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CGC or Raw

Started by CDaBruce,

76 posts in this topic

Mac Man

Mac Man

Posted
Posted

Raw for me, but I will be adding a slabbed ASM #1 to the collection in the next few days when it arrives. When I first got back into collecting, I was pretty adamantly against slabbing. Now, I can definitely appreciate people's reasons for doing so: restoration is checked, and its condition will remain stable. It's part of the reason I'm leaving my ASM in its holder.

 

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Subliminal

Subliminal

Posted
Posted
I have zero slabs in my collection. Every CGC book I get is immediately cracked out. Most of them are golden age though, so no real value loss associated with it...

 

I do slab books for resale though.

 

Real men enjoy it raw (thumbs u

 

I have never bought a comic in a plastic coffin nor have any plans to and I enjoy it out here buying in a riskier way than the collecting while sleep walking method.

 

But if I ever do I will do exactly as you do and crack'em open catch and release style.

 

Wow, way to slam a whole section of the collecting population :applause:

 

I'm providing a little counter argument to the prevailing consensus here. I'm the chocolate to your peanut butter.

I'm sure there are many CGC slab fans who think its their duty to convince raw fans who come here that conversion is the way to go and I feel the need to balance that.

Notice I never make threads like this, only reply to them when they come up.

 

Dr. Watson: Is that a big enough opinion? :baiting: (thumbs u

 

 

 

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Red Hook

Red Hook

Posted
Posted
The one saving grace about slabbed is you can always crack 'em out and...voila...they're raw again and you have a verifed (respected and understood by others in the collecting community) grade... (thumbs u

 

Once the book is cracked out, isn't the "verified" grade considered invalidated? Sure, you can show them the label, tucked into the mylar with the book, but that isn't as convincing.

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valiantman

valiantman

Posted
Posted
I only buy raw. Paying 10x-50x more for a slabbed book, when I can get the exact same book in the exact same grade raw, is something I will never do. Ever.

 

How about paying the exact same price for slabbed vs. raw?

 

Happens all the time. (thumbs u

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nik

nik

Posted
Posted
I only buy raw. Paying 10x-50x more for a slabbed book, when I can get the exact same book in the exact same grade raw, is something I will never do. Ever.

 

How about paying the exact same price for slabbed vs. raw?

 

Happens all the time. (thumbs u

 

Especially lately ;)

 

 

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garthgantu

garthgantu

Posted
Posted

Paying the same amount for a slabbed book as the identical book raw is more the exception than the rule, certainly? Maybe for books under a certain grade this is more common, but with 'high grade' (and the definition varies by person and to some extent by era; a VF GA book is 'high grade' IMHO) books, a premium is the norm for a slabbed copy.

 

As for the "I like knowing my comics will always be in the stated condition," this is a serious fallacy for many reasons. Just to name a few:

- SCS

- the ever-shifting definition of a given grade; 1982's "NM" is today's "VF" and etc. This will most likely continute to happen to some extent, though not at the pace seen in the past decade or two.

- the possible drop in grade that slabbed books may suffer if the micro-chamber paper is not replaced every x (or xx; still TBD) years. Encasing a paper-based document or periodical without allowing for the atmosphere within to be 'refreshed' or kept in proper balance in terms of acids etc. may prove to have serious detrimental effects on comic books. I suspect that a significant % of all slabbed books will not have the micro-chamber replaced in anything resembling a timely manner. Of course, the owners of big-dollar books will presumably be more proactive about this, but there are 10x or 100x more slabbed books in the sub-$500 range than in the $500+ range...

 

Some of the first books slabbed are now due for micro-chamber replacement... how many of us have checked the due dates on our slabbed books and resubmitted them for micro-chamber paper replacement?

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Jeffro.

Jeffro.

Posted
Posted

I don't buy many slabbed books because I don't want to pay the premium the slab usually (although not always) commands. If I can get a slabbed book at OSPG, I might go for it.

 

My money goes farther buying raw books and I can actually open up the book if I want and appreciate white pages instead of appreciating the "White Pages" designation on the label.

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joe_collector

joe_collector

Posted
Posted
Some of the first books slabbed are now due for micro-chamber replacement... how many of us have checked the due dates on our slabbed books and resubmitted them for micro-chamber paper replacement?

 

Which is yet another reason for a "Date Graded" field on the label, or a separate sticker CGC affixes to denote that the book has been refreshed.

 

After all, how is the average non-Member buyer supposed to know in 5, 10, 15+ more years?

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awe4one

awe4one

Posted
Posted
Some of the first books slabbed are now due for micro-chamber replacement... how many of us have checked the due dates on our slabbed books and resubmitted them for micro-chamber paper replacement?

 

Which is yet another reason for a "Date Graded" field on the label, or a separate sticker CGC affixes to denote that the book has been refreshed.

 

After all, how is the average non-Member buyer supposed to know in 5, 10, 15+ more years?

 

How about they eliminate the paper? It's the only item advertised in the slab with a shelf life...

 

Jim

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garthgantu

garthgantu

Posted
Posted

How about they eliminate the paper? It's the only item advertised in the slab with a shelf life...

 

Jim

 

But they can't simply eliminate the paper and use the existing slabs? If that were possible, they wouldn't have included the paper in the first place?

 

Or by 'paper' do you mean the comic itself? :insane: Call me dense, but to my way of thinking the only paper 'advertised as having a shelf life' is the micro-chamber paper?

 

I agree with JC... without any way of knowing if the paper has been replaced, buying a slab 10 or 20 years from now on eBay may provide no 'assurance' of quality whatsoever, if the scan is smallish and the book inside has become yellowed, brittle, or whatever happens to a book that's sealed up for an extended period. I'm making a note on my calendar now to crack the few slabs I own no later than next year..!

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Mr. Zipper

Mr. Zipper

Posted
Posted
Some of the first books slabbed are now due for micro-chamber replacement... how many of us have checked the due dates on our slabbed books and resubmitted them for micro-chamber paper replacement?

 

Which is yet another reason for a "Date Graded" field on the label, or a separate sticker CGC affixes to denote that the book has been refreshed.

 

After all, how is the average non-Member buyer supposed to know in 5, 10, 15+ more years?

 

How about they eliminate the paper? It's the only item advertised in the slab with a shelf life...

 

Jim

 

The concern is that without the microchamber paper, a book would stew in its own offgassing within the sealed shell. The microchamber paper neutralizes that offgassing.

 

Once the life of the microchamber paper has expired, it simply stops working (neutralizing offgassing), but it does not become harmful. So, in effect, spent microchamber paper is essentially the same as having nothing at all.

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