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Modern CGC purchase I thought was totally worth it

Started by howardhallis,

20 posts in this topic

howardhallis

howardhallis

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Posted

Just bought my first modern CGC graded books on eBay. Now some golden and silver age collectors might feel that any books you can get raw off the racks in 9.0 or higher might not be worth the time, but Neil Gaiman's 1602 run to me seems like a nice series to have slabbed.

 

I just got #1-7, all graded 9.8, for a total (including shipping) of $235:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2235937596&category=35765&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWA%3AIT&rd=1

 

Considering that it would be $165 with cover price and CGC submission fees alone, and you wouldn't be guaranteed this grade on every issue, I think this was a sweet deal. Still, I have to wonder how often this set is going to be available (maybe for less) in the future... What do you all think?

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rob_react

rob_react

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To me, anything around $30 shipped is fair for moderns. Plus, to get them all in one shot like that is cool. That's worth some $$ just in time and effort. You could probably find them a little cheaper but would it really be worth it?

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lighthouse

lighthouse

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Once my copies of #8 come back, I will have three sets available of #1-8 in 9.8...

 

I plan to sell the sets around $229 plus shipping (about $23 for Priority Mail).

 

So the $235 price for the first seven isn't bad at all... and if the books make you happy it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about the price anyway... thumbsup2.gif

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Bonds25

Bonds25

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You'll be able to pick up these issues for $20 or less in the future after the series cools off, so it was just an OK deal. Plus, they're all brand new issues in prestige format, so I can't imagine they're hard to find in true NM/MT condition.

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howardhallis

howardhallis

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I have reading copies already! grin.gif

 

I didn't know about the Colossus Comics high grade subscription service. Any links to that?

 

Wouldn't charging $20 for graded books be a money losing situation? The cost of the comic and CGC processing would cost more than that! And for 9.8's? Sheesh, Spider Woman #1 is going for $60 in 9.6!

 

Sure, my reading copies are beautiful and would probably be comparable to the ones that come slabbed, but to have the whole series in 9.8 still seems like a good investment...

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mitol

mitol

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Wouldn't charging $20 for graded books be a money losing situation?

 

Not really. A failed prescreen only costs $3.00 and I believe businesses submitting their books get a discounted rate that regular Joe's do not.

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duncan36

duncan36

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Once my copies of #8 come back, I will have three sets available of #1-8 in 9.8...

 

I plan to sell the sets around $229 plus shipping (about $23 for Priority Mail).

 

So the $235 price for the first seven isn't bad at all... and if the books make you happy it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about the price anyway... thumbsup2.gif

 

You dont pick through all the copies to get those 9.8's before they go out to the customers I would hope though many comic shop owners do at this point.

Another unanticipated side effect of CGC, dealers cherry picking from all the hot moderns, and giving the 9.0's-9.2's to the customers.

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ericc123

ericc123

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Sure, my reading copies are beautiful and would probably be comparable to the ones that come slabbed, but to have the whole series in 9.8 still seems like a good investment...

 

Actually I doubt this will end up being a good investment for you. Like someone else mentioned the series will eventually cool off because it's not an on going. Also you hurt your own argument by saying that your unslabbed copies are just as nice. This just means that CGC said your first 7 are a 9.8 and no one said that your other 7 were. The only difference is CGC and eventually the speculators who are buying CGC modern books will leave the hobby.

 

Eric

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mitol

mitol

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Actually I doubt this will end up being a good investment for you. Like someone else mentioned the series will eventually cool off because it's not an on going.

 

I have to agree with ericc123. As purely a modern collector, I don't think that a slabbed set of this series is a good investment as there are just too many out there (and in 9.8's). If the story (which I haven't read yet as I am waiting for all the issues to come in) has ramifications that will affect the Marvel universe for years to come, it might retain some value. I know it's a cliche, but if a slabbed set of books has meaning to you and they become valuable many years down the road, great. And if they were indeed worth something considerable, and you only had the one set, would you sell them that easily? Hmm. Come to think of it, better get two sets. thumbsup2.gif

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howardhallis

howardhallis

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Let me now state the obvious...

