COLLECTING OR INVESTING
Anyone who has been in the collecting and investing game for long will know the sweet victories and bitter defeats of comic collecting. Like everyone else, I have made my share of regrettable decisions, and it’s why I switched from less investing and more collecting.
The difference between collecting and investing is fairly simple. True, in order to collect comics, you have to invest in them (unless you’ve got a hook up for free stuff). Any of us can look at our collections and know that there is a sizable investment in all those comics. The difference is in the mindset.
As an investor, you view your comics more for their monetary value with the idea that, sooner or later, you will sell them for a profit. The mindset of collecting, however, is that you are looking to keep those issues in their present conditions. It’s not to say that you can’t be both; after all, there are some comics you may collect with no intention of selling while others are an investment that you are willing to part with.
Over the years, I have attempted to be both. There was a time when I wanted to try my hand at buying and flipping comics. I would scan the Facebook auctions or the auction sites, searching for the best deals. Then I would take those comics to conventions far and wide, adding creator signatures to help up the values. It’s not to say it wasn’t fun, but I learned that making money in the flipping business is hard to do. Unless I could find comics for rock bottom prices, the profit margin was razor-thin after signature and grading fees. That’s even counting the travel expenses to get to the cons, not to mention the time spent waiting in line, which can be hours in some cases.
THE FAN EXPO
I have written about this story before, but it bears repeating. Four years ago, I took my sons, and we traveled to Dallas, Texas, for the Fan Expo. The main goal was to meet Stan Lee. At the time, he was charging about $125 to autograph a comic. I had picked up a Fantastic Four #12 and an Amazing Spider-Man #14, both at decent prices. My idea was to sell one to cover the expenses for the others, and maybe even fund the next convention road trip.
We waited for close to two hours for Stan to arrive at the signing area, but I got my comics signed. I then sent them off to CGC, where they were pressed, graded, and given the CGC Signature Series stamp of approval.
Here I was, thinking a Stan Lee signature on two Silver Age keys would turn major profits. I ended up parting with both comics. The thing is, I wish I hadn’t. For one thing, the ASM #14 sold on eBay for barely as much as I had invested in the comic itself plus Stan’s signing fee, and the grading expenses. Although the FF #12 made money, it wasn’t enough to account for my time and effort in getting the perfect autograph.
I learned a hard lesson after that: investing and flipping is not for me. I am strictly a collector these days, and I chase what I love rather than what could turn a profit. Don’t get me wrong; I like knowing that my collection is valuable, but the joy of having them outweighs the hassle of being a salesman.
We want to hear all about your collecting fails! Did you let an ASM #14 slip through your fingers? Let us know in the comments!
