Discuss comic grading and how to evaluate books
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fourrpaws Posts: 1
11/25/2016
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Hello all,
I'm new to the community and have finally got to the point where I want to get some of my comics graded.
I have been researching the various companies and found four here in the US. CGC, CBCS, PGX and Vault. I have recently heard some poor business practice complaints about CGC so I am hesitant to go with them, even if they are the oldest and best established. After reading several articles, blogs and actual news reports, I have decided not to go with PGX. Vault seems to still be a bit of an unknown factor, so I am not sure about Vault. CBCS appears to be the best alternative to CGC, and I am thinking about going with them, but I'd love to hear your opinions on this subject.
Assuming you were not already a member of any grading company, which would you choose and why?
If you were buying a graded book, would you avoid a purchase of one that was graded by a particular company and why?
Do you have any advice for someone sending in their books to be graded for the first time?
Thanks!
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
11/29/2016
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You are free to choose whichever company you want. However, I personally would stick with CBCS or CGC they are the most reputable and will give you the best returns should you wish to sell your books. While none of the companies follow a model that I would call "true" quality assurance CGC and CBCS are the closest to such models. None of the others come close and are either too expensive or too crappy.
I will not touch a book graded by PGX, Vault or any other company. I also will not touch any CGC book graded after they changed their case/encapsulation.
I use CBCS for a variety of reasons that most would not understand so just suffice it to say they follow a model that I can trust the most. They also have a great case and their service is top notch. If CBCS was not there and I was to use any other company it would be CGC. CGC still provides the best resale value in some cases, apparently.
edited by Oxbladder on 11/29/2016
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kds_comics Posts: 652
11/29/2016
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Oxbladder wrote:
You are free to choose whichever company you choose. However, I personally would stick with CBCS or CGC they are the most reputable and will give you the best returns should you wish to sell your books. While none of the companies follow a model that I would call "true" quality assurance CGC and CBCS are the closest to such models. None of the others come close and are either too expensive or too crappy.
I will not touch a book graded by PGX, Vault or any other company. I also will not touch any CGC book graded after they changed their case/encapsulation.
I use CBCS for a variety of reasons that most would not understand so just suffice it to say they follow a model that I can trust the most. They also have a great case and their service is top notch. If CBCS was not there and I was to use any other company it would be CGC. CGC still provides the best resale value in some cases, apparently.
I agree with Ox. CGC has been around longer, but former CGC president started CBCS. Either seem well respected.
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colbalt91 Posts: 298
11/29/2016
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What happened after CGC changed their case. You did not mention that, just that you do not like it.
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
11/30/2016
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CGC Changed the design of their case and the way they encapsulated the book in it. It was still in a mylar well/sleeve in th ecase but it was held in position basically by pressure. This caused what's termed Newton rings (which are places where the Mylar enclosure were pressed together making it look like a water drop between plastic and there is an accompanying rainbow effect around the edges of these spots) which carried over to where the book sat and looked unsightly to some. Worse though was the pressure was basically only on one or two edges of the book which caused books to ripple. After much hooha on the web CGC claims they fixed a few time but now they have the old inner well in a new case not designed to hold that well which concerns me that books may still be at risk of damage. Basically, I don't trust CGC books with the new large number grade with the page quality data below. All those indicate books graded after the change. Things may be fine now so I may be overly cautious so do your own homework but definitely do your homework so you don't end out with a book graded in the period where they were damaging the books with their changed case and poor encapsulation.
(As an aside back when CGC was starting out they had considered encapsulating with pressure holding the book but it was quickly proven to be an unsafe method. Why they went to it many years later boggles the mind. I also don't think they ever admitted that they ended out damaging book with this change!)
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