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Post by DubipR on Feb 14, 2024 16:12:57 GMT -5
Hey comic crazies,
I have a question for you all, after my little tale. After 40 plus of collecting, the hunt has been slowly dwindling down. In 2020, during the pandemic and when my Teddy boy passed on, I took a serious look at my collection and sold off a lot of it, focusing on what I call the 'essentials' for my collection. I've refined within the collection, picking up a key issue here and there, replacing a book and selling the lesser one. You've all seen my purchases and my obscure runs that I've been making into binds. And I'm happy with what I've done and accomplished.
I have about 2 personal grail comics that I'd like to pick up, and am very close to accomplishing purchasing those within a couple of months. And that's it. I've gone as far as I can without breaking the bank on trying to purchase elusive white whales. I'm content with my books. I'm proud of what I have left but I think the tank's run out of trying to find books. Aside from Love & Rockets and anything Los Bros Hernandez put out (which is sporadic), I have enough comics, trades and OGNs that I can re-read until my heart's content. I'll still continue to refine my collection (maybe a CGC slab here and there)...
My question to you, to those who have stopped collecting; when did you know it was time? To those still collecting, when do you think you'll know its time?
-R
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Post by MRPs_Missives on Feb 14, 2024 16:26:59 GMT -5
I still gain immense satisfaction from the thrill of the hunt, and my joy in comics has almost always been about the discovering something new, not resting with old favorites. So, I don't know that I can see a time when my course will be run as long as I am physically able to keep doing it. My budget for doing it is a lot less these days, so I don't go to as many shows or explore new shops, but it was never about what I got but about the people I met and the books I discovered along the way. If there comes a time when I no longer enjoy that process (or am not able to physically do it any longer) then I will hang them up, but it won't be about there not being more books I want or having enough to read, it will be about not being able to enjoy the journey finding those things brings. But I still enjoy rooting through a long box to discover a book I never knew existed or encountering a creator I wasn't familiar with, or meeting a new dealer at a show and striking up conversations, or doing the same with people I meet at shows or shops, or running into my old con friends I only get to see at shows, etc.
It's going to be different for each person as we all have our own reasons for what we do. But for me, it doesn't matter that much what books I get when I go to a show or a shop, it's still about the experience of doing it. Don't get me wrong, I have my favorites and my want lists, but they are part of the process not the point of it for me. But I also get a lot of joy in curating my collection and my want lists, organizing, displaying etc. and if there comes a time when I can't do that either, or if that part of it supersedes the enjoyment I get from going to shows and shops, then it may be time to make these kind of decisions. But for me, today is not that day, and I don't know how close that day is for me.
-M
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2024 16:30:15 GMT -5
Ideally I'd like to pass on mine to my daughter but if she tells me she's not as interested in them as I have been, then while I still have all my faculties in check, I'll start selling them off. I'm still clinging on to my 30s....so I'd think 'retirement' age is still some way away. She's already helping me with what I currently sell so she's been learning what to do for a couple of years now....
Quite a number of my prized high-grade books have come from one-time owners who owned their books upwards of 50 years, and decided to part with them that way. Like that Action Comics 273 I posted in the purchases thread quite recently. I always wonder what's going through their minds when they say goodbye to their old friends and send them to a new home. Well other than....wow, a woman is buying my books!
It happens....
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Post by MDG on Feb 14, 2024 16:33:49 GMT -5
Well, in the past 4-5 years, I've been buying a lot more old comics, but I don't collect in any particular manner. I like going to shows mostly for the social aspect and will looks through junk bins for cheap stuff to read for fun. Mostly stuff on newsprint, so you know I'm not buying for condition.
The one thing I have been spending money on is older undergrounds, which I can justify bu knowing there's a very limited number of them (compared to superhero runs), there's a lot of stuff that hasn't been and probably won't be reprinted, the best ones are very re-readable, and I can be fairly secure that I have the biggest collection of them on the block.
I buy new work from certain creators--Deitch, Griffith, Los Bros, Clowes, Burns--and some odds and ends that look interesting if it's inexpensive.
In a couple of years, I may start selling off my silver age collection, just 'cause I see friends rakin' it in. I'd probably have to go the clean-press-slab route though, and that whole thing just depresses me.
