who were fanatics of the Fab Four. The comics were destined to be read many times the way comics were intended to be in that era - an affordable entertainment venue. Girls were not thinking of saving the copies to get money back for them years later.

 

I also have several full runs of the SILVER SURFER 1968 series. He was 25 cents in the day, and I just could not afford him, but I really wanted to buy him.

 

Also are a few ASM's such as # 62 w/ Medusa cover.

 

Already in many cirlces I am known as the IMSM guy - people I have no clue who they are actually send some to me - I have no idea where they get my address from - they are probably former Sellers in my past bidding that kept records or just plain remember me as odd - and I get coverless copies, covers only, tee-shirts, and I even got a photograph of the front cover for a christmas card once!!!

 

But I know I did not expand too much on the WHY I do this - maybe I am reliving my childhood in one heckava-way out and giving it all I got!

 

Sure hope you enjoyed this long rant!

 

CAL

 

Cal,

 

I have 3 high grade copies (at least 9.4) in storage. I will be organizing all my comics this summer and will let you know when I come across them.

 

You poor sick [embarrassing lack of self control]................it's not really a sickness....I'm sure that most of the true comic collectors have multiples of issues but do not admit it.

 

I have 1 case of a 1st issue that came out in the early 70's with guaranteed 9.8-9.9 possibly 10.0 copies of that issue.

 

I will not disclose what issue that is because I will be submitting a nice chunk of them to CGC shortly.

 

I feel your pain my brother.

[Guest]

Paging Cal! Paging Cal! I think you could answer this one better than the rest of us!

 

 

I had 818 total copies of IMSM in 2003. I sold many lower graded copies since then, off of my now-defunct website, and ebay. MANY private sales and I have the Paypal records to back that up.

 

I had almost 70 CGC'd copies but I sold off almost all of the ones below VF 8.0. Most of these were on eBay and I always made money on those. But it is not about the money.

 

I want to be known as THE collector that specializes in that one Particular Issue - similar to a NYSE Specialist that say. markets IBM stock. S/he only trades/makes a market for that particular IBM stock.

 

 

Cal,

 

I have 3 high grade copies (at least 9.4) in storage. I will be organizing all my comics this summer and will let you know when I come across them.

 

You poor sick [embarrassing lack of self control]................it's not really a sickness....I'm sure that most of the true comic collectors have multiples of issues but do not admit it.

 

I have 1 case of a 1st issue that came out in the early 70's with guaranteed 9.8-9.9 possibly 10.0 copies of that issue.

 

I will not disclose what issue that is because I will be submitting a nice chunk of them to CGC shortly.

 

I feel your pain my brother.

 

I think this is not an isolated incident for a good many of us!!

[Anfield Fox]

I'm in the process of selling all my duplicates. I have no need for them and would rather someone else enjoy them, particularly when it's on a rare or expensive book.

 

I hate when a person hoards countless copies of a single issue and then there are not enough to go round for the rest of us. There was one person who i won't name who had multiple copies of a book that i desperately wanted but refused to sell despite offering market value. I can't understand the logic of that but then it is his/her prerogative.

 

I also have a policy of never buying more then 2 copies of a new book. Anything more i consider greedy and again i would rather let someone else who needs it get the book. I remember having an "inkling" on Ultimate Spider-Man 1 so i picked up 2 copies. I could have gotten 10 but it wouldn't have been fair on everyone else. Of course if i had known it would be a $100+ book i would have gotten all 10 but even now i don't really regret it because people who couldn't afford 100 bucks would have picked it up and enjoyed it.

[DawgPhan]

For those of us who collect multiple copies of particular back issues, why do we do it?

 

The normal reasons for "new issue speculation" don't seem to apply here:

- hope of a quick profit/flip

- taking advantage of new issue hype

- hopeful that a story/character gains immediate popularity or becomes the next big thing

- long-term view that issue could become "key"

 

It seems that the "back issue hoarder" would need different reasoning...

- rarely is a quick profit/flip in the goals of a back issue "hoarder" who seldom (never) sells

- there is no "new issue hype" with back issues which are decades old

- a story or character is unlikely to gain "delayed popularity"

- the book is either key or it's not, and is unlikely to change so many years later

 

So... for those of us with multiple copies of the same book (and no intention of selling anytime soon)...

 

Why?

 

Probably because you cant help yourself...Also I doubt that the folks collecting GA Bats have the same issues that you have collecting valiants. I could pass up copies of Rai 0 or bloodshot 1 on the cheap...I know that they are worthless but I love them. They're cheap and we like em...that leads to having a box full of them...if you have a couple dozen copies of the same GA Batman then you probably have some serious issues and need to get out of your mom's house...

[toro]

I wished I could have the serious answer how all of this got started...

 

the long version:

 

when I was a boy my allowance was $1.00 per month - this is no typo - ONE DOLLAR PER MONTH allowance - that only afforded me 8 comic books @ 12 cents each = .96 - + 3% MD state sales tax would leave me with one red penny and I would buy a bubble gum ball in those clumsy machines they had back then.

