Selling comic collections

[helsbels]

I'll start by saying I'm not touting for buyers here - just musing over the subject of having spent years hunting down and collecting an ever increasing range of girl's comic titles, I'm currently selling off a large portion of them.
I'm doing this for a number of reasons including:

1) Decluttering to enable a smoother passage when I (eventually) move to Leeds.

2) I've read most of them now and they're just sitting in orderly piles around my flat, not being read any more.

3) I'm paring down to keeping just annuals, specials, certain picture library titles and of course my Misty, Spellbound and IPC girl's comics (except Princess 2, Girl 2 and Dreamer).

All my Buntys, Emmas, Tracys and Suzys have been sold and I'm currently offloading Judy and Mandy comics. I'm scanning some of the stories that I particularly like, to keep for posterity. I spent many years collecting these comics and it was a real buzz finding the issues I needed to complete serials and in some cases to complete collections of titles. I've enjoyed it, and I occasionally still buy issues but now it's just if I want to get missing episodes of certain stories to scan.
I still love all these comics and the stories I discovered in them but sometimes enough is enough and there's just not space any more to keep them! I also feel slightly bogged down with "stuff" and feel it's time to let go, even though I've enjoyed collecting and reading them.
How do others feel about this?

[wilsia]

Don't do it, a few years ago I was short of cash and I sold a small percentage of my collection to get a few pound. It included all my "Scream" comics, Cor summer special 1971 in superb condition and a OINK preview free with Buster.

A few weeks later I regretted it. Thankfully I have all the rest of my collection left and I still enjoy reading through them.

[peace355]

I sold some Lucky Charms a few years back and regretted it. But I think selling off comics is fine if you prioritize what to keep.

I'm in a similar situation now where I really need to declutter my home (3 month old baby needs to be prioritized!). I'm selling off my Mandys, Judys and Buntys, realistically I am never going to have a complete run and they take up so much space and same as you I've scanned the stories I want to keep. (Although it is a pity that I'm selling them at less than i bought them, mostly because I want quicker sales) I am resisting buying any new comics too, using the library instead, unless it's a particular issue that I've been looking for. The Rebellion trades are good for getting complete stories in one book, pity DCT don't do something similar.

[Lew Stringer]

I have a major declutter every few years, but still end up with a house full of comics and books. Another declutter is needed soon!

My own criteria is: hold onto the comics that have sentimental attachments, such as those from childhood. I don't get rid of anything after the late 1970s unless I have duplicates, but that's my own personal cut off point. The reason being it's the comics from childhood that I'm most likely to read again (and have done several times). Comics I bought over the last 20 years or so don't hold the same personal interest to me, and I'm unlikely to ever read again, so they're the ones I usually get rid of. Haven't regretted getting rid of any comic from the 1990s. (I keep all the ones I'm published in though.)

Keep scans if you wish of course. If the physical comic itself isn't so important to you, just the story and visuals, then that might be ideal. Personally I'd be worried if a flash drive stopped working or got lost, so I won't do that.

In the end it's up to you of course, but it'll be interesting to read the opinions of others here on how they regard their collection.

[philcom55]

For the most part I concentrate on comics from the 1950s and 1960s, and like Lew I tend to be much less attached to anything later. However I must admit that I've found myself buying back quite a few comics that I got rid of years ago in previous decluttering exercises. Personally I'm convinced that all of these stories will be available digitally or online sooner or later, at which point those mountains of crumbling paper will probably seem much less attractive to any but the most fanatical collector.

And, of course, with a 3-month-old baby I guess you need to make room for all the reading matter your offspring will be collecting twenty or thirty years from now!

[colcool007]

Speaking from experience, I had to do this 20 years ago when my first marriage ended. I could keep either my 2000ADs or my Commandos but I did not have storage for both. And in hindsight, I wish that I had kept the Commandos!

I understand the need to declutter and that is why we bought a house with the idea of having a library specifically to house all our comics and books. And it's going well for us with 11 bookcases in there and I know that we will need at least another two or three for those that still need to come out of the boxes that some have been in for almost 11 years.

For many collectors, they will have a point at which they decide to either stop collecting as their collection has achieved perfection or to cut down the collection as it threatens to become a Denis Gifford moment and the only way they can cook is by microwave! Some of us never reach that moment and to be honest, each choice is dictated by where the collector is in their life and no choice is ever wrong.

