12:45 The new PSA guy talked about a collection he bought in the 80s, where 2 brothers had bought boxes of certain late silver and bronze age books. People are foolish to believe that there aren't boxes of keys sitting around still
I consider myself a true comic collector. I started reading comic books at the age of seven. I didn’t even know what a collector was nor did I care. I bought comics then and now because I loved reading them not for any monetary value. I kept them because I read them over and over and would trade with my brother’s friends. I saved my small allowance and would buy them when I could. Even when I joined the Army and was stationed in Germany I still bought comics but not as a speculator, I was and still am a COLLECTOR at heart!
It's called a marketplace... I think speculators are great when they drive up the value of books in my collection. Then, when they drive up the price of a book I want - I can't stand them.
Chris, you and I had an online discussion some months ago in which you eventually convinced me that just about every comic collector is motivated at least in part by speculation. I still believe you’re right, but see what you think about this nuanced distinction… When comic fans talk about “speculators” it’s usually implicit that they’re talking about people who are planning to sell the comics, either in the short term (aka “flippers”) or the long term (aka “investors”). I would argue that collectors like myself who have no plans to sell their collections should be termed “over-the-horizon speculators.” What I mean is, these folks realize that their comics will eventually be sold - perhaps after the collector’s death - and the collector would prefer that their comics retain/accrue value. For collectors who claim “that’s not me, I don’t care about money at all,” I would pose the following questions - *Do you ever throw away duplicates, comics you don’t enjoy, or comics you’ve read so many times that you don’t expect to ever read them again? *Would you include a provision in your will stating that, to save time for your executor and heirs, your collection should be simply thrown away or recycled after your death? *If you were shopping and came across two copies of the same comic, at the same price, and one copy was in much better condition than the other, would you buy the beat-up copy because “value doesn’t matter”? *Do you ever use your comics as note pads to jot down phone numbers, work math problems, draw doodles, etc.? If you’re answering “no, that’s crazy” to any of these, then I would argue that you’re looking at your comic collection as something more valuable than a stack of old catalogs or last week’s newspapers and, therefore, you have at least a glimmer of speculation in your motivation for buying comics.
Tom I love this comment!! Thank you so much for sharing this. And yes, you broke down many lanes that collectors can indeed "speculate," but in different manners. And I absolutely love the questions you posed! I agree!
Most shop owners hate Wednesday modern spec/flippers. Although not as prevalent as a Few years ago, there are people that will clean out every shop in a city of a spec book just to flip. Comics has been hidden from those guys in bulk for many years. Then they pop up again during the Slabdemic. This is what a speculator is or people refer to when saying speculator. Anyone trying to speculate quick flip older books now should have learned their lesson by now. Sure you can throw all these caveats in but this generally what it is.
I appreciate you watching and commenting but I will respectfully disagree with pretty much everything you said. Also, any comic shop owner that hates selling books to anyone, no matter who they are, on new comic book Wednesdays, probably shouldn't be in business.
Yeah selling a product is selling a product but I spoke to a shop that's been in business for 40 plus years and they pretty much hate it. Also other more modern heavy shops will limit books. I've seen signs that say any past 3-5 copies etc is ebay price to help slow these guys down. You have to protect your long time clientle somehow.
@@Comicbookcreed I share a similar sentiment with what you are describing, and I champion shops that limit copies and/or upsell after a certain amount. It's only fair. But again, my point remains. That is NOT simply what a "speculator" is. And that's the whole point of this video. We have taken a term that is a very broad and nuanced term and turned it into something dirty to describe something that people put in a nice little box and tie a bow on. Those people that you describe, more specifically, are most likely short term flippers. Do they speculate? Yes. But they are only one flavor of speculator.
I think speculation on comic books is dangerous. Buy the modern books you like for 4 to 10 dollars, and don't spend any more then 30 dollars for a cover, unless you really like the character yourself. Trying to buy a book and then flip it into a profit will always lead to someone hold onto a mostly worthless book. If you do spec for a living, don't ever hold onto a modern book you spent more then 30 bucks on, flip it and move on. Holding onto modern books, you are almost always guaranteed to take a loss, unless it's the next Miles Morales.