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Post by DubipR on Feb 14, 2024 16:48:26 GMT -5
Well, in the past 4-5 years, I've been buying a lot more old comics, but I don't collect in any particular manner. I like going to shows mostly for the social aspect and will looks through junk bins for cheap stuff to read for fun. Mostly stuff on newsprint, so you know I'm not buying for condition. The one thing I have been spending money on is older undergrounds, which I can justify bu knowing there's a very limited number of them (compared to superhero runs), there's a lot of stuff that hasn't been and probably won't be reprinted, the best ones are very re-readable, and I can be fairly secure that I have the biggest collection of them on the block. I buy new work from certain creators--Deitch, Griffith, Los Bros, Clowes, Burns--and some odds and ends that look interesting if it's inexpensive. In a couple of years, I may start selling off my silver age collection, just 'cause I see friends rakin' it in. I'd probably have to go the clean-press-slab route though, and that whole thing just depresses me. A majority of the cons for me these are is purely social, which I love. The undergrounds are indeed getting harder and harder to get in great conditions. Like you I've been searching for Los Bros, some Clowes, but I'm trying to lcote clean Eros Comix stuff and it's hard. Small print run and trying to find them in great condition will cost me The comic shows that are pure comic collectors shows I'll eventually splurge on because there's usually something there. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 14, 2024 22:40:03 GMT -5
For me, it was the mid 00s to the 10s. I went from going to the LCS weekly, to once a month and still was getting very little. I bought some book collections or European graphic novels; but, that was about it. Once I found digital collections, I stopped even buying books. I still get digital, now and then, especially if something becomes available that hadn't been; but, it's been a long time. My buying petered out by the new millennium and especially for back issues. No point in looking for original comics when I could find book collections, or digital. Then, enough on-line reading sites turned up if I was just curious to sample.
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on Feb 14, 2024 23:00:30 GMT -5
For me, I've just seen my collecting focus shift a number of times. When I got burned out on superhero stuff, I started buying Golden Age and romance. And then Archie. And now I buy a lot of self-published stuff, and a lot of my focus is on making comics and collecting my own books!
I still love going to stores and finding deals and weird books I've never seen, or hard to find back issues. There's nothing like finding something cool in a dollar bin or at an antique store, so I find myself buying a lot of weird, cheap books that I don't really intend to keep. Even sometimes the more "expensive" books are just fun to own for a little while before moving them on to another home. Did I need to spend $20 on a Tomb of Dracula #2, or on a Star Spangled War Stories #137? No, but they both look really cool, and I'll enjoy them for a little while before selling them off again.
I've sort of accepted the fact at my age that I'm just a caretaker for books that will eventually go to someone else, so I'm less focused on getting stuff for a long term collection than getting stuff for the experience of finding it and enjoying it for the short and medium term. It's a different kind of fun and satisfaction, but still fun and satisfying!
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,867
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Post by shaxper on Feb 15, 2024 8:11:05 GMT -5
I stopped obsessing over collecting decades ago. Now my collection is something I have that I still enjoy adding to, but I also recognize that I don't appreciate nor utilize it enough for all the space it consumes. It more than paid for itself when I sold off key books over the past few years, but it's still boxes upon boxes of books I will probably never read again before I die.
When I was young, I guess I had this idea that it was possible to one day own and read it all. Now realizing how absurd that idea is, the question becomes what to do with a partial collection.
And I think the answer is simple -- enjoy it when you can; get rid of it if it ever becomes a burden. When I die or move into assisted living one day, I have no problem with my kids calling Mile High and letting Chuck's successor rob them for the privilege of getting it all out in one fell swoop. I've long abandoned any romantic idea of my collection living on beyond my own exit from the hobby. So these books are here for me to enjoy them, or to not. If I have the space, and I find any satisfaction at all in adding to it or in continuing to re-experience it, then great. And if it sits and collects dust until I die, that's okay too, I guess.
