Darkwing7869

My UF4 got bumped from a Modern Tier to an Express Tier. Express tier is for books between 1001 and 3000. The ONLY grade of UF4 that fits within those two values is a 9.8. A 9.6 and lower is worth less than 1000. So, the only justification for CGC to upgrade my copy of UF4 all the way up to Express tier is if it specifically graded at a 9.8. Who decides if it gets a 9.8? CGC themselves.

Well I believe there is a difference between value and current market trends. I always assumed CGC based value on raw Overstreet Price Guide numbers and not what the graded book is currently going for in the grade CGC themselves gave it.

But that's still creating almost an incentive to grade books higher. "If I give this book a 9.6, I can charge him this grading fee, but if I give this book a 9.8, I can charge him this grading fee which is significantly more." A UF 4 9.8 is a $3000. A UF 4 9.6 is a $1000 book. Two different max value tiers.

I got an email from CGC about a submission I sent in (25 books, all modern tier) saying that they are bumping up several of my books to a higher tier. It is what it is but what's interesting is that one of the books (UF 4) was upgraded all the way to Express which is a 3000 max value tier. Only the 9.8 comes close to hitting that tier. All other grades are at or below 1000 which is the Standard tier max value. Another book (Savage She-Hulk 1) was upgraded to Standard tier in which only 9.8s comes close to being a 1000 book. Even 9.6 is hovering around 400 which would be Economy tier. Prior to this submission, I have never had CGC upgrade any of my books during the grading process. I do find it odd that CGC is now basing the value on the book on the grade THEY intend to give it. Seems like a blatant conflict of interest.

I would say there are more investors than ever before. Not even so much speculators but actual professional investors. Physical assets of all kinds are skyrocketing in value as a hedge against inflation. I would wager that a large percentage of people are new to buying comic books care very little about the book itself and only about the ROI they hope to achieve.

eBay purchase records only date back a couple years at best. Paypal I believe is 3 years. Everything prior to that is not recoverable as far I as know.

And I don't understand how the people of this country can stand being taxed upon taxed upon taxed. I buy a book using income thats already been taxed. The book itself upon purchase has a sales tax associated with it. So I'm supposed to be taxed AGAIN if, god forbid, the taxed book I bought using money thats already been taxed is slightly more valuable now? What an absolute joke.

In case you are not aware, within the most recent US Stimulus Package, there is a section that mandates all third party payment systems (PayPal, eBay, Venmo, etc) send the IRS a 1099 form whenever a seller receives a total of $600 or more for an entire calendar year. This is down from the current threshold of $20,000. However you feel about taxes and the Federal government and I am neither confirming nor condoning such actions, I am fairly certain the majority of us comic book collectors who occasionally sell books either on here or on other platforms don't see the relatively small amount of money we receive from selling as "income" and therefore completely ignore it when it comes to tax season. Most of us never come close to the 20k threshold over the coarse of the year, but 600 dollars could end up being just a single book. I'm curious as to the community's thoughts on the matter and whether it will affect your future exchanges. Do we go back to the days of only accepting checks or money orders through the mail and hide from online transactions entirely?

On the Services and Fees page, it states that the current turn around time for Economy books is 37 days for normal submissions and 34 days for Fast Track. Are these accurate numbers? If I pay 10 more dollars, I would only see a roughly 3 day decrease in turn around time? That doesn't seem to make sense.

This is my first time sending in a card to get graded. I have a 2nd Edition Charizard thats been in a top loader since I first pulled it 20 years ago. So far, I've only gotten comics graded. Is getting the Sub-grading option typical if I was planning on reselling? Thanks

I tend to only sell slabbed books as attempting to sell raw books with always upset someone who disagrees with the grade you estimate. That being said, I sell maybe 20-30 books a year but they tend to be high value (high 3 figures/low 4 figures) and have yet to have any issues with either eBay themselves or sellers. The fees suck unless but unless you are willing to do business through Paypal's F&F with potential strangers and therefore comes with inherent risks, you're always going to pay something. That being said, if you are willing to put in the effort and establish yourself and build a reputation among the comic book community, platforms like these forums, facebook marketplace, or instagram allows you to bypass eBay fees.

So I recently came into possession of an Ultimate Fallout 4 (1st Print) as part a collection and am hoping to submit to CGC. However, when I took it out of the bag and board to inspect, the comic itself was sealed within another plastic bag. As this is definitely a candidate for 9.8, I'm hesitant to attempt to open the packaging myself. If I sent it to CGC/CCS as is, will they open up the plastic wrap or is it something that I am going to have to do ahead of time?

Can you also get it pressed in addition to utilizing this service?

Ive had good experiences and bad experiences. I no longer trust CCS with anything thats high value that's less than a 7.0 as I have personally had two of my mid-grade books come back with popped staples. They are just so busy that being extra delicate can be lost in the process.

I looked and looked and I think its right on the center black line right next to Spidey's elbow (4th panel). it looks like there is a slight color break. But ya it took me forever to find and thats while holding it in my hands under a bright light.