How to Sell Comic Books in Philadelphia

If you're sitting on a comic book collection in the Philadelphia area and want to turn it into cash, you have more options than ever — but they're not all equal. Some are fast but leave money on the table. Others maximize your return but require more patience. Here's an honest comparison of every way to sell comic books in the tri-state area.

Compare Your Selling Options

Option 1: Sell to a Local Comic Shop

Philadelphia has some great comic shops — Fat Jack's Comicrypt, Amalgam Comics, Brave New Worlds, and more. Walking in with a box of comics is the fastest way to get cash, but shops need to make a profit on resale, which means they'll typically offer 40–60% of what your books are worth.

This is a good option for low-to-mid value collections where convenience matters more than maximizing every dollar. For high-value keys and CGC slabs, you'll usually do better elsewhere.

Option 2: Sell on eBay

eBay gives you access to a global audience of buyers, which means you can get strong prices — especially for sought-after keys and graded comics. The downside is that eBay charges roughly 13% in fees (final value fee + payment processing), and you have to handle all the photography, listing, packaging, and shipping yourself. For a large collection, this can be extremely time-consuming.

eBay makes the most sense if you have a handful of valuable individual issues and you're comfortable with the process.

Option 3: Auction Houses

Heritage Auctions and ComicLink are the big names in comic book auctions. They specialize in high-value material and attract serious buyers. However, seller premiums typically run 10–20%, and the timeline from consignment to payment can be months. Auction houses are best for truly exceptional, high-five-figure-and-up pieces where the competitive bidding environment can drive prices above market.

Option 4: Facebook Collector Groups

Groups like "CGC Comic Collectors" and regional buy/sell/trade groups have become popular places to sell comics directly to other collectors. There are no fees (other than PayPal/payment processing), and you can often sell quickly to enthusiastic buyers. The downsides are dealing with negotiations, potential scams, and the time required to manage individual sales.

Option 5: Consignment

Consignment combines the best of multiple worlds: you get market-rate prices because the consignment service markets your books to the full buyer market, but you don't have to do any of the work. The service handles photography, listing, buyer communication, and shipping.

The key differentiator is what the consignment service charges. Traditional consignment and auction houses charge 10–20% of the sale price, which can add up to thousands of dollars on high-value books.

Why Philadelphia Collectors Choose Tri-State Comics

Based right here in Philadelphia, Tri-State Comics offers flat-fee consignment specifically designed for comic collectors in PA, NJ, and NY who want to get top dollar without the hassle. Here's what sets us apart:

Flat fees, not percentages. Our consignment fees start at just $50 and never exceed $3,000, regardless of sale price. No percentages eating into your profits.

Free in-person pickups. If you're in the tri-state area and your collection is valued at $500+, we'll come to you.

Free appraisals. Send us photos of your comics and we'll give you honest, no-obligation market values within 24 hours.

Proven results. We recently sold an Amazing Fantasy #15 for $32,000, an Amazing Spider-Man #1 for $8,000, and a Conan the Barbarian #1 CGC 9.8 for $7,550. Our sellers keep the vast majority of every sale.

5-star rated. Every single one of our customers recommends us. Check our Facebook reviews — 10 out of 10 recommend.

Collections We Specialize In

We work with all types of comic collections, but our specialties include Golden Age keys (1938–1956), Silver Age Marvel and DC (1956–1970), Bronze Age keys like Hulk #181 and ASM #129, CGC and CBCS graded slabs, complete runs, estate collections, and large accumulations from long-time collectors.

Serving the Entire Tri-State Area

While we're based in Philadelphia, we serve collectors across the entire region including Bucks County, Montgomery County, Delaware County, Chester County, South Jersey (Cherry Hill, Camden, Atlantic City), North Jersey, New York City, Long Island, and everywhere in between. We regularly attend conventions in King of Prussia, Cherry Hill, Manhattan, and Long Island.