What is better, Upgrading or.....

[ultimatevenom]

I was wondering what all of you out there do

 

Do you buy a comic and if a better one becomes available buy the good one and sell yours?

 

OR

 

Do you buy the best one you can find at that time and keep it?

 

I have not come to that situation yet but i am sure i will soon

 

 

[Bonds25]

It's all about the upgrade!

[LordRahl]

Depends on your collecting goal and budget. For some books the price difference between a 9.4 and 9.6 is huge. It could easily buy you another 9.4 book or two. If you are on a somewhat restrictive budget you should probably not worry about upgrading past a 9.4 as the multiples for Silver 9.6s can be pretty crazy. Of course that's assuming you're collecting Silver and/or Bronze.

[jonnydouble]

Always go for the upgrade....but lately speculation has made it difficult to go to a 9.6 or 9.8 on key silver/bronze books...I'm not going to pay 25x guide to have a 9.8.....on the bright side with prices dropping some as it is now it will be a good chance to snag some upper high grade books.

 

J.D.

[dam60]

Personally with my Bats, I like to have nice copies of the keys (aka upgrade lesser copies) but for the run of the mill books, a VG is just fine!

 

Also, for me a solid 9.4 will never need upgrading . . .

 

 

DAM

[sfilosa]

I agree with DAM, a nice 9.4 is not worth upgrading. Then you are speculating.

 

Personally I feel the best value is NM- (9.2). They usually go for less than half a NM (9.4) and truthfully, most times I don't see enough of a difference to justify the added price. I'm really starting to look more closely at the books I buy and even the back cover. I would much rather have a NM- (9.2) with a nice, white, clean back cover than a NM (9.4) that is somewhat yellowed.

 

 

[hobbes]

I also agree with dam. The price differential past 9.4 is just too much for me. I could pick up several books in 9.0 to 9.4 for the price of some 9.6 or 9.8's. As far as my raw copies, I look for vf or better and leave it at that.

It would be nice to have one perfect 10 though! Say, a Conan 1. Now that would be sweet!

[Elvis]

I also agree with dam. The price differential past 9.4 is just too much for me. I could pick up several books in 9.0 to 9.4 for the price of some 9.6 or 9.8's. As far as my raw copies, I look for vf or better and leave it at that.

It would be nice to have one perfect 10 though! Say, a Conan 1. Now that would be sweet!

 

Good luck on that... I would rather get a golden age key in mid grade than pay for that insanity. It would probably cost you more than a pound of flesh.

[Elvis]

By the way, i purchase what i can at the time and then try to upgrade later, when its convenient. I dont buy many silver or gold key books in 8.0 or higher. Just cant afford it. (I have considered using the kids college fund but its that damn concience that keeps holding me back...)

[Darthdiesel]

I agree with DAM, a nice 9.4 is not worth upgrading. Then you are speculating.

 

Ya gotta love these blanket statements condemning those who have a penchant for owning the highest graded copies (spider9698, dolphinsrwj, and bronzebruce come to mind) with those "who are only out to bring down the entire comic book collecting hobby" as we know it...

 

Also agreeing with DAM can be hazardous to your health too

[Darthdiesel]

Oh and I've been also know to upgrade and sell off my lower grade copies

[BronzeBruce13]

I agree with DAM, a nice 9.4 is not worth upgrading. Then you are speculating.

 

Ya gotta love these blanket statements condemning those who have a penchant for owning the highest graded copies (spider9698, dolphinsrwj, and bronzebruce come to mind) with those "who are only out to bring down the entire comic book collecting hobby" as we know it...

 

Also agreeing with DAM can be hazardous to your health too

 

 

I think many collectors (whatever "type" they may be, or combination of goals they may have) have a hard time stepping outside themselves. As such, understanding and relating to the motivations and collecting style/goals of others is not easy to do.

 

I'm relatively sure no one here meant any harm or were trying to condemn those that collect above 9.4 (or insinuate 9.4+ collectors are ruining the hobby), but statements like some offered here can easily be misunderstood, or taken wrong since they were made in an all-encompaasing fashion.

 

IMHO, its better to offer opinions and insight about your own collecting style and goals because you obviously understand your own motivations. When anyone declares, in a factual manner, that they understand what others intentions and goals are within the hobby and label them... they are really guessing and/or being judgmental. No one can really say... collecting is rarely black or white.

 

Its been pointed out here on the forums many times by more than a few... that most "comic hobbyists" don't clearly fall into one category (true-fan who only reads, low-mid-high grade collectors (raw and/or CGC), partial/exclusive investor/speculator, etc.). Most are a combination "hybrid" of several to varying degrees. We must also consider the different levels of passion and obsession to pursue these goals.

