Why do people CGC a book then sell it right away for $40??

[conditionfreak]

I think it is all about speculating. Get some moderns that are nice. CGC them. Hope that for whatever reason they take off (mostly based on whatever niche that caused you to speculate on them in the first place). If they don't after a reasonable amount of time. Sell them for what you can get for them, even if you take a loss.

 

It is the cost of doing business. Sometimes, on some of the books, you will reap a bigger reward because of a movie bump or whatever reason you had in mind to speculate on them in the first place.

 

Doing this probably makes a small gain over time, depending on volume. And on how good you are at this type of thing.

 

I don't see any one making big money from it. But I can see some losing money doing it.

 

No one is buying every issue issued, and CGC'ing them. No one I know of anyway.

[SpideyFein]

I learned my lesson buying modern slabs that just come out....they don't hold their value for 99% of them.

+1.

Well, regarding moderns, buy them because you want them, like any other book. If you are into trying to sometimes flip and make a little money, I'd personally listen to everybody's advice. You will win some and lose some. Oh, and stick to Silver. In my experience, I've only taken real losses on modern books. There are some I really like, but the key is waiting till they've been out for a while. I confess, I bought a raw 700 Ditko variant when it first came out, and paid A LOT of money for it, and a week later it was worth $100 less. Two weeks later, $200 less, and so on. I of course wanted the book because I love Spidey, but that taught me a very valuable lesson. All of this doesn't mean much if you get a hot book for a very good deal, slab it, then sell it.

[youmechooz]

big boys prepay for the book for at least 20% discount, pay around 17$ for slabbing, which puts you about $20 per book. Shipping to and from CGC for less that $10 total per book (even with insurance isn't too hard to find). So lets say you've got 100 books submitted to CGC, and the average 9.8's you sell for $35, which is about breaking even. and you lose money on 9.6's, a little or a lot depending on the issue and your percentage of 9.6's versus 9.8's. BUT out of a 100 you submitted, hopefully you were able to submit a DECENT amount where you can sell for MORE than $35 per. SO overall, if you're good at it, you are making money in the bulk sense.

$17 per book?

[ComicConnoisseur]

I see moderns that people get 9.8's on and sell for that price. Why get it CGC'd then? Isn't it about $35/book to get CGC'd that's what it costs me. Unless there's a lot better deal I don't see the point.

 

$17/book dealer account price blue label

then what about Ebay and Paypal fees?

Must do a lot of volume.

[revat]

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7427884#Post7427884

 

I was being overly conservative.

 

$18 modern, do the 10% off and you get it in at $16.20? I assume 2.5-4$ spent on a given actual comic purchase. Spread out the $5 invoice fee over many many comics and you're right around $20 per book, not including shipping to and from.

[fastballspecial]

I think it is all about speculating. Get some moderns that are nice. CGC them. Hope that for whatever reason they take off (mostly based on whatever niche that caused you to speculate on them in the first place). If they don't after a reasonable amount of time. Sell them for what you can get for them, even if you take a loss.

 

It is the cost of doing business. Sometimes, on some of the books, you will reap a bigger reward because of a movie bump or whatever reason you had in mind to speculate on them in the first place.

 

Doing this probably makes a small gain over time, depending on volume. And on how good you are at this type of thing.

 

I don't see any one making big money from it. But I can see some losing money doing it.

 

No one is buying every issue issued, and CGC'ing them. No one I know of anyway.

 

+1

 

Modern sellers never talk about their losses.

 

[Mayor006]

I have a spreadsheet of every CGC book I've ever sold and I've taken some big losses and had a few big gains. Throw those out and take the average and after expenses I only make about between $8-10 on the ones I sell. However, I CGC books for two reasons: 1) to build my own collection and 2) to support the further development of that collection through sales of books I have the opportunity to sell. If I were to sell a lot of the books I keep for my personal collection I would like to think that dollar amount would be higher.

[revat]

I have a spreadsheet of every CGC book I've ever sold and I've taken some big losses and had a few big gains. Throw those out and take the average and after expenses I only make about between $8-10 on the ones I sell. However, I CGC books for two reasons: 1) to build my own collection and 2) to support the further development of that collection through sales of books I have the opportunity to sell. If I were to sell a lot of the books I keep for my personal collection I would like to think that dollar amount would be higher.

 

haha we would all like to think that

[bffnut]

If you are at the elite level, you get 15% off. So now you are looking at $15.30. If you are lucky enough to live near Sarasota, then you are looking at a really low cost per book.

