Collecting or investing?

[wolfling40-migration]

In the thread The Crash???, Shuley76 said

"I think that people who have 'common high grade books' should sell them all, unless you love them to death, but other than that, sell them all! Buy something huge like 10K or more, better long term investment."

murph0 responded, in part, with:

"Sounds a little less like a collector and more like an investor."

My question: Is there a difference?

Unless you buy "funny books" to read and keep in the draw next to your underwear (unbagged of course silly), aren't you investing? Are you buying a FF 48 at 9.2 to read it? Collect it? Aren't you "collecting it" for its potential furture worth? I mean, I bought comics off the stands throughout the 70s and me and the other kids all purchased thinking, "This Conan the Barbarian No. 1 will be valuable one day...this New Gods No. 1 too," and so on. Of course 30 years on we were right (on some of the things we bought -- anyone want to wallpaper their bathroom with 20 pristine copies of the worthless Shazam! No. 1?), and one day I will sell off nearly everything (at a profit over the 15 to 20 cents each I paid for them.

And why would you invest in having a comic professionally graded unless you were quantifying your investment?

 

Mark in Taiwan

[scottish]

I've said before that while I appreciate that my comics (and other collectibles) have value I collect because I like the character(s), writer(s), artist(s), etc.

 

Would I be disappointed if all my books were suddenly worth 1.00 each? Hell yeah! Along this same line of thinking when I sell dupes on eBay they will have a reserve or initial starting bid that I feel comfortable with. This may make me an investor to some, but I'm not stupid (except when it comes to buying mylars ).

 

bronzebruce, sullypython, drbanner, CI, FlyingDonut, greggy, rickdogg (and others) are perfect examples of the type of collector I want to be. They don't give their books away by any means, but they go out of their way to do good for others that have a love of the hobby. If only everyone operated in a similar fashion.

[OldGuy]

I think what makes me a collector is that I would buy comics even if I knew for a fact that they would never be worth more then what I paid for them. If one day they are worth [/b]more[/b] then what I paid then that is pure bonus.

 

As far as CGCing comics in my collection goes, that's about the stupidest thing I can imagine. Why the would I even think about doing that unless I was going to sell them?

[drbanner]

You're right, there's really not much difference. I love nothing more than to buy books for my personal collection, but if I can pick up a NM Daredevil 131 at a show for $30, slab it and sell it for a tidy profit, I'm gonna do exactly that - so that I can buy more books for my collection!!! So in essence, I'm "investing" in the DD 131, so that I can "collect" golden age, or early silver age. However, I'm not investing in the sense of planning to re-sell the book in 10 years after it has appreciated, I'm investing more in the sense of I plan to sell this book immediately, at a small profit of course (otherswise known as "buy wholesale, sell retail")

 

Sadly, and I think most collectors realize this, when I'm buying a book for my own collection off ebay, Heritage, or wherever, I have become the ultimate predator at the top of the comic book food chain. Since I outbid everyone else that was interested in it, who's gonna buy it from me (at a profit) now?!?! Exactly - no one is going to buy it from me, b/c I'm planning to keep it

[Kevin Boyd]

My question: Is there a difference?

 

There's a HUGE difference.

 

Unless you buy "funny books" to read and keep in the draw next to your underwear (unbagged of course silly), aren't you investing?

 

Usually I buy comics to READ and ENJOY. I keep them in good shape because I want to keep them in good shape for as long as I have them. And the new purchases often lie on the floor beside my bed in a box until I read them.

 

I don't buy many CGC books online because if I get them I want them to read. If I do buy slabbed books online then it is because I think I can get more for it than what the seller is willing to sell it to me for. I usually don't have the time of the patience to look for these deals though.

 

Are you buying a FF 48 at 9.2 to read it? Collect it? Aren't you "collecting it" for its potential furture worth? I mean, I bought comics off the stands throughout the 70s and me and the other kids all purchased thinking, "This Conan the Barbarian No. 1 will be valuable one day...this New Gods No. 1 too," and so on .

