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If you are looking for a comic book price guide to find what your comics are worth, the first stop on your journey may be the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.  Let’s delve into it so you can find prices for your comic books quickly and easily, plus avoid some common mistakes.

First, the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is considered the “bible” of the industry.  It is the starting point for most collector and dealer research.  It’s available in print from most major bookstores as well as online as an instant digital download.  It’s great because you’ll have prices instantly on your computer (you can even use it as you follow along with this article!).

Once you have your price guide in hand or on your computer, you’ll want to get your comic books out and ready to organize.  You’ll want to write down each of your comic book titles and issue numbers.  The price guide is organized alphabetically by title and issue number.  Furthermore, it separates the price for each issue by condition or “grade”. If you make a list of your comic books in the same format it will help you quickly navigate the guide and find your values. 

The sticking point for most novices is the condition or grade. Fortunately you’ll find a section called “Grading Definitions”  in the table of contents of the price guide. The price guide gives you a basic idea of what defects to look, and what condition you should assign to each comic book. Take a look at the definitions and match your comic books to the appropriate grade.

At this point you should have a list of all of your comic books by title, issue number and grade.  It should look something like this:

Amazing Spiderman 1, very good

Superman 133, fine

X-men 1, Near Mint

and so on.

Now you’re ready to look up you comics in the price guide!  Simply go the the title of your comic, find the issue number, then move across the grade and you’ll have a ballpark price.  I say ballpark because there are a few gotchas.

First, there is a tendency for the guide to be overpriced on some common issues and underpriced on some hot issues.  But how do you know the difference?

Hot issues are often called “keys” in the hobby, as they are important issues in a series.  The same way a Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card would stand out from the crowd or be key in baseball, the same holds true in comics.  Fortunately the Overstreet Guide helps you out in this area.  As you browse the guide you’ll see notes about specific comic book issues.  The notes you want to concentrate on are “origin”,”first appearance” and any other important “first” milestones.  This also includes first issues.  If you look at the values for these comics you’ll also notice they are more valuable than the surrounding issue numbers.

These keys deserve a little more time to find an up to date value.  One great place to start is E-bay.  Take a look and find out what the book is really selling for.  You can also do some online searching for the more common issue numbers and you may find they are selling for less than the guide.

There you have it.  In a short time you can discover whether your comics have any “treasure” potential.  If they do, make sure you do just a little more research!

Make sure to get your own instant access copy of the Comic Book Price Guide and access our free comic book value secret tips at Comic Book Secrets.

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Grading a comic books helps to describe what condition a comic book is in. A grade can be looked at like an appraisal of the condition the comic books is in. A high grade would be called a Mint comic while a low grade would be Fair or Poor. Some of the things that are considered when grading a comic is the cover of the book bent or torn? Is there any writing on it, are there tears of the pages or discoloration? All of these matters and more are needed to be taken into consideration when one is attempting to grade.

Types of Grading

Right now there are two options if you would like to grade a comic book. You can grade the comic yourself or have it sent to a professional comic grading company like CGC. CGC is the most qualified and well know companies that grades and encapsulates graded comic books.

Why all the Fuss about Graded Comics?

There has been a new boost in the value of graded comic books. Customers now have a really adept idea as to what the condition of a comic book is. Due to the third party authentication customers are more comfortable purchasing these rare comics at very high prices. This in turn, has increased the demand on rare comics and has many collectors paying top dollar for the comics of there choice.

Why Not to Get a Comic Book Graded

Comic book grading can be very beneficial on comics that are worth or might be worth a lot of money when graded. Comics that have been produced in the past few years are sometimes not worth grading due to the grading fees that the authentication company charges. Some comics cost $30.00 -$50.00 to have graded which is quite expensive when these newer comics are not worth half of that.

Dee provides information about Comic Book Grading through his website on Superman CGC.

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Marvel comic books contain some of the most iconic fictional characters today. With the recent surge in the number of superhero movies, Marvel characters have dominated the big screen, prompting many people to look into the story behind Marvel.

Marvel comics’ first incarnation, Timely comics, published Marvel comics #1 in October of 1939. This issue covered the first appearance of Namor the sub-mariner and an android known as the human torch (different from the human torch of the fantastic four). Today, this issue is valued at $330,000 – a definite nod towards its significance in comic-book culture today. The founder of Marvel comics was Martin Goodman.

In 1941, Goodman’s relative, Stanley Lieber, was hired as the interim editor of the company. You might not recognize his name, but during that time, Lieber was already writing under the pseudonym “Stan Lee”. Stan Lee is a major force behind Marvel comic books, creating some of the brands best-known characters to date.

Sales declined suring the post- World War 2 years. This was a result of superhero comics going out of fashion. Because fo this, Marvel (then Atlas Comics) shifted to different genres and storylines which appealed to the public. Genres included horror, action, adventure, romance, comedy, etc.

