This past weekend I went to a comic show, not as a buyer but as a seller. I have seven short boxes (Exterior L 15.75 X W 7.5 X H 10.75) full of comics, six of which are just the premium books I kept after the last sell off two years ago. I also had/have about 100lbs of Magic the Gathering (MTG) cards. I use pounds since I have no idea how many there are, just a lot! I had made the decision to travel lighter through life, not to be defined by my things as a good friend put it so eloquently. So I took some time, got it all organized and headed to Dallas on a cold Sunday morning to see if I could find them some new homes.
I had resolved to get rid of them “no matter what”. I had a little sign saying “make me an offer”. I was ready to go. As one would expect, one of the other sellers there was the first to come by and eventually make the first purchase. What I was most surprised at was the slightly queasy feeling in my stomach as I was handed the cash and I handed over the books. Wasn’t I mentally and physically prepared for this? I mean, the darn things just sat in my closet for the last two years doing nothing for me. I have not read them or even taken them out to look at them.
As the day drew on, very few people came through, but I did have one guy with a spiral bound notebook. carefully detailing all the Wolverine comics he had and what he needed. As luck would have it, that is the character I had specialized in for my collection. I had a very complete collection including the entire regular monthly series, many of the mini and key appearances. The gentleman pulled a few books, we haggled. He left, came back and he walked away happy. I even overheard him speaking with the event organizer about how happy he was that the show had been done and what a great deal he got (he really did). I was relieved at least that those few books were going into an appreciated collection.
Of all the people there, I probably walked away with the most cash. Not because I am a great salesman, but because I was willing to let it go regardless of my personal loss. Driving home, I was pretty exhausted even though I was sitting the entire day. After thinking about it, it made sense. I have invested a lot of time, energy and money into the collection. It has defined me to some extent. Letting it go was hard. It still is since I have most of the collection to sell. But I feel better about it. As I am going through with my decision, it is getting easier. While I cannot understand fully why so many people hang on to so much stuff, I do understand that getting rid of things can be emotional, at least of some level, and that makes the whole exercise both that much more difficult and rewarding.
Such a great start! I'm so proud for you!
Something people don't think about if you don't do shows often is that it is very draining to have to be "on" all day long. Pair that up with the energy/emotion tied into letting go of collections and I have no doubt that you were quite exhausted by the end of the day.
Hooray, James!!