 

Collecting something is usually done for enjoyment. If I bought Conan off the rack in the '70s it was because I liked Conan and I wanted to get them all, not because I thought I was going to make a mint off of them in 25-30 years! (which is still unlikely with that book).

 

I would not enjoy paying the price for an FF 48 9.2 and would feel guilty about cracking the slab open if I did want to read it. I have plenty of other places that I can read it. I would rather try to find a raw copy somewhere if it was for my personal collection.

 

Of course 30 years on we were right (on some of the things we bought -- anyone want to wallpaper their bathroom with 20 pristine copies of the worthless Shazam! No. 1?), and one day I will sell off nearly everything (at a profit over the 15 to 20 cents each I paid for them.

 

Good for you. Actually you can get quite a bit more for those 20 Shazam #1's than $4 now, but if you want to get rid of them for that price... .

 

And why would you invest in having a comic professionally graded unless you were quantifying your investment?

 

Actually the only real reason for getting the book graded is to sell it on e-bay. I don't get many books slabbed myself, just the ones that I want to sell online.

 

On rare occasions I do want the restoration check and grading opinion on a key book from my personal collection.

 

Kev

 

[Darthdiesel]

Collecting something is usually done for enjoyment. If I bought Conan off the rack in the '70s it was because I liked Conan and I wanted to get them all, not because I thought I was going to make a mint off of them in 25-30 years! (which is still unlikely with that book).

 

 

Not likely, unless you were talking about a CGC 9.8 What If # 31 (?) with a corny Conan non key non continuity story bid up by 2 must have munded collectors...

[fantastic_four]

There are differences in readers, collectors, and investors, but almost everybody who posts in these forums are a mixture of all three. The definitions as I understand them are:

 

• Reader -- a person who buys comics to read them. Easy definition!
• Collector -- a person who buys sets of comics in order to get a complete run of a certain type of comic. Often, a collector doesn't read every single comic in the runs they collect. If this month's issue of X-Men looks like a stinker, a reader probably won't buy it, but a collector often will, just to get the whole set. Collectors most often are also readers, but there are a few collectors who never read comics and just like looking at the cover art.
• Investor -- a person who buys comics hoping to make money from them. Pure investors--which are rare--could care less what they buy, they just buy whatever will go up in value. Some, but not all, of the people who have jumped into the field since CGC started are pure investors. Most comics dealers have a strong investment streak in them; they collect some titles, but buy and and become educated on almost EVERY comics title to improve profitability and better serve their customers.

Like I said, most of us are a mixture of all three of these. PURE collectors or PURE investors are fairly uncommon.

[Guest]

Pencil me in as all three. I still read and enjoy comics, and enjoy building runs and buying/reading books with characters that I like.

 

And, at the end of the day, to think that these items may be worth more than I paid for them warms my heart! Icing on the cake.

[Darthdiesel]

4th category:

 

Comic fetishist: One who derives "pleasure" from performing unnatural perverted acts with comic books.

 

Those of you with funny stains on your books that you justify to your friends as slight foxing or humidity in the basement, you better look hard in the mirror and count yourselves in this category!

 

BWAHAHAHA!

[drbanner]

Yo Double-D, you better change your pic - you're mind is in the gutter today mon! Come on up out of there, and leave them be..."They who wallow in their own bodily fluids below!!!"

[Guest]

Anyone here with a love book fetish?.......

[Darthdiesel]

Hey my new pic could be tied to the character from Garth Ennis' "the Pro"

[Darthdiesel]

Yes amazing how Greggy keeps those Love books stain free...

[Darthdiesel]

My minds always been in the gutter....I don't think its ever risen out once!!!

[delekkerste]

There's a huge difference. At present, I have no plans to EVER sell my collection.

The only way I can see that changing is (a) unexpected financial hardship, (b) no heirs

to pass the collection down to, or © ungrateful/unworthy heirs not worth passing the

collection down to! The only sales I ever make are of duplicates or books that no

longer hold interest to me.

 

I'm both a reader and a collector. Very occasionally I will buy a book for resale or

buy multiple copies of a hot new title. But, lately I've been wondering why even do that.

