Truly rare comic books may come along once or twice in a lifetime. The higher the grade, the more it costs, and eventually the more you will make when and if you decide to sell or trade the book. Comic books are like oil in that they are traded in u. Learn how you can invest in comic books and see your collection grow and. This is considered the bible of comic book collectors. Comic books have come into their own as a collectible commodity, as rare and vintage comic books are going for astronomical amounts to collectors all over the world. This makes it almost an annual mustbuy if you really want to stay on your game. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by phil seuling. When you want to sell comic books, you can contact ask us for a free. Welcome to the comic book price guide that has been 25 years in the making. Jun 17, 2016 the two distribution channels effectively sorted the market for comic books into a mostlycollector group who cared about preservation of condition and for the most part made their purchases in specialty comic shops and therefore took home direct edition copies, and a mostlyreader group who shopped for their comics on the newsstands who for. Or read our free, online comic book price guides, focusing on each character, to determine their current market value. In other words, it takes a dealer time to sort, bag, board and price any comic book.
Major comics companies have titles with histories that span decades of publication, and if you are new to a particular arc, it can be hard to even decide where to start. Rarity, title, issue, and condition determine value, although often one of those variables is far more important than the others. As well as thousands of illustrations, there are features on grading. Comic books are rapidly beginning to look like the stock market. Ga comic book collecting in the financial crisis of 2020. Covrprice the ultimate tool for comic collectors and. In addition to being the preeminent source of comic book pricing information, it features a ton of other data as well. The first issue of a longrunning comic book series is. The comic book crash of the 90s and why comics are safe today. Collectors often submit a comic book with that characters first appearance to us. Not only did it give collectors at least a ballpark idea of what their comics were worth, but it provided answers to many mysteries with respect to the numbering and even the existence of many of the more obscure comics from the 1940s and 1950s. Golden age collectables in seattles pike place market. Sorry, your comic book collection is probably worthless.
Comicbook investments are more predictable than stocks. Smr online is the only official price guide for psacertified collectibles and it is the most comprehensive price guide in the hobby. Our comic book collectors tend to favor superhero, horror, scifi, fantasy, romance and humor comic books published before 1980, though many modern collections are also of interest. It currently consists of diamond comic distributors, which has monopolized such distribution having exclusive deals with major comic book publishers, and the majority of comics specialty stores, as well as other retailers of. Most comic shops cannot give you a great price on comics as they need to make a profit. Our staff of friendly and dedicated employees offer over 250 years of experience in the comic book market place, and look forward to assisting you. Comic books have been published for more than a century, and collectors categorize them into five ages. If you see an item on this list that you forgot to sign up for, just let us know and well put it in your pullbox. Quickly identify comics with key character appearances. Take pictures of your comic books or import from your photo library. The price guide also contains detailed written descriptions of all of the grades. When searching on its important to find copies that match the book in your possession as accurately as possible.
Between 1990 and 1993 no less then 24 new comic book publishers were flooding the market with hundreds of titles and by 1996 all but a handful shuttered their doors. Your personal data will be used to support your experience throughout this website, to manage access to your account, and for other purposes described in our privacy policy. As a boy i had the misfortune to be buying comics in the runup to the bubble. Comics price guide was the first online price guide for comic books back in 1995. Apr 17, 2020 some collectors dont care too much about looks as long as the comic is in decent shape, but most do care and put a lot of emphasis on the grade.
The premier online comics price guide free comic book values. Some collectors dont care too much about looks as long as the comic is in decent shape, but most do care and put a lot of emphasis on the grade. If you sell comics, you can expect a prompt and generous purchase offer for collections containing these comic books. Buyers really need to understand their objectives before investing in comics, said storms. If youve stumbled across a find of vintage comic books and recognize one or more of the ones on this page, then stop whatever youre doing and contact us immediately for a free comic book appraisal. The weakening canadian dollar got me to thinking about the effect it is having, if any, on the back issue comic book market. The overstreet comic book price guide, 42nd edition. Comic collector live buy, sell, organize comic books. Pop culture collector s superstore that holds the southwests largest selection of vintage to modern toys, comics, video games, anime, diecast and more. A new report suggests that the bottom has fallen out of the backissue market. If a person reads comics on a regular basis he can amass a huge collection that does get burdensome. The 42nd edition includes all new insights and features and along with the most comprehensive listing of comics, all new entries in the. Covr price lets you know when theres a hot, key or rare comic in your collection. A lot comic book collectors dont buy comics for the money.
The majority of comics people find in their attic or basement, at an auction, storage unit, or garage sale are published by marvel or dc. Get comic book price guidance you can trust our collectors will provide market pricing guidance for your comics even if we dont buy them only pictures are needed. Comic book collectors marketplace public group facebook. We monitor the fire hose of online comic book sales across various marketplaces and report on the sales of cgc and cbcs graded books in our comics price guide. Collect from our collectors our cooperative collector network is polite, informative and prompt. The internet has changed the marketability of books in the comic book market. I do love to read the market reports from the dozens of comic book retailers and collectors in the opening pages of the book. Comic book collectors are often lifelong enthusiasts of the comic book stories, and they usually focus on particular heroes and attempt to assemble the entire run of a title. One option you have is to purchase an overstreet comic book price guide.
