Accurate raw comic graders on Ebay?

[jimjum12]

 

 

It's best to buy uber grades in person. Often, a NM book can leave the seller as NM and get rattled in transit.... though probably not by 9 degrees. Eides Entertainment and Harley Yee are two eBay sellers who I've been happy with.... but for the most part, I stick with boardies. You're right about buying already slabbed...... it only takes one raw " AWW, ! " to wipe out a fistfull of bargains. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[The-Collector]

There are some accurate graders on Ebay,but their all board members here.So why use Ebay when I can just buy my comics directly from the little group of sellers that I like here,and avoid the middle man.Bonus I don't get screwed this way either. (thumbs u

 

That's absolutely not true. One of the raw dealers I buy from regularly, hates CGC and the idea of slabbed books.

 

And there are plenty of sellers here who don't grade all that well or ship properly.

 

Tell us who it is?

[VintageComics]

I think if you are a buyer then a better way to look at it is if you're not sure what you're getting and you are getting a deal that looks too good to be true it usually is too good to be true.

 

There are a lot of savvy buyers out there, and if it was good looking to good to be true and legit, they are usually all over it. There are very few steals out there any more, and that is usually where the risks are taken.

 

Learning to buy and sell on the internet is really no different than learning to buy and sell at a flea market as it is all a learning experience - you eventually learn who you can trust by learning how to read scans and descriptions, learning how to develop that instinct for something fishy and remembering who you've dealt with in the past.

 

If you haven't developed either the skills (or the risk tolerance) to spend with confidence then limiting your dealings with reputable people and paying a bit more is the way to go.

 

 

[skypinkblu]

Hi yall. It's been an interesting two months on Ebay for me, looking through tons of comics, researching trends and sellers, looking at Ebay feedback and the boards here for inside information.

 

But, so far, it's been a bloodbath.

 

In just two short months I've bought unrestored restored comics, comics with date stamps photoshopped out, reprints advertised as real prints (okay, that was a cheap impulse buy that was plain dumb on my part), and, most recently, a 9.6 raw comic that graded as a 6. That's nine degrees off.

 

What did all of these sellers have in common? Super high feedback ratings, usually a 100 percent.

 

I wont name anyone here for various reasons, including that some may have just goofed.

 

I know the obvious solution is to buy graded comics.

 

But beyond that my question here is this: are there accurate raw graders selling on Ebay? Many say "why would they not just CGC it themselves?" and that it must be a scam.

 

One observation: those same sellers often have many CGC comics, so maybe they either want to draw lookers in with a few raw auctions, or they just want to cater a few comics to that niche group looking for raw.

 

As one commenter said here recently, Ebay certainly is the Wild West.

 

 

There are many low to mid grade collectors on eBay who don't look for CGC'd books, If I were collecting high grade silver or bronze, I'd probably slab most of them, but that's not what I collect.

 

It's not just me, I have lots of competition when I shop.

 

 

Most of the time, I'm interested in looking inside the book, so why pay for it to be slabbed?

 

I do own a few boxes of slabs, but it's a small number vs my collection as a whole.

 

 

Ebay was always called the Wild West,

 

If I sell a book on eBay, I write a detailed description and I post large pictures. I've probably sold a few thousand books, I've rarely gotten a complaint. No one is perfect, so someone is going to find something at some point, but that's what refunds are for.

 

Most of the time the flaws I mention make the book sound worse that it is, I'll mention that.

 

I guess I must be doing something right because I've always been lucky to have repeat customers.

 

 

As for buying, I've been buying more here over the past few years, but I don';t see a huge difference, there are people who make errors in both places, and people who do a great job in both places. I try to buy more here, to support the forum members.

 

You really have to look carefully at the ads anywhere. I've seen things listed as VG with missing centerfolds...Here and on eBay.

 

Look for clear pictures, clear descriptions and ask questions. The one I usually ask is about the page count.

 

You'd be shocked how many people have no idea about page counts or the fact that they can vary from publisher to publisher and year to year, esp with GA books and how many people don't actually count the pages before they sell a book, or when they buy one.

[Logan510]

There are some accurate graders on Ebay,but their all board members here.So why use Ebay when I can just buy my comics directly from the little group of sellers that I like here,and avoid the middle man.Bonus I don't get screwed this way either. (thumbs u

 

That's absolutely not true. One of the raw dealers I buy from regularly, hates CGC and the idea of slabbed books.

