You win $50 million in the lottery. How much do you spend on comics?

[thomasdacat]

I would easily spend 2 million on high grade golden age and the rest I will invest.

[innocuous]

I would budget, out of a lump sum put aside and some interest, about $2 million. But, I would put a cap to how much I spend monthly or on a single comic. As someone said early in this thread, I want to be a collector. If I got everything I wanted right away, I would be really bored in my new mansion.

[OrangeNemesis]

at least 2 million.

[mrwoogieman]

I would spend however much I wanted to for the rest of my life (probably wouldn't spend beyond a mil or so total I don't think).

 

I could see making some big purchases if a bargain Action 1 were presented or some other 'deal' that I wouldn't be able to pass it up (even if I were stinking rich, I'd still be a 'deal whore').

[jordanscott]

I could probably get all the comics i want that are available for less than 5 mil...while i'd love to have a complete Police Comics GA set, I doubt I could find them all....but that would be after all the normal stuff...

 

pay off bills...pay off family bills...setup some funds for younglings and whatnot.

 

would build the main house here for my wife and myself and the buy a house back home, a house in England, Germany, Japan and Arizona and never have to worry about a hotel again.

 

i would quit my job since i'm pretty disenchanted with I/T now...but would open my own store...probably not comics...but maybe a dedicated scif/fantasy/horror shop (a la Bakka - is that still open?) and use that as my job.

 

the houses would facilitate travel for business or pleasure and they'd be open to family and friends. maybe even a board member or two if you're nice.

 

mostly would go into low risk investments with modest returns that would be rolled back in or as many have said 'live off the interest'.

 

i'd have no desire to stay in my current job with my current employer but I might just hang around a bit to find out what it's like to do something with absolutely no worries about income. and then quit the first time somebody pissed me off. which would probably happen fairly quickly.

[the blob]

I don't know...I'd probably move to some paradise where getting comics shipped to me would be too much of a pain in the rear and I'd forget about the hobby.

[skybolt]

I don't know...I'd probably move to some paradise where getting comics shipped to me would be too much of a pain in the rear and I'd forget about the hobby.

 

Or you could hire someone to drop them off to you.

[comicwiz]

I would likely use some budgetary approach to handle discretionary purchases. That includes comics.

 

The question that would most likely arise would be "what else would I want to collect?" My collection contains pretty much everything I've ever wanted, and I can't see the few remaining items I would want to add costing me very much.

 

One idea though would be to keep the $50 million untouched. Get the best possible return on investment, but even if I were to do the safe thing and collect interest on it for the sake of going on with the exercise, I could find myself earning between 2-4 million yearly depending on the rate I negotiate with the financial institution.

 

I'd probably divide the interest in half, and work with a dealer or seller, or a group of them, each year, and give them all an assignment. What I mean is that once a year, I would plunk down a certain amount of money, and give each participant only a certain window of time to view what they had to offer and decide whether I would buy it or not. I like this idea because it would do three things I feel are important while reinforcing my reasons for being a hobbyist.

 

The first is that the more creative and aggressive sellers would research my interests or ask what they were, and put together a really interesting assortment of books and other oddities. Stuff I may never have seen or heard, and in doing so, the whole exercise might reveal to me an aspect of the hobby that might work to keep me motivated to come back for more.

 

The other thing is that it would give me a better understanding of which dealers deserve my attention as each one would have to earn my respect and trust, and to those, I would continue to bring my business. Maybe even recommend them to friends and other hobbyists.

 

The third is related to the support aspect, and you can't overlook how much of a boost it would give the hobby.

 

The purchasing power would certainly put me at the front of the line in terms of acquiring the rare stuff everyone wants, and probably afford me some great prices. And although this would not be very different from the way I currently do things, I would also monitor online opinions and chatter, and would use some of the more damning testimonials to make a final determination on who I decide to bring my business.

 

All in all, I would try to make it a big positive to all involved, and include the constructive aspects to make the whole exercise a little less about the selfish act of spending.

[the blob]

half the fun for me is the thrill of the hunt and finding a bargain. while i do have a few nice books in my collection, i still have fun rummaging through dollar boxes. so plopping down $50K on some pristine GA grail just doesn't excite me so much. rummaging through dollar boxes if I had that kind of loot --- I don't know if I'd still do it.