Tips for Understanding Comic Book Value

Did you happen to come across stacks of old comic books while going through the attic? Maybe you happened on someone’s comic book collection at a garage or tag sale and picked them up with the idea of making a few dollars. Either way, you need to determine the comic book value, regardless of where you got the comic books or whether there are five books or five hundred altogether.

You have a lot of ways to determine the value of a comic book. First of all, based on accepted guidelines, you need to know what kind of condition it’s in. A comic book’s desirability and rarity is another determining factor in what kind of price it will fetch.

There are at least two ways to determine comic book value. This is also known as its grade. You can consult the CGC (Comics Guaranty Company) either by mail or at a comic book convention, or you can use information you find online to determine its grade. The grading terms are Mint, Near Mint, Very Fine, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. There is a lot of information online to help you determine the grade, and you can also consult a book or guide on the subject.

Once you have determined the grade, finding the comic book value is much easier. Visit eBay and check out the auctions for comic books, since this will give you a good idea of what they’re selling for. However, you should be aware that values will vary from issue to issue, based on special events that might have occurred in the issue, printing errors, or rarity.

You could also buy and consult a comic book pricing guide. There are lots of different ones. Some give one price for each comic, and some give a range of values based on condition. Lastly, try using a good search engine to find information on a specific issue, and join an online community of other collectors.

Have a lot of comic books laying around? Visit Comic Book Prices and check out our sections on Comic Book Values and Comic Book Pricing to find out what your collection is worth!

- Candace Right