Wizard First Program - Not April's Fools

[Clark Khaos-migration]

You be asking the wrong person there Tigger!

 

Perchance someone in the know may reply!

 

 

 

Don't hold your breath.

[PovertyRow]

You be asking the wrong person there Tigger!

 

Perchance someone in the know may reply!

 

 

 

Don't hold your breath.

 

Clarkie strikes again! Responds to the wrong responder. Sheesh!

 

PS - your DVD will probably be going out Friday = got the day off from work - will be visiting the Post Office for you and another's tidbit - am turning off the work cell phone - no interruptions - early AM at PO - then off to Wondercon!

[Clark Khaos-migration]

You be asking the wrong person there Tigger!

 

Perchance someone in the know may reply!

 

 

 

Don't hold your breath.

 

Clarkie strikes again! Responds to the wrong responder. Sheesh!

 

PS - your DVD will probably be going out Friday = got the day off from work - will be visiting the Post Office for you and another's tidbit - am turning off the work cell phone - no interruptions - early AM at PO - then off to Wondercon!

 

Sweet!!! And I was TELLING Apotheosis not to hold his breath because he was the one originally seeking answers from those higher in the food chain!!! Fortunately, it appears that he is eating popcorn... so unless he suddenly should provide us with a "Help! Choking!" emoticon, he should be fine.

[PovertyRow]

[lou_fine]

 

 

Wow.

 

There's SO much wrong with this... I just don't even know where to start.

 

 

Yes, I don't like it either. I feel the same way. -----Sid

 

This is all about the money and that's all that CGC seems to care about. Doesn't matter how long the collectors have to wait for their books as long as they keep raking in the money.

 

Same with their signature series which is turning into nothing more than a big joke. Now they even have pedigree designations for sale as long as you submit enough books. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they have back room deals with some of their major customers to give them that slight boost in their grade as long as they keep submitting books. Integrity doesn't count for anything nowadays, only the money does.

[mitol]

What gets me about the Sig Series is that it is a "manufactured collectible". That is counter to what I understand CGC to be. And if you ask me about that will probably take a few to find the references where CGC says their goal is to not influence the market.

 

I cannot disagree with your above statement. However, handwriting experts or software which can detect forgeries are probably very expensive and not worth the investment, so I can understand how CGC will only certify books they've witnessed.

[valiantman]

There is one MAJOR redeeming quality for this "Wizard First" program...

 

It is ONLY going to be used on brand new, straight-from-the-printer books.

 

There is absolutely NO CHANGE to the CGC process, grading, market, etc.,

for ANY back issue book, from 1900 to 2003.

Repeat: It does not affect any book from the Golden Age all the way up

to last year at all... so just relax.

 

If you don't like Wizard First... AVOID it.

It shouldn't change YOUR collecting...

and I know it won't change mine.

 

(That is, unless you actually collect slabbed books that are brand spankin' new...

in which case... what's THAT all about? You're screwed either way in the long run.)

[Ze-man]

 

 

Below are my opinions..

Well.. this just plain sucks.

 

 

For starters, I am at a loss as to the "NEW" not improved grading system.

I quote from Stevie.." The top books will still be 10.0, but the next grade will be 9.5"

 

For books coming direct from the press, isnt this a huge jump ?, I expect the flaws to all be minor, and while one book is a true Gem Mint.. the other with a mere speck of a flaw is 9.5?

This smaks of greed.. trying to create a market where 10.0 is a premium, and there for worth more since the next grade is a mere lousy 9.5 which no one wants.

 

Kinda like the Toy Market, where out of each case bought , you get 1 Darth Vader Long Lightsaber .

I hate this kind of Marketing,.while to the masses I can see they are thrilled to get 10.0 comics somewhat easily.

But as for me all I see is CGC just went from the grading biz.. to the selling comics biz.

Boooo.....

 

 

And then there is this quote....

“We’re very excited to team up with Wizard on this,” said Steve Borock, Vice President and Primary Grader at CGC. “Getting books straight from the printer reduces the number of hands they have to pass through.”

 

Translated this means...

 

We are excited at the chance to make money faster, and more easily, as we wont have to check for restoration , or have to look at the interior pages.

 

Booo.... Hiss....

 

 

As a company move, I can see how this might make perfect sense.. should we appeal to a small market and make them happy ?

naw...... , heck noo......

lets appeal to the masses and make a killing short term.

 

A hypothetical recent CGC board meeting..................

 

Hey why dont we sell out CGC comics at Wal Mart with Wal Mart only Exclusives!!, and Spencer Gifts for that matter!

 

Yeah... that will work...

 

......................................Ok sarcasm noted, I am sorry...

 

 

Well as you can see Steve, I for one dont like the direction you chose to go with your comapny.

This has only lessened my opinion of your product, not enhanced it.

 

 

I can see why this is a path you must explore,as money is hard to turn away from.

but I emplore you to spend more time making the product you have better, Build it and they will come

Dont pimp out your product , it only dillutes the end result.

 

 

Zeman

[SharpComics.com]

If this Wizard thing is for real, I will seriously consider sticking to raw books and leave the empty slabs in Sarasota. This move with Wizard will only have damaging effects. IMHO, this is NOT a good move for CGC. Please rethink this before it goes any further. I would hate to see something as "revolutionary" to the comic world be "perverted" by Wizard's greed.

[mitol]

There is absolutely NO CHANGE to the process, grading, market, etc.,

for ANY back issue book, from 1900 to 2003.

 

Actually, I believe it affects all submitters as the Wizard books will add more volume to the already heavy load being graded.

