total noob would appreciate some help valuing vintage scifi mags

[King Mob]

hey folks, i'm quite a casual scifi fan, read a fair bit of moorcock and i love comics, but i don't have a clue where to begin with vintage scifi magazines.
basically my mum passed away a few months ago, my dad has been having a big clearout, has quite a sizeable stack of old sci fi magazines and has asked me to help him figure out how to go about selling them.
from what i can find out from the research i've done the most valuable of these would be some pre pre 1940 (from 1935) astounding science fiction, as these seem to be comparatively rare.
from what he's described the condition of the mags is pretty good, they haven't been kept in plastic covers but they have been boxed in a dry attic, they show obvious signs of age such as paper discolouration but are generally in a pretty readable state.
there's a few hundred magazines in total, all from the 50s and 60s apart from the early issues of astounding. if anyone is willing to help out i can post a more detailed list, thanks.

 

[Extollager]

hey folks, i'm quite a casual scifi fan, read a fair bit of moorcock and i love comics, but i don't have a clue where to begin with vintage scifi magazines.
basically my mum passed away a few months ago, my dad has been having a big clearout, has quite a sizeable stack of old sci fi magazines and has asked me to help him figure out how to go about selling them.
from what i can find out from the research i've done the most valuable of these would be some pre pre 1940 (from 1935) astounding science fiction, as these seem to be comparatively rare.
from what he's described the condition of the mags is pretty good, they haven't been kept in plastic covers but they have been boxed in a dry attic, they show obvious signs of age such as paper discolouration but are generally in a pretty readable state.
there's a few hundred magazines in total, all from the 50s and 60s apart from the early issues of astounding. if anyone is willing to help out i can post a more detailed list, thanks.

If you're comfortable with this, you might give Chronicles folk a little more of an idea of what you have, and then invite people to email you privately with their particular interests and what they would be willing to pay for copies in such-and-such condition.

 

[The Judge]

Er... I don't think so...

We're happy for members to ask for advice as to where to get help in pricing memorabilia etc or where would be the best places to try sell things of that ilk -- which King Mob has had on another thread opened after this one. But we don't operate buying and selling here and we certainly won't countenance anyone soliciting emails and PMs for the purpose.

 

[j d worthington]

Dale: We tend to discourage this sort of thing in general, as there are potential risks for both members and for the Chrons as well. Exceptions do occur, but they tend to be between members who have built a long-lasting interaction with each other in various other areas as well....

EDIT: And I see that TJ and I have cross-posted....

 

[Extollager]

Er... I don't think so...

We're happy for members to ask for advice as to where to get help in pricing memorabilia etc or where would be the best places to try sell things of that ilk -- which King Mob has had on another thread opened after this one. But we don't operate buying and selling here and we certainly won't countenance anyone soliciting emails and PMs for the purpose.

I am gently corrected. Thank you.

 

[Extollager]

Dale: We tend to discourage this sort of thing in general, as there are potential risks for both members and for the Chrons as well. Exceptions do occur, but they tend to be between members who have built a long-lasting interaction with each other in various other areas as well.....

Quite right, too. My apologies to all, truly.

 

[King Mob]

maybe one of the mods could merge the two threads? i don't want to piss anyone off by directly arranging sales through the page as i can see how you don't want to set a precedent where someone else can then go "yeah but you let that guy do it"
my next step is going to be to talk my dad into spending an afternoon properly cataloguing what he has, at the moment i just have a list of titles, how many there are of each and what years they range from, i'd do it myself but we're in different parts of the country.
this is what i know about them at the moment
astounding science fiction 200 copies 1935-1960
analagoue science fact and fiction 1960 10 copies
venture science fiction from early 50s 8 copies
fantastic 1961 5 copies
original science fiction stories 2 copies fairly old
future science fiction 3 copies no date
science stories from 1950 3 copies
fantasy and science fiction 100 issues from 1960s
galaxy magazine 100 copies from 50s and 60s
science fantasy from 50s and 60s
new world science fiction 59 to 60 20 issues
world of IS science fiction 50s-60s 20 issues
other world science stories 1950 to 1960 30 issues

 

[j d worthington]

No harm done, Dale; just an enthusiastic offer of a possible solution.

As for merging the threads, that doesn't seem necessary, either... and perhaps others can also help you with some of the information you're looking for. At any rate, best of luck with the procedure... it's likely to be a bit time-consuming, but I hope it goes well....

 

[dask]

I think I can solve the problem. Just send them to me free.

 

[King Mob]

i actually really want a good look at them myself, apparently they were boxed up in the attic in the house i grew up in and i've never even set eyes on them!
i think there's a fair chance he's going to end up posting them to me to deal with, if he does i'll scan some of the rarer ones and upload them somewhere as .cbr archives if there isn't decent scans going around already

 

[dask]

Keep them and read them word for word. You have access to tons of stuff that has seen publication only once, stuff that a lot of people would die to read. And fill up the Chrons with covers, covers, covers.

 

[blacknorth]

The pre-1940 issues are probably the most valuable, although there are some exceptions. Copies of Astounding, Analog. SF&F are fairly common, but a lot of collectors tend to go for certain editions featuring certain authors - PK Dick and Robert Heinlein being two examples - so their value is higher.

If I were doing it, I'd sort the earliest by date and the later by contributor. That's if I were doing it to sell now...

However, every few years there is a leap in value across time and space - so in, let's say, 2020, magazines that date the 1950s will be as valuable as magazines from the 30s are to us now. If that makes sense.

Hm. It is rather ironic that Asimov considered the Golden Age of SF began with his appearance in Astounding in 1939, just as their value begins to tail off for us. If I didn't know better I'd say he was making a wry joke about himself to posterity.

 

[Elflock]

i actually really want a good look at them myself, apparently they were boxed up in the attic in the house i grew up in and i've never even set eyes on them!
i think there's a fair chance he's going to end up posting them to me to deal with, if he does i'll scan some of the rarer ones and upload them somewhere as .cbr archives if there isn't decent scans going around already

Upload the lost stories! So the rest of us can read them too...not just the collector who gives you some ridiculous amount for the original mags...

 

[King Mob]

thanks everyone! still need to get a lot more details out of him, he gave me a list of months for astounding/analog but apparently they're a mixture of american and british editions and i don't know which.
i've suggested he gets someone to scan all the covers and email them to me so i can work out for myself what ones are british or american and which ones are monthly issues and which are anthologies/special editions, so if he does that i will at least have cover scans i can share.