When Does A Big Comic Collection Become Too Big For You?

General Discussion Comic Books
21

What I do is limit myself to 12 short boxes which fit nicely on this heavy duty 4 shelf rack that I bought from Home Depot. About 5 of those boxes are issues I have logged for sale on mycomicshop.com (check them out if you aren’t familiar).

When I reach about 50 books that they want to buy, I ship those in the medium cube shaped flat rate box from USPS. I choose the credit option from mycomicshop.com which I let add up in order to buy more higher value books. As I buy more books weekly from my local comic shop subs I add them to the inventory to sell if they aren’t collectible.

I’ve found this system keeps my collection under control while paying for a portion of it.

3 Likes
22

I recently sold my collection, but i had capped it at 4 short boxes. I kept the books protected and in a different type of container, but that amount is the equivalent. This single (heavy) box was relatively easy to move and ensured the collection could not accidentally get separated.

1 Like
23

I definitely want to keep following this thread. My collection of just over 5k (I know, not near as many as the lot of you that have posted so far) and I’m already wondering what in the world am I going to do with it all? It’s become a real chore when I buy a lot and have to work them into the boxes the way it is now. Parting with this collection would be very difficult for me (creature of habit, love collecting), but I know I should probably trim up some. So much of my collection (back issues) were bought at 25 cents or 50 cents per book, so they are worth next to nothing, but man did they make my collection grow quickly. Might have to make some time to sort through books I know I have no interest in.

24

I found for me it’s that old proverb come true of the hobby / leisure taking over your life. I love being entertained by comics, but it’s turned into a part time job trying to slowly sell parts of it via eBay. Scanning each comic, using Gimp to adjust each scan, setting up each lot in eBay, paying for and replenishing the packing materials, then all that goes into shipping them out when there is a sale…oh boy, now I both work 50 hours a week and do this too…

And when I was still ordering $200 a month, there was inventory, filing bagging… ever buy 2 of the same issue?

25

Interesting responses.

I trimmed down my collection last year because:

A. I needed space for other things.

B. I switched from print to digital.

C. I had alot of books that I knew I’d never read again, so in the interest of point A, they were sold off.

The only way to make money off single issues that don’t have value above the cover price is bulk sales. I sold boxes of books to a friend of mine and then elsewhere and made a tidy sum off of them that was then immediately spent of course.

3 Likes
26

Seems for me 30 boxes was when I thought “0k how far do I want to go with this”.

Obviously income and space would play a part with anyone. I mean if someone has a big house with room and makes a healthy six figure salary and that is how they want to use the money and space, then who’s to say that is a bad thing?

Although I do think at a point a comic collector needs to ask how big they want it to get. After a certain point you will never re-read everything (if you read them all the first time) and most collctors don’t just have all Golden Age or Silver Age gems when a comic collection gets that size. If no one reads them then at the end of the day they are just colored pieces of paper.

3 Likes
27

:face_with_monocle: looks around room…I can fit another short box in that spot ! I definitely am a hoarder but don’t worry I won’t be on any reality shows anytime soon. I am such a big fan of artwork. I have done away with some titles that I thought I’d try and just didn’t do anything for me in the end. 12 short boxes isn’t that bad :face_with_hand_over_mouth::diamonds::black_joker:

1 Like
28

HarleenNapier, getting my collection down to the 6 short boxes I have on the floor next to the actual collection I am dealing with is now my new goal! You are a visionary, I love how light they are and their ingenious design.

Hmmmm…I could set up my guitars, bass, inline electronics and violin permanently in that same spot of my upstairs home office…

2 Likes
29

@Don-El Your excitement over what to do with the newly available space once occupied by comic boxes is akin to what mine was after I sold many of my boxes.

I thought: “I have so much more room for activities!”

1 Like
30

So I am not the only one here who plays both the guitar and the violin?

But as for my collection, yes, I think I can thin it down some, but like so many of us on this thread, I am a hoarder by nature. Not as bad as you see on those reality TV shows though, and I do keep my place clean, if not always dust free here and there. I do an annual war against dust though. :wink:

Speaking of war against dust, it is about time to start Spring Cleaning soon, and I do need to go through my comic collection, and rearrange that room. Seems I will be busy for several days when I get started on that.