 

Anyway, we all clearly have different tastes, goals and obsessions. I think we should try and be tolerant and accepting of other collectors regardless if their motivations are different and we can't relate. It takes all kinds to keep our hobby/market rolling along.

 

"collect... and let collect" my comic brothers

[drbanner]

I find it interesting that the basis of grade in this discussion is the numerical grade only. I guess grading is buy the numbers these days (pun intended), and there are no more "NM's" - they've all been replaced by "9.4's"!

 

Anyhowser, I continually upgrade when I can. And IMHO, an "upgrade" is a book that I like better than my existing copy, not necessarily one that CGC awards a higher numerical grade to. It's quite possible (and more than plausible) to upgrade your collection by sticking within the same CGC grade, or even a lower CGC grade. Everyone weighs various defects (date stamps, printing creases, spine stress, page quality, cover centering, cover color quality, gloss, etc.,.) differently. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - buy the book, not the label!

[PovertyRow]

With the books I collect, pre-code horror, it really depends on the particular issue, especially as I try to find only one copy of each title (like a type set). Some books are just plain hard to find and if I really need it I will get it, even in low grade. These are books like Captain America 75, Mister Mystery 13, Horrific 5 etc. Then the hole in my collection is filled but I will also be on the lookout for a higher grade.

 

Some titles, like a lot of the EC, ACG and Atlas titles, I will hold out for higher grade (Fine or better) because they are generally a lot easier to find in a variety of grades than the lesser publishers.

 

For my collecting, since I am going for one issue per title, the upgrade is sometimes not as much for condition than for a cover I like more.

[Rickdogg]

I was wondering what all of you out there do

 

Do you buy a comic and if a better one becomes available buy the good one and sell yours?

 

OR

 

Do you buy the best one you can find at that time and keep it?

 

I have not come to that situation yet but i am sure i will soon

 

 

I upgrade my books all of the time and usually sell my lower grade copy for close to what I bought the upgrade for.

 

BUY THE BOOK, NOT THE LABEL! I have kept 9.2's and have sold off my 9.4's and have kept 9.4's over 9.6's many times due to "overgrading."

[sfilosa]

I was not implying that people should never buy 9.6. I basically said, that usually I can't see the difference. I agree with Drbanner 100%, buy the book not the label, which is why I look for "eye appeal" over the label.

 

I am a high grade collector. I pretty much don't buy anything under a VF, and only buy VF books if 1) can't ever find better copies 2) price just gets too high for nicer copies.

 

 

[dam60]

Personally with my Bats, I like to have nice copies of the keys (aka upgrade lesser copies) but for the run of the mill books, a VG is just fine!

 

Also, for me a solid 9.4 will never need upgrading . . .

 

 

DAM

 

Couple of things -

1 - I respect everyone's different collecting objectives. If you read my post again, I said "ALSO FOR ME". I am not trying to put my collecting goals and objectives on other people. Also, when I am offered a book it's never been "I have xyz book in 9.0, 9.2. 9.4, 9.6 and 9.8 - which one do you want". I take books as they come to me either via ebay, forum members, heritage, etc and play my cards as such.

 

2 - Darth, I think you were forgetting a "NOT" in your last post - Regis boy or not, don't make me have to open a can of whoop [!@#%^&^]!!!!!!!!!!!

 

DAM

[Fan4Fan]

I've thought about upgrading from time to time, but I just can't justify it for a couple of reasons:

 

1) While I like my books to be close to pristine (to give me that just off the rack feeling when I read them), I just can't afford that;

 

2) I still have many books on my list to get a first copy of;

 

3) Hard to believe, but I am getting less anal about condition as I get older

 

Thanks,

Fan4Fan

[sfilosa]

I think many of us made the assumption (maybe incorrectly) ,that we were talking about upgrade a nice copy to a nicer copy.

 

If the original poster meant, buying VG to build a huge collection, then upgrading over time, that is a lot different than buy a VF/NM and upgrading to a NM.

 

 

From a buying then selling stand point, it is probably not the wisest investment to buy low to mid-grade copies (unless you get them dirt cheap) with the intention of upgrading in the next few months (only to try to sell the low grade copies). In that case, I would hold out for the better copy (notice I said "I would hold out").

 

On the other hand, because most of the books I buy are already in high grade, I don't usually upgrade unless the price is a bargain.

 

Lastly, for me, upgrading would be more of a "eye appeal" reason, than a label reason. I tend to buy NM- copies because in general the "eye appeal" is as nice as I need, but at half the cost of a NM copy.

 

Just the way I do it.

 

 

[murph0]

I think upgrading is easier for the mind to handle. I usually think of it in terms of.. well I have a 9.2, it'll sell for 300 dollars, I can get this 9.4 for 500.. that means it'll only cost me 200 dollars!!

 

Brian