Expert: Chris Brown - 9/14/2010

Question
Chris,

I have a rather large comic collection including, Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja, X-Men, Uncanny X-men, Green Arrow, Superman, Superboy, Batman, and many many more. I live in Columbia, South Carolina and know of only one comic book store nearby. Some of the comics are in good condition and some have small defects. Since it's such a large collection I was wondering what would be the best way to have them appraised and then sold? Thank you for your time.

----Krystal

Answer

Hi Krystal

From the names of the comics you list, it sounds like they are from the 70s and later.  Some of them could be pretty valuable if they are from the 70s, including X-men 94-130, Green Lantern 76-89 and Conan 1-20.  The others that you list probably don't have too much value in general unless they are in "like new" condition, though there may be an occasional issue with a first appearance of a character or something else that makes it a little more valuable than a standard issue.

It can be difficult with this kind of condition to get a lot of money.  Generally eBay will offer the most money, but you need to be willing to put up some detailed scans and descriptions.

If you do have some older comics, such as from the 60s and earlier, you can possibly interest some of the big national stores or national comics dealers.  However, they would likely not offer a lot for typical used comics from the 70s or 80s.  I don't suspect you will have great luck with local comic shops either as comics from this period tend to be easy to find and not in high demand.

So I don't have any great advice for you.  It's hard to say more without having more info on what exactly you have.  You are welcome to send a follow-up question if you want to provide more details or if you have more questions to ask.

Chris