I have read 10 or more sites giving advice on selling comic books, but I am still utterly confused by the best path to take.  I have a stack of them from the 80's, and I looked most of them up on Ebay, and I have some, like GI Joes, that range in value (going by the current listings anyway) from $5.00 to $500.00 and up.  I also have some random ones that look like I could list them for $5 to $10 and sell them in a lot maybe.  

 

I run into a quandary when I see the rated ones packed in plastic and displaying their grades.  While this looks like the ideal situation, the cost of grading my collection does not seem price worthy. I see the benefit of having the 4 or 5 that are worth more than a few hundred graded, but the grading process is expensive, and I can only see where you can have them graded in sets or in bulk,and I don't have enough to make it cost effective.  And the grading companies want you to buy a membership in order to accept your comics for grading.

 

So, should I just grade them myself, post lots of pictures, and sell them like I would sell anything else, or should I go through the process a different way?  I might go to my local comic book store and see if I can get my few costly ones graded, but it seems like a huge investment in time and money, and they also say that they only send them off to be graded in bulk.

 

I just want to unload the ones I have; I do not want to continue to buy and sell them, so the membership in the grading companies does not really make sense.

 

 

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks,

 

I would just take good pictures and state 'as is' in all the auctions with no grading guarantees.  Sounds like a hassle all around.

THanks

Hello! My best friend is manager of a comic shop in Chicago. I have collected over the years as well. I will say up front that the places that "grade" comics with AFA values are pretty much a waste unless you have something that is REALLY valuable. They will charge you a lot to grade and unless it is a rare item it usually doesn't help sell. On the other hand, it seems every person is different when it comes to determining the grades. Even my friend, who deals in comics, says when he gives someone a grade, they could go somewhere else and they might grade it totally different. Things to look for: 1. Is the cover in good shape? No tears, creases, or spots is best. 2. Pages - Any rips or folds of the pages? If not, proceed to next. 3. Are the staples firm and not loose? If your book meets all these criteria, then i would say you have a near mint book. I had my friend show me what constitutes a perfectly mint book. It was the same criteria i just wrote but he also checked for fingerprints and oils on the cover. Corners had to be perfect and the book should have been bagged and boarded the instant it was received. On that note, if you are trying to sell, it's best to bag and board them if you don't already. I have sold a lot in the past and i usually just say they are near mint in my description but that they have not been professionally graded. If you are using ebay then the pictures will do the talking. I just noticed you are in the Chicago area. You should give my friend a call. They just made a move of the store from Calumet City to Crown Point, Indiana. They are Amazing Fantasy Comics. They've been around for more than 20 years. They will be at the old location for a few more days then open next week at the new store. The old number is 708-891-2260 and the new number will be 219-661-1500. Ask for Dave. He will be able to help you with any questions you might have. I hope i have been of some help.

Most of my collection went to local shops, but I did have some luck selling some on ebay. All my stuff was from the 90s. So yes, I had a long run of Spawn, and no, none of that fantastic Image stuff is worth anything yet. I think you'll get decent views with 80s stuff... Maybe start with a BIN close to book value, and see how much attention it gets. I listed most of mine as auctions so I could get a sense of using ebay, plus they all sold for understandable prices. Shipping is risky... Definitely bag and board, and pack well.

jal's suggestion is sound, too. If you really want to just unload some comics, start at local shops. In my experience, they are avid buyers who pay respectably. However, they will cherry pick your stash, which could leave you with incomplete runs and boxes of $2 comics. My leftovers went to a secondhand bookstore; I was surprised to see the buyer there actually research some values. She paid me premiums for the best ones, and about .55 each for the rest.

Hello! My best friend is manager of a comic shop in Chicago. I have collected over the years as well. I will say up front that the places that "grade" comics with AFA values are pretty much a waste unless you have something that is REALLY valuable. They will charge you a lot to grade and unless it is a rare item it usually doesn't help sell. On the other hand, it seems every person is different when it comes to determining the grades. Even my friend, who deals in comics, says when he gives someone a grade, they could go somewhere else and they might grade it totally different. Things to look for: 1. Is the cover in good shape? No tears, creases, or spots is best. 2. Pages - Any rips or folds of the pages? If not, proceed to next. 3. Are the staples firm and not loose? If your book meets all these criteria, then i would say you have a near mint book. I had my friend show me what constitutes a perfectly mint book. It was the same criteria i just wrote but he also checked for fingerprints and oils on the cover. Corners had to be perfect and the book should have been bagged and boarded the instant it was received. On that note, if you are trying to sell, it's best to bag and board them if you don't already. I have sold a lot in the past and i usually just say they are near mint in my description but that they have not been professionally graded. If you are using ebay then the pictures will do the talking. I just noticed you are in the Chicago area. You should give my friend a call. They just made a move of the store from Calumet City to Crown Point, Indiana. They are Amazing Fantasy Comics. They've been around for more than 20 years. They will be at the old location for a few more days then open next week at the new store. The old number is 708-891-2260 and the new number will be 219-661-1500. Ask for Dave. He will be able to help you with any questions you might have. I hope i have been of some help.