 

And there are plenty of sellers here who don't grade all that well or ship properly.

 

Tell us who it is?

 

Which one?

[jimjum12]

I think if you are a buyer then a better way to look at it is if you're not sure what you're getting and you are getting a deal that looks too good to be true it usually is too good to be true.

 

There are a lot of savvy buyers out there, and if it was good looking to good to be true and legit, they are usually all over it. There are very few steals out there any more, and that is usually where the risks are taken.

 

Learning to buy and sell on the internet is really no different than learning to buy and sell at a flea market as it is all a learning experience - you eventually learn who you can trust by learning how to read scans and descriptions, learning how to develop that instinct for something fishy and remembering who you've dealt with in the past.

 

If you haven't developed either the skills (or the risk tolerance) to spend with confidence then limiting your dealings with reputable people and paying a bit more is the way to go.

 

 

..... one of my favorite people, Q David Bowers, started selling coins out of his bedroom at age 14 and is today a multi million dollar Auction juggernaut. One saying of his that always stuck with me is, " The bitter taste of low quality lasts longer than the sweet taste of low price ". He made it to the top by dealing in quality, but he never sought out bargains. Collectibles are long term.... be patient and pay what it takes to get what you want. If you want some kind of quick gain, buy a truckload of shrimp at the dock and sell 'em by the pound on the side of the road in the mountains. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[thehumantorch]

I had a lot to add to this, but it all left my brain after staring at hulk smashes sig. dang it. might come back.

 

yes, I did have the idea of buying cheaper comics to test their grading, but then if its too cheap its not really worth the grading costs at all, so its a game of sorts.

 

One seller is telling me the issue is that CGC has tightened its grading currently. I have heard that recently. Interesting note though: I turned in five comics in this batch, and only one came back the same grade as advertised...the one pgx graded a 8.5

 

Other four were raw graded as 9s or better, all came in below 8s. brutal

 

You're getting lots of good advice here. Number 6's post on page four is a really good breakdown of how every buyer should approach a purchase here or on ebay.

 

On ebay, there are a number of dishonest sellers who buy CGC graded restored books, crack them out and sell them on ebay without disclosing the resto and bumping the grade up. Avoid buying raw SA key Marvels on ebay - they're incredibly risky. If the book is very valuable and getting the book CGCd for the grade advertised would more than pay for the grading cost it's likely trouble.

 

Lastly, every submission to CGC is a learning opportunity. If you sent 4 books in that came back lower grade than you expected, study the books and learn about CGC standards.

[Dr. Balls]

Instead of arguing over stupid semantics,you should just stare at HulkSmash's boobs sig. line.

 

That's a helluva idea.

[makeminemego]

Obviously, eBay transactions can be problematic, but in my eyes are no riskier than buying from some of the major dealers out there. Not every big name dealer has sterling credentials. The can't all be Bob Storms or Harley Yee.

 

Yeah, there's some turds in the eBay punchbowl, but the auctions to avoid seem to be pretty obvious to me. Poor pictures, bad communication, negative feedback, lack of description, etc. are all signals to move on.

 

Good sales can be had on eBay, through dealers, or here. Same can be said for the bad ones. Common sense goes a long way.

[oakman29]

Obviously, eBay transactions can be problematic, but in my eyes are no riskier than buying from some of the major dealers out there. Not every big name dealer has sterling credentials. The can't all be Bob Storms or Harley Yee.

 

Yeah, there's some turds in the eBay punchbowl, but the auctions to avoid seem to be pretty obvious to me. Poor pictures, bad communication, negative feedback, lack of description, etc. are all signals to move on.

 

Good sales can be had on eBay, through dealers, or here. Same can be said for the bad ones. Common sense goes a long way.

But if you have great dealings with sellers like Bob Storms,Rick Whitelock,Bosco,Junkydrawer,Flaming Telepath,Pat etc.Why go anywhere else.I feel once you have great experiences with that seller,my loyalty sticks with them.

[Number 6]

Obviously, eBay transactions can be problematic, but in my eyes are no riskier than buying from some of the major dealers out there. Not every big name dealer has sterling credentials. The can't all be Bob Storms or Harley Yee.

 

Yeah, there's some turds in the eBay punchbowl, but the auctions to avoid seem to be pretty obvious to me. Poor pictures, bad communication, negative feedback, lack of description, etc. are all signals to move on.

 

Good sales can be had on eBay, through dealers, or here. Same can be said for the bad ones. Common sense goes a long way.

