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THE N00B GUIDE
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Started by HarveySwick,

477 posts in this topic

TheCollection

TheCollection

Posted
Posted

Hello Forum,

Ultra n00b here. I'm trying to determine if it's worth it for me to have my collection graded and encapsulated. I have a small collection of about 100 comics give or take from the 90's. There are a few that could increase in price drastically if I were to use this service. For example, I have the entire Secret Wars collection with the introduction of the "black spider man costume" which we all know what that became. Also, the first issues of Spawn and Deadpool, etc. So i'm wondering if it's best to just submit a few comics versus my entire collection. Most of my comics were read and bagged.boarded or went straight to bagging and boarding without reading. So, i would assume they're NM or Mint. 

I've also considered buying comics on auction from Ebay and other sites and possibly submitting them to CGC and turning this into a side hustle. My concern is there's a lot of charges involved. I'm in Charleston, SC so there's not a convention every week with a CGC rep readily available to take my comics so I assume my collection would need to be shipped each time? So there's shipping to CGC, membership cost for CGC, Grading & Encapsulation costs which is based on a percentage of what the comic is worth, and then return shipping costs, and then if I want to sell on ebay there's auction costs. Is this really worth it?

Clearly CGC is doing well for itself, but I would love to hear from actual collectors, buyers, and sellers. thanks!

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revat

revat

Posted
Posted
On 11/13/2020 at 4:45 PM, TheCollection said:

Hello Forum,

Ultra n00b here. I'm trying to determine if it's worth it for me to have my collection graded and encapsulated. I have a small collection of about 100 comics give or take from the 90's. There are a few that could increase in price drastically if I were to use this service. For example, I have the entire Secret Wars collection with the introduction of the "black spider man costume" which we all know what that became. Also, the first issues of Spawn and Deadpool, etc. So i'm wondering if it's best to just submit a few comics versus my entire collection. Most of my comics were read and bagged.boarded or went straight to bagging and boarding without reading. So, i would assume they're NM or Mint. 

I've also considered buying comics on auction from Ebay and other sites and possibly submitting them to CGC and turning this into a side hustle. My concern is there's a lot of charges involved. I'm in Charleston, SC so there's not a convention every week with a CGC rep readily available to take my comics so I assume my collection would need to be shipped each time? So there's shipping to CGC, membership cost for CGC, Grading & Encapsulation costs which is based on a percentage of what the comic is worth, and then return shipping costs, and then if I want to sell on ebay there's auction costs. Is this really worth it?

Clearly CGC is doing well for itself, but I would love to hear from actual collectors, buyers, and sellers. thanks!

Your concerns are valid.

there’s a lot of math to be done, but risk and profit preferences are extremely subjective and personal.

generally (With the exceptions of some keys which it sounds like you might have) if you’re dealing with comics from the 90’s and forward, only PERFECT comics are worth grading (even then not all of them).  So no discernible defects of any kind anywhere.  
 

if you want to practice grading, there’s a subforum where you can post pictures of your comics and ask for opinions.  Dig around you’ll find it.

if you want estimates of selling prices, look at eBay sold prices and do some raw vs slabbed comparisons, make sure all costs are factored.

 

honestly, if you have a list of comics you could probably just start a newbie thread and post a list and people will tell you which to even consider and in what grades.  

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EmoJackson

EmoJackson

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 11/13/2020 at 3:45 PM, TheCollection said:

Hello Forum,

Ultra n00b here. I'm trying to determine if it's worth it for me to have my collection graded and encapsulated. I have a small collection of about 100 comics give or take from the 90's. There are a few that could increase in price drastically if I were to use this service. For example, I have the entire Secret Wars collection with the introduction of the "black spider man costume" which we all know what that became. Also, the first issues of Spawn and Deadpool, etc. So i'm wondering if it's best to just submit a few comics versus my entire collection. Most of my comics were read and bagged.boarded or went straight to bagging and boarding without reading. So, i would assume they're NM or Mint. 

I've also considered buying comics on auction from Ebay and other sites and possibly submitting them to CGC and turning this into a side hustle. My concern is there's a lot of charges involved. I'm in Charleston, SC so there's not a convention every week with a CGC rep readily available to take my comics so I assume my collection would need to be shipped each time? So there's shipping to CGC, membership cost for CGC, Grading & Encapsulation costs which is based on a percentage of what the comic is worth, and then return shipping costs, and then if I want to sell on ebay there's auction costs. Is this really worth it?

