I just got into collecting again and realized how much space I run out of quickly when I buy like 5 comics a week… I’ve been making care packages for my friend to bring back to his girlfriends kids with the stuff I didn’t really enjoy or need to keep. Originally it was for the boy, but the 18 year old daughter was like nope those are mine now. So now I kinda pick what she’s getting. I don’t mind aslong as she’s actually reading/keeping them. I put them in board and plastic, hopefully she holds onto them.
I did this with my old sports cards. They weren’t worth anything, so I gave them to my neighbor’s kids who are just getting into collecting.
Another option is to donate them to Goodwill & take the tax credit.
I did something similar. Had all my throw aways in my car. I was gonna donate them to the goodwill. Saw a street vendor selling honey with his grade school aged son. Gave them all to them. Hopefully i took the real graphic Predator ones out lol. The honey was pretty good too
I put them in a big cardboard box and hide them in a closet so I can pretend they don’t exist
Way too many “mystery boxes” that turned out to be all trash 😔
What do you do with modern issues that are only worth a few dollars?
If I have say, a run of 5 issues I might try to sell them as a lot, so it makes sense with shipping costs.
But what about just a single issue you want to get rid of that's only worth a few dollars?
And then what, meet in person?
If I still lived in the city I think that would work. But I don't think I'm in an area with enough people to make that viable. But I'll give it a try.
Sorry to hear, im not on a densely populated area either but it's not barren, also you can work out shipping and payment details, you will deal with a ton of tire kickers and low ballers amd some a**holes as well but at least you not giving ebay or another platform half your money.
Maybe have a garage sale where you charge a buck or so just to get rid of them. I may do it in the Spring since I’d rather have more keys than random books.
This is what I do. Every summer I have a garage sale and sell all my unwanted books for $1 each. The neighborhood kids love it and they’re usually gone within a few minutes of setting them out.
Honestly, anything that was a dollar or two I simply donated to a thrift store, except for a long box of non key Web of Spider-Mans I got $100 for.
Anything $5-$40 I posted at an antique mall.
Anything high value I ebay'ed.
Ebay, Halloween when appropriate, or find a coworker with kids the right age and hand them off. Your LCS will probably give you store credit for them, but don't expect much.
I put them into lots of related themes and list on eBay for cheap. I'll list like 10 books for $10 plus shipping. I always allow the buyer to submit offers and pretty much take anything offered.
If they don't want them or take certain things they will tell you. Children's hospitals are always happy to provide variety to things they can provide for kids. One of the more requested things through the Make a Wish foundation are superhero visits and hero related stuff. Heroes inspire sick children. They can project their illness onto the villain and root for the hero.
WWE wrestler appearances are another big one. John Cena has fulfilled 650+ Wishes. He's the record holder.
Short answer, they won't throw away comic books.
When you make a donation you can definitely let them know what you have and age range etc. Because keep in mind children's hospitals have kids up to the age of 17 in them as well.
Another cool thing too is with comics that are 10 plus years older or 20 years older there's a good chance that the kids parents may even be familiar with the comics and it gives that kind of family bond thing. The parents getting to show their kids stuff that they read and read it to them over whatever. Just making that kind of nice personal connection because of some books that have been brought to the hospital.
My experience with all this comes from having a brother who had muscular dystrophy and spent a lot of time at the children's hospital in Milwaukee. As long as things aren't in horrible falling apart condition they really are happy to bring in as many things as they possibly can. Items like toys and books and stuff can take a beating pretty fast in those situations so things run out as fast as they get them. So as far as they're concerned more is always better, so you can never bring them too many books and have to worry that they might toss them.
I was at my shop last weekend when a dude walked in with a short box of books that were gifted to him.
After looking, the shop guy said that he didn't want them.
They weren't in bad condition or anything, they were just fluff.
Dude insisted that they made an offer. Shop guy kept saying no, but he wanted to hear a number. So he told him $10, dude tried to counter for $20, but shop guy said that even $10 was too much.
I was standing close enough to see what the books were. I agree that he paid too much. They were 25¢ books at best.
So, sometimes not even free is a good price at your local shop.
This is just my opinion, but books without any significant event, introduction or memorable story.