MACJR

1 Like
31

Ah yes the battle of the dust ! They keep putting out so many cool boxes also… just another excuse for more books :laughing::diamonds::black_joker:

1 Like
32

Macjr I was pleasantly surprised when my wife allowed me to pick up a $200 used violin a few years ago , that my previous Viola playing in high school kicked in even though that was more like 50 years ago …and I was quickly able to start playing some of our favorite old hymns instrumentally that we heard when we were kids , lots of fun , along with some classics like you know Cat Stevens and Beatles stuff

33

First position only mind you … @iJest , are you out there?

34

But anyway, back to burning the comics as an option: there is no place to my knowledge within reasonable driving distance that I could donate these to that wouldn’t result in them being thrown out anyway. Goodwill would have to rent out a separate room to sell these etc.

But more to the point, is there really really an actual pain point and need for comics to be donated, like there is some lack out there in the USA for any child anywhere ? The glut of comics published between 1990 and 1993 (no less then 24 new comic book publishers were flooding the market with hundreds of titles) insures that no child in America will ever be wanting for readily available free comics or nearly free comics.

What do you who are concerned about seeing comic books burn do with your old newspapers and Time magazines? is there a shrine in your home to these things, or do you dispose of them? Comic books are entertainment, like newspapers and magazines, no more and no less, and can be safely disposed of with no wrath from some Comic Book Gods.

1 Like
35

@HarleenNapier, rather than buy the cool boxes, in the past, I would just make a blank box less bland by getting out my pencils and pens and up-scaling a comic’s title, Like Action Comics, and draw that onto the side of the box myself. Saved cash, but it did cost me some time. :wink:

Actually, though, back then, I did not have access to those cool boxes. The only options were just the plain white boxes.

@Don-El, you play the viola as well? I have been wanting to buy one of those, but have not budgeted one in yet. I have two acoustic violins and one electric, but no violas yet. I would probably like the viola better than the violin. Those E string notes are rather shrill to my ears, but they do suit the mood of a melody every now and then. I like the sound of my acoustic classical guitar much better than the violin, for the most part. I also have a large gap between when I first played the violin and when I took it up again, a few years ago. A 42 year gap. It took a while to shake off the rust, but I probably did have a head start from those early years lessons.

I am nearing intermediate skill level at the violin now, still in first position, but using my 4th finger and working on vibrato. I am still more or less a beginner at the guitar, but I picked it up fast. Already knowing how to read sheet music helps, and also already familiar with one stringed instrument.

You can get a new violin of fairly good quality in the $200 range these days. They tend to need a little work, like bridge arcs and notches might be off standard, but a little tinkering and buying a few accessories, can fix that. The body of the instruments are usually good, but the varnish work might be a little sloppy. It is the luck of the draw on what you get. My best violin needed a little work, but it sounds good.

As for your comic situation. There is always the recycle bin. I still feel it is a shame to toss out comics though, but if no one will take then, what can you do?

MACJR

1 Like
36

MacJr, I’ll regale you with more music stuff on the Discord side…

For sure, I would only put to the torch those comics that can’t be sold due to zero demand.

I also give away one free comic for every comic set / graphic novel or individual only comic I sell, I have two half boxes set aside for “giveaways.”

Any comic between 1980 to 2011 overall doesn’t move, with only a few exceptions.

37

I have extra space if anybody wants to send them. They will have a good home. Lol

2 Likes
38

When it’s on DCU, it’s UNLIMITED

39

rudy that’s the problem …you have any idea what it costs to ship heavy long boxes??? Thus back to the fire

40

I’ve boxed up my comic books. I’ve actually taken to digital comics the past couple of years. I’ve been buying from Comixology largely because of the space problem, and I move around a lot. (Same goes with books in general). I do buy physical books from time to time, and I’ll likely get a physical copy of Detective 1000 just for the collection. But everything now is digital for me.

1 Like