Wanting to preserve vintage materials makes one an archivist, not a speculator -- the terms are far from synonymous :) It's like equating historians with day traders because they both might handle lots of paperwork throughout the day. . . .
Respectfully, you sure misinterpreting my words. Wanting to preserve it for ‘future value’ is a form of speculation. I don’t know how much more simply I can put it. If someone purchases any type of item with a focus on the future values of that item, that is speculation, period. Day traders are one form of market speculators. It’s just one flavor out of many.
This is a good take. I agree with pretty much everything you’ve said here. Not everything in comics is so black and white. We can have both speculation and love for the comics at the same time. :)
Actually there is a distinction in between. A collector is a hobbyist doing/collecting something out of love. While speculator is there for the money and investment. Simple as that. Also speculation is not good or a bad thing its just prediction. Anyway, nice vid, have a nice day!
I appreciate the comment and the love, but I will have to humbly disagree with you, simply because collecting, as well as most things in this world, is not that black and white. Again, someone can have "LOVE" for the hobby simply by speculating. Collecting out of love doesn't define the reason why they collect. Stock brokers might LOVE working in stocks. People who play fantasy sports and bet might LOVE playing famtasy sports, even though there is betting involved. Again, any collector that cares about future value in ANY shape, form or fashion, is in some part "speculating," and that is where it becomes simple. Most collectors, to SOME small degree, speculate in one way or another.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture Absolutely, things can always intersect or align. Not just distinction, there is also a conflict of interest between collector and speculator. Collector only happy when the prices are down cause it makes the desired item/s more accessible for the collector. On the other hand speculator can be happy with both upwards or downwards parabola, in the end they are betting on the prediction of prices will inflate. I'm not saying you can't be both but there is a dichotomy between the two.
@@dreigros You can be both and through my 35 plus years of collecting and years of studying the market, I would argue that the majority of collectors absolutely blur those lines. It's like saying there is a clear distinction between people who prefer steak and people who prefer chicken, but most of them will still eat both. That's why we cannot simply say, "if someone collects for the love of the hobby, they aren't a speculator." The clear distinction that makes all kinds of collectors in some part a speculator is if they care about future value. Period. And to your last point, you would be lying to yourself if you ignored the fact that those same collectors that are happy when prices are down so they can buy low...... are also happy when prices go up, AS LONG as they already own the book. ;) And that's the pettiness and the conundrum of collectors. They want to point fingers when a book gets hot and shoots up in price when it's a book they don't own, but will gladly reap the satisfaction of seeing what's in their collection gain value, even if they don't plan on selling.
Thank you! I've been battling vestibular vertigo for 5 weeks now and I'm still trying to heal, but one day at a time! I can't wait to get back in front of the camera!
Unfortunately I’m still suffering from long term health issues that are preventing me from being able to record new material but I’m trying very hard to get there.
I like collecting because of reading and covers. I also like collecting just to have a piece of history. I also want think of them as some sort of investment but not for me but for my kids.
I'm 48. Ive been collecting since 93'. I sold my first collection and started over again about a year ago. I consider myself a collector and a speculator at the same time. I collect GI Joe, transformers and Spawn. When Im at the LCS on Wednesday picking up my new books, I also look through the new releases and I pick up the ones I think will spec. I plan to hold my book until I retire (20+ years). If I live that long then I will sell them off or If I pass away then they will all go to my son.
