Sketch covers shouldnt have grades...

[valiantman]

I've looked through the sales forum on this board before and seen sketch covers with original art on them in slabs where the seller appears to have significantly discounted the price because the grade is lower than CGC 9.8.

 

It seems strange that anyone would actually care whether a $5 book was CGC 9.8 or CGC 9.4 or CGC 9.0 if the book has $200 worth of original art commissioned on it.

 

Why is the seller heavily penalized for something that makes $2 worth of difference to the book itself?

 

Perception. The grade in the corner appears to detract from the quality of the artwork... but that grade has nothing to do with the art.

[seanfingh]

I've looked through the sales forum on this board before and seen sketch covers with original art on them in slabs where the seller appears to have significantly discounted the price because the grade is lower than CGC 9.8.

 

It seems strange that anyone would actually care whether a $5 book was CGC 9.8 or CGC 9.4 or CGC 9.0 if the book has $200 worth of original art commissioned on it.

 

Why is the seller heavily penalized for something that makes $2 worth of difference to the book itself?

 

Perception. The grade in the corner appears to detract from the quality of the artwork... but that grade has nothing to do with the art.

 

As a result of this, I commission way fewer sketch covers and purchase more. I can often buy a sketch cover for less than it would cost to make.

[Santos208]

I like cbcs option on sketches.

[revat]

I've looked through the sales forum on this board before and seen sketch covers with original art on them in slabs where the seller appears to have significantly discounted the price because the grade is lower than CGC 9.8.

 

It seems strange that anyone would actually care whether a $5 book was CGC 9.8 or CGC 9.4 or CGC 9.0 if the book has $200 worth of original art commissioned on it.

 

Why is the seller heavily penalized for something that makes $2 worth of difference to the book itself?

 

Perception. The grade in the corner appears to detract from the quality of the artwork... but that grade has nothing to do with the art.

 

But for the most part, most people who will get a comic sketched and graded are aware that the comic will get graded, and aware that the resale value will most likely be negatively impacted by a lower grade, AND YET THEY DO IT ANYWAYS.

 

No one is making anyone get a sketch, or get it graded, or sell it. By doing so they've already decided that the risk was worth it. That's why most of the time, its not worth it to get a graded sketch JUST for resale value (there are much much easier ways to make money or even break even). If you're not getting enough enjoyment value out of OWNING the sketch, or you enjoy them less because of the grade, you need to reevaluate your priorities, or your spending habits.

 

If you just want a sketch, people can just get a piece of paper slabbed or use one of Troy's blanks for a NG

[seanfingh]

That's why most of the time, its not worth it to get a graded sketch JUST for resale value (there are much much easier ways to make money or even break even).

 

There was a lot more of that going on 2012-2013 as well. It led to a glut of SC.

[revat]

That's why most of the time, its not worth it to get a graded sketch JUST for resale value (there are much much easier ways to make money or even break even).

 

There was a lot more of that going on 2012-2013 as well. It led to a glut of SC.

 

no doubt. I'm looking forward to snatching some up next year when they get even cheaper.

[Gped]

Does anyone know how CGC actually grades the sketch covers? Do they grade the actual Bristol Cover AND the Book or just the book under the blank cover?

 

 

[EvenInHisYouth]

I've never really understood the get your sketch graded thing (as evidenced here)

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7759725&fpart=1

 

 

Unless you hope to sell them down the line, seems pointless.

 

I keep all of mine in a mylar, sitting in a spinner rack.

[Phantalien]

I think the main point of getting the sketch cover graded is to assign it a certificate of authenticity that it was sketched and signed by a certain person. Down the road I would imagine that the certified sketch covers will be used to verify other random sketches/signatures that people claim to have.

 

If I had a sketch cover I would want to show it off and slabbing it is the best archival way of doing it so far.

 

Personally, I am not a fan of getting comics signed or sketched and get the TPBs signed/sketched. Plus I have a sketchbook for quick sketches. Flip through it and there are many fond memories of conventions and great artists whom I have met.

[EvenInHisYouth]

Authentication doesn't mean anything to me, If I can't get a sketch done in person, I don't

 

If you believe that slabbing is the "best archival way" to show off your sketches...I don't even know what to say. If I recall, even CGC recommends having books re-encapsulated EVERY 7 years.

 

Mylar works juuuust fine.

 

 

Again, if your in it to sell it (or just have a ton of money)....grade away!

 

[Gped]

I would imagine having the grade would let the buyer know if the book is damaged or not.

