newshane

But it's free here (for now), as near worthless information should be! Plus, since it's free, there is no expectation for the evaluations to be accurate. If I pay someone for their opinion and it's off more than two points (!) then I'd be mighty disappointed. The CGC is the best team out there IMHO, but there are big-time dealers and old-school folk and maniacs in the forums whom I trust just as much.

Let's suppose that those folks are determined to buy nothing but NM books. Imagine their disappointment when the book comes back VF after having been graded. To top it off, they paid an extra 5 or 10 bucks for the speculative service, which didn't provide them with the information required to meet their goals.

...and yes, it is a cash grab. But I am not against a good ole' fashioned cash grab as long as I get something useful out of it. Like the new Black Label Pedigrees. Cash grab. They know that people like me will send in for reholder, and they are correct. I will. But at least I feel like I"m getting something cool and tangible from it. If the CGC can look at a scan and tell me if the book will fall somewhere within the 8.0 to 10.0 range (I still can't get over that) then that is WORTHLESS information. It's no great salve to my anxiety as a buyer, and no great assistance to my reputation as a seller.

I'm not outraged. Bemused is the appropriate adjective. My argument is that the information derived from having anyone analyze a scan isn't helpful enough to justify the service. You are paying for speculation based on an incomplete (around 7% of the book at best) analysis in absentia, with ranges as wide as the Pacific Ocean.

My main gripe is that it is ALWAYS indeterminable, therefore worthless. It may be designed to guard against predatory practices on eBay, but I think it's fairly predatory on an intrinsic level.

Sansa?

I store them in the fifth stomach of the fire-breathing, venomous dragon imprisoned within the bowels of the castle in which I live.

I totally agree. I have a sentimental attachment to that era because it was the time in which I was introduced to comics and comic collecting. As bad as things got with the gimmick covers, I'd take them over the multiple variant/manufactured rarity chase any day.

1. It cheapens the whole process of grading. You simply CANNOT evaluate a book from a scan. Why would the CGC even try? 2. It insults my own ability to evaluate a book before I sell or buy it. If I can't reasonably tell if a book falls somewhere within the VF to Gem Mint range I should probably get my glasses checked or find a new hobby. 3. Bluntly - it's a ripoff that makes the CGC come across as money-hungry, opportunistic capitalists. I see no value in the service unless you're a hopeless newb with money to burn. 4. If I buy a book and disagree, I can usually return it - hopefully through the seller's policy, but surely through eBay's policy. So why do I need the CGC's service? 5. As mentioned previously, what if a centerfold is missing? Interior piece torn? Restorations that wouldn't show in a scan? Married covers? The new service can't detect these flaws. Again, you can't grade by looking at the scans. What if I buy an "online evaluated" book, and I run into these problems? Will CGC refund the money for evaluating the scan? 6. The grading ranges are far too broad to be useful at ANY grade point. Only the very worst graders and the most clueless people in the hobby would be off more than 2 points. There is already a perception that 3rd party grading services are rip-off scams...and this perpetuates that notion. It's just not a good look in my opinion. I see it as the equivalent of McDonalds charging you extra for ice cubes and straws.

Those were both awesome covers. Nice.

Have you guys ever thought about using the boards as a focus group BEFORE changing policies or offering services? Perhaps you don't want to show your hand to the competition by presenting your ideas before the fact, but it might save a bit of embarrassment or rage. I love the CGC, but I see this service as an embarrassment to the hobby.

Die-cuts, gatefolds, holograms, holographic foil, metal foil, glow-in-the-dark cover, prismatics....

To the OP - are you an artist with graphic design experience?

It's also slang, in some corners of the Hispanosphere, for a man's gonads. ...the more you know...

I'd take an early 90s gimmick cover over having to collect 20 worthless variants of the same issue. Better to have one worthless book than 20, no?

Honest opinion? Please return to the drawing board.

Indeed.... kind of like the special label partnerships.

I think it's worthless, a waste of money, and a waste of time for the graders, who should be busy...grading my comics. Do I really need someone to tell me that a book is in the 8.0-10.0 range?

People tend to forget (!) that the WTC was bombed a few years before 9/11. The towers had been a target for a while.

Gratuitous post.

I may be inferior to the Joneses if you compare vehicles and homes, but my bank account balances, home equity, and credit scores aren't.

The slab looks fine.

Here I go... In general. non-rivet Planets have cooler covers than the rivets. Also, Ghost 2 > Ghost 6. I *really* like #1 as well.

"ADD-ME-RAL???! Admiral Kirk?" - Kahn

Meh...sounds to me like it all evened out in the end.