The 40th Edition of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is available online (compatible with both Mac and PC!). This guide has been dubbed the premier reference source for casual and die-hard collectors since 1970.

Don’t miss the opportunity to get a digital copy of this industry-standard book. I think you’ll find it very useful. You can get it all on your computer with just the click of a mouse. If you have a comic book collection or are thinking about starting one, you simply can’t do without this book! To order your copy, please follow the link below:

Get Your Instant Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide 40th Edition – Click Here!

The introduction to the price guide written by Robert Overstreet is a big departure from the state of the hobby today. In many ways it is an even more honest assessment of the accuracies and inaccuracies of the guide than you currently read. It was also fun to read his statements about how the condition of a comic book was starting to be important to pricing! The first edition (volume 1) presented prices for each issue in “Mint”,”Fine” and “Good” condition.

Want to see how far comic book values have come since 1970? Well, according to the guide you could pick up a copy of Action Comics #1 in “mint” for the low price of $300! Compare that to the Action Comics 1 sale earlier this year.

Want an X-men #1? How about $6 for a mint copy!

One side note about these old price guides. Just like old comic books, these price guides can be quite expensive and collectible themselves. Click on the link below to see some of the current going prices for the First Edition of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. Be careful, there is a first and second printing of Vol. 1.

Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 1

One tool I use and recommend is the Standard Catalog of Comic Books DVD.

The DVD contains information for over 180,000 comic books from the Golden Age to present. It includes series overviews, original cover price, artists, writers, major storylines, character appearances, a rough tally of CGC graded copies and some auction results.

I have the print edition but the large size makes it a little difficult to use. The DVD is a welcome addition and allows me to conduct research on the go.

Wizard’s Top 5 Over 5
Watchmen 1
New Mutants 98
New Mutants 87
GI Joe 155
Batman: The Killing Joke

Selected Hot 10
Spawn 185
Ultimatum 1 (McGuinness Variant)
GI Joe A New Beginning 0 (Templesmith variant)
Batman 681 (Daniel Variant)

I’m very concerned for anyone purchasing the modern comics as an “investment.” If you notice, most of the comics are variant covers. In my opinion, once again, this looks like a manufactured collectible. If you study the prices of newsstand comic books over the past few years, the variants are the “valuable” issues. I put valuable in quotations because the value is fleeting. I think you are play hot potato with these books. History has shown a quick rise and a sudden plunge in price. Personally, it’s a game I don’t play. Consider yourself warned.

If you’ve read any of my posts or articles online, you know I view “the guide” as a great informational resource, but as an actual price or value guide, it’s a mixed bag. For the novice it will give you some ballpark numbers as a starting point and will highlight which comics have a fighting chance at bringing in some real money. But when you get down to the nitty gritty of pricing – either for buying or selling – you really need to bring in some other sources.

I always start delving into the guide by reviewing the market reports. Even though most of them were written in August 2008 and are 7 months old, they still contain some good information. If nothing else, you are sure to find something entertaining (more on that later). I was very curious to see how the sour economy was affecting the hobby.

One of the first reports I read was from David J. Anderson, DDS. He is a longtime collector and unfortunately I’ve only spoken with him once several years ago. Based on his years of market reports, both in Overstreet and the now defunct Comic Book Marketplace, I’ve found his writing spot on and a good indication of reality in the market – something that can be missing from others. This year was no different. You can read his report on page 82 of the guide. I’ve been seeing the same things he mentions, desirable Gold and Silver, especially in high grade continue to bring high prices. He also points out another phenomenon I’ve written about, and that is the more common issues failing to reach even half of guide prices, while the in demand comic books bring over guide price.

This “too high” and “too low” pricing issue is something I’ve talked about at length and cover in the comic book values basic course and the values secrets guide. I’ve seen this problem cost people money on both sides. First, thinking your comics are worth more than the market will really support may cause a person to walk away from cash they will never be able to recover. I talk about this here. On the other hand, if you are going to sell a hot comic and haven’t done your research, you could very easily lose hundreds if not thousands of dollars if you blindly follow the guide.

