My point was, the very nature of collection... be it cards, comics, string beans shaped like Elvis, etc... is to seek out things you enjoy. With comics though, a lot of it is ingrained in the culture. We all know the chances of landing a truly rare comic is next to impossible, but I doubt there's anyone here who'd actively turn down owning one. Even if you never plan on cashing in, there's a certain pride to having that original Optimus Prime, or Green Lantern Number One, or entire lot of Garbage Pail Kids series 1 cards.
Even if you're only in it for the story, there's value in owning the start of something. Whether it's that cool villain who only appeared in shadow on the last page of an issue, or a decision that later on came to bite our hero on the ass 30 issues later... you get a sense of satisfaction knowing you own it. You were there... you read it... you can pull that book out of the box and point it out to people if you so choose.
All of this is speculation. There's never a guarantee when it comes to comics. Never a "sure thing". The kind of speculator you're talking about is the crazy 90's "buy it all and hope something is worth moneys!" speculation. I'm talking about the speculator who holds onto something they love for years in the hopes it pays off, story wise, money wise, or even just on a personal level nobody else can understand.
Every collector is a speculator to some extent. Even if it's just speculation that the current story you're reading will have a good conclusion, or lead to a more interesting story down the line... it's still speculation.
Let's face it... if you weren't a collector you'd just buy comics and throw them in the trash when you were done reading it. People do it with magazines, newspapers, and even (blasphemous... I know) books from time to time... but comics? Not often. Comics go in a box, preferably with a plastic cover and a backing board.
And yes Corvus, I too enjoy having the tactile feel of a real book. Digi-comics are a good choice for people who don't have the room for a comic collection, don't want to blemish their physical copies, or now that they're day one... people who couldn't land that issue they're desperate to read RIGHT NOW (probably at work no less). That said, whipping out your digi-copy of the first appearance of Thor has a lot less impact than if you had an actual physical copy.
