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TitanessJen Posts: 3
9/4/2017
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Hi folks! I'm sitting on about 700 comics, mostly from the 80s, but a few neat ones, some in the .15-.25 cover price area. After doing a lot of research about grading, I can safely say that about 95% of my books are 9.4 or better. The graded value is almost always double the raw value, especially on the older ones, but a few people I've talked to (potential buyers actually) have told me that grading is a waste of money. Are they being sincere or trying to screw me out of getting a better price? I'm looking at a difference of 3-5k in profit and don't want to regret not having them graded before selling. Thabks in advance!
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
9/5/2017
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Not all books are worth grading. It is an expensive and time consuming process so you need to research if it is actually worth the money to grade a book. This site can be way off in the price of graded books because, if you look, very book in every grade is worth more graded than not and that is just not true. You have to take the time to look around various auction sites and ebay to see what graded copies actually realize and go from there. Guides often have you believe you are sitting on a goldmine when you may have not much more than a coal mine.
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Crowman Posts: 165
9/26/2017
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If buying premium keys I would always prefer a graded book and preferably by CGC as they seem to have the better reputation.
But in answer to your question, I would definitely grade my more valuable books (once agai9on, with CGC) as that should really erase doubts in potential buyers minds.
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OneFastScooter Posts: 2
10/5/2017
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Crowman wrote:
If buying premium keys I would always prefer a graded book and preferably by CGC as they seem to have the better reputation.
Crowman, What does CGC have over CBCS? I'm just wondering, I haven't sent anything for grading yet, but I do have a few I want graded and encased, and signature verified. Just want to know what the difference is?
Thanks
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rixmaxx Posts: 459
10/7/2017
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OneFastScooter wrote:
Crowman wrote:
If buying premium keys I would always prefer a graded book and preferably by CGC as they seem to have the better reputation.
Crowman, What does CGC have over CBCS? I'm just wondering, I haven't sent anything for grading yet, but I do have a few I want graded and encased, and signature verified. Just want to know what the difference is?
Thanks
Nothing really, just length of time in business but the top grader, Steve Borock, who help start CGC is the guy who started & runs CBCS. CBCS is also a little cheaper.  jmo I'd go with CBCS
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quinnspuddinjoker Posts: 673
10/7/2017
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Plus CBCS has free notes of how they graded the book and CGC you have to pay them to get graders notes.
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Rabuonauro Posts: 10
12/21/2019
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rixmaxx wrote:
OneFastScooter wrote:
Crowman wrote:
If buying premium keys I would always prefer a graded book and preferably by CGC as they seem to have the better reputation.
Crowman, What does CGC have over CBCS? I'm just wondering, I haven't sent anything for grading yet, but I do have a few I want graded and encased, and signature verified. Just want to know what the difference is?
Thanks
Nothing really, just length of time in business but the top grader, Steve Borock, who help start CGC is the guy who started & runs CBCS. CBCS is also a little cheaper. jmo I'd go with CBCS
I as well was going to use CBCS as they are only $40 where CGC is $100 as just kind of a base price. CBCS seems to be considerably cheaper. I have read that CGC had some grading issue a while ago and lost some popularity where CBCS naturally picked up. After hours of reading who was better it seemed that it was pretty well divided. But when you look at auctions and other sales i have yet to see a CBCS graded book they are always CGC. What I wonder, is it just the simple fact that CGC has been around much longer and therefore has a lot more graded books out there and that is simply why I see them everywhere. Its just simple numbers and there hasnt been enough time to show that both companies are doing well and respected by the community.
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Rabuonauro Posts: 10
12/21/2019
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Oxbladder wrote:
Not all books are worth grading. It is an expensive and time consuming process so you need to research if it is actually worth the money to grade a book. This site can be way off in the price of graded books because, if you look, very book in every grade is worth more graded than not and that is just not true. You have to take the time to look around various auction sites and ebay to see what graded copies actually realize and go from there. Guides often have you believe you are sitting on a goldmine when you may have not much more than a coal mine.
Well I for one can say that after reading this and doing some investigating have watched my 580 book Gold mine turn right into a Coal mine. Well at least thats how it looks anyway. I inherited my older brothers collection of over 800 books. The way it looks now after all the time spent researching prices, imputing the collection and categorizing, supply's, cost of mistakes that will be made along the way of educating myself I think I might actually make a a cool nickel......... lol I still have a couple hundred more to type in but I'm kinda discouraged now.
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Jaredkchapman Posts: 1
9/20/2021
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Should I grade these issues? Is it worth it?
