Terrapin

Condition is key. Will you be able to actually see them before you make an offer? If you have a copy of the overstreet price guy that's a starting point. You need to know what you can realistically sell them for so you need to be able to grade well and know which books will sell for 30% of guide and which will sell for twice guide. Then you can make an offer that gives you room for profit and isn't an insult to the owner. To make a list like that takes a lot of time, experience, and research. I'd get a complete list from him first and then check guide and recent sales. If there are any that are potentially high value then you either need scans of front and back and notes on interior condition like staple issues or even better see them in person. When you have a list you can share it here and I'm sure a number of folks can let you know if there any hidden gems in there.

But the extra cost for the tiers is their insurance cost. The value of the book doesn't make the grading process more expensive for them so if someone is willing, however risky, to relieve them if the insurance burden why wouldn't they allow that. I'll call them back to make sure I understood them correctly, but I was basically told you choose the tier based on how much you want us to insure you for your book if we do something stupid.

That's not what I was told when I called CGC. They said the tiers are for insurance only and I can submit an expensive book in the lowest tier without penalty if I want to risk not getting fully compensated if it is lost or damaged.

Not if you don't mind insuring it for $100. You can submit any book in any tier you want.

I've thought about that but I'm new to the boards and not sure of the protocol for new members who haven't built any board Creed. I thought if I sold a bit on eBay I could point to my feedback there.

5.73

I'm about to start selling a 3500 book collection and was looking into eBay but I keep hearing more negative info that makes me hesitate. When I look at the sold auction values it seems that the only sellers who get a good price are those with a top rated seller status which would take a while to achieve. What are the other good options? I'm even thinking about seeing what metropolis/CC would offer just to save the time and hassle.

5.0

I see two cb spine ticks and two other stress lines on the spine that I can't tell if they break color or not in addition to what was already noted.

If you're not interested in collecting books for potential future value and only for reading pleasure then you can save a lot of cash by reading them online. Almost any book old or new can be read online for free.

The tier is soley based on the insurance. You can submit a 50k book in the lowest tier and not be charged anything above that tier cost but if the book is damaged you get back only the insurance on that tier.

Not exactly sure what your question is but books aren't graded based on artifacts from scans or photos. A nearly imperceptible defect is still a defect although one which would not be noted upon a casual view. These are what separate the very high end grades. A small non color breaking stress line can be seen with the naked eye but unless you are really looking carefully it can be missed with a casual inspection. This is the reason so many think they have a 9.6/9.8 book when in reality it is quite a few grades lower.

6.5/7.0

According to overstreet a book with one staple detached from the cover is a max 3.5. I have a few books that are otherwise in the 8.0 to 9+ range except for a single staple detached from the cover. Grading them as 3.5 seems harsh. Does anyone know how CGC deals with books like these. I'm in the process of grading my entire collection to prepare to sell and I'm really not sure how to grade or price these anomalies.

Probably not. The cost wouldn't be recovered in the sale most likely. Better to sell it raw and save time and money.

4.27

I guess I'm just used to the overstreet grading guide. When I see a cb crease of that size I top it at 7.5 even though I know CGC would probably grade it higher. When I sell raw I try to stick to os and hopefully someone will see a great deal. I also cannot give a raw book I'm selling anything higher than 9.4. I know some of them would come back as a 9.6 or 9.8 but I just can't do it.

Looks like a 7 to me as well except for the bc stain which bumps it down an unknown amount.

6.5

6.5/7.0 multiple cb spine wear and rough corner.

5/5.5 pressing won't help the creasing and color loss along the spine and small tears at the edges.

7/7.5 bc bottom corner is dinged but a press could probably fix that. Pressed I wouldn't be shocked if it got an 8.0 although the cb staple stress lines keep it below 8 in my book ( which CGC obviously doesn't use).

6/6.5 bc tears and corner take it out of the 7 zone for me. Still an amazing copy. If I had one in any condition I'd be thrilled.

With the detached cover I think it's a 2.0

On the inside fc in the center what is that shiny strip over the tears?