Thanks for watching. I never once said, "readers/collectors buy comics at a premium on the secondary market." Now with that out of the way, I go back to what I said in the video. Anyone who purchases a book and cares about the future value of that book is in some way speculating.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture no, you said that collectors/readers won’t buy comics at a premium (inferring only “speculators” would do that) around the 10 minute mark of your video, and that is a bad take. “Spec” when it comes to comic books is very specific terminology that refers to predicting what characters will pop up in movies/shows/whatever. Spec in this context is describing Uncanny X-Men 130 or Silver Surfer #3, not Apple stock or baseball cards. So no, when I was putting my Akira run together or Peter David’s Hulk run, or buying the Death of Gwen Stacey, I can assure you that I was not spec’ing. I did in fact pay a premium but it was to collect and to read those runs. I bet that I’m pretty representative of the backbone of the hobby. Unfortunately a very large percentage of that backbone exited the hobby over the past 2 years.
@@bob9710 Go back and listen to what I said completely. I said, "for the most part." Meaning, people that care about the value of comics as a collectible are the ones driving up the prices on the secondary market. The speculator is what makes a comic book worth more than it's cover price on the secondary market. You buying at a premium to fill that hole in your run though, is more because of you being a "collector," rather than a reader. As a reader would most likely find a cheaper way to read it. You sound like a completist that is willing to make more just to own the completion of something. Now, again, your "definition" of the term spec" is sooooooo way off, because that way of "spec'ing" hasn't even been around for the last 20 years. That is merely ONE way to speculate. I'll say it a million times until I'm blue in the face. Speculating does not begin and die with movies and tv shows. I would humbly suggest that you watch the video I just uploaded yesterday to get even more context. The definition is not that black and white, and here are some references for you: With that being said, here are some official iterations of the term "speculator" when speaking in Financial terms: - An individual or firm taking risks for the sake of expected profits (Oxford) - a person who buys goods, property, money, etc. in the hope of selling them at a profit: a currency/land/market speculator. (Cambridge Dictionary) - To risk money in a business deal in hopes of high profit (Merriam-Webster Reference Library) - A holder, venturer, gambler, or businessman (Merriam-Webster New World Funk & Wagnalls Edition) - One who attempts to anticipate price changes through buying and selling (Nasdaq) - An investor or firm that tries to profit from favorable movement(s) of the prices of securities. (Corporate Finance Institute)
I agree that excessive speculation (of all forms) drives prices beyond their perceived intrinsic value which usually leads to a crash or a correction. The comic market has been correcting for the past year or two. However, cons are still well attended and books are still selling. From this perspective, speculation has only created a market bubble that has corrected and the hobby is still healthy. If you just want books to read at a cheap price then speculation probably isn't good. If you want a healthy hobby with cons, tons of new books, and shows then the interest and finance that speculation brings is probably a slight positive at the cost of having to pay more for books. Will the current era of excessive ratio variants have a negative effect on the new book market like overprinting and over speculation did in the 90's? Maybe or maybe not. Time will tell. Will some areas of the market shrink in a decade or three as the current collectors get older? Maybe.
Also, even though speculation drives up prices, it also brings more interest and funds that facilitates making reprints and TPB available for fans to read the books they love.
i wonder how many modern grails have come out since the beginning of 1990?? Maybe 10 or less?? Don't buy todays modern books that come out every week. There are no investments in them. If you buy them to read, thats fine. The variants are the main reason the modern age books are still hanging around. Great content and video!!
Speculation for the wrong reasons is bad for the hobby. Are long term readers speculators......no. Reading is not a form of speculation if the purpose is to read the books. If you want to make the argument of "well technically everyone who buys comics is a speculator" then there would be no differentiation between toxic behavior. Some good points, but you're splitting hairs on some others.
