What's My Collection Worth?

[oakman29]

It's all about educating yourself,and studying the everyday market ebay,comiclink etc.While still using Overstreet as a guideline you will get a feel for what your books are worth.nothing too terribly complicated

[Norrin_Radd]

 

 

 

Probably the best way to appraise any expensive comics would be to send them to CGC for grading, then check GPAnalysis to see what the market value is.

[FlyingDonut]

Buying raw books I look to pay 30-50% below GPA.

 

Buying raw key/hot books 60-75% the price of GPA.

 

Selling raw books I will price it 10-25% below GPA value so the buyer has room to make a profit if so desired.

 

Of course these are just my guidelines.

 

Really? Come on over. I've got 25,000 raw books that you can have for 50% off of GPA. You're going to give me $15-20 for this book that I don't have to pay $75 to get graded?

 

 

I will sell to you all day long.

 

If anyone is getting 50% of GPA for raw books you're printing money (especially since GPA doesn't apply to raw books)

[FlyingDonut]

Hi - I've been reading a lot of posts on how to accurately price comic books. I am a semi-avid collector: I've been collecting since the '70's, but have gone in and out of collecting. And while I'm not nearly as involved or knowledgeable as most of you on these boards, in my mind I have a pretty nice collection: golds and key silvers, mostly valued between $500 & $3500 in the OSPG. I also have a few hundred mid-run 1960's key titles in the F to NM- range. I used to think the OSPG was the be-all and end-all of comic pricing...until I started reading here. Can someone here educate me on how to best determine what I might be able to my comics for if I decided to sell them now? Thanks!

 

 

It is nearly impossible to answer this question without seeing what your books are. If you have a $3500 OPG All-Flash 12, for example, that book isn't going to sell. If you have a $3500 OPG Captain America 46, you've got a gold mine. Publish a list or we're all wasting our time. (thumbs u

[Mio]

 

It is nearly impossible to answer this question without seeing what your books are. If you have a $3500 OPG All-Flash 12, for example, that book isn't going to sell. If you have a $3500 OPG Captain America 46, you've got a gold mine. Publish a list or we're all wasting our time. (thumbs u

 

 

In other words: Overstreet is useless.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

You'll hear people tell you that you can't sell mid-grade Silver for anywhere close to Guide.

 

And then you will have other people show examples of why [that] claim [is] untrue.

 

Those are the exceptions that prove the rule.

 

For every low and mid-grade Silver age non-key book (and 97% of them are low and mid-graded non-keys) that sells for 70% or more of OPG, I can show you 50 examples that do not.

 

If I could find my Justice League #7 that HouseofComics was asking 70% of Guide for, I'd have that in the mail in a flat second.

[topofthetotem]

Buying raw books I look to pay 30-50% below GPA.

 

Buying raw key/hot books 60-75% the price of GPA.

 

Selling raw books I will price it 10-25% below GPA value so the buyer has room to make a profit if so desired.

 

Of course these are just my guidelines.

 

Really? Come on over. I've got 25,000 raw books that you can have for 50% off of GPA. You're going to give me $15-20 for this book that I don't have to pay $75 to get graded?

 

 

I will sell to you all day long.

 

If anyone is getting 50% of GPA for raw books you're printing money (especially since GPA doesn't apply to raw books)

I'm not taking about any old books.

[FlyingDonut]

I'm not taking about any old books.

 

Hence my post from above about the list.

[FlyingDonut]

You'll hear people tell you that you can't sell mid-grade Silver for anywhere close to Guide.

 

And then you will have other people show examples of why [that] claim [is] untrue.

 

Those are the exceptions that prove the rule.

 

For every low and mid-grade Silver age non-key book (and 97% of them are low and mid-graded non-keys) that sells for 70% or more of OPG, I can show you 50 examples that do not.

 

If I could find my Justice League #7 that HouseofComics was asking 70% of Guide for, I'd have that in the mail in a flat second.

 

50? 500 maybe.

[october]

 

If anyone is getting 50% of GPA for raw books you're printing money (especially since GPA doesn't apply to raw books)

 

The vast majority of silver and bronze between 6.0 and 9.0 enjoy little to no premium inside of a slab when compared with prices realized by a dealer who grades tightly. If I am allowed to grade, I would spend thousands someone who let me have books for half GPA from those grade ranges. Do you seriously think 7.0 JiM 120s or 8.0 ASM 90s sell for less than half GPA in their raw state when sold by cetain dealers? Believe me, they do not. Hell, look at Foolkiller or FT's threads and compare prices realized to corresponding GPA. They routinely get 75% or more of graded value, or in FT's case, often MORE than graded value. Raw sales depend a lot on a seller's rep and, like you said, a good rep is akin to printing money.

