For the first time in a long time, I need to trim back a decent amount on my purchases. I've always said I blow money I have "to spare", so time to tighten the belt a bit as my "reserves" move in a (hopefully) temporary downward direction.
Basically, I'm cutting out stuff that is:
* Comics that are not "top of the stack" material for me.
* New series that are $3.99 for normal length issues.
* HCs that are "double dips"
* HCs that I'm pretty sure I'll be able to pick up discounted down the line when I have more free $$
* Toys/misc that I can do without.
DROPPING all the following from my June order for books shipping in August:
ASTRO CITY THE DARK AGE HC BOOK 02 BROTHERS IN ARMS [JUN100244] Have the issues, don't need to double-dip
AVENGERS & INFINITY GAUNTLET #1 (OF 4) [JUN100568]
AVENGERS PRIME #2 (OF 5) [JUN100564]
BALTIMORE PLAGUE SHIPS #1 [JUN100039]
BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #47 [JUN100170]
BONE TALL TALES HC [JUN100888] Have a previous SC of this, don't need to double-dip
BOOSTER GOLD #35 [JUN100181]
BPRD HELL ON EARTH NEW WORLD #1 (OF 5) [JUN100036]
CAPTAIN AMERICA FOREVER ALLIES #1 (OF 4) [JUN100574]
DC COMICS BLACKEST NIGHT OATH 7PC MAGNET ASST [JUN101729]
DE TALES HC [JUN100028]
DOOM PATROL #13 [JUN100192]
FRENEMY OF THE STATE #3 (OF 5) [JUN101081]
GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #15 [JUN100164]
IDES OF BLOOD #1 (OF 6) [JUN100247]
JSA ALL STARS #9 [JUN100191]
JUSTICE LEAGUE GENERATION LOST #7 [JUN100140]
JUSTICE LEAGUE GENERATION LOST #8 [JUN100142]
LOCKE & KEY KEYS TO THE KINGDOM #1 [JUN100338]
MINDFIELD #3 CVR B PHIL NOTO [JUN100774]
ORC STAIN #6 [JUN100467]
PHANTOM JACK NOWHERE MAN AGENDA GN [JUN100386]
POWER GIRL #15 [JUN100194]
QUEEN SONJA #11 [JUN100950]
RED ROBIN #15 [JUN100166]
RED SONJA #52 [JUN100949]
SCALPED #41 [JUN100279]
SECRET SIX #24 [JUN100195]
SHADOWHAWK #4 [JUN100469]
SOULFIRE VOL TWO #8 CVR B KEVIN SHARPE [JUN100777]
SPIDER-MAN FANTASTIC FOUR #2 (OF 4) [JUN100549]
SPITFIRE #1 [JUN100518]
STARMAN OMNIBUS HC VOL 05 [JUN100209] Have the issues, don't need to double-dip
SW SLAVE LEIA MINI BUST (RES) [JUN101635]
SUPERMAN #702 [JUN100171]
SUPERMAN BATMAN #75 [JUN100177]
SUPERMAN EARTH ONE HC [JUN100127]
SUPERMAN THE LAST FAMILY OF KRYPTON #1 (OF 3) [JUN100173]
TEEN TITANS #86 [JUN100196]
THOR #613 [JUN100614]
THOR #614 [JUN100615]
TITANS #26 [JUN100152]
TRUE BLOOD #2 [JUN100313]
WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #11 [JUN100548]
WIZARDS OF MICKEY #8 [JUN100878]
WONDER WOMAN #602 [JUN100199]
X-MEN CURSE OF MUTANTS BLADE #1 [JUN100626]
X-MEN CURSE OF MUTANTS STORM & GAMBIT #1 [JUN100627]
Y THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 04 [JUN100278] Have the issues, don't need to double-dip
ZATANNA #4 VAR ED [JUN100202] (I'm keeping Zatanna, just don't need to buy the variant cover also)
This reduced my June order total by $271.63 after DCBS discount.
Next I'm working on what to drop out of my July order.
Cutting back on comics.....
Moderator: JohnMayo
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BobBretall
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BobBretall
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I saved $82.50 on "follow-thru" of on-going titles I cut from the last list. In addition:
Cuts from my July list:
BILLY THE KID GHASTLY FIEND LONDON #1 ERIC POWELL CVR
OUR ARMY AT WAR #1
OUR FIGHTING FORCES #1
G I COMBAT #1
FIRST WAVE #4 (OF 6) VAR ED (RES) (don't need the variant covers......)
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA SPECIAL #1
JLA DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 04 (No double-dip)
X-23 #1
VALKYRIE #1
HULK #25
INCREDIBLE HULKS #612
INCREDIBLE HULKS #613 (new twice-monthly schedule, buh-bye!)
