The Thrill Of The Hunt

E-Bay, Amazon, Craigslist and Facebook have destroyed comic book collecting.

Perhaps destroyed is too strong a word.  It’s more like severely deformed it.

It’s too easy to collect comic books (and for that matter any other collectible).  All the fun has been taken away.

The thrill of the hunt, the sense of accomplishment and the luck of the draw have no place in modern comic book collecting.

To me the hunt is half the fun. Finding cool, old comic books is the other half.

I used to be able to go to garage sales, flea markets, antique stores and Salvation Army and Goodwill stores and find comic books.

And I’m not talking about recent releases.  I’m talking big time collectibles.  Classic stuff like early Marvel and DC Comics, Gold Key, Dell and other Silver and Bronze Age comic books.  Occasional some Golden Age.

The stuff you pay hundreds and thousands of dollars for now.  

With the introduction of online sites everyone is aware of old comic books and collectibles.  And, because of online sites, the prices have escalated to outrageous levels.

Couple that with the overabundance of ‘grading services’ and what was once a fun hobby has turned into big business demanding high prices.

Comic book collecting has become the domain of speculators and investors.

It is ridiculous that comic books that were less than $50 20 years ago are now selling for thousands of dollars-some for five and six figures!

Really!?  Comic books?  The problem is that the Internet has made it too easy and simple to collect.  There’s no challenge anymore.  If you have the money you can purchase whatever you want.

Where’s the thrill of the chase?  All you need now is to save up money and ‘Wham, bam, thank you mam!’, and you can purchase comic books from all over the world.

I’m sorry; I’m too much of a nickel and dime sort of guy.  I want the thrill of finding something for cheap-not to resell or make a fortune off of-just to read and enjoy.

I would never (and I stress never) pay more than $5 for any comic book.  I’d don’t have that kind of disposable income.

Collecting comic books is not a hobby anymore.  It is a race to see who has the latest and greatest, highest graded and bragging rights.

Whatever happened to sharing your hobby with others?  The excitement of shopping around and possibly finding a rare comic book that you’ve looked for and wanted for years.

It’s not about the hobby anymore-it’s about the money-pure and simple.

What few conventions I go to are packed with vendors that practically have dollar signs for their eyes.  Conventions are no longer enjoyable to me.  They used to be events where fans got together to talk and share. 

More and more they’re about who can get the best deal and screw over someone else or beat them to the best deal.

No thank you.  I’d rather stay at home, read my old comic books, write reviews about them and enjoy them.  Isn’t that the point of any hobby-to enjoy it?

Occasionally I’ll still go to garage sales and hope I find something.  Those days are quickly fading away.

Collecting has progressed to the point that it’s no longer about the thrill of the hunt.  It’s more about making a killing for the cash and eliminating the competition.

Oh how the hobby has fallen!