I appreciate the feedback, but I will respectfully say that I think you heard me wrong. I'm not splitting hairs, as I'm not stating what you are saying. I NEVER said everyone who buys comics is a speculator. Not once. If someone purely buys comics to read and nothing else, they are not speculating in any way, and I stated this. BUT, if a collector buys comics to read, but also cares about future value, then in part, they are speculating. It's not splitting hairs, it's just that simple.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture I was generalizing based on your statement which was, "If you collect anything and you want to preserve whatever it is you collect, comic books......to some degree, in a sense, you are speculating." 2:38 - 2:57. That dear sir, is splitting hairs. When you start using "to some degree" or "in a sense" in this context, it's another way of saying "well technically", which is splitting hairs. However, by your own definition, if someone buys comics to read, puts them in bags and boards to preserve them for future use (reading again), they are speculating. If someone buys trade paperbacks or omnibus and puts them neatly in a bookshelf to preserve them so they could be read in the future, they are speculating. Your statement applies to readers who want to preserve their collections so they can read them in the future. Whether it was your intention to say this or not, it was said. If someone buys comic books, the expectation is that they buy bags, boards, and boxes to put them in. Which again, by your argument would make 99% of comic book collectors speculators, which is inherently false.
@@copy801 I want to first state that the statement you took was one I repeated a couple different times in the video where I clarified what I meant, which was preserving it for sake of "value." Not just preserving it as a sentimental collectible. So while yes, you can take the few seconds of that statement and isolate it and go on a tangent trying to tear apart my argument. But again, listen to the whole video. Yes, I should have clarified it each time I said it, but it was already stated in complete context. Preserving for the sake of future value. I want to preserve my t-shirts so they last long and don't shrink or get stained. Doesn't mean I'm speculating on the value of my used shirt. lol. Come on now. So I humbly ask, please, actually listen to the whole video, and you'll know what I'm saying was pretty clear. Caring in ANY part about future value, is speculating. Period. I do agree that speculating for the wrong reasons can be detrimental to the hobby.
Get 10% off your BCW Supply order when you use the code JERNOS when you purchase from their website here: www.bcwsupplies.com/?acc=Jernos
12:45 The new PSA guy talked about a collection he bought in the 80s, where 2 brothers had bought boxes of certain late silver and bronze age books. People are foolish to believe that there aren't boxes of keys sitting around still
I consider myself a true comic collector. I started reading comic books at the age of seven. I didn’t even know what a collector was nor did I care. I bought comics then and now because I loved reading them not for any monetary value. I kept them because I read them over and over and would trade with my brother’s friends. I saved my small allowance and would buy them when I could. Even when I joined the Army and was stationed in Germany I still bought comics but not as a speculator, I was and still am a COLLECTOR at heart!
It's called a marketplace... I think speculators are great when they drive up the value of books in my collection. Then, when they drive up the price of a book I want - I can't stand them.
Exactly! lol I love your honesty.
Chris, you and I had an online discussion some months ago in which you eventually convinced me that just about every comic collector is motivated at least in part by speculation.
I still believe you’re right, but see what you think about this nuanced distinction…
When comic fans talk about “speculators” it’s usually implicit that they’re talking about people who are planning to sell the comics, either in the short term (aka “flippers”) or the long term (aka “investors”).
I would argue that collectors like myself who have no plans to sell their collections should be termed “over-the-horizon speculators.” What I mean is, these folks realize that their comics will eventually be sold - perhaps after the collector’s death - and the collector would prefer that their comics retain/accrue value.
For collectors who claim “that’s not me, I don’t care about money at all,” I would pose the following questions -
*Do you ever throw away duplicates, comics you don’t enjoy, or comics you’ve read so many times that you don’t expect to ever read them again?
*Would you include a provision in your will stating that, to save time for your executor and heirs, your collection should be simply thrown away or recycled after your death?
*If you were shopping and came across two copies of the same comic, at the same price, and one copy was in much better condition than the other, would you buy the beat-up copy because “value doesn’t matter”?
*Do you ever use your comics as note pads to jot down phone numbers, work math problems, draw doodles, etc.?
If you’re answering “no, that’s crazy” to any of these, then I would argue that you’re looking at your comic collection as something more valuable than a stack of old catalogs or last week’s newspapers and, therefore, you have at least a glimmer of speculation in your motivation for buying comics.
Tom I love this comment!! Thank you so much for sharing this. And yes, you broke down many lanes that collectors can indeed "speculate," but in different manners. And I absolutely love the questions you posed! I agree!