It's the other stuff I worry more about -- photos, artifacts, even sentimental furniture. That's the stuff that no one is going to show up with eager eyes and a crisp hundred dollar bill to take away and then pass on to others who will appreciate them just as much.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Feb 15, 2024 8:32:34 GMT -5
Hey comic crazies, I have a question for you all, after my little tale. After 40 plus of collecting, the hunt has been slowly dwindling down. In 2020, during the pandemic and when my Teddy boy passed on, I took a serious look at my collection and sold off a lot of it, focusing on what I call the 'essentials' for my collection. I've refined within the collection, picking up a key issue here and there, replacing a book and selling the lesser one. You've all seen my purchases and my obscure runs that I've been making into binds. And I'm happy with what I've done and accomplished. I have about 2 personal grail comics that I'd like to pick up, and am very close to accomplishing purchasing those within a couple of months. And that's it. I've gone as far as I can without breaking the bank on trying to purchase elusive white whales. I'm content with my books. I'm proud of what I have left but I think the tank's run out of trying to find books. Aside from Love & Rockets and anything Los Bros Hernandez put out (which is sporadic), I have enough comics, trades and OGNs that I can re-read until my heart's content. I'll still continue to refine my collection (maybe a CGC slab here and there)... My question to you, to those who have stopped collecting; when did you know it was time? To those still collecting, when do you think you'll know its time? There wasn't really a point where I realized I didn't want to collect comic-books anymore; it happened little by little. When it comes to new books, it started with availability: we moved far from any LCS twenty years ago, and there were no titles that I was so enamoured with that I wasn't willing to wait for trades. When all those titles eventually got cancelled, the point became moot. As for older stuff, I was never a great collector. There were a handful of series I wanted to read and therefore had to own, because they likely wouldn't be reprinted, and there were a few key issues that I was ready to pay good money for... but once that was done, any further purchase was just a matter of opportunity; there was no collecting zeal behind my sporadic purchases. The price of back issues, the exchange rate and the cost of shipping were the final nails in that particular coffin. As you say, I am content with the comics I have... and our public library fairly bursts at the seams with titles I've never read. |
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Post by DubipR on Feb 15, 2024 9:26:56 GMT -5
Hey comic crazies, I have a question for you all, after my little tale. After 40 plus of collecting, the hunt has been slowly dwindling down. In 2020, during the pandemic and when my Teddy boy passed on, I took a serious look at my collection and sold off a lot of it, focusing on what I call the 'essentials' for my collection. I've refined within the collection, picking up a key issue here and there, replacing a book and selling the lesser one. You've all seen my purchases and my obscure runs that I've been making into binds. And I'm happy with what I've done and accomplished. I have about 2 personal grail comics that I'd like to pick up, and am very close to accomplishing purchasing those within a couple of months. And that's it. I've gone as far as I can without breaking the bank on trying to purchase elusive white whales. I'm content with my books. I'm proud of what I have left but I think the tank's run out of trying to find books. Aside from Love & Rockets and anything Los Bros Hernandez put out (which is sporadic), I have enough comics, trades and OGNs that I can re-read until my heart's content. I'll still continue to refine my collection (maybe a CGC slab here and there)... My question to you, to those who have stopped collecting; when did you know it was time? To those still collecting, when do you think you'll know its time? There wasn't really a point where I realized I didn't want to collect comic-books anymore; it happened little by little. When it comes to new books, it started with availability: we moved far from any LCS twenty years ago, and there were no titles that I was so enamoured with that I wasn't willing to wait for trades. When all those titles eventually got cancelled, the point became moot. As for older stuff, I was never a great collector. There were a handful of series I wanted to read and therefore had to own, because they likely wouldn't be reprinted, and there were a few key issues that I was ready to pay good money for... but once that was done, any further purchase was just a matter of opportunity; there was no collecting zeal behind my sporadic purchases. The price of back issues, the exchange rate and the cost of shipping were the final nails in that particular coffin. As you say, I am content with the comics I have... and our public library fairly bursts at the seams with titles I've never read. It's a Mount Everest deal for me. I've climbed the highest mountain in my collecting, and in my desired price range. Where do I go from there. I don't want to stop; there's Kickstarter projects, collected editions. But the books I've been seeking and hunting will finally be put into my collection shortly. The trophies have been mounted on the wall. Maybe my phrasing might be wrong; I don't know. When did the slow down start maybe.... |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 15, 2024 10:32:50 GMT -5
I honestly have little to no collector mentality any more. The clear turning point was moving to a place where the nearest comic shop is 150+ miles away. And I don't have the temptation of cons (big or small) because that has never been an option for me. Even without that, though, I just no longer have a completist bone in my body. Probably 75% of what I buy now are strip reprint books...and I only buy them when the deal is right. So I have holes in the "collection" because I can't find the books cheap enough. And that's fine. Life goes on. If I find them I'll buy them. If not, the holes will still be there when I die and my kids can divvy the stuff up and do whatever they want.
