Or Shall we Delve into FMV?

On every invoice there's a spot you have to add what you think your comics are worth. This would add up,on the USPS return fees but I always placed in the area the maximum amount I thought they were worth, maybe even more than they were worth. I have seen invoices where people thought five dollars was the fair market value. On a book like that I wrote down at least a hundred.

My reasoning was I notated the FMV of what I thought the book was worth after it was encapsulated. If my New Mutants 99 disappeared after grading, the book itself is irreplaceable, even if I could get another copy. The grading costs as well, not to mention the shipping costs to get my possession back into my hands. Most of the books I turned over at the NYCC were submitted worth the belief the FMV was between $150 and $200.

But, how much are they truly worth? If signed, what signatures are worth more than others? Sal Buscema's are rare. Stan Lee's are readily available, but costly. Then there are those who charge fans for each scrawl like Neal Adams and now Chris Claremont. Shouldn't those additional costs add to the bottom line?

I am actually shocked at how many books I have out there, between these conventions and eBay I keep buying. Eventually the pendulum will swing the other way. With 150 days to go until my next convention I better hope the FMV is what I can sell these for, with what I hope will be a profit to get me to my next convention. Especially with less than five days between the end of one and the start of another. As far as what my collection is worth, I'll get back to you on that.

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb

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