Lately, I have been getting a lot of email about comic prices, collecting
and selling. In this article, I hope to simplify matters of comic collecting
and prices for my readers, who are new to the hobby. I've been reading and
collecting comics for 40 years (gaaaaah!) and have learned a few things along
the way. Come with me as I share what I have learned with you.
First off, you are not going to get rich collecting comics. Yes, I have lots
and lots and *lots* of comics, and some of them are actually worth
something, but I've been collecting them for a long, long time. Do not go
out and buy new comics, and expect them to double their value in 3 years.
It takes new comics decades to increase in value. Don't be fooled by gimmicks
such as titles like "Special Collectors Edition" and variant covers, especially
if they are charging you more for them. This is designed to part you with your
money now, and is no guarantee they will be worth more later.
Comic value is determined by three major factors: age, condition of the
comic, and scarcity of the comic. If you have a comic from the 80's-90's, it
is not going to be worth much. Face it, they are recent, the print runs were
high, and they all should be in near perfect condition due to their recent
age. Yes, there are usually prices for them listed in the price guides, but
what they actually sell for depends on what the buyer is willing to pay. I've
been to a lot of cons, and I can tell you, the comics of the 80's and 90's can
be found in the 25 cent-$1.00 boxes, irregardless of what the price guide says.
There are exceptions to this, but this is the general rule for the grand majority
of titles out there.
So, here you have a bunch of fairly worthless comics, what do you do? Put
them in a box and put them in the closet, forget about them and drag them
out in 20 years. They actually will be worth more than cover price then, I
promise. How much more, I can't tell you. I went through a "collecting phase"
during the 70's, and bought just about every comic out there. I was very unhappy
when all of my 70's comics were listed at less than cover price in the early 80's,
but now they are actually worth something. So me of my 70's Uncanny X-Men are priced
at 50 bucks apiece, and even my lousy pre-DC Implosion comics are going for $4.00 a
comic at cons. See? Don't get discouraged, hold on to them! They will increase in
value later.
If you actually want to buy comics for collecting purposes only, don't
fiddle with new comics. Buy old comics in near mint condition. By old, I
mean printed before1970. Yes, you might have to pay some cash for them, but
they are guaranteed to go up in price. If you buy new comics in the hopes
that you will make a personal fortune later, you may die before you see your
investment worth anything. Buy new comics because you want to read them, and
therefore, you won't care later if they are worthless.
What old comics to buy? This is really a matter of personal choice. The DC
Batman books have always resold well, so have old X-Men books. I like old
Superman and Lois Lane books, so I buy those. I read them, bag and board
them, and put them in my boxes "for later." Over the last 25 years, I have
kept my eye out for bargains. I have a small, but mint Golden Age collection
of humor comics that have increased in value over the years. I might have paid
$5-$10 apiece for them, but they are worth a lot more now. What you select is
really up to you, but remember that scarcity, age, and condition of the comic
is what counts in comic collecting.
Also, I cannot stress enough, a value of a comic is only worth what someone
is willing to pay for it. The Death of Superman might be listed at $10 in
the guide, but there were a lot of them printed, and a lot of them
sold....they sit unbought in comic boxes at cons currently.
Where do you find investment grade comics? You can get them from a whole
variety of sources, both online, and around your town. Your local comics
retailer carries a certain amount of back issue stock, but your retailer is
going to sell them at guide prices, because he has a store to run and a profit
to make. If you want to seriously invest in comics, one should buy an Overstreet
Comic Grading Guide, and read it, and learn how to grade comics, so you can
determine if the price on the comic is fair or not.
Small, locally run conventions are an excellent place to find good comics at
reasonable prices, often way below guide prices. The same goes for your
local flea markets, often comic dealers have semi permanent stalls there.
Don't overlook the good, old fashioned garage sale, either: you'd be amazed
at what people consider junk to be gotten rid of.
When should one invest in a comics price guide? I bought a hard back one
recently, and spent 30 bucks for it. I like the Overstreet Price Guide for
their realistic pricing on comics and it's just my personal choice. I didn't
buy it so I could sell my comics, I bought it for my readers who just own one
or two comics and who need to know the value. Invest in a price guide when you
have a heck of a lot of recent comics, or a few old comics, and you want to
sell them. You have to weigh the amount of comics your have, and what type of
comics you have, against the cost of the price guide.
How does one go about selling comics? Don't bother taking your comics over
to the local comics store owner. He's got his own back stock to sell, and he
isn't going to offer you much for your comics. You can rent a table at one
of your local conventions, usually they run from $50-$125 a table. If you
think that your comics will earn you more than the cost of the table, go for
it. Another option is to rent a stall at flea market. However, you might not
get a comic friendly crowd for customers. Selling comics online is easy. You
can post your list of comics to sell, along with their prices over on
rec.arts.marketplace, and take orders via email. You can list
your comics and their prices on your website and advertise your site over on
rec.arts.comics.marketplace. Another option is to put your comics up for auction.
Ebay () is a popular
comics auction site. If you have a bunch of recent comics, you might consider
placing them up for bid without a minimum price on them, so that they will sell.
You might consider packaging them in lots. That way you can sell them off
in packs, and make it more financially feasible to ship them to the winner.
If you have older comics that are worth some money, you should probably set
a minimum bid that you would be willing to sell the comic for. That way you
won't be unhappy if the comic sells for less that you expected. If your comic
doesn't sell, you can always lower the minimum selling price.
I hope this helps you learn a little bit about the basics of comics
collecting. If this article doesn't answer your questions, feel free to
email me.
Gonzo's Addendum
I liked your article about collecting comics and wanted to throw in my two
cents as well. Recently I decided to try to "trade" many of my comics for
either a mini-series or other comics.
Recently I traded Namor-The Submariner #1-26 for Barry Ween Boy Genius #1-3,
I also am working on trading Byrn'e Superman run for either Carvers #1-3 or
Nobody #1-4. Sure, some might say that I'm losing big time by trading so
many books for a few, but if I no longer want these books, they're just
taking up space and collecting dust. This way, for just the cost of postage
(at book rate), I'm able to get an indy title I can't normally find locally
(but want desperately) and whomever I trade with, gets a nice comic run for
less than buying them at a comic shop or mail order.
In addition, I've also traded comics on a one-on-one basis, I recently
traded Black Canary/Batgirl #1 (which I had gotten in a quarter bin) for an
issue of Vampirella Strikes (#21 I think) which was drawn by Ed (Deadpool)
McGuiness. I also traded the three-issue mini-series Girl Crazy (by one of
the Hernandez Bros...again, I got this set for a quarter each) for Batman
Adventures: The Lost Years #1-4). I wish more people would consider comic
trading because it can work out for both individuals.