• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO FAKE A CGC-SLABBED BOOK?

136 posts in this topic

Why are you guys cracking so many slabs? Just curious...

 

I bottom feed and get a lot of slabs for under $10. I often crack them and then put a nicer book in the now-nonslabbed plastic container. I offer the formerly slabbed book for sale and they frequently sell for more than they did when slabbed. Sounds like a bizarre marketing plan, but it works. A BA book like Champions 8 might go for $5 in an 8.0 slab but can bring more when raw.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A plastic slab could be perfected in the garage of someone living in Hoboken, N.J., for less than two thousand dollars, I believe.

 

*BronzeAgeFan* lives in Hoboken and I have $2k. hm hm hm hm hm

 

A guy I used to know had his own plastic manufacturing company. He would design and produce plastic enclosures depending on what retail company needed them. It would take a bit more then 2k to get a setup needed to mass produce these.

In America yes but we all know things cost less to mass produce in China.

 

Not entirely true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why are you guys cracking so many slabs? Just curious...

 

I bottom feed and get a lot of slabs for under $10. I often crack them and then put a nicer book in the now-nonslabbed plastic container. I offer the formerly slabbed book for sale and they frequently sell for more than they did when slabbed. Sounds like a bizarre marketing plan, but it works. A BA book like Champions 8 might go for $5 in an 8.0 slab but can bring more when raw.

 

I think raw people are thinking it may grade higher not knowing it was already graded.

 

I don't understand how sellers sell lots of 9.8 slabs for $10 each in groups of 5 ($50) when CGC cost to grade them is nearly 4x that amount.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why are you guys cracking so many slabs? Just curious...

 

I bottom feed and get a lot of slabs for under $10. I often crack them and then put a nicer book in the now-nonslabbed plastic container. I offer the formerly slabbed book for sale and they frequently sell for more than they did when slabbed. Sounds like a bizarre marketing plan, but it works. A BA book like Champions 8 might go for $5 in an 8.0 slab but can bring more when raw.

 

I think raw people are thinking it may grade higher not knowing it was already graded.

 

I don't understand how sellers sell lots of 9.8 slabs for $10 each in groups of 5 ($50) when CGC cost to grade them is nearly 4x that amount.

 

And if Borock/Heritage isn't getting a break on the slabbing fees for a 40,000 book collection, you know these little guys aren't either. For years I've wondered how sellers like Warehouse Auction Centers stayed in business, they used to slab the stupidest books I've ever seen (and a LOT of them).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why are you guys cracking so many slabs? Just curious...

 

I bottom feed and get a lot of slabs for under $10. I often crack them and then put a nicer book in the now-nonslabbed plastic container. I offer the formerly slabbed book for sale and they frequently sell for more than they did when slabbed. Sounds like a bizarre marketing plan, but it works. A BA book like Champions 8 might go for $5 in an 8.0 slab but can bring more when raw.

 

I think raw people are thinking it may grade higher not knowing it was already graded.

 

I don't understand how sellers sell lots of 9.8 slabs for $10 each in groups of 5 ($50) when CGC cost to grade them is nearly 4x that amount.

 

I don't get this either. My thoughts are that people are just dumping the books at a loss. I can't work out why, unless the goal was to submit a massive number of books in the hopes of picking up a 9.9 or 10, with the plans of recouping some of the cash for the expected misses....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why are you guys cracking so many slabs? Just curious...

 

I bottom feed and get a lot of slabs for under $10. I often crack them and then put a nicer book in the now-nonslabbed plastic container. I offer the formerly slabbed book for sale and they frequently sell for more than they did when slabbed. Sounds like a bizarre marketing plan, but it works. A BA book like Champions 8 might go for $5 in an 8.0 slab but can bring more when raw.

 

I think raw people are thinking it may grade higher not knowing it was already graded.

 

I don't understand how sellers sell lots of 9.8 slabs for $10 each in groups of 5 ($50) when CGC cost to grade them is nearly 4x that amount.

 

I don't get this either. My thoughts are that people are just dumping the books at a loss. I can't work out why, unless the goal was to submit a massive number of books in the hopes of picking up a 9.9 or 10, with the plans of recouping some of the cash for the expected misses....

cut your losses mentality (thumbs u
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've probably cracked about a hundred slabs - I still don't see how this could be done consistently, nor how it could be done "without all that much effort"? :shrug:

 

But even so, there are plenty of "older model" slabs out there where dexterous individuals can easily switch the labels.

 

This has happened many times, and some have even gone so far as to print fake labels up - I posted about the infamous Hulk 181 scam and have seen several just like that. It's not even worth it to bring these up anymore.

 

In the case of old labels, I would have to agree that it would be possible for a label to be swapped - the result would be harder to detect if its blue for blue label, and this could still be problematic if it's to boost a low universal grade.

 

In the case of swapping a (universal) blue for (restored) purple or (qualified) green label, the sonic seal on the outer edges of the inner well adheres well enough, even with an old label book, and as such, if a label removal were attempted in a deceitful way, it would still peel/lift away some of the colour from the label, and leave residue (in the case of a purple label, a purple tinge).

 

Because we are talking about clear barex (frosted effect on the seal), it would be very noticeable. In other words, you would notice the contrast of purple vertical lines on the outer edges of the inner well against a blue label backdrop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For years I've wondered how sellers like Warehouse Auction Centers stayed in business, they used to slab the stupidest books I've ever seen (and a LOT of them).

One of the two brothers was the Chairman of the Board for Myspace, so they really didn't care about the value of a book when slabbing. It was probably a fun little project to invest in.

 

From what I was told, the brothers had a falling-out, and one kept WHA while the other formed Marvelmovers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For years I've wondered how sellers like Warehouse Auction Centers stayed in business, they used to slab the stupidest books I've ever seen (and a LOT of them).

One of the two brothers was the Chairman of the Board for Myspace, so they really didn't care about the value of a book when slabbing. It was probably a fun little project to invest in.

 

From what I was told, the brothers had a falling-out, and one kept WHA while the other formed Marvelmovers.

 

Ah, thanks, I didn't know that. No wonder they seemed so retarded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why are you guys cracking so many slabs? Just curious...

 

I bottom feed and get a lot of slabs for under $10. I often crack them and then put a nicer book in the now-nonslabbed plastic container. I offer the formerly slabbed book for sale and they frequently sell for more than they did when slabbed. Sounds like a bizarre marketing plan, but it works. A BA book like Champions 8 might go for $5 in an 8.0 slab but can bring more when raw.

 

I think raw people are thinking it may grade higher not knowing it was already graded.

 

I don't understand how sellers sell lots of 9.8 slabs for $10 each in groups of 5 ($50) when CGC cost to grade them is nearly 4x that amount.

 

It's more than that. There is mentality among some collectors out there that just think buying a book in a slab is dumb, so they'd rather pay more for the same book raw than even bother looking at a slab and buying the book on the cheap.

 

You show them a graded book and they don't even bother to look at the book, they just reply "sorry, I don't buy slabbed books".

 

It's a weird dynamic...in fact I'd go so far as to say that the slab is almost like a road block to some people...they just can't get past it, not thinking outside of the box that they can simply buy the book and remove it from a slab.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

???

 

Refering to Roy's quote. Someone who won't buy a slabbed book just because it's in a slab is :screwy: Made me think of that old saying.

 

It's true though, isn't it? I hear it all the time at cons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites