Accurate raw comic graders on Ebay?

[vaillant]

My comment still stands: Nick is one of the tightest graders out there...but "accurate" and "inaccurate" grading is slightly relative because of so many variables involved.

 

And to be fair most 'tight' graders who undergrade most of their inventory will still use CGC when selling a big book. Ain't nobody going to sell an AF #15 as an 8.5 if it's going to grade out a 9.2 with CGC.

 

This could turn easily into a CGC vs. not-CGC discussion…

[vaillant]

BTW, from my limited experience, it goes this way:

 

Overgrading or undergrading may be characteristic of each and every dealer (and collector) in *certain* grade ranges, so you may be simply just saying the same thing from different angles and still striving for the truth (like in religion, Roy… ).

[Kevin.J]

I have never been disappointed on the boards, lots of good graders putting ebay and the like to shame.

Nick has been mentioned a few times and I also buy from Nick on a regular basis.

For the uninitiated by Nick, I mean Flaming_Telepath and by that I mean www.comicanadirect.com

When I buy a book from Nick I am always surprised at how nice it is compared to what I expect, I think that I have just had too many years on ebay myself before I discovered the boards

[Comicopolis]

I don't know what CGC's grading standards are so I don't know if they are accurate or not.

[nmtg9]

We all want to buy books from 'tight graders' because we know we are getting what we pay for.

 

When I buy from Nick I know I am not going to be short changed.

 

CGC are not the be-all-and-end-all of grading. Nick's grading sets the standard for me that I grade all other books I buy against.

[NTHstars]

We all want to buy books from 'tight graders' because we know we are getting what we pay for.

 

When I buy from Nick I know I am not going to be short changed.

 

CGC are not the be-all-and-end-all of grading. Nick's grading sets the standard for me that I grade all other books I buy against.

 

So my 9.6 down to a 6.0 maybe should have been a 5 ? Ooohh mann

[jsilverjanet]

We all want to buy books from 'tight graders' because we know we are getting what we pay for.

 

When I buy from Nick I know I am not going to be short changed.

 

CGC are not the be-all-and-end-all of grading. Nick's grading sets the standard for me that I grade all other books I buy against.

 

So my 9.6 down to a 6.0 maybe should have been a 5 ? Ooohh mann

 

Just to confirm - you purchased a book that the seller claimed was a 9.6, you sent it to CGC for grading and it scored a 6.0?

 

Did you ship the book or hand the book in at a convention?

 

Any chance we can see the book you sent in? That seems like a wide gap. I know some folks misgrade but a NM vs F is a large gap.

[VintageComics]

I don't know what CGC's grading standards are so I don't know if they are accurate or not.

Accurate to what?

 

[NTHstars]

Looking at this, I've learned a lot since buying this. The top left corner indicates this could never be a mint, just by itself. The wrapping print defect or whatever you call it, is extreme, though that may not count against it I hear here.

 

The seller seemed genuinely sorry about the grade, but sidestepped any blame, instead placing it on poor grading at cgc. Im not advocating that view, that was just his view.

 

Actually, after I wrote the above I tried for 45 minutes to get windows 8 to drop in the scan and it wouldn't. ill try to edit from firefox...hope this works

 

thanks torch

[thehumantorch]

You need to open a free photobucket account. Upload the images to photobucket. Copy the generated code for the images into computer memory and then paste in here. Here's a tutorial although be aware that photobucket has changed it's interface.

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3722603

 

Any seller that's sold you multiple books that graded that far under the advertised grade deserves to be thrown under the bus.

 

 

[Max Carnage]

There's only one seller that I'd buy raw from for high dollar amounts.

 

He goes by many names:

 

comicanadirect on Ebay

 

www.comicanadirect.com on the Interweb

 

Flaming_Telepath here on the boards

 

Nick or "the guy that drank all the Coronas" at the pub

[Kevin76]

what sucks on ebay is when people buy a comic for $10, then want to return it because it's not in 9.8 condition like "Oh, I can't CGC this, I'm returning it" then tell them the post office damaged it so they can get thier money back...I stopped taking returns, I'll take the negative instead.

