MINT (MT) Near perfect in every way. Only the most subtle bindery or printing
defects are allowed. Cover is flat with no surface wear. Cover inks
are bright with high reflectivity and minimal fading. Corners are cut
square and sharp. Staples are generally centered and clean with no
rust. Cover is generally centered and firmly secured to interior pages.
Paper is supple and fresh. Spine is tight and flat. Yes, comics in
this grade do exist, but they are extremely rare for one simple reason
- this is the most subjective of all the grades. What qualifies as
Mint to one person may have a small, almost unnoticeable flaw that
downgrades it to Near Mint for someone else. Your typical comic in
the pull file or on the newsstand is _not_ in mint condition, but is
instead in near mint condition because of these extremely minor flaws

I put none of my books in the mint category, although many qualify.

NEAR MINT (NM (9.4), NM+, NM/MT) Nearly perfect. Cover is flat with no surface wear.

Cover inks are
bright with high reflectivity and with a minimum of fading. Corners
are cut square and sharp with ever so slight blunting permitted.
Staples are generally centered and clean with no rust. Cover is well
centered and firmly secured to interior pages. Paper is supple and
like new. Spine is tight and flat.

VERY FINE (VF (8.0), VF+, VF/NM (9.0)) An excellent copy with outstanding eye appeal. Sharp, bright and
clean with supple pages. Pages and covers can be yellowish/tanning
(at the most) but not brown and will usually be off-white to white.
Light spine wear is permissible. Most comics from the past ten years
or so that have been well taken care of will fall somewhere is this
category.

FINE (FN (6.0), FN+, FN/VF) An exceptional, above average copy that shows minor wear but still
relatively flat, clean and glossy with no subscription crease or brown
margins. Typical defects include: light spine wear, minor surface
wear, a light crease, minor yellowing/tanning to interior pages.
Compared to a VF, cover inks are beginning to show a significant
reduction in reflectivity but is till highly collectable and desirable.

VERY GOOD (VG (4.0), VG+, VG/FN) The average used comic book, that has not been taken care of by proper
handling and bag & boarding, most commonly found. The comic shows
moderate wear but eye appeal has not been reduced to the point that it
is not desirable. One or two minor markings on the cover or minor
spine roll are allowed. Lightly creased along spine or extremities,
subscription crease, loose centerfold, or minor chip or piece missing
allowed.

GOOD (GD (2.0), GD+, GD/VG) This comic has all pages and covers, although there may be small rips
or tears. Commonly creased, scuffed, abraded, and soiled, but books
in this grade are completely readable. Paper quality is low, but not
brittle.

FAIR (FR) Very heavily read and soiled, but still complete. Damaged beyond
being collectable for most collectors, brings 30 to 50 percent of the
good price.

POOR (PR) Sufficiently degraded so as to have little or no collector value.
Often severely stained, abraded, defaced, or damaged beyond
readability.

Collecting Comics 

The best advice for collecting comics is to collect what you like. Although, like everything else comic prices have gone way up comics are not the best investment, unless you have a high grade key issues. So, collect what you love & if it goes up in value great. If it does not go up in value that is ok too.

Collecting as an investment

Collecting comics can be a good investment, but like anything you must know the down side. Okay, say I buy a comic for $100 & it goes up to a $150. The problem is, that you must sell it for $150 to realize the $50 profit. To do this you must find someone that will pay you $150. Like my Dad says, "It is only worth what someone will pay you for it.". For example, I bought Showcase #34 for $20 in 1990. It was worth about $100 at that time. It is now worth about $1000. In order to sell it I might have to sell it for $500. Okay, this is an up side. High grade key issues always do well. Anyway, I have Showcase #34 priced at $1300 (much too high, please do not buy it.). I think I will raise it to $1500 when the new price guide comes out. Back to the down side. I had to spend a year building a web site to have a place to sell it. This is not completely true see Selling Comics

Get the highest grade possible. Although, you can get a good comic for one tenth of what it would cost for a near mint comic, the higher the grade, the more comic is sought after.

Learn as much as you can about your hobby. Like anything else knowledge is power. The best resource for comic books is The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide

How I started collecting.

When I was about ten years old, my Uncle Roy owned a small grocery store that had comic books. All the unsold comics would be taken home after a while, which he would give to my cousins. My cousins gave us all the duplicates.    

Once, I started reading them I was hooked. My favorite was Uncle Scrooge. I liked his adventurous nature & of course, his three cubic acres of money.

I did not start buying my own comics until several years later. I found a used book store that sold used comics for half of cover price. I would also buy them new off the news stand if I could find them. It was not until I was in the Navy that my collection started to explode. I traveled all over and bought any Ducks I could find & any  ten or twelve cent comic for under a dollar. I never was planning to do anymore than read them until, I had a friend that had an almost complete collection of silver age DC comics that he was selling. I could get about ten nice comics for a quart of cheap vodka (but that is another story).    

In 1994, I tried to sell comics through the Comic Buyers Guide. I was fairly successful, but I never added any books but the silver age DC.    

In 1999 I got a computer and started selling on the Internet. Now I buy thousands of dollars worth of comics at a time & my collection is exploding again. I will have to stop before I become totally covered in comics..

Comic Book Preservation

Store comics away from direct light. Light fades them.

Keep you comics away from extreme temperatures (50-75 degrees Fahrenheit). Do not store them in a hot attic. They will turn brown & crumble into dust. (heat activates the acid in the paper and causes a chemical reaction that results in browning)

Comics do best in a humidity around or below 50%. Do not store them in a damp basement. They will mold.

I do not know why bugs like comics, but they do. If you put them in bags the bugs can't get them.

Comic Bag & Boards

Before 1970 most comics were not bagged or boarded. First there were no suppliers of boards & bags. (most comics were selling for 15 cents & spending that much on bagging & boarding comics was a major expense, so many were not protected until they were older).

Comic Backing Boards

In the beginning there were two types of backing boards. One type were acid free & cost about 10 cents each. The second were acid free on one side only & cost 5 cents each. They no longer make the second kind, but you may see some. They are white on one side (the acid free side) & brown on the other (not acid free). If the backing board is all white it is an acid free board.

Keep your comics backed with acid free backing boards and in acid free comic bags. This will save your comics from a lot of hazards. I ship all my comics with bags & boards. If you need some extra bags & boards & do not have access to a comic shop, I will sell one bag & one board for $.15. Ten bags & boards would be $1.50. This is about what it costs me. I really do not want to sell bags, but if you want them, I can get them.

Buy the 2001 Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.

How To Sell Your Comics

These are Kit's opinions, assumptions, hypotheses,  theories, & laws & no one else.

When I was in the Navy I was told never to make assumptions, because when you assume you make an ass of you & me (ass u me). This is true of bad assumptions, but the best shipmates I ever had were constantly making assumptions, good assumptions.

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"A man has got to know his limitations"----Dirty Harry (Magnum Force) right after he blows up the last bad guy----