The One about the Comic Books: To Sell or not to Sell

May 16, 2009 by Dennis Amith 

When I was younger, I used to be an avid comic book reader. My hardworking parents were not the type to splurge on toys (although my grandparents did).

I grew up with digests of the Legion of Super Heroes and the Justice League of America to Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four and have purchased comics since that date back since the 1960′s and like most comic book fans, there was a sense that one could collect and make their money back.  But truthfully, when I was younger, it was the sheer enjoyment of reading these comic books and I couldn’t care less about making a profit from them.

But several years ago, I started getting into the DVD-Rom collections from GIT Corp. which collected many of the Marvel top tier titles such as “The Amazing Spider-Man”, “Fantastic Four”, “The Incredible Hulk”, “The Invincible Iron Man”, “Captain America”, etc. from their first issues all the way up to 2006.  This includes their annuals.

Could you imagine, that all comics from the past 40-50 years all on one DVD-Rom for $39.  Of course, it didn’t take Marvel that long to end their license with GIT and start offering digital comic books on their website for a monthly fee.  It’s smart business and giving fans a way to access their comic books without missing an issue by reading it online.

What was more surprising is reading how many people are reading their comic books through downloads of bit torrents.  So, I started asking various comic book fans how they are reading their titles and many have said they are downloading the latest comic books and manga. Or that they legally read it online.  There were some who are staunch on purchasing the printed version but since a lot of them collect the action figures and have other hobbies that they collect, comic books that are now quite expensive, they have less spending income to purchase all the titles they want.  Also, competition to get an issue continues to become problematic that you never know that you’re going to get a copy from your store.  So, online/digital copies of comic books have become much more of a convenience.

With everything going digital, is this truly the end of comic books on the paper format?  We have seen so many magazine publications close, as we have seen with newspaper publications but what about the comic book companies?

Granted, there are still hardcore collectors going to their comic book stores and purchasing the latest titles but one day, I started thinking… all these comic books I have, am I expecting my son to own these?  Especially knowing that people are becoming more and more into reading their comic books digitally and online?

Also, having purchase some of the GIT Corp. DVD-Roms online, I figured it was time to sell those comic books I had in my closet for years.   I purchased a pretty heavy comic book guide to know how much they are worth.  I was ready to sell these comic books that I have been saving for decades and finally make some money.

Was I wrong.

Looking on eBay, there are people selling not one, not dozens, but hundreds or thousands of comic books just to earn a profit of less than a hundred bucks.

Needless to say, I did sell some of my comic books but took a loss by putting up around a 50-100 comic books (including costly trade paperbacks) in a lot but only making a $49-$55 dollar profit.  As mentioned, I bought these when I was younger for the love of comic books and making a profit was never a goal.  But I never expected to lose money.  For a comic around $1.50-$3.00, you’re only going to make .50-$1.00 if lucky.

I have been told that anything from the 1980′s to present are hardly worth anything.   People want classics and low print independents but the truth is that many people are not going to make a profit from their comic books unless they have something rare or something that a few big spenders are willing to shell out.

But what I’ve learned is that X-Men and Avengers titles are still strong.  Deadpool is even stronger.  Fantastic Four, for some reason people wanted the later issues and not the earlier.  And yes, I do agree that popular mainstream comics from the 1980′s and 1990′s are not big moneymakers.  I thought my first appearances of Carnage and Venom would sell for higher but I guess not.

This economy is making more and more people sell their old collections, while more and more newer collectors are into the experience of collecting series now and titles of their favorite artists.  Many have no interest in the older classics.  They are more selective and they should be.   They are paying way more than the .25-$1.25 I was paying back then.

So, you have those who will buy out of nostalgia, those who are hoping to get a deal through these huge lots offered online and for comic books, it’s definitely a buyer’s market.  You’re getting your money’s worth. But for sellers, unfortunately, like the housing market…if you’re selling now, prepare to take the loss.  That is unless you can purchase these super lots at such a low price and then resell them.