Stocks vs. Comics

[JohnBull]

If there were ever a more pathetic human being on the face of this planet then you I'd be surprised.

 

 

I'll remember that if you ever start a Marketplace thread, and will be sure to hijack it constantly, in order to be as "unpathetic" as you stalking trolls.

 

Keep dancing around the facts Joe. I'll post the facts one more time so you can dance around them some more.

 

I didn't post in your thread until after you had your hissy fit and pulled the books. The thread hijacking took place after you took your toys home.

 

You know why you dance around the facts Joe? Because when presented with them you are exposed as a pathological lier who is constitutionally incapable of being honest with your self or others.

 

 

[joe_collector]

 

Yeah, this should be interesting, as I have absolutely no idea why everyone is backing away from their role in yet another "JC thread hijack/insult fest".

 

These trolls follow me around like brain-dead puppies, have no problem insulting and berating me at a moment's notice, yet somehow feel the need to portray themselves as "shining white knights, who posted respectively and above reproach" in this particular case.

 

Talk about a skewed perspective.

 

 

[OldGuy]

Nice dance.

[whetteon]

I wonder if Gene was posting here in 1999 telling everyone they should stop buying those crappy comics and instead place all their money into the under-valued internet bubble stocks.

 

On the positive side, I'm more incline to invest in blue chip stocks right now then comic books. Comics are inflated in my opinion where as the stock market seems to be already at it's low point. That's just me though.

 

Finally, I think of comic investing to be more inclined with art then with stocks. You buy a comic cause of its history and the artist/writer, ect... They are a piece of history. What the hell is a piece of paper that "claims" to make you a .00001% owner of some company worth? As much as someone is willing to pay you for it. Same with comic books. However, the comic books have some actually history behind it.

 

My conclusion: Invest in stocks AND comic books. But only invest in comic books if you enjoy the genere and not because you want to make some fast dollars.

[joe_collector]

I wonder if Gene was posting here in 1999 telling everyone they should stop buying those crappy comics and instead place all their money into the under-valued internet bubble stocks.

 

I don't know about Gene, but during the NASDAQ bubble, I was advising co-workers to get out of the market and take their profits. Of course, I ran into the same level of antagonism I experience here when trying to impart logic to the masses.

 

When people have that "Gold Fever" in their eyes, nothing can stop them from riding their "investments" right into the toilet.

[joe_collector]

What the hell is a piece of paper that "claims" to make you a .00001% owner of some company worth? As much as someone is willing to pay you for it.

 

Not true, as companies have real world assets (not to mention serious cash reserves) that have actual value and liquidity.

[lighthouse]

A handful of years ago, I made the stupidest investing decision of my life. I had retired from my job to focus my efforts on my comic book store, and after a few weeks of agonizing deliberation, I decided to pull all my funds out of my 401K to put them into the store. Since I am well below the age of 55, I took a HUGE penalty to do so and earned the ridicule of virtually everyone who knew me at the time.

 

I'm sure the folks here that are involved with the market are already cringing over the decision I made...

 

But I made that incredibly foolish choice in September of 1999... and those same folks who were cringing a sentence ago are probably now shaking their heads at my genius market-timing...

 

I didn't regret my decision in September of '99, and I don't gloat about it now. I wouldn't even pretend to say that I could time the market that well again. I made the choice that was appropriate for my own level of risk tolerance, and the time I had available to directly manage my investments. If I had it to do over again I would, and not because I was going to miss the freefall of the winter of 1999-2000, but because it was the right choice for my situation.

 

You can make money in comics. You can make money in stocks. You can make money with a lemonade stand. But you have to know which is right for your situation. And passive investing in comics (with the possible exception of Action 1 and Tec 27) is a horrible idea... The people who buy hundreds of copies of X-Force 1 with plans to fund their child's college dreams are probably the same people who were calling their brokers in April 2000 to pull all their money out of the market because they had lost so much money. For them, I don't think it matters how they invest...

[whetteon]

What the hell is a piece of paper that "claims" to make you a .00001% owner of some company worth? As much as someone is willing to pay you for it.

 

Not true, as companies have real world assets (not to mention serious cash reserves) that have actual value and liquidity.

 

Is theory this is true. But when it comes to practice, companies like Enron are skilled at hidding their corruption in order to look like they have such things.

[joe_collector]

Is theory this is true. But when it comes to practice, companies like Enron are skilled at hidding their corruption in order to look like they have such things.

 

Why is it that "comic book investors" use Hulk 181 to show how healthy the market is, and Enron to show how risky stocks are?

[Bonds25]

Thanks, but there was no mass-hijacking of your marketplace thread.

 

Okay, so why was everyone posting nonsense, insults and one noted slam against my family? I received ABSOLUTELY NO OFFERS from any of the dweebs who responded to the thread, so what would you call that?

 

I could post my grocery list and you and your band of merry men would be all over it, as you can't seem to resist stalking me.

