How Much is that Comic Book Really Worth?

I'm back to posting after what ended up being a crazy weekend. Here we go...

One of the points I make to collectors and non-collectors alike is that "guide" prices for comic books aren't always accurate. I always look for what I call the "true" value or price, and this is based on actual sales prices in the market today.

The print comic book price guides err on both the high and low sides. A significant news event may send a comic book prices up by hundreds of dollars. Comic book movie releases are a good example of this type of news event. You can also add to this the affect CGC has had on back issue comic book prices.

On the high side we can have deliberate manipulation from less than honest dealers, or there may not have been recent sales to post. Take these problems into account and a comic book could be overvalued in guide.

So how do you mitigate these problems?

The first place I look is E-bay. In particular I use the "completed auction" function found on the left sidebar of the E-bay search page. You must have an account on E-bay to look at completed auctions, but fortunately this is free. To use this feature search for your comic book title and issue number in the standard E-bay search box. When you receive your results look for the "completed auctions" box on the left side and check it. You can also do an "Advanced Search" from the E-bay main page and choose "completed auctions" as on option.

The next service I use is called GPAnalysis. There is a fee for access the the GPAnalysis site, but it is reasonable and you can choose different levels and length of service. GPAnalysis collects actual CGC-graded sales from auction sites and select dealers. They have data going back to 2002, and they offer several charts and tools to analyze the data. If you're serious about buying and selling old comic books, I highly recommend the service.

So there you have it. Combine the Overstreet Guide with E-bay and GPAnalysis, and you can get a good idea of the value of your comic books in the marketplace today.

- Sean

© C Harris Lynn, 2008