I am an actual collector of very few series, and do not particularly care about the state of the books. I won't let them be damaged through neglect, of course, but don't even put them in a mylar bag. Anyway, I'd much rather buy an affordable, old floppy-eared comic in need of TLC than an expensive, pristine one. Just like the ads and the letters section, I find the yellowing paper and wrinkles add to the experience of reading old American comics.

i never bagged anything i didn't read twice first.

I own nearly 10K floppies plus about another 400 issues in collected editions, many of which I have not read yet. My plan is to work through them as time permits, and since my current pull list is quite small, I am making good progress.

As for buying issues and never reading them, I do have a few of them, primarily high-dollar books that I either have reader copies of or own the story in a collected edition. Case in point: I've never read my copy of Captain America #100, because I have the Masterworks with it included.

So I am both a reader and a collector.

I've bought a whole lot of books and not read them. I'll get around to doing it one day...

I agree with your friend, that they are meant to be read. I've never bought a comic that I didn't intend to enjoy reading.
But if you've only done it twice, that's not too bad.

There are comic related things I do collect-toys, portfolios, artwork, prints, sketch covers, commissions, ephermeralia like convention programs and other merchandise related to comics characters (things like cover reproductions on woodblocks, canvas or tin signs), but comics themselves are reading material to me. I've not read every comic I own but I am working on it. These days I tend to buy more stuff in collected editions than I do as singles. What I do buy as back issues is usually stuff with little to no chance in hell of ever getting collected (80s indy books, toy tie in comics, etc.), anthologies (Heavy Metal, Cheval Noir, etc.), or stuff in the magazine size or larger formats, or stuff outside the super-hero genre (sword & sorcery & sci-fi). If I buy new stuff in singles it's usually self-published stuff that is outside the purview of Diamond's distribution or creator-owned stuff I enjoy and feel needs the support. I do sometimes raid bargain bins for comics to cut up and use in some decoupage projects I have in the offing, so I guess that qualifies as buying without the intention of reading, but it's not collecting.

I do sometimes buy things just to own them-blank cover variants I then commission artists to do original pieces of art on, certain variant covers by particular artists (like the Darwyn Cooke variants he did for DC) but those are usually art related and are purchased to be put on display for me to enjoy as a visual piece and not as investments or collectibles. I have bought a few comics whose covers I found stunning just to have it on display as art in my office/studio/comics room, but that's a rare occurrence (and usually a cover that I discovered in our classic comic cover contest here).

So I understand the collector mentality, but I love comics as a medium and I enjoy reading them and dissecting the techniques used by the artists and writers in crafting the story too much to not read what I purchase, and my budget is too limited for me to buy stuff I don't intend to read. For me, comics are about the story, art and medium not about the object that houses those things or the format it was printed in. But I am not one to tell someone they do comics the wrong way as long as they enjoy the way they do comics, it's all good whether it be as collectible or as reading material. It's their money and they can spend it however and on whatever they choose (in the context of comics) if it brings them joy.

-M

Eventually all my comics have been re-read at some point. Never bagged them, just into boxes. Always got a box or two of paperbacks on the "to read" pile since I constantly purchase them as I find them so that I won't miss out on a book/author. Always perusing the used bookstores in town and thrift stores. I also go through Amazon for used books/authors that can't be found locally or are more expensive new and I can get them 1/2 priced or less. 

Call it my retirement. Once there are less work hours and more pleasure hours then one day I will be able to enjoy my treasure...hoard...junk...or whatever you wish to call it