604comics
Freaked Out
Hi everyone,
Brand new to the scene and if you couldn’t tell by my name, I’m from Vancouver, Canada (604 is one of our area codes). Pleasure to meet you all!
I dabbled a bit in comic collecting when I was a teen. Back then, I was one of the many millions that bought X-Men #1 (in multiple copies!) but I didn’t really know what I was doing back then. Like so many others back then, I was expecting that I’d be able to sell my comics in 10 years and make bucket loads of cash. Sadly, that was not the case and I had to work a normal job. I can’t recall what made me stop but I suspect it was because being a comic book collector was seen as dorky and not cool. Fast forward 15-20 years into 2010 and I got back into comics again. But this time around, I was a reader and not a speculator. I started collecting issues again for about 18 months and then I started to collect less and less. Not because I lost interest, but because I slowly started transitioning all my purchases to digital. Say what you will about it, but I love digital comics. I’m not going to rehash all the pros about it but that’s the choice I’ve made and I’ve never been happier. I own the first, ever appearance of Batman. How cool is that? And I bought it for just $0.99! Moving on…
My first real exposure into the wonderful world of collectibles happened when I was watching the first season of Comic Book Men a couple of weeks ago and saw all these people on the show bring in cool (and not-so-cool) things into the store to sell or be appraised. While I was watching, I thought to myself, ‘some of these things are pretty cool. Let me check on the Internet and get some more details on this stuff.’ And I guess that was how it began. I found out about Sideshow Collectibles and I probably spent a good hour or so looking at all the gorgeous statues they had for sale. From there, I went over to YouTube and watched a bunch of review videos (my faves were StatueHunter75 and madxcollector). It didn’t take very long before I caught the fever and I started doing research on how I could be the proud owner of some beautiful art.
I think doing research beforehand and finding out all you can about any particular hobby is paramount. You get to discover what kind of commitment you can expect, financial costs, community support, and lots of other information that can help you out along the way. I think the thing I learned most was all the different types of statues and collectibles that are available (from premium format figures to comiquettes to busts to action figures and everything in between).
Having just gotten into the show, I know I missed a ton of really good stuff in the past and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish I had some of those choice pieces. But I know one of the vices of collecting and that is irrational decisions. In that, you have to have something, regardless of what the cost may be. I have been guilty of this in the past with my other collections and I’m definitely not going to fall victim to that again. So, in addition to serving as my introduction to the community, I am going to post the five rules that I will live by and if I ever feel like I am getting off path, I can always return to this post to remind me why I collect and to keep me on track so I don’t do something foolish. So with that, here are my rules, in no particular order.
1) Never buy to sell. If you are buying something for the sole purpose of re-selling it, you are guilty of three things. A) You’re tying down funds that could be spent on something else you really want; B) You’re not collecting, you’re just looking to make a quick buck and going against the principle of what it is to be a collector; and C) You’re being a ****** because now you have just deprived another collector of owning a piece that they want to have and keep in their collection forever. Don’t get this rule confused with “never sell an item”. I can understand if in the future, circumstances warrant you to sell a piece. But if you buy to sell, you’ve just violated a rule.
2) Don’t get caught up in the hype. Just because everyone seems to think a particular piece is awesome and utter crap, don’t be dazzled by their words. Look at the piece yourself and form your own opinion. Ultimately, you’re the one spending big dollars for a piece so you are the only one you need to impress with your purchase.
3) Never pay more than 35% above retail for something with a MSRP higher than $250. Anything with an MSRP of $250 or less, never pay more than an additional $100. I definitely need to set some financial guidelines, otherwise I could end up spending much, much more than I intended to just because I “had to have it”. I think these limits are reasonable for myself. If that means I never lay my hands on a grail, then so be it. I’m not willing to extend myself financial for the sake of a collectible.