TASKMASTER #1
ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS X-MEN #1
BART SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR #16
BACK ISSUE #44
And the above cuts saved me another $60.57 after discount, for a total savings of $143.07 from what I was previously planning to spend.
Cuts from my July list:
BILLY THE KID GHASTLY FIEND LONDON #1 ERIC POWELL CVR
OUR ARMY AT WAR #1
OUR FIGHTING FORCES #1
G I COMBAT #1
FIRST WAVE #4 (OF 6) VAR ED (RES) (don't need the variant covers......)
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA SPECIAL #1
JLA DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 04 (No double-dip)
X-23 #1
VALKYRIE #1
HULK #25
INCREDIBLE HULKS #612
INCREDIBLE HULKS #613 (new twice-monthly schedule, buh-bye!)
TASKMASTER #1
ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS X-MEN #1
BART SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR #16
BACK ISSUE #44
And the above cuts saved me another $60.57 after discount, for a total savings of $143.07 from what I was previously planning to spend.
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Frank Castle
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BobBretall
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torchsong
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Dammit Bob...you...you lived the dream for so many of us for so long! I...I don't know what to believe in anymore. It's like a part of me...the part that wishes he could open the Previews catalog and just say "I'll take it!"...that part of me is now dead inside.
CURSE YOU, OBAMA!!! Are you HAPPY now?!? Who is going to keep the Bowen statue people in business? This is on YOUR head, Mr. President!
As someone who tries to maintain a $50 a month budget on his DCBS order, Bob has been something of a legend...nay, a HERO...to me. I guess there just aren't any heroes left anymore.
CURSE YOU, OBAMA!!! Are you HAPPY now?!? Who is going to keep the Bowen statue people in business? This is on YOUR head, Mr. President!
As someone who tries to maintain a $50 a month budget on his DCBS order, Bob has been something of a legend...nay, a HERO...to me. I guess there just aren't any heroes left anymore.
"That...that HAIR!!!" - Deadpool, Deadpool #11
I've been looking at trimming my list down, almost to the point that I think I can forego DCBS and just get my comics through my local shop. I still need to do the math, but I may still place a DCBS order, if for nothing else than trades and steeply discounted issues. I currently spend $200-$300 per month.
Several reasons are factoring into my decision. First, I need to cut expenses some. I teach at a community college, and my upcoming fall schedule will not allow me to get much work from my second employer. Actual time to sit down and read books is really becoming scarce. My backlog is getting longer every month. And the fact that I have such an unread pile has got me to thinking about the following.
Could I possibly take a 2-3 year break from major comic buying. For me personally, that would be about a $100 a month budget, still getting my mainstream Marvel books to keep up with the universe (Amazing Spidey, Avengers books, etc.) and use my backlog to fill in my reading gaps. Hopefully it would end my unread stack/bookshelf (yes, an entire 5 shelf bookshelf). Then, if I'm really missing things, go back issue hunting. Its actually quite easy now either through ebay, mycomicshop, or convention bargin bins. Part of the fun of collecting is the hunt, obviously.
Anyway, I just need to start thinking about it. Pulling the trigger and making THE list of books that survive is kind of hard, for me. But I really think it will be best in the long run. Thanks for letting me think out loud.
Several reasons are factoring into my decision. First, I need to cut expenses some. I teach at a community college, and my upcoming fall schedule will not allow me to get much work from my second employer. Actual time to sit down and read books is really becoming scarce. My backlog is getting longer every month. And the fact that I have such an unread pile has got me to thinking about the following.
Could I possibly take a 2-3 year break from major comic buying. For me personally, that would be about a $100 a month budget, still getting my mainstream Marvel books to keep up with the universe (Amazing Spidey, Avengers books, etc.) and use my backlog to fill in my reading gaps. Hopefully it would end my unread stack/bookshelf (yes, an entire 5 shelf bookshelf). Then, if I'm really missing things, go back issue hunting. Its actually quite easy now either through ebay, mycomicshop, or convention bargin bins. Part of the fun of collecting is the hunt, obviously.
Anyway, I just need to start thinking about it. Pulling the trigger and making THE list of books that survive is kind of hard, for me. But I really think it will be best in the long run. Thanks for letting me think out loud.
Jay in NC
Go Heels!
Go Heels!
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BobBretall
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This was pretty much my same thought process, though I found it much easier to cut out a bunch of 2nd/3rd tier Marvel DC Books than some of the Indies I like.Burrell wrote: My backlog is getting longer every month. And the fact that I have such an unread pile has got me to thinking about the following.
<snip>
Then, if I'm really missing things, go back issue hunting. Its actually quite easy now either through ebay, mycomicshop, or convention bargain bins. Part of the fun of collecting is the hunt, obviously.
