We buy comic & card collections — or sell them for you.
No need to sell 1 by 1. Whether you inherited a collection, don't have time to research true value, need the space back, or want quick cash — you get one intake, honest grading expectations, and a full written statement of everything that sold and every fee charged.
- Buy outright — one offer for the whole collection, paid once, done.
- Or sell for you — I’m a CGC Elite member with pending CGC and BCW authorized dealer status, not granted. CGC dealer submissions for others aren’t offered until dealer approval is confirmed.
- Cleaned, pressed, and graded where it pays — sold personally and/or via eBay, Whatnot, and Marketplace.
- Pickup, drop-off & shipping options — buyout pickup distance depends on the collection; consignment can be shipped in, by freight for larger collections. Based in La Mesa / Santee, CA. Online-first, low overhead — a storefront comes later.
Want your free space back?
Office, spare room, closet, garage, basement, attic, or storage area
You don’t need to spend years learning this hobby in depth to part with a collection — and you shouldn’t have to worry about being misled, shortchanged, or quoted a value that’s been purposely inflated. Get a straight, honest assessment of what you have before you decide anything.
It’s free to ask — start here.
How it works
One process whether we buy your collection outright or sell it for you. Nothing gets worked on, listed, or submitted until you've signed off.
Tell us what you have
Fill out the intake form below, or reach me through the Marketplace or OfferUp listings. Rough counts and eras are fine to start.
Intake & appraisal
Every item gets front/back photos and a condition log. You review it and sign the intake sheet before any work begins.
Pick your track
A buyout offer for the whole collection, or consignment — with the full fee breakdown for your items in writing first.
Clean, press, grade
Only where it makes financial sense. Cleaning, pressing, and CGC grading in bulk where possible to keep costs down.
Sale & statement
Items sell personally and/or via eBay, Whatnot, and Marketplace. You get a full statement — sale prices, fees, and service charges itemized.
Pickup, drop-off & shipping — how collections get to us
- Buyouts: pickup distance depends on approval of the collection — the better the collection and condition, the further I'm willing to drive and pick up, box truck included.
- Consignment: you can ship the collection to me if you'd like. For larger collections, you can ship by freight — and I can assist with freight pickup.
- In San Diego: you can drop off, meet up, or I can arrange for pickup.
The 60-day rule — in writing
If an item hasn't sold after 60 days listed, the choice is yours: lower the price, keep it listed, or take it back — if you take it back, you pay the grading and service charges already incurred on that item. No item sits in limbo without you deciding.
Services — pick where to start
Every service has its own page. Start with the intake questionnaire, or go straight to the service you need.
Start Here
New here? Begin with the collection intake questionnaire — what you have, how much, and what you want done with it.
Start Here
Sell Now
Sell your collection outright for one agreed price, paid once — no selling 1 by 1, no waiting on buyers.
Sell Now
Sell For Me
Consignment: you keep ownership until each item sells, with a full statement of every price and fee.
Fees capped at 20% total · 10% flat privateSell For MeBuyout Packages
The Rebagging Calculator: what new bags, boards, boxes, and shipping in cost per book — plus the full pipeline cost of getting a collection listed and sold, with every figure shown.
Inbound from $0.75 / book · Full pipeline from $6.49 / bookBuyout Packages
Increase My Value
Cleaning & pressing options that get a book to its best realistic grade before it is graded or listed.
Baseline $15 / comic · Deep clean $80 / comicIncrease My ValueFix Mine
Repairs, restorations, restoration removal, deep cleaning, and archival aqueous baths — with the restoration risks stated up front.
Aqueous bath starting at $199 / comicFix Mine
Grade
CGC grading tiers and timelines, plus the grading calculator — see what grading could do to a book's value, in plain numbers.
CGC list prices from $27–$30 / bookGrade
Grade Now
Ready to submit? Fill out the CGC submission form, book by book, and build your order sheet.
Grade Now
Estimate Value
The Value Estimator: enter raw and graded values you've checked and see the net after service, grading, and selling fees.
Estimate ValueCheck My Grade
The Pregrade photo checklist & defect check — an estimated grade range from your photos before you commit to grading.
Check My Grade
Questions
Straight answers on buyouts vs. consignment, grading timelines, costs, and what happens if an item doesn't sell.
View FAQ
Contact
Reach me through the live Marketplace and OfferUp listings — La Mesa / Santee, CA, with pickup, drop-off, and shipping options.
ContactReferral
Know someone with a collection to sell? Refer them to MUTANT — if we buy out their collection, you earn a 10% finder's fee, paid when the buyout completes.
10% finder's fee on completed buyoutsReferralSell Now — We buy your collection outright
One agreed price for the whole collection, paid once. Prefer to keep ownership until it sells instead? See Sell For Me.
Track 1 · Fastest
We buy your collection outright
- One agreed price for the whole collection — no selling 1 by 1, no waiting on buyers.
- Pickup: how far I'll drive depends on approval of the collection — the better the collection and condition, the further I'm willing to go, box truck included. In San Diego, you can also drop off or meet up.
- Best when you need quick cash or the space back now.
- Once I own it, I handle everything: cleaning, pressing, grading, listing, shipping, and fees are my risk and my cost.
- You walk away with the full agreed amount — nothing is deducted later.
Best for: inherited collections, estates, storage clean-outs, and anyone who wants it handled in one step.
Agreed-price buyout — we sell toward a price we agree on
- We agree on one total price for the whole collection and a time period to reach it by — both in writing before anything starts.
- MUTANT starts selling the collection right away, and the money from those sales goes toward your agreed price.
- When the sales reach the agreed mark — or the agreed time period ends — the rest of the agreed price is paid to you, so you receive the full agreed amount.
- Not the same as consignment: Sell For Me pays you a percentage of whatever each item sells for, with no fixed total. Here the goal is one fixed agreed price — hitting that number is the whole deal, not splitting percentages.
- Not the same as a straight outright buyout: Track 1 above pays the full agreed price once, up front. Here the agreed price is reached over the agreed selling window, with the balance paid at the end.
Terms and Agreement Consent — agreed-price buyout
By choosing this model, you agree to the following before we start. If the agreed timeframe arrives and we are not able to hit the agreed mark, this service agreement automatically reverts to the original consignment designation, based on percentages of sales — the same percentage-based consignment terms as Sell For Me (Track 2). That change takes effect automatically; no new agreement is needed.
We also agree to ship back the items left unsold to you — with that return shipping and insurance at your expense.
On the Start Here form, choosing “Agreed-price buyout” brings up this same consent, and you check the agreement box there before proceeding.
Best for: sellers who want a buyout at an agreed number, but can give the collection a selling window to reach it instead of needing every dollar up front.
Why a buyout offer is not the full retail value
A collection that looks like $20,000 on paper is not $20,000 in hand. Here is what a typical large collection actually involves — using a common example: 5,000 books, valued at around $20,000, where every book needs new bags, boards, and boxes.
Materials are only the starting cost
- New bags, boards, and boxes for all 5,000 books — the cost of materials alone is a real expense, before any work begins.
- Careful, book-by-book handling: each book has to be removed, rebagged and reboarded carefully, without creating new damage, then organized into new boxes alphabetically.
- Condition review of every book: each book is also scanned for condition to designate which ones are actually worth grading — and which ones are not.
The work takes paid time — a lot of it
- Even with paid help, a person can typically process only 100–200 books a day, depending on condition and circumstances. At that pace, 5,000 books is weeks of labor on this step alone.
- That labor is paid labor — wages for the hours it takes to do the work properly, not rushed or carelessly.