I'm a newish collector. I collected as a kid and lost all of those in move after move, country to country, but I started collecting again in 2013 and stopped in 2017 for a total of 800 issues. I bought them bagged and boarded and kept them in long boxes, reading them very carefully when I did read them. I stopped in 2017 after my son was born because we needed the money for other things. Because of Covid, we're broke again and I need to sell my collection.
I went through and created a spreadsheet of everything I have and what CPG says they're worth. Most of these are worth what I paid for them. All are raw and at least 9/4, I bet, as I was very careful with them. However, I have a few that stood out, and I was wondering if I should get them graded, if it is worth it for these issues, and if so, who do you suggest I get them graded by? Thank you in advance. I appreciate the help. I wish I didn't have to let any of them go.
- Batman #23.1 - Joker #1 3D Cover
- Batman Eternal #1
- Batman/Superman #12 - Shane Davis Variant
- Battlestar Galactica: Cylon War #2 - Stephen Segovia Cover (purchased bagged and boarded with Certificate of Authenticity Limited Only 290 copies of foil edition)
- Darth Vader #1 (2015, Gillen)
- Darth Vader #1 (2015, Gillen) - Skottie Young Variant
- Darth Vader #1 (2017, Soule) - Skottie Young Variant (autographed by Charles Soule with Certificate of Authenticity)
- Darth Vader #3 (2015, Gillen) - First appearance of Dr. Aphra
- Green Arrow and Black Canary #2 - Retailer Incentive Variant
- Green Arrow and Black Canary #3 - Retailer Incentive Variant
- Harley Quinn #1 - Loot Crate Exclusive - Amanda Conner Variant (unopened polybag)
- Jupiter's Legacy #1 - Bryan Hitch Variant
- Justice League #30 (Forever Evil, Jessica Cruz as Power Ring)
- Orphan Black # 1 - Loot Crate Exclusive (unopened polybag)
- Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Best Buy DVD Exclusive Promotional Giveaway Plubagged (unopened)
- Star Wars #1 - Loot Crate Exclusive Gabriele Dell’Otto Variant (unopened polybag)
- Star Wars: Kanan, the Last Padawan #1
- Star Wars: Kanan, the Last Padawan #1 - Skottie Young Variant
- Star Wars: Kanan, the Last Padawan #6
- Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (autographed by cover artist Derek Fidolfs at a Comic Convention, no Certificate of Authenticity)
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BasementComics Posts: 784
9/20/2021
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At a cursory glance, I would say for sure the Darth Vader #3 and the Star Wars Kanan books
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Morgekj Posts: 1
11/29/2021
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Hello, just joined the site. I have between 500 and 700 comics from the 60's and early 70's. they have been in a storage container untouched for 45 years.. Have 20-30 first editions for various titles. Any ideas / thought on a good way to grade
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claydwilli Posts: 60
11/30/2021
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Subscribe to this site, and get them all into the DB as the standard default grade (9.4) then see what the values are showing you at that level, pick out the 'high value' and start doing a detail grade inspection on those and work your way down. There are lots of videos online that talk about what to look for in grading to get you started. Then if you find some that would really benefit from a CGC (or other) pro grade, take those steps. Just remember that to make it 'worth it' you gotta think about the cost of the grading together with the value.
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Yella Posts: 1
12/3/2021
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Yo I am very new here and just trying to see what I may have gotten my hands on
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Troybo Posts: 26
12/3/2021
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Jaredkchapman wrote:
Should I grade these issues? Is it worth it?
I'm a newish collector. I collected as a kid and lost all of those in move after move, country to country, but I started collecting again in 2013 and stopped in 2017 for a total of 800 issues. I bought them bagged and boarded and kept them in long boxes, reading them very carefully when I did read them. I stopped in 2017 after my son was born because we needed the money for other things. Because of Covid, we're broke again and I need to sell my collection.
I went through and created a spreadsheet of everything I have and what CPG says they're worth. Most of these are worth what I paid for them. All are raw and at least 9/4, I bet, as I was very careful with them. However, I have a few that stood out, and I was wondering if I should get them graded, if it is worth it for these issues, and if so, who do you suggest I get them graded by? Thank you in advance. I appreciate the help. I wish I didn't have to let any of them go.
