Graded comics for sale

Buying graded comic books online

A graded comic is a book that has been authenticated, assessed on a 0.5–10.0 scale and sealed in a tamper-evident holder by a third-party grading company. The two that matter in the US market are CGC (Certified Guaranty Company) and CBCS (Comic Book Certification Service). Grading removes the two biggest risks in buying a comic sight-unseen: disagreement about condition, and undisclosed restoration.

What the label colour tells you

• Universal (blue) — no restoration, no qualifying defects. This is the baseline and the most liquid label at resale.
• Signature Series (yellow) — signed with a grading-company witness present. Carries a premium over an unwitnessed signature, which is otherwise unverifiable.
• Restored (purple) — colour touch, glue, tear seals or trimming. Typically trades well below the same grade in blue.
• Qualified (green) — an otherwise universal book with one significant, disclosed defect such as a missing coupon.

Grade matters more than you think

For modern books, the market is concentrated almost entirely at 9.8. A 9.6 of the same issue can trade at a third of the 9.8 price. For Golden and Silver Age books the curve is flatter — scarcity does more work than condition — which is why a 6.0 Golden Age key can outperform a 9.8 modern. We list the census position on every high-value book so you can see where a copy sits in the surviving population.

How we price

Every listing is priced against realised public sales from the previous twelve months, adjusted for label type, page quality and census position — not against guide values, which lag the market by months. If you think a price is wrong, tell us which comparable you're looking at and we'll talk about it.

Buying with confidence

Orders ship double-boxed, signature-required and insured to full value, free within the US above $250. You have 14 days from delivery to inspect any book and return it in its original holder for a full refund. Undisclosed restoration is refundable in full with no time limit under our authenticity guarantee.