4) If you buy it, you must display it. This may seem like a no brainer, but I’ve read cases on forums where people buy stuff that they have no intention of displaying. Whether it’s because their intention was to sell it all along, they don’t have the space for it or they don’t really like the piece, there are people that will buy a piece and never display it once. I look at this stuff as art and art is meant to be displayed. So before I buy a piece, I will first consider where I will display it. If I don’t have anywhere to display it, then I need to think about either buying more display cases or selling an existing piece to make room for the new acquisition. Either way, I will always display any purchase I’ve made because it’s just fundamental.
5) Keep it classy. This can be interpreted in many ways. It could mean only buy pieces that are classy and not just a bunch of explicit T&A. It could mean present yourself in a classy manner to vendors and the collecting community. It could also mean to drink tea at high noon and always make sure to extend your pinky finger when bringing the cup to one’s lips. In my case, it is meant to be a reflection of the pieces I buy and how I display them. I want to buy pieces that I can display in public and ideally they would be pieces that would get my girlfriend's seal of approval. So while some of the Japanese-style Kotobukiya superhero pieces are cute and gorgeous in a manga way, personally, I’m not into them so I would not buy them. And because I like to look at and admire the pieces I buy, I would not buy something like the collector’s edition of The Walking Dead: Season Two blu-ray set with the faux zombie head because I think it’s pretty disgusting and I would absolutely not want to have that displayed anywhere in my home. For those of you that like the cutesy stuff and/or grotesque stuff, all the power to you. You are more open and accepting than I am. Just make sure you post pictures of your pieces so I can live vicariously through you and not have to spend any of my own money.
So there you have it, my rules to live by. Thanks for welcoming me into the community and I hope to have great conversations and discussions with all of you. I also plan on doing videos of new pieces I add to my collection so look out for that. The operative words are “plan to”. I have a tendency to flake out because I’m just too tired to carry through with it. But I will try my best, especially for the very first piece that will start my collection. What is it? You’ll have to wait for the video to find out. And I’ll have to wait for FedEx to deliver that package to me here in Vancouver. Gah, the agony of the wait! Cheers!
Brand new to the scene and if you couldn’t tell by my name, I’m from Vancouver, Canada (604 is one of our area codes). Pleasure to meet you all!
I dabbled a bit in comic collecting when I was a teen. Back then, I was one of the many millions that bought X-Men #1 (in multiple copies!) but I didn’t really know what I was doing back then. Like so many others back then, I was expecting that I’d be able to sell my comics in 10 years and make bucket loads of cash. Sadly, that was not the case and I had to work a normal job. I can’t recall what made me stop but I suspect it was because being a comic book collector was seen as dorky and not cool. Fast forward 15-20 years into 2010 and I got back into comics again. But this time around, I was a reader and not a speculator. I started collecting issues again for about 18 months and then I started to collect less and less. Not because I lost interest, but because I slowly started transitioning all my purchases to digital. Say what you will about it, but I love digital comics. I’m not going to rehash all the pros about it but that’s the choice I’ve made and I’ve never been happier. I own the first, ever appearance of Batman. How cool is that? And I bought it for just $0.99! Moving on…
My first real exposure into the wonderful world of collectibles happened when I was watching the first season of Comic Book Men a couple of weeks ago and saw all these people on the show bring in cool (and not-so-cool) things into the store to sell or be appraised. While I was watching, I thought to myself, ‘some of these things are pretty cool. Let me check on the Internet and get some more details on this stuff.’ And I guess that was how it began. I found out about Sideshow Collectibles and I probably spent a good hour or so looking at all the gorgeous statues they had for sale. From there, I went over to YouTube and watched a bunch of review videos (my faves were StatueHunter75 and madxcollector). It didn’t take very long before I caught the fever and I started doing research on how I could be the proud owner of some beautiful art.
I think doing research beforehand and finding out all you can about any particular hobby is paramount. You get to discover what kind of commitment you can expect, financial costs, community support, and lots of other information that can help you out along the way. I think the thing I learned most was all the different types of statues and collectibles that are available (from premium format figures to comiquettes to busts to action figures and everything in between).