The next interesting market report I found was by Matt Ballesteros. He has put together a lot of information about war comics. Talk about a lot of work! I’ll talk more about his work in the future, but because of my military flying background, this is a topic near and dear to me. Check it out if you pick up a copy of the guide (page 83). Awesome job Matt!

Now, on to the comedy.

I won’t mention names here, but I did get a good laugh from one of the reports. This comes up from time to time, and it never ceases to amaze me. Some folks just want to live in a fantasy land. They don’t seem to realize it is a price “guide” not the price “law.” The basic arguments I read are:

“XXXX comic doesn’t do well, it only sells at half guide.”
“E-bay is horrible, the comics I put on there only sell for less than half guide.”

and the other side of this, usually by the same dealers when they are working with sellers:

“They want too much for their comics. They don’t sell anywhere near that amount.”

Talk about throwing logic out the window. I don’t know why these dealers will swear by a price just because it’s in print. The reality is for these “slow moving comics” the half guide price is the real value in the market. Anyone with a computer and a brain can go online and pick these books up for “half guide” on E-bay or many other sites. Just because it is selling for half of what one guide says it should doesn’t make it a “bargain.” It’s called reality! The Internet and E-bay have created a new collectible pricing paradigm. You can’t fight it, you need to join in and figure it out.

What’s even more perplexing is the same dealers chastise sellers for hoping to get a reasonable amount for their comics. The dealer tells them the guide is wrong and he/she can’t sell the comics for anywhere near that price. Yet just moments ago the same person was lamenting how wrong the world was because they are only getting half guide when they sell. It’s comical!

If you pick up the guide, I recommend you read through the market reports. You’ll find some valuable information and you may even get some good comedy!

Have fun!

Now you can access the latest comic book prices and values instantly, right at your computer.

Be the first on your block to have the newest edition before the print guide hits the stands!

This latest digital release is compatible with both the PC and the Mac!

The “Guide” Includes:
- Values for virtually every comic book ever published
- The latest comic book market reports
- Grading Standards
- The Hottest and Most Valuable Gold, Silver, Bronze and Modern Age Comic Books
- Plus much, much more (over 1000 pages worth!!!)

Click Here for the Latest Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide

Happy Collecting!

Would you like to know the insider secrets about the comic book price guide (you know, the stuff the dealers don’t want revealed)?

If so the newly update Comic Book Values and Price Guide Secrets Crash Course is online and ready for you. You can view it by clicking on the following link: Free Comic Book Value and Price Guide Crash Course

The course and special report (a $9.95 value) shows you step-by-step with videos, scans and more:

- How to accurately describe your comic books
- A crash course on grading and the big “gotchas” most people miss
- Free insider sources to find the accurate, up-to-date values of your comic books
- The 3 “Dirty Little Secrets” about the comic book price guide
- Plus a lot more (and full access to the Member’s Only website)

The course is newly updated and expanded so check it out!

Comic Book Values Crash Course

The company gathers actual sales data of CGC graded comic books from E-bay, auction houses and trusted sellers. You can then search through their records (going back to 2002) for any comic. You’ll see sales prices highs, lows, trends, and more. It’s an amazing product and is very reasonable priced. If you are a serious collector I say it is a must have. If you are just looking to do a one time sell of a lot of comic books I still recommend it – you can cancel the service at anytime. I’m a fan because you’re not getting opinions about comic prices, you’re getting actual sales data.

The best part about GPAnalysis is they just announced a mobile service! You can access this product from an iphone or any other mobile capable browser. Talk about a great tool! You’ll no longer have to wonder about CGC pricing data at conventions and stores, you can instantly access it from your smartphone!

If you are interested in the service visit their website at GPAnalysis.com

Greg Holland has operated a Valiant fan site for almost 10 years and the current selling prices for certain issues is enlightening. Check it out!

Valiant Comic Book Prices

You can visit the pages below:

Comic Book Price Guide

Comic Book Values

I am going to discuss some other ways to support your comic book collecting habits over the next month or so with some very detailed information in the newsletter. Squidoo is just one place where you can use some of the tactics.