WHERE
TO BUY
COMIC BOOKS
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There
are a lot of great places and resources available to
purchase comic books for your collection.
Whether you’re beginning to collect or have been collecting
for years I can provide you information on places and
resources I know of to help you or someone you know on where
to buy.
Whether looking for old comics or new comics, I always
recommend first to try your local comic book stores as well
as local comic book shows and conventions.
Here
you’ll be able to examine the issues from front cover to
back cover and everywhere in between in person. You’ll have
the ability to negotiate with the seller more freely than in
any other place. The time and effort involved in evaluating
issues in person is much more efficient for you than in any
other place.
However there are times when your local sources may not
yield any of the issues or the conditions you’re looking for
and you need to look elsewhere.
Old Comic Books
If
you’re in the market for older comics (typically 1969 and
earlier) I have found many sources that I have used a few
times over the years that can provide you with a wide
selection and good customer service.
I have purchased from many mail-order dealers since the late
1970s which most are now selling on the internet and are
still some of the largest in the hobby.
If you’ve purchased from some of them, you may have a
different experience than me. The fact that I have
purchased from them multiple times gives me a better
perspective than purchasing from them once. I would not
recommend them to you unless I have had favorable
transactions.
Here are some of my recommended sources:
Harley Yee Comics who has been in the comic book business
for closed to 25 years is someone I have used for quite some
time when purchasing older comic books.
He’s an active Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide advisor.
I’ve known Harley since 1989 and have purchased many issues
from him. He sets up at different comic conventions all
over the world and also sells on his web site and Ebay. He
regularly stocks DC and Marvels from the silver age (1960s)
and golden age (1940s) and issues from many of the golden
age publishers. You can always leave him a list of issues
that you’re looking for and he will get back to you once
he’s able to acquire them. This of course does take time as
older issues are difficult to find with each passing year.
Redbeard’s Book Den is owned and operated by Ron Pussell who
has been one of the longest running advisors to the
Overstreet Price Guide. I always find Ron’s grading of
issues to be dead on and usually above my expectations. Ron
carries a variety of issues from different eras and does
stock both golden age and silver age comics and issues up to
about the early to mid-1980s. He operates his own web site
and often sells on Ebay.
Steve Sibra’s Vintage Comic Books Etc. is another good
source for older material. I’ve known Steve since 1989 and
he regularly sets up at local shows, but if you’re not in
the Seattle area then you can find him on Ebay going by the
user id of Herm2pipes. Steve’s prices are fair and his
grading accurate.
Fantasy Comics has been a great source for older issues as
well as issues from recent years. I find their issues in
better than listed condition. His prices are more than
fair. I think you will be pleased with the issues he has.
He is also an Overstreet advisor.
Superworld Comics owned and operated by Ted Van Liew is also
an Overstreet advisor and is someone I recommend you look
into when in the market for purchasing older issues. I’ve
purchased a lot of books from Ted over the years and his
issues are in fine condition and packaged extremely well
with just about every issue contained in a mylar sleeve and
backing board regardless of the value. Superworld sells
issues on their web site and on Ebay as well as at comic
book shows nationally.
Gary Dolgoff Comics is a wonderful source if you’re looking
to put together a large run of older issues and issues of
recent years. He often puts large runs and small runs and
lots on Ebay and on his web site. Sending him an email or
calling him to put in your request is another option in case
he needs to put something together especially for you. I
have found his grading to be very good.
Motor
City Comics owned and operated by Michal Goldman has been a
good source of silver age and golden age books whose issues’
condition has been mostly outstanding. I have purchased
quite a few issues from him over the years and suggest you
check him out. He is an Overstreet advisor. He sells via
their web site and on Ebay and at comic book shows
nationally.
mycomicshop which started out back in the 60s as Lone Star
Comics has been a great source for me as
I was tracking down issues to fill in some of my holes
and find their grading to be spot on.
They have a very large inventory with various grades
available which gives collectors multiple choices.
They stock just about every title imaginable and graphic
novels and hardcover and trade paperbacks. You will
also find that they stock original art.
I have provided various links on my site to their site with
specific inventory listings. Check them out.
FYI-if you’re buying
any issue from mycomicshop that is less than $10, I would
suggest you pay the extra small
fee to have the issue bagged and boarded. They process so
many issues on a daily basis they do not always bag and
board every issue - only ones that are $10 or more.
They place a stack of issues that you order in a
shrink-wrapped bundle. This may annoy some, but since I
usually want every issue to be in outstanding condition I
will pay the extra small fee to have every issue packaged
individually. They sell on their web site which you
can access by clicking
here and on Ebay.
Mile High Comics is similar to Mycomicshop in that they try
to stock just about every issue imaginable. Their inventory
of older issues usually are in multiple grades so if you are
looking for not the best grades to find an attractive price,
you may want to scan their web site. I have found some
great books to add to my collection from them. They sell on
Ebay too.