Most shop owners hate Wednesday modern spec/flippers. Although not as prevalent as a Few years ago, there are people that will clean out every shop in a city of a spec book just to flip. Comics has been hidden from those guys in bulk for many years. Then they pop up again during the Slabdemic. This is what a speculator is or people refer to when saying speculator. Anyone trying to speculate quick flip older books now should have learned their lesson by now. Sure you can throw all these caveats in but this generally what it is.
I appreciate you watching and commenting but I will respectfully disagree with pretty much everything you said. Also, any comic shop owner that hates selling books to anyone, no matter who they are, on new comic book Wednesdays, probably shouldn't be in business.
Yeah selling a product is selling a product but I spoke to a shop that's been in business for 40 plus years and they pretty much hate it. Also other more modern heavy shops will limit books. I've seen signs that say any past 3-5 copies etc is ebay price to help slow these guys down. You have to protect your long time clientle somehow.
@@Comicbookcreed I share a similar sentiment with what you are describing, and I champion shops that limit copies and/or upsell after a certain amount. It's only fair. But again, my point remains. That is NOT simply what a "speculator" is. And that's the whole point of this video. We have taken a term that is a very broad and nuanced term and turned it into something dirty to describe something that people put in a nice little box and tie a bow on. Those people that you describe, more specifically, are most likely short term flippers. Do they speculate? Yes. But they are only one flavor of speculator.
I think speculation on comic books is dangerous. Buy the modern books you like for 4 to 10 dollars, and don't spend any more then 30 dollars for a cover, unless you really like the character yourself. Trying to buy a book and then flip it into a profit will always lead to someone hold onto a mostly worthless book. If you do spec for a living, don't ever hold onto a modern book you spent more then 30 bucks on, flip it and move on. Holding onto modern books, you are almost always guaranteed to take a loss, unless it's the next Miles Morales.
Great talking points i love these types of conversations
Thanks, Luis!
Wanting to preserve vintage materials makes one an archivist, not a speculator -- the terms are far from synonymous :) It's like equating historians with day traders because they both might handle lots of paperwork throughout the day. . . .
Respectfully, you sure misinterpreting my words. Wanting to preserve it for ‘future value’ is a form of speculation. I don’t know how much more simply I can put it. If someone purchases any type of item with a focus on the future values of that item, that is speculation, period. Day traders are one form of market speculators. It’s just one flavor out of many.
This is a good take. I agree with pretty much everything you’ve said here. Not everything in comics is so black and white. We can have both speculation and love for the comics at the same time. :)
Indeed!
Actually there is a distinction in between. A collector is a hobbyist doing/collecting something out of love. While speculator is there for the money and investment. Simple as that. Also speculation is not good or a bad thing its just prediction. Anyway, nice vid, have a nice day!
I appreciate the comment and the love, but I will have to humbly disagree with you, simply because collecting, as well as most things in this world, is not that black and white. Again, someone can have "LOVE" for the hobby simply by speculating. Collecting out of love doesn't define the reason why they collect. Stock brokers might LOVE working in stocks. People who play fantasy sports and bet might LOVE playing famtasy sports, even though there is betting involved.
Again, any collector that cares about future value in ANY shape, form or fashion, is in some part "speculating," and that is where it becomes simple. Most collectors, to SOME small degree, speculate in one way or another.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture Absolutely, things can always intersect or align.
Not just distinction, there is also a conflict of interest between collector and speculator.
Collector only happy when the prices are down cause it makes the desired item/s more accessible for the collector.
On the other hand speculator can be happy with both upwards or downwards parabola, in the end they are betting on the prediction of prices will inflate.
I'm not saying you can't be both but there is a dichotomy between the two.
@@dreigros You can be both and through my 35 plus years of collecting and years of studying the market, I would argue that the majority of collectors absolutely blur those lines. It's like saying there is a clear distinction between people who prefer steak and people who prefer chicken, but most of them will still eat both. That's why we cannot simply say, "if someone collects for the love of the hobby, they aren't a speculator." The clear distinction that makes all kinds of collectors in some part a speculator is if they care about future value. Period.