Thanks.  I will do that.  All my comics were bagged and boarded when I purchased them, and they have been in storage ever since 89.

 

is Amazing Fantasy related to A.F. Books?  

Most of my collection went to local shops, but I did have some luck selling some on ebay. All my stuff was from the 90s. So yes, I had a long run of Spawn, and no, none of that fantastic Image stuff is worth anything yet. I think you'll get decent views with 80s stuff... Maybe start with a BIN close to book value, and see how much attention it gets. I listed most of mine as auctions so I could get a sense of using ebay, plus they all sold for understandable prices. Shipping is risky... Definitely bag and board, and pack well.

jal's suggestion is sound, too. If you really want to just unload some comics, start at local shops. In my experience, they are avid buyers who pay respectably. However, they will cherry pick your stash, which could leave you with incomplete runs and boxes of $2 comics. My leftovers went to a secondhand bookstore; I was surprised to see the buyer there actually research some values. She paid me premiums for the best ones, and about .55 each for the rest.

Thanks!  I was thinking of putting up an Ebay store this summer and just having these listed along with other things like Lego and regular books.  The less footwork I have to do, I think is better since most of my collection is under the $5.00 value mark.  Some have high listing prices though, so I will be taking the advice here for them.

Yes, they used to be AF Books. Dave is going back to old school with the new store and removed "books" from the title and put back amazing fantasy and comics back into it. He said he may be actually doing some buying of back issues once he gets into the new store. He's a great guy. I'm sure he can help you out. 

Yes, they used to be AF Books. Dave is going back to old school with the new store and removed "books" from the title and put back amazing fantasy and comics back into it. He said he may be actually doing some buying of back issues once he gets into the new store. He's a great guy. I'm sure he can help you out. 

Great.  There's actually 2 of those by my house.  I will give his store a call, though.  I used to go to one in Tinley Park about 20 years ago almost every day.  It's a great store.  I used to go there on my lunch and read Charles Bukowski books and look through the racks.  That one is still there, and I saw where there was another one opened about 5 miles away from it.  They must do good business.  I have a friend in Boston whose store went under a few years ago.  Makes me sad.

I would list some of them locally too. You get a big time collector, you might be able to offload a lot of those $5 for $2-3 each which might be worth not having to pack them, etc.

Yes, there are 4 stores total all owned by the same guy. I believe either Lori or Garrett runs Tinley Park. All of the other stores originally branched off from the Calumet City store. It was the first. Kinda sad to see it close. But the area is just terrible now and sales dropped off significantly. So they either had to move where the money is or close up altogether. I don't know if the other stores will be buying as much back issues since they have been established for a long time. But Dave told me that since they are starting fresh in the Crown Point store, he would probably need some back issues for the bin. They are all great people. Besides being my friend since kindergarden, i have been getting my comics and books and collectibles with them for the last 25 years. Yeah, it seems digital has put a real hurt on the business as a whole. I don't think it will ever go away completely because there are too many old school people like me that would rather have a tangible book in hand rather than a digital copy. In order to survive now though, you have to carry a lot of other entertainment-related stuff to compensate. Dave says he makes quite a bit now off of the Heroclix gaming stuff and tournaments. If you try to rely on the comics and books only, you will sink really fast. When you call Dave, tell him John from Tennessee sent you. LOL Hope he can help you out!

Oh i also forgot.... the stuff that you don't sell that isn't worth as much...it might be better to just trade them at a shop for store credit. It doesn't help you as far as getting cash in hand but if you buy other collectibles or comics, it will offset your costs there. And stores will usually give you a better deal if you are trading for credit rather than cash. 

Thanks and thanks again!

 

I am going to get my digital SLR set up tonight maybe, then.  I will start taking some pics and give him a call when I get my collection categorized.  Crown Point is a cool little town.  I used to work there many years ago.  I will stop in there on my way to Indy or by my sister's.  

Oh i also forgot.... the stuff that you don't sell that isn't worth as much...it might be better to just trade them at a shop for store credit. It doesn't help you as far as getting cash in hand but if you buy other collectibles or comics, it will offset your costs there. And stores will usually give you a better deal if you are trading for credit rather than cash. 

 

I used this method back when I was starting in selling (non-comic) books to get quicker-moving and more desirable merchandise - I'd turn in a box of slow-moving cheap stuff and take whatever they'd give me and purchase much scarcer/more desirable stuff to re-sell.

 

What was "slow moving cheap stuff" to me in an internet store was desirable to a brick and mortar, and vice versa, so it worked out really well until I had my business up and running to the point it was no longer time-effective to do it and I could find my own more desirable items elsewhere.

 

You could winnow down your cheaper stuff to a much smaller number of more valuable items to sell online using this method as jal outlined it.