So I have a collection of comics from when I was younger and spent every dime purchasing them instead of CD's and nice clothes. Now older I still have this collection of comics sitting in their little plastic bags as a good collector does but that's all they're doing... sitting there. So I thought about selling them and was wondering what others have experienced with doing so. What worked best for you? How did you sell them if you have and what channel did you use to sell them? I have priced them using on-line price guides but darn well that is never what anybody actually gets, but I want know how I can get the most from selling this collection and how to go about doing it.

I've never had any luck whatsoever with selling mine, even the ones I thought were kind of rare. Then again I don't have any comics that are older than say, Preacher, so it isn't as though I owned anything rare. The only luck I've had selling things is trade paperbacks, through ebay mostly. Issues were a nightmare, because usually no one wants a whole set, they just want one- but as soon as you've sold one you don't have a whole set any more and you start getting left with random issues to try and get rid of.

You might want to look for some kind of used comic book sale/trading site. They have those 'swap' sites now for books (like greenmetropolis.com in the UK), it seems plausible something might be out there for comics...

While my experience might be useless (as I live at the other end of the world), this is what I usually do. I never bought comics with reselling them in mind, so I don't mind getting only part of their price back. usually I check what the particular series/issues are being sold/put on auction for, and set my price 10-25% lower to the online prices. This means that if there's any interest, my books will sell first. Books that are slightly damaged/worn out are being sold even cheaper. This works for me fairly well, although usually my goal is to make shelf space/quickly gather some cash to pay for something important. If something doesn't sell, I put it away on the shelves for couple of months and try again.

I've sold a bunch of complete runs (obviously of shorter books, up to 25 issues/10 volumes, haha), sets of random issues, etc. Never bothered putting up single issues for sale, no matter how cheap I price them, shipping costs are too high anyway. I did sell quite a lot single volume graphic novels/mangas with no problem.
Does that work on the American market/Ebay? No idea.

I've never bought comics without the intention of reading them. Often times I'll have already read a comic before I buy it and end up getting it because I liked it so much. I have a box that I keep them in, sometimes I'll have plastic bags too, I've read these comics over and over again and if I have a chance to meet the authors I'll try to get them to sign 'em. That being said, I've never tried to sell any of my comics. I've sold some books at Powell's and some CD's at a record store when I moved but I've been pretty insistant about keeping my comics.

I had a HIGH grade collection of Golden, silver and Bronze age (50's, 60's and 70') comics. Mostly Marvel,DC, and EC'S. My collection was worth 15,000. (and that was using a 2003 Price Guide)
I realised, although I loved em', they were just sitting in a closet. So I sold them for 5,000 (anyone who thinks you'll get out of them, what they are actually worth, is decieving yourselves.....not going to happen. Dealers won't drop that kind of cash, unless they are high grade Timleys, ect....)
anyhoo........I went and bought me giant speakers, a nice reciever and a power converter......now, I am enjoying my home theatre. I kept my old Fantastic fours, and Spidermans, cause they go up every year.
I began replacing my silver age stuff, with hardcover collections, and I bought a ton of Bowen statues and mini busts, so I can still look at the heroes of my youth.
I miss my comics, but what can ya do?

I bought most of mine with the intent of keeping them so I haven't sold many, but the few I did sell were ones that I couldn't read ( ie: Ren and Stimpy #1 that was still in it's original pre-sale packaging or the first collection of The Farside that was similarly packaged. ) I put them on ebay for half of what they were worth. The Farside book actually ended up selling for a little more than it's original cover price of $12.95.

But those were obviously in about as pristine condition as you get with a comic book, and I don't really know how much help that makes my experience.

Interesting.... I never really got too much into the speculator thing. I mean... yeah... I would check the prices for a lot of my "rare" or 'special" books cause it was fun to see the value grow (especially '91-'94ish) as a kid.... but I never would sell.

Now a days i have given it some thought. Not my valuable stuff, but I have a CRAPLOAD of comics, and as hard as it is for me to part with things, there are a lot of comics that have ZERO sentimental value or attachment to that some folx might like, or heck might even have value-- and I'd like to pear my collection down to just the stuff thats important to me... So i'd go pretty cheap. It just seems like a hassle to sell them online, and it seems like a lot of folks are selling but no one is buying...

Any tips for good selling spots? Doesn't seem like ebay is too happinin?

I have a large collection of graphic novels and other comics, but I can't imagine any of them being worth a lot years from now. I know I can't keep them forever, but I'm not very good at letting go of things...

What about fire? That could solve your storage troubles :)

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Midge, you should keep your comics for your daughter man!

ozoneocean
What about fire? That could solve your storage troubles :)

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Midge, you should keep your comics for your daughter man!

I am out of fire wood...

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I just don't think Gwen would appreciate them.
You should see her with my other books and sketches.
Rips them apart like a hamster taking a dump.

I would never sell my beloved paper bundles.

NEVER.

My phase of half-assed comic books collecting was during the beginning of Image, so I have a bunch of Image #1's and early issues, etc. After 2-3 yrs, I got sick of comics of that era (artwise and storywise), and completely stopped caring. All the Image comics have zero sentimental value for me; they're just sitting there in their plastic, in boxes...

One day I'll get around to selling them. How much are early Image comics worth? Nothing, right? Early Image totally sucks.

mlai
My phase of half-assed comic books collecting was during the beginning of Image, so I have a bunch of Image #1's and early issues, etc. After 2-3 yrs, I got sick of comics of that era (artwise and storywise), and completely stopped caring. All the Image comics have zero sentimental value for me; they're just sitting there in their plastic, in boxes...

One day I'll get around to selling them. How much are early Image comics worth? Nothing, right? Early Image totally sucks.

surprisingly they have some value.
http://www.comicpriceguide.com/p-titles.asp
just use the drop down box to the comic puslisher to pull up all titles from that publisher.
It depends on the title of course.
Spawn one is valued at $10.00... yeah not much but still more then I originally paid. But same as you I have all those intial Image books, but alos a number of older Marvel and DC which book out higher.
Check out the link I sent.
Its just fun to check out the value even if not selling.
Still trying to figure what would be the best way to sell them though.