That is why an offer of $1,000 on a collection perceived to be worth $20,000 is not an insult, and it is not based on passing the books straight through to the next buyer. The offer reflects all of the above, plus everything that comes after it: knowing what is actually in the collection, the avenues for marketing and selling it, and the time and effort to list, sell, pack, and ship it book by book. In practice, buying a collection like this is buying the next 2–3 months of work.
Quick cash is the trade: it spares you a year or two of headaches and burdens doing all of this yourself. We take on the collection — and the work — and you take the money.
Buyout Packages — Rebagging Calculator
Full disclosure, in plain numbers: what it costs to swap a collection into new bags and boards, pack it carefully in short boxes, and ship it in — and what the full pipeline of prescreening, internal inspection, organising, rebagging, listing, packing, and shipping costs on top of that. These figures are also the honest answer to “why isn't a buyout offer the full retail value?” — and if a price can't be agreed, a seller who does the rebagging work themselves to this standard is doing real, costed work, which is why it can move an offer. We still carry the burden of listing, marketing, and shipping to buyers.
Don’t know what your collection is worth? That’s completely okay.
You do not need to know what your collection is worth to talk to us. You don’t need prices, grades, or a list of what you have — figuring that out is our job, and we’re glad to help. Plenty of collections belonged to a parent or a spouse, sat in a garage or a storage unit for years, or were simply never priced. That is normal, and it is no problem at all. You can skip the calculator below entirely and just send us one short message instead.
Here is the simple way to start — three easy steps:
- Send us one short message. Copy the message below and send it through our Facebook Marketplace listing or our OfferUp listing — both are also linked in Contact. Or email us at mutantcomicsandcards@gmail.com — you can send the same short message by email, no Marketplace or OfferUp account needed.
- Tell us only what you can. About how many boxes or books you have, roughly what years they are from, whether you inherited them or found them, where they are stored — whatever you happen to know. And if you are not sure about any of it, that is fine too: you can tell us nothing at all and we will still help.
- We will take it from there, in plain language. We will reply, walk through it with you step by step, and talk through your options together — including drop-off, meet-up, or pickup options in the San Diego area — at whatever pace is comfortable for you.
- No photos required. You do not need to photograph each book — or any book. Photos are welcome only if they are easy for you to send.
- No prices required. You do not need to look anything up or put a value on anything.
- No tech skills required. If you can send a message, you can do this.
Older books and key issues can be worth much more than the average
The per-book averages in the calculator below are figured for typical bulk lots. They do not apply the same way when a lot is heavily Silver Age (about 1956–1970) or Golden Age (about 1938–1956) — depending on condition and grade, those books can be worth substantially more per book. The same is true for Bronze Age (about 1970–1985) books when key issues are intact and in extremely high grade: a single key in very high grade can be worth more than the entire handling overhead for a whole lot. If your collection leans older, or you have keys you are unsure about, use this simple path and talk to us before relying on any average.
Golden Age books are also bigger than Current and Silver Age books, so their bags, boards, and boxes are different sizes — and the standard overhead estimate below may not fit them exactly. Ask us for help pricing a Golden Age lot separately.
Overhead generator — the full cost of handling your collection
Enter how many sellable books you have of each type, and the total value you expect for the whole collection. The generator adds up the full handling overhead — bags, boards, boxes, shipping in, pipeline labour, outbound materials, and a return allowance — at single-pack retail prices, figured per book, then compares it with your expected value. Count only books worth selling: unsellable filler is curb appeal and should not be counted. All estimates on this page are based on premade resealable bags.
Estimates only — actual material, box, and carrier prices vary. Bags and boards are bought in full packs and rounded up, and boxes and shipping round up the same way, so a partial pack or box costs a little more per book — the generator shows that honestly for your counts. Short boxes are figured at 140 books per box, $12 per box, and shipping in at $40 per short box.
Selling on consignment instead? The same handling overhead is deducted from the owner's payout there, on top of platform and consignment fees. Compare the two side by side with the Consignment Cost Generator in Sell For Me.
Worked example — 5,000 books at a $20,000 expected value
Take 5,000 Current Standard books with an expected collection value of $20,000 — that is $4.00 per book. The generator's overhead for those same books: bags & boards $1,899 + short boxes $432 + shipping in $1,440 + pipeline labour $17,700 + Gemini loaders $8,000 + return allowance $3,000 = about $32,500 in total overhead, about $6.50 per book. The expected value per book sits below the overhead per book, so the generator raises this alert:
Expected value is below handling overhead
The expected collection value of $20,000 falls below the estimated handling overhead of about $32,500 for this collection — a shortfall of about $12,500, about $2.50 per book — before any payment for the books themselves. On these numbers, the collection costs more to handle than the value expected from it.
This alert is based on the average price you entered for all books. It does not account for individual Silver, Golden, or Bronze keys in high grade, which can be worth substantially more per book. If your lot is heavily older-era, or you have keys you are unsure about, use the ‘Don’t know what it’s worth?’ path before deciding — do not walk away based on the average alone.
That is the point of showing the full breakdown: if your expected value is under the cost of handling the collection, the numbers say so up front, before anyone's time is spent.
Inbound cost per book — at a full short box
| Cost piece | Per book | How it's figured |
|---|---|---|
| Bag & board — Current Standard | $0.38 | Premade resealable bag & board at a single-pack price of $18.99 per 50-count pack, rounded up to full packs for your count. |
| Bag & board — Silver Standard | $0.42 | Premade resealable bag & board at a single-pack price of $20.99 per 50-count pack, rounded up to full packs for your count. |
| Bag & board — Current Archival | $0.69 | Archival Mylar bag at $26.99 per 50-count pack ($0.54) plus a Current board at $14.99 per 100 ($0.15). |
| Bag & board — Silver Archival | $0.76 | Archival Mylar bag at $29.99 per 50-count pack ($0.60) plus a Silver board at $15.99 per 100 ($0.16). |
| Short box | $0.09 | 140 books per short box at $12 per box — $12 ÷ 140 ≈ $0.09 per book. |
| Shipping in | $0.28 | About $40 per short box — $40 ÷ 140 ≈ $0.28 per book. |
| Inbound total per book, at a full box: Current Standard $0.75 · Silver Standard $0.79 · Current Archival $1.06 · Silver Archival $1.13 — bag & board + box + shipping in. | ||
What this inbound estimate does NOT include — stated clearly
This still does NOT include a reinforced layer of protection on the short boxes — no extra reinforcement is figured into these numbers.
It also does NOT equate for freight options and pallet stacking to save on shipping — freight and pallet-stacking savings are not figured in either. The shipping figure is simply about $40 per short box, as above.
Already bagged & boarded? How the credit works
If your collection is already bagged and boarded, that can bring the materials cost down — but by less than the full cost of new bags and boards, and only after inspection. The generator applies a provisional credit of $0.15 per book; the final credit is confirmed once the books have actually been inspected. Here is why it works that way:
- Every pre-bagged book is inspected book by book. A book in a clean, undamaged, current-size resealable bag with a sound board can be retained in that bag.
- Any bag that fails inspection is replaced. Tape, yellowing, tears, a non-resealable closure, or a worn or damaged board means the book goes into a new, upgraded resealable bag and board before it is photographed or listed.
- A book is never photographed and put back into a taped or damaged bag. Tape against a cover is a genuine risk of cover damage, and presenting a book in an old, taped bag reflects poorly on the listing and on us as the seller — so a bag that fails is retired, not reused.
- The saving is limited and provisional, not a full deduction. Inspection adds handling time to every book, and a substantial share of older bags do not pass — so even a collection described as fully bagged and boarded rarely avoids replacement materials altogether.
