I just watched several videos from "comic collectors" and my skin was crawling. They all said the same thing "DC is really hot now so if you find any of these old issues, even in poor condition, if they are at a good, low price -buy 'em and flip 'em!"
In other words, buy low quality copies of older books and sell them to some patsy for a higher price/ Those are not comic fans. I call them greedy, conning bastards.
About a week ago I posted a video from Mile High Comics Owner Chuck Rozanski. I think -I hope a few of you watched it- it says everything about the comics business:
Rozanski talks about being a fan, a collector and how he does not "do it for the money". Well, that leaves an odd smell. His business has millions of comics of all types and genres and he has a huge -I mean HUGE- comic book storage warehouse. There are also two comic stores, what he calls "Diamond Comics outlets" selling the comics and merchandise you'll find in Previews. And he's been in the business over 40 years and began buying and selling comics when he was a teen.
I almost wept when he spoke about how much he paid each month for the warehouse in taxes, etc.. I could feel the tear rolling down my cheek. Well, not really. He claimed high prices are because he has high overheads. Oh, boo-hoo. If life was so tough why -even if you love comics- continue taking a financial battering each month?
Ah. Yes. So tough he has two smaller stores.
Look, it is a big business. He makes money or the banks would have closed him down a long time ago. He does tend to annoy people -talking about how the greed of the fans lost him thousands at an event because they were not buying from him.
Now, I have no doubt, watching Rozanski in the videos, that he loves comics. But it's quite clear he likes the money more. At the event in question, where he was not selling comics due to fan greed, he had prices that a lot of regular comic buyers cannot afford. How about $3,600 for a Hulk comic?
Do not take my word on it. Ecwfan made a video on the whole thing:
I tried checking Mile High Comics online sales catalogue and it was the most -or one of the most- difficult sites to use. What I call a pain in the ass.
Some prices seemed very reasonable and I actually thought that looked like a possible source to buy old issues from -IF it were more navigable. But here is the thing: Rozanski is a businessman. He finds a comic that he knows is sought after then he cherry picks it -he accuses other dealers of doing this when offered collections; going through a box and find some hot items, buying a box and chucking the rest in storage (or selling them to him). But they take those hot books. If he is not doing that -and he is- then he is a very poor businessman.
The Hulk comic is an example. What is really hot in comics? The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy -Rocket Raccoon. Grab those books and sell at a high price to the punters. Cash in bank.
Cut all the crap "I'm just a big comic book fan at heart and I'm really poor which is why I have to charge high prices" -that is not going to bring on the love dollars. He is a businessman AND he is trying to make sure that he -and whoever inherits the business- has future customers by encouraging families and younger readers. Good.
But that is business -forward looking business. Most store owners do not give a crap if there are future comic buyers. They retire -who gives a ***? Big chain stores, well, they are quite literally Diamond Comics/Previews stores and on that Rozanski is correct (but he has two such stores himself).
About 99% of comic shops will not stock back issues more than a year old let alone from the 1960s onward because there is no huge weekly turn over. Which is why comic shops to me are almost clinical. There is no sould to them any more. You can guess the kind of shop I'd run if I had the money, right?
So, old comics from the US Golden Age that were burned in their millions (we all know this, right? Wertham? Go look it up on You Tube or Google) meant back issues were rare so high prices came in and collectors are happy to pay those prices -those books could be re-sold later for more, though many find they might only break even. You really have to have that one comic to make big money.
1950s-2000s there has been no puritanical purges. Massive re-surgence in comic reading, low points then peaking again. So, remember that most experts reckon that thousands of boxes of comic collections are refused each week across America because "they just ain't worth a nickel!" You see this mentioned quite a bit on the TV series Comic Book Men (the Kevin Smith backed show?). So how many comics are out there?
Rozanski states that in the United States, under beds, in cupboards, in lofts, garages, etc., there are an estimated 1 billion comic books. Other experts have said, I think Rozanski says "roughly", that the true figure is more like 1.5 billion comic books.
Now, how do I put this? If you looked at your bagged and boarded comic books in their long boxes and thought "I am going to rake in the money!" you are, quite literally, flying at 50,000 feet in Wonder Woman's invisible plane. If you have an IQ then reading that figure of 1.5 billion comics out there....well, you have just discovered you are at 50,000 feet and you are no longer in Wonder Woman's invisible plane. THAT is a long drop.
Check this:
http://hoopercomicart.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/if-you-have-comics-collection-how-many.html
Now, I know, you new guys out there think "bull-shit!" and "These guys just write this because they hate comics!"
I am 58 years old and have been reading comics, buying and collecting them since I was about 4 years old. In previous posts I have shown my collection on shelves, in boxes, etc. THOUSANDS of comics and hundreds of trades and graphic novels. If I was very, very lucky I might have £200 ($400+) that I could make selling all of the collection -and I may be kidding myself there. I love comics. The other night I sat down and discovered if I had not bought comics and just saved the money I could have bought a nice little house.
Am I going to be rich in my retirement? I think I just answered that question. It's lucky I have comics because I'm a comicker -I love the medium. It's no joke. No "I want to be a downer". This is fact.
Look to collect original art. The very small run publishers -the Small Press- check this posting out: http://hoopercomicart.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/investing-in-comicsnot-what-you-think.html
But, please, do not buy comics for any reason other than the fact that you love reading them or drawing them.
