Generally speaking, I'll buy an Essentials volume if: a) I figure the material in question won't be reprinted in any higher grade format for a very long time (if ever), b) the material being reprinted is of so-so quality- interesting enough for a look, but not good enough to justify the expense of a higher quality format. To use a phrase I first encountered in a Comics Journal review of an upscale reprint of dicey material, I'm not interested in owning "turds under glass".

With regards to higher grade formats, what's most important to me is the quality and sharpness of the reproduction. If they had been available at the time I bought them in years past, I'd probably have purchased the softcover Masterworks instead of the hardcover ones I currently have. Generally speaking, I don't give a rat's ass about glossy paper. I'll take good clean reproduction on "toilet paper" over fuzzy scans on glossy paper any day of the week.

I've avoided many of the Gigantor-sized Omnibuses simply because I consider them to be too unwieldy. 500 pages is about the max for me.

Needless to say, I don't care about spine dress and how the books look lined up on the shelf. Books are books to me, not furniture.

 "You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering." --Doctor Who