These just back from CGC...

[wardevil0]

Moderns submitted at Wizard World Nashville

 

I submitted these books at Wizard World Nashville in October, and they were invoiced at CGC on Oct 23rd, Modern non-Fast Track. Allowing for Thanksgiving and Veterans Day that made just about 31 business days turnaround, which is A-OK. I'm not sure why these went through so quickly.

 

This time, I made sure to write down what my estimated grades were and had that the reference during the unboxing, just to add to the torment. Again, i do not check my invoices once they're marked "Shipped/Safe"

 

The roster of books submitted:

100 Bullets #1: I've had this one for at least 12 years. I didn't buy it right off the racks, but almost. I estimated it as a 9.6, and CGC agreed. So far so good.

 

Fables #5: I bought this one fairly recently, because it was a low-number of this great series, was the right price, and looked absolutely perfect. I could see no defects whatsoever on this book. I estimated it a 9.8, but wouldn't have been surprised if it was a 9.9. CGC says: 9.6. Sigh, not too bad I guess.

 

Sandman #50 Platinum (DC/Vertigo): This is the second 50 Platinum I've submitted. I knew it was not as good as the other, which came back 9.8, so I was thinking 9.4. Now it's a 9.0, and things seem to be trailing off. Still, a very sellable extra.

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 Another Universe Exclusive: I expected this one to be a 9.8, but it's a 9.6. Of course, they also mislabelled it a Second Print instead of an Another Universe exclusive. The giant "Another Universe" logo should've been a clue. I have not yet called to arrange its re-labelling.

 

Gold Digger #1 Regular Series: I just really enjoy this comic. Very hard to find, thoroughly enjoyable. I saw it as a 9.4, they saw it as an 8.5. This one was the biggest grading discrepancy.

 

Mangazine #11: The first appearance of the Gold Digger characters in print. Mangazine was kind of like Dark Horse Presents; an anthology title with mostly unestablished characters and creators. Gold Digger ran through four issues. I graded it an 8.5, they said 9.0. Yay!

 

Mangazine #13: Third Gold Digger; I said 9.0, they said 9.2. Yay!

 

Mangazine #14: Fourth Gold Digger; I said 9.0, they agreed. I now have all four Gold Digger Mangazine appearances, three of the four original miniseries, and #1 and #2 of the ongoing series graded. I guess it's time to request a registry set to put them in...

 

Ninja High School #2: Another Antarctic Press issue, the white cover makes it tough in high grade. I hoped for 9.6 and got 9.4.

 

Peter Panzerfaust #8: One that I submitted to hopefully flip. First cameo appearance of Hook, although they didn't feel like putting that in the notes. I expected a 9.6 and got a 9.8, yay!

 

Starslayer #2: First full Rocketeer by Dave Stevens. I got this from a $1 bin in Las Vegas, expected a 9.6 and got a 9.6.

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #7: First color in TMNT. Picked this one up just to slab, I thought it looked like a 9.6 but it got 9.2.

 

Batman: Harley Quinn: Definitely the star of this submission, the first appearance of Harley Quinn in regular DC Universe continuity. I bought this one around the same time as 100 Bullets, I think in the same store in Lexington, KY. This one has been among my candidates for CGC all along, but I held off because I didn't think it would do that well. As Harley's kept getting more and more popular, I thought even a 9.2-9.4 would be sellable, but now it's a 9.6 keeper.

 

The last three are proof that apparently I can't grade early 80s X-Men at all. All three were bought from discount bins, cherry picked because they looked so good. I could see no flaws whatsoever on #148, and expected 9.8. Instead, 9.2. I thought 9.6 on #157 and #158 but got 9.2 and 9.0, respectively. I wonder what's up with that?

 

Overall, I submitted 16 books and had 3 come back as I expected, 4 come back higher than expected, and 9 come back lower than expected. Totalling up the ranges, and my grades are off by an average of 0.1625.

 

See more journals by wardevil0

[kaholo1256]

I can honestly say that over the past few submissions I have noticed CGC tightening up there grades significantly. So much so that I have needed to purchase the notes when I truly thought CGC had lost there minds. Congrat's on getting everything back as quickly as they turned them around.

[wardevil0]

Were you satisfied with the information you got in the notes? I've only seen notes once, and was completely unimpressed with the quantity and quality of information they put in there.

