What are your comic books worth?

What are your Comic Books worth?

And now, a word about condition of comics....

I got a phone call the other day from a friend who received several collectible comics, but had no idea of their value. He said the comics were in "pretty good" condition. At that moment., I knew he needed help.

I know of a few places on the web that give a decent explanation of grading comics such as heritage, comicbooksearch.net, and a few others. In this brief editorial I will attempt to give you an overview of grading comics.

The problem is that comic value vary widely by condition. The short course:

There are 8 official comic book conditions MINT (best sometimes abbreviated (M) NEAR MINT (NM) VERY FINE (VF) FINE (FN) an 'average condition' comic) VERY GOOD (VG) GOOD (GD) FAIR (FR) POOR(PR)

MINT means it just off the press and no one has touched it. Strict "mint" condition does not exist, and is more of a just a starting point for talking about comic condition.

NEAR MINT is typical of a comic you'd buy at a comic book specialty store. Brand new. Excellent condition.

VERY FINE is a comic that has been read a few times, and is showing wear at the binding (also called the spine). Also may have very slight color fading on the inside.

FINE is probably what you would call 'good, fair, or average condition' . Some wear, some color fading of pages, still in 'good' shape. No rips, no tears, cover is in excellent condition. May have very slight, hardly noticeable mark on cover.

VERY GOOD is probably that comic book you forgot to put in a bag and board and threw in your closet for a year. Cover has some creases, inside color has faded, a very small tear or two is visible on inside pages. Complete, very readable, but a little rough around the edges. May have watermark or greasepaint on cover.

GOOD is probably the comic book you put in your garage without a bag or board for five years. The cover is well worn and may be falling off. The corners of the cover are missing. Maybe an old order form has been cut out on the inside. This one is in rough shape. But still complete and readable. Inside pages are still okay.

FAIR is where major parts of the cover or inside pages may be torn missing.

POOR is one without a cover. Or major parts of the cover or inside pages may be missing.

I hope this helps. If this is "clear as mud" go to your local comic specialty shop and talk to them about grading. Or go to a major chain bookstore and look through a comic price guide with a more detailed explanation. You can also check out some internet forums many of them have very knowledgeble people on there that will be happy to give you a tip here or there. Just make sure to listen to them and be willing to realize your book might not be mint condition.

Article Source: http://www.rightbiz.com

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