CGC Submitting Questions (many)

[mcd-migration]

Hi people. Have a bunch of questions on submitting & hope to get as much info as possible from all. First off, I didn't see anywhere on CGCs sight about the pre-screening of books. Am I missing it & what is the minimum # of books that can be sent. Does the minimum apply to each catagory (modern/standard/etc.) or can you have a mixture to meet the minimum #s.

Next, are you charged the $3 pre screen on every book + the CGC fee on the ones that hit your grade? Or are you just charged the $3 on the ones that fall below your grade ( & the regular fees for the ones that hit your grade).

By joining the Collectors Club you get 5 submittals of your choice for the $99 membership. Is this the cheapest way to go for an initial order of pre 1975 books?

After you've used the Club submitting, what's the cheapest way to go after that?

 

I've studied CGC grading as much as possible from local dealers. On modern books, does the difference in a 9.6 to a 10, basically come down to minor corner abrasions on the top & bottom of the spine side, as books are basically crease free, square cornered, smooth spine books? I'm viewing books under a lighted magnifying class, does CGC actually use a microscope to grade, or just to detect restoration?

Lastly, any good suggestions for overlooked CGC material from 1975 forward?

 

Thanks for any help that can be provided, it is appreciated.

 

Mark

 

 

[thecomicsheet]

Check the thread from 2/12/03 'Need pre-screening info'. I'm trying to attach the link to it here:

Need Pre-Screening info

 

RE: Joining the Collectors Society. I did that and used the coupon to get 3 express gradings. They mail you a package of stuff after you join. Took about a week for me to get mine.

[diablo508]

I don't do the pre-screen but I think it is 100 per book...in other words all one comic i.e Ultimate spider-Man #33.....not a mix of ult spider 33, 34, 35 ,36..etc

 

$3 dollar fee for each returned comic that doesn't make the grade.......

 

unless your a major CGC player and seller on Ebay and at Conventions I'd stay away from pre-screning..

 

I'm not sure about joning the collectors club...if you go through these sites:

 

http://www.monumentalcollectibles.com/web/CGC/cgcfrm.htm

 

or

 

https://www.cgccomics.com/cobrand_form_1s.cfm?affiliate=MT

 

you'll get a 20% off your total every time....most other sites don't offer it..

 

 

 

9.6, 9.8, 9.9, 10.0

 

all are VERY Small defects....I'm sure you can tell the difference and why it's graded that way...bottom line, the graders are human and each wil grade a bit different...I've got a 9.8 comic that I'd bet if I resubmitted it be a 9.4. CGC uses a magnifier but I highly doubt they use a microsope....that's a bit extreme...all defects should be visible to the naked eye...even the small ones that knock it down to a 9.9 or 9.8

 

As for 1975 on up books to submit....if your looking for hot sellers with the market. Always check on Ebay! Wizard magazine will help too.

 

Prices seem to be affected by Hollywood right now...so Hulk, X-men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Punisher...all these titles will be having a movie come out be it the first one or second..

 

I hope this helps you a bit...I'm by no means the expert and I'm sure there are smarter people on here than me!

 

 

 

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

You may submit 100 minimum 'different' moderns if you wish. I did that before the deadline of price increases. They don't all have to be the same...but can be.

 

According to Steve Borock (CGC's final grader), all defects are detected using "the human eye" without outside help (magnifier, microscope). Tools of assistance are only used for catching restoration.

 

As for over-looked books?

Um, try...Power Pack #27 with the 1st Wolverine/Sabretooth cover!

 

Anybody got a problem with that? Huh? Well, speak up!!

 

Rick

[diablo508]

I knew someone smarter than me would come along!

 

 

 

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Smarter? MMmm...

 

I sