current turn around rates at CGC 80 80

[Ninja0215]

All of my submissions are for my PC. I just can't part with them yet. 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Ninja0215

[irishcritic]

On 1/4/2022 at 3:53 PM, dikran1 said:

My submission has now survived 2 price hikes

Sad to actually say, but I'm right there with you. LOL

[skybolt]

A bit off topic, but I assume if people are using a 3rd party presser (CFP in my case), unless the books are delivered to CGC headquarters by February 18th, they will be charged the new rates (even if the submission form was filled out back in September).

[zupaphly]

On 1/5/2022 at 8:53 AM, skybolt said:

A bit off topic, but I assume if people are using a 3rd party presser (CFP in my case), unless the books are delivered to CGC headquarters by February 18th, they will be charged the new rates (even if the submission form was filled out back in September).

From what I am reading, that is correct. 

[Ninja0215]

I'm not 

[NewWorldOrder]

On 1/4/2022 at 8:47 PM, Petroman said:

I think right now its a tough call.  Most books I submit that are from 1990-present I expect to get a 9.8 on as I screen them very closely and get any correctable defects pressed out.  Unfortunately, what I've seen over the last year is that the grades have been lower on average, and this massively affects the resale value of the books.  A $150 9.8 book is worth maybe $75 if it grades 9.6 and maybe $35 at 9.4.  Not to mention that the selling times can increase, so you may be tempted to just dump them at cost in an Ebay auction (done this far too many times lol).  Personally I'm still on the sidelines.  I'd like the grades to normalize and the TATs to decrease, and I'm sure I'm not alone here.  As it stands now, I just can't justify long TATs and low grades.  Maybe I'll test the waters with a few Silver/Bronze age books to see if they suffer similar grade deflation.  Hopefully not, but sadly it will take me 6 months to find out :-(

$150 honestly is my pop out to the outfield.  Generally for every modern invoice (25 books) over the last couple of years I expect on average each CGC book to be worth $250-300 at the min. 

[skybolt]

On 1/5/2022 at 10:36 AM, NewWorldOrder said:

$150 honestly is my pop out to the outfield.  Generally for every modern invoice (25 books) over the last couple of years I expect on average each CGC book to be worth $250-300 at the min. 

I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking. For example, if a $100 book does not grade out at 9.8, then you're basically stuck with a 9.4 or 9.6 that will basically just sit on Ebay for months until you sell it at cost. When I visit the local comic shops these days, it makes more sense to spend $10 to $15 (on average) on each raw book that has a $200-$300 value potential in 9.8 (but is still valued over $100 if coming back as a 9.6), than go to the dollar bins and find raw books that are selling in the $60 to $65 range in 9.8.I still make mistakes with some of the higher valued raw books, but the profit margins are better.

[NewWorldOrder]

One of my slow modern 8/27's went from GEI to Shipped in less than 24h hours! 

[NewWorldOrder]

On 1/5/2022 at 8:51 AM, skybolt said:

I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking. For example, if a $100 book does not grade out at 9.8, then you're basically stuck with a 9.4 or 9.6 that will basically just sit on Ebay for months until you sell it at cost. When I visit the local comic shops these days, it makes more sense to spend $10 to $15 (on average) on each raw book that has a $200-$300 value potential in 9.8 (but is still valued over $100 if coming back as a 9.6), than go to the dollar bins and find raw books that are selling in the $60 to $65 range in 9.8.I still make mistakes with some of the higher valued raw books, but the profit margins are better.

The main min goal for every book anyone submits to CGC (besides personal reasons) is that at worst your break even with the book.  However that minimum still sucks where you are basically giving a cash advance to the dealer or seller you bought the book from originally.  

[skybolt]

On 1/5/2022 at 11:07 AM, NewWorldOrder said:

The main min goal for every book anyone submits to CGC (besides personal reasons) is that at worst your break even with the book.  However that minimum still sucks where you are basically giving a cash advance to the dealer or seller you bought the book from originally.  

Agreed. In the past I would hit the $1 to $3 bins and purchase 50 books at a time. Even if half of them were worth getting graded, I would justify it since I could still turn a minimum $600 to $700 profit with a relatively low initial cost. However, you still have to factor in the large grading/pressing fees, which dwarf the initial cost to purchase these books (not to mention the leg work required to scan, store, list and sell each book for lesser profits). By transitioning to higher valued raw books, I've definitely become more selective with what I purchase. For instance, I find myself waiting and taking advantage of 25% to 50% back issue sales at my local comic shops to build my inventory.

[Petroman]

On 1/5/2022 at 11:36 AM, NewWorldOrder said:

$150 honestly is my pop out to the outfield.  Generally for every modern invoice (25 books) over the last couple of years I expect on average each CGC book to be worth $250-300 at the min. 

Guess it all comes down to your cost basis.  I'm sitting on thousands of books from late 80's to early 90's that I bought at cover price or less so my cost basis is quite low.  If I sell them raw they may go for a few times cover price, but that doesn't seem worth it to me considering I've been schlepping them around through all my moves the last 30 years.  I obviously want to maximize my profit whenever I can, but I'm also trying to get rid of a lot of that I no longer want.  Unfortunately the long current TATs and lower grades works against both of my goals.  Hopefully as the new graders settle in we will see improvements in both TATs and grading consistency in 2022.

[skybolt]

On 1/5/2022 at 11:42 AM, Petroman said:

Guess it all comes down to your cost basis.  I'm sitting on thousands of books from late 80's to early 90's that I bought at cover price or less so my cost basis is quite low.  If I sell them raw they may go for a few times cover price, but that doesn't seem worth it to me considering I've been schlepping them around through all my moves the last 30 years.  I obviously want to maximize my profit whenever I can, but I'm also trying to get rid of a lot of that I no longer want.  Unfortunately the long current TATs and lower grades works against both of my goals.  Hopefully as the new graders settle in we will see improvements in both TATs and grading consistency in 2022.

I was in the same boat about 3 to 4 years ago. I had about 3,000 books that were purchased back in the late 80's / early 90's, but only 300 or so were worth getting graded. I basically took the approach of sending 25 books every 3 months, which was still a relatively low cost / effort for a marginal profit. If you're talking about thousands of books you should not just look at the initial cost to purchase these books, but the ultimate cost after pressing/grading. For example, I purchased a Longshot No.2 back in the day for $.75. After pressing/grading, the book now cost me $35. After it came back a 9.6, I had it sitting on Ebay for a couple of years until I sold for a mere $15 profit. Just not worth it. 

[Willbert]

3 Fast Track Economy

Delivered: 12/20

SFG:       12/28

G/E/I:     01/05

G/Q:       

Shipped:

[wombat]

I wonder how many people die waiting for their books to come back? Sorry, I have no idea why that popped into my head. 

[skybolt]

On 1/5/2022 at 1:12 PM, wombat said:

I wonder how many people die waiting for their books to come back? Sorry, I have no idea why that popped into my head. 

I don't know, but the percentage has to have gone up over the past year.

[lonetree]

Modern Slow Track (50 Books)
Delivered 06/01/21
Received 08/03/21
Scheduled For Grading 08/03/21
Grading/Encapsulation/Imaging 12/01/21

Modern Slow Track (50 Books)
Delivered 06/29/21
Received 08/25/21
Scheduled For Grading 08/25/21
Grading/Encapsulation/Imaging 12/23/21
Grading/Quality Control 12/28/21
Shipped 01/04/22

Modern Slow Track (50 Books)
Delivered 07/01/21
Received 08/26/21
Scheduled For Grading 08/26/21
Grading/Encapsulation/Imaging 01/05/22

Modern Slow Track (50 Books)
Delivered 07/16/21
Received 09/07/21
Scheduled For Grading 09/07/21

Modern Slow Track (50 Books)
Delivered 08/09/21
Received 09/20/21
Scheduled For Grading 09/20/21

Modern Slow Track (50 Books)
Delivered 08/13/21
Received 09/23/21
Scheduled For Grading 09/23/21

Modern Slow Track (50 Books)
Delivered 09/07/21
Received 10/07/21
Scheduled For Grading 10/07/21

Modern Slow Track (50 Books)
Delivered 09/20/21
Received 10/19/21
Scheduled For Grading 10/19/21

Modern Slow Track (50 Books)
Delivered 10/28/21
Received 11/01/21
Scheduled For Grading 11/01/21

Modern Slow Track (100 Books)
Delivered 11/18/21
Received 11/23/21
Scheduled For Grading 11/23/21

[cd4ever]

On 1/5/2022 at 12:00 PM, skybolt said:

I was in the same boat about 3 to 4 years ago. I had about 3,000 books that were purchased back in the late 80's / early 90's, but only 300 or so were worth getting graded. I basically took the approach of sending 25 books every 3 months, which was still a relatively low cost / effort for a marginal profit. If you're talking about thousands of books you should not just look at the initial cost to purchase these books, but the ultimate cost after pressing/grading. For example, I purchased a Longshot No.2 back in the day for $.75. After pressing/grading, the book now cost me $35. After it came back a 9.6, I had it sitting on Ebay for a couple of years until I sold for a mere $15 profit. Just not worth it. 

I'm with you guys.  I've basically been slabbing the HG books in my personal collection from the 70's-90's. I paid mostly cover price for them, right off the rack, or very cheap ebay purchases back when that was a thing.  I sell enough to cover the costs and just hang on to the rest cause I love 'em.  I also sell the crappy grades, usually break even or a loss.  It's just fun. I enjoy the whole process of choosing, pressing, submitting, receiving, and the reveal.  Then if I decide to go to, say, Italy in May, I can sell 30 or 40 or so and pay for a plane ticket and an airbnb. As long as it's fun, I'm in.  

[Petroman]

On 1/5/2022 at 1:00 PM, skybolt said:

I was in the same boat about 3 to 4 years ago. I had about 3,000 books that were purchased back in the late 80's / early 90's, but only 300 or so were worth getting graded. I basically took the approach of sending 25 books every 3 months, which was still a relatively low cost / effort for a marginal profit. If you're talking about thousands of books you should not just look at the initial cost to purchase these books, but the ultimate cost after pressing/grading. For example, I purchased a Longshot No.2 back in the day for $.75. After pressing/grading, the book now cost me $35. After it came back a 9.6, I had it sitting on Ebay for a couple of years until I sold for a mere $15 profit. Just not worth it. 

LOL, sounds like my collection and my approach too :-).  Agree, maybe 10% of the books are worth grading, the rest are garbage (for now, but who knows, sometimes they pop later).  I hear ya on books like Longshot #2.  I've got a Longshot #1 that would normally grade as 9.6 and would sell for about $150.  But if I send it now and it only gets a 9.4 then I'll end up selling it for maybe $75.  If it gets lower than 9.4 then I'd be lucky to get my grading fees back.  During normal times I was fine with sending out groups of 25 books and selling a few (1-3) of them at cost if they came back with lower than expected grades.  But if 10 of the 25 come back unexpectedly low then its really just painful to have to go through the whole process of trying to sell them just to recoup grading fees.  Too much time and hassle.

[skybolt]

On 1/5/2022 at 1:48 PM, Petroman said:

LOL, sounds like my collection and my approach too :-).  Agree, maybe 10% of the books are worth grading, the rest are garbage (for now, but who knows, sometimes they pop later).  I hear ya on books like Longshot #2.  I've got a Longshot #1 that would normally grade as 9.6 and would sell for about $150.  But if I send it now and it only gets a 9.4 then I'll end up selling it for maybe $75.  If it gets lower than 9.4 then I'd be lucky to get my grading fees back.  During normal times I was fine with sending out groups of 25 books and selling a few (1-3) of them at cost if they came back with lower than expected grades.  But if 10 of the 25 come back unexpectedly low then its really just painful to have to go through the whole process of trying to sell them just to recoup grading fees.  Too much time and hassle.

Excellent post. One quick thing to add. If you do have relatively key books like Longshot #1, it's always a good idea to get them graded just in case. For instance, back in 2016 or 2017 I sent my original owner copy to CGC and it came back a 9.2. At the time it was only worth $35 so I just sat on it. Fast forward to 2021, and I was able to sell it for $100. First appearances of somewhat key characters can sell decently on certain rainy days if you wait long enough. 

[qlow]

Slow Track Modern + CCS

4/1 - Mailed to CGC 

4/9 - Delivered to CGC facility 

5/13~ - Received by CGC

5/13~ - Received by CCS

11/24 - CCS in Process

N/A - SFG

N/A - GEI

N/A - G/QC

N/A - Shipped

 

Fast Track Modern (No CCS)

11/22 - Mailed to CGC 

11/24 - Delivered to CGC facility

12/2 - Received by CGC

12/2 - SFG

12/7 - GEI

1/5 - G/QC

N/A - Shipped