brownies8701 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 So i have a few questions... I have a beat up copy of Batman #251 (my favorite cover) which is probably in 2.5 to 3.5 condition. So my 1st question is, should I spend the money to get it graded? Second question, if I wanted to upgrade my copy, how much would I be spending (on average) for a 7.5 or 8.0 graded Batman 251? Third & last question, does anyone have any for sale? If so, how much? Thanks in advance Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Sinescu Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Probably my favorite single issue, Brian. An excellent choice! I'd leave your copy raw if I were you, but my collection strategy for keys is generally to have one nice graded copy and then one or a couple of raw copies. I like to have a copy I can read if I want and then one high-grade that's kind of the "ultimate" copy to be worshipped Unless you just have no interest in owning a raw copy and just want to move the low-grade one for maximum value, I would skip getting it graded. Just keep it in a nice mylite and it should look great. This is also a book I would say you cannot have too many copies of, so better to own two! Pricewise, I know 8.5's generally top out around $500-550 or so, so I'd guess you're looking around $350-400 in your grades. Recent eBay sales will help you price these out as well and looks like they do fluctuate a decent amount with some 8.0's getting up near $500. Many of these are Buy-it-now sales, so you can likely do better at auction. We're about to go into a pretty soft time of year for selling, so in January/February you can probably get a better deal as there tend to be fewer buyers throwing money around after Christmas. This is a book that's almost always in high demand, but there are also numerous copies changing hands at any time, so you have the luxury of being patient. I'd hold out for a copy with the best page quality and close-to-perfect centering and wrap. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revat Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Look up how much the graded copy sells for, then subtract the grading costs (including shipping) from that amount. Compare the amount to the amount you can sell the RAW comic for. If they seem favorable based on your preferences, then grade them. If not, then don't. This applies to ANY comic you would consider getting graded (for financial, not sentimental purposes). To find out values of GRADED books, generally use GPA and SOLD prices from various auction websites (including ebay). To determine the RAW price of books, you can look up how much they're selling for on websites, mixed with OSPG, mixed with sold amounts on ebay. Be conservative, and do your own math and analysis based on your own preferences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownies8701 Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 Thank guys for your responses...some great advice. I will attempt to wait to buy meanwhile continuing to look on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