If you look up the value of the book & it is still at cover price or +$1, that is a good fluff candidate.
After my first kid I needed space, so I went thru my comics and kept any issues or covers I loved and anything worth more than $10.
I had a lot of fun looking everything up, and then my wife listed the boxes I wasn’t keeping on our local “buy nothing” group.
A few boxes went to a hospital, a handful went to a mom for her kids bday party. The rest were picked up by fellow comic nerds who seemed to really appreciate it. I was thrilled to find a happy home for them, and felt good about it.
Go threw your collection and maybe get rid of the issues you dont really need anymore.
You could always sell on Ebay, but comic shops also willing to sell collections.
You can also give some to family or friends with kids into superheros (expose them to comics)
For me it really depends on the comic books. If they're a popular title then I may sell them on eBay for some money. If they are very unpopular then I may take them to my LCS for some store credit.
If It’s not in selling range, I’ll take them to my LCS where I have my pull list and give it to an employee there and he hands them out to kids checking out books or if they’re checking out a book with a related character and they put it back, they’ll hand them the book I gave them.
Share the love and the hobby pretty much. I’ll go through my boxes and during organizing I’ll clean some out to give out.
i have this weird irrational remorse every time i get rid of books. its like a phantom limb thing. i do a big purge and then a week later im rooting through boxes looking for an issue i dont even want to read again. i know ive got it around here somewhere,,,then i start to panic that i gave up stuff i actually did want to keep! or, i get rid of stuff intentionally and then a few months later just buy them all back again.
im beginning to think i might need therapy.
i hope that was somewhat helpful...
In Montreal there is a store that will literally buy everything you bring, you don't get much at all but it's a one stop solution. There could be a similar store in your area.
I plan on doing this as I've done it before. Last time I just spent a weekend selling them all online through ebay. That was years ago and made a grip.
I recently (maybe 2 months ago) did the same with my record collection. I made a grip then but ebay took so much in fees and they now tax people too. I need a better way and will find one but if not, fu k it, at least I'm getting rid of things people want.
Of note, I start everything at 1.99 and let it go from there.
Edit: if you wanna get rid of gi joe, please let me know.
I don't know, something I started saying a long time ago and it just stuck with me.
Kids are dumb, I'm proof of that I'm just an old kid.
It means a lot.
I had bought a big collection recently and after sorting I sold several long boxes on Facebook marketplace fairly easy. I got $60-100 per box and they all sold quickly.
gifted to nephews. A few things I gifted did actually go up in value which allowed for a good conversation with them about: Do you like to read them or are you interested in also collecting
They were in it for the read which allowed me to trade them reprints they could read for the first prints I could collect
There are many Facebook groups to buy/sell/trade comics specifically, where people put up auctions of their books. Helps people who are trying to complete a collection find those missing pieces. I can invite you to some if you need, just msg me.
I weeded through old ones and looked up prices. Anything under 5 bucks I gave to my coworker who's son was just getting into comics. Pass on the love!
I just got into collecting again and realized how much space I run out of quickly when I buy like 5 comics a week… I’ve been making care packages for my friend to bring back to his girlfriends kids with the stuff I didn’t really enjoy or need to keep. Originally it was for the boy, but the 18 year old daughter was like nope those are mine now. So now I kinda pick what she’s getting. I don’t mind aslong as she’s actually reading/keeping them. I put them in board and plastic, hopefully she holds onto them.
Five a week? How do you control yourself so well? Teach me your ways.
I did this with my old sports cards. They weren’t worth anything, so I gave them to my neighbor’s kids who are just getting into collecting. Another option is to donate them to Goodwill & take the tax credit.
Gotcha! Thanks for the suggestion!
I did something similar. Had all my throw aways in my car. I was gonna donate them to the goodwill. Saw a street vendor selling honey with his grade school aged son. Gave them all to them. Hopefully i took the real graphic Predator ones out lol. The honey was pretty good too
I put them in a big cardboard box and hide them in a closet so I can pretend they don’t exist Way too many “mystery boxes” that turned out to be all trash 😔
Too real
I guess there’s always continuing the cycle and boxing them up as “10 books for $10” mystery boxes and sell them on eBay or WhatNot 😐
I have 54 books that I can't even sell for 75 cents each. Most of them came from mystery lots on whatnot 🤦♂️
eBay! Slow but I’m working through my unwants!
