Advice wanted on best way to sell bronze age marvels...

[Steve_C-migration]

Hi Guys,

 

20 years ago I stopped collecting comics and sold the bulk of my collection. At that time, aside from a lot of EC's and other frazetta/williamson stuff, I had every superhero marvel, including 2 copies of AF 15 and 3 of Spidey 1! The only Marvels I didn't have, were JIM 1-82, ST 1-38, TTA 1-26, 28-34 etc etc. Alas, all the early stuff got sold, and I was left with a few hundred bronze age comics that nobody wanted, and quite a few Warren and Marvel magazines. I did trade a VF Hulk #1 to my brother for a stereo amp, but he since sold all his comics as well.

 

I'm starting to collect 1960s slot cars, so I'm going to sell the remaining comics I have to finance buying slot cars. Looking on ebay, it seems the same comic will bring 5 times the money if graded by CGC. I've got a few things like early Ghost Rider comics, Iron Fists and Marvel Premiers, as well as DCs like Kamandi #1-10, that might be worth getting graded by CGC to get a reasonable price for them. Trouble is, I don't want to pay $25 to have a comic graded, only to find out it's only worth $20, and I've lost $5 on the deal. A case in point, I've got Strange Tales 101 is fair condition (the cover has tape on it). 230 years ago it was probably worth $80. Today, because of the tape, it might be worth $20!

 

Is there a way to establish which comics are worth getting graded? Will any bronze age mainstream hero comic (like FF, spider-man, hulk, etc) in CGC 8.0 or better always bring more than the cost of having it graded? Does CGC offer a service where they will accept a bundle of comics, pick out the ones suitable for grading, graded them and then auction them for you? I'm in Australia, so I want to avoid shipping stuff back and forth to the states as much as possible.

 

I'm a little confused on grading. Is there a good guide on this site? For instance, item 2170249462 on ebay is FF 156 with a CGC grade of 9.8, but the spine is quite crooked.

 

Any advice (and offers to trade old slotcars for comic books) appreciated.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

[BachelorOfComix]

linky

 

As the Chairman of the Bored, I welcome you!

[PovertyRow]

Is there a way to establish which comics are worth getting graded?

 

You are already on your way when you cited ebay. Ebay is a good way to get a feel for the market. As far as your DCs like Kamandi go? This is NOT the time to sell but probably a good time to grade as the price for grading will probably just increase.

 

I suggest you do a search on ebay for the books you are interested in selling. Then do a search on Completed Items and see what things actually sold for.

 

Also, make sure your grading is up to snuff so when you send in books to CGC they won’t come back as a disappointment.

 

Take your time. Your slot cars will still be there but you do NOT want to undersell your books if you can help it.

 

[musicmeta]

You might want to invest in joining this site www.gpanalysis.com . They track sales of CGC comics.

 

This might help.

 

[chrisco37]

Steve -

 

Go to the Grading and Resto Issues Category. You will see a bunch of thread's like "Grade this book for me" or "Guess the grade?". That could get you started quickly. Also, scan some of the books you were considering slabbing. We will be more than happy to tell you possible grades and if it is even worth slabbing.

You also asked:

 

Will any bronze age mainstream hero comic (like FF, spider-man, hulk, etc) in CGC 8.0 or better always bring more than the cost of having it graded?

 

Definately not. Unless it is a key book, you'd have a hard time getting guide price for it, let alone the add for the grading fee. Bronze age VF books are pretty common and can be grabbed up really cheap raw.

 

Chris

[Steve_C-migration]

Where can I get a list of key issues? I tried a search for "key" under bronze age on ebay, and finished up getting lots of the same title plus a heap of gold key comics!

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

[chrisco37]

You can start by getting a copy of the Overstreet Price Guide (edited by our buddy, Arnold! ). It will provide you with information like first appearances, dates, artist/writer runs, etc....

 

But to get you started, here are a few major and minor BA Keys, in no particular order:

 

Hulk #181 - 1st Wolverine

Giant Size X-Men #1 - 1st New Team (Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolvie, Colossus)

X-Men #94 - New X-men begin in title

House of Secrets #92 - 1st Swamp Thing

Star Wars #1 (35-cent Variant)

Iron Man #55 - 1st Thanos

Green Lantern #76 - Neal Adams run begins

ASM #121/122 - Death of Gwen Stacy and Green Goblin

ASM #129 - 1st Punisher

Cerebus #1

Conan the Barbarian #1

Marvel Premier #15 - 1st Iron Fist

Marvel Spotlight #5 - 1st Ghost Rider

Special Marvel Edition #15 - 1st Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu

 

Also, forgot to mention earlier that picking up a copy of the Overstreet Grading Guide would be extremly useful to you in grading comics. Detailed descriptions and pictures of books in all grades. Well worth the money!

 

Hope that helps!

 

Chris

[Steve_C-migration]

Thanks for that. They were ones I pretty much knew about. Are any magazines key? I don't really have the time to flip through every comic I have in Overstreet. I used to do it 25 years ago!

 

I saw some big prices for the following on ebay. What gives? Are they key issues also?

 

Iron Fist 14

Daredevil 131

 

Regards,

 

Steve C

 

[awe4one]

Minor keys...

 

DD #131 featured the first appearance of the current Bulleye as depicted in the movie. Starting to cool down somewhat as the movie is winding down it's run in the theaters.

 

IF #14 features the first appearance of Sabretooth - Wolverine baddy and X-Men villain. I guess the issue is holding steady (make sure to look if you have the rarer 35 cent version) despite not appearing prominently in the current X-universe for quite some time now.

 

 

Jim