And do NOT pay very high prices for books that will not even get you your money back if you do re-sell. If I can save just one person that fate it will be worth it.
Now I'm off to read a comic.
In other words, buy low quality copies of older books and sell them to some patsy for a higher price/ Those are not comic fans. I call them greedy, conning bastards.
About a week ago I posted a video from Mile High Comics Owner Chuck Rozanski. I think -I hope a few of you watched it- it says everything about the comics business:
Rozanski talks about being a fan, a collector and how he does not "do it for the money". Well, that leaves an odd smell. His business has millions of comics of all types and genres and he has a huge -I mean HUGE- comic book storage warehouse. There are also two comic stores, what he calls "Diamond Comics outlets" selling the comics and merchandise you'll find in Previews. And he's been in the business over 40 years and began buying and selling comics when he was a teen.
I almost wept when he spoke about how much he paid each month for the warehouse in taxes, etc.. I could feel the tear rolling down my cheek. Well, not really. He claimed high prices are because he has high overheads. Oh, boo-hoo. If life was so tough why -even if you love comics- continue taking a financial battering each month?
Ah. Yes. So tough he has two smaller stores.
Look, it is a big business. He makes money or the banks would have closed him down a long time ago. He does tend to annoy people -talking about how the greed of the fans lost him thousands at an event because they were not buying from him.
Now, I have no doubt, watching Rozanski in the videos, that he loves comics. But it's quite clear he likes the money more. At the event in question, where he was not selling comics due to fan greed, he had prices that a lot of regular comic buyers cannot afford. How about $3,600 for a Hulk comic?
Do not take my word on it. Ecwfan made a video on the whole thing:
I tried checking Mile High Comics online sales catalogue and it was the most -or one of the most- difficult sites to use. What I call a pain in the ass.
Some prices seemed very reasonable and I actually thought that looked like a possible source to buy old issues from -IF it were more navigable. But here is the thing: Rozanski is a businessman. He finds a comic that he knows is sought after then he cherry picks it -he accuses other dealers of doing this when offered collections; going through a box and find some hot items, buying a box and chucking the rest in storage (or selling them to him). But they take those hot books. If he is not doing that -and he is- then he is a very poor businessman.
The Hulk comic is an example. What is really hot in comics? The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy -Rocket Raccoon. Grab those books and sell at a high price to the punters. Cash in bank.
Cut all the crap "I'm just a big comic book fan at heart and I'm really poor which is why I have to charge high prices" -that is not going to bring on the love dollars. He is a businessman AND he is trying to make sure that he -and whoever inherits the business- has future customers by encouraging families and younger readers. Good.
But that is business -forward looking business. Most store owners do not give a crap if there are future comic buyers. They retire -who gives a ***? Big chain stores, well, they are quite literally Diamond Comics/Previews stores and on that Rozanski is correct (but he has two such stores himself).
About 99% of comic shops will not stock back issues more than a year old let alone from the 1960s onward because there is no huge weekly turn over. Which is why comic shops to me are almost clinical. There is no sould to them any more. You can guess the kind of shop I'd run if I had the money, right?
So, old comics from the US Golden Age that were burned in their millions (we all know this, right? Wertham? Go look it up on You Tube or Google) meant back issues were rare so high prices came in and collectors are happy to pay those prices -those books could be re-sold later for more, though many find they might only break even. You really have to have that one comic to make big money.
1950s-2000s there has been no puritanical purges. Massive re-surgence in comic reading, low points then peaking again. So, remember that most experts reckon that thousands of boxes of comic collections are refused each week across America because "they just ain't worth a nickel!" You see this mentioned quite a bit on the TV series Comic Book Men (the Kevin Smith backed show?). So how many comics are out there?
Rozanski states that in the United States, under beds, in cupboards, in lofts, garages, etc., there are an estimated 1 billion comic books. Other experts have said, I think Rozanski says "roughly", that the true figure is more like 1.5 billion comic books.
Now, how do I put this? If you looked at your bagged and boarded comic books in their long boxes and thought "I am going to rake in the money!" you are, quite literally, flying at 50,000 feet in Wonder Woman's invisible plane. If you have an IQ then reading that figure of 1.5 billion comics out there....well, you have just discovered you are at 50,000 feet and you are no longer in Wonder Woman's invisible plane. THAT is a long drop.
Check this:
http://hoopercomicart.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/if-you-have-comics-collection-how-many.html
Now, I know, you new guys out there think "bull-shit!" and "These guys just write this because they hate comics!"
I am 58 years old and have been reading comics, buying and collecting them since I was about 4 years old. In previous posts I have shown my collection on shelves, in boxes, etc. THOUSANDS of comics and hundreds of trades and graphic novels. If I was very, very lucky I might have £200 ($400+) that I could make selling all of the collection -and I may be kidding myself there. I love comics. The other night I sat down and discovered if I had not bought comics and just saved the money I could have bought a nice little house.
Am I going to be rich in my retirement? I think I just answered that question. It's lucky I have comics because I'm a comicker -I love the medium. It's no joke. No "I want to be a downer". This is fact.
Look to collect original art. The very small run publishers -the Small Press- check this posting out: http://hoopercomicart.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/investing-in-comicsnot-what-you-think.html
But, please, do not buy comics for any reason other than the fact that you love reading them or drawing them.
And do NOT pay very high prices for books that will not even get you your money back if you do re-sell. If I can save just one person that fate it will be worth it.
Now I'm off to read a comic.
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