Why premade resealable bags & boards are the standard
Bags and boards bought separately cost slightly less per unit than premade sets — that much is true. At collection scale, though, the small material saving is outweighed by what it takes to capture it: every set has to be assembled by hand before a single book can be bagged, which adds a dedicated assembly step, extra handling touches on every book, and room for inconsistency in how sets are put together across thousands of books.
Premade resealable sets arrive ready to use, keep presentation consistent from the first book to the last, and remove the assembly step entirely. The modest per-unit saving on separate components does not offset that added labour and handling risk, so premade resealable bags and boards are the standard used throughout this estimate.
Pack them like this — the secured way
If you're rebagging and shipping a collection in yourself, this is the standard these estimates assume:
- Board first, then the comic: slide the board into the premade resealable bag, then the comic in front of it — never force a book into a bag that's too small for its era, and never tape the comic itself.
- Upright and snug, not tight: books stand upright in the short box, snug enough not to slump or slide, with room for dividers — a box packed drum-tight bends corners in transit.
- Fill the gaps: any empty space in the box gets filled so nothing can shift — movement inside the box is what damages books, not the road.
- Box inside a box: the short box travels inside a sturdy outer carton with padding around it — never ship a bare short box with just a label on it.
- Tracked and insured: ship tracked, with insurance for the value you're declaring, and photograph the sealed carton before it goes.
Disclaimer: this is general guidance, not professional conservation advice. You pack and ship at your own risk, you're responsible for the books until MUTANT receives and inspects them, and books that arrive damaged, miscounted, or not rebagged to this standard can change any offer discussed beforehand. Archival bags present best and preserve best, but no bag or board guarantees a grade, a sale, or a sale price.
Full pipeline estimate — everything except cleaning, pressing & grading
Inbound materials are only the start. This is the realistic cost of taking a collection the rest of the way — prescreened, internally inspected, organised, rebagged, listed with thorough pictures, packed, and shipped to buyers — excluding cleaning, pressing, and grading entirely. All stage times below are estimates.
Time per book, step by step
- Prescreen / sort / scan: 2.5 minutes per book (estimate)
- Internal inspection — pages & internal / centerfold staples: 1.5 minutes per book (estimate)
- Rebag: 1.0 minute per book (estimate)
- Organise / log: 0.5 minute per book (estimate)
- List, with thorough pictures: 2.0 minutes per book (estimate)
- Package & ship: 1.0 minute per book (estimate)
- Total: 8.5 minutes per book (estimate)
At 8.5 minutes per book, one person gets through about 57 books per day on an 8-hour day. At $25/hr, that labour is about $3.54 per book. Outbound shipping materials are Gemini loaders at $1.60 each — about $1.60 per book. Return allowance is about $0.60 per book, based on a 4% return rate planning assumption at $15 per return.
Per book, and at 5,000 books
- Current Standard: $0.75 inbound + $3.54 labour + $1.60 outbound materials (Gemini loader) + $0.60 return allowance = about $6.49 per book
- Silver Standard: $0.79 inbound + the same labour, outbound materials, and return allowance = about $6.53 per book
- Current Archival: $1.06 inbound + the same labour, outbound materials, and return allowance = about $6.80 per book
- Silver Archival: $1.13 inbound + the same labour, outbound materials, and return allowance = about $6.87 per book
- 5,000 books, Current Standard: about $32,500 in total overhead
- Time: 5,000 books at about 57 books per day is about 89 working days for one person
All labour figures on this page are labelled estimates — real pace varies with condition, organisation, and how the collection arrives.
Assumption — only books worth selling are counted
These pipeline figures assume all books counted are worth selling. Buying out a collection, it would need to be otherwise only accounting for the good ones and expecting the rest to be included as curb appeal.
If a collection contains unsellable / filler books, do not count them in the total — treat them as curb appeal included at no separate pipeline value.
Excluded from the full pipeline — no exceptions hidden in the numbers
The pipeline total above includes no cleaning and no pressing of any kind, and no grading. Specifically excluded: no cold press, no deep-clean hot press, no reversion slab, no archival aqueous bath, and no grading fees. If a book needs any of that work, it is priced separately under Increase My Value, Fix Mine, and Grade — it is never buried in these per-book figures.
Why key books are listed one by one — and commons in lots
The lot model above only works because commons move in lots and runs. The individual key-book model is far slower — about 22 minutes per book, or about 22 books per day for one person: individual research, individual photos, an individual listing, and individual packing and shipping for every single book.
That's exactly why keys are listed individually — their value justifies 22 minutes each — and commons are listed in lots and runs, where the 8.5-minute pipeline pace keeps the cost near the figures above.
Ready to talk numbers on your collection? Start Here — or see Sell Now and Sell For Me for the buyout and consignment tracks these costs sit behind.
Sell For Me — consignment
You keep ownership until each item sells. I clean, press, submit, list, and sell it for you — with the full fee breakdown in writing before you sign. See the Fees on this page for exactly how the split works.
Track 2 · Sell for you — pending CGC and BCW authorized dealer status
We sell it for you
- You keep ownership until each item sells. I clean, press, submit, list, and sell it for you.
- Getting it to me: ship the collection to me if you'd like — for larger collections, ship by freight and I can assist with freight pickup. In San Diego, you can drop off, meet up, or I can arrange for pickup.
- CGC submissions on behalf of others are not offered yet — I’m a CGC Elite member with pending CGC and BCW authorized dealer status, not granted. Dealer submissions for others will only be offered once CGC dealer approval is confirmed.
- Sold personally and/or through eBay, Whatnot, and Marketplace.
- Total selling fee capped at 20% on platform sales; 10% flat on private/direct sales. Cleaning, pressing, and grading fees come out of sales proceeds afterwards.
- You get a full statement for every sale — price, platform fee, my fee, and service charges.
Best for: higher-value collections where grading and patient selling can return significantly more than a buyout.
We ship using USPS Registered Mail — USPS’s most secure service for theft prevention. Registered Mail keeps a chain of custody that is logged and signed for at each transfer, with items kept in locked containers between transfers, and includes insurance up to $50,000 through USPS. If a shipment is valued over $50,000, USPS Registered Mail insurance does not cover the amount above $50,000.
Already catalogued? Send your inventory — consignment only
If you already track your collection, you can share it for consignment (Sell For Me) consideration: an inventory file or spreadsheet you already have, or a link to your CLZ value tracker. Your titles, conditions, and values give me a head start when considering the collection for consignment.
This is for consignment consideration only — not for buyouts. A fully catalogued, priced collection is not one I would buy outright; it is one I can consider selling for you.
How to send it: on the Start Here form, choose “Sell it for me” and an inventory area appears — pick your inventory file there and/or paste your CLZ link. The file's name and your CLZ link are still added to your copy-and-send summary, but the actual file itself should be emailed to mutantcomicsandcards@gmail.com — email handles spreadsheet, CSV, PDF, and CLZ export files best, so please don't rely on a Marketplace or OfferUp message alone for the file. And because OfferUp chat can't send pictures, email is also the better route for photos and files if you first reached us through OfferUp.
Don’t know what your collection is worth? That’s completely okay.
You do not need to know what your collection is worth to talk to us. You don’t need prices, grades, or a list of what you have — figuring that out is our job, and we’re glad to help. Plenty of collections belonged to a parent or a spouse, sat in a garage or a storage unit for years, or were simply never priced. That is normal, and it is no problem at all. You can skip the calculator below entirely and just send us one short message instead.
Here is the simple way to start — three easy steps:
- Send us one short message. Copy the message below and send it through our Facebook Marketplace listing or our OfferUp listing — both are also linked in Contact. Or email us at mutantcomicsandcards@gmail.com — you can send the same short message by email, no Marketplace or OfferUp account needed.