[bffnut]

I submitted 2 at a con and was charged shipping for each book. Came out to $36 per book I think. I submitting 4 books next month at MegaCon in Orlando. All moderns under $300 in value. Can one of you tell me about how much that would cost? Just the regular way, I may fast track too. I'd appreciate the estimate so I know what it should cost when I go. Thanks

 

Direct submission at MegaCon last year was $25 per book. No need to fast track, because they will give them back to you at the end of the con.

 

Be warned, though - last year they stopped taking on-site submissions that would be returned by the end of the con - meaning they would be mailed to you. So if you plan on doing on-site grading, drop them off early.

[youmechooz]

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7427884#Post7427884

 

I was being overly conservative.

 

$18 modern, do the 10% off and you get it in at $16.20? I assume 2.5-4$ spent on a given actual comic purchase. Spread out the $5 invoice fee over many many comics and you're right around $20 per book, not including shipping to and from.

Dealers get 20% off but $20 a book sounds right. Includes shipping to and from and the actual cost of the book.

[TrinityComics]

I submitted 2 at a con and was charged shipping for each book. Came out to $36 per book I think. I submitting 4 books next month at MegaCon in Orlando. All moderns under $300 in value. Can one of you tell me about how much that would cost? Just the regular way, I may fast track too. I'd appreciate the estimate so I know what it should cost when I go. Thanks

 

Direct submission at MegaCon last year was $25 per book. No need to fast track, because they will give them back to you at the end of the con.

 

Be warned, though - last year they stopped taking on-site submissions that would be returned by the end of the con - meaning they would be mailed to you. So if you plan on doing on-site grading, drop them off early.

 

Thanks for this! I had no idea I could do it and get it back at the Con. I'll be there all 3 days so that will be my first stop. If I don't have to pay shipping then sure it's worth it. Also stuff for my private collection I'll get slabbed. However I don't have as much disposable income as you guys so I gotta find the best price.

[Flatliner1313]

The guys who can drive to CGC are the ones really making a killing.

 

The last submission i did worked out like this:

Sent 9 books, shipping was $35. So $3.89 per book.

Grading is $16.20 per (10% off the $18 price)

$5 for the invoice, which is $0.56 per book.

They charged me $5 per book shipping back.

 

Comes out to $25.65 in costs per book.

If you assume a $4 cover price, you're at about $30 after taxes.

I'm a Canadian. So in the USA, it's probably a bit cheaper.

 

 

 

 

 

[TrinityComics]

I actually live about an hour from Sarasota. Maybe I'll just submit in person. Do you get it any faster if you bring it to them?

[ChrisInBaltimore]

I actually live about an hour from Sarasota. Maybe I'll just submit in person. Do you get it any faster if you bring it to them?

 

CGC and fast in the same sentence

[Tony S]

The guys who can drive to CGC are the ones really making a killing.

 

The last submission i did worked out like this:

Sent 9 books, shipping was $35. So $3.89 per book.

Grading is $16.20 per (10% off the $18 price)

$5 for the invoice, which is $0.56 per book.

They charged me $5 per book shipping back.

 

Comes out to $25.65 in costs per book.

If you assume a $4 cover price, you're at about $30 after taxes.

I'm a Canadian. So in the USA, it's probably a bit cheaper

 

Dealers and high volume types are less still.

 

20% off grading equals $14.40 for moderns.

Inventory insurance often times includes private shipping insurance.

Open a Fedex account, combine it with your private shipping insurance and submit 15 books or more at a time. Have CGC return ship Fedex ground. I get 15-20 slabs return shipped via Fedex for right at $20. That's a dollar a book. Costs less than that to ship them to CGC

 

You can easily get your costs under $20 a book for moderns. So sales at $40 are good. And if you send 50 books at a time and prescreen, you only get back 9.8's.

 

[bffnut]

I actually live about an hour from Sarasota. Maybe I'll just submit in person. Do you get it any faster if you bring it to them?

 

You don't get them back any faster, but you can cut down on shipping costs(both there and back) and you don't have to worry about the comics getting mishandled and/or damaged by USPS/UPS/FedEx.

[Kevin76]

Nothing wrong with $40 sales as long as you are paying less than $3 a comic and send them modern slow boat for $18 a book. You'll need high volume to make it worth it.

[jaeldubyoo]

I actually live about an hour from Sarasota. Maybe I'll just submit in person. Do you get it any faster if you bring it to them?

 

Gas doesn't cost anything?

[KEY ISSUES Comics]

Well, in my case (pun intended), I sell those that did not meet the grade at a break even price (i.e.) $30-40 just to get my money back asap. I don't submit enough to be eligible for the pre-screening service, so I just roll the dice on some books.

 

Get a 9.6? Blow it out and lose a few bucks at worse.

 

Get a 9.8 or higher? Make some profit.