Comics, databases and insurance

[thehod]

A quick financial debate at home the other day turned to the subject of contents insurance, and how much we need, and whether we need to increase our level of cover, as its been a few years since we took out the policy, and we may not be fully covered should our house get hit by a meteor, or something.

In the course of that debate, Mrs Hod asked how much my comic collection was worth and how much it’d take to replace. To be honest I haven’t got the first clue. Clearly the vast majority isn’t going to be worth much more than the paper its printed on, so I could just take an approximate count and call it a pound an issue. On the other hand, there are some items that are worth double, if not treble figures, so I don’t want to undervalue anything either.

What I’m really after, is a comic database that’ll let me catalogue all the stuff I’ve got, but also let me attach a value to the issue. What’d be good would be suggestions for where I can find out a good approximate value of my issues (because, for insurance purposes, everything I own is near mint, even though it isn’t) so I can work out if I need more insurance or not.

So any suggestions for comic cataloguing software (free, preferably) and comic value sites. If possible, I’d need one that gave UK valuations, otherwise I’ll have to take the dollar valuations and apply exchange rate. I could obviously google them, but I want to get some opinions on the best to go for.

So, any ideas?

[cactusmaac]

I don't know if it's worth going to the trouble of getting database software. Separate out the more valuable ones and see what they're going for on Ebay.

[DonC]

Most of the time, the contents of your house is covered by home owners insurance. Check your policy and see if the insurance you have is enough to replace the stuff you have.

[thehod]

I don't know if it's worth going to the trouble of getting database software. Separate out the more valuable ones and see what they're going for on Ebay.

That's the thing though, I've never really followed the value of comics. Sure, I know my Batman #156 is going to be worth a bob or two, but as for stuff over the last 15 years or so, I have no idea what's gone up in value and what hasn't. Do I have some hidden gems in my collection. Who knows?

Plus, and if I'm honest this is the real reason, I've got this secret passion for cataloging stuff, and the thought of spending hours with a bunch of comics and a computer is something that appeals to me. If I can con the missus that I'm doing it for "proper" reasons, so much the better.

[thehod]

Most of the time, the contents of your house is covered by home owners insurance. Check your policy and see if the insurance you have is enough to replace the stuff you have.

That's just the point. I have no idea how much my collection is worth, therefore I have no idea if our insurance policy will be enough to replace the collection if a pilot feels that my loft is the perfect place to land his flaming plane.

[DonC]

If it's all recent stuff, buy a copy of Wizard and use their price guide to estimate the value of your books (they tend to be higher than Overstreet). If you have older stuff you'll have to get an Overstreet.

[jessecuster3]

Stash My Comics (http://www.stashmycomics.com/) is pretty good for what you are trying to do.

[thehod]

If it's all recent stuff, buy a copy of Wizard and use their price guide to estimate the value of your books (they tend to be higher than Overstreet). If you have older stuff you'll have to get an Overstreet.

Its quite an extensive collection (about 10,000 issues give or take a couple thou) and as such its got both old and new, mainstream and indie, American and UK titles, so Overstreet may not cover all of it, and Wizard certainly wont.

Is there a decent online site? Again, I found a few (comicspriceguide.com seems to be the most extensive) but none seem to be up to date and most are US based. I just wondered if anyone had any other suggestions.

[cactusmaac]

It might be a good opportunity to get rid of some of the 10,000 you no longer need.

[thehod]

It might be a good opportunity to get rid of some of the 10,000 you no longer need.

Sure, and that's part of the process too. I got a x-men issue DVD for Christmas (the one with 400 odd issues on it) so I can get shot of most of my Uncanny X-men and Classic X-men issues. I've bought a number of 2000ad trades as well, so I can get rid of those issues of 2000ad that I no longer require.

I did a bit of a clean out about a year back and managed to get rid of about 2000 odd issues of stuff that I'd bought and read once (sometimes not even that, I bought a lot of blind sales in my first few years of reading. My God, the rubbish that I got in those), so if I do want to cut down, I may need to be a little more strict. Although the Rann-Thanagar War issue might just find their way into a recyleing bin.

