How to dispose of collection, sell as whole or break it up? 0

[Boogster]

I am new to these forums, but I came across CGC when doing a google search. I read mostly Marvel comics when I was a kid. I did not throw them away like some of my friends and kept all of them. I have mostly Marvel comics ranging from 1964 to 1972 when I went in the Army. I have all various titles, I wasn't picky, pretty much read all Marvel, like Amazing Spiderman, Xmen, Fantastic Fourm, Avengers, Thor etc. All together I have several hundred of these comics; I am retired now and do not want to hang on to these comics any more.

My question is, would it be better to just sell the whole collection, or find the ones that are probably the most valuable, like a #1 Amazing Spiderman, #1 FF and sell them separately. Also, for the most valuable ones, how do I know if it would be worth it to have them graded by CGC?

Your opinions are appreciated.

DC

Edited February 22, 2019 by Boogster

[comicginger1789]

Hi DC!

From experience, selling keys separate is probably best in terms of getting the most money. People pay up for them and sometimes that is all they want.

Now, once you have done this, you likely will be left with "the rest". This can sell slower and might require you to take a bit less if you want to get rid of the in a timely manner.

As for grading, Id be happy to look at pictures of some of the key issues and estimate a grade. Basically anything Silver Age that is an early or key issue would benefit from getting graded by CGC, in terms of making you more money. Costs more but there is most likely going to be more on the back end for you, the seller.

Best of luck selling! If I can help further, send me a message and I would be happy to assist!

Eric

[shadroch]

In comics, condition is everything.  A well read copy of Spiderman #15 might sell for $25 while a pristine copy is in the thousands.  Take a few pictures and post them in the forum called Please Grade my books. 

I wouldn't be in a rush to  have them all graded. The key ones, yes but not all.   It's expensive( thousands of dollars) and not every SA book will go up enough to justify the expense, plus your money will be tied up for half a year. 

Now that you are retired, why not make selling your books your new hobby. Read up on the market, study ebay and some auction houses and dip your feet in the water. 

If you decide you want to sell the whole thing, you can easily do it here. Either by yourself or I'm sure people will be willing to help, for a piece of the action. A couple hundred books is formidable but the effort should be very rewarding. Even ragged copies of key Marvels will bring you some decent money. 

Best of luck!

 

[thehumantorch]

Welcoming me to the boards.

your options are:

-sell to a dealer

-sell through a full service auction site

-sell them yourself on eBay or facebook etc or at local comic shows

generally the more work you do the more money you’ll get

[Boogster]

Thanks for the responses and suggestions. I need to drag out the boxes of comics and get them sorted I guess. I'll work on that and then post scans of what are probably the most valuable ones.

DC

[thehumantorch]

7 minutes ago, Boogster said:

Thanks for the responses and suggestions. I need to drag out the boxes of comics and get them sorted I guess. I'll work on that and then post scans of what are probably the most valuable ones.

DC

The good news is that you have comics that likely have value.  

Edited February 20, 2019 by thehumantorch

[shadroch]

Unless they got ruined by poor storage, which unfortunately happens more than it should.

[Boogster]

As far as the way they were stored, I kept them on shelves in my room until I went into the Army. Then they spent about 10 years in a box in my brothers house, stored in a dry condition. When I was able to get a hold of them, I took each one and backed and bagged them and put them in comic book collector boxes. They’ve been stored like that for the past 30 years. The last 25 years in my basement after I retired from 20 years in the Army. Most of the comics were read once maybe twice and then not picked up again until I bagged them. I think most are in pretty good shape, probably the biggest issue would be rolled spines from the time when they were all stored together in a big box.

I also have several, maybe 500, comics that I bought in the early to mid eighties. For a few years I got into collecting first edition comics, mostly Marvel but also a few DC and Dark Horse. All of the ones that I bought in the eighties were never read, just bought, backed, bagged and put away. I haven’t reasearched the value of those but I would think a lot, even though they would probably get CGC ratings of 9+

 

DC

 

[Roger66]

My question is, would it be better to just sell the whole collection, or find the ones that are probably the most valuable, like a #1 Amazing Spiderman, #1 FF and sell them separately. Also, for the most valuable ones, how do I know if it would be worth it to have them graded by CGC?

I first would find the ones that have the most value aka "the keys." which often are first appearances and/or the first issue in a long running title.  If you think or discover via research that a comic is worth more than $500 I would not sell it raw but simply send it in for grading to CGC (you can call them when ready - they are very helpful and the only company I would ever use btw).  Comics can also be pressed to sometimes improve the grade, which is a separate discussion (but look it up - pressing comics).  To help determine worth you can look at Heritage Auction past sales for said keys, do an advanced search on eBay for that particular book in the sold section as well as look around at various dealers online to gauge demand and value or visit a comic convention.  Don't ever feel pressured to sell your keys to anyone let alone to the first person who makes you an offer.  Look around, do your research and due dligence and only sell when you are ready to.  Good luck and have fun doing it. 

Edited February 23, 2019 by Roger66

[Boogster]

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone has been very helpful. 

DC

[shadroch]

www.mycomicshop.com has almost every comic on their database. I use it often to see if something is suddenly hot. They also do consignments and buy comics. 

[SBRobin]

On 2/21/2019 at 11:52 AM, Boogster said:

 I would think a lot, even though they would probably get CGC ratings of 9+

You would think that, but if you're not familiar with CGC grading then what you think is 9+ is more than likely 6.5+. 

Edited February 23, 2019 by SBRobin