Et-Es-Go

This thread really prompted some interesting discussions. I do not know what OP means, so someone will need to enlighten me on that. Let me see if I can set the record straight here on what was submitted and what the results were. Two books were submitted. The first one I put a FMV of $30K on it and submitted as unlimited value. Paid the 4% fee up front, and there is a $5 charge for imaging, a $5 charge for handling, then $125 for overnight shipping, so at $135. So the total for that book was $1,335.00. All went fine with that book, and I have it back. The second book submitted was also submitted as unlimited value. That book does not sell very often as it does not have a very big census. I did not find any applicable current sales so I defaulted to the price guide (which is what CGC says to do) and estimated the grade at 7.0 to 8.0 which had a guide price of about $1800, thus I used that. $150 is the minimum for unlimited value, then add the same imaging, handling, and shipping fees for another $135, so I paid up front fees of $285. This book they determined should be worth $20,000, not $1800. So I was asked to pay an additional $650 in grading fees, the difference. In the first case it all went according to -script and no issues. For the second case the FMV was re-assessed based on the opinion that CGC feels the book is worth $20K compared to my submission FMV of $1800. I think it is fine that they determine a different value for a book that has been submitted; however, they need to either have a procedure spelled out on how they get to that value and/or they need to structure their unlimited value tiers to better meet the expectations of the customer and not surprise them with a 10x change upward or more in valuation.

OK, that said. Then their should be standard tiers of what the value of the book is vs to apply grading fees and the grade of the book. If they created criteria that stated something like this (and I am making these numbers up: Value $2K to $5K Grading Fee $250 Value $5K to $15K Grading Fee $500 Value $15K to $30K Grading Fee $750 If for example they believe a book should be assigned to a higher category they should provide their assessment, and then you would jump to that new level of value vs grading fees. This at least would be a compromise in their grading/fee structure to be more transparent about how they are making their assessment, and the result of that assessment drops you into a different tier. There are a lot of ways you could structure the fee schedule, and this is only one iteration. I would need to know more about how their biz works to make a more intelligent or applicable opinion on how their fees are adjusted.

It is an interesting conundrum. The majority of collectors feel more secure about buying a slabbed and graded book. Personally, If I buy a book, I want to turn the pages and see what is between the covers as well. The time it takes to grade a $500K book vs a $5K book is arguably the same, so the grading fees should be set based on that task, not using value as a starting point. Now I can understand the insurance side of this whole thing where CGC needs to cover the chance of having to replace said book and how that book is valued for insurance purposes for CGC. So if that is what it is, call it what it is. By setting a FMV ahead of grading is really based on the insurable value of the book that CGC should cover. For CGC that cost has to be based on a sliding monetary scale based on the insurable value. Why not just call it what it is, Collectables Insurance Coverage while in the Custody of CGC. Now that I can understand.....

Thanks for posting this part, and I have read through this a few times. But just what exactly do they mean by "adjusting the tier"? I sent the book in as unlimited value and followed their directions. As far as I can tell my book was still viewed as within the tier of unlimited value, they just assigned a higher value to the book which resulted in higher fees. If they have a standard operating procedure for this action, then it should be documented. As far as I can tell there is not an accepted standard procedure for doing this, we just get what we get?

The email I posted was first notification, and the initially must have assigned a FMV of $302,000 because to grading fee was increased to $12,078. Now that the book is graded and they did some sort of market analysis, the grading fee is now assessed at $800, which means they assigned a new FMV of $20,000 on the book.

Where we are now is I assigned a FMV of $1800 based on guide price since very few copies have sold. After they made their own assessment they determined the value of the book to $20K. So 4% of $20K is $800. I sent in $285 based on the $1800 FMV and their other fees. So now I owe them another $650. OK, fine cuz it could have been more. Charging a fee based on value in one case and then just a flat fee in other cases does not make intuitive sense to me.

I estimated the grade of the book, and looked at Heritage for any recent sales, and that did not help much. I then took the value from the bottom of the census for that book based on the grade I thought it was.

I sent a golden age book into CGC for grading and submitted it as Unlimited Value. Since this book seldom changes hands there is not really a current fair market value established for it so I made my determination on what the grade would be and used the price guide for fair market value, which was $1,800. I got an email from CGC saying it was adjusted, see copy of it below. I don't understand what this means and wondering if someone here can explain this. I have already talked to CGC and have asked them to look into this.

I think this thread deserves a bump since there is just so much awesome artwork on display via Heshka's cover recreations. I think it is the amazing imagery of the golden age covers that draws most of us into a hobby like this, so take an hour or so with a beer or your favorite cocktail and go through these posts.

Very much so, but these days the Alan Light reprints might actually have that old book smell and feel which makes them "feel" more real.

Boardie's, I bought a few of these books and there is just no way that the peeps at CGC would mistake these facsimile copies as the genuine thing. They have a different look, different paper, different feel, and they don't smell like an old vintage book. For $20 they are great to have in your collection, but there is not way these books will pass for the real thing.

I am closing this sales thread, I think all that wanted to purchase any of the books listed have done so. If there are any items I still have drop me a message, but I won't be monitoring this as closely since the sales thread is closed. Thanks to all that purchased from the collection, and I hope everyone is happy with their new books. I enjoyed meeting a lot of folks with similar interests and seeing what people have squirreled away in their own collections. Thanks to all and we will see what the next sales thread brings. Thanks, Phil!

I have edited many of the posts with reduced prices and removed the items that have sold so the listing is not so difficult to navigate. Hopefully peeps find the new prices appealing and see some bargains. Good Luck!

Scoop Comics #8 and the Turtles #3 are both sold, thank to those that purchased!

Well thank you for that reply. It is sometimes hard to "read the room" when you are trying something a bit different. Thanks, Phil

Do you have an issue with me listing some of the listings in my thread as runs rather than pricing as discrete books? Curious about you comment as it strikes me as somewhat sarcastic. Just trying to understand where you are coming from.

I wish......

Sold, thank you!

I wanted to check with the boardie's here and see if anyone has any evidence of there being a Mile High copy of Suspense Comics #4. I don't see anything in the Heritage sales indicating they have ever sold one. Highest grade in the CGC census is a 9.0

Thank you, will mark these as sold!

Thanks for letting me know, I have corrected the listing to adhere with the rules.