- Tell us only what you can. About how many boxes or books you have, roughly what years they are from, whether you inherited them or found them, where they are stored — whatever you happen to know. And if you are not sure about any of it, that is fine too: you can tell us nothing at all and we will still help.
- We will take it from there, in plain language. We will reply, walk through it with you step by step, and talk through your options together — including drop-off, meet-up, or pickup options in the San Diego area — at whatever pace is comfortable for you.
- No photos required. You do not need to photograph each book — or any book. Photos are welcome only if they are easy for you to send.
- No prices required. You do not need to look anything up or put a value on anything.
- No tech skills required. If you can send a message, you can do this.
Older books and key issues can be worth much more than the average
The per-book averages in the calculator below are figured for typical bulk lots. They do not apply the same way when a lot is heavily Silver Age (about 1956–1970) or Golden Age (about 1938–1956) — depending on condition and grade, those books can be worth substantially more per book. The same is true for Bronze Age (about 1970–1985) books when key issues are intact and in extremely high grade: a single key in very high grade can be worth more than the entire handling overhead for a whole lot. If your collection leans older, or you have keys you are unsure about, use this simple path and talk to us before relying on any average.
Golden Age books are also bigger than Current and Silver Age books, so their bags, boards, and boxes are different sizes — and the standard overhead estimate below may not fit them exactly. Ask us for help pricing a Golden Age lot separately.
Consignment Cost Generator — out-the-door cost vs. owner net
See the full picture for a consignment sale: what the buyer pays out the door — purchase price, plus sales tax paid by the customer, plus shipping charged to the buyer — compared with what the owner actually nets after platform fees, the MUTANT consignment fee, any grading / pressing / services, and the same handling overhead used in the Buyout Packages overhead generator. As low as 5% fee — as much as 90% pay: on platform sales the platform fee (passed through at cost) plus the MUTANT fee total 20% of the sale price, so the MUTANT fee can be as low as 5%; on private sales the MUTANT fee is 10% flat, so the owner keeps 90% before grading / pressing, services, and overhead are deducted.
All figures are estimates. Enter your books by type, a sale price per book, and your channel to see the line-by-line breakdown, per book and in total.
Estimates only — not a guarantee of sale price or sale date. Handling overhead per book is the weighted average for the types entered: inbound $0.75 / $0.79 / $1.06 / $1.13 by type, plus labour about $3.54, Gemini loader $1.60, and return allowance $0.60 — about $6.49 / $6.53 / $6.80 / $6.87 per book in full. In consignment that overhead is deducted from the owner's payout, in addition to fees. Compare it with a buyout using the Buyout Packages overhead generator.
Sales tax — paid by the customer, not taken out of your payout
Sales tax is paid by the customer on top of the purchase price and does not reduce the owner's payout. It is collected at checkout and remitted as required — it is not kept by MUTANT or the owner. The 7.75% rate in the generator is an example only; the actual rate depends on the buyer's location.
Some platforms calculate their percentage on price + shipping + tax, not on price alone. This estimate applies the platform percentage to the sale price only, so the final statement may show a slightly higher platform fee. This generator is an estimate, not the exact platform invoice — the final statement will show the exact platform charges for each sale.
Worked example — 100 books on eBay
100 Current Standard books at a $25.00 sale price per book, sold on eBay (13.25% platform fee + $0.40 per order, MUTANT fee 6.75%), with 7.75% sales tax, $5.00 shipping charged to the buyer per book, and $0 in services — all estimates:
- Sales tax: $25.00 × 7.75% = $1.94 per book, paid by the customer.
- Buyer out-the-door: $25.00 + $1.94 tax + $5.00 shipping = $31.94 per book.
- Platform fee: $25.00 × 13.25% = $3.31 per book, plus the $0.40 per-order fee.
- MUTANT consignment fee: $25.00 × 6.75% = $1.69 per book (13.25% + 6.75% = the 20% cap).
- Handling overhead: $6.49 per book for Current Standard.
- Owner net: $25.00 − $3.31 − $0.40 − $1.69 − $6.49 = $13.11 per book — $1,311.00 in total for 100 books, before any platform-on-tax/shipping difference described above.
Set the generator to those same numbers — 100 Current Standard, $25.00, eBay, 7.75% tax, $5.00 shipping, buyer pays, $0 services — and it returns exactly this breakdown.
About PSA — stated plainly
I sell via eBay / PayPal / PSA as a seller, but I am not a PSA Authorized Dealer — that approval is pending, not granted. I do not accept cards from the public for PSA grading submissions, and this site does not offer PSA consignment. I’m a CGC Elite member with pending CGC and BCW authorized dealer status, not granted — CGC dealer submissions for others are not offered until that approval is confirmed, and any future submissions for others would be CGC only.
Cleaning & pressing
Pressing and cleaning are the baseline for getting a book to its best realistic grade — and the prices below are the prices. These tiers are never discounted as an incentive. The work goes well beyond a wipe-down and a quick press when you choose the deeper tiers.
Baseline — wipe-down + quick cold press
A simple surface wipe-down and a quick cold press. The wipe-down is also the first line of defence against fingerprints on the cover or pages — a common defect that surface cleaning can lift in many cases. Best for: books and cards that are already clean and need light flattening before grading or listing. This is the starting tier most items get.
Deep clean — humidity chamber + hot press
A full deep clean with the humidity chamber included (not a separate charge), followed by a lengthier hot press. The process: about 2 hours of deep-clean and humidity-chamber work, then 6 hours of hot press and hold, then the book rests in a reversion slab overnight until pickup — whichever comes first.
The detail work in this tier also goes after fingerprints on the cover and pages — a defect that cleaning and detailing can remove in many cases. Removing fingerprints, together with pressing out pressable defects, can in some cases contribute to a grade bump. That is a possibility, not a guarantee for every book — the rest of the book's condition still decides the grade CGC assigns.
Best for: higher-value books with dirt, waviness, or pressable defects where the grade jump can be worth far more than $80.
Fix Mine — repairs, restoration & deep restoration work
Repairs, restorations, restoration removal, deep cleaning, and archival aqueous baths. This is the invasive end of the work — read the restoration warning on the bath tier before you consider it, and note that restoration removal is also offered as an add-on on the Grade Now submission form.
Archival aqueous bath
Starts at $199 per comic — and the price can increase depending on how hard or delicate the job is. Some comics require a double or even triple wash. The final price depends on the damage, the owner's expectations, and the condition and value of the book.
The approach scales with the book. A $500 book is essentially a basic procedure. A $10,000 book requires a more thorough, detailed approach to each step — a careful strategic plan aimed at maximizing value while avoiding over-performing to a point of diminishing returns.
The book is disassembled by its staples, then washed in a lab-grade surfactant solution — each page and the cover wrap is soaked for 30 minutes to wash out dirt and contaminants and address water staining. Distilled water is used in aqueous bath projects. The bath also mitigates foxing, removes a lot of page yellowing, and addresses water stains.
After the wash, each page is pressed individually, page by page (wrap), and the cover gets its own cover press. The center spine is then retrained, with the original staples reinserted in the same manner in which they were removed — attending to the north, south, and termination points — before the book is carefully reassembled.
Issues that can often be noticeably addressed — with appropriate care, and depending on the individual book. Results vary, and this is not a guarantee for every book:
- Thumb creases
- Spine tics — to an extent
- Non-color-breaking creases
- Spine curling
- Warpage
- Basic dirt or grime
- Fingerprints on the cover or pages
- Old food or gunk
- Most pencil markings
Done carefully, the goal is a cleaner book — but read the warning below before you even consider it.
