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Where to store valuable comics and insurance
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42 posts in this topic

I've been building my collection for a few years now and have collected some pretty rare comics. I submitted a bunch of them to an appraisal service, and they came back worth pretty close to 1m.  Where do you guys store your comics? Do you insure? Do you have separate insurance, or is it on your homeowners?

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I keep them in my closet but I dont have 1 million...I have 40k

 However I have a security camera and insurance through cis..... collectible insurance services. Give them a call....you dont even need an appraisal, just tell them what your collection is worth. 

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48 minutes ago, jason4 said:

I keep them in my closet but I dont have 1 million...I have 40k

 However I have a security camera and insurance through cis..... collectible insurance services. Give them a call....you dont even need an appraisal, just tell them what your collection is worth. 

 

Yep, have a similar setup. I've quoted through homeowners, and they want a 3500 premium. It's one of the reasons why I only have two insured and a blanket of $150k for the others.  I am 759k short. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to reach this valuation.  Selling isn't really a good option as I'd be screwed by a huge tax bill north of 30% with Fed and State.  I will check with CIS.  Are they reliable?  I just fear if something happened to them they'd just not pay. 

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I live in Jersey and I have had my books stored in my bedroom for 40 years.

Just be sure that all books are stored in Mylites with Acid Free Boards (unless CGC Graded), in the proper Comic Book Storage Box, in a Controlled Environment away from all UV Light, Moisture and Heat Sources.

I have had my books insured with CIS for over 10 years now (do not have anywhere close to the value you are stating), I have never had to file a claim.

When I originally purchased the policy I sent them complete lists of what I have, I update it annually or as needed.

Five years ago I regraded all of my books, (1800, took 6 months) and made a list of the books/grades and I took pictures of all of my books/collectibles and all that info is saved on my computer and two separate flashdrives.

You can do the same and send them a flashdrive containing your collection and they will store it in your file.

https://collectinsure.com/?gclid=CJu3heLP8cUCFYuPHwod4kgAww

 

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14 minutes ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

What's your address? I'll help you out...

you forgot to ask for his work schedule so you know when to show up to help him out... lol 

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A bit out of the box, but here goes...

Have you considered offering them on loan to a museum for display? temperature controlled secure environment for free or better. Not aware of insurance implications.

You probably know some other $1m+ collectors that may be willing to do the same, creating a very impressive exhibit.

my own collection is barely 5 figures, so this hasn’t been a big issue for me, yet.

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1 hour ago, Joosh said:

A bit out of the box, but here goes...

Have you considered offering them on loan to a museum for display? temperature controlled secure environment for free or better. Not aware of insurance implications.

You probably know some other $1m+ collectors that may be willing to do the same, creating a very impressive exhibit.

my own collection is barely 5 figures, so this hasn’t been a big issue for me, yet.

 

Never thought of that.  I am the only one I know who collects comics. I just picked up a lot over the past 20 years. I never in my life would believe they'd jump this high. Since mine are mid grade or restored (slightly), I am not sure any museum would want them.  

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56 minutes ago, intlnews said:

 

 Since mine are mid grade or restored (slightly), I am not sure any museum would want them.  

For those to be worth $1,000,000.00 you must have some really scarce/sought after/valuable books from both the Golden and Silver Age or just one Action Comics #1.

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1 minute ago, marvelmaniac said:

For those to be worth $1,000,000.00 you must have some really scarce/sought after/valuable books from both the Golden and Silver Age or just one Action Comics #1.

 

Some key gold's and a good amount of key silvers. If I didn't get them appraised, I wouldn't of known. The insurance company, for some reason, requested appraisals so I did.  My comic collection is now in it's own room, cameras, fireproof safes and a guard dog name bowser is protecting them.  That and a few guns ;'p

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A novice or naive question, how to you determine the value of your comics/collection? Is this value based on gpa or a similar company? In other words, how does one determine the value of their collection? I’ve been told on many occasions that a book or collection is only worth what someone is willing to pay. This said, for insurance purpose how do you gauge this?

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The "insurance" or replacement cost value is always higher than fair market value. They include a number of variables, which may include acquisition costs to replace something. Obviously, this can be more complex if they are keys with not many graded examples, or higher grades where there are few copies in that grade. That appraisal (hopefully it is a report) is only useful if you have replacement cost coverage. The appraiser would be keeping a work file with pertinent information, and because collectibles values are commensurate to grade/condition, I would strongly suggest you keep your own photographs/videos at least of anything worth over $5K. If you have any single items worth over $10K, I would strongly recommend trying to keep tabs on the market for that/those items, and keep a list of past sales (screenshots of those auctions if they are on eBay). Those comparable data points could come in handy in the event of a loss situation, where there aren't frequent enough sales of those items, or if the insurer decides to cherry pick data points which you feel are too low, and/or not similar to what you had condition-wise.

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2 minutes ago, rogue14 said:

A novice or naive question, how to you determine the value of your comics/collection? Is this value based on gpa or a similar company? In other words, how does one determine the value of their collection? I’ve been told on many occasions that a book or collection is only worth what someone is willing to pay. This said, for insurance purpose how do you gauge this?

Overstreet Price Guide, eBay Past Sales, etc.

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