I have tons of unslabbed "hot" books sitting in my collection - am I ever going to have

the time, energy and compunction to sell this off, piece by piece? I'm sure it would

take more time & effort than it's worth.

 

Gene

[murph0]

Truth be told, most people on here (I would assume) buy books because they love them and want to own them. Half my collection I wouldn't be caught dead selling. Whereas if someone were to buy a book they have no interest in such as if I were to buy a 9.4 Hulk 181 just to sit on it..not b/c I want the book as part of my collection that would be considered investing. Sure collectors make some money off their books going up and down but the difference between a collector and an investor is that the collector buys for the love of the book and not to play the "appreciation" game.

 

Brian

[greggy]

Hey Darth, wanna come and visit to see my new cleaning techniques with the stains you were mentioning?

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

fantastic_four: There are differences in readers, collectors, and investors, but almost everybody who posts in these forums are a mixture of all three. The definitions as I understand them are:

 

Reader -- a person who buys comics to read them. Easy definition!

 

Collector -- a person who buys sets of comics in order to get a complete run of a certain type of comic. Often, a collector doesn't read every single comic in the runs they collect. If this month's issue of X-Men looks like a stinker, a reader probably won't buy it, but a collector often will, just to get the whole set. Collectors most often are also readers, but there are a few collectors who never read comics and just like looking at the cover art.

 

Investor -- a person who buys comics hoping to make money from them.

Pure investors--which are rare--could care less what they buy, they just buy whatever will go up in value. Some, but not all, of the people who have jumped into the field since CGC started are pure investors. Most comics dealers have a strong investment streak in them; they collect some titles, but buy and become educated on almost EVERY comics title to improve profitability and better serve their customers.

 

Like I said, most of us are a mixture of all three of these. PURE collectors or PURE investors are fairly uncommon.

 

Hey Fantastic_Four, are you sure your NOT helping write that new OverStreet Grading Guide, because your post above is VERY well written, I could NOT have wrote that better myself. So what am I a mixture of? Like most of us, I'm a mixture of all of them I am probably more of a collector than anything.

 

1.) As a reader, I buy the books with characters that I'm interested in and enjoy reading, but I also have an appreciation for comic book art, and have always had an interest in the marriage of the two elements that make an illustrated story.

2.) As a collector I try to collect complete, or complete long runs. Anybody have a complete run of Action Comics? Wouldn't that be the longest run in the wonderful world of comics?

3.) As an investor I primarily buy the titles that have been around for a long time (Superman, Action Comics, Batman, Detective Comics, Amazing Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Men, Incredible Hulk, etc.). I really don't EXPECT that IF I ever sell part of or all of my private collection, that I will/would make much profit. If I do great, If not, oh well, at least I enjoyed them while I had em, and hopefully the person buying them will enjoy them too. At the present, I cannot imagine parting with my collection anytime in the near future. Afterall, I have been spending a small fortune on Mylar D, acid-free boards, & acid-free boxes. I do realize though that comics are mainly entertainment, and that there are many more important things in life. Another thought along the same lines is, what good would it do to load up my coffin with comic books when I have passed away? NONE, and I want them to survive beyond my life span, so that means giving them away or selling them at some point and hopefully my collection will provide years of entertainment for the heir/buyer.

 

(Another viewpoint) I have a "rule of thumb" for mutiple copies, here it is: own no more than 2 copies of non-keys, and no more than 3 copies of key issues. Anything over my "rule of thumb" is selling material. I am addicted to owning long runs of 100+ issues, and in the process of completing runs I usually end up with quite a few multiple copies, that and I'm a sucker for a good deal Comic books are a strange addiction, and I can't stop collecting runs. HELLLLLLP MEEEE!!! On second thought, this is the wrong place to be looking for that kind of help. *group therepy* Hello, my name is_______, and I am addicted to comics, *group answers* Nice to meet you ________, we are addicted to message boards around here." What a trade-off huh? Hey, cut me some slack, I'm in a weird mood tonight

 

Fantastic_Four what are you more of? A reader? A collector? or an Investor?

[murph0]

heh you liked it so much you thought you'd reply twice eh? ;p

 

Brian

[Guest]

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