ComicLink is one of the largest sellers of CGC certified
books. Their web site is filled with a wide variety of
books based on an auction-like format with a stock market
feel. When perusing through, you will see an ask price that
a seller who has posted a given book has listed. As a
potential buyer you can decide whether or not you want to
submit the ask price and purchase it outright or engage in
submitting a bid hoping that the seller decides to lower his
price to match your bid. They also have monthly auctions
which you cannot purchase outright and have to compete with
other bidders during the designated time period set for the
auctions to run. I have purchased a few books from them
either in auction format or their regular method and have
received them all books safely. You will probably not find
any other centralized source for this amount of CGC books.
Ebay in general is a great source for old comic books.
You can find a lot of issues there that you cannot find in
any other single place at one time. There are so many
sellers listing issues every single minute. You can
get some great deals at very affordable prices that you
cannot get in any other venue. The only caveat is
condition and knowledge of the seller. I have observed
and experienced quite a few who list items that have no
experience about the books they're trying to sell.
They don't know grading standards and clearly admit that in
their listings. When you ask questions about the
issues' condition, they often either don't reply or the
response you get is unclear and unsatisfactory.
My experience has been about 50/50 when it comes to being
satisfied with my transactions there. My
recommendation is if you look at any old comic book listings
on Ebay to be sure to ask questions until you feel confident
in the issues and the seller. If you do not feel
comfortable at any point, then do not submit a bid or
purchase outright using the buy now feature if it is
available. A photoscan of a book (front and/or back)
can only show you so much. A detailed description is
absolutely necessary. You need to come away with any
communication 100% confident that you know what it is you're
viewing. You will be saving yourself a lot of
disappointment.
New
Comic Books
As noted
before I would prefer to pick up newer issues and back
issues of recent years locally whether at the various comic
book stores in my area or at a comic book convention.
This is always my recommendation to you too.
You will get the opportunity to see all of the newly issued
comics on a weekly basis - every Wednesday at your local
store as well as the previous weeks’ offerings.
You will have the chance to browse through the back issue
stock at your local store.
There’s no other more efficient way nor practical way to
view that many issues in one visit than in person at your
local store.
Comic book conventions in your area which occur every other
month or in most cases quarterly is another avenue for you
locally to acquire newer issues.
Sometimes these sources may not have what you’re looking
for. Sometimes local stores may not even carry back issues
of recent years as some are downsizing and some have
eliminated back issue stock altogether in order to make room
for other merchandise like toys, trade paperbacks, graphic
novels, t-shirts, etc.
When that occurs, there are other sources online that you
can use to find newer material which also includes collected
reprint books (both hard cover and soft cover) and graphic
novels.
Mycomicshop which I listed up above is a great source for
newer material. If you’ve missed out on some issues in
recent months or missed out on some trade paperbacks or
other newer items, they can fulfill your search. Looking
for issues from say 10 years ago, they can help you there
too.
They market items on their web site and on Ebay so you
should be able to find them in addition I have a link
directly to their web site on my site. My experience with
them as been very positive and I will continue to use them
for other items that I missed out on.
Mile High Comics as noted before is similar to Mycomicshop
in that they try to stock just about every issue
imaginable. They also sell on Ebay too. I use them as one
my sources for items that I missed out on in recent years.
I find
Fantasy Comics carries recent material as well. This is
usually the result of acquiring collections which includes
some of these issues and their grading has been outstanding.
One of the long-time comic book preservationist supplier is
also a seller of recent issues and somewhat older material.
Bill Cole Enterprises has been selling these types of issues
on Ebay and I found his grading to be fair and accurate.
Ebay in general is a great source for newer comic books.
You can find a lot of issues there at some great prices that
you cannot find in any other place. I find that collected
reprinted books in trade paperback or hard covers are
discounted on Ebay more than my local stores. I cannot find
them either at my local comic shows at the prices that I can
find on Ebay.
If you’re into collecting reprinted books, then there is a
large amount of sellers there that can provide you this
material at great discounts.
I don’t know that buying newer comic books is cost-effective
on Ebay unless you’re looking to acquire lots of issues or
runs of issues-say 10 or 15 issues at a time minimum. The
cost involved with shipping to buy any new comic book by
itself is just not worth it. Let’s say you’re looking at 1
or 2 issues which may be .99 cents each, but when you add in
shipping it now totals over $7 or more.
New comic books on average are $2.99 so you can see the
logic here. I’m sure you can find some listings where it’ll
be better, but for the most part this is not the case. If
you happen to live in an area where there are no comic
stores or shows, then buying them online would be your only
choice and I recommend the above sources before I would
suggest looking at Ebay.
Hopefully I’ve given you some guidance on where to buy and
what to look out for. There are so many other sources that
are available to collectors everywhere, but I want to
provide you ones that I personally have gone through
multiple times which have been very positive.
Happy Collecting!!!
Johnson's Collectibles