Clearly CGC is doing well for itself, but I would love to hear from actual collectors, buyers, and sellers. thanks!

I'm in my early 40's now and I'm reaching this same point where I would like to get some of my collection graded.  I haven't really considered grading/encapsulating until this year when I was sorting out my collection (somewhere around 25-30 short boxes) and getting some nostalgia from the books that I was looking at.  (Tons of sentimental value in these books, good childhood memories, etc).  My first submission to CGC is for the upcoming Claremont / Rubenstein events with my Wolverine Mini 1-4.  I've started sorting my collection determining what I would like to have signed vs what just needs a press and grade.  I'm not looking to offload any of the collection, but to preserve what I have and keep the nostalgia alive.  

For the more modern key issues (say everything from 2000 and up) I'm going to submit for a 9.8 prescreen in combination with CCS's prescreen to see if anything can be done.  If not, those key's might make it to ebay raw and the funds will be used for 9.8 upgrades.  

It's actually been really nice to get time back with the books, even my daughter is getting into it.     

Edited by EmoJackson
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wildgrind

wildgrind

Posted
Posted

I am completely new here and have enjoyed reading everyone's comments. I have very limited knowledge in the realm of collecting, but it is something that has always fascinated me and want to dive into. I am primarily focused on Marvel since that was a huge component in my life since I was a child. I've been reading a lot about buying graded vs. non-graded products and was thinking that graded would probably be most ideal for me since I don't necessarily know what to look for in non-graded products. I've read about people finding valuable comics and having them sent in for grading, but I really don't even know where to start with that process to determine if they would hold any value. 

Does anyone have suggestions or preferences for a new collector regarding purchasing graded vs. non-graded comics?

 

Also, I don't know why I feel like eBay is sketchy to use for auctions, but does anyone know of reputable sites that conduct auctions? I've already been pointed in the direction of ComicLink and Mile High Comics, but any other info would be great.

 

Thanks for letting me be apart of this community!!

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wildgrind

wildgrind

Posted
Posted

I am completely new here and have enjoyed reading everyone's comments. I have very limited knowledge in the realm of collecting, but it is something that has always fascinated me and want to dive into. I am primarily focused on Marvel since that was a huge component in my life since I was a child. I've been reading a lot about buying graded vs. non-graded products and was thinking that graded would probably be most ideal for me since I don't necessarily know what to look for in non-graded products. I've read about people finding valuable comics and having them sent in for grading, but I really don't even know where to start with that process to determine if they would hold any value. 

Does anyone have suggestions or preferences for a new collector regarding purchasing graded vs. non-graded comics?

 

Also, I don't know why I feel like eBay is sketchy to use for auctions, but does anyone know of reputable sites that conduct auctions? I've already been pointed in the direction of ComicLink and Mile High Comics, but any other info would be great.

 

Thanks for letting me be apart of this community!!

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Fisionbomb

Fisionbomb

Posted
Posted
On 12/29/2020 at 5:09 PM, wildgrind said:

I am completely new here and have enjoyed reading everyone's comments. I have very limited knowledge in the realm of collecting, but it is something that has always fascinated me and want to dive into. I am primarily focused on Marvel since that was a huge component in my life since I was a child. I've been reading a lot about buying graded vs. non-graded products and was thinking that graded would probably be most ideal for me since I don't necessarily know what to look for in non-graded products. I've read about people finding valuable comics and having them sent in for grading, but I really don't even know where to start with that process to determine if they would hold any value. 

Does anyone have suggestions or preferences for a new collector regarding purchasing graded vs. non-graded comics?

 

Also, I don't know why I feel like eBay is sketchy to use for auctions, but does anyone know of reputable sites that conduct auctions? I've already been pointed in the direction of ComicLink and Mile High Comics, but any other info would be great.

 

Thanks for letting me be apart of this community!!

If you're looking to collect, not sell, then Ebay is just fine. Plenty of buyer protections in place. If you by a book that arrives not matching the pictures/description, you're protected. I will say descriptions can get a little sketchy, but if you thoroughly read what you're buying you have nothing to worry about.

