250,000 comics for sale in Michigan

matchkitJOHN

Murd and Pants would look at this say "Amateurs". Dennis Barger organizes a great con here in Michigan called Detroit Fanfare and he was on Toy Hunter and Comic Book Men. I am overdue for a visit.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/06/05/this-is-what-a-quarter-of-a-million-comics-in-longboxes-looks-like/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

RickM

Interesting statements from the sellers -- they have no faith in the future of the back issue market.

sandman

RickM said:

Interesting statements from the sellers -- they have no faith in the future of the back issue market.

Its also interesting that they say there is a decrease in interest in dollar boxes at shows. That surprises me. I would think that there would be an increase in interest in dollar boxes with the ever increasing cost of living.

Why would this be? Are people deciding that digital or collected editions are the wat to go instead of hunting for back issues? What does everyone here think about back issues, and what do you see and hear at cons, is the interest in back issues decreasing?

Greg

I only hunt down physical back issues from the silver age up through about 1986, there isn't much from post '86 that I'm looking for in print.

fredzilla

sandman said:

Why would this be? Are people deciding that digital or collected editions are the wat to go instead of hunting for back issues? What does everyone here think about back issues, and what do you see and hear at cons, is the interest in back issues decreasing?

I still buy floppies, but I pre-order them through DCBS. I decided some time ago that the pursuit of back issues was not worth my time. There exists no "dollar bin" at any LCS in the Denver Metro area (or at least there wasn't a couple of years ago when I would travel around the city and visit stores every so often). The closest LCS to me has a huuuuge back issue catalog, but their prices at best are still cover. I think some of this may be in part to Mile High Comics artificially inflating back issue prices. I became accustomed to purchasing trades/hardcovers if I really wanted a particular story. I also decided that while I'll continue to purchase and collect single issues, my "serious" collecting habits have changed dramatically. I'm only looking for Spider-Man related back issues. And all of this is to say that I purchase a lot of "back issue" digital books.

For example, comiXology just had a sale on the first 50 issues of the Fantastic Four for $1 each. I'm sure purchasing physical copies of these books could run you into the thousands, if not tens of thousands for decent looking books (fine condition and higher), and the first omnibus, collecting only issues 1-30 and the first annual is at least $67 new on Amazon. If you're into collecting, cost may not be such a big issue for you. But if you just want to read the story you may try to find the most practical and cost effective way of getting those issues. I think that this is the back issue buyer's dilemma right now.

EarthGBilly

For me, I switched from being a collector to a reader over a decade ago, but I still bought single issues, still bagged and boarded them, and still stuck them in long boxes. I tried the switch to collected editions, but, while more concise, they still take up so much bookshelf space. Now I look around at long box after long box and bookshelf after bookshelf and I'm tired of the space they take up.

So, the idea of buying more back issues to take up more space is less desirable than ever before.

Plus, the nearest comic shop to me now is over 45 minutes away, and that is via car on the highway. Back issue bins take up so much space there that the guy who owns the shop has started to put merchandise ON TOP of the long boxes, eliminating even the possibility of looking at the comics contained within. But, then again, I've never seen ANYONE looking in those bins anyway, which is pretty telling on its own. A big part of that is the bloated prices of the back issues. As a non-collector, just a guy wanting to read the stories now, paying $10+ on a single issue of a comic? One that I can find collected with five other issues for about the same price, or, even better, in digital form for 99 cents? Never gonna happen.

At this point, the only reason I would venture into back issue bins is if I finally get off my duff and get some books bound, and those projects are so select for me that it would never lead to regular back issue bin-diving.

Cost and space have put me on the road to a complete switchover to digital. Right now, my tablet has access to over 500 comics that cost me way less than $500 and I can carry it in one hand.

But, all this should be good news for those collectors still out there. The market is so bloated with back issues at the moment that most collections aren't worth much. Give it a few years, maybe some of these will get dumped or recycled, making fewer issues actually obtainable, which will drive up the prices.

RickM

While reading the first 50 issues of FF is probably easier in this age of collected editions, Essentials, and Comixology sales, what about the person who wants to read the second tier of FF classics, like the entire Byrne run? Or let's say he wants to read the Roy Thomas/Marv Wolfman run (approx. issues 120-220)? Or the Waid issues? Is the back issues market still the easiest way to get those issues, or can you find them collected somewhere? I've noticed that the Marvel collections are great for Silver Age titles, but a little more chaotic when you get into the Bronze Age.

matchkitJOHN

Right around the time Secret Invasion I decided to just bin dive and get $1 books. I saw that a lot of the spin-off series that I had skipped were in the dollar bins. Then I kept diving and finding more stuff. I did most of the Dark Reign books that came out at that time. I pretty much got the run of the Incredible Hercules, the Hulk books and much of the Avengers books.

It seems store had a lot of overstock back then. And don't forget the late and lamented Fearless Readers Online website. That was a big place for me to go. The owner Bill would come to Michigan once a month to do a show organized by the folks who run the Motor City Con and I would pick up my books from him. I didn't have to pay shipping and all I had to do was pay a $3 admission. He would have a lot of stuff there too as well as other dealers. I noticed that about 2-3 years ago the dollar bins started drying up a bit and I was pulling back on my collecting anyways.

Like everyone is saying digital comics are the new back issue dollar bins. I got the whole Waid Daredevil run for $29 as a bundle. 37 issues! That's less than a buck a comic. I can read it on my porch at night if I want. Can't do that with a floppie!

I am done buying floppies for now. The last thing I bought was the last issue of Superior Spider-man. And even then I was buying no more than 3 titles a month.

fredzilla

Of course if there are no collected or digital releases of other books, back issues are a way to go. But I believe it depends on what you want to get out of the hobby. If you're looking for collecting, you'll want the original issues despite what else is available. If you're interested in the story, there are other, more cost effective ways to get those stories (mentioned above).

I think @EarthGBilly‌'s problem with space is one that many collectors have and why if you're collecting, you should get into it with some kind of purpose: collecting entire runs, story arcs, specific writers/artists, character(s), etc. For me, the most recent back issues I purchased were McFarlane issues of Amazing Spider-Man. They were 50% off at FCBD at my LCS (still way over priced IMHO--I believe the last time they updated their BI prices was the mid '00s) as it continues my desire to collect a complete run of ASM. I already have the story in the McFarlane/Michelinie omnibus, but I'd like the issues if I can get them. I know there will be a swath of ASM issues I won't be able to find collected because they aren't that memorable/important/worth reprinting in collected form. For those I'll have to do some diving. And again, if you're just looking to actually read the stories, Marvel Unlimited allows you access to much of their back catalog for a reasonable price ($10/month) and many a forum member swears by the fun of reading those hard to find books.