 

I would not buy a sketch cover book if one of the pages was torn out or if a page had water damage on it. What if the back of the Bristol board for the cover has water damage on it but you can't notice it from the outside? You would never know about any of the damages to the book if it was an ungradedslab, at least not until you pulled it out to get reslabbed, assuming you did that.

 

That's just what i think.

[revat]

I would imagine having the grade would let the buyer know if the book is damaged or not.

 

I would not buy a sketch cover book if one of the pages was torn out or if a page had water damage on it. What if the back of the Bristol board for the cover has water damage on it but you can't notice it from the outside? You would never know about any of the damages to the book if it was an ungradedslab, at least not until you pulled it out to get reslabbed, assuming you did that.

 

That's just what i think.

 

there's definitely some logic to this too.

 

Additionally, let's say you're a big fan of JS Campbell. You've got a whole display full of CGC 9.8 SS signed by Campbell, full of sexy spider-women type covers.

 

Now you've decided to commission a JSC custom sketch cover. You get your favorite Mary Jane, looks great. You get CGC SS'd, you get it back and boom: 9.4. Now you've got a display with 12 9.8 cgc ss, and the crown jewel center of your display is a 9.4 CGC SS. If that were me, and there are plenty of people more anal about 9.8's or uniformity than me, that would IRK me, a lot. A JSC full sketch ain't cheap, if I saved up for it thinking it'd be the crown of my collection display for years and I got a 9.4.....well lets just say I think I'd be more happy with the 9.8.

 

I don't think its that unreasonable to feel that way, or that uncommon.

[Gped]

I'm sure that would annoy some people. But i think someone thinking they can consistently get a 9.8 back from a commission seems risky. I'm sure it's been done a lot, but I would think it's still a shoot. You're asking someone to handle the book and draw on it. I think it's a safe bet to assume that you'll get low graded based on that alone.

 

But yes, if you don't get a 9.8 to go with the other 9.8's it might look weird to have a 9.4. But it also might look weird to have a book ungraded too alongside all the graded 9.8's. Just depends on the person I guess. Everyone has different preferences, which is the cool thing about allowing people to do ungraded.

 

I Just personally would think it's risky to buy an ungraded book for the reasons I stated before.

 

 

[devilsrain]

I would imagine having the grade would let the buyer know if the book is damaged or not.

 

I would not buy a sketch cover book if one of the pages was torn out or if a page had water damage on it. What if the back of the Bristol board for the cover has water damage on it but you can't notice it from the outside? You would never know about any of the damages to the book if it was an ungradedslab, at least not until you pulled it out to get reslabbed, assuming you did that.

 

That's just what i think.

 

there's definitely some logic to this too.

 

Additionally, let's say you're a big fan of JS Campbell. You've got a whole display full of CGC 9.8 SS signed by Campbell, full of sexy spider-women type covers.

 

Now you've decided to commission a JSC custom sketch cover. You get your favorite Mary Jane, looks great. You get CGC SS'd, you get it back and boom: 9.4. Now you've got a display with 12 9.8 cgc ss, and the crown jewel center of your display is a 9.4 CGC SS. If that were me, and there are plenty of people more anal about 9.8's or uniformity than me, that would IRK me, a lot. A JSC full sketch ain't cheap, if I saved up for it thinking it'd be the crown of my collection display for years and I got a 9.4.....well lets just say I think I'd be more happy with the 9.8.

 

I don't think its that unreasonable to feel that way, or that uncommon.

 

You just made the argument for a no grade designation.

[Gped]

I understand the thinking behind, it's art and the book doesn't matter. But let me throw this scenario out there...

 

If you got a commission piece on a popular book, Like lets say there was a blank sketch cover for Walking Dead #1. You got Tony Moore to do the cover sketch when it came out in 2003 for 50 bucks. You CGC'd it and it's a 9.8 cover sketch.

Fast forward to now where a normal walking dead #1 - 9.8 is selling for 2k.

 

Would that affect your selling price of the book now? Would you be trying to sell your cover sketch book for over 2k now because it's original art AND it's a 9.8 Walking Dead #1?

 

If the answer is yes, then the book and it's grade really does matter and it's not just about the art.

 

 

 

 

[revat]

I would imagine having the grade would let the buyer know if the book is damaged or not.

 

I would not buy a sketch cover book if one of the pages was torn out or if a page had water damage on it. What if the back of the Bristol board for the cover has water damage on it but you can't notice it from the outside? You would never know about any of the damages to the book if it was an ungradedslab, at least not until you pulled it out to get reslabbed, assuming you did that.

 

That's just what i think.

 

there's definitely some logic to this too.

