For me it comes down to a few things.

One is size. I don't find the idea of reading a 1200 page book very enticing, so instead of buying the Lee/Ditko Amazing Spider-Man omnibus I bought the four Masterworks. Size plays into the hardcover vs softcover debate. I'm not a huge fan of thinner hardcovers, I prefer beefier hardcovers. Because of this I got the softcover MM for Spidey.

Another is presentation. I'm a sucker for bonus features, titlepages and that sort of thing, which is why I don't own the Ultimate collections of Ultimate Spider-Man. They don't have titlepages inbetween storyarcs so I have the single arc trades instead. Black and white vs colour is of course another big one. If its in black and white then the book loses points.

Between these two I have some judgement calls to make. Do I buy the Masterworks Incredible Hulk or the Essentials? I get way more comics with the Essentials but with the Masterworks I get them in colour. The decision usually comes down to how much I figure I'll enjoy the material. Since I'm not hugely interested in Silver Age Hulk I want to get the Essentials volume so I can read them for cheap. If I like them enough then the Essentials volume because a Christmas gift for my little cousin (get em started young!) and I'll get the Masterworks or even Omnibus if it isn't too bad.

A final consideration and one thats relatively recent is bindability. My goal is to bind the four Ditko MM volumes into two hardcovers, which I think would be the perfect size. They played into me buying the softcovers; no point spending extra on a hardcover if you're just gonna rip the cover off anyway. This is also the main reason why I got the individual Ult Spidey trades, each story arc will already have a title page and some lead in and since I'm binding them the thickness doesn't matter.

And of course price is a factor.  The more sure I am that I'll like something the more likely I am to spend more money on it.

Last Edited By: MrTinkertrain Aug 26 11 11:14 PM. Edited 1 times.