Need Guidance

[Comic_Monkey-migration]

So.............say some chick is pricing and selling an entire collection a bit at a time..and um...say she is really new at this and wants to find the most efficient and smart way to gather the collection information for listing and such...without getting hurt...

 

How would my "friend" go about finding out the best course of action? *big grin*

 

Please be gentle....

 

Thanks.

 

P.S. ComicWiz: That Macromedia Flash MX created catalog was amazing!

[joe_collector]

Ummmm....

 

[Foolkiller]

you can come on here and give some more details or send me a PM or email.

[arexcrooke]

Hi Comic_Monkey and welcome to the boards!

first, learn how to grade. This wont happen over night, but with some work it will happen. Buy the OS grading guide and read it. Readi it again. Read it and grade a few comics so much that the cover falls off. Keep reading it. Am i making my point?

Next, scan a few of your books and post them here. Be ready to figure out that you have probably overgraded your books. It happens to all of us newbies.

Also, depending on what type of books you have, DC Marvel, gold, silver, bronze, modern, and go to those respective boards. Great information is to be found here. I have discovered that the people here are among the most knowldegeable on the planet when it comes to collecting comics. Cultivate a few frienships and et thier advice.

Tell us more about what you have and we should be able to help. You will have tons of advice, so wade through it and make your decisions.

Arex

[arexcrooke]

Ummmm....

 

Rule 1:

IGNORE J_C, we try but have not been sucessful

[Comic_Monkey-migration]

Thanks. I guess that is the place to start. I will start to catalog what I have(10 comic book boxes) and then attempt to grade some of them. Thank goodness they have been kept alpha and in # order. yay!

[Jeffreykli]

I'd take a look around eBay to see if the individual comics are worth selling. Basically, if you have stuff from the last 15 years or so, most of the comics aren't worth that much. (Read the rcent Valiant thread in this forum)

 

Of the books that might be worth something, I agree that you have to learn how to grade. The grading standards have become much stricter in the last 5 years, so it's important to know what those standards are.

[Flaming_Telepath]

If you're cataloguing them, use an Excel sheet to log all the details. No need for all-singing, all-dancing software, but Excel will allow you to manipulate all the data in pretty much every conceivable way, which later on...I promise you..will be very useful.

 

And Welcome To The Boards!

[Jack Anderson]

Yeah, you'll want to pick up an Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (current edition is #35). This book contains guidelines for grading comics, as well as an extensive collection of comic book values in a range of grades. This will help you get an idea of what your collection is worth.

 

As for how you'd go about that? The best way is to just go through each box, and compile the following info for each comic in an excel spreadsheet:

 

- Publisher (Marvel, DC, Image, etc)

- Title

- Issue Number

- Grade Estimate

- Notes (any unique attributes, such as delivery date written on the cover, missing staple, torn corner, etc)

- Overstreet Guide Price

 

By adding the estimated value of each comic, you can add a total row to get an estimate of the value of your collection as a whole.

 

As for selling them, it all depends on what books you have and their condition. From what I've seen recently, if you have a comic with some value (~$50-$300), you can easily sell it by itself. If you have a 'run' (collection of consecutive or near-consecutive issues of a given title--such as issues 100-150 of Iron Man) of comics, each of which isn't exactly 'valuable', a good idea might be to sell the entire run together. By doing this you'll attract people looking to start out with a new collection, or current collectors looking to fill in gaps in their own runs.

 

And feel free to ask us anything else that's on your mind. As long as you don't try to screw anyone over, we're all fairly amicable around here.

 

...well, I can't completely speak for everyone...

 

Oh, and one more thing. And this is crucial. If you have any Spider-Man comics, you be sure to send me a PM before posting about it on the boards

 

P.S. - Welcome!

[joe_collector]

Want some advice? Here's what I tell my zany relatives, since they're always at antique shows/yard sales and seem to want to help my collecting:

 

Look at the price on the comics; if the majority are 35-cents or lower and superhero, plus in pretty good condition and cheap, give it a shot.

