How valuable are comics nowadays?

Only the first appearances of a popular character is valuable IMO.

 

the death of supes would've been valuable if DC would've stuck with it.

 

No it wouldn't, they printed the crap outta that book. Everybody and their mother had a copy. Books only become valuable if they're rare. As in there isn't that many of them around. Invincible #1 will be more valuable than say, Iron Man #1 volume 4 or whatever they're on now.

 

Unless you've got high quality Silver or Golden age books, or ones that are significant (like the first appearance of a major character), they're probably not worth much.

I sold off a huge chunk of my comics about a year ago to my local comic store. I sold about 3,000 mint-near mint issues from the 80's and 90's and got $1500 for them (well technically I got $2000 in store credit, but they offered $1500 cash).

You might make more trying on ebay, but you'd probably have to sell it in pieces to make it worthwhile. I thought about doing that, but I didn't want the hassle and preferred to just sell them to the shop as one big group.

 

That's what i'll likely end up doing, though I likely wont get 1500 bucks for it.

 

Some practical advice - If the comics are from the 1980s and 90s, they're not going to be super valuable. The highly valuable comics are from the 1960s and earlier. For the 1980s, you'd have to sort through all of the books to MAYBE find a hand full that would go for over $20 apiece, and that's only if they're in just about perfect condition. The most valuable books for this time period were those that were independently produced. Mainstream books like X-Factor, New Mutants, Spider-Man, Superman, etc..from the 80s and 90s are extremely common and easy to come by, and therefore, not rare or desirable. EVERYBODY starting in the 1980s was keeping their comics in plastics and in mint condition. Back in the 60s and before, kids treated their comics like crap and would throw them out since they didn't think they would be worth something someday. That's why older comics are rare and more valuable in better condition. Hologram covers and a multitude of issue #1s were devices to artificially create demand, and that demand did not last, so those are all worth zip right about now.

If you want to price the books, pick up a copy of Wizard or use www.comicspriceguide.com but you should know how the price guide works first. The prices listed for any given issue are the highest prices a retailer would reasonably be expected to ask for the issues in near perfect shape. That's for retailers. Retailers can put a $5 price tag on a comic and wait 10 years for someone to walk in and buy it at that price. If you want it sold NOW, instead of in ten years, you usually have to settle for 50 cents a piece or less for most books from the 80s and 90s. Check eBay to see what people ACTUALLY pay for the books you have. You'll find most of them in "lots" or collections, not for sale individually.

There are two quick and easy basic options for someone like yourself: Check your local phone book for your nearest comic store, give em a call and ask them if they're buying. They'll look through them, tell you if they're interested, and make you an offer. This is quick, easy, and you'll get paid fast. Your other option is to split the books up into lots, usually of one title a piece (All your X-Men, all your Fantastic Four, all your Spider-Man, etc.) take some pictures and list them on ebay. You'll get a little more money but you'll have to do more work.

But really, unless you have many of them, and they've been kept in comic bags for protection, the best use for them would probably be to find some kids in your life who would enjoy them.

Marvel Versus DC was one of the worst crossovers ever, and can be found in the 25 cents bin at comic stores across the nation. Signatures add $0 to the value of most comics.

 

So in the end, read em, keep the ones you like, throw the others away. By the time they'll be worth something, the apocalypse will have occurred.

 

Comics always get a 3rd 4th printing, IMO they arent worth much

 

A comic is only as valuable as how much someone is willing to pay for it.

 

Also, value is something a comic can provide in a non-monetary sense...

For example... Spectacular Spider-Man #200 has been considered a very good read, and a very touching story, so the book alone makes it much more valuable than to the person who thought it was just an ok story.

 

really? i always thought a book with a huge character death would be valuable.

 

That would be the case if characters weren't constantly resurrected. You might not find Death of Superman in the discount bin, but you can probably get one for $3 or so. The only character death, AFAIK, which has retained any significant value is death of Gwen Stacy and Green Goblin in ASM #121 and 122. Gwen has actually stayed dead, and Norman Osborn might be back, but those two issues always go hand in hand.

Other than that, I think at it's peak a 1st print NM copy of The Death of Captain Marvel might have gone for upwards of $30-40, but that's not that much higher than most Marvel Graphic Novels at the height of their value anyway. Now, it went through so many printings, and there have been other Captain Marvels, and the original is (sort of) back, no one's really laying down any big money.

 

green goblin?! I've seen norman Osborn alive so many times in the past few years.

 

True, but finding the actual issue he "died" in would be kinda tough, making it a rare issue, and therefore worth a bit of cash.

 

I made a pretty good killing off all the Cap #25 hype

 

Modearn comics worth money.....

Best example I can think of:

Miracleman trades, particularly hardbacks and issue 15 due to the law suit, smallish print run. Impossible to reprint and notoriety.

 

You mean my complete collection of Darkhawk isn't worth anything?