 

Additionally, let's say you're a big fan of JS Campbell. You've got a whole display full of CGC 9.8 SS signed by Campbell, full of sexy spider-women type covers.

 

Now you've decided to commission a JSC custom sketch cover. You get your favorite Mary Jane, looks great. You get CGC SS'd, you get it back and boom: 9.4. Now you've got a display with 12 9.8 cgc ss, and the crown jewel center of your display is a 9.4 CGC SS. If that were me, and there are plenty of people more anal about 9.8's or uniformity than me, that would IRK me, a lot. A JSC full sketch ain't cheap, if I saved up for it thinking it'd be the crown of my collection display for years and I got a 9.4.....well lets just say I think I'd be more happy with the 9.8.

 

I don't think its that unreasonable to feel that way, or that uncommon.

 

You just made the argument for a no grade designation.

 

one could definitely look at it that way too. perfectly reasonable. depends how obsessive one is. But again, especially for this, it simply depends on one's preferences for how they collect, how they display, how they view comics, arts, their own money.

 

One could easily make very reasonable arguments for any number of preferences. While it might make sense to ask the initial question, it becomes very quickly about chocolate vs vanilla ice cream, simply a matter of preference. IF enough people ask CGC about no-grades, they'll make it a viable option though, I assume.

 

 

[devilsrain]

I would imagine having the grade would let the buyer know if the book is damaged or not.

 

I would not buy a sketch cover book if one of the pages was torn out or if a page had water damage on it. What if the back of the Bristol board for the cover has water damage on it but you can't notice it from the outside? You would never know about any of the damages to the book if it was an ungradedslab, at least not until you pulled it out to get reslabbed, assuming you did that.

 

That's just what i think.

 

there's definitely some logic to this too.

 

Additionally, let's say you're a big fan of JS Campbell. You've got a whole display full of CGC 9.8 SS signed by Campbell, full of sexy spider-women type covers.

 

Now you've decided to commission a JSC custom sketch cover. You get your favorite Mary Jane, looks great. You get CGC SS'd, you get it back and boom: 9.4. Now you've got a display with 12 9.8 cgc ss, and the crown jewel center of your display is a 9.4 CGC SS. If that were me, and there are plenty of people more anal about 9.8's or uniformity than me, that would IRK me, a lot. A JSC full sketch ain't cheap, if I saved up for it thinking it'd be the crown of my collection display for years and I got a 9.4.....well lets just say I think I'd be more happy with the 9.8.

 

I don't think its that unreasonable to feel that way, or that uncommon.

 

You just made the argument for a no grade designation.

 

one could definitely look at it that way too. perfectly reasonable. depends how obsessive one is. But again, especially for this, it simply depends on one's preferences for how they collect, how they display, how they view comics, arts, their own money.

 

One could easily make very reasonable arguments for any number of preferences. While it might make sense to ask the initial question, it becomes very quickly about chocolate vs vanilla ice cream, simply a matter of preference. IF enough people ask CGC about no-grades, they'll make it a viable option though, I assume.

 

 

I agree, it just comes down to preference. I made the suggestion 3 years ago. Give us the option and charge the same amount. It wouldn't have cost them a dime. Of course, as usual my suggestions fall on deaf ears.

 

Something tells me though now that the other company is doing it they'll follow suit.

 

 

[Aweandlorder]

I think it all comes down to this. What do you value more in a sketch book - the book or the original sketch art?

I think most will agree its the art, its just unique to have it on the comic that you like/chose.

And obviously, OA is not being graded. In fact, most OA I came across, had terrible conditions.

Would you mind if you had a John Romita SR with interior stains and a ripped page but with a great looking original cover piece? I wouldnt

Heck I saw this guy get his T-Shirt sketched by Herb Trimpe 2 months ago, when I asked him if hell ever wash it, he said - hell no! And you better believe I will wear it forever.

Imagine that

[Gped]

I agree most OA art isn't in great conditions, but I think there's a bit of a difference with what I'm talking about compared to what you're describing.

 

What you're talking about is knowingly buying something that is damaged. It might be ok because you can actually see the damage, everything is visible.

 

What I'm saying is, if it's slabbed and ungraded you won't even know if there is damage. There's a pretty big difference in buying something that you already know is damaged compared to buying something you think is in a certain condition.

 

I know I'm not going to change your mind, I'm not really trying to. I'm just giving my perspective on buying sketch cover books. I personally would like to know the condition of the piece, even the parts of the piece that I can't see.

 

But like what one of the other guys said earlier, it's totally subjective. Everyone has their own preferences on buying OA and Sketch Covers. And I do agree with everyone here that it's a pretty cool option to get it graded or ungraded.