# Buying, selling, and collecting comic books. Teach me. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-selling-and-collecting-comic-books-teach-me/613056 "2012-02-16T19:37:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-selling-and-collecting-comic-books-teach-me/613056/21 "2012-02-18T01:15:34Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So I’m really here to learn. That’s why I started the thread, after all. Well, the best way to learn about values and grading is to get a copy of the Overstreet Price Guide and study it. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-selling-and-collecting-comic-books-teach-me/613056/22 "2012-02-28T18:49:11Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > What you should know is that unless you have some of the very few collectible issues, you’re not going to be making a profit, little or otherwise. You probably won’t be taking much of a loss, though – $0.10/comic is about what I’d expect. So I’ve sold 22 comics so far and recovered my money. I still have over 300 left to go, but I’m sure a lot of them won’t sell at all. The big seller was the Action Comics #197/198/199 lot. Those were apparently worth about $20 each but I sold them for $10 each. Oh well, live and learn. I also dumped a Sandman paperback for $4 and three of Frank Miller’s “Hardboiled” for $11 total. Now all I have to do is dump my Incredible Hulk and World’s Finest collections and I’ll be a happy boy. Last week at the auction, they bundled 8 full boxes together in one lot. I priced them all out and it came to about $300 if you sold every last bit of it. The winning bidder paid $384! Yikes. It’s another week, so there will be more today. I can’t wait to see what I’ll uncover this time. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-selling-and-collecting-comic-books-teach-me/613056/23 "2012-02-28T18:55:18Z")
Ah, but [here’s the true dream](http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Childhood+comic+collection+nets+%243.5M+for+inheritor&NewsID=321650). ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-selling-and-collecting-comic-books-teach-me/613056/24 "2012-02-28T19:46:51Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Ah, but [here’s the true dream](http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Childhood+comic+collection+nets+%243.5M+for+inheritor&NewsID=321650). So if I come across an Action Comics #1, you’re saying I should pick that one up? Y’know, when I was a kid, about 7 or 8, my dad took me to Toys 'R Us to pick out a reward for something. I chose a Captain Pickard figurine with a Data sidekick. My dad happened to mention “If you keep that in perfect condition, when you’re older, it’ll be worth a lot of money.” When we went to checkout, the cashier said the same thing, unprompted. I remember thinking _Then go pick one out yourself. This one’s mine!_ Of course I opened the package and played with it until it got lost in the sands of time. To this day, I wonder if they were right or if it would’ve been a bust. Maybe I’ll find out in 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-selling-and-collecting-comic-books-teach-me/613056/25 "2012-02-29T00:47:16Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So if I come across an Action Comics #1, you’re saying I should pick that one up? > > Y’know, when I was a kid, about 7 or 8, my dad took me to Toys 'R Us to pick out a reward for something. I chose a Captain Pickard figurine with a Data sidekick. My dad happened to mention “If you keep that in perfect condition, when you’re older, it’ll be worth a lot of money.” When we went to checkout, the cashier said the same thing, unprompted. I remember thinking _Then go pick one out yourself. This one’s mine!_ Of course I opened the package and played with it until it got lost in the sands of time. To this day, I wonder if they were right or if it would’ve been a bust. Maybe I’ll find out in 20 years. I’m guessing they probably weren’t right. There aren’t a lot of collectibles from that era that are worth a lot, I don’t think. That was around the time when everything and its dog became “collectible” and so everybody squirreled away five of them mint in box, which means the market is awash with them. There are exceptions, of course, but I doubt your Captain Picard is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-selling-and-collecting-comic-books-teach-me/613056/26 "2012-02-29T05:28:44Z")
I still have five Gretzky rookie cards… they may make my retirement a bit more comfortable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-selling-and-collecting-comic-books-teach-me/613056.md?page=1)