Regarding slabbed vs. raw for collecting, that's really all on you and comes down to your preference. Do you want to read and/or examine your books? Go raw. If you want to know for sure a book is a certain grade and admire it in all of its slabbed glory, go for slabbed. 

If your goal is to flip books for profit, that's a way more in depth and complex discussion.

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Techguy615

Techguy615

Posted
Posted

Just joined here and I am not sure where to start. I guess this is the place to get a general idea of how all of this works. I used to be a collector decades ago and still have all of the books I collected. In boxes, bags, backing boards etc. They have been through more than a few moves and a divorce over the years and have largely been undisturbed. Back in the days when I was active the Overstreet guide was like the bible to any comic collectors and that was what was used to lookup the values. Grading was not very concise other than going by the guidelines given in the guide. Turn the page to today with online auctions and now "grading" companies, I have to say I feel like I have stepped into a different world. I am not a Noob so to speak, but then again I am in this new world.

What is the best  advice for someone like myself in this day and age to get up to speed on all of this?  Like maybe the "Cliff Notes" as they used to call them. I love my collection and it has not been seen by anyone but myself in probably 30+ years. I know prices these days have skyrocketed on many of the key books and while entertaining the thought of possibly selling a few of them I don't want to get screwed in the process.

Sorry if this sounds like something covered in a sticky somewhere else, but I just need to get a good starting point here.

Thanks.

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Get Marwood & I

Get Marwood & I

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, iexx said:

Hi all,

 

How do I  mention a board member with"@boardmember"?

 

Thanks,

Type the @ symbol and then the first few letters of the board member who you want to tag, and a list of members will appear like so:

 

1113104743_2021-04-0608_21_26.thumb.png.1c82bc1ffba8dbfe0a287133741cd941.png

 

Select the member who you want to 'tag' and it will embed into your post, and a notification will be sent to them (if they have them enabled).

You'll know it has worked when it shows in your post like this:

@iexx

If it looks like this...

@iexx

...then it didn't work.

You can play around here in the testing zone - everything you post is visible only to you and the moderators (so no swearing :bigsmile:). Tag yourself a few times until you get the hang of it:

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/forum/11-testing-1-2-3/

Good luck :)

 

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JollyComics

JollyComics

Posted
Posted
On 2/20/2022 at 10:28 AM, Antman’s shorter brother said:

Hi! I’m a long time lurker, first time poster. Just wanted to say Hi! And that enjoy everyone’s insight on this message board.

 

All the best,

Antman’s Shorter Brother

Welcome to the board.  Take a good look around here.

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flchris

flchris

Posted
Posted

I have a question about when things go into the system. The past two weeks, it said packages the week of Feb 21 were currently being opened, and then this week I see that packages delivered the week of March 7 are currently being opened. I'm guessing the week of the 28th would fall into this group (or it could be in the void somewhere). My submission for a re-holder service was delivered the week of Feb. 28th, but I still don't see my submission being tracked in the system. When does a submission usually go into tracking?

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revat

revat

Posted
Posted
On 4/1/2022 at 12:05 PM, chrisbuoy said:

I have a question about when things go into the system. The past two weeks, it said packages the week of Feb 21 were currently being opened, and then this week I see that packages delivered the week of March 7 are currently being opened. I'm guessing the week of the 28th would fall into this group (or it could be in the void somewhere). My submission for a re-holder service was delivered the week of Feb. 28th, but I still don't see my submission being tracked in the system. When does a submission usually go into tracking?

its not nearly as consistent or transparent as it should be, and each type/tier of submission gets sent to a different track which may have a much larger/smaller and/or faster/slower queue. 

For example, my guess would be that they don't have a ton of staff dedicated to reholders.  So if your submission just got in behind a ton of other reholder submissions, it might be a longer wait. Or if the person who does reholder data entry person called in sick or went on vacation, it might slow down intake.  Could be anything.  Or they're just swamped with some other part of the business or whatever.

BUT that doesn't mean your concern isn't warranted or is unreasonable.  I'd just call and/or email CGC customer service with your submission info to check on it.  Doesn't hurt.

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