I mean, are you really satisfied?

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the clarity and reliability of the grades that they render and what its done for the industry but lets be real about the what this has done to the hobby.

1. What CGC has done is clearly a boon for comic book collecting in that you can buy books with confidence in their quality but we PAY THROUGH THE NOSE for this gift to the industry. A press and a slab for a modern book is $30 and 3-4 months, never mind the insanity of sending submissions fast track. In a lot of instances I've had to decide which is cheaper, buy a pre-slabbed book now or press & submit my unslabbed books for damn near the same price or more and wait 3-4 months. When the process of collecting costs as much or more than the actual collectible I'm not sure what that is but it sure as hell isn't a gift to mankind!

2. Now that CGC is the gold standard, its brought clarity and reliability to the market and its also raised the price for everything. Books that I bought just a few years ago that were considered worthless are now showing up on eBay for $125 because they're 9.8's. Does anyone remember going to the 2 for $1 bin at a comic shop or con and now seeing some of those same books selling for ridiculous prices. It seems like nowadays its not so much about the book itself as it is the grade, now nothing is worthless if its a 9.8. A couple of real world examples, why does every issue #1 from Image end up on eBay 9.8 ( likes thats a real feat ) for $75-100 in less than 30 days. Why are new books that are not all that rare in the grand scheme of things selling in 9.8 ( not a real feat ) for more than some books that are actually rare and actually old. I know I'm not the only one who has seen the Image #1 9.8 of the moment selling for X number dollars and thought, man I could buy a oldie but goodie in 9.8 for that kind of money. In short, CGC grades have helped to lead us to a place where we have books that are clearly worth something but how much, books that are clearly worth nothing but how little, and new books that you can't quite determine tell how much they are worth in comparison to old books.

3. CGC is one big mystery wrapped in a puzzle. We all know Overstreets grading criteria but why are CGC's criteria a secret? When CGC came out a lot of people saw the value of their collections drop. People who had bonafide great collections ended up having mediocre sets once CGC started dropping bombs on peoples collections. Are there any old school collectors out there who can back me up on this. CGC's grading criteria are a secret so you can't argue with them about the grades they give. CGC's grading criteria are secret because they are more stringent which makes it harder to attain a respectable grade which keeps us coming back for more. Don't get me wrong, I don't think its all bad but I'm sure CGC isn't off put by the business this generates. The boards, registry, and awards spawn competition which keeps up coming back for more.

4. Is anyone still bothered by the clear conflict of interest with CCS aligning with CGC? Its hard for me to believe that two affiliated companies don't share info. You mean to tell me a box arrives at CGC from CCS and the CGC staff open it like " wherever did this box come from, come let us grade these anonymously submitted books ". All CGC needs is one good scandal to bring ruin to the market.

I love the boards and community CGC has established. I like the service they provide but my admiration falls far short of love and devotion.

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