How do I know what a comic is worth ? 1 1

[Colin Nash]

I have been looking at all the auction websites like ComicLink, Comicconnect, Mycomicshop, Ebay and so on,  plus Gocollect and Coverprice as a bench mark.

I'm now totally confused on the true value of a Silver Age comic. They all have different values for the same thing according to where you look.

Ebay sellers tend to price a full grade above what it should be, and I regularly see them publish rediculous prices up to 50% more than the market value.

You see sales on ComicLink that went for 50% less than others of the same grade and page quality. Not sure how this happens in a competitive auction ? I seems that if you buy at something close to the published FMV you've done well.

I'm pretty confused right now and feel that, if I don't offer at least 25% upward on the published FMV, I don't have a hope in hell.

Can someone ease my pain and explain why things have become the way they are ? 

[valiantman]

Since it sounds like you're the buyer (as opposed to the many comic owners who want to be comic sellers who ask the same questions), you've already done the first step... research what prices are actually selling.  Asking price (without a sale) is a useless number, but it seems to be the favorite for most confused people ("It's selling for $1,000 on Ebay!") when it's actually sitting unsold for $1,000 on Ebay (or Mycomicshop or wherever it is unsold) and it may normally sell for closer to $200, but that's not as exciting to say if you're the seller.  As the buyer, you would only care about the $200 sales and the $1,000 asking price can just sit there.

If you're not talking about CGC slabbed books, then the differences in price are going to be related to the "trustworthiness" of the seller who wants to sell a Silver Age comic unslabbed.  Does a buyer believe they're getting the actual grade described, or is there reason to believe that the seller might be overstating their grades (and not sending them to CGC) to increase their profits?

If the books are CGC graded and in the same condition and look very similar, then it just comes down to the mixture of people who saw the sale.  In the case of a nicely-priced book for sale (not an auction), the book might have sold quickly to the first person.  We don't know the actual market value because the seller might have underpriced themselves with a Buy-It-Now price instead of letting bidders compete with each other, but the seller set that selling price, and no one is really to blame but themselves.

If all that was too long to read, then the difference for you, as a buyer, would be patience. 

[valiantman]

3 minutes ago, SpeakUpSonny said:

Just average all those prices together 

Be sure to skip any asking prices that aren't sales.  Asking $1,000 for a $200 book is allowed, but it isn't accurate for the market and it doesn't belong in any averages.

[valiantman]

30 minutes ago, SpeakUpSonny said:

32 minutes ago, valiantman said:

Be sure to skip any asking prices that aren't sales.  Asking $1,000 for a $200 book is allowed, but it isn't accurate for the market and it doesn't belong in any averages.

Yeah I was assuming they were completed auction prices 

You'd be surprised how many people still think an unsold Ebay asking price has anything to do with "market value". 

[revat]

It can be overwhelming initially, but if you break it down the data into more discrete points and play some devil's advocate, you might be able to come with some viable theories as to why things are the way they are.

Things to examine are: 

the fees involved, whether they be auction fees, paypal fees, sales tax, etc.

3rd party professional grading vs raw (and possibly the related costs).

benefits and drawbacks of each venue or individual seller.

Timing of sale.

constantly changing prices in a (potentially) volatile market

scarcity/rarity

 

Also, if you're just making offers, you can offer whatever you want just in case it hits, and raise the price with whatever comfort level they're at.  No big deal.  Another thing to think of, what are the benefits of making offers or hitting BIN (buy-it-now) on ebay or on dealer websites vs waiting for auction?  Auctions MIGHT go for lower, but you never know when there's an auction of something you want, or if you get into an unlucky bidding war.  Generally the more research and analysis you do, the better you'll do making buy/sell decisions.

[marvelmaniac]

First, grading is subjective, even at CGC, people are not perfect.

Secondly, and I know you have heard this 1000's of times already..."A collectible is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it", Comic Books and other Collectibles do not have a "set" value, it is not like walking into Walmart and the price is on the shelf, what a book/collectible actually sold for is its value at that time, sometimes books sell for more than their "listed value" and sometimes they sell for less, eBay sold auctions are a very good indicator of FMV and what people are willing to pay at that time.

When you look at eBay sold auction prices there are a few things you have to consider...

1)The Grade of your book, easy if it is CGC graded book, if it is raw then you have to assign a grade.

https://comics.ha.com/tutorial/comics-grading.s?show=comicdefinitions

2)You have to look at Sold Auctions only and you need to look for certain things...

a)The book you are viewing is in the same grade as yours, do not take a sellers word for what the grade is, look at the pictures, does it look worse or better than the grade you assigned your book?

b)How many people bid on the book/auction, you want to look at auctions that had a minimum of 5 different bidders and you want to be sure the price was not artificially inflated due to a bidding war.

c)You want to look at as many recent auctions as possible with books in/around your grade to get a fair representation of FMV.

d)Yes, when all is said and done it will be an average price, not a set in stone price, there is no such thing with collectibles.

