Care Bears #1 Newsstand 75¢ Variant Value
From: The 2025 Newsstand CPV Price Guide for Canadian Price Variants (Type 1A) by Tim Bildhauser, Paul Clairmont, Greg Holland, Jon McClure, Salvatore Miceli, Jayden Mitchell, Benjamin Nobel, Conan Saunders, Doug Sulipa, and Angelo Virone [ introduction, table of contents, all titles, other price guide editions]
9.2 | Near Mint - | $111 |
9.0 | Very Fine / Near Mint | $74 |
8.0 | Very Fine | $59 |
6.0 | Fine | $42 |
4.0 | Very Good | $28 |
2.0 | Good | $14 |
Care Bears #1 75¢ Newsstand Cover Price Variant, Star, 11/1985, Published in the USA
Care Bears #1 75¢ Canadian Price Variant Issue Notes:
#38 in this year's Top 100.
Angelo notes: Characters with a long rich history. People did not care about Star Comics or their condition when purchased off the rack for their kids. Investment-worthy book without a doubt.
Conan notes: A raw FN- 5.5 variant sold at MyComicShop on 12/6/2022 for $59.00 (buy it now)
Conan notes: A raw FN- 5.5 variant sold at MyComicShop on 8/15/2022 for $55 (buy it now)
CGC label note: 1st appearance of Care Bears in comics. Based on the greeting card characters. 75 cent cover price.
This page:
Care Bears #1 value (75¢ Price Variant)
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Care Bears Comics, Full Price Guide Page
As one of the top 100 most valuable variants in our guide this year, we rate 75¢ price variant copies of Care Bears #1 FIVE STARS as a collectible, and the hands-down preferable type to collect for the issue as compared to regular copies. In addition to everything the issue has going for it (as detailed in the issue notes in the page above), we note the price guide value movement since 2018. Regular copies in 9.2 have increased in value by $32 since 2018, or about +178% on a percentage basis. Meanwhile, CPV newsstand copies in 9.2 have outperformed notably, increasing in value by $89 since 2018, or about +405%. With a 75¢ variant NM- value of $111, Care Bears #1 is part of the proverbial cream of the CPV crop, with a value greater than approximately 98% of our guide's entire coverage universe.
Care Bears #1 Comic Book FAQ
What is the value of Care Bears #1?
I have a copy of Care Bears #1 and I want to know what this comic book is worth in different grades as a first printing?
✔️Accepted answer:
The answer depends on the type that you own. For Care Bears #1, Star published a direct edition type (exceptionally well preserved by collectors as direct edition comics were the type sold in comic shops), and two newsstand types which were sold to the general public on newsstands (a regular cover price version and the 75¢ price variant). If you own a price variant, lucky you, it is worth $111 in 9.2 (Near Mint Minus).
Suggested answer:
Check whether the cover of your copy of Care Bears #1 has a graphical logo or a bar code box. If it has a graphical logo, sorry to break it to you but you own a commonplace direct edition copy which is worth about $50 (still, that's not too shabby).
Suggested answer:
If your copy of Care Bears #1 has a bar code box on the cover, then you've got a newsstand copy! Is it the more-rare price variant? Now for the moment of excitement: is the cover price of your newsstand copy 75¢? If so, congratulations, you own the cover price variant!!
How rare is the Care Bears #1 75¢ cover price variant?
✔️Accepted answer:
As of the October 2023 CGC census, the price variant has census rarity of 13.5%, with 15 price variant copies on record versus 96 regular copies.
What is Care Bears #1 worth in VF/NM condition?
✔️Accepted answer:
The direct edition (logo on cover) is worth about $38 in VF/NM whereas the 75¢ newsstand variants are worth $74.
Why are the Care Bears #1 newsstand cover price variants worth so much more than the direct edition copies?
✔️Accepted answer:
As collectibles, direct edition copies are already at a disadvantage compared to newsstand copies in the highest grades, because direct editions were extraordinarily well preserved as the distinct type sold in specialty comic shops. The comic shop owners ordered direct edition copies of Care Bears #1 at a discount to cover price, but on a non-returnable basis (the graphical logo was to tell non-returnable copies apart from their returnable newsstand counterparts). When their orders arrived, the comic shop staff handled the books with extreme care to preserve their condition, and then the comic book collectors who shopped there typically preserved their purchases in plastic bags with backing boards. By contrast, newsstand copies were treated as reading material with no staff training to handle the books with any semblance of care, and they were then sold to the general public; unsold copies were returned for credit and typically pulped/recycled forward. Only those newsstand copies of Care Bears #1 that were taken home and preserved by collectors would survive today in the highest grades. Among surviving newsstand copies of Care Bears #1, the market area that received the 75¢ cover price newsstand copies was a restricted area representing less than 10% the population of the total North American newsstand market. That's because the destination market for 75¢ copies of Care Bears #1 was Canadian newsstands — hence the name Canadian Price Variant as a short-hand for 75¢ Price Variant. All of this adds up to a market value for the 75¢ variant approximately 95% higher than the direct edition in Very Fine / Near Mint (9.0) condition, as of our 2025 CPV Price Guide Edition.
In VF condition, how much is Care Bears #1 worth?
✔️Accepted answer:
The direct edition version of Care Bears #1 is worth about $30 in Very Fine (8.0) whereas the 75¢ newsstand variants are worth $59.
What is the value of Care Bears #1 in Fine condition?
✔️Accepted answer:
In FN (6.0) shape, the direct edition version of Care Bears #1 is worth about $21 whereas the 75¢ newsstand variants are worth $42.
What is the approximate Care Bears #1 value in very good condition?
✔️Accepted answer:
Down in VG (4.0) Very Good condition, the direct edition version of Care Bears #1 is worth about $14 whereas the 75¢ newsstand variants are worth $28.
What is the Care Bears #1 price guide value in good condition?
✔️Accepted answer:
The price guide value way down in GD (2.0) Good condition for Care Bears #1 is about $7 for the direct edition version whereas the 75¢ newsstand variants are worth $14.
Has the Care Bears #1 75¢ variant from Star been a good investment?
✔️Accepted answer:
Care Bears #1 75¢ variant newsstand copies in 9.2 have produced gains, increasing in value by $89 since 2018, or about +405% in 8 years (from our 2018 guide edition to our 2025 guide edition).
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