⚠ Read this first — aqueous bath is invasive restoration
An aqueous bath is restoration, not simple cleaning. It can trigger a CGC purple (Restored) or green (Qualified) label, and a restored/qualified label can make a book worth less, not more. The work must be disclosed — it will be noted on the intake and any listing.
Because of that risk, this tier requires your separate written consent, signed before the book is touched, acknowledging the label and value risk. No consent, no bath — no exceptions.
Light bath is not a standard tier. It's a specialized service, quoted and negotiated per request only.
Grading — honest timelines, no promises
Grading through my own CGC Elite membership goes through the CGC pipeline, batched in bulk where possible to keep per-book costs down. I’m a CGC Elite member with pending CGC and BCW authorized dealer status — I can’t submit on your behalf as a CGC dealer until dealer approval is confirmed.
Set your expectations first
Grading is slow. Recent CGC Value Bulk orders ran about 90–140 business days — and one ran past its estimate. That is the normal reality of bulk grading, not a worst case.
There is no guaranteed grade and no guaranteed return date — not from me, and not from CGC. Anyone who promises you a grade is guessing with your money.
An item's value is set by the grade it actually receives and the price it actually sells for — not by the raw intake estimate. Estimates at intake are a planning tool, nothing more.
Fees, disputes & your options
- Cleaning, pressing, and grading fees pay for work performed. They are not refundable just because a grade comes back lower than hoped.
- If you dispute a grade, you have three options: keep it listed at the grade-based price, lower the price, or take the item back and pay the fees already incurred on it.
- What you will not get is a refund of work already done — the cleaning, pressing, and grading happened, and those costs are real.
- Every fee is agreed before the work starts and appears on your statement after the sale.
CGC grading tiers — CGC non-member (list) prices
The prices below are CGC non-member (list) prices for comic grading, as checked 2026-10-26. They are the prices used in the CGC Form totals estimate and the Value Estimator on this page. Prices are subject to change by CGC and are confirmed in writing before an order is entered. Any dealer pricing difference Daniel receives is retained as company margin — it is not passed through as a discount. Add-ons, handling, and shipping are confirmed separately and are not included in the per-book grading price.
| CGC grading tier | Era / eligibility | List price per book | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modern | 1975–Present | $30 | Standard modern comic tier. |
| Modern Bulk | 1975–Present | $27 | 25-book minimum on this tier. |
| Vintage | Pre-1975 | $45 | Standard vintage comic tier. |
| Vintage Bulk | Pre-1975 | $42 | 25-book minimum on this tier. |
| High Value | Higher-value books | $105 | For books above the standard tier value limits — eligibility confirmed in writing before entry. |
| Unlimited Value | Highest-value books | $135 minimum + 4% of FMV | $135 minimum, plus 4% of Fair Market Value (FMV). In the estimates on this page, FMV is worked from the declared / estimated value you enter. |
| These are CGC non-member list prices only — not a CGC invoice. The exact total for your order, including any add-ons, handling, and shipping, is confirmed in writing before the order is entered, and no order is entered until payment is received and you confirm. | |||
Proposed minimums — proposed, not confirmed
The thresholds below are proposed and may change. They exist so grading money is only spent where grading can actually pay off:
- $500 estimated total raw value minimum for a collection to be taken on for individual grading & selling.
- Per item, grading only makes sense at roughly $75–$100 expected graded value. Below that, an item is better sold raw, sold as part of a lot, or returned to you.
- Below the $500 collection minimum, your choices are: decline, raw lot sale only, or a $75 flat intake fee — you choose which.
CGC submission form
Fill this out the same way you would CGC's traditional submission form — book by book, with tier, declared value, and add-ons. When you're done, it builds a structured order sheet you can copy and send to me, so the order can be entered with CGC once everything is confirmed.
CGC Grading Elite member — pending CGC and BCW authorized dealer status, not granted
Read first — what this form does and doesn't do
This form does not automatically submit an order to CGC, and it does not charge any payment. It only generates a copyable structured submission summary. An order is entered into CGC only after payment is received and the owner confirms the order.
Direct-to-CGC shipping is only for books that require no MUTANT services. If a book needs cleaning, pressing, or any other MUTANT work first, it ships to MUTANT — not straight to CGC.
Value Estimator
See, in plain numbers, what cleaning / pressing and CGC grading could do to a book or card's value — using values you enter. This is an illustrative calculator only.
Estimates only — read this first
Everything in this section is an estimate only — not an appraisal, not a guaranteed grade, and not a guaranteed sale price. A book's real value is set by the grade it actually receives and the price it actually sells for.
Live eBay past-sales lookup is NOT yet integrated. This page does not search eBay or any other platform for you. Enter raw and graded values yourself, from past sales you have checked or other sources you trust. A live eBay / other-platform data plugin would require a separate eBay data connection that is not set up yet.
Photos stay in your browser only. Front and back photos you attach below are shown back to you for your own reference only. They are not sent to MUTANT, not uploaded anywhere, and not used for automatic identification — this tool does not identify a book or card from a photo.
1 — Your book or card
Name the item, attach photos for your own reference if you like, or just pick the condition you would declare for it.
Photos stay in your browser, are not sent to MUTANT, and are not used for automatic identification. Closing or refreshing this page removes them.
2 — Values you enter
Look up past sales yourself first, then enter what you found. The example chart below the calculator shows the shape of raw vs. graded for a sample book.
How the net is worked: estimated graded value − estimated raw value − MUTANT service − CGC grading at the list price above − selling / platform fees on the estimated graded value. Handling and shipping are confirmed separately and are not in this estimate. This result is illustrative only — not an appraisal or a guaranteed sale price, and it assumes the book actually receives the grade and actually sells at the graded value you entered. If it grades lower or sells for less, the real result will be lower — and can be negative.
Example — raw vs. graded for a sample book
Illustrative example only — not actual sales data for any specific book, and not eBay data. It shows the shape to look for when you check real past sales yourself: the same book is usually worth more slabbed at a high grade than raw, and the gap is what has to cover cleaning / pressing, grading, and selling fees before there is any uplift.
| Sample book — example only | Illustrative raw value | Illustrative graded value | Gap before any costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| At 9.8 NM/MT | $200 | $520 | +$320 |
| At 9.4 NM | $160 | $320 | +$160 |
| At 9.0 VF/NM | $130 | $230 | +$100 |
| At 8.0 VF | $110 | $170 | +$60 |
| Worked example at 9.4: $320 graded − $160 raw − $15 baseline service − $30 Modern grading − selling fees on $320 = a small net illustrative uplift — try it in the calculator above. At lower grades the gap can be smaller than the costs, which is why not every book should be graded. | |||
Condition guide — the full CGC grade scale, 0.5 to 10
A plain-language guide covering every grade on the CGC comic scale, from 0.5 (Poor) up to 10 (Gem Mint), grouped into bands. Real grading looks at the whole book — spine, corners, pages, and creases together — and only CGC assigns the actual grade. When in doubt, declare the lower condition.
