"There's no need to slab my comics"

[SurfingAlien]

C'mon - it took a lot of energy to write that post - worth something at least. Besides - I personally know at least one aging collector who has a huge collection, including mega-keys, who has no wife, no insurance, no slabbed books, and no incentive to acquire any of the three! So it really isn't so preposterous - there were a lot of geeks in the Seuling convention days, and I assume that some of them besides the one I know are still holding onto a lot of books and don't care about what is going on in the collecting world...

[deathlok]

What I want to know is...Is the wife hot?

[Comicdey]

C'mon - it took a lot of energy to write that post - worth something at least. Besides - I personally know at least one aging collector who has a huge collection, including mega-keys, who has no wife, no insurance, no slabbed books, and no incentive to acquire any of the three! So it really isn't so preposterous - there were a lot of geeks in the Seuling convention days, and I assume that some of them besides the one I know are still holding onto a lot of books and don't care about what is going on in the collecting world...

 

Then I hope I come across the collection some day............

[SurfingAlien]

With good luck, you will find some - I believe there are still unsung collections out there - look what came to light in just the last 2 years (Crippen, Rosa...just the biggest there - and these were semi-known already - stamp collecting took over a hundred years from the 1840 penny black to 1940 before anyone even knew what the heck was out there - and many valuable items are still "lost")

[The Troll King]

I know someone that has an original owner collection that is at least 20 long boxes worth of stuff and I know 10 years ago he had no interest in selling them or even knowing what their value is.

 

Maybe I should get back in touch with him?

 

Oh and edit: He was in his 40's 10 years ago!

[mica]

Now that you're dead, how many times have you voted in illinois?

[WOXL]

I read this as a mock cautionary tale and found it quite amusing. If the attention was a farce, nice work. Otherwise

 

-Bob

[That Ron Dude]

I find the most realistic part of the initial posting to be George. He comes across a recently widowed "georgeous wife" and goes after the comic books, "screwing her" out of the money. Typical fan.

 

Other alternatives are:

 

Leave a note as to what the books are worth in your will.

Get along with your wife and tell her the value. Take the heat.

Have a friend you can trust tell the wife of their worth and help create the sale.

Don't get an unrealistic view of their value.

 

 

I appreciate the story. It is a thoughtful one. I must agree with you-- if a man has a million dollar collection, a wife he can't trust, friends he can't trust after he dies and really poor judgement, he has to do something to protect his assets.

 

Another scenario for someone, let's call him "Fred Collector" -- The collection is worth less than "John's" a lot less. When "Fred Collector" croaks his house, pension and life insurance will be there to be the primary support of his family. "Fred Collector" though 27 years short of the average age for a man's passing in Canada, has left a written statement with his comics on their values and how to sell them. "Fred Collector" is currently sending his son into an expensive MBA program, worth co-incedently about the cost of getting his collection slabbed. He will enjoy his collection while he is alive and his family will make a profit on it at his death, while keeping their priorities straight.

[joe_collector]

I read this as a mock cautionary tale and found it quite amusing. If the attention was a farce, nice work. Otherwise

 

The other option, of course, being that we're reading a post typed by a disembodied and very bitter ghost.

[ashrael]

Was this written by a CGC employee?

[joe_collector]

Another scenario for someone, let's call him "Fred Collector"

 

Once again, none of these people are related to me.

[Wally's Comics]

I read this as a mock cautionary tale and found it quite amusing. If the attention was a farce, nice work. Otherwise

 

The other option, of course, being that we're reading a post typed by a disembodied and very bitter ghost.

 

 

The ghost sounds like he's...

 

De-Comic-Posin'.

 

 

[lizards2]

Was this written by a CGC employee?

 

My thoughts exactly. The more common liklihood is a collector who doesn't know how to grade, gets his collection slabbed, and ends up with collection of CGC certified *spoon* - happens all the time - that's why there are all those low grade collections of late 60s/early 70s *spoon* on eBay.

[drbanner]

I think there are 2 good underlying themes that the Iceman was trying to get across:

 

1) If you have a collection worth a significant amount of money, you really should address it in any estate planning (wills, directions to the survivors as to what they should do with your books, etc.,.), and

 

2) For valuable books, having them professionally graded is not such a bad idea since it will be a lot easier for the survivors to know how to deal with a "Unrestored, CGC 9.2 Amazing Spider-man #1" than "a really nice Spidey #1!". It also makes your books immediately liquid in case of emergency, although that's less critical as the CGC turn-times for valuable books is less than a month.

 

One final point (and I imagine it's not going to be a popular one for people around here to hear), is that if you're married, and especially if you have kids, if your comic book collection comprises a significant percentage of your net worth, then I think it's a little selfish to not sell some of those and share the proceeds with your family (vacation, buying a house, new car, etc.,.). For example, someone feverishly collected books throughout their 20's while they were single, amassed a huge, killer collection by spending all their extra cash on comic books, gets married 10-15 years later with little net worth outside of the funny books, and suddenly finds themselves with a wife and kids to care for - IMHO, this person needs to downsize their collection.

 

I think this last point is the one several posters were trying to make above...if this guy had all this money tied up in books (even if he inherited them) but no life insurance and little in the way of planning to care for his family should something happen to him, that's kinda sad.

[OldGuy]

Wow, what an *spoon*. Your wife is better off without you.

[MutantKeys]

[nik]

The message that I get is there is no trust, or too many secrets in this marriage

[binarysunrise]

Or is the message that JC here better watch out, as someone is hunting down the Collector family?

 

[nik]

I think JC is smarter then people think he is

[Apotheosis]

Wow, what an *spoon*. Your wife is better off without you.

 

That hit me perfectly... I don't laugh out loud for much on the boards, but that did it.