 

All drool aside, the CGC slab is like putting something into suspended animation, at least theoretically... Sunlight and water damage could still make even an uncracked comic books grade invalid... but the protection is exceptional. The third party grade also helps, and because there is this Platonic ideal of 10.0 Gem Mint, you can see why a Spider-Man comic slabbed and graded 9.6 would sell for much more (in most cases) than a raw copy would.

 

Still, there are things to consider. The folks at CGC are only human after all, and the grade is indeed just "an opinion". I wonder how many complete sets of 1602 will be offered in the future in 9.8. Will there be a Gem Mint set of the books... all 8 issues in 10.0... up on eBay every week? Maybe not, but I'm sure getting a 1602 #1 9.8 will always be a lot easier than getting a copy of Silver Surfer #4 in that grade (if one even exists) because nowadays there are so many folks who are making sure they grab and slab these books the minute they come out.

 

To me, since the series featured my favorite characters (Dr. Strange and Clea) being written for the first time by one of my favorite comic writers (Neil Gaiman), I still wanted to get at least the first issue slabbed in the highest grade I could find. To my collection, this is a key book. Being able to locate almost the entire series in 9.8 in one swoop was tempting... so tempting... So I said WTF and did it.

 

Just for fun, I'll keep an eye on eBay in the coming months to see how many times a 9.8 or higher set of 1602 comes up for auction, and my impulse buy might serve as either a warning or an inspiration!

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FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

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Let me now state the obvious...

 

All drool aside, the CGC slab is like putting something into suspended animation, at least theoretically... Sunlight and water damage could still make even an uncracked comic books grade invalid... but the protection is exceptional. The third party grade also helps, and because there is this Platonic ideal of 10.0 Gem Mint, you can see why a Spider-Man comic slabbed and graded 9.6 would sell for much more (in most cases) than a raw copy would.

 

Still, there are things to consider. The folks at CGC are only human after all, and the grade is indeed just "an opinion". I wonder how many complete sets of 1602 will be offered in the future in 9.8. Will there be a Gem Mint set of the books... all 8 issues in 10.0... up on eBay every week? Maybe not, but I'm sure getting a 1602 #1 9.8 will always be a lot easier than getting a copy of Silver Surfer #4 in that grade (if one even exists) because nowadays there are so many folks who are making sure they grab and slab these books the minute they come out.

 

To me, since the series featured my favorite characters (Dr. Strange and Clea) being written for the first time by one of my favorite comic writers (Neil Gaiman), I still wanted to get at least the first issue slabbed in the highest grade I could find. To my collection, this is a key book. Being able to locate almost the entire series in 9.8 in one swoop was tempting... so tempting... So I said WTF and did it.

 

Just for fun, I'll keep an eye on eBay in the coming months to see how many times a 9.8 or higher set of 1602 comes up for auction, and my impulse buy might serve as either a warning or an inspiration!

 

Its your money. If you feel like it was worth it, it was worth it. Congrats - get a 10.0 8. grin.gif

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lighthouse

lighthouse

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I wonder how many complete sets of 1602 will be offered in the future in 9.8. Will there be a Gem Mint set of the books... all 8 issues in 10.0... up on eBay every week?

 

I would imagine there are a few of us that will offer sets in 9.8, at least soon after #8 is available. As for how they change hands after that, who really knows?

 

But you can forget about there being sets in 10.0... There's only one set that is even in 9.9... The same guy owns every 9.9 and 10 from this series that is on the census, every single copy. I sold him the only 9.9 of issue 1 graded so far, both of the 10s of issue 5, one of his 10s of issue 6, and half of all the 9.9s of the other issues in the series.

 

It's possible that there will be a second 9.9 found of #1, and perhaps a second 9.9 of #3, but you can pretty much forget about any 10s of those two books. The entire print run of those two issues had centering problems, and there just aren't any 10s to be had...

 

I honestly don't know how this series will do from an investment standpoint. Mini-series that are not connected with an ongoing monthly are more of a gamble. But Gaiman's fame outside of comics is growing, and there is no telling whether some of his rabid fans outside this medium will eventually come calling for CGC books... Time will tell...

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