- Batman #23.1 - Joker #1 3D Cover
- Batman Eternal #1
- Batman/Superman #12 - Shane Davis Variant
- Battlestar Galactica: Cylon War #2 - Stephen Segovia Cover (purchased bagged and boarded with Certificate of Authenticity Limited Only 290 copies of foil edition)
- Darth Vader #1 (2015, Gillen)
- Darth Vader #1 (2015, Gillen) - Skottie Young Variant
- Darth Vader #1 (2017, Soule) - Skottie Young Variant (autographed by Charles Soule with Certificate of Authenticity)
- Darth Vader #3 (2015, Gillen) - First appearance of Dr. Aphra
- Green Arrow and Black Canary #2 - Retailer Incentive Variant
- Green Arrow and Black Canary #3 - Retailer Incentive Variant
- Harley Quinn #1 - Loot Crate Exclusive - Amanda Conner Variant (unopened polybag)
- Jupiter's Legacy #1 - Bryan Hitch Variant
- Justice League #30 (Forever Evil, Jessica Cruz as Power Ring)
- Orphan Black # 1 - Loot Crate Exclusive (unopened polybag)
- Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Best Buy DVD Exclusive Promotional Giveaway Plubagged (unopened)
- Star Wars #1 - Loot Crate Exclusive Gabriele Dell’Otto Variant (unopened polybag)
- Star Wars: Kanan, the Last Padawan #1
- Star Wars: Kanan, the Last Padawan #1 - Skottie Young Variant
- Star Wars: Kanan, the Last Padawan #6
- Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (autographed by cover artist Derek Fidolfs at a Comic Convention, no Certificate of Authenticity)
I’ve been preparing to dip my toe in the graded waters, and here’s some of what I’ve gleaned so far from my extensive research. And by “research,” I mean reading tons of articles, watching hours of YT videos, and poring over countless completed sales listings...
When it comes to Modern comics, as a general rule, I would not recommend grading unless you are absolutely certain the book is a solid 9.8. The drop-off in value for anything less is substantial, unless you’re dealing with a very high-value key. For example: if you check completed eBay sales for your Darth Vader #3, will see that “raw” NM copies often sell for nearly as much as a graded 9.6.
Don’t get caught up in FOTM hype. The grading process will take several months or more. A book that currently demands high prices because of the latest movie or series happenings might easily cool off by the time you get your graded issue back.
As for the CBCS v CGC decision… Although CGC graded books typically demand a slightly higher price than their CBCS counterparts (mainly due to name recognition), CBCS is quickly gaining status. Also, CBCS seems to be the way to go with Modern issues. Not only are their fees slightly lower, but more importantly, they seem to be less stringent with the grading of newer comics versus older issues. The converse is true of older comics: CGC tends to grade the older issues with more leeway, while holding the newer issues to a higher standard.
Let’s use your Darth Vader #3 again as an example. Suppose CGC thinks it’s a 9.6, and CBCS thinks it’s a 9.8. You’d definitely get more for a CBCS 9.8 than you would from a CGC 9.6.
Lastly, unless you are supremely confident in your grading skills, I suggest you get a second (and maybe even a third) opinion on the grade you’ve assigned to your books. Ask some of the folks at your LCS. They might spot some flaws you’ve overlooked, and they’ll almost certainly have some opinions of their own to share from previous experience.
It’s a daunting process, sorting out all of these details and weighing the pros and cons. I recommend you find out as much as possible about the process in general, and specifically about how it applies to your personal collection. I hope this helps.
Rock On.
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
12/8/2021
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Troybo wrote:
but more importantly, they seem to be less stringent with the grading of newer comics versus older issues. The converse is true of older comics: CGC tends to grade the older issues with more leeway, while holding the newer issues to a higher standard.
This is not what I have heard, read, or experienced. Fact is there's no substantial difference, at least consistently.
As for realized prices, CGC tends to get more but if you fix a CBCS book at CGC price you will get it.
edited by oxbladder on 12/8/2021
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Guest
12/16/2021
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Don't listen to those potential buyers. They know damn well they can buy your raw books for far less than fair market value if it's not cleaned, pressed and graded.
The very first thing you need to do is step back and second guess your grading. They can be ruthless with even the most minor of defects that are hardly noticeable to the naked eye, or can't be seen unless it's under a blacklight or using raked lighting. Especially when it comes to modern books. They'll often let some structural flaws slide on older silver/golden books, but there aren't enough fingers in my extended family to count the times I thought a bronze/copper/modern book was 9.4 or 9.6 or 9.8 only to have it come back an 8.5 or 9.0 or 9.2
From there, I use what I call the nine-two-two rule. With obvious exceptions for old, rare or extremely popular books of any age, I won't submit unless I know for certain it's going to hit 9.0 after a clean and press, it's got two hundred or more sales recorded.
From your list, I'd say the Kanan star wars books and the darth vader 3 are your best bets.
As for who should grade, CGC still gets a premium on the market for their slabs time and again but for books that are extremely sought after, I don't think it really matters.
edited by ronbatman on 12/16/2021
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