Mad magazine

[keziak]

Anyone here sell/sold them? I have a lot and haven't gone through to check the dates but they are old.  Looking at sold history I saw tons that sold for low money, the topic of the magazine may be important, lots may work better than single issues and conditions look good. If I do the research and find any issues that may be desirable is worn condition a deal breaker?  Are there just so many on the site in very good condition to make worn copies worthless? I will discard any that are damaged.  Just asking myself if I should discard all of them. thanks

[simba6]

Right now there are over 36,000 listed on eBay right now.  The older ones do seem to sell. Take a look at sold ones on eBay to see if you have any of those.

[mondex]

I sell mostly comics but do buy Mad magazines in larger lots at times for resale.  It really depends on how old you're talking about.  Early ones are rare and sell easily and well, but you're unlikely to have those.  Poor condition is still sellable for early issues.  For issues from the 60's and 70's, I'd sell individually but you have to be a fast lister for it to be worth it, as most aren't going to be more than $10 (condition also affects price, of course).  A few are worth more or sell faster, such as an early Star Wars issue or early annual with the record/stickers insert present, but there aren't a lot of key issues for Mad.  If you're talking about from 80's-90's, I haven't bothered checking prices but they're generally $5 or less individually and have a low sell-through rate.  I would group those into lots.

[keziak]

Thanks, I will dig into the box.  See what's there. I was mostly wondering if sold history is not pertinent if all of those sold in very good to mint condition and mine are not. 

[fm2000]

The issues from the 1970s and later can be difficult to sell, unless in higher grade (by comic book standards) condition. Most are only worth a few dollars in average to well read condition, and the cost of shipping may be greater than they are worth individually (endless Ground Advantage increases and new surcharges have made magazines in general much harder to sell, but I digress...) I'd lot those up if you can.

Some of the Mad Specials came with things like trading cards, flexible records, patches etc. Copies of those "in the wild" almost always have one or more of those items missing, so if you find any with the goodies inside, those can be worth decent money.

When you list Mads, make sure to note whether the "fold-in" on the back cover has been folded over or not (the reader takes the back cover and folds it in half to see a gag, this folding can leave a permanent crease and is considered a defect.) Mad collectors care about this.

[keziak]

thank you very much for that heads-up. I would never have known that. So far looking through the boxes it's 1960s vintage but I haven't gone through all of it. 

Until recently I sold a lot of professional magic books with repeat buyers who sometimes had advice. Do you think if I manage to sell one of these magazines I should ask the buyer what they are looking for?

[nyr134]

Search for Doug Gilford’s Mad Magazine price guide for a concise view of values by edition and condition.  It quantifies in dollar terms some of what a couple of experts have told you here.  And there are other guides like it.

Sounds like you are going to have some fun: boxes of 1960s vintage…wow.

[keziak]

Is it hard to figure out how the prices on ebay mesh with the collector guides? 

I would like to auction these - move them out - but I suspect that FP is the way to go.  As with so much. 

[1786davycrockett]

@keziak 

Except for regular issues below issue #100, back issues of MAD are a tough sell -- particularly after the price change from 25 cents to 35 cents, plus condition under VG.

When I list early issues of MAD, I often put the names of the significant contributors on my "Title" line (for example -- MAD #--, Month Year -- WALLY WOOD, HARVEY KURTZMAN etc).

Several of the mid- to late-1950s issues also featured famous comedians, such as Ernie Kovacs, Bob and Ray, Sid Caesar, etc -- adding these to the "Title" line seems to help, as well.

Some issues that satirize particular movies, TV shows and personalities also seem to be "hot" sellers, such as "Star Wars," Michael Jackson, "Star Trek," and so on.

Issues past the issue #100 in less than VG condition should be sold in bulk lots, just to move them out.

No auctions necessary, except for issues #1 through #23 -- the comic book versions of MAD.

[keziak]

thank you. I was thinking along those lines for titles. I guess what I need to do first is organize everything I have and sort out by year and see what is actually there. 

[mondex]

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@keziak wrote:

Thanks, I will dig into the box.  See what's there. I was mostly wondering if sold history is not pertinent if all of those sold in very good to mint condition and mine are not. 

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"Very Good" in comic/magazine terms and "very good" in linguistic terms are two different things.  VG in the official sense is actually fairly rough (below average with moderate defects, can have some creases/wrinkles, etc).  The CGC grading scale found here is standard: https://www.cgccomics.com/grading/grading-scale/

If the covers are detached or half-detached or there are large tears or pervasive wrinkles, then they will be below VG, however.  1960's issues are good to have though, much easier to sell than later ones.  Most will still probably sell quite low if you auction them though, unless they are in great condition.

[grand-and-glorious-purpose]

Ones from before magazine size always sell well. 

Ones with inserts like records and iron-ons sell well.

Normally I like to stick to selling full years and have stayed away from single issues for quite some time.

If it were me, sort out anything $20 or more and then sell in lots by decade. 70s, 80s, 90s

You will want to do quick research for who had their first work.

1st Spy vs Spy, Dave Berg, Al Jaffee, Don Martin, Sergio Aragones and so on

[chapeau-noir]

Some issues that satirize particular movies, TV shows and personalities also seem to be "hot" sellers, such as "Star Wars," Michael Jackson, "Star Trek," and so on.

I will never forget 'Star Blecch''.