Comic book price guides are publications, generally released monthly, quarterly, or yearly, that detail the changes in the resale value of a comic over a period of time. Price guides are used by collectors looking to sell their collection or determine their collection’s worth for insurance purposes. They are also resources for collectors and enthusiasts seeking information on topics such as storylines, writers and artists, or the original cover price of a comic.

Each collector will have his or her own preference regarding which authority to follow, but popular and respected guides have included The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, Comics Buyer's Guide magazine, Wizard Magazine, the Comics Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books, and Human Computing’s ComicBase, an inventory/databasing software program. Popular online price guides include comicbookrealm.com (free), ComicsPriceGuide.com (free and paid services), RarityGuide (free and paid), and GPAnalysis.com specifically for CGC (certified) Comics (paid).

Long-standing publications include Overstreet, which has been running for over 35 years, or the more recent Standard Catalog of Comic Books. Grand Comics Database and comicbookrealm.com allow users to search for characters by appearances and deaths. The Big Comic Book DataBase combines a searchable database of per issue character and creator information and a linked price guide.

Online platforms like the Grand Comics Database, comicbookrealm.com and Collectionary 4Comics provide users with rapid access to character appearances and deaths. Additionally, the Big Comic Book Database merges a searchable database featuring character and creator details per issue with a linked price guide, offering a comprehensive resource for enthusiasts.

The advent of certification enabled increased liquidity of comic books by removing disputes over grading and by disclosing restoration, and accelerated sales of comic books through online auction sites such as eBay or Heritage Auction Galleries. Certification is also valued by some comic price guide providers, as certification leaves the perception of removing the uncertainty about the actual grade of the comic book being sold, although, because books that are certified are graded by numerous different individuals, the dependability of these services is not universally agreed upon. Individual and/or aggregated reports of certified comic book sales are available online.

History

Beginning in the early 1960s comics collectors (who often traded and sold to each other) were growing in number, and the number of comics dealers began to increase as well. This expansion was accompanied by an increase in the number of comics dealers operating within the industry. In 1965, Michael Cohen and Tom Horsky published what is considered the first comics price guide, the one-shot digest The Argosy Price Guide (specifically for Hollywood, California's, Argosy Book Shop).

Comic back-issue prices had stabilized by the end of the 1960s. Overstreet's guide instantly became an invaluable resource tool for comic book collectors. is generally included in a comic book pricing guide. A copy that falls between grades may be noted with a <math>+</math> or a <math>-</math> symbol. These terms are as follows:

{| border=1

|style="background:silver" | Grade||style="background:silver" | Abbreviation

|-

|Mint||MT or M

|-nb

|Near Mint||NM

|-

|Very Fine||VF

|-

|Fine||FN

|-

|Very Good||VG

|-

|Good||GD or G

|-

|Fair||FR

|-

|Poor||PR

|-

|}

Notable price guides

Printed guides

  • The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
  • Comics Buyer's Guide
  • Comics Values Monthly (Defunct)
  • Standard Catalog of Comic Books
  • Wizard: The Guide to Comics (Defunct)
  • British Comics, Story Papers, Picture Libraries, Girls Papers, American Reprints, Facsmilies, Giveaways Price Guide (1982)

Online guides

  • ComicBase
  • Comics Price Guide
  • Covrprice
  • GP Analysis for CGC-graded Comics
  • Nostomania
  • Overstreet Access
  • Quality Comix
  • Sell My Comic Books
  • Zap-Kapow Comics

Mobile app guides

  • Collectionary 4Comics

See also

  • Direct market
  • Comic book collecting

References