However, the 1960′s showed a huge revival in the popularity of superheroes, started by DC’s Justice League of America. Marvel comic books followed this success with Stan Lee’s creation, The Fantastic Four.

Soon, Marvel comics gave birth to all new heroes, such as Spider-man, The Hulk, Iron man, Daredevil, and the X-men. Despite the competition, Marvel was able to establish itself as one of the largest comic book companies in the world -a position it still holds today.

What made Marvel comic books so distinctive is the fact that they devoted a lot more effort to developing the characters. Readers are able to see flaws in the characters and are able to enjoy the storyline much better because of those flaws.

This method of storytelling has caused marvel comic books to revolutionize the industry and capture the imaginations of millions worldwide. Truly, the way Marvel comic books have evolved is awe-inspiring.

Love comic books? Make sure to visit Comic Books Online at ComicBooksOnline.org for guides, prices, vintage comic books and so much more. You can even stay up to date on the latest Comic Book Conventions.

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Prior to the days of the internet, selling comic books was somewhat of a problem. Sure, you might have known a few other comic book collectors in the local area. But much further expansion was kind of difficult. You also often had to go through dealers that specialized to sell and trade them. The age of the internet brought platforms that were great for buying, selling, and trading your comic books. Below are some of the top auction websites where you can find or sell your own comic books.

EBay has to be the top of the list. It is the granddaddy of all auction sites online. A lot of professional dealers go to eBay. Their motto, “You can find it on eBay”, pretty much sums up the reality. With a little shopping you can find pretty much any kind of comic book you want on there. It is a great place to get started on a collection.

The second best option would probably be Heritage Auctions. This is a website devoted to comic book collectors. A lot of people unfamiliar with eBay might find digging through it to be time consuming and often difficult. A place like Heritage Auctions eliminates that problem. Their specialty is in rare comics. The meaning of this is that unlike eBay, you can go directly to the owners and they will take care of the responsibility of showcasing your collection for sale to the members there. The downside is that they do take a cut of the income, typically about 15%. The return though is that becoming an active member of Heritage Auctions you can put a list together of the comics you are wanting and they will notify you if it ever becomes available. Therefore, if you are selling items that are sought after, those comic book collectors will not have to find your auction as they would on eBay, but they will be notified that your auction is up so that they can bid on it.

Comic Link is another good auction website to visit for those getting into collecting comic books. The great thing about this is that it is not just ran by someone who doesn’t know anything about comic books. It was developed by people who have an avid interest in it. Like Heritage does, you can provide a list of comic books you are wanting and when they become available, you are notified of it. You can also find a good variety of CGC graded comics here. This is great for those who are a bit skeptical of buying self-graded comics.

Please note that you should always be careful when buying online. It is okay to be skeptical and ask questions. If the seller is unwilling to answer questions you ask, you have a right and it is recommended to avoid making a transaction with them. Also, you should always consider shipping costs when buying online.

Mike Smits is a life comic book collector and hobbyist. His site http://comicbookempire.com has more valuable information on collecting, grading and valuing comic book collections.

Mike Smits
http://Comicbookempire.com
Information on Comic Books !

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Take a good look in your closet right now. If you are like most middle-aged men, you’ll find a plethora of stacked comic books. As we read about the adventures of Superman, Batman, and The X-Men, little did we know that each issue would be tucked lovingly into the back of our closets in our later years. However, 20 years later, these comic gems are worth big money if they are in good condition.

The first step into assessing the worth of your old comic books is to obtain a pricing guide. There is an entire grading system in place for comic books. Your first step is to purchase a copy of a book called “The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.” This details each comic book and it’s average selling price at various stores. It also provides a set of standards to assess the condition of your comic books.

You should strongly consider having your comic books Graded by the CGC. The CGC (Certified Guaranty Company) has a website at http://www.cgccomics.com that allows you to submit your comic books to be sealed and graded. Having your comic books graded not only provides protection for the condition of your comic books but also adds immense value to them when you post them for auction on sites like Ebay.

After making a tally of the value of your graded comic books, you should prepare to sell them. The easiest way these days is to register for an account at Ebay.com and sell them online. Your auction listing should have the comic book’s name, Issue Number and Grading in the Auction Title. Be sure to add a photograph of your listing as auctions with pictures tend to sell for higher amounts.

As always, be wary of who you are selling to. Be sure to contact the winning bidder to make adequate shipping arrangements. Pack the Comic book very well to avoid any damage in transit which would devalue the comic and result in negative feedback on your profile.

Finally, have fun and good luck in digging out that Comic book gold in your closet.

Richie Truxillo – Owner of The Rare Comic Books Auctionhouse – http://www.rarecomicbooks.info – A free resource to find rare comic books, old comic book auctions and great deals on CGC graded Comics through Ebay.

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