Friday, November 1, 2013

Comic Values and Pokemon Values

If you collect comics, planning to sell them at a later time to fund a car, college, house, etc. read this first.  Back in the late 90s, when Pokemon was hot and I had people lining up outside the store for the new set, I had people planning to hold onto their collections or buying cards for their kids, expecting to sell them later when the price appreciated.  I always told the parents, and tell parents who look at Yu Gi Oh card prices now, "Don't do it."  Most cards (and comics) have not held value over the long term.

With very rare exceptions, you will get almost nothing (and by almost nothing I mean a nickel to 10 cents) for any comic published during the past 20 years.  Scarcity drives up price and too many people held on to their comic collections, and Magic collections, and Pokemon collections, and Yu Gi Oh collections, expecting they would get more valuable over time.  There is a reason Bayou sells for between $50 to $1100; no more are getting printed and there are not that many around. 

The Egyptian God Cards for Yu Gi Oh used to sell for $30+.  However, Konami has reprinted them several times, bringing  the price for some of them to the $3-4 range.  Vampire Lord, at one time a $20 card, now sells for a dime.

The other factor driving prices is demand. There is not a huge demand for older comics, nor older Pokemon cards.  I might sell a comic for $3-$4 that I only offer you a dime for, but I will also probably keep that comic (or card) in inventory for a reaaaaal long time.

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