Need advice on selling comics

[captmorgan72]

I have maybe a thousand of them and many I believe may be valuable, but I haven't a clue how to best sell them. Any suggestions guys/gals?

[daglob]

Get Overstreet's Price guide, and go here:

http://www.milehighcomics.com/index.html

You can look up your comics and see what they are worth to MHC, anyway. There are doubtlessly other sites with similar capabilities.

Second, see if you can look some of them up on e-Bay. Track them and see what they sell for. It will give you some idea of what they are worth.

I had a friend who wold track the sale fo a comic on e-Bay, and after it was sold he would contact the second-highest bidder and see if he would buy the comic for the last price he bid. Sometimes he did, sometimes not (the whole heat of competition was gone).

Don't sell anything you will be sorry you sold (unless it is a case of paying the rent or being out on the street).

[Tawodi Osdi]

That is dependent upon your location.  I probably have about $1k-$2k worth of comic books.  I have some Avengers and X-Men that go back to the 60's.  Here in Oklahoma, I was offered $50 for the whole lot.  If I were to try it in Michigan where my dad lives, I would probably get close to my price.  Michiganers like collecting comic books more than do Oklahomans.  I just happen to be an exception to the rule.

[Green Hornet]

The way it is now you can only get what some one is willing to pay. Look up some of the comics on ebay and watch to see what they get sold for. 

[JeyNyce]

Semi-thread jacking:

I was going to start a topic similar to this.  Are comics worth anything nowadays?  Everything is digital now and easy to get to, so is it even worth having a comic collection?

[daglob]

Semi-thread jacking:

I was going to start a topic similar to this.  Are comics worth anything nowadays?  Everything is digital now and easy to get to, so is it even worth having a comic collection?

It depends on what they mean to you. The ones I have I still enjoy, and re-read and study the art occasionally. I never did buy them for an investment.

And staring at a computer screen will never replace holding a comic book and turning the page to see...

[ow_tiobe_sb]

The information on MHC is rather depressing, given that I, too, was recently making preparations to sell my comic book collection.  Now I see that even my mint condition, rare issues might sell for only a fraction of the original cover price.  There go my plans for an auxiliary college fund for Jude.

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Whirled Braker

[daglob]

e-Bay might be your best bet. Sometimes people get caught up in the competition and bid more than they really should. And MHC and Overstreet don't know everything. Maybe that particular comic is all someone needs to complete their run of a character.

[Xenolith]

Didn't see this before, but I may be able to help a little.  I've worked at several comic shops throughout the years and one of my best friends runs one, so I have a sense of what shop owners are looking for/willing to pay.  I'm in Nebraska, so that might skew my perception on back issues.

Try not to sell to a store unless you really don't care how much money you get for your comics. 

Ultimately the stores need to make a profit, so they'll offer half or less than what you/they think they are worth.  If you do sell to a store, here are some helpful hints.

Separate out the stuff from the 60s and earlier.  You'll get a better offer that way.

Check out all the local stores to see if they are missing big chunks of comic runs.  If so, they may be willing to give you a better offer on the issues they are missing. 

99% of the comcis from 1990 and later will fetch you a dime to a quarter at a store.  There are some hidden gems from that era, but not many.

Make sure your comics are organized before going in.  Alphabetical order is great.

I wouldn't recommend selling your entire collection at once.  Piece by piece may fetch you a better price.  Times are tough for shop owners, so they may not be able to lay out a big wad of cash.

Figure out how much you want ahead of time, increase it by 50% and then let them talk you back down.  This is assuming you don't want "guide" price, which isn't going to happen in most cases.

I don't know what could be done online.