However, we've got a really large loft thats got floorboards and lighting and carpet, and all my issues are in comic boxes and stacked, so they're not taking up too much room. I may need to drag some of the old bookcases up there to stick some of the trades on, as new baby in the house means less room for daddys reading material, so maybe I could stand to loose a couple boxes.

[zilch]

Comic Collector Live

[Typo Lad]

Stash My Comics (http://www.stashmycomics.com/) is pretty good for what you are trying to do.
Seconded. Really, really easy to use.

[Tom-El]

I've tried three databases:

Realms of Wonder
ComicBase
Comic Collector Live

CCL is my preference.

All three are free, but CCL is 100% free. ROW & CB have free trials. Both are limited and have no updates available. The paid version of ROW is $15 and the least expensive CB is about $50. CB's updates with the paid version are free for one year, after that, you must pay for the annual subscription.

CCL updates every time you open the program. It has fields for price paid and sell/value price. It has most GA, SA & MA covers. It is very intuitive and a breeze to use. It's full- featured, too. You can set up your database three ways: catalog, inventory and cover view. You can also set up a buyer's account or a seller's account, too. The seller's account is $15.95 a month and the listing fee is 0.01 for each comic.

I do not know if they have currency conversion, but they have online support so you can ask. They have outstanding customer service.

I don't work for CCL nor do I know anyone who works for them. I have had my best user experience with their database.

Good luck!

Tom

[Alex L]

Sure, and that's part of the process too. I got a x-men issue DVD for Christmas (the one with 400 odd issues on it) so I can get shot of most of my Uncanny X-men and Classic X-men issues. I've bought a number of 2000ad trades as well, so I can get rid of those issues of 2000ad that I no longer require.

This is kinda weird for me to argue, since I've also gone on about how wonderful and space-consuming comics-on-CD are... but now I'm thinking they might not be so great long-term.

Like really, really long term.

How many of us have machines that still read 5¼ inch diskettes? Or three and a half's?

For that matter, how many of us still have machines that run Windows 98? And that was only released ten years ago (and was replaced by XP in 2001, and now the next gen of Vista is out).

If I had a collection consisting entirely of digitized comics, would I be able to plug it into a machine ten years down the line and read them? Honestly, I'm not sure.

[Typo Lad]

How many of us have machines that still read 5¼ inch diskettes? Or three and a half's?

For that matter, how many of us still have machines that run Windows 98? And that was only released ten years ago (and was replaced by XP in 2001, and now the next gen of Vista is out).

Yes to all of them.

The 5¼ is in storage, but yes.

I'm atypical though.

[The Confessor]

Stash My Comics (http://www.stashmycomics.com/) is pretty good for what you are trying to do.

Thirded, it's a doddle to use. It's all done totally on-line too, so no need to download any memorey intensive programs to your computer.

It allows you to enter the condition/grade of each book and will then value your total collection based on the current market value for each book.

Oh, and it's free too!

[jobies201]

Sure, and that's part of the process too. I got a x-men issue DVD for Christmas (the one with 400 odd issues on it) so I can get shot of most of my Uncanny X-men and Classic X-men issues. I've bought a number of 2000ad trades as well, so I can get rid of those issues of 2000ad that I no longer require.

I did a bit of a clean out about a year back and managed to get rid of about 2000 odd issues of stuff that I'd bought and read once (sometimes not even that, I bought a lot of blind sales in my first few years of reading. My God, the rubbish that I got in those), so if I do want to cut down, I may need to be a little more strict. Although the Rann-Thanagar War issue might just find their way into a recyleing bin.

However, we've got a really large loft thats got floorboards and lighting and carpet, and all my issues are in comic boxes and stacked, so they're not taking up too much room. I may need to drag some of the old bookcases up there to stick some of the trades on, as new baby in the house means less room for daddys reading material, so maybe I could stand to loose a couple boxes.

IF you are getting rid of stuff, be sure to post it on the trade boards. Wouldn't want to see a great collection sold on ebay when it could do good for the forums.

[K'Nort]

It may not hurt to ask your insurance agent. In some situations, they have preferred price guides. I knew someone who collected stamps and his insurance company had an official published guide they used rather than letting each client choose their own. (Not published by them, to be clear. It was a standard one. Like Overstreet or Wizard.) Your policy may have something similar, so that would keep you from wasting time on an invalid method.