How much is enough?

[jackfaire]

My dad did some software programming for a Comics Distributor back in the mid to late 90s. Since he had other paying jobs he offered to take his fee from them in comic books.

Out of this period of time four long boxes have survived. As the lone comic book reader of his four kids I inherited the collection. I am trying to see if any of them are worth any money. Some of them technically are but not in a "This was cover value 2.50 and is now worth 100" In fact the highest profit margin I have found is 13 dollars above cover value so far. I haven't researched all of them and some of them are signed by the artists with certificates of authenticity but are obscure titles that most of my friends have never even heard of.

Some of them I want to open and add to my personal collection but as a person who routinely lives pay check to pay check I feel a responsibility to try and see a profit from them.

So thoughts? Opinions? At what point is the profit margin too low to make it worth selling? Is there a threshold for selling old collectibles?

[Tanasi]

I suggest to see what the next comic based movies that are coming out and see which of those you have that are collectible. In the mean time find a site to sell them on. With popular super hero movies associated collectibles go way up in value. I have thousands of 70/80s era Marvel comics in plastic sleeves and long boxes, my wife has been after me for years to sell them.
You'll make more money over all selling them individually but that takes longer than selling them as a lot to a collector that in the business.

[jackfaire]

A lot of them are for publishers and titles that are obscure like Lady Pendragon.

[protege]

Originally Posted by jackfaire

So thoughts? Opinions? At what point is the profit margin too low to make it worth selling? Is there a threshold for selling old collectibles?

I think it depends on where you're comfortable selling them. I mean, at what price would you gladly part with the item(s)? Most of you know that I'm heavily into building models. I have no idea how many cars I have right now, but I'm sure it's into the hundreds. Would I part with them cheaply? Considering that most of what I have were hard-to-find, and long out of production, probably not. For example, I have a 1/12 scale 1930s Bentley by MPC. While it has been reissued many times under the Airfix, MPC, and AMT labels, you don't see them very often. Not that I'd sell mine--it took nearly 30 years to find! Even so, I could have easily flipped it for multiple times over what I paid for it.

Along those lines, I "inherited" my dad's stamp collection. Actually, I seized it as to what I was owed after he walked out on my mom 2.5 years ago--He'd borrowed a few thousand bucks while he was unemployed and refused to repay the loan. His entire collection consisted of mint (unused) stamps. These were carefully kept in a large album over the years. Also with the collection, were several blocks, plate blocks, sheets, and other items. I've actually thought about selling the extras as a way towards funding various hobby projects. While it would be easier to sell the duplicate items as a lot, they'd be worth more individually. But, it would take a long time to shift them. So for now, they're in storage.

[jackfaire]

Originally Posted by protege

But, it would take a long time to shift them. So for now, they're in storage.

*Nods* That's actually what it comes down to. I am a "get rid of it all" kind of guy. I don't tend to keep a lot of physical things unless they can hang on the walls. My books are only kept if out of print otherwise I buy digital copies where and when I can. The comics most of them I am just going to read and recycle if they aren't worth anything.

It's less how much I would be willing to part with them for and more how much do they have to be worth before I invest the time and energy into selling them. Very few comics sell very well to comic shops and second hand shops who are the primary buyers for them. Collectors tend to buy directly and most of the comic shops I have access to would just buy the long boxes for pennies on the dollar then sell the comics off cheaply.

That's why I have been doing most of my research online to see if any of them are major collectibles. I only grabbed the issues I thought might be worth something.

"Archie Meets The Punisher" for example but I am going to go through every comic in the long boxes individually to see if there is one that looks ordinary to me but is really some secretly highly collectible piece. I don't want to be Mark Hamill and hold onto them too long.

[Daskinor]

The internet has really killed the comic industry, along with speculation.

The value of old comics tend to revolve around;

Major Introduction of a popular character
Major Event In the Comic's world
How many are in exsistance
If it has been a center of controversy or recalled

and the most important

are you still able to read it

With the internet you can read allot of rare comics. So the allure of owning it drops tremendously.


Speculation in the 90s, killed the market for anything from the era and beyond. When something is sold as a collectors edition, its not really collectible. Looking at you "Death of Superman"


In the end your probably going to spend more time trying to sell them than the effort to sell them is worth.