But if you have great dealings with sellers like Bob Storms,Rick Whitelock,Bosco,Junkydrawer,Flaming Telepath,Pat etc.Why go anywhere else.I feel once you have great experiences with that seller,my loyalty sticks with them.

 

If you're only buying one or two expensive key books every couple of years, then limiting yourself to a handful of trusted sellers is probably going to work out fine.

 

But if your trying to complete runs of non-key books, unless you've got the patience of Job you're gonna have to cast your net a little wider.

 

I love Bob Storms, he's one of favorite sellers, but one my top-priority titles he just doesn't get that much of. Don't know if he doesn't aggressively pursue it or just not that much of it comes his way.

 

Whatever the case, if I limited myself to just Bob or a select few sellers I'd never complete that run.

 

[oakman29]

Obviously, eBay transactions can be problematic, but in my eyes are no riskier than buying from some of the major dealers out there. Not every big name dealer has sterling credentials. The can't all be Bob Storms or Harley Yee.

 

Yeah, there's some turds in the eBay punchbowl, but the auctions to avoid seem to be pretty obvious to me. Poor pictures, bad communication, negative feedback, lack of description, etc. are all signals to move on.

 

Good sales can be had on eBay, through dealers, or here. Same can be said for the bad ones. Common sense goes a long way.

But if you have great dealings with sellers like Bob Storms,Rick Whitelock,Bosco,Junkydrawer,Flaming Telepath,Pat etc.Why go anywhere else.I feel once you have great experiences with that seller,my loyalty sticks with them.

 

If you're only buying one or two expensive key books every couple of years, then limiting yourself to a handful of trusted sellers is probably going to work out fine.

 

But if your trying to complete runs of non-key books, unless you've got the patience of Job you're gonna have to cast your net a little wider.

 

I love Bob Storms, he's one of favorite sellers, but one my top-priority titles he just doesn't get that much of. Don't know if he doesn't aggressively pursue it or just not that much of it comes his way.

 

Whatever the case, if I limited myself to just Bob or a select few sellers I'd never complete that run.

I get it. (thumbs u

[makeminemego]

Number 6 said it better than I could.

 

Right now I'm just trying to fill in all of my 1968-1975 Marvel runs, mostly 5.0-7.0 books for me. Mostly $8-15 books. Under that umbrella, eBay works great. If I were looking to put together FF 1-10, Hulk 1-6, I'd be looking at going a different route.

 

I guess I figure there's a time and a place for people who do a good job on eBay as well as the list of quality dealers that Oakman listed.

 

 

[Arkham]

What I lack in grading ability, I make up for in packing and shipping method.

 

I just went searching for the Overstreet Guide to Grading after seeing it mentioned on the first page of this thread... and holy balls are some people asking serious coin for it. BookDepository stated RRP of $25 and sent me to Abebooks for it as they didn't have it. Abebooks listed it at $254.xx ish. Amazon is similar... I assume this is something they're not reprinting?

 

On eBay the cheapest is about $75 US.. plus shipping... and the seller of that one has it marked as "never opened" but then has uploaded pictures of it stretched wide open

 

 

[ttfitz]

Instead of arguing over stupid semantics,you should just stare at HulkSmash's boobs sig. line.

 

[Ken Aldred]

Nick Beckett of Comicana is a superb grader.

[Niro]

Comicana are the best graders I have come across, if anything, going by cgc standards these days they undergrade

[Stryfe1000]

Nick Beckett of Comicana is a superb grader.

 

+1

 

I trust Nick's grading over CGC's every time.

 

Example - raw 7.0 X-Men book bought last year. Signed and subbed and came back 9.0

 

I'd personally gave graded it 7.5 NEVER 8.0 or above.

[oakman29]

Instead of arguing over stupid semantics,you should just stare at HulkSmash's boobs sig. line.

 

I meant that quote to be sarcastic,see the rolling eye's. You dumb arse noob.

[NTHstars]

I'm getting great advice here and I truly appreciate it.The bottom line is if I can't locate sellers who are grading raw comics accurately (can I really nail a grade staring at a scan?), I will have to bail immediately on that. Some sellers are just dishonest, but others are just blaming cgc for "shifting standards".

 

In short, if the sellers current view of what a 9.4 is nowhere near cgc's view, it doesn't work, whether they are being honest or not.

 

I have to question the sellers I've used competency though, despite their stated experience, since the lone pgx I sent in received exactly the same grade from cgc.