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"CGC employees are not allowed to..."

Started by PedigreeMan,

804 posts in this topic

seanfingh

seanfingh

Posted
Posted

 

As long as a CGC employee does not sell (or trade) slabbed books I have no problem with them buying or selling books, or other collectibles. It has no bearing on the market, nor their impartiality imho.

 

Perhaps they should alter their disclaimer to better reflect the buying/selling/trading of slabbed books versus raw.

 

Ze-

Well said Kenny (thumbs u

 

I don't know...... hm

 

 

I'm not sure I would be OK with a CGC employee using their grading position at CGC to bolster sales of raw books. (shrug)

 

I'm with you on that one, Chris. But unfortunately, this appears to be a really thorny issue. 1st off, none of these guys would be in the positions they have if they hadn't spent considerable time and energy on the hobby, gaining expertise in myriad areas. To me, it wouldn't be fair to say to them that they could not engage in the hobby.

 

2nd, "Commercial selling" to me implies a level of commitment to the sale of comics for a considerable portion of that persons living; equivalent, at least, to a part-time job. So the occasional sale of books would not be out of line.

 

3rd, it would create, at least, the appearance of impropriety if one of these folks were to be selling slabbed books, so it seems raw only would be an absolute.

 

The devil here is really in the details: how much selling = commercial selling; and who is watching the watchmen. I don't know that it really bothers me and I certainly don't have any answers, but it is an interesting discourse.

 

--S.

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binarysunrise

binarysunrise

Posted
Posted
I'm curious as to what everyone's opinion is on what constitutes "commercial" selling. Is it any selling whatsoever? If not, then what would you allow? What would you disallow?

 

Commercial selling = Buying with the intent for resale profit.

 

If CGC graders buy some moderns for reading and they turn out to be hot (like mouse guard or something) and they sell them for a profit down the line on eBay or somewhere that's OK.

 

 

What if they just made bad purchases? If graders overpay for comics, any reselling would be at a loss. Would that be allowed? hm

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comicdonna

comicdonna

Posted
Posted

Yeah, I find it hard to believe that no one at CGC has bought or sold a vintage comic since starting work there. meh

 

hm

 

"I just bought a copy from Timely. Thanks to everyone for the offers. You all rule. "

hm I guess I just assumed that the CGC staff had to give up collecting comics to maintain impartial grading. I know West had an amazing collection of books. I must say, that this is a very interesting topic. I will look forward to everyones opinions. I'm sure one of the members of the CGC staff will clarify this matter for us.
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awe4one

awe4one

Posted
Posted
Buying CGC books for their own consumption is probably fine as well. And certainly buying raw books is perfectly acceptable.

 

This whole thread is speculative...but what the hell...

 

I don't know about the buying part...it would depend on who they were buying from? If it was a major submitter, who's to say they giving significant discounts to curry favor? I think the potential for conflict of interest is much greater on the buying vs. the selling end when talking raw or acquiring CGC slabs. If a CGC worker was selling slabbed books, that immediately makes it inappropriate...

 

Jim

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comicdonna

comicdonna

Posted
Posted
Buying CGC books for their own consumption is probably fine as well. And certainly buying raw books is perfectly acceptable.

 

This whole thread is speculative...but what the hell...

 

I don't know about the buying part...it would depend on who they were buying from? If it was a major submitter, who's to say they giving significant discounts to curry favor? I think the potential for conflict of interest is much greater on the buying vs. the selling end when talking raw or acquiring CGC slabs. If a CGC worker was selling slabbed books, that immediately makes it inappropriate...

 

Jim

I have to agree with you that this thread is speculative but, the boards does need a thread like this to keep things interesting. ;)
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Dr. K

Dr. K

Posted
Posted
Buying CGC books for their own consumption is probably fine as well. And certainly buying raw books is perfectly acceptable.

 

This whole thread is speculative...but what the hell...

 

I don't know about the buying part...it would depend on who they were buying from? If it was a major submitter, who's to say they giving significant discounts to curry favor? I think the potential for conflict of interest is much greater on the buying vs. the selling end when talking raw or acquiring CGC slabs. If a CGC worker was selling slabbed books, that immediately makes it inappropriate...

 

Jim

 

Speculative indeed. I would have thought that on this board it would be relatively easy to find someone who could give a definitive answer. That being said, I love giving my opinion on things that I don't really know anything about - its so deliciously irresponsible. Anyway it seems to me that in the grading business perception is everything. Regardless of what someone actually does or does not do is far less relevant than what the public perceives. And lets face it, if the comic trading public perceive even a whiff of conflict of interest CGC is potentially out of business. So I would have imagined that their rules for employees are very strict indeed. I would have thought that in order to work at CGC one would have to, essentially, suspend any trading, buying or selling beyond what is available on the newstand. Again I would have thought that commercial buying or commercial trading referred to any buying or selling that might in any way be construed as speculative. I rest my case, your Honor, and through myself at the mercy of the court.

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seanfingh

seanfingh

Posted
Posted
So, is it being said that a CGC employee should not own a comic book?

 

 

"You never actually own a comic book. You merely look after it for the next generation.”

 

hm

 

That has to be a Flaming_Telepath quote!

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comicdonna

comicdonna

Posted
Posted
Buying CGC books for their own consumption is probably fine as well. And certainly buying raw books is perfectly acceptable.

 

This whole thread is speculative...but what the hell...

 

I don't know about the buying part...it would depend on who they were buying from? If it was a major submitter, who's to say they giving significant discounts to curry favor? I think the potential for conflict of interest is much greater on the buying vs. the selling end when talking raw or acquiring CGC slabs. If a CGC worker was selling slabbed books, that immediately makes it inappropriate...

 

Jim

 

Speculative indeed. I would have thought that on this board it would be relatively easy to find someone who could give a definitive answer. That being said, I love giving my opinion on things that I don't really know anything about - its so deliciously irresponsible. Anyway it seems to me that in the grading business perception is everything. Regardless of what someone actually does or does not do is far less relevant than what the public perceives. And lets face it, if the comic trading public perceive even a whiff of conflict of interest CGC is potentially out of business. So I would have imagined that their rules for employees are very strict indeed. I would have thought that in order to work at CGC one would have to, essentially, suspend any trading, buying or selling beyond what is available on the newstand. Again I would have thought that commercial buying or commercial trading referred to any buying or selling that might in any way be construed as speculative. I rest my case, your Honor, and through myself at the mercy of the court.

I will add to this "give up their collection". I thought that was what West did.
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chromium

chromium

Posted
Posted
So, is it being said that a CGC employee should not own a comic book?

 

 

"You never actually own a comic book. You merely look after it for the next generation.”

 

hm

Kind of like children?

 

Oh, I own my kids all right....

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sckao

sckao

Posted
Posted

I spoke to Borock and some CGC guys about this at various cons and Forum Dinners... and they ARE ALLOWED TO BUY COMICS... ANY COMICS.

 

They are just not allowed to sell them as long as they work for CGC.

 

So it's pretty simple. They can buy what they want. They just have to wait until they leave CGC to sell them.

 

I've even sold them comics (from POV's collection.)

 

Borock said that they're still COMIC COLLECTORS/FANS.. and it wouldn't be fair to prohibit their reading/collecting while CGC employees.

 

 

 

 

 

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