a guide to grading your comics, toys and video games

Have any questions about grading? Or need help with an appraisal?

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Grading is one of the most important aspects of most hobbies. A grade can be the difference between a comic (or other collectible) being worth $5 or $500. We at SubZero Comics have created an easy-to-follow guide for grading your personal comic, toy, or video game collection.

Please note, that like many things, grading takes a good amount of practice. If you have a comic that you think is a 9.8, then look at it many times before you are sure, because there is a chance that there is some kind of defect that could be missed (especially if you are inexperienced at grading).

Be sure to click the links below for guides on how to grade your personal collectibles.

should you grade toys?

how to grade comics

should you grade games?

Please note, that this guide is designed to educate those who might need it. If you want to sell your collection as a whole, then it is useful to get a general idea of what kind of condition your comics, toys, or video games are in.

In many cases, if you have a collection of modern comic books (or even toys or video games), then condition will be the same throughout. An example of this is, if you have a collection that was purchased in the 1980s or 1990s and immediately bagged them upon purchase, then it is likely they are in VF condition or better and you can grade them as such when selling the collection as a whole. This will especially ring true if you are the original owner of the comics or other collectibles. If you aren't the original owner and purchased much of your collection later, then grades can vary, and you might need to use this guide.

This guide is generally more for those who have older comics, toys, or video games. This is because many times older collectibles were not handled with the care of newer ones. This means it is likely that they might not be in high grades. If you have an older collection, it may be useful to grade much of what you have individually, because putting a general grade on everything might be inaccurate.

Please note that if you are thinking of grading your toys and video games, through a third-party company, then you should be prepared to spend a great deal of money. If you have newer toys or video games, then it will most likely be unnecessary to send in your items for grading. Examples of this are the items pictured below.

The toys pictured above (NECA Resident Evil) have a value of about $75 each. They are collectible, but you will rarely see any of these graded. This is because the cost of grading them will be too high and the value will not go up enough to justify the cost. The same principle can be applied when grading most video games.

In general, it is more of a recommendation that you simply put a condition on your games or toys, so you are better prepared when selling them, whether that be individually or as a whole. Most buyers are not especially picky when it comes to the condition of video games, as long as they are not in very bad shape and work fine.

If you're looking for some personalized help, be sure to contact us for free advice or an appraisal of your comics, toys, or video games. We can assist in grading anything you have. Please note, that grading over pictures may be inaccurate, so if you decide to send us pictures, we will do our very best using what you send us, but cannot guarantee any grade.