| Grade band | What the spine, corners, pages, and creases typically look like |
|---|---|
| 10 Gem Mint 9.9 Mint/MT | The top of the scale. Spine: perfectly flat and tight, no ticks, no stress, staples tight and centred. Corners: razor sharp and pointed. Pages: white with no toning at all. Creases: none — no folds, bends, dirt, or writing. A 10 is essentially flawless even under very close inspection; a 9.9 allows one nearly invisible flaw. |
| 9.8 NM/MT | Near perfect. Spine: flat and tight, straight, with no spine ticks or stress. Corners: sharp and pointed. Pages: white with no toning. Creases: none — no defect you can find without very close inspection. |
| 9.6 NM+ 9.4 NM | Light wear only. Spine: tight, with at most a minor tick or light stress (9.6 may show one very faint tick). Corners: mostly sharp, with the slightest blunting under a close look. Pages: white to off-white / white. Creases: none that break colour — at most very light handling marks. |
| 9.2 NM- 9.0 VF/NM | Noticeable but light overall wear. Spine: a few small ticks or light stress lines. Corners: light wear, starting to round slightly. Pages: off-white / white to off-white, with minimal toning at the edges. Creases: a small non-colour-breaking crease or bend may be present. |
| 8.5 VF+ 8.0 VF | Moderate, honest wear. Spine: ticks and stress clearly visible, still holding tight. Corners: more rounded or blunted. Pages: off-white, cover still clean and bright overall. Creases: a light crease may be present; colour-breaking wear is minimal at 8.5 and light at 8.0. |
| 7.5 VF- 7.0 FN/VF | Solid mid-grade wear. Spine: moderate stress, with a light spine roll possible at 7.0. Corners: blunted to rounded. Pages: off-white to light tan, with edge toning. Creases: light colour-breaking creases can appear; cover may show light scuffing or a small mark. |
| 6.5 FN+ 6.0 FN | More wear throughout. Spine: visible stress and possible light roll. Corners: rounded or blunted, with small creases at the corners. Pages: tanning or yellowing. Creases: creases present — some may lightly break colour; possible light dirt or a small mark. |
| 5.5 FN- 5.0 VG/FN | Wear is obvious at a glance. Spine: worn, with moderate roll possible. Corners: rounded, with creasing. Pages: tan to yellowing, possibly with light stains or foxing starting. Creases: multiple creases, including colour-breaking ones; small tears or cover wear are possible. |
| 4.5 VG+ 4.0 VG | Heavy wear. Spine: worn and creased, may be starting to loosen. Corners: worn down and rounded. Pages: tan, with possible writing, stains, or a loose centre wrap starting. Creases: cover creased throughout, with possible small tears or pieces of wear. |
| 3.5 VG- 3.0 GD/VG | Well-read and rough. Spine: heavily creased or rolled, may be loose at the staples. Corners: heavily worn and rounded. Pages: tan to brown. Creases: creases throughout, plus possible tears, tape, writing, or stains — but the book is still complete and readable. |
| 2.5 GD+ 2.0 GD | Poor and well-worn. Spine: may be split or heavily stressed. Corners: badly worn. Pages: tan to brown and possibly brittle. Creases: throughout the book, with stains, writing, missing pieces, or detachment possible. Complete readability is not assured at this level — check carefully. |
| 1.8 GD- 1.5 FR/GD | Rough reading copies. Spine: split, heavily rolled, or partly detached. Corners: badly worn, with small pieces possibly missing. Pages: brown and brittle, with possible foxing, stains, or markings. Creases: heavy creasing and tearing throughout; small pieces may be missing, though the story is usually still complete. |
| 1.0 FR 0.5 PR | The bottom of the scale. Spine: split or fully detached; the cover may be detached or, at 0.5, missing entirely. Corners: pieces missing, worn away. Pages: brown, brittle, possibly with heavy stains, writing, or water damage. Creases: heavy creasing, tears, and damage throughout. A 0.5 may be incomplete — missing pages or pieces — and is a filler / reading copy at best. |
This guide helps you declare an honest condition for the estimator. It is not a grading promise: CGC grades the book in hand, and cleaning / pressing can only address pressable, non-colour-breaking defects — it cannot undo colour-breaking creases, missing pieces, or brittleness, and restoration work must be disclosed and can lead to a purple (Restored) or green (Qualified) label.
AI-style Pregrade — photo checklist & defect check
Use any or all of the recommended photos — 10 core photos, plus the Marvel Value Stamp (MVS) page photo when it applies to your book (11 in total, or 10 when the MVS answer is N/A) — every photo request is optional — answer the Marvel Value Stamp (MVS) question, select the page color / page quality, then answer the defect checklist honestly. You'll get an estimated pregrade range — a range, not a single exact grade — to help you decide whether cleaning, pressing, and CGC grading might be worth it. No photo is required.
Read this first — what a pregrade is, and is not
This is an AI-style pregrade estimate only, based on the photos and answers you provide here. Photos can hide defects — glare, angles, and a bag or board can cover spine stress, creases, stains, and page problems that show up in hand.
It is NOT a CGC grade, and it is NOT a guarantee of the grade CGC will assign. Final grading is CGC's decision, made on the book in hand. No pregrade here promises a grade, a label, or a sale price.
Every photo request below is optional. The pregrade range only offers insight based on the photos actually provided and the checklist answers you give; if photos are missing, it is not a complete assessment. The more photos you provide for each request, and the clearer those photos are, the more accurate the grade estimate could be. Fewer or unclear photos mean a wider, less certain range. Skipping any photo step does not block you from getting a range.
Completing 100% of the recommendations with clear enough photos results in the most accurate grade level possible from photos, and increases the likelihood of a higher acceptance rating for consignment, purchases, grades, and related decisions. That is a likelihood statement only — it is not a guarantee of a CGC grade, a sale, or acceptance.
Photos stay in your browser only. Photos you attach below are shown back to you for your own reference only. They are not sent to MUTANT, not uploaded anywhere, and not used for automatic identification — unless a future live version of this tool is added. Closing or refreshing this page removes them.
Marvel Value Stamp (MVS) — answer one
No = the Marvel Value Stamp is missing, cut out, or otherwise not intact — this is a defect that affects the pregrade estimate below.
N/A = the book's era or company does not have a Marvel Value Stamp in it — for example, non-Marvel books, or Marvel books from an era without value stamps. Choosing N/A deactivates the MVS page photo in Step 11 and excludes it from the completion rating, so it does not lower your coverage percentage.
Step-by-step photos — 10 core photos + the MVS page photo when it applies, all optional
There are 10 core recommended photos, plus one MVS page photo (Step 11) when the Marvel Value Stamp applies to your book — 11 applicable photos in total when you answer Yes or No above, and 10 applicable photos when you answer N/A, because the MVS photo is then deactivated and excluded from the denominator. Attach any photos you are comfortable taking, and skip any step you cannot or do not want to do. No photo is mandatory, and skipping a step will not block the pregrade. Coverage is shown as a percentage: applicable photos submitted divided by the applicable recommended total, times 100 — for example, 3 of 10 applicable photos submitted is 30% coverage. Only applicable photos count toward 100%: as an example of that rule, a 10-photo recommendation with one photo marked N/A would have a denominator of 9, and submitting all 9 applicable photos would be 100%. On this page, that rule means the denominator is 11 when the MVS photo applies and drops to 10 when MVS is N/A, so submitting all 10 remaining core photos is 100%. The estimate can only use the photos actually provided: more photos per request and clearer photos could make it more accurate, while fewer or unclear photos leave a wider, less certain range.
Front cover Optional
Optional: full front cover, straight-on, in bright indirect light. No glare, and no bag reflection if possible — take it out of the bag only if you can do so safely. Look for foxing: small brown spots or staining on the cover.
Back cover Optional
Optional: full back cover, straight-on, in the same bright indirect lighting as Step 1. Include any foxing — brown spots or staining — that shows on the back cover.
Spine close-up Optional
Optional: the spine close-up, full length, so spine ticks, stress lines, and any staple rust, staple migration, loose staples, or staple tears visible from the outside show clearly.