[RockMyAmadeus]

You'll hear people tell you that you can't sell mid-grade Silver for anywhere close to Guide.

 

And then you will have other people show examples of why [that] claim [is] untrue.

 

Those are the exceptions that prove the rule.

 

For every low and mid-grade Silver age non-key book (and 97% of them are low and mid-graded non-keys) that sells for 70% or more of OPG, I can show you 50 examples that do not.

 

If I could find my Justice League #7 that HouseofComics was asking 70% of Guide for, I'd have that in the mail in a flat second.

 

50? 500 maybe.

 

(I was being generous. F_T likes to argue. )

[Snake Eyes]

Buying raw books I look to pay 30-50% below GPA.

 

Buying raw key/hot books 60-75% the price of GPA.

 

Selling raw books I will price it 10-25% below GPA value so the buyer has room to make a profit if so desired.

 

Of course these are just my guidelines.

 

Really? Come on over. I've got 25,000 raw books that you can have for 50% off of GPA. You're going to give me $15-20 for this book that I don't have to pay $75 to get graded?

 

 

I will sell to you all day long.

 

If anyone is getting 50% of GPA for raw books you're printing money (especially since GPA doesn't apply to raw books)

 

Have to throw my two cents in the ring on this one...Last GPA sale of this book was $23 in 8.0 and $24 in 8.5...maybe optimistic grades for this particular issue you posted, but they are the recent 2010 sales. If you look at 2010 sales, GPA prices are starting to fall more closely in line with the lower prices being realized for mid and mid-high grade books. Maybe it is a bad example you posted, but I would buy 12, 15, and 20 cent ASMs all day long at half GPA, IF I believed that they are in the grade I am referring to. But as others have said, reputation makes a difference...if I know you are a little loose on grading, I send an offer. If I have ordered multiple times and know that you know your stuff I will without pic and on your word without waiting for discounts to the thread.

 

Doing a little travel soon, but if anyone wants to list VF ASMs from issues 135 and before you will have a pretty willing buyer here (thumbs u

 

for $12 in VF+ I would probably buy a couple issues of ASM 111

[the blob]

Yes, I get this - but OSPG used to be the basis for how to buy/sell books. So while I appreciate this mantra, I'm sure there's a current basis for establishing what one might get for a certain book in a certain grade...

***********

This has not been the case for a long time, even before ebay, particularly if you were in an area with a lot of shows and/or dealers with deep inventory/stockpiles and such. It is a tool to reference, one of several.

 

Your post-65 non-key books in Fine are tough. OPG has a lot of high prices for these, particularly some Marvels. Problem is, they're usually not nice enough for the condition-conscious collector and anywhere near guide they're too expensive for the budget-conscious "reader copy" collector.

[the blob]

Buying raw books I look to pay 30-50% below GPA.

 

Buying raw key/hot books 60-75% the price of GPA.

 

Selling raw books I will price it 10-25% below GPA value so the buyer has room to make a profit if so desired.

 

Of course these are just my guidelines.

 

Really? Come on over. I've got 25,000 raw books that you can have for 50% off of GPA. You're going to give me $15-20 for this book that I don't have to pay $75 to get graded?

 

 

I will sell to you all day long.

 

If anyone is getting 50% of GPA for raw books you're printing money (especially since GPA doesn't apply to raw books)

 

Have to throw my two cents in the ring on this one...Last GPA sale of this book was $23 in 8.0 and $24 in 8.5...maybe optimistic grades for this particular issue you posted, but they are the recent 2010 sales. If you look at 2010 sales, GPA prices are starting to fall more closely in line with the lower prices being realized for mid and mid-high grade books. Maybe it is a bad example you posted, but I would buy 12, 15, and 20 cent ASMs all day long at half GPA, IF I believed that they are in the grade I am referring to. But as others have said, reputation makes a difference...if I know you are a little loose on grading, I send an offer. If I have ordered multiple times and know that you know your stuff I will without pic and on your word without waiting for discounts to the thread.

 

Doing a little travel soon, but if anyone wants to list VF ASMs from issues 135 and before you will have a pretty willing buyer here (thumbs u

 

for $12 in VF+ I would probably buy a couple issues of ASM 111

 

That book (assuming it is somewhere i nthe 8.0-8.5 range, like it appears from the scan), up on the wall of most of the LCSes I frequent, at $20-$25 will be gone in a week or two, if not the day it goes up (if a wed or thursday).

 

of course, this works out for this sort of book where the GPA price doesn't add much of a slab premium (if any at all) as opposed to rolling the dice and buying raw "9.8"s at 10X guide.

