Locating a comic book buyer near you who will offer a fair valuation and a positive process that suits your goals as a comic collection owner requires a bit of research. The first step is to establish your goals for the collection: are you looking to sell, get a valuation or explore your options? Once you have a clear sense of what you are trying to accomplish, then you can narrow down the options for finding the right comic book buyer based on your goals. This guide provides an overview of the various options, how to locate buyers locally and also how to compare your options. If you are interested in a discussing any of these options or getting a valuation from North Comics, please complete the request form below:
Local Comic Book Conventions
One potential way to find a local buyer near you for comic books is to find a local comic convention near you. These local shows provide a way to interact with a wide variety of potential comic buyers, as well as a way to get a better sense of the comic market for different types of books from vintage to modern comics. Many states host larger regional comic shows such as Heroes Con in North Carolina, Wonder Con in Los Angeles and C2E2 in Chicago. Locate an upcoming convention close to your area, and also consider smaller comic swap meets that provide an opportunity to meet other collectors.
Local Comic Book Stores
Most areas have a local comic book store nearby which can help make a potential offer. While you are at a local comic store, you may want to pick up the 2023 Overstreet Price Guide to get a better sense of fair market values for your comics. The Overstreet Guide provides values for most vintage and modern comics in a variety of grades. Fair offers on vintage comics (1970s and earlier) provide values close to those values, so make sure that the comic book store offers you a fair value. For modern comics (1990s or newer) the fair market value may be slightly different since they are much more common. Since most cities have multiple comic stores, make sure you get different offers to compare and see where you can get the most value.
Participate in a Local Book Fair
Participating in local book fair which are hosted annually in different parts of the country can provide a way to connect with local buyers. At these book fairs, you can find a variety of vintage books, comics, pulps and ephemera. One example is the Portland Book Fair which is help annually. This can be a good way to network with a variety of different buyers. In addition to that, if your area doesn’t have a book fair, you might want to consider local weekend markets which you can find in your area. These markets offer vendors with a wide variety of items, so make sure you prepare a selection of books that are suited to the buyers. Visiting the fairs or markets ahead of time can help give you a better sense of what to bring.