All four corners Optional
Optional: close-ups of all four corners — one photo per corner, or clearly labelled so each corner can be told apart. You can select multiple corner photos for this step.
Top & bottom edges Optional
Optional: close-ups of the top and bottom edges, showing edge wear and any tears along the edges. You can select photos of both edges for this step.
Inside covers & first / last pages Optional
Optional: only if you're comfortable opening the book, photograph the inside front and back cover and the first and last pages. Show foxing — brown spots or staining on the pages or inside covers — plus yellowing or markings. Skip this step if you'd rather not open it.
Any specific defect Optional
Optional: close-up of any specific defect — creases, tears, stains, fingerprints, writing, water damage, a foxing spot, staple rust, staple migration, a missing or loose staple, or a staple tear. Put a ruler or coin next to it for scale if that helps show the size.
Centerfold staples — inside the book Optional
Optional: only if you are comfortable opening the book to the centerfold, take a close-up of the centerfold staples. Show any staple rust, staple migration, staple tears, looseness, or a missing staple. Do not force a fragile book open — skip this step if opening it could cause damage.
Interior page quality Optional
Optional: only if you're comfortable opening the book, photograph an interior page spread in bright indirect light so the page color shows clearly — white, yellow, cream, or close to two of those. This helps confirm the page color / page quality you select below. Skip this step if you'd rather not open it.
Additional overall view Optional
Optional: one more overall view that best shows the book's condition — for example the book lying flat, the page block / thickness from the side, or a second angle on any area you are unsure about. Use it for anything the other nine photos did not cover clearly.
MVS page — Marvel Value Stamp Optional
Optional (when the MVS applies): a close-up photo of the page that has the Marvel Value Stamp, showing whether it is intact. Only open the book to that page if you can do so safely — do not force a fragile book open. If you answered Yes or No to the Marvel Value Stamp question above, this photo counts as one of the recommended photos for the 100% completion rating. If you answered N/A, this step is deactivated and excluded from the completion rating, so skipping it does not lower your coverage percentage.
Page color / page quality — select one
Select the one option that best matches the interior pages. If the pages are close to two colors, choose the combination option that fits — for example White/Yellow, White/Cream, or Yellow/Cream.
Defect checklist — answer for your book
Use whatever photos you provided and the book in hand, including the foxing and staple checks below. If you skipped a photo or can't tell from the photos, say so — an honest "can't tell" widens the range instead of pretending at precision.
The range above is worked only from the photos actually provided and the answers you gave. It is not a complete assessment if photo steps were skipped, and it cannot see anything your photos hid or showed unclearly. Pressing can only address pressable, non-colour-breaking defects — it cannot undo colour-breaking creases, missing pieces, or brittleness. Restoration work must be disclosed to CGC and to buyers, and can lead to a purple (Restored) or green (Qualified) label. This pregrade is not a CGC grade and not a guarantee — final grading is CGC's decision.
Example Scenarios: Pregrade vs. With MUTANT Service
How the idea works: a book comes in and pregrades in one range. After MUTANT cleaning / pressing — for example a good hot press and detail service that removes defects like fingerprints and presses out non-colour-breaking creases — the same book can, in some cases, reach a higher grade than it would have without the work, such as a 9.8 instead of a 9.6. That is a possibility, never a promise: CGC assigns the grade, and no service guarantees a grade bump on any book.
Why a small bump matters on grails & big keys
On grails and big keys, even a small grade bump — 9.6 to 9.8 — can mean thousands of dollars in value difference. That is exactly why cleaning, pressing, and detail work is worth considering on high-value books before they are submitted, and why the pregrade above is worth doing carefully first.
Source for all values below: GoCollect, as shown October 26, 2026 — CGC Universal Fair Market Value (FMV) unless marked as a last sale. Where GoCollect shows no FMV, this table says so plainly and shows only the census, sales, and last-sale information GoCollect displayed — no FMV or multiplier is invented for those books.
A 9.6-to-9.8 bump on these keys is a possibility with MUTANT service, never a promise. Cleaning and pressing can only address removable / pressable defects, and the final grade is CGC's decision.
| Example book | Pregrade scenario | With MUTANT service scenario | CGC 9.6 value | CGC 9.8 value | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962) — first appearance of Spider-Man | Pregrades around 9.6, held back by removable / pressable defects such as fingerprints | After cleaning, detail & hot press — could reach 9.8 in some cases. A possibility, never a promise — final grade is CGC's decision. | No FMV shown — census 4, sales 1. Last sale (not FMV): $3,600,000 on Sep 12, 2021 via Heritage Auctions. For context, 9.4 last sale: $795,000 on Mar 8, 2020. | No FMV shown — no census or sales shown for CGC Universal at 9.8. | No FMV difference or multiplier shown — GoCollect shows no FMV at 9.6 or 9.8 for this book, so none is calculated. |
| Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963) | Pregrades around 9.6, held back by removable / pressable defects such as fingerprints | After cleaning, detail & hot press — could reach 9.8 in some cases. A possibility, never a promise — final grade is CGC's decision. | No FMV shown — last sale (not FMV): $520,380 on Jul 26, 2023. Census 5, sales 5. For context, 9.4 last sale: $264,000 on Jun 25, 2023. | No FMV shown — census 2, sales 1, no FMV shown. | No FMV difference or multiplier shown — GoCollect shows no FMV at 9.6 or 9.8 for this book, so none is calculated. |
| Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974) — first appearance of the Punisher | Pregrades around 9.6, held back by removable / pressable defects such as fingerprints | After cleaning, detail & hot press — could reach 9.8 in some cases. A possibility, never a promise — final grade is CGC's decision. | $6,000 FMV 1-year average $6,248 · 15 sold |
$16,000 FMV 1-year average $15,800 · 5 sold |
$10,000 2.67× the 9.6 FMV |
| Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988) — first full appearance of Venom | Pregrades around 9.6, held back by removable / pressable defects such as fingerprints | After cleaning, detail & hot press — could reach 9.8 in some cases. A possibility, never a promise — final grade is CGC's decision. | $1,050 FMV 1-year average $928 · 91 sold |
$3,100 FMV 1-year average $2,765 · 51 sold |
$2,050 2.95× the 9.6 FMV |
| Source: GoCollect, as shown October 26, 2026 — CGC Universal Fair Market Value (FMV) unless marked as a last sale. Last-sale figures are a single past sale, not an FMV. The scenarios above describe what cleaning / pressing can do in some cases — they are not a guaranteed CGC grade, not a guaranteed grade bump, and not a guaranteed sale price. A 9.6-to-9.8 bump is a possibility with MUTANT service, never a promise, and the final grade is CGC's decision. | |||||
Fees — capped, flat, and shown before you sign
As low as 5% fee — as much as 90% pay. On platform sales, the platform's fee and my fee combined never exceed 20% of the final sale price. On private/direct sales, it's a simple flat 10%. You get the full platform breakdown for your items before you sign anything.
| Example sale — $300 final price | Platform fee | MUTANT fee | Total fees | You receive* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform sale (eBay / Whatnot / Marketplace) Platform fee shown at an illustrative 13% — your actual platform fee is confirmed in writing before you sign. |
$39 (13%) | $15 (5%) | $54 (18%) | $246 |
| Private / direct sale (sold personally, no platform) Flat fee. No platform cut at all. |
— | $30 (10%) | $30 (10%) | $270 (90%) |
| *Before grading, cleaning, and pressing charges for work you approved — those are itemized separately on your statement and captured from the sale. Buyout sales have no fees at all: the agreed price is what you're paid. | ||||
Try your own numbers
Enter a sale price and, for platform sales, the platform's fee percentage. My fee is 5% on platform sales, and the combined total is capped at 20% — if the platform fee is high, the total stops at 20%.