However to sum up. Helsbels, if you have any picture libraries needing a loving home, you know where we are! And peace355, I hope you get peace to have a good night's sleep at least!

[Phoenix]

Well it's a crazy idea, Helen, and you will live to regret it. I have had dealings with you over many years as you know, so I have no wish to be harsh, but if that's what it takes to make you see sense then so be it. I know perfectly well that you love your collection of comics so you will always want to read them again at various times in the future. Get rid of something else!!

[philcom55]

To be fair a collection which continues to embrace most IPC girls' titles (less the few exceptions mentioned) will still be pretty substantial. Though I've learned to appreciate DC Thomson comics a lot more in recent years I must admit that I was primarily a Fleetway/Odhams/IPC fan when I was growing up so their output will probably always mean more to me.

[starscape]

I got rid of most of mine a few years ago. I kept some key series and enjoyed the process of deciding what they were. I now enjoy collecting new series for various reasons (reading, filling-in and new collections), as well as sometimes re-buying issues I'd previously sold. I don't regret it and it beats having a dead weight of paper that is just sitting there. You can always re-buy but I'll bet you would probably look to different comics to read, rather than ones that simply sit there.

[peace355]

And peace355, I hope you get peace to have a good night's sleep at least!

Little Ruby is good most nights, today she slept until 6 which is good

It can be a hard decision getting rid of a collection, and you may think there is things you will never read again, only a few years later to start thinking about a certain issue or story! But I think sometimes you just have to bite the bullet!

And, of course, with a 3-month-old baby I guess you need to make room for all the reading matter your offspring will be collecting twenty or thirty years from now!

Yes I imagine I'll have boxes of Phoenix Comics and whatever else is trending in the next few years, to replace my comics I have kept onto annuals and some other comics that she might enjoy when she's old enough.

[koollectablz]

Sell the lot, you can literally rebuy absolutely anything nowadays.

But keep the money you make separate and do something with it.

[Adam Eterno]

I'm very lucky in that I do have the room at home to store my comics (although my beloved may disagree) and I have no intention of moving. I do sell quite a bit though but predominantly duplicates and "extras" such as when I buy a box of comics to get a few particular issues and there are loads of other comics left over. I have sold a few comics over the years from my collection and I'm 50/50 on happy with the decision or regretting it!

Most of the above opinions I'd agree with. It will always be your choice to make. My personal thoughts are that you may regret selling some of them but you can always buy them back. Make sure any money you make buys something special. If you're not rushed to sell them, you should get some good prices. If you have doubts over particular comics or sets, then keep them.

Another final thought if you're feeling "bogged down with stuff" is to box them up securely and safely and leave them in storage with friends/family that have a big loft. I use Christmas Tree size Really Useful boxes that can hold 400+ in each box.

[big bad bri]

i sold my complete run of american comics with many key spiderman xmen issues etc about 15 years ago to start collecting british humour titles i had as a kid and regretted it every day since,and last year i nearly sold my collection of british comics and even went as far as having a dealer come to my flat to look at the boxes,im glad i never sold them in the end as im more enthusiastic than ever and need to complete those runs of buster and whizzer & chips if it kills me

[Phoenix]

I can understand people selling some of their belongings, including comics, if they can hear the bailiff approaching. To be fair, this could never happen to me so my entire comic collection is going absolutely nowhere, apart from Cornwall when I move there. Reading the above members' comments, it seems that there is a fair degree of regret being expressed about having posted off to pastures new packages of loved comics containing equally loved stories. If they desperately need the money from the sales, then it's obviously fine. If not, then selling them doesn't make any sense to me. The issue of storage can surely be resolved unless the owner is living in a poky flat, at which point some imaginative thinking will be required. My son Andrew lives in just such a pad in London, and he keeps many of his books in his oven, which he never uses for it's primary purpose.

[stevezodiac]

I am currently selling comics on ebay. I retired on 31 May and am now taking home only £910 a month so I need to make some more. At present I don't know how little I can live on each month but am certainly economising. Its frustrating, though, when you go round Tesco trying not to spend too much and then, using the self service till, walk off without collecting £1.89 in change. I have sold some Jim Starlin Warlocks and Captain Marvels and all of my Treasury Editions. The other reason is that I don't want to pop my clogs and leave my family with around 40,000 comics to deal with.

The funny thing is my most prized possessions are not comics but are my Real West magazines (and similar titles) from the 60s and 70s. I love the wild west. Also my Power comics and Charlton comics.