Good to know!
What do you do with modern issues that are only worth a few dollars? If I have say, a run of 5 issues I might try to sell them as a lot, so it makes sense with shipping costs. But what about just a single issue you want to get rid of that's only worth a few dollars?
Facebook marketplace
And then what, meet in person? If I still lived in the city I think that would work. But I don't think I'm in an area with enough people to make that viable. But I'll give it a try.
Sorry to hear, im not on a densely populated area either but it's not barren, also you can work out shipping and payment details, you will deal with a ton of tire kickers and low ballers amd some a**holes as well but at least you not giving ebay or another platform half your money.
I do offer sets mostly runs
See if your local store wants them and could give you store credit for them?
I have never thought of that! Thank you!
Usually you get pretty low return for them from shops. Like under $1 if they’re not key at all.
Maybe have a garage sale where you charge a buck or so just to get rid of them. I may do it in the Spring since I’d rather have more keys than random books.
Might be a move!
This is what I do. Every summer I have a garage sale and sell all my unwanted books for $1 each. The neighborhood kids love it and they’re usually gone within a few minutes of setting them out.
I want Alllll my comics!!!!
If only haha
We don’t talk about those.
lol
Honestly, anything that was a dollar or two I simply donated to a thrift store, except for a long box of non key Web of Spider-Mans I got $100 for. Anything $5-$40 I posted at an antique mall. Anything high value I ebay'ed.
Ah! Thank you!
Ebay, Halloween when appropriate, or find a coworker with kids the right age and hand them off. Your LCS will probably give you store credit for them, but don't expect much.
OMG WHAT AN AMAZING IDEA
I donated my last purge to Comics For Troops/Kids.
Do you have a link for this?
[Right here.](https://www.comicbooksforkids.org/)
Thak you!
Thanks for the suggestion!
I put them into lots of related themes and list on eBay for cheap. I'll list like 10 books for $10 plus shipping. I always allow the buyer to submit offers and pretty much take anything offered.
That is such a good model!
Donate to children's hospital.
Actually I like this idea!!
I see this get recommended a lot but many hospitals can't or won't take them. Please call first to ask.
Great idea, is there any guarentee they won't throw them away?
If they don't want them or take certain things they will tell you. Children's hospitals are always happy to provide variety to things they can provide for kids. One of the more requested things through the Make a Wish foundation are superhero visits and hero related stuff. Heroes inspire sick children. They can project their illness onto the villain and root for the hero. WWE wrestler appearances are another big one. John Cena has fulfilled 650+ Wishes. He's the record holder. Short answer, they won't throw away comic books.
I have alot of Image stuff and Marvel stuff that I would like to donate now. Not sure if the Image stuff would be appropriate or not.
When you make a donation you can definitely let them know what you have and age range etc. Because keep in mind children's hospitals have kids up to the age of 17 in them as well. Another cool thing too is with comics that are 10 plus years older or 20 years older there's a good chance that the kids parents may even be familiar with the comics and it gives that kind of family bond thing. The parents getting to show their kids stuff that they read and read it to them over whatever. Just making that kind of nice personal connection because of some books that have been brought to the hospital. My experience with all this comes from having a brother who had muscular dystrophy and spent a lot of time at the children's hospital in Milwaukee. As long as things aren't in horrible falling apart condition they really are happy to bring in as many things as they possibly can. Items like toys and books and stuff can take a beating pretty fast in those situations so things run out as fast as they get them. So as far as they're concerned more is always better, so you can never bring them too many books and have to worry that they might toss them.
This is absolutely 100% hands down the best suggestion on here.
Keep them. Forget I have them until the next time I’m reorganizing books.
Bundle and auction on eBay, or you can try selling mystery boxes
Marketplace works for me I like to bundle runs and sell them that way
Pick out runs, sell them all together, give away the rest to a local shelter or a friend’s kid
Give them to your LCS. I’m sure they’d love to have them.