 

You rich bugger, all I got was 25cents!!!

 

I went through the trash to get return bottles to feed my habit.

 

I probably purchased all Marvel and 80% of the DC line at that time. To this day I cannot remember ever seeing the Iron Man / Sub-Mariner book at the newsstand. Didn't even see it at the store that sold the ripped covers. I could have purchased thousands of Iron Man #1 with a 3/4 cover at 4cents each. They be worth about $5 now!

 

When I started back into funny books in the 80s, I did buy multiples of silver age, but they were still lower grade. I'd buy any Daredevil #7 that I could find. I loved that book!

[skybolt]

For those of us who collect multiple copies of particular back issues, why do we do it?

 

For me it is constantly upgrading a favorite issue.Comparing those copies against each other. Seeing how different the production value was.Hoping my personal favs pan out to be goldmines. Basic Geek stuff.

But I will ask you, as well as others.. selling off an issue you hoard is not an easy task. Am I alone in finding it hard to part with an issue # that I hold in high regard even if I own multiple copies of?

 

You bring up a good point. For instance, I have 2 copies of Jo-Jo Comics #11 (one of my favorite GGA covers) in 8.0 and 5.0 condition. I can't bring myself to sell the 5.0 copy since it has better cover gloss than the 8.0 copy, and does not have a date stamp on the female character. Same thing applies to the 8.0 copy, since it looks much better structurally than the 5.0 copy. Hence, keeping both copies was the only option.

[Wally's Comics]

I went through the trash to get return bottles to feed my habit.

 

I can still remember the old glory days when I used to do this...

 

I'd walk for miles and miles in the blistering summer in hopes of getting some

change to buy comics with.

 

It was extra special when you came across the fat liter bottles on the road or next to the trash...

 

 

 

We kept america recycling!

 

 

[dm226]

I have multiple copies of a few issues, that I continue to buy more of. While there are some others (FF #52, for example), the three I usually go after are Strange Tales Annual #1 (I have about 30 copies), Strange Tales Annual #2 (I have 50 or so) and Millie the Model Annual #1 (about 15-20). I suppose there is something weird about doing this, but after reflection, I have come to following conclusions:

 

1) I collect these three issues because I had never seen them when I was a kid. I have had a run of ASM at one time or the other, but never came across STA2 growing up. All three are fairly tough to find, so I enjoy the hunt.

 

2). I think that all three are grossly undervalued (although they have been gaining in recent years).

 

3) In the past, my gut feeling has always paid off (I financed my college education with all of the hockey cards I hoarded - at one time I had 20+ Gretzky and 50+ Mario Lemieux rookie cards, which I paid less than $5 each for.

 

Dan

 

PS thanks for starting this thread and reminding me that I am weird!!!

[seank]

Imagine if all the collectors/speculators decided to sell of all their dupes?

 

Can you spell Market ?

 

 

Can you spell "Broken Record"???

 

I have to agree with Joe here. There were as many Hulk 180s and 182s printed as there were 181s. If everyone who had multiple Hulk 181s due to the key factor were to sell those off, the price would drop dramatically for most grades. Likewise, Daredevils 167, 168, and 169, etc.

 

I once ran into a dealer at a show who has a huge collection of key books in all grades. He had bought the collection from a woman who only bought keys and who bought them in every grade. Suddenly he had 5-10 copies of Green Lantern 59* and was selling most at half guide.

 

* I remember that particular book because I was contemplating a purchase of one at the time. That title used for example purposes only. Your mileage may vary. Keep away from open flame.

[jimjum12]

I will keep more than one copy of comics that are favorites for some reason that I also believe to be undervalued or have room to grow.One copy will have several strong points that the other does not have and vice-versa.At this point I have duplicates of 3 comics.I have 2 copies each of FF 13 (RAW 7.5,cgc 8.0), FF 18 ( CGC 7.5,CGC 8.5),and Avengers 3 (CGC 9.2,CGC 9.2).If I were to someday upgrade to a copy of any of the above with white pages and cover stock,perfect centering,deep colour strike,and no colour breaking creases,I would probably be willing to sell the others.As much as I like to think of myself as a collector purist,my financial situation does require me to also consider the investment factor.If the market ever does crash,I'd rather be stuck with books that I really like.As I've told some friends at work,I hope to one day at LEAST be able to recoupe the money that I've spent on my hobby,which is more than can be said for many hobbies.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[comicseekers-migration]

I'm in the process of selling all my duplicates. I have no need for them and would rather someone else enjoy them, particularly when it's on a rare or expensive book.

 

I hate when a person hoards countless copies of a single issue and then there are not enough to go round for the rest of us. There was one person who i won't name who had multiple copies of a book that i desperately wanted but refused to sell despite offering market value. I can't understand the logic of that but then it is his/her prerogative.