Mar 22, 2020 most comic shops cannot give you a great price on comics as they need to make a profit. Back in 1970, publication of the first edition of the overstreet comic book guide revolutionized the hobby. For each sale discovered, we match it to the specific comic in our massive database which also includes variant covers and printings. Abebooks has been part of the rare book world since going live in 1996. Comic book collectors and speculators became disillusioned and left, leaving retailers with massive amounts of back stock that the distributors were pushing and front loaded debt. How to navigate the current comic book collectors market. Facts about comic book collectors and the market vs anecdotal data regie collects. Golden age collectables has everything you need to spoil your inner child. When selling through online auctions, check to see if there are other auctions of the same kind going on. Starting or even just expanding an existing comic book collection can seem a little daunting. There are a lot of online comic book price guides, but this book is essentially the the industry standard most people use when buying comics. Guide to start investing in comics books liveabout. Comics market forum only selling area cgc comic book. Sep 26, 20 a lot comic book collectors dont buy comics for the money.
During this time, mainstream comic book publishers began to pander specifically to the collectors market. Nov 14, 2015 collectors often submit a comic book with that characters first appearance to us. Comics for sa by comicginger1789, virtual comic convention vcc expo center. Know instantly if youve got a rare find in your collection. Facts about comic book collectors and the market vs. Peter parker has been your friendly neighborhood spiderman since 1962, back when he spun his first web, cracked his first oneliner and won the collective hearts of comic book fans. When buying or selling a comic book, or any collectible, it is important that both parties reach a level of agreement on that collectible condition or grade, as this will to a great extent determines its value. Packed with fantastic information, this book is a fun read, even if you dont collect comics. Top 10 comic books most sought after by collectors movie tv.
A forum with specific rules of conduct for strictly enforced. It includes over 400,000 prices for a host of different collectibles including, but not limited to. The minimum price is not a real reflection of market value. It lists every comic with prices for 6 of the major grades. From our humble beginnings, we have grown to the largest, most complete comic book price guide with well over 1,000,000 comics in our database. We have values for any marvel, dc, image, idw, darkhorse, or dell comic book that is in your collection.
Jun, 2011 to comicbook collectors, thats very good news. We are proud to provide certification and grading services for collectors and hobbyist in the comic book industry. Theres a good reason the overstreet comic book price guide has been the definitive guide for collectors and dealers alike since 1970. The comic book market is primarily concentrated on more vintage comics, most of which were published in the 1930s to mid1970s. New comics are listed every day on, from the platinum age of the early 1900s to the current modern age of comics. Most want a few minutes of escapism by reading an entertaining story or nostalgia. Collectors do battle over dc silver age war comics. Prior to the internet collectors had to purchase their comics either directly from comic dealers at conventions, retail stores, through private transactions, or through mailorder catalogs. Comic book collecting is a hobby that treats comic books and related items as collectibles or artwork to be sought after and preserved. Let me remind all ga true comic book collectors of the history of a number of recovery of equity markets which relates to all market investments and and can affect collectables black monday 82587 thru 12487.
Dec 19, 2019 facts about comic book collectors and the market vs anecdotal data regie collects. Beginning of a dialog window, including tabbed navigation to register an account or sign in to an existing account. Bad news for those of you who have been counting on those old comic books from your youth to fund your retirement plans. When it comes to rare comic books, few are as important as the origin and 1st appearance of batman. Comic book price guides, like overstreet, have a minimum price for comic books. The nineties are a decade that receives a lot of flack among comic book collectors. The two distribution channels effectively sorted the market for comic books into a mostlycollector group who cared about preservation of condition and for the most part made their purchases in specialty comic shops and therefore took home direct edition copies, and a mostlyreader group who shopped for their comics on the newsstands who for. Jul 02, 2017 collecting comic books as a hobby with financial prospect has been going on for a long time. Marvels csuite was pushing for bonds and big rois, so focused they were that they didnt have a grasp on when the market fell out and to what extent. The grade of a comic book is a shorthand description of the book s condition.
In its 48th annual edition, the overstreet comic price guide is the market leader, with good reason. Though considerably more recent than the collecting of postage stamps or books bibliophilia, it has a major following around the world today and is partially responsible for the increased interest in comics after the temporary slump experienced during the 1980s. A forum for sales that contain only copper or modern age comics. From lightsabers to bobbleheads, fill your pop culture needs here at golden age. Updated and added to every day, it will eventually list all significant british comics published and all marvel and dc comics that were either officially distributed or non distributed in the uk. Designed specifically for comic book collectors, my comic book collection allows you to. Facts about comic book collectors and the market vs anecdotal. The grade of a comic book is a shorthand description of the books condition. Batman is one of the worlds bestknown and mostloved superheroes. Aug 20, 2019 aaron albert, a collector of and an expert on comic books, has studied, taught, and written about the comic book genre for more than 20 years. For ordering purposes, please contact our store at 7728789229. A forum for posting threads with mixed comic book ages and misc. Platinum 18971937, golden 193855, silver 195669, bronze 197079, and modern 1980present. Dec 02, 2015 the nineties are a decade that receives a lot of flack among comic book collectors.