CGC grading for a newbie.

[sirbestow]

First attempt at a journal. Reflection on getting my books graded through the eyes of a beginner. Part 2 of this journal can be found in "The Con is On" (To keep the entries small).

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This is my first attempt at doing a journal on the collector society site. I'm sure there will be revisions down the road until I get this to my standards. So check back often.

 

In terms of collecting CGC graded comics, I'm a newbie. I got my first book in done 2009. Not counting comics I have out, I only have 5 comics to my collection with a 6th one I purchased on e-bay (First purchased graded book. That story will follow later). All 5 comics are from my personal collection and most of them have a back story (I will try to input that story directly onto the book listing in the future). I know some didn't grade high, but it was the matter of being able to preserve the memory as is and be able to display it to see instead of in my safe or in a box.

 

Pros and cons about "slabbing"? The book is meant to be read or enjoyed, slabbing means the book CAN'T be enjoyed anymore. We live in a day and age where reprints and the digital era make that statement a moot point. Most of the books in my collection that are to be slabbed have a personal story to it. It isn't so much the "value" as much as the preservation of that memory. In my mind, if that book becomes damaged or lost it would be harder to replace financially than kept as is. I know the story on the pages just by seeing the cover, but if I want to revisit it there is a ton of selections from reprints, soft cover, hard-cover collections and even (almost the best of all) digital versions through Marvel and other companies themselves.

 

I sometime understand the dislike to slabbing. There are some people out there who will take the book, or multiples, from first release who will slab to flip a profit. I guess they need to make their money someway and I guess I can understand this viewpoint. On the publisher's end, why do they print variants and such if it isn't for this purpose? Do I need 9 copies of Uncanny X-force, when in reality they all contain the same story as version 1? The alternate covers are to showcase fan's favorite artiest. To me those types of books are made for grading.

 

Value isn't a prime factor in my collection. Preservation is. Not saying that the long term value doesn't play its part, but I've always said that it will be up to my children to sell the books - not me.

 

To be continued in "The Con is On"

 

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[jackowick-migration]

A lot of people love to slam slabbing with "oh you can't read the book." It's 2011, we are in an age where you have digital comics as well as an abundance of trade paperbacks. In fact, TPBs are so abundant that if you just want to "read", you make out like a bandit buying pre-read copies online. I've backed up all my CGC'd X-Men with TPBs and/or the Omnibus line.

 

And that CGC rating is a huge factor in reselling. Most people, sorry to insult, can't grade a comic if their life depended on it. How many "Near Mint" books are realy a Very Fine when seen in person? And there's a huge swing if you're looking at a Fine to Very Fine. I'll take the CGC rating on a 7.5 book to the bank if I'm reselling.

 

(And for the other CGC nerds who are 9.8 snobs, you can't always get what you want when you're collecting gold and silver age on a budget, so I'll proudly display my X-Men #4 7.0 and when it's time to sell, I'll be glad to represent a fair value thanks to the CGC)

 

Slabbing is a ton of fun, especially for displaying books. I have my "goal" collection but still get caught browsing bargains on ebay and finding an unwanted occassional Bronze book at 9.4 or higher going for $20, but with a SLAMMIN cover.

 

Good luck to you.

[zosocane]

A lot of people love to slam slabbing with "oh you can't read the book." It's 2011, we are in an age where you have digital comics as well as an abundance of trade paperbacks.

 

Problem with slabbing books (especially older books) is that you can't smell the pulp pages. Seriously, there's something special about opening a key book like an AF 15 and gently turning the pages and thinking what it was like to be a kid reading this for the first time, smelling the pages. VERSUS ... holding an AF 15 that's entombed in plastic.