 

Other than the very rare Modern key (ASM 238, 300, etc.) that's where the meat of your collection's value is going to be too.

[davidking623]

Ummmm....

 

Rule 1:

IGNORE J_C, we try but have not been sucessful

 

Better yet get him to put you on his ignore list!That way he wont see you!

 

Davidking623

[Comic_Monkey-migration]

Well gentlemen(assumption), I have to say thank you. You have helped quite a bit. Looks like I was looking in the right direction, but it REALLY helps to bring it all together. I have set a goal for myself to get the books this week. I will start the spreadsheet with this box that is now on my bed...(I did some ebay searches just now)

 

I will lurk on here for a week or month or so until I get the listing and grading started to a satisfactory point and get the OS books. If I come across anything I KNOW is hot, I'll post info on the board.

 

Thanks again! and...Thanks for the warm welcome. It can be a bit scary on a new board. EEK!

[shadroch]

Ummmm....

 

Rule 1:

IGNORE J_C, we try but have not been sucessful

 

Better yet get him to put you on his ignore list!That way he wont see you!

 

Davidking623

 

 

Except that even while he's claiming to ignore you,he still runs off at the mouth.

[FlyingDonut]

Well gentlemen(assumption), I have to say thank you. You have helped quite a bit. Looks like I was looking in the right direction, but it REALLY helps to bring it all together. I have set a goal for myself to get the books this week. I will start the spreadsheet with this box that is now on my bed...(I did some ebay searches just now)

 

I will lurk on here for a week or month or so until I get the listing and grading started to a satisfactory point and get the OS books. If I come across anything I KNOW is hot, I'll post info on the board.

 

Thanks again! and...Thanks for the warm welcome. It can be a bit scary on a new board. EEK!

 

You can save yourself some time and put a list of the first 50 or so books you have here. Don't worry about grades yet, just put the list down and we can see what kind of stuff you have. Welcome to the boards.

[Jack Anderson]

Well, she did say her comics are sorted alphabetically and by issue, so I don't think a list of the first 50 is going to give anyone any real idea of what kind of collection she has. It may give us an idea of how many issues of Action Comics she has, but that's about it.

[Flaming_Telepath]

Well, she did say her comics are sorted alphabetically and by issue, so I don't think a list of the first 50 is going to give anyone any real idea of what kind of collection she has. It may give us an idea of how many issues of Action Comics she has, but that's about it.

 

Well, look who's on the ball today, then.

 

 

[Comic_Monkey-migration]

Yep. That's right. They are quite organized...thank goodness! I am bringing the boxes to my room for inspection one at a time.

 

From what I have peaked at so far there are some of the books are from '78 and '79...even one '76 (don't recall which comic) but...until I have a comprehensive list, it's all speculation, no? The first box could have [embarrassing lack of self control] and then the last could have an amazing gold mine.

 

It's not all super heroes, so the list will be very eclectic.

 

Anyway, when I have the whole list, or at least if I start then get too tired to finish, I'll post it. That will probably before I do much grading of the books.

 

I hope the suspense is worth it.

[Flaming_Telepath]

I hope the suspense is worth it.

 

Hell, yes!

 

Although we don't actually get too much excitement around here.

 

And a lot of boarders don't get out much.

 

So this is high drama!

[Jack Anderson]

It's always exciting when a new board member has boxes of unknown comics just waiting to be explored

 

I think posting your list before going about grading is a good idea, because I'm sure some of these guys will let you know (kindly or not), which comics are worth grading, and which are worth storing in your bathroom in case you run out of Charmin.

[mlovest]

Since you're new to comics, be very careful handling them. You can easily damage high grade comics and significantly reduce their value by simply pulling them in and out of boxes incorrectly. Believe me, everyone on these boards can tell you horror stories of banging up a treasured comic, and most of us try to be very careful!

 

Also, I think puttin a quick list of some titles and issue numbers from the first box would be helpful for us to give you better advice. You may have junk and you may have gold.

 

Good luck!

 

V/R,

Mike