Love them or hate them, variants have taken over the comic industry. While today nearly very comic has a hundred variant covers, the most remarkable and collectible variants are those you hardly even notice. Case in point: the Mark Jewelers editions from the 1970s.
There's not a lot of information out there about the Mark Jewelers editions. What I did find was a very informative post on the CGC registry titled "Mark Jewelers Variants in DC Comics" which provided me with some answers that I will share with you today.
For all intents and purposes, Mark Jewelers is simply a jewelry store. Back in the '70s, they weren't looking to cause waves in the comic world for decades to come; the company was only advertising. In the centerfold of various comics from the early 1970s up to the 1990s, the good people at Mark Jewelers had an insert placed that told readers about the remarkable deals you'd find in their stores. For fans of the day, nothing was thought about it; it was no different from any other jewelry ad you'd find in magazines and newspapers across the country. And it's for that very reason that the Mark Jewelers edition of select comics is so valuable - no one thought to collect these things, which were only placed in a fraction of the issues being printed.
These are similar to the 35-cent Marvel Comics variants around the same time. No one paid it much attention, as far as collecting was concerned, and the publishers only ran a limited number in select markets. Just think of how many of those were tossed aside or thrown away. That's the fun part about collecting; sometimes your most collectible issues are the ones that surprise you.
As best I can tell, the first issues with the Mark Jewelers insert were Action Comics #415 and House of Secrets #99, both of which had a publication date of August 1972. Assessing the value on these is tricky. From what I can tell, CGC acknowledges the Mark Jewelers inserts on their labels, and it appears they hand out the dreaded green qualified label if it's missing. However, CGC doesn't seem to consider it a variant, so finding specific sales history for those with the MJ inserts is a long process.
Although pricing these can be difficult, lucky for you, GoCollect is on your side. I came across Batman #362 Mark Jewelers edition, which sold for $120 at a 9.4 last month. Back in 2016, that same grade sold for $140.
One thing you can do is check out the eBay listings for Mark Jewelers insert editions. Raw copies are all over the place depending on the issue. When it comes to the graded copies, even non-key issues are being listed for over $100. If someone is selling a graded key with the insert intact, then the prices really jump; I stumbled across a 9.6 New Mutants #87 that had a Buy-It-Now price of $420.
That's all I have on the subject for now, but this will be an ongoing topic. As I come across new information, I will be passing it along to you.
