Comic Books

[Blarg]

Thanks for the tip.

The paper didn't warp from the ink or anything?

[tonypaladino]

No, but I'm unfamiliar with comic books, and what kind of paper is used. Do old comics yellow? If so then the paper may be acidic, and the pen might react, but I have no idea. I don't think there's anything in the ink that could do anything bad, but I would try it on a cheap comic first.

TONY

[AZK]

There are ways to find out how much each one is worth (comic book stores/magazines)...see if you have any hidden gems first.

[usmfan]

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No, but I'm unfamiliar with comic books, and what kind of paper is used. Do old comics yellow? If so then the paper may be acidic, and the pen might react, but I have no idea. I don't think there's anything in the ink that could do anything bad, but I would try it on a cheap comic first.

TONY

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Don't do this with comic books. The mere marking decreases the grade and the value. For assurance both selling and buying, for premium books, lots of people use CGC grading service. They grade it and place the book in a plastic sealed cover/container.

[Brainwalter]

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[ QUOTE ]
No, but I'm unfamiliar with comic books, and what kind of paper is used. Do old comics yellow? If so then the paper may be acidic, and the pen might react, but I have no idea. I don't think there's anything in the ink that could do anything bad, but I would try it on a cheap comic first.

TONY

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Don't do this with comic books. The mere marking decreases the grade and the value.

[/ QUOTE ]

You know it's invisible ink right?

The other tip seemed very helpful though.

[istewart]

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The corners are bent on my Friendly Fire and somebody stole my Wolf Blitzer...

scrub

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Is this Garden State?

[Blarg]

Do you know if they sell anything on consignment, or if there's a decent reputable firm that handles transactions on consignment? The e-bay thing, I dunno if it suits me.

[lastsamurai]

have you ever used the pen to mark hold em cards at home games? LOL

[SmileyEH]

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[ QUOTE ]
The corners are bent on my Friendly Fire and somebody stole my Wolf Blitzer...

scrub

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Is this Garden State?

[/ QUOTE ]

yes.

-SmileyEH

[Cry Me A River]

I was a comic book dealer for many years (including about 7 years on eBay). I am currently "retired" so I'm not completely up to date on the latest trends.

Comic books are a buyers market for everything but the choicest pieces and probably always will be. Resale on comics is pretty horrible compared to the pre-bust and pre-eBay days.

There are basically 4 ways for you to sell your comics if you really want to. (Do not expect to make a lot of money!!!)

1) Take them to a dealer/store. Depending on quantity, for comics from the 80's to present you'll be lucky to get $.10 per comic (ie: 500 comics = $50) if there's some decent stuff included (ie: Someone mentioned Spawn 1). Otherwise if it's all junk or you have a large quantity (say, >25000) you're looking at pennies a comic. If you split out the "better" 80's-present comics, you will get anywhere from 10%-30% of guide, depending on exactly what they are. You may occaisionally get more, particularly for books that happen to be "hot" at the moment (ie: characters that have just been revived or spun off, characters with movies on the way) but that's something you really need to be "in the know" about. The reason is that the store/dealer is going to be selling them for $.25 to $1 for all but a relative handfull of the comics and it will take a long, long time to sell through. So he needs to buy them cheap to ensure that he makes a profit in the (very) long term.

For 60's and 70's books, depending on who you're dealing with and the particulars of the comics you're looking at anywhere from 10%-50% of guide price. Expect on the low side of that unless you have key (important) comics in high grade. I cannot overemphasize the imporatance of a comic's condition. It sounds like you don't have any golden age comics (pre-60's) so I won't go into those.

If you have a lot of older comics (60's & 70's) taking them to a comic book shop that only sells new comics is a really, really bad idea.

2) Sell them on eBay. For "common" comics from the 80's on up, your best bet is to sell them in runs (ie: A set of 10 sequential Superman comics). You can expect to get $.25-$.50 per comic, so try to make the runs big enough to make it worthwhile for people. For the bigger characters (Spidey, Batman, X-Men) you can expect to do better than this. Some stuff simply will not sell or you may have to relist several times (use minimum bids, buy-it-now, and the gallery!). "Key" comics (first appearances, first issues that kind of things) will average you somewhere around 25% guide. Do a completed auctions search to see the going prices. For older comics (60's) you can expect 25%-30% guide on mid-low grade (anything less than FN) comics. You'll do better for comcis in grade (FN or better) particularly key comics but it's really hit or miss.

3) Go to conventions/shows. You can price your comics at near guide, however you may be competing with people selling a lot of similar material (if you mostly have "modern" comics) for $.25, $.50 or $1 a comic (depending on your area). Better stuff (particularly older stuff) will get better prices. However it will take you a long time to sell all your comics unless you price very aggressively (low) and even then the market is very, very soft (even though eBay is not at the show, you are effectively competing with eBay. The only things you have on your side are convenience and the impulse buy)