And to your last point, you would be lying to yourself if you ignored the fact that those same collectors that are happy when prices are down so they can buy low...... are also happy when prices go up, AS LONG as they already own the book. ;)
And that's the pettiness and the conundrum of collectors. They want to point fingers when a book gets hot and shoots up in price when it's a book they don't own, but will gladly reap the satisfaction of seeing what's in their collection gain value, even if they don't plan on selling.
Hope you are doing well.
Thank you! I've been battling vestibular vertigo for 5 weeks now and I'm still trying to heal, but one day at a time! I can't wait to get back in front of the camera!
Great thoughts!
Thanks, Larry!
Is this a reupload ?
Unfortunately I’m still suffering from long term health issues that are preventing me from being able to record new material but I’m trying very hard to get there.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture prayers for you brotha God bless you
I like collecting because of reading and covers. I also like collecting just to have a piece of history. I also want think of them as some sort of investment but not for me but for my kids.
I'm 48. Ive been collecting since 93'. I sold my first collection and started over again about a year ago. I consider myself a collector and a speculator at the same time. I collect GI Joe, transformers and Spawn. When Im at the LCS on Wednesday picking up my new books, I also look through the new releases and I pick up the ones I think will spec. I plan to hold my book until I retire (20+ years). If I live that long then I will sell them off or If I pass away then they will all go to my son.
Comic book readers/collectors don’t buy comics at a premium on the secondary market? Wtf are you talking about?
Thanks for watching. I never once said, "readers/collectors buy comics at a premium on the secondary market." Now with that out of the way, I go back to what I said in the video. Anyone who purchases a book and cares about the future value of that book is in some way speculating.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture no, you said that collectors/readers won’t buy comics at a premium (inferring only “speculators” would do that) around the 10 minute mark of your video, and that is a bad take. “Spec” when it comes to comic books is very specific terminology that refers to predicting what characters will pop up in movies/shows/whatever. Spec in this context is describing Uncanny X-Men 130 or Silver Surfer #3, not Apple stock or baseball cards. So no, when I was putting my Akira run together or Peter David’s Hulk run, or buying the Death of Gwen Stacey, I can assure you that I was not spec’ing. I did in fact pay a premium but it was to collect and to read those runs. I bet that I’m pretty representative of the backbone of the hobby. Unfortunately a very large percentage of that backbone exited the hobby over the past 2 years.
@@bob9710 Go back and listen to what I said completely. I said, "for the most part." Meaning, people that care about the value of comics as a collectible are the ones driving up the prices on the secondary market. The speculator is what makes a comic book worth more than it's cover price on the secondary market. You buying at a premium to fill that hole in your run though, is more because of you being a "collector," rather than a reader. As a reader would most likely find a cheaper way to read it. You sound like a completist that is willing to make more just to own the completion of something.
Now, again, your "definition" of the term spec" is sooooooo way off, because that way of "spec'ing" hasn't even been around for the last 20 years. That is merely ONE way to speculate. I'll say it a million times until I'm blue in the face. Speculating does not begin and die with movies and tv shows. I would humbly suggest that you watch the video I just uploaded yesterday to get even more context.
The definition is not that black and white, and here are some references for you:
With that being said, here are some official iterations of the term "speculator" when speaking in Financial terms:
- An individual or firm taking risks for the sake of expected profits (Oxford)
- a person who buys goods, property, money, etc. in the hope of selling them at a profit: a currency/land/market speculator. (Cambridge Dictionary)
- To risk money in a business deal in hopes of high profit (Merriam-Webster Reference Library)
- A holder, venturer, gambler, or businessman (Merriam-Webster New World Funk & Wagnalls Edition)
- One who attempts to anticipate price changes through buying and selling (Nasdaq)
- An investor or firm that tries to profit from favorable movement(s) of the prices of securities. (Corporate Finance Institute)
Used to be you had to be brained and remember what the keys were from memory. Key Collector/CBSI ruined that experience for some.