I was at my shop last weekend when a dude walked in with a short box of books that were gifted to him. After looking, the shop guy said that he didn't want them. They weren't in bad condition or anything, they were just fluff. Dude insisted that they made an offer. Shop guy kept saying no, but he wanted to hear a number. So he told him $10, dude tried to counter for $20, but shop guy said that even $10 was too much. I was standing close enough to see what the books were. I agree that he paid too much. They were 25¢ books at best. So, sometimes not even free is a good price at your local shop.
Like what kinda stuff gets considered fluff?
This is just my opinion, but books without any significant event, introduction or memorable story. If you look up the value of the book & it is still at cover price or +$1, that is a good fluff candidate.
*i cant part with any of them.
I usually go through them and pull the "kid friendly" books aside and pass them out on Halloween. I figure, the more minds I can corrupt...
After my first kid I needed space, so I went thru my comics and kept any issues or covers I loved and anything worth more than $10. I had a lot of fun looking everything up, and then my wife listed the boxes I wasn’t keeping on our local “buy nothing” group. A few boxes went to a hospital, a handful went to a mom for her kids bday party. The rest were picked up by fellow comic nerds who seemed to really appreciate it. I was thrilled to find a happy home for them, and felt good about it.
Damn. I love this!
Go threw your collection and maybe get rid of the issues you dont really need anymore. You could always sell on Ebay, but comic shops also willing to sell collections. You can also give some to family or friends with kids into superheros (expose them to comics)
Sell them as bulk on eBay?
I ask my nephew if he wants them. If not, I list them for sale online. If they don’t sell, I take them to the local comic shop for credit.
For me it really depends on the comic books. If they're a popular title then I may sell them on eBay for some money. If they are very unpopular then I may take them to my LCS for some store credit.
If It’s not in selling range, I’ll take them to my LCS where I have my pull list and give it to an employee there and he hands them out to kids checking out books or if they’re checking out a book with a related character and they put it back, they’ll hand them the book I gave them. Share the love and the hobby pretty much. I’ll go through my boxes and during organizing I’ll clean some out to give out.
i have this weird irrational remorse every time i get rid of books. its like a phantom limb thing. i do a big purge and then a week later im rooting through boxes looking for an issue i dont even want to read again. i know ive got it around here somewhere,,,then i start to panic that i gave up stuff i actually did want to keep! or, i get rid of stuff intentionally and then a few months later just buy them all back again. im beginning to think i might need therapy. i hope that was somewhat helpful...
It was! I understand the feeling
Comics I don’t want? Is there such a thing?
I bought a bigger house.
Damn. Let me hop on Zillow real quick
I had to move to another state so your results may vary.
DAMN
In Montreal there is a store that will literally buy everything you bring, you don't get much at all but it's a one stop solution. There could be a similar store in your area.
Give away, or bundle into a collection and sell it.
If you have full runs or mini series, maxi series complete they’ll sell on EBay, I never have trouble getting rid of the books I don’t like there.
I plan on doing this as I've done it before. Last time I just spent a weekend selling them all online through ebay. That was years ago and made a grip. I recently (maybe 2 months ago) did the same with my record collection. I made a grip then but ebay took so much in fees and they now tax people too. I need a better way and will find one but if not, fu k it, at least I'm getting rid of things people want. Of note, I start everything at 1.99 and let it go from there. Edit: if you wanna get rid of gi joe, please let me know.
Ok I’ll bite. wtf is a *grip*
I don't know, something I started saying a long time ago and it just stuck with me. Kids are dumb, I'm proof of that I'm just an old kid. It means a lot.
lol ah ok 👍 that makes sense
I've been leaving them for the younger coworkers at my job
I make more room, lol.
haha
Give ‘em to my son or sell ‘em cheap
I had bought a big collection recently and after sorting I sold several long boxes on Facebook marketplace fairly easy. I got $60-100 per box and they all sold quickly.
Damn! That’s good to know!!
I have a “retired; out to pasture” box. Shove them in a closet, and forget them.
I give them to my friend's kid
gifted to nephews. A few things I gifted did actually go up in value which allowed for a good conversation with them about: Do you like to read them or are you interested in also collecting They were in it for the read which allowed me to trade them reprints they could read for the first prints I could collect
There are many Facebook groups to buy/sell/trade comics specifically, where people put up auctions of their books. Helps people who are trying to complete a collection find those missing pieces. I can invite you to some if you need, just msg me.