Did you collect comic books as a kid? If you’re like most of us, you did. It was a time of worry free indulgence, devouring the current hero’s episode while waiting for the latest edition of our favorite comic books. We wouldn’t have dared part with them! They were our friends, our heroes.

It’s kind of like a a scene from the movie, “Toy Story” however, because as we get older we simply abandon our former companions and move on to other stuff. Like a cast off toy, our comic books get stacked in a corner to collect dust and mildew, eventually to be tossed in the trash or sold at a garage sale.

Then one day you wake up thinking, “Man! if I still had …” and you click off on your fingers all of the names of your old friends and sadly shake your head. Too bad.

Yep, it really is too bad. Because you might have turned that little 10, 20 or 50 cent comic book into $500 — or more. My sister bought an old comic book in a yard sale the other day. She paid a quarter for it and sold it for $150 on eBay.

If you really love comic books it’s not too late to start collecting today. Collecting may be a foreign subject to you but it’s easy to learn the tricks of the trade.

So what comic books should I buy, you ask.

What are you interested in? Why was your favorite character as a kid? Spiderman? Captain America? Little Orphan Annie? Superman? Stretch?

Start searching for those characters you loved and go from there.

Are you buying for sentimental value or for investment value? If for sentimental value you will simply search for your “old friends” and the market value of the comics will not matter so much to you. However, if your comic book collection is mostly as an investment, then you will want to carefully research and attempt to understand the market before you start buying. Spend time on eBay and other auction sites. Visit antique stores, comic book stores and talk to other collectors. You’ll learn a lot and your love for vintage comic books will deepen.

No matter what your reason is for collecting, research to discover what’s hot and what’s not. You’ll get the most value from collecting first editions, full sets, and vintage “finds.”

Do you already have a huge comic book collection? Then start there. Go through your comics and start cataloguing. You can find software on the Internet to help you — sometimes absolutely free. You could also simply create a spreadsheet with all the details of your comic books: name, publisher, date published, etc.

If you are buying or selling comics there are a few things you should know about comic books in general and this is what you’ll want to catalogue. You’ll also want to “grade” your comic book. You can do this yourself, get a friend to do it, or get a professional appraiser (grader) to do it. If your collection is rare you really should get it graded by a professional.

Collecting comic books can be lots of fun … and profitable. Just browse through the pages of this site and you’ll find huge collections for sale. Go ahead. Start bidding and have fun!