 

I'd love to know exactly what defects they see to make the grades.

[meshuggah]

That's a pretty good run of books you submitted. It does sting when your books come back lower than expected. But I do like that CGC is tightening their grading. I just recently got my Batman Harley Quinn back and it was a 9.8. I was thinking it would be a 9.6.

 

Harley has been heating up so much that I just sold my BA 12 9.4 and got 231 for it. I couldn't pass up the prices its been selling for.

 

Congrats on your books though.

[SW3D]

I'm getting back 16 Modern books from CGC any day now, and I peeked at their given grades and only 2 are coming back 9.8.

 

My first thought was... "That really sucks!"... but then after the disappointment had time to settle, I started to rationalize:

 

1. None of these comics are from my original collection... all were purchased through My Comics Shop. So I have no idea how much wear and tear they may have gone through prior to my ownership.

2. As much as I believe I have a good eye for grading, the Professional Graders at CGC are vastly superior who have the time, tools, and dedication to do the job right... and with Impartiality.

3. Each comic I am getting back has a signature. I know I didn't properly prep these comics for rigors of signatures... although I was as careful as I could be during the process at NYComicCon. But I have to conclude a minor virtue or two could well be my fault for not taking proper precautions.

 

I honestly think, we as collectors want only the best grades at 9.8 and above... and there is essentially nothing wrong with that, however the reality is a wake-up call. If the CGC is getting stricter on grading, I actually welcome that. Let a 9.8 and above be the elite class and be a very difficult grade to obtain. Perhaps this will force us to accept and be very satisfied with a 9.2, 9.4, and 9.6 which are damn good grades to begin with. I know I have this 9.8 mentality... but I really have to change this and be happy with the lesser grades. And many of us will agree, 9.2's, 9.4's, and 9.6's can look pretty damn beautiful when we take the time to appreciate them.

 

SW3D

[kaholo1256]

Were you satisfied with the information you got in the notes? I've only seen notes once, and was completely unimpressed with the quantity and quality of information they put in there.

 

I'd love to know exactly what defects they see to make the grades.

 

No, I actually don't know why they aren't simply attached to the final invoice returned to you or simply mailed to you as they really tell you next to nothing. Like reading shorthand but less...

[wardevil0]

I honestly think, we as collectors want only the best grades at 9.8 and above... and there is essentially nothing wrong with that, however the reality is a wake-up call. If the CGC is getting stricter on grading, I actually welcome that. Let a 9.8 and above be the elite class and be a very difficult grade to obtain. Perhaps this will force us to accept and be very satisfied with a 9.2, 9.4, and 9.6 which are damn good grades to begin with. I know I have this 9.8 mentality... but I really have to change this and be happy with the lesser grades. And many of us will agree, 9.2's, 9.4's, and 9.6's can look pretty damn beautiful when we take the time to appreciate them.

 

SW3D

 

I do think the additional levels of "9.X" have affected our interpretation of grading. Prior to CGC, most of us would have been happy to call our books "NM" or even "VF/NM." Once we saw that those letters translate into 9.4 and 9.0, we all decided we could do better. I remember back in 2003 I was happy to buy anything 8.0 and better, because 8.0 is a true VF, and any 9.x was fantastic. Since then, "grade inflation" has really taken hold and people in the Modern forum are talking about their junk 9.6s. That's a NM+, but it's not good enough? Maybe if we only had 9.0 and 9.5, like most of the rest of the scale, we'd be better off.

[wardevil0]

Were you satisfied with the information you got in the notes? I've only seen notes once, and was completely unimpressed with the quantity and quality of information they put in there.

 

I'd love to know exactly what defects they see to make the grades.

 

No, I actually don't know why they aren't simply attached to the final invoice returned to you or simply mailed to you as they really tell you next to nothing. Like reading shorthand but less...

 

That's what I was afraid of. As I've previously complained, a friend's excellent book came back a 7.0 and he bought the notes to see why. We learned seven words: "Right Center Front Cover Small Multiple Bend" This was the only flaw noted, so apparently the small multiple bends were enough to drop the book from original near-mintyness?