This calculator covers the selling fee only. Grading, cleaning, and pressing charges for work you approved are separate, agreed in advance, and itemized on your statement.
What we look for
Not sure if your collection is “worth it”? These are the situations where a buyout or consignment usually makes the most sense. If yours doesn't fit neatly, ask anyway — the intake costs you nothing but a conversation.
Inherited & estate collections
Boxes from a parent, spouse, or relative. You don't need to know what anything is — the appraisal, photos, and condition log are my job.
“No time to sell 1 by 1”
Hundreds of listings, photos, messages, and shipments is a second job. One intake replaces all of it.
High-grade candidates
Well-kept, bagged-since-new runs — especially Bronze and Copper Age keys — where cleaning, pressing, and a CGC grade can multiply the value.
Key issues & first appearances
The books and cards a collection's value actually turns on. These get graded first; the rest can sell raw or as lots.
Cards with graded potential
Clean, well-centered cards worth submitting to CGC. Cards are bought and sold on consignment the same way as comics.
Space & quick-cash clean-outs
Garages, storage units, and closets that need to be empty. A buyout is one visit and one payment — done.
Tell us about your collection
Fill this in and the form builds a clean summary you can copy and send to me by email at mutantcomicsandcards@gmail.com, or through the Facebook Marketplace listing or the OfferUp listing. Nothing is submitted or stored by this page — the summary is yours to send however you like.
FAQ
What's the difference between a buyout and consignment?
A buyout is one agreed price for the whole collection, paid once — after that I own it and every cost and risk is mine. Consignment means you keep ownership until items sell: I clean, press, grade through CGC, and sell for you, taking a fee capped at 20% total on platform sales or 10% flat on private sales, with cleaning/pressing/grading charges itemized on your statement.
Can you submit my cards to PSA for grading?
No. I am not a PSA Authorized Dealer — that approval is pending, not granted — and I don't accept cards from the public for PSA grading submissions. I do sell via eBay / PayPal / PSA as a seller. I’m a CGC Elite member with pending CGC and BCW authorized dealer status, not granted — CGC dealer submissions for others are not offered until dealer approval is confirmed, and any future submissions for others would be CGC only.
How long does CGC grading take?
Plan on it being slow. Recent CGC Value Bulk orders took about 90–140 business days, and one ran past its estimate. There is no guaranteed grade and no guaranteed return date. Bulk submission keeps the per-book cost down; the tradeoff is the wait.
What does it cost to have a book cleaned and pressed?
Baseline wipe-down + quick cold press: $15 per comic / $10 per card. Deep clean with humidity chamber and hot press: $80 per comic. Archival aqueous bath: starts at $199 per comic — the final price can increase depending on how hard or delicate the job is, and some books require a double or triple wash. These prices are never discounted as an incentive, and every charge is agreed before the work starts.
Should I get the archival aqueous bath?
Only with your eyes open. It's a 2-day invasive restoration — the book is disassembled by its staples and each page is soaked. It can result in a CGC purple (Restored) or green (Qualified) label, which can lower value, and the work must be disclosed. It requires your separate written consent before any work begins. A light bath is not a standard service — it's negotiated per request only.
What if my book comes back at a lower grade than expected?
Value is based on the grade received and the actual sale price, not the intake estimate. Cleaning, pressing, and grading fees pay for work performed and are not refundable because of grade disappointment. Your options: keep it listed, lower the price, or take it back and pay the fees already incurred.
What if an item doesn't sell?
After 60 days listed, you choose: lower the price, keep it listed, or take it back — paying the grading and service charges already incurred on that item.
Is my collection big enough — or valuable enough?
The proposed minimum (not yet confirmed) is about $500 estimated total raw value for individual grading & selling, and grading only makes sense per item at roughly $75–$100 expected graded value — below that, raw or lot sales usually return more. Below the collection minimum you can choose: decline, raw lot sale only, or a $75 flat intake fee. When in doubt, send the form — the conversation is free.
How and when do I get paid on consignment?
After an item sells, you receive a full statement showing the sale price, the platform fee, my fee, and any grading/cleaning/pressing charges captured from the proceeds — so you can see exactly how your payout was calculated. The fee breakdown for your items is given before you sign, not after the sale.
Where are you located? Do you have a store?
I'm in the La Mesa / Santee, CA area. For buyouts, pickup distance depends on approval of the collection — the better the collection and condition, the further I'm willing to drive and pick up with a box truck. For consignment, you can ship the collection to me — for larger collections, ship by freight, and I can assist with freight pickup. If you're in San Diego, you can drop off, meet up, or I can arrange for pickup. There's no storefront yet — the business runs online first while overhead is low, and a storefront is the plan for later.
Contact
The fastest way to reach me is by email at mutantcomicsandcards@gmail.com, or through the live listings below — message me there, or send the summary from the intake form. Buyout pickup distance depends on the collection; consignment can be shipped in, by freight for larger collections; in San Diego, drop off, meet up, or arranged pickup is available.
Facebook Marketplace
“I Buy Comic & Card Collections — Or Sell Them For You (No Need To Sell 1 By 1)” — La Mesa, CA, local pickup.
Open the Marketplace listingOfferUp
“I Buy Collections — Comics & Cards — Or Sell Them For You” — Santee, CA.
Open the OfferUp listingFor any inquiry — no Marketplace or OfferUp account needed. Email is also the best way to send spreadsheets, value trackers, CLZ exports, and photos.
mutantcomicsandcards@gmail.com
Refer a collection — earn a 10% finder's fee
Know someone with a comic or card collection to sell? Send them our way. If MUTANT buys out somebody's collection, we honor a 10% finder's fee for whoever refers it to us.
How the referral works
- Refer them before the buyout: contact us through the Contact listings, or have the seller give your name as the referrer on the Start Here intake — your name or referral code needs to be on record as the referrer before the buyout is agreed.
- Optional personal referral code: prefer a code instead of just your name? Ask us for your personal referral code — contact us through the Contact listings and we'll give you one. Then have the seller put that code on the Start Here intake, and we track the referral that way. It's optional — name-based tracking still works — and there's no sign-up, login, or account system on this site.
- The fee: 10% of the completed buyout price after deducting buyout costs (see the disclaimer below), paid to you — the person who referred the collection to us.
- When it's paid: the finder's fee is paid when the buyout completes — once MUTANT has bought and paid for the collection. If the buyout doesn't go through, no fee is owed.
Disclaimer — the 10% is calculated after costs
The 10% finder's fee is 10% of the buyout price minus costs — not 10% of the gross buyout price alone. The costs of getting and preparing the collection are deducted first, and the 10% is calculated on what remains. Deductible costs include shipping, pickup, and freight charges; replacing bags & boards and boxes; and travel costs, such as renting a U-Haul and driving across the country to pick a collection up. Those overheads factor into the fee calculation.
5% minimum when costs run high: you still earn a finder's fee even when costs are high — just not necessarily the full 10%. If buyout costs are half or more of the buyout price (50% or more), the finder's fee will not be less than 5% of the buyout price, even if 10% of the buyout price minus costs would come out lower.
Example: if a collection is bought for $1,000, but new bags and boards, shipping, or freight charges cost a large amount, the 10% is calculated after deducting those costs — not on the full $1,000. If those costs are $500 or more — half or more of the buyout price — the 5% minimum above applies, so on a $1,000 buyout you would still receive at least $50.
Exception — fraud or stolen items: no finder's fee is paid — including the 5% minimum — if fraud is discovered in connection with the referral or buyout, or if any items in the collection are discovered to be stolen.