part of the reason I love comics is the people. In anything you do full time, you are surrounded by folks from all walks of life. If you are in construction you will spend at least 8-10 hours a day around construction workers. If you are in trucking, you will speak with dispatchers, truck drivers, and occasionally customers. What you do, is who you are. who you are is identified by those you spend time with. The comic book collecting world is no different.
Comic book nerds are a broad range of really eclectic folks. The variety of backgrounds that you meet and develop working relationships or even friendships with is broad. Take your average comic book shop, it has role players in one corner, card collectors at the counter evaluating binders of cards and comic book fans of all stripes and sizes milling about the store. Furthermore, the people that relocation through the shop can be avid fans, collectors, investors, completists, though many of them are only hobbyists.
The common comic book collector has a multitude of interests that vary. They can like art, fantasy, films (usually), Sci-Fi, comics, collecting, investing, speculating occasionally, pure speculation, and even flipping books on a daily basis. Furthermore, comic book nerds are either “Wars” fans or “Trekkies” (Sorry, I refuse to acknowledge the term: Trekkers!) and this makes for even greater commonalities. Basically, it is “Land of the Nerds” and it is so much fun. This is why I have always suggested purchasing from your local comic book store and building those relationships and even friendships. If you are new to the comic collection scene; then it is very valuable to learn from other folks who have been collecting many of their lives.
Basic Collector tools and Tips:
Buy what you enjoy, from there you can learn to be a better collector or speculator.
If you are a collector who likes to invest in comics occasionally, be sure to use GoCollect.com as their slab market rates are best on target.
Don’t use regular tape
Don’t use reusable sticky bags, some professionals in the industry have found they are acidic and the sticky portion can eat through plastic.
When purchasing raw comics, actually open the comic and examine it before purchase
Meet and utilize professionals when and where you can. Some examples: pressers, graders, CGC, CBCS, signature verification and so on
If you are creating a collection of value, stay away from recent variants. The jury is still out on these, but I have yet to see any of them hold value beyond the initial rollout.
Decide which age of comics you want to learn about and stick to it. I choose the Bronze Age as it is still reasonably priced.
Use the industry-standard supplies
The newest version of Overstreet guide (Don’t kid yourself, the Internet is good but this book has a large amount of info, and I am not talking pricing.)
Comic boards (acid-free)
Comic bags (acid-free)
Reusable tape
Cleaning tool non-abrasive and industry conventional for dirt
Comic boxes (note: the long boxes become cumbersome over time. You may want to stay with short boxes for easy maneuvering)
Comic book dividers
Comic title dividers
Comic book folio for travel
Amazing Spider-Man #300
Since we are offering suggestions to the newbies among us, what better first comic to purchase than the first full Venom appearance in amazing Spider-Man #300. This multigenerational anti-hero is extremely popular and probably still will be 20 years from now. In addition, this comic is continuously at the top of the GoCollect.com ranking for the modern Age. In fact, I have yet to see it not in the top 5-10 comics of the modern Age. Finally, this comic is a multi-key making it the safer purchase: it is the first appearance of Venom, the first issue inked by Todd McFarlane and Spidey’s 25th-anniversary issue. What kind of long-term returns can you expect?
Long-Term
Grade 9.8 $2,300 last sale 1-5-20 returned positive +37.9%
Grade 9.2 $349 last sale 12-25-19 returned positive +12.8%
Grade 7.0 $250 last sale 12-30-19 returned positive +4.5%
Conclusion:
Long-term investment in amazing Spider-Man #300 is a winner to be sure. It is the most popular key, and the film Venom was only moderately popular but did not slow down this book. For the new collectors, purchase as high a grade as you can conveniently afford, I suggest a 9.2 grade around $300.
The next film Venom 2 will have a popular character named Carnage. He ought to really increase the value for this comic and his own first appearance in amazing Spider-Man #361. Why not purchase Carnage too? With two top suggested purchases and a host of tips, you are on your way to comic collecting bliss, pleased hunting! welcome to the ever-expanding family of comic book collectors.
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