[meshuggah]

I honestly think, we as collectors want only the best grades at 9.8 and above... and there is essentially nothing wrong with that, however the reality is a wake-up call. If the CGC is getting stricter on grading, I actually welcome that. Let a 9.8 and above be the elite class and be a very difficult grade to obtain. Perhaps this will force us to accept and be very satisfied with a 9.2, 9.4, and 9.6 which are damn good grades to begin with. I know I have this 9.8 mentality... but I really have to change this and be happy with the lesser grades. And many of us will agree, 9.2's, 9.4's, and 9.6's can look pretty damn beautiful when we take the time to appreciate them.

 

SW3D

 

I do think the additional levels of "9.X" have affected our interpretation of grading. Prior to CGC, most of us would have been happy to call our books "NM" or even "VF/NM." Once we saw that those letters translate into 9.4 and 9.0, we all decided we could do better. I remember back in 2003 I was happy to buy anything 8.0 and better, because 8.0 is a true VF, and any 9.x was fantastic. Since then, "grade inflation" has really taken hold and people in the Modern forum are talking about their junk 9.6s. That's a NM+, but it's not good enough? Maybe if we only had 9.0 and 9.5, like most of the rest of the scale, we'd be better off.

 

I agree with this completely. When I first started submitting through my LCS I got back quite a few 9.6's and thought that was great. But after getting a membership and hanging around on these boards I've got that 9.8 fever too. When in reality 9.2 and above are really great grades and all described as NM. It would be nice to just have less grades in the 9 scale.

[surfer99]

I'm getting back 16 Modern books from CGC any day now, and I peeked at their given grades and only 2 are coming back 9.8.

 

Hey! No peeking!! Where's your will power? You gotta let the suspense build until you're holding them in your hands!

 

Perhaps this will force us to accept and be very satisfied with a 9.2, 9.4, and 9.6 which are damn good grades to begin with. I know I have this 9.8 mentality... but I really have to change this and be happy with the lesser grades. And many of us will agree, 9.2's, 9.4's, and 9.6's can look pretty damn beautiful when we take the time to appreciate them.

 

I will take a 9.6 ANYday, even on Modern issues.

 

[roninduelist]

Lately, it's been difficult to 9.8s back from CGG. I don't know if they have been changing up their grading style or what, but it's not good. 9.8's are my goal for modern comics, and In the past, I've been mostly accurate with predicting which books would come back that grade. Lately, I've been getting back 9.2's, 9.4's and, personally, it's been disappointing and demoralizing

 

If things keep going the way they are, I might have to submit less, and focus on buying already graded comics for premium price.

[Brandon Shepherd]

Nice submissions! Also, good conversation about grading and appreciating grades below 9.8. I've heard of both comics and coins with so so grade sitting on dealer tables at shows and not moving, until they are removed from their perspective holders. I can't say I've witnessed anything like this but it does make sense, instead of seeing the grade you see a neat comic, untainted by a lower graded label.

[wardevil0]

Nice submissions! Also, good conversation about grading and appreciating grades below 9.8. I've heard of both comics and coins with so so grade sitting on dealer tables at shows and not moving, until they are removed from their perspective holders. I can't say I've witnessed anything like this but it does make sense, instead of seeing the grade you see a neat comic, untainted by a lower graded label.

 

I think it does play into the psychology of collectors who hope for a good deal. So if I have a raw Silver Age book I broadly describe as VG, you may look at it and feel like it's more of a FN and are willing to take a chance on it. But, if my VG is in a slab with 4.0 on it, you don't speculate that it may actually be a 6.0 any more.

 

Likewise, we're more forgiving of raw books in lower grade. I'm happy to have GD+ reader copies of Iron Fist 14, Amazing Adventures 11, and Amazing Spider-man 122, but I'd be annoyed by them slabbed as 2.0-3.0s. Case in point: early in my days of buying CGCs I picked up a Daredevil 17 (1966) in 4.5. I thought this was fair for a book of its age and it's a fairly early Spidey crossover, but it has annoyed me ever since I got it. It just isn't high-grade enough to display but doesn't count as a reader copy of a semi-key either. I feel the same about an 8.0 Watchmen #1 I bought at the same time frame.

 

 

 

 

[surfer99]

Totally agree with the reasoning behind why someone would pay more for an ungraded copy of the same book. As far as paying a premium for the higher graded copy you want...many times it ends up costing you less than resubmitting multiple copies of the same book and being disappointed.