Having just gotten into the show, I know I missed a ton of really good stuff in the past and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish I had some of those choice pieces. But I know one of the vices of collecting and that is irrational decisions. In that, you have to have something, regardless of what the cost may be. I have been guilty of this in the past with my other collections and I’m definitely not going to fall victim to that again. So, in addition to serving as my introduction to the community, I am going to post the five rules that I will live by and if I ever feel like I am getting off path, I can always return to this post to remind me why I collect and to keep me on track so I don’t do something foolish. So with that, here are my rules, in no particular order.
1) Never buy to sell. If you are buying something for the sole purpose of re-selling it, you are guilty of three things. A) You’re tying down funds that could be spent on something else you really want; B) You’re not collecting, you’re just looking to make a quick buck and going against the principle of what it is to be a collector; and C) You’re being a ****** because now you have just deprived another collector of owning a piece that they want to have and keep in their collection forever. Don’t get this rule confused with “never sell an item”. I can understand if in the future, circumstances warrant you to sell a piece. But if you buy to sell, you’ve just violated a rule.
2) Don’t get caught up in the hype. Just because everyone seems to think a particular piece is awesome and utter crap, don’t be dazzled by their words. Look at the piece yourself and form your own opinion. Ultimately, you’re the one spending big dollars for a piece so you are the only one you need to impress with your purchase.
3) Never pay more than 35% above retail for something with a MSRP higher than $250. Anything with an MSRP of $250 or less, never pay more than an additional $100. I definitely need to set some financial guidelines, otherwise I could end up spending much, much more than I intended to just because I “had to have it”. I think these limits are reasonable for myself. If that means I never lay my hands on a grail, then so be it. I’m not willing to extend myself financial for the sake of a collectible.
4) If you buy it, you must display it. This may seem like a no brainer, but I’ve read cases on forums where people buy stuff that they have no intention of displaying. Whether it’s because their intention was to sell it all along, they don’t have the space for it or they don’t really like the piece, there are people that will buy a piece and never display it once. I look at this stuff as art and art is meant to be displayed. So before I buy a piece, I will first consider where I will display it. If I don’t have anywhere to display it, then I need to think about either buying more display cases or selling an existing piece to make room for the new acquisition. Either way, I will always display any purchase I’ve made because it’s just fundamental.
5) Keep it classy. This can be interpreted in many ways. It could mean only buy pieces that are classy and not just a bunch of explicit T&A. It could mean present yourself in a classy manner to vendors and the collecting community. It could also mean to drink tea at high noon and always make sure to extend your pinky finger when bringing the cup to one’s lips. In my case, it is meant to be a reflection of the pieces I buy and how I display them. I want to buy pieces that I can display in public and ideally they would be pieces that would get my girlfriend's seal of approval. So while some of the Japanese-style Kotobukiya superhero pieces are cute and gorgeous in a manga way, personally, I’m not into them so I would not buy them. And because I like to look at and admire the pieces I buy, I would not buy something like the collector’s edition of The Walking Dead: Season Two blu-ray set with the faux zombie head because I think it’s pretty disgusting and I would absolutely not want to have that displayed anywhere in my home. For those of you that like the cutesy stuff and/or grotesque stuff, all the power to you. You are more open and accepting than I am. Just make sure you post pictures of your pieces so I can live vicariously through you and not have to spend any of my own money.
So there you have it, my rules to live by. Thanks for welcoming me into the community and I hope to have great conversations and discussions with all of you. I also plan on doing videos of new pieces I add to my collection so look out for that. The operative words are “plan to”. I have a tendency to flake out because I’m just too tired to carry through with it. But I will try my best, especially for the very first piece that will start my collection. What is it? You’ll have to wait for the video to find out. And I’ll have to wait for FedEx to deliver that package to me here in Vancouver. Gah, the agony of the wait! Cheers!
seriously though, posts in the Intro's section do not count towards your post count. It's something we removed a while back as some peeps were post padding in here.