Sorry you didn't make sticky goose top 5 comic book RUclipsrs , better luck next time bud
🤣🤣🤣 oh the luck is not making the list. Means I can sleep at night knowing I’m a decent human being.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture ahhh come on buddy don't be like Kanye. At least you were in the running seen as your in the thumb nail and all
@@jonathanloera6830 I wouldn’t know because I don’t pay attention to the drama of others anymore.
Cool
I agree that excessive speculation (of all forms) drives prices beyond their perceived intrinsic value which usually leads to a crash or a correction. The comic market has been correcting for the past year or two. However, cons are still well attended and books are still selling. From this perspective, speculation has only created a market bubble that has corrected and the hobby is still healthy.
If you just want books to read at a cheap price then speculation probably isn't good. If you want a healthy hobby with cons, tons of new books, and shows then the interest and finance that speculation brings is probably a slight positive at the cost of having to pay more for books.
Will the current era of excessive ratio variants have a negative effect on the new book market like overprinting and over speculation did in the 90's? Maybe or maybe not. Time will tell.
Will some areas of the market shrink in a decade or three as the current collectors get older? Maybe.
Also, even though speculation drives up prices, it also brings more interest and funds that facilitates making reprints and TPB available for fans to read the books they love.
Very well thought out statements and pondering.
i wonder how many modern grails have come out since the beginning of 1990?? Maybe 10 or less?? Don't buy todays modern books that come out every week. There are no investments in them. If you buy them to read, thats fine. The variants are the main reason the modern age books are still hanging around. Great content and video!!
Appreciate you!
Speculation for the wrong reasons is bad for the hobby. Are long term readers speculators......no. Reading is not a form of speculation if the purpose is to read the books. If you want to make the argument of "well technically everyone who buys comics is a speculator" then there would be no differentiation between toxic behavior. Some good points, but you're splitting hairs on some others.
I appreciate the feedback, but I will respectfully say that I think you heard me wrong. I'm not splitting hairs, as I'm not stating what you are saying. I NEVER said everyone who buys comics is a speculator. Not once. If someone purely buys comics to read and nothing else, they are not speculating in any way, and I stated this. BUT, if a collector buys comics to read, but also cares about future value, then in part, they are speculating. It's not splitting hairs, it's just that simple.
@@JernosComicsPopCulture I was generalizing based on your statement which was, "If you collect anything and you want to preserve whatever it is you collect, comic books......to some degree, in a sense, you are speculating." 2:38 - 2:57. That dear sir, is splitting hairs. When you start using "to some degree" or "in a sense" in this context, it's another way of saying "well technically", which is splitting hairs. However, by your own definition, if someone buys comics to read, puts them in bags and boards to preserve them for future use (reading again), they are speculating. If someone buys trade paperbacks or omnibus and puts them neatly in a bookshelf to preserve them so they could be read in the future, they are speculating. Your statement applies to readers who want to preserve their collections so they can read them in the future. Whether it was your intention to say this or not, it was said. If someone buys comic books, the expectation is that they buy bags, boards, and boxes to put them in. Which again, by your argument would make 99% of comic book collectors speculators, which is inherently false.
@@copy801 I want to first state that the statement you took was one I repeated a couple different times in the video where I clarified what I meant, which was preserving it for sake of "value." Not just preserving it as a sentimental collectible. So while yes, you can take the few seconds of that statement and isolate it and go on a tangent trying to tear apart my argument. But again, listen to the whole video.
Yes, I should have clarified it each time I said it, but it was already stated in complete context. Preserving for the sake of future value. I want to preserve my t-shirts so they last long and don't shrink or get stained. Doesn't mean I'm speculating on the value of my used shirt. lol. Come on now. So I humbly ask, please, actually listen to the whole video, and you'll know what I'm saying was pretty clear. Caring in ANY part about future value, is speculating. Period.
I do agree that speculating for the wrong reasons can be detrimental to the hobby.