Tips for Understanding Comic Book Value

Did you unearth a whole stash of comic books while cleaning the attic? Did you discover and decide to buy someone's collection of old comic books at a garage sale, intending to sell them for a few extra bucks? Wherever you've gotten them, and whether you have five comic books or five hundred, you need to know how to determine comic book value.

You have a lot of ways to determine the value of a comic book. First, you have to know what condition it's in, based on generally accepted guidelines. The other thing that determines the price you can get for a comic book is its rarity and desirability.

There are at least two ways to determine comic book value. This is also known as its grade. You can consult the CGC (Comics Guaranty Company) either by mail or at a comic book convention, or you can use information you find online to determine its grade. These are the grading terms you should be familiar with: Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, Fine, Very Fine, Near Mint, Mint. You can find books that guide you in determining the grade, but the information is readily available on the internet, too.

Learning comic book value becomes much easier once you have determined the grade. One way to get a good idea as to how comic books are selling is to check out online auctions on eBay. However, you should be aware that values will vary from issue to issue, based on special events that might have occurred in the issue, printing errors, or rarity.

Another thing you can do is buy a price guide on comic books; there are different ones to choose from. Some of these guides give you a range of prices for a comic based on its grade, while others just give one price for each comic. Lastly, try using a good search engine to find information on a specific issue, and join an online community of other collectors.

Have a lot of comic books laying around? Visit Comic Book Prices and check out our sections on Comic Book Values and Comic Book Pricing to find out what your collection is worth!

- Candace Right