[shadroch]

20 hours ago, Colin Nash said:

I have been looking at all the auction websites like ComicLink, Comicconnect, Mycomicshop, Ebay and so on,  plus Gocollect and Coverprice as a bench mark.

I'm now totally confused on the true value of a Silver Age comic. They all have different values for the same thing according to where you look.

Ebay sellers tend to price a full grade above what it should be, and I regularly see them publish rediculous prices up to 50% more than the market value.

You see sales on ComicLink that went for 50% less than others of the same grade and page quality. Not sure how this happens in a competitive auction ? I seems that if you buy at something close to the published FMV you've done well.

I'm pretty confused right now and feel that, if I don't offer at least 25% upward on the published FMV, I don't have a hope in hell.

Can someone ease my pain and explain why things have become the way they are ? 

Slow down. 

Hopefully, you aren't in it for a quick buck so take your time and learn a bit before you jump into the fight.

Pick out a few books and study them. See how often they are sold, follow trends.  There are many great sites to explore and use. Any fool can get a book at an auction by simply throwing money at it, but a real win is getting the book at a great price.

Most people discount eBay sellers given grades pretty substantially. On the other hand, many people think most Mycomicshop very goods might actually be Fines or better so prices are strong on their raw books.

When buying Silver Age, just remember that 99% of SA books are easy enough to find and most are pretty common in mid to low grade. For most  non high grade or key books, it's a buyers market.

Quality or quantity? That is what you need to decide?  In the 70s, I'd hit cons with a good friend. We both had similar budgets, but very different styles. We would meet up and he would have two or three books, all in fantastic shape while I'd have fifty or sixty  lower grade books. I was proud that I owned 1500 books to his 100 or so, but in the end his collection would have been worth much more than mine.

These days, if one wants to get into the SA, I'd recommend buying the Omnibus versions. Get three years worth of issues for a hundred bucks.

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 2/22/2020 at 11:53 AM, shadroch said:

Slow down. 

Hopefully, you aren't in it for a quick buck so take your time and learn a bit before you jump into the fight.

Pick out a few books and study them. See how often they are sold, follow trends.  There are many great sites to explore and use. Any fool can get a book at an auction by simply throwing money at it, but a real win is getting the book at a great price.

Most people discount eBay sellers given grades pretty substantially. On the other hand, many people think most Mycomicshop very goods might actually be Fines or better so prices are strong on their raw books.

When buying Silver Age, just remember that 99% of SA books are easy enough to find and most are pretty common in mid to low grade. For most  non high grade or key books, it's a buyers market.

Quality or quantity? That is what you need to decide?  In the 70s, I'd hit cons with a good friend. We both had similar budgets, but very different styles. We would meet up and he would have two or three books, all in fantastic shape while I'd have fifty or sixty  lower grade books. I was proud that I owned 1500 books to his 100 or so, but in the end his collection would have been worth much more than mine.

These days, if one wants to get into the SA, I'd recommend buying the Omnibus versions. Get three years worth of issues for a hundred bucks.

I love collected editions.

[Colin Nash]

Thanks guys for taking the time to respond. A lot of useful information and a lot to think about. You have shown me that I'm sort of on the right track, and will now use what you have said in going forward.

[comicginger1789]

As a buyer, I dont get too worked up over prices. If I think it is too high, I dont pay. I like the deal.

The thing with comics is, there is no set in stone price. No two copies of an issues are the same. One may be VF but not the page quality a collector wants while the other VF might have that page quality but minor visible imperfections. Depending on the day, one copy could outsell (by even a wide margin) the other. 

Average the prices you see. Put the best offer forward that you are happy with. If you are trying to make an offer with the intent of making profit yourself and selling, well that can be hard. You might be up against a guy or gal doing the same so their price may not move much. The desire for books is all over the place. Deals can be found with patience but there are a lot of people paying up because the demand is there. 

[tomborage]

I usually look at "Sold" listings on eBay. As the people above have stated, unsold listings are not indicative of FMV of a book. I've found best success on eBay just by directing messaging sellers and negotiating prices (especially if the listing doesn't have a best offer option). 99% of the time sellers will agree to your price just because the book has been sitting there left unsold for awhile. Remember that it's not worth anything for them if they're unable to find someone who's willing to pay what they're asking for: supply and demand baby.