Field notes · Comics · 30 October 2026
On eBay, one grade step on a comic was worth 58% more
In a weekly roundup of comic sales on eBay, a CGC 4.5 copy of Tales of Suspense No. 39 sold for $9,400 and a CGC 3.5 copy for $5,950. The slab states the grade. It does not say how the copy was sold or what the pages show.
By BSJ Ventures on the Brich House platform
In brief
Overstreet Access published its weekly roundup of comic sales on eBay on 26 October 2026. Tales of Suspense No. 39, the first Iron Man, appears twice. A copy graded 4.5 by CGC sold for $9,400 and a copy graded 3.5 by CGC for $5,950. That is a gap of $3,450, or 58%, for one step on the scale. Amazing Fantasy No. 15 also appears: a CGC 4.5 copy at $30,500 and an ungraded copy at $8,100, with no condition given for the ungraded one. The roundup mixes fixed-price and auction sales, and many of the books are raw. It names no sale dates, so the pairs are not a controlled comparison.
A price guide is a different kind of reading. On the same day Overstreet updated its value for Green Lantern No. 1 (September 1941): $101,000 in 9.2, up $3,000 or 3.1%, and $808,000 in 9.8. That is an editor's opinion of value, not a sale. For the economy, the Federal Reserve held its target range at 3.75 to 4 percent on 28 October 2026, with two members preferring a quarter-point rise. The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.98% on 29 October 2026. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported a personal saving rate of 3.8 percent for September, released 29 October 2026.
What it turns on
- One step, a large gap. The CGC 4.5 and CGC 3.5 copies of Tales of Suspense No. 39 sold $3,450 apart. In this pair the number on the label carries much of the price.
- A sale is not a guide. The eBay figures are what buyers paid. The Overstreet value for Green Lantern No. 1 is an editor's opinion, updated on 26 October 2026. They answer different questions.
- The roundup is not a clean comparison. It mixes auctions and fixed-price sales, gives no dates and says little about the raw copies. Two prices for one issue do not isolate the grade.
What we do about it
- 01Record the grade with the cert. Grader, grade, cert number and label photographs, on the same record as the book's own images.
- 02Record how it sold. Auction or fixed price, the date, the venue and the fees, so a later price can be compared with it fairly.
- 03Record what the pages show. Cover, spine and interior photographs, and any restoration disclosure. The grade is a summary, and the pages are the evidence.
- 04Keep opinion and sale apart. A guide value and a sold price sit in separate fields, each with its source and date.
Check it yourself
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