I have been cleaning up prior to Con & found that I have 5 short boxes full of stuff I have not read yet. 1 Marvel, 1 DC, and 2 Indie.
As I looked at them, the Marvel/DC books I have not read in months I look at & think "Wow, I probably don't need to be getting this. They'll be around cheap in back issue bins years from now if I ever decide I need them." On the Indies I think "Wow, I want to read this! I wish I had time, maybe I would if I cut back on some of the Marvel/DC I'm not enjoying so much."
It SHOULD be easy, when I think about it objectively. I only have so many hours in the week to devote to entertainment. There are tv shows and movies I want to watch, I play a few video games, and I want to read some novels. And that's not to mention the time spent with family and work that I have to during my off hours. So logically, with the side benefit of saving money, cutting back should be easy.
But every time I've seen those, "if you could only buy 10 books a month" type threads, I can't even hypothetically cut back. Now I have to actually do it. Why do we get so addicted to these things?
But every time I've seen those, "if you could only buy 10 books a month" type threads, I can't even hypothetically cut back. Now I have to actually do it. Why do we get so addicted to these things?
Jay in NC
Go Heels!
Go Heels!
For me it's all about budget. I try to limit myself to $100 a month. Sometimes I go over, sometimes under, but having a limit means cutting out a lot of things I would have gotten otherwise. And I tend to use the same process; things I know I will probably see later for cheaper at a con I skip; things I'm not caught up on (so obviously I can wait for) I skip, etc. I still end up with too much stuff, but not TOO much stuff.
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TNPredsFan
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Love to see the discipline Bob. I too have decided to cut pretty massively. I'm going to cut a lot and then see what I miss not buying. I have three going on four longboxes of unread NEW stuff not to mention dozens of unread collected editions. It just makes no sense to keep spending full price (well, DCBS discounted "full price" as opposed to bargain bins) on stuff I legitimately won't get to for ages. I can't tell you how many mid-list books and in particular mini-series that I don't get to and then when I get back around to them, because they were tied up into the event du jour, I have almost no interest in bothering with them anyway.
Welcome aboard the "cut-back" team Bob! I've successfully cut back by collecting mostly oversized editions (Omnibus/Absolute/Library). This might sound more expensive, but actually it disciplines me to buy only a few books at a time. I occasionally buy "smaller" books from Costco - e.g. Bone, Amulet. I do triple dip on the Walking Dead though with singles, HC, and Omnibus editions. What can I say, I love 'em zombies
I've successfully cut back by collecting mostly oversized editions (Omnibus/Absolute/Library). This might sound more expensive, but actually it disciplines me to buy only a few books at a time. I occasionally buy "smaller" books from Costco - e.g. Bone, Amulet. I do triple dip on the Walking Dead though with singles, HC, and Omnibus editions. What can I say, I love 'em zombies JC
I think it is pretty interesting everyone has looked at cutting back. My average order at DCBs has been around $450 - $500. I basically have decided:
1) No marvel mini-series unless it is features a character / team I really love!
2) No more double dipping on trades except for The Sword (if they release an absolute I'll triple dip)
3) No new number ones unless it is directly tied to the X-universe.
4) only x-related lead figures
I have been pretty good about keeping up with reading but lately I find myself asking "Why am I reading this?" For example I like "Darkstar and the Winter Guard" it is a cool story but in the long run this story is pretty irrelvant to anything happening in Marvel in general.
I was buying things at DCBS because of the price now I am going to cut back and if there is a lot of buzz on a title I'll go get it, and if I have to pay more at the LCS i'll be ok with that.
That being said, anything X-23 / Scarlet Witch related I'll buy. every cover, every appearance, anything. Demented yes, but I really love those characters I guess I follow characters more than creators.
1) No marvel mini-series unless it is features a character / team I really love!
2) No more double dipping on trades except for The Sword (if they release an absolute I'll triple dip)
3) No new number ones unless it is directly tied to the X-universe.
4) only x-related lead figures
I have been pretty good about keeping up with reading but lately I find myself asking "Why am I reading this?" For example I like "Darkstar and the Winter Guard" it is a cool story but in the long run this story is pretty irrelvant to anything happening in Marvel in general.
I was buying things at DCBS because of the price now I am going to cut back and if there is a lot of buzz on a title I'll go get it, and if I have to pay more at the LCS i'll be ok with that.
That being said, anything X-23 / Scarlet Witch related I'll buy. every cover, every appearance, anything. Demented yes, but I really love those characters
I guess I follow characters more than creators.Dr. Hank The Crank
(Not a Skrull)
Woodstock, CT
(Not a Skrull)
Woodstock, CT
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BobBretall
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