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Feb 15, 2024 12:28:39 GMT -5
It started out as a financial choice back in 2011 when I got laid off. And even though in that time things have changed, I just never got back into it. I've made a few annual or opportunist type purchases over these last 12 years but the more recent ones in the last 4-5 years are still sitting on the table unread. I haven't even bagged or boarded them. Some months back I even started reading Age of Apocalypse again, one of my favorites for both the story and nostalgia and I haven't even finished it yet. So I just took that as a sign I might not be into comics anymore or just may not be for a good while more. If I am honest, part of it is still financial. I can afford to buy comics, but I still don't feel like they are justified. That the reason I am still buying them is collector mentality or habit. As oppose to my other hobby, gaming, which I feel like I get a great deal more for my money than from a comic book.
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Post by james on Feb 15, 2024 12:43:01 GMT -5
Hey comic crazies, I have a question for you all, after my little tale. After 40 plus of collecting, the hunt has been slowly dwindling down. In 2020, during the pandemic and when my Teddy boy passed on, I took a serious look at my collection and sold off a lot of it, focusing on what I call the 'essentials' for my collection. I've refined within the collection, picking up a key issue here and there, replacing a book and selling the lesser one. You've all seen my purchases and my obscure runs that I've been making into binds. And I'm happy with what I've done and accomplished. I have about 2 personal grail comics that I'd like to pick up, and am very close to accomplishing purchasing those within a couple of months. And that's it. I've gone as far as I can without breaking the bank on trying to purchase elusive white whales. I'm content with my books. I'm proud of what I have left but I think the tank's run out of trying to find books. Aside from Love & Rockets and anything Los Bros Hernandez put out (which is sporadic), I have enough comics, trades and OGNs that I can re-read until my heart's content. I'll still continue to refine my collection (maybe a CGC slab here and there)... My question to you, to those who have stopped collecting; when did you know it was time? To those still collecting, when do you think you'll know its time? -R While I’ve never actually stopped. I have not bought any new issues 2022-2024 and only read anything new through trades on a library app that now get pumped out its seems on a bimonthly basis. I now only want Silver-Bronze titles. That being said I know the cost of issues I want in the condition I want, life and $ have made the decision to cut waaaaaay back for me. Depressing I know . One thing I haven’t done and have no plans to do is sell what I do have. |
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Post by Ricky Jackson on Feb 15, 2024 16:22:14 GMT -5
As a comic collector, I'm almost purely interested in either newspaper strip collections or history books, but only if I get a good deal on something. So relatively few additions throughout the year. Most of my reading is digital. I sold off about 80% of my floppies during the pandemic collectables craze, keeping a few choice books for sentimental reasons and other things that are tough to find elsewhere and/or am still adding to here and there (eg. Blackthorne Dick Tracy's). This thread has made me think what I will eventually do with my collection and all the other books and stuff I've amassed over the years. We have no children so not sure who I could pass it all down to. Maybe I'll just leave it to the library of my alma mater, the University of Victoria, if they would even take it
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2024 11:08:27 GMT -5
When I die or move into assisted living one day, I have no problem with my kids calling Mile High and letting Chuck's successor rob them for the privilege of getting it all out in one fell swoop.
This is the one thing I'd try to avoid. Maybe because I do a bit of dealing myself, and know when those charming dealers are smiling and offering you 'top dollar', they are secretly thinking you're dumb as a rock because they know they are going to flip those books and make much more than the pittance given to you.
Snake-oil comic dealer: How much did your dad pay for these comics?
Rock: I dunno, they have 10c on the cover, and there's about 300 here, so maybe $30
Snake-oil comic dealer? I'll give you 10x that, $300, that's a great return on what your dad spent!
Rock: Oh thank you! I never knew Batman #2 was worth so much. It's been sitting here in the basement collecting dust for years. I think he has #1 as well....oh there it is. All yours.
So I'm teaching my daughter this.....if she doesn't want to keep them for herself, or her future kids, then know how to sell them and maximise her return.
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