9.2 versus 9.6 Ethics versus Reality.

[joe_collector]

You want to prevent a crash? Do more for the hobby than just buy high end and hoard. That selfish strategy has sunk many hobbies in the past and don't think it won't happen to you.

 

[GOODBYE!-migration]

You want to prevent a crash? Do more for the hobby than just buy high end and hoard. That selfish strategy has sunk many hobbies in the past and don't think it won't happen to you.

 

 

Thanks Joe, from you it definately is an honor.

 

[COI]

The real strength of any hobby is what accurately graded mid grade samples go for not what two high grade maniacs dueling it out on a few books/cards/coins think it is.

 

Very well said.

[Aman619]

My point about lower and mid graded raw books comes back to the long term viability of the hobby, of which the high grade speculators are really a very small part of. Screw people on over-graded raw mid and low grades and they probably won't stick around and push up the prices of your high grade slabbed gems, let alone your high midgrade gems.

 

I dunno...lots of us you describe here have stuck around pretty long! Overgrading is a constant, especially in lower grades. Thats what discounts are for.

 

Look what happened to cards? When I hear that 2 of the highest priced non-sports cards are like $2.5 million,

 

which NON sports cards are you referring to?

[GOODBYE!-migration]

The first Magic the Gathering manna cards off the printing press.

 

You know on second thought I had forgotten how I liked Magic cards and their deflationary force on the comic market as a whole, helping to make sure that books that weren't supposed to break out early remained undervalued as a whole.

 

Thats not to say I liked any other cards as it was the playing of magic cards with clear simple rules, with the the option to augment these rules by incorporating different cards for any particular match that both players agreed upon(unless it was a sealed deck and then it was choice of sealed land ratio adjusted random deck, often new) that was an expression of Freedom and Liberty in itself, at least for those predeposed to Magic cards.

 

Anyways its a given for those at the higher levels of Comicdom that 20 years from now we will look at present prices paid for some books as being ludicrously low, but not for the same multiplier as the super popular books the general market would have expected, Just look at an old Mile High Ad and then compare it to Mile High Chuck's non sale price at his website; remember this is the same dealer we are talking about and like any good businessman he knows it is good to keep stock moving if only to keep books from incurring too high a storage cost. A comic collector does not care about the cost of storage if he or she (more of these in the hobby would be good for price stability) Loves the book or set of books.

 

Incidently I remember reading not too long ago in some industry magazine that collectibles in a region with reasonable and safe storage costs could sustain a larger amount of collectibles. This makes sense, think of the cooling costs many of the big New York back issue Dealers saved by moving north to Mass. and thereabouts. This basic difference in storage costs can account for prices being too low or too high in a specific town or city which is why mail order is still very viable, for guess what?

 

So you are not at the mercy of a local market/bicycle ride.

 

Books which are a decent deal at price given or so scarce that it is a good price to you, You Will pay a premium with the assurance that at least there will be no loss in resale due to gross overgrading by the dealer. Any wear due to mishandling by the person owning the book is the owner's business, which makes this system depend on honest people to work really well. I still think a sweet looking 9.2 can be worth as much as a crookedass 9.6. They really need 9.1 to make 9.2 more selective. Some low end near mint books get dropped down too quickly to VF levels, when they have unharmed pages and sharp corners, no defects except for the spine

 

I always picture a VF/VM book at least having a tiny crease/messed up corner or pages, just how a killer looking About Uncirculated 58 can look much better than an Mint State 60, where many nicks can be acceptable but any wear is forbidden

 

I mean you already lose as a collector if you try to sell too soon with dealer, as rightly he has to price overhead into his sale price. Why do you have to suffer an even stiffer penalty for badly graded books? In higher grades, and the premium prices paid for them, even .2 or .4 difference in grade can constitute gross overgrading. If the person was foolish enough to put that much faith in one person 9.6 grade rather than pay a premium for eye appeal and decent page quality then they felt burnt.

 

The flip side is that if you give them a fair grade and a fair bonus/multiplier for scarcity, beauty, out in the open etc, then they can make a fair decision for themselves as a Collector rather than a Speculator. You know, like the difference between someone buying a horse to ride and the other major reason people buy horses. Love and Not Love

 

 

Good dealers get good books moving even if they do keep a few in the personal incubator, which is fair. It is up to them, though, to keep these books properly graded and at the same time helping these books make their way to a loving home and not having to spend years in the long term comic nursery, unloved.

 

Or do you think that accurately graded mid grade and hign low grade will stay low for ever? With enough experience and if you are reading this paragraph, you will definately have enough experience, you realize that accurately graded anything will sell at a multiple of guide for the good guide price's try to compensate for the gross ovegrading that on occassion occurs between parties being educated, for education has its price, but one should not overpay too much for a poor education; VF/NM is definitely much much much better for the price asked and paid for, where as F/Very Fine is top end for lower grade collectors.

 

9.0 is like the level of a mid-filled glass level, it looks different to different people, for some appreciate the 9 while others can not stand for the 0. I would predict with near certainly less and less every year of 9.0 detractors is a fact that will be proved over the next couple of decades as these books are properly taken and held or traded to someone who will help get them to a loving home, hopefully not damaging them too badly along the way through neglect as some have speculated this youngster did.

 

Pretty books had value before cgc and you know when all the ultra high grade and high grade cgc books are hoarded up, that only leaves Pretty books of decent content, of whatever grade at a price most people can afford($20-$200 or the book starts to appeal to a specialized market only) will have demand as long as people have eyeballs, you know what I mean?

 

Grade tough, discount where necessary, and give a premium for nice looking books, which can come even in CGC 3 and up.

[GOODBYE!-migration]

My point about lower and mid graded raw books comes back to the long term viability of the hobby, of which the high grade speculators are really a very small part of. Screw people on over-graded raw mid and low grades and they probably won't stick around and push up the prices of your high grade slabbed gems, let alone your high midgrade gems.

 

I dunno...lots of us you describe here have stuck around pretty long! Overgrading is a constant, especially in lower grades. Thats what discounts are for.

 

 

Not everyone is addicted to comics like we are. I'm talking about maintaining a slightly larger market through good business practices for every one's benefit, including you and I. Bigger Long Term Market=making people who were relatively addicted and took good care of their books And held onto them more secure than Enron employees when it was called Enron.

 

Treating people fair is very cost effective advertising. Yes, there are occasional bad customers, but don't go into it thinking they all are otherwise how different are you from the RIAA short of suing people?

 

In real estate they say every succesfull, and when I say succesfull I mean the customer was happy, transaction can lead to up 27 other successfull transactions that would not have happened if you had not left that person happy.

 

Just because we all got burned starting out doesn't mean it is good alienating people who haven't gotten the bug like we have. Speaking of which how about letting BugaBoo back? I'm sure something could be done on a post by post basis rather the capital forum punishment of banishment.

 

I know, but I have so much to share.