[Apotheosis]

The sad thing is that while Steve may be disappointed that the hard core collectors are upset they will just pass us off as being the vocal minority. It's just another lesson on the well established corporate montra "Coddle the little guy until you're big enough to leave them behind"

[valiantman]

There is absolutely NO CHANGE to the process, grading, market, etc.,

for ANY back issue book, from 1900 to 2003.

 

Actually, I believe it affects all submitters as the Wizard books will add more volume to the already heavy load being graded.

If CGC just added new staff for grading...

This "Wizard First" program seems like a perfect job for the inexperienced/interns.

 

If resource planning was considered, it shouldn't take any additional time from the regular pre-WizardFirst staff.

 

(Maybe just buy a couple more "slabbing stations" and add the slabber-specialists,

but as far as grading goes... this Wizard idea is a piece of cake, right?)

[awe4one]

If this is true.....and I'm not convinced.....it will effectively kill the Modern slabbed market. Essentially they are putting two types of grading criteria out there for the same books. What right minded dealer would get their moderns slabbed when Wizard will have their's out to market, probably sooner, while the dealer issues will be scrutized more because they are under the .2 scale?

 

Absolutely horrible idea....even if they are thinking only of the money.....

 

Jim

[mitol]

Three months now, six months later, it doesn't REALLY matter does it?

 

True. So, so, sadly true.

[Clark Khaos-migration]

There is one MAJOR redeeming quality for this "Wizard First" program...

 

It is ONLY going to be used on brand new, straight-from-the-printer books.

 

There is absolutely NO CHANGE to the CGC process, grading, market, etc.,

for ANY back issue book, from 1900 to 2003.

Repeat: It does not affect any book from the Golden Age all the way up

to last year at all... so just relax.

 

If you don't like Wizard First... AVOID it.

It shouldn't change YOUR collecting...

and I know it won't change mine.

 

(That is, unless you actually collect slabbed books that are brand spankin' new...

in which case... what's THAT all about? You're screwed either way in the long run.)

 

VM, how about the fact that CGC is essentially NEGATING the very idea of ALL grades between 10.0 and the new 9.5? Now, they get a pile of brand-new books, and if it's NOT a 10.0, it's a 9.5. Pretty easy system, in my eyes. Pretty easy money, too. Grading companies themselves should not be producing manufactured collectibles. It's a conflict of interest. This should bother you a great deal.

 

And you're dead wrong about this not changing the system. It changes EVERYTHING. You're going to have new "half-breed" books floating around out there that could very well be 9.6s or 9.8s, but in fact are graded at 9.5. Doesn't that undermine the entire system? I think it should bother CGC collectors a great deal that they are changing the rules in the middle of the game...

 

... And the whole thing only helps to validate the CGC-Wizard connection that has been bandied about for so long.

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Nobody has yet addressed this aspect >>> INSTANT RE-SUBS!!

 

You're going to have new "half-breed" books floating around out there that could very well be 9.6s or 9.8s, but in fact are graded at 9.5.

 

So now, if a 9.5 "direct slab" pops up on ebay with a large/clear enough scan -and a potential flipper feels it's worth another go- buy...crack...re-sub...re-sell.

 

This new avenue of money-making for CGC is more monstrous than I originally thought.

 

The only question now is...will this new cash-cow be enough to off-set all the $$$ lost from current customers (like moi) not willing to just let Wizard "cut in line" ahead of us?

 

You listening Steve?

 

Rick

[awe4one]

You're going to have new "half-breed" books floating around out there that could very well be 9.6s or 9.8s, but in fact are graded at 9.5. Doesn't that undermine the entire system? I think it should bother CGC collectors a great deal that they are changing the rules in the middle of the game...

 

And will probably send more business CGG's way......

 

Jim

[BradleyX2]

[jimm94]

This may be an unpopular opinion, and I'm sure all of us attending the Saturday WonderCon dinner will discuss this issue over many, many beers, but here goes...

 

The goal of every business is to make more money and grow. Every business needs to develop new products/services in order to grow and make more money. If it doesn't, that business will eventually stagnate and fail.

 

CGC is a business. Yes, they need to be held to a high ethical standard as an impartial professional grading service, but they are not a non-profit organization or industry watchdog. This should not preclude them from forming strategic partnerships for the purpose of developing a unique, non-conflicting product or service. I don't have a problem with this alliance (provided it doesn't interfere with CGC's ability to service their core customers) because the product is clearly different from the standard CGC grading service. Here are two big reasons why:

 

1.) The Wizard First Program doesn't compete with modern submissions from dealers or collectors because these customers will be able to continue to submit any book published in a given month, past or present. I suspect Wizard will choose to offer a limited range of titles each month. I doubt that the serial numbers feature of the Wizard First books will appeal to collectors. To me, it's irrelevant when a book was produced within an overall print run.

 

2.) On the same titles that Wizard does offer, dealers and collectors and will have an opportunity to receive 9.2, 9.4, 9.6 or 9.8 within CGC's regular grading system. Based on pricing for the first two books being sold by Wizard, there's plenty of room in the price point between the Wizard First 9.5 and 10.0 grades for standard 9.6 and 9.8 books to thrive. In fact, I can foresee a market developing where standard blue label books will be more desirable to collectors because they are a "real" CGC grade. It's also likely that people will be willing to pay somewhere in between the Wizard First 9.0 and 9.5 prices for a "real" 9.2 or 9.4.

 

The only real danger to dealer/collector submissions is that the Wizard First books will have the potential of being first-to-market. It will be interesting to see how much of a time difference there will actually be.

 

Until then...

 

Cheers,

 

-Jim

[richnerd]

Only thing I have to say is if this was CGG This would really be a burn'em alive thread.