[the blob]

It happens to be a book I own a few copies of in various grades, so I might not jump on it, but Donut, you don't think that spidey would be gone really fast at a decent show out of a $10 box? that's almost 50% of GPA. it's like $38 in guide in VF (at least according to some old guide I have sitting around). I'd put that in my ebay store at $30 and probably accept an offer for $15-$20 if push came to shove and the offerer didn't seem like a wackadoodle and it has been sitting there a while. i'll admit I haven't sold a ton out of my ebay store lately as I only have like 70 comics in there (because I am lazy and an insufficiently_thoughtful_person), but that's how recent and past sales tend to go on a nice item like this.

[ft88]

Almost all popular books from the 1960s to 1970s will have a decent ebay sale in most grades. That's pretty easy to research and at the very least get a feel for the market.

 

That ASM 111 posted by FD would probably get $15-$20 on ebay or a similar amount sold here on the boards.

 

Trying to get higher would take some work and time like going to shows or promoting your wares, gaining a rep etc. Even for a hot book not reflected in the guide, like a Green Lantern 7 might be better off selling on ebay as an auction rather than a fixed price here.

 

Ed

[trmoore54]

Bear in mind when looking at fixed prices for eBay BIN items, especially for eBay Store and long-term listings, MANY of the prices are HIGHLY inflated. In many cases double or more what most sane and knowledgeable collectors would be willing to pay.

 

Also, when checking websites such as ComicLink and Pedigree, in similar fashion bear in mind MANY of the ask prices are significantly inflated...not always, but often. Most people post with the idea that if someone is willing to pay the inflated ask, great, and/or people are looking to give people the right to offer a lower price, so that when the consignor accepts the price, the buyer feels like they got a reasonable deal. Or the consignor will drop the price after a week or two if there are no offers. Best to look at completed sales data.

 

Also, websites which also have ask prices such as Bob Storms' HighGradeComics.com and Brent's Qualitycomix.com will also give you a feel for the going market value...in some cases assume any given price may be in the 10-20% inflated range over hard market value.

 

[rodan57]

 

Your post-65 non-key books in Fine are tough. OPG has a lot of high prices for these, particularly some Marvels. Problem is, they're usually not nice enough for the condition-conscious collector and anywhere near guide they're too expensive for the budget-conscious "reader copy" collector.

 

I had not, myself, put this into words but this is a good description of what I find myself thinking.

 

 

[the blob]

Bear in mind when looking at fixed prices for eBay BIN items, especially for eBay Store and long-term listings, MANY of the prices are HIGHLY inflated. In many cases double or more what most sane and knowledgeable collectors would be willing to pay.

 

Also, when checking websites such as ComicLink and Pedigree, in similar fashion bear in mind MANY of the ask prices are significantly inflated...not always, but often. Most people post with the idea that if someone is willing to pay the inflated ask, great, and/or people are looking to give people the right to offer a lower price, so that when the consignor accepts the price, the buyer feels like they got a reasonable deal. Or the consignor will drop the price after a week or two if there are no offers. Best to look at completed sales data.

 

Also, websites which also have ask prices such as Bob Storms' HighGradeComics.com and Brent's Qualitycomix.com will also give you a feel for the going market value...in some cases assume any given price may be in the 10-20% inflated range over hard market value.

 

 

i thing FT is talking about REALIZED prices, not asking prices. hardly anyone on ebay would put that spidey up in their store for $15. they'd all put it up for way more and see it negotiated down (or bought at ask price, which happens occasionally).

 

here's that book in 8.0 (and from the scan the grade might be right) that got bid up to $23. http://cgi.ebay.com/Amazing-Spider-Man-111-Marvel-8-0-/180531401317?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a08829265

 

but then again, here's a decent looking copy that only got $10.50 (but the shipping was expensive): http://cgi.ebay.com/SPIDER-MAN-111-8-0-8-5-LAUREL-HIGHLANDS-UNREAD-/160453418521?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255bc4de19

 

but then again again, here's a copy listed at VF- that hit $24+: http://cgi.ebay.com/Amazing-Spider-Man-111-7-5-Kraven-Hunter-/260532542222?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ca8f31b0e

 

ditto, another $24 sale:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Amazing-Spider-Man-111-VF-8-0-John-Romita-Art-/220584753737?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335be03a49

 

 

Yes, understood, all of these, even including shipping into the price, are WELL below OPG.

[AbsoluteCarnage]

If the books are slabbed, subscribe to GPA.

 

If the books are raw, OS isn't too bad a place to start, but then there will be a million other factors to take into account. (thumbs u

 

 

Maybe more like nine hundred thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine.

 

ENOUGH with the exaggerations!!