 

I also have a policy of never buying more then 2 copies of a new book. Anything more i consider greedy and again i would rather let someone else who needs it get the book. I remember having an "inkling" on Ultimate Spider-Man 1 so i picked up 2 copies. I could have gotten 10 but it wouldn't have been fair on everyone else. Of course if i had known it would be a $100+ book i would have gotten all 10 but even now i don't really regret it because people who couldn't afford 100 bucks would have picked it up and enjoyed it.

 

So, what you are saying is that if you happen to come across a sealed case of a key silver or bronze issue that you could purchase at an estate sale for about $1.00 each, you wouldn't do it because it wouldn't be fair to other people who don't have the book.

[Marty B]

Perhaps some of you suffer from the same issue that I do? I always pickup a "deal" when I see one. I have WAAAAAAY too many copies of Star Wars #1 for example (really, isn't more than one too many?).

 

I always assume the pickup might be higher grade then one I already have or better paper quality. I just figure I'll eventually sell the dupes.

 

And this brings me to the second half of my misfortunes. I'm too lazy to sell them.

 

Ubie X

[comicseekers-migration]

Perhaps some of you suffer from the same issue that I do? I always pickup a "deal" when I see one. I have WAAAAAAY too many copies of Star Wars #1 for example (really, isn't more than one too many?).

 

I always assume the pickup might be higher grade then one I already have or better paper quality. I just figure I'll eventually sell the dupes.

 

And this brings me to the second half of my misfortunes. I'm too lazy to sell them.

 

Ubie X

 

No, why is having more than 1 issue too many. If you are a collector/investor who is smart enough to pick up certain key issues and either sell them for a profit or use them for trade, why not do it? If you want to unload some of those Star Wars #1 please, send me a PM.

[the blob]

yeah, i can't help myself when the price is right. right now i'm selling stuff (but don't have the time to even scratch the surface of what i have amassed) because some extra cashflow is nice. if i ever go back into private practice and am working 12-14 hours a day again and making 2-3X what I'm making now, i'll probably stop selling. won't have the time. i hardly sold any comics when I was at a big law firm making nice bucks, just bought. my wife sold stuff on ebay and i helped her with that, but that's about it.

[the blob]

as for a crash if everyone unloaded multiples at once: that would be true for almost anything out there. imagaine how low diamonds would be if debeers and the russians dumped their vaults. what if museums started unloading en masse the art and antiquities they have in storage (because many museums don't have nearly enough display space to show even a decent chunk of what they own). what if everyone who owns vacation and rental properties dumped them at once?

[Marty B]

Perhaps some of you suffer from the same issue that I do? I always pickup a "deal" when I see one. I have WAAAAAAY too many copies of Star Wars #1 for example (really, isn't more than one too many?).

 

I always assume the pickup might be higher grade then one I already have or better paper quality. I just figure I'll eventually sell the dupes.

 

And this brings me to the second half of my misfortunes. I'm too lazy to sell them.

 

Ubie X

 

No, why is having more than 1 issue too many. If you are a collector/investor who is smart enough to pick up certain key issues and either sell them for a profit or use them for trade, why not do it? If you want to unload some of those Star Wars #1 please, send me a PM.

 

I picked on Star Wars in particular as I just don't see it ever being a truley high priced book. Too many copies around and too many "collectors" from other hobbies have bought and properly stored this book.

 

My obsession with multiple books is nowhere near as bad as Calamerica and his IMSM #1 but I do have about 32 copies of Justice League #3 with the variant, Superman Comics test logo. It was a book I had heard about and always thought I would want to own. Once I started going to the big city and it's big comic shops, conventions and shows, and eBay I just bought and kept every copy I cam across that was reasonably priced. (Given how many copies I've seen I don't imagine this book being a high priced book in the future either).

 

Ubie X

[Anfield Fox]

I'm in the process of selling all my duplicates. I have no need for them and would rather someone else enjoy them, particularly when it's on a rare or expensive book.

 

I hate when a person hoards countless copies of a single issue and then there are not enough to go round for the rest of us. There was one person who i won't name who had multiple copies of a book that i desperately wanted but refused to sell despite offering market value. I can't understand the logic of that but then it is his/her prerogative.

 

I also have a policy of never buying more then 2 copies of a new book. Anything more i consider greedy and again i would rather let someone else who needs it get the book. I remember having an "inkling" on Ultimate Spider-Man 1 so i picked up 2 copies. I could have gotten 10 but it wouldn't have been fair on everyone else. Of course if i had known it would be a $100+ book i would have gotten all 10 but even now i don't really regret it because people who couldn't afford 100 bucks would have picked it up and enjoyed it.

 

So, what you are saying is that if you happen to come across a sealed case of a key silver or bronze issue that you could purchase at an estate sale for about $1.00 each, you wouldn't do it because it wouldn't be fair to other people who don't have the book.

 

Yeah, that's EXACTLY what i said

[shadroch]

If everyone else dumped their wares at once,I'd still buy books that I thought represented good values.In fact,their actions would make it much more likely that the books I bought would be better long term investments.I've been doing it for thirty years and hopefully will be doing it another decade before I cash out for good.