How To Prepare To Contact A Comic Book Buyer To Ensure Top Dollar And A Smooth Transaction
Your comic book collection might be worth a LOT of money. Then again, maybe it isn’t. The only way to find out how much your comic book collection is truly worth is by speaking to an honest individual or company that understands the market as well as the market conditions. Be careful when getting valuation and grading help from a collector or someone who is not active in the comic business on a daily basis. Unrealistic expectations can hurt your chances of selling, whether that valuation is unrealistically low or high.
If you have decided that you are ready to sell, then it’s time to contact a buyer. It’s important that you are prepared to describe what you have. It’s useful if you have an idea of what you are looking to get for your collection. Oftentimes people who don’t know much about the comics they have still have expectations or hopes of realizing a certain dollar amount. Don’t be reluctant to discuss that with potential buyers. Finding out if your expectations are in sync with theirs can save you both a lot of time.
Here are some helpful tips to make sure that your conversation is productive!
Have a List
Whether you are contacting a collector or dealer, they are going to need to know what you have for sale. Lists are a great way show what you have, but be careful to keep the list from getting too big. Generally speaking, comics from approx.. 1978 and later are considered bulk modern material (with exceptions!). It’s not necessary to list every single comic you have. If you don’t already have a list, just put together a list including Title, Issue # and Cover price of the books 1978 and before. These books would have a cover price of 10c, 12c, 15c, 20c, 25c, 30c and 35c. Also include on your list any key issues you may have regardless of the age. If you have 10,000 comics you are better off not spending weeks listing every single book and instead focus on the areas where there is the best potential for value.
Be careful using 3rd party database and valuations such as comicbase, comicspriceguide.com, etc… These options are convenient for collectors, but the values provided aren’t always reflective of real market values.
As far as lists go, an Excel spreadsheet with Title, Issue # and Cover Price is a foolproof method.
Understand the difference between Modern and Vintage
Just because a comic is 20 or 30 years old does not make it Old or “Vintage”. When serious buyers talk about Vintage comics, they generally are referring to Golden and Silver Age Comics.
- Golden Age (1941–1955) — 10c Cover Price — These are Vintage
- Silver Age (1956–1969) — 12c Cover Price — These are Vintage
- Bronze Age (1970–1979) — 15c — 35c Cover Price — Borderline Vintage
- Dark and Copper ages ( 1980–1992) — 40c — $1.25 — Modern, not vintage
- Modern Age Comics (1992 — Present) — $1.25+ — Modern, Not vintage
Generally, the older a comic book is, the more potential value.
Comic book condition
Condition determines value! I could go on for days discussing grading, condition variances and how it pertains to value but this gets really complicated. Ultimately any serious buyer is going to need to see the books firsthand and determine the condition for himself. If you’re not an expert grader, don’t worry about it! Just describe the condition as best you can or make sure to take some photos of some comics whose condition is a good representation of your collection.
Comic book content
The general rule here is that Superhero comics have a greater potential for value. Age and condition are determining factors, but not more so than content.
Should I send my comics to be graded?
Unless you’re planning on going into the comic book business, sending all of your comics to be graded is not going to be a good investment. 3rd party grading is great to resolve differences over opinion of grade and for long term storage, but it won’t necessarily add any value to your collection. There are some cases where it would make sense to get a book graded before selling, but working with the buyer of your choice to determine that could save you time and money. Sometimes the buyer may even have a discount with the grading companies (like we do), and would be willing top extend that discount to you.
Should you Estimate the Value of Your Collection Yourself?
It is easy to overestimate or make unrealistic approximation about the value of your comic book collection. This may set you up for disappointment and turn off buyers. It’s good to have a realistic idea of what your collection is worth but keep a few things in mind:
1. The guide value is not a price list: Price Guides are just that, guides.. They can give you lots of good information but understand that the prices listed are not what collectors or even dealers are necessarily paying. Typically comics sell on the retail market for a percentage of guide value. Any buyers are also going to need some room for re-sale.
2. Your collector friend may know everything about Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark, but that doesn’t mean he knows the real market value of your comics. Input and help from friends can be super valuable, but only someone who is buying and selling on a daily basis truly understands real market values.
3. If using a guide for GUIDANCE, make sure that you are look at the appropriate grade column. If your ASM #129 is in VG condition, the NM guide value is not at all relevant. You might as well be looking at a different book.
4. If looking on ebay for values, make sure you are not just looking at what people are ASKING for something. Ebay can be very useful but only if you are looking at ACTUAL COMPLETED SALES.
Call Sparkle City Comics First!
We are experts in comics and collectables and provide comic book collection evaluation services for free for qualifying collections. There is absolutely no need of spending money on CGC, since we will buy it all on the spot for cash!
With over 30 years of buying and selling, nobody will give you a better price than us! So if you want to sell your comics at top dollar, then you’ve come to the right place!