[NTHstars]

My issue with my recent orders was relying on the judgment of these particular sellers too much. Live and learn.it still seems risky to base bids on the scans though. I am studying them more closely. Last night, not looking to buy, I looked at several "near mint" auctions of raw comics. One or two seemed great on the scans. One had tattering all across the bottom edge. In no universe is that near mint. Another otherwise looked great but had dark browning along all edges. I'm guessing that's a grade killer.

 

Seems fair if you buy a pricey comic advertised as a near mint and it clearly isn't when it arrives, that you can get a refund. I don't know If I would consider that in my case, except with one seller I now know is an outright scammer based on these boards. In that case the seller is clearly driving up the price with misgrades on purpose.

 

Of course in this case I had them graded, so its paypal or nothing, timingwise. I don't want to be a whiny buyer either though.

 

But I'm perplexed at how the scammers have such high feedback, and how they can operate unchecked by ebay. People seem to be leaving high feedback without confirming the grades.

 

With 10 dollar comics that would be silly though, yes, to go nuts over a refund.

[VintageComics]

Every single comic collector who has done mail order has gone through the same experiences.

 

It eventually boils down to 1 of 2 things:

 

1) learn to trust yourself when it comes to grading, etc.

2) learn to trust someone else

 

 

[skypinkblu]

There are some very good graders on this site. Read some of the threads, look back at some of the grading contests, make some acquaintances and after a while, you will probably be able to share some of the things you find on eBay (without posting a thread about them and risk having them stolen;) with people you know and trust.

 

Tell them your thoughts on the grades and ask for some opinions.

 

I learned a lot that way. People who like comics and are collectors can be very kind and it's a fun way to shop...and you might even make some long term friendships...it's what makes the hobby fun.

 

 

 

[Kenners]

There's only one seller that I'd buy raw from for high dollar amounts.

 

He goes by many names:

 

comicanadirect on Ebay

 

www.comicanadirect.com on the Interweb

 

Flaming_Telepath here on the boards

 

Nick or "the guy that drank all the Coronas" at the pub

 

+1 (thumbs u

[vaillant]

There's only one seller that I'd buy raw from for high dollar amounts.

 

He goes by many names:

 

comicanadirect on Ebay

 

www.comicanadirect.com on the Interweb

 

Flaming_Telepath here on the boards

 

Nick or "the guy that drank all the Coronas" at the pub

 

+1 (thumbs u

 

You britishmen are invading the Forum!

[newshane]

I'm glad some of you are listing the names of dealers who are known for accurate grading. I think these dealers could definitely benefit from the public recognition because it will likely bring them additional business.

 

I'm always on the lookout for trusty dealers.

[Dr. Love]

Forget the grade. Give me BIG scans front and back. Tell me what I can't see inside the comic that I should know about. Tell me about things I can't get from a 2D view - particularly ncb creases, soft folds, slight thumb indentations and all kinds of stains (moisture, grease, thumbprints!). All the things that only show up when you bounce light off them. Show me the spine edge directly. That's huge - very few do that. Show me the inside covers front and back - in CGC's world, PQ is separate from the grade, but inside covers "count".

 

Nobody that I've come across does all this. It takes scanning plus good camera work. It's very hard to shoot the inside covers and not have the book open more than it should be to have no stress placed around the staples. The tighter the book, the harder it is. (in deference to sharon I won't insert include steve carell jokes)

 

I don't do all of this myself - but I should.

 

The Dentist's operation, blissard, does a pretty good job on raw. It's getting so you're lucky if you get scans front and back.

[jimjum12]

I just completed my first eBay transaction with Al Stoltz of Basement Comics and was VERY happy...... tight grading..... I couldn't believe it was eBay. DTA Collectibles is also pretty decent.... GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u