Question reference raw vs. pgx

[ComicDoc]

Hi,

 

I was wondering what the consensus would be on the purchase of a raw versus pgx book. This would be for a book with the same reported grade but one is raw and one pgx. What price point would you use for the raw versus pgx, e.g., 10% more (or less) than what you would pay for the raw etc.?

 

Why even consider a pgx?

 

I am glad you asked due to the high price of some of the CGC books (which is well deserved due to superior service and quality ) and given that I collect mostly raw books and also keep a raw copy of all my CGC graded books. I was contemplating purchasing some pgx books to crack out and be my raw copies.

 

Why not get the opinion of the board members with more experience in purchasing pgx books to decide if I am any better off and would it prevent me from getting burned completely.

 

So I do know that some people have very strong feelings about pgx vs CGC but this is not a comparison (as there is none ) between these two but rather raw vs. pgx.

 

Thoughts??

 

[Comicopolis]

I treat them as the same.

[faster friends]

I wouldn't do it unless it was a modern

[Bosco685]

I wouldn't do it unless it was a modern

 

+ 1

[ComicDoc]

Thank you for your responses what would be the major concern? Restoration? gross over grading etc.

[Snake Eyes]

My rule of thumb is pretty simple, and I actually use it surprisingly often (except for PGX books, which I get maybe 5-6 per year). I do give PGX books a bit more weight than raw.

 

Anyway, if CGC says 4.0 I will pay what I would be willing to pay for a 4.0 book (with a .5 bump up or down for PQ).

 

PGX holder says 4.0, I will pay what I would pay for a 3.0, so half a grade knocked off.

 

Raw books, I pay a full grade less. So I pay what I would for a known 2.0 when advertised as a raw VG. This does leave me losing a lot of auctions, but very rarely am I disappointed when I do snag something.

 

This plan, of course, falls apart if you are a high grade person, but I have found that it works really well for mid grade, and even better for low grade books 4.0 and below. (thumbs u

 

 

[Bosco685]

Thank you for your responses what would be the major concern? Restoration? gross over grading etc.

 

Well, a few months back it came up that PGX's "senior grader-only grader" was bringing books home and encasing them there. The rumor was on the older/more expensive books he may have been switching them out for lower grade copies, yet encasing them in the grade of the original book.

 

So on Moderns, the assumption is the dollars are not there enough to encourage the greed unless we are talking about books like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1.

[comicdonna]

I have purchased some PGX books. I treat them as if they were raw books. Thus, paying the same price as if it were raw. The scans need to be high quality. I have had good luck so far.

 

[Old Fashion PB and J]

Thank you for your responses what would be the major concern? Restoration? gross over grading etc.

I treat PGX books like raw ebay books alot. But I also dont buy PGX books. The 1 I did buy graded higher by CGC after I cracked it. 8.5-9.0

[ComicDoc]

Thank you for your responses what would be the major concern? Restoration? gross over grading etc.

I treat PGX books like raw ebay books alot. But I also dont buy PGX books. The 1 I did buy graded higher by CGC after I cracked it. 8.5-9.0

[Old Fashion PB and J]

Thank you for your responses what would be the major concern? Restoration? gross over grading etc.

I treat PGX books like raw ebay books alot. But I also dont buy PGX books. The 1 I did buy graded higher by CGC after I cracked it. 8.5-9.0

Pretty good too, considering it is a pedigree, key, and relatively scarce in HG.

[Mutie Fan]

Price wise I treat them as raw. However, there is the disadvantage of not being able to look through the book for flaws on the interior. There have been threads from people who have cracked PGX books and found serious flaws inside that should not be allowed in the grade on the label.

[DiceX]

I rate a raw book over a PGX because I can only see the front and back cover of a PGX book.

I have even less than NO trust in anything in a PGX case.

 

 

[mschmidt]

I rate a raw book over a PGX because I can only see the front and back cover of a PGX book.

I have even less than NO trust in anything in a PGX case.

 

 

+1

[TheLiamSturgess]

I'd pay the cost of slabbing ($10-14) and about half the value of the book. So, if I was buying a PGX 9.8 Civil War #5, I'd pay about $12.

[shadroch]

I've bought a few PGX books and cracked them all. Never had a problem with any of them, but I don't care to give them much business. A PGX book has to be very cheap for me to consider it. As an example I recently bought a DD #2 in a PGX restored slab for $27. The price was low enough to overcome the stigma of the company.

[Boozad]

I don't do PGX.

I won't do PGX.

I would only ever do PGX,

If Jessica Alba offered me sex.

[Stronguy]

I rate a raw book over a PGX because I can only see the front and back cover of a PGX book.

I have even less than NO trust in anything in a PGX case.

 

 

[OldGuy]

I try to avoid supporting criminal enterprises either directly or indirectly.

[thunderstick]

I just recently spent an hour or so on google reading a variety of comic forum threads regarding CGC vs PGX and the overwhelming opinions of PGX mirror the posts in this thread.

 

Avoid them, as has been pointed out already, as they are worse than raw because you cannot completely trust the contents of the book itself are intact and complete without cracking it open, and by then, it's too late.