selling comic books

[disneynewbeemom]

My husband has a ton of comic books from his childhood. How do we go about selling these books? How can I find out how much each one is worth? Any suggestions?

 

[Jockaroo]

My husband has a ton of old comics as well. (Any ideas how to get him to part with any?) He uses the Overstreet pricing guide to get an idea of value. Only the pristine comics with no flaws are really valuable, so if the comics have been read, or have bends, creases, or yellowing, you may wish to consider selling them as lots. The one exception is some issues where new characters make a first appearance--these can be beat to pieces and still have a demand.

http://www.gemstonepub.com/

The Overstreet guide will give you an idea of the value and gives a grading scale as well I believe. It takes time to determine the value, but it is possible that he could have some issues worth a few hundred. Good luck.

And really, how did you persuade him to part with his books.

 

[angelmav]

These kind of collections can be difficult to sell for what they are worth (and very time consuming). If you have one in your area and are wanting to get rid of them, I would suggest having an ebay store list them. They will individually list the valueable ones and put the other books in lots to get them to move.

Have the same issue in my house, DH was going to sell his entire collection, then when he started going through them got bit by the bug again, and now I have several hundred more of them in the house! Good luck!!

 

[enchantingodin]

I too am wondering the best way to sell. My hubs has a ton and is willing to part with about 1/2 of them. I looked up a few titles on ebay - to my disappointment most were selling for only a buck. And even then there were 3 more of the same title that didn't sell at all. **sigh**

Once a while back (about 4 years ago now) he parted with some by going to a comic store and selling them for about a quarter a piece. I'm thinking of doing this again.

It's either that or put them into lots of 20 or more on ebay. Or just say screw it and throw them into the recycle bin. Honestly I can't decide.

 

[comicguy]

The comic book market is not what it use to be.

I am in the process of severly downsizing my collection and I have bben collecting for over 20 years.

Comics from 1985 - 1997 and 2003 - present are tough to get rid of in Near Mint(NM) condition unless it is a spoecial issue (1st app, special artist, ect...)

I am currently selling my NM special issues for 50% off Overstreet Guide and only doing moderately well at that price.

Other issues I am selling in sets like 1-40 of a title and getting about 1.00 an issue.

To be honest those ebay stores are not the way to go with comics unless you have some of the more expensive Silver (1957-1975) or Golden Age(1933-1957) comics. Of course these comics do reasonable well especially in better then average condition.

I have been downsizing from about 8000 down to about 2000 and let me tell you that makes my wife very happy.

Some of the best sales that I have had are on comic book related websites. straight collector to collector. But make sure you grade the comics by the standards and be willing to take less then 50% or less. sometime I have sold large batches at .50 per comic just to get them out of the house.

Current selling tiltes include:

Green lantern (at guide price for the current series)
X-Men (at 50% off guide price)
Uncanny X-Men (at 50% off guide price)
Iron Man (at about 60% off of guide)
Wolverine (usually at cover price unless it is the original mini series from 1982)

If you all have any question I would be happy to help.

 

[labdogs42]

My Dh has comics, too. I'm guessing they aren't worth much, I just want them OUT of the house! Any idea where to find someone to sell the whole pile to? Seriously, DH hasn't looked at these things since we moved into our house 11 years ago. They need to go!

 

[comicguy]

My Dh has comics, too. I'm guessing they aren't worth much, I just want them OUT of the house! Any idea where to find someone to sell the whole pile to? Seriously, DH hasn't looked at these things since we moved into our house 11 years ago. They need to go!

Try Craig's List, I have not had luck there on selling anything including comics but we live in a small area.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Some of the best sales that I have had are on comic book related websites. straight collector to collector. But make sure you grade the comics by the standards and be willing to take less then 50% or less. sometime I have sold large batches at .50 per comic just to get them out of the house.

Thanks for all your helpful information, comicguy. I'm in the same boat as the OP and others. Son left piles and piles of comic books that he doesn't want. Can you suggest the names of any of those comic book related sites to try?

We have a local comic book store. If they are willing to take these off our hands, would that be a good way to get rid of them?
I don't expect much at all, just want them gone. I think my son knows which ones are worth looking up to see what they might be worth. Thanks again!
~tink

 

[pixiewings71]

I have quite a few books, all first editions and in storage bags, NO damage, most of them have never been read. I worked at a comic store for a couple years and collected them. I want to get rid of them but no one wants them....LOL How do you find a comic book site and put them up for sale? I found a guy on eBay but he wasn't going to give me anything for them, he wanted to give me $10 for the box and nothing for my gas or time........I said nope!

 

[comicguy]

Thanks for all your helpful information, comicguy. I'm in the same boat as the OP and others. Son left piles and piles of comic books that he doesn't want. Can you suggest the names of any of those comic book related sites to try?

We have a local comic book store. If they are willing to take these off our hands, would that be a good way to get rid of them?
I don't expect much at all, just want them gone. I think my son knows which ones are worth looking up to see what they might be worth. Thanks again!
~tink

Usually Local comic shops (LCS) will offer a max of 25% for the "good stuff" and about .10 per comic(if that) for the common stuff.

I know those prices suck but it is one of the realities of the comic market right now. There is a shrinking fan base that is not being replaced and as such there is less demand for older comics unless there are the "special".

 

[comicguy]

I have quite a few books, all first editions and in storage bags, NO damage, most of them have never been read. I worked at a comic store for a couple years and collected them. I want to get rid of them but no one wants them....LOL How do you find a comic book site and put them up for sale? I found a guy on eBay but he wasn't going to give me anything for them, he wanted to give me $10 for the box and nothing for my gas or time........I said nope!

I ran a comicbook store for about 2 and a half years back in the early 90's.

Comics again are not what they use to be, value wise. So many people simply stopped collecting during the mid 90's when the market went boom.

You could try selling them in a yard sale for .50 each if you just want to get rid of them.

You could also check the local hospitals about donating them and getting a tax right off at the same time. If you do this make sure you have an itemized list and your assigned valus and what you used to get that value. The overstreet price guide is the markets authority.