About two years ago i wrote a 12 page manual on how to collect comics for my business writing class . Now i am going to share that information with you. The manual goes over the basic of how to start collecting comics, for fun or as an investment, and gives you some information that you may not know when just starting. a lot of it is based on my own experiences as a comic collector of the past 14ish years, but i also did a lot of research on the subject online and what not.
To summarize, first you should know why you are collecting, do you like comics cause they are fun to look at and read or do you hope to get the next Amazing Fantasy 15.
Sidebar:I don't really say this in the manual, but getting into comics to make money, I don't think, is very viable anymore for a few reasons. one of the reasons why old ass comics are worth a lot now is because they were not meant to last this long and thus most have disintegrated. comics printed today can last practically forever in pretty bad conditions, where a 1960's book sealed in vacuum would still practically melt. so if your getting into comics for money, you better have enough to buy detective comics 27 and sit on it for a few years, because otherwise you wont be making much. But, really, in order to make really good comic book investments you need a lot of money, because the only comics that are almost garunteeted to go up in price in the future are already way up in price. end sidebar.
After you decide on fun or profit, next is what you want to collect. This should be simple, it just has to be something you like because if it isnt something you like what is the point.
Now, you have to find a place to get the comics, this isnt hard either, the internet is always a good place to start. Sites like Milehighcomics.com Amazon and Ebay are places you can find stuff for cheap, but in my opinion you cant be the good old fashion comic shop, some of my favorites queen city comic and card co. Cincinnati Oh, Universe of Superheroes Athens Oh, and Capital City Comics Columbus Oh. In the shops you get to talk with others about comics and you are able to get real information on comics, not just comments about them on a blog somewhere.
The fun part of collecting i feel in the knowing how to grade which is key if you are trying to invest in comics. There is a lot of nuaunce to it but i go into it further in the paper. With really valuable stuff like Action Comics 1 or the like you sort of get exceptions to the rules of price to grade. Usually a damaged comic goes down significatly in price even with the smallest of damage, but with the super rare stuff this same damage doesnt do the same harm to price, im not saying wipe your ass with Batman 1, but if it has a bent corner its not going from $160,000 to $10 but more like $80,000. There are other factores that play into a comics value that i outline in the maual, things like first apearances, big events, and if there is media atention on the book.
There is also the task of storage. Really the main worries are storage space and condition. large collection need a lot of space and any collection needs to be stored in the right condidtions if you want the book to last. A rule of thumb I have come up with is that if you wouldnt want to stay ther for an extened amount of time it probably isnt the best place to store your comics. There is also the matter of protecting and orginizing the books, so basically A-Z for orginization and always use bag and board in my opinion.
Finally plan for the future. What do you plan on doing with your collection. My plan is to finish my collection, and that is all ill say about that.
The Manual
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