Fair Market Value
In Panel Profits, Fair Market Value (FMV) for a comic issue and grade is derived strictly from verified, arm's-length secondary market transactions (recorded auction sales, verifiable marketplace sales) for that exact issue and certified grade -- never from cover price, seller asking price alone, or estimates extrapolated from a different grade tier. An issue/grade combination with no verified transaction history is marked 'Unpriced' rather than assigned an inferred or estimated value.
The price at which an asset would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts, is that asset's fair market value.
Canonical Mathematical Formula
FMV[issue, grade] = Consensus (e.g. volume-weighted median) of verified arm's-length transaction prices for that exact issue and gradeReal-World Comic Market Application
If a specific issue at a specific certified grade has three independently verified recent sales, its FMV is derived from those transactions -- not from that same issue's FMV at a different grade, and not from a single outlier listing.
Domain Guardrails & Anti-Patterns
Do not infer or interpolate an unpriced grade tier's FMV from an adjacent grade tier's FMV. Do not use asking-price listings (unclosed sales) as FMV inputs.
Trade or Inspect Related Assets
Explore comic equity issues governed by this valuation standard.