 

Get a grip. You said you were selling books for a friend who wasn't feeling well, and then I believe TWO posters made a joke. You then came back calling ALL OF US insensitive, horrible people for making fun of your dying relatives. Not feeling well....dying. Two people...everyone.

[Darthdiesel]

...without Joe #21, we would not have had the truly God-awful "'Nuff Said" month that Marvel did a couple of Decembers ago...

 

Gene

 

 

Any truth to the rumors that you have the whole original art for the entire Nuff Said line set up as your next major buy?

[whetteon]

for the same reason stock investors talk about blue chip holdings and then compare them to "death" of superman's, x-force 1's and spawn 1's

[Darthdiesel]

Most original art that people buy are the finished penciled and inked piece - get it?

 

Sorry, I always thought that "drawn" "line art" denoted pencils, but I guess I'm lower on the anal-scale.

 

Would that make you hyper-anal...

 

the correct prefix would be hypo- to denote "lower than"

[Darthdiesel]

MOst recent comic investments: El Cazador 1 and X-Men 146 (Xorn = Magneto) - if any one would like some "Shares" of my rising stock, please PM

[deathlok]

MOst recent comic investments: El Cazador 1 and X-Men 146 (Xorn = Magneto) - if any one would like some "Shares" of my rising stock, please PM

 

do you think the X=M will be a big deal, or even a notation in OS?

[garthgantu]

 

And... YOU WERE IN WIZARD?!?!?!?! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!

SIGN MY BRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I thought you switched to the "manzierre" ?

[delekkerste]

I wonder if Gene was posting here in 1999 telling everyone they should stop buying those crappy comics and instead place all their money into the under-valued internet bubble stocks

 

I'm pretty sure I bought more comics in 1999 than I did stocks. Being on the front-lines of the mania on Wall Street, I knew the gig was up when the CEO of a tiny B2B start-up told us that he wouldn't sell his company unless he personally cashed in more than $40 million. Needless to say, the company went bankrupt during the bust.

 

No, mon ami, I got outright bearish on the Nasdaq in April 2000, about a month after the peak, and stayed largely in cash and bonds from 2000 to late 2002. That's pretty damn good timing, and certainly not the first time I've accomplished it (I've got the published research reports from Salomon from 1993-1997 to prove it).

 

How have I done it? By following Joe_Collector's advice (long before I ever heard of J_C) - "buy where they ain't". I like to buy stuff before Wall Street jumps on the bandwagon - most of these so-called "pros" are sheep, and sheep get slaughtered. If you try to use the same tools as Wall Street, trading the same stocks, using the same analytical methodologies, following the same earnings estimates, etc., of course you are at a big disadvantage, which is why I look at smaller, less widely-followed stocks and out of favor industries, companies and commodities. The comic analogy would be not to buy the "sure-fire investments" (e.g., high grade pre-65 Marvel SA keys, Hulk 181, etc.) that everybody "knows" can't ever go down in value. When "everybody knows" something and are making outlandish claims like that, I start running for the hills...

 

 

What the hell is a piece of paper that "claims" to make you a .00001% owner of some company worth? As much as someone is willing to pay you for it. Same with comic books. However, the comic books have some actually history behind it.

 

That is an absurd statement. 0.00001% of a big number can still be quite valuable. There are huge underlying assets and cash flows backing that piece of paper if you buy a reasonably-valued stock. These underlying businesses make money, have growth potential and can compound these income streams into huge shareholder value. Comic books generate no interest, dividends or earnings. They are only "art" and "history" to the limited group of people who read and collect them, whose ranks are thinning slowly but surely over time. They have almost zero intrinsic value.

 

I think Lighthouse got it right - passive investing in comic books at today's prices is for SUCKERS. That strategy was great in 1990, but not so great today. To the extent you can wheel and deal your way in comics to profits, more power to you. Many people here have shown that it can be done, though it takes a lot of hard work (enjoyable as it may be for some) and the returns are usually far from spectacular. Personally, I think there are better opportunities elsewhere for those who are willing to look.

 

Gene

[Darthdiesel]

Possibly a note...won't know if it'll be big deal until current storyline ends and current issue New X-men 149 is leading to Xorn possibly being Magneto's multiple personality... or Prof X messing with his head

[garthgantu]

Dude, straight up, 10% (especially inflation adjustsed) for a SAVINGS account is absolutely incredible!!! I would literally put 100% of my assets into something like that if i could get a guaranteed FDIC insured savings account for inflation + 10% (even inflation +8%).

 

DAM

 

My sentiments exactly..!! I opened a savings account for my daughter a few years ago... it pays a 1% interest rate. This is with Bank of America, not some local bank (maybe they'd offer better rates..?). Talk about depressing. You can't even teach your kids the importance, benefits, value etc. of saving money anymore...

[Mister_Mean-migration]

(I've got the published research reports from Salomon from 1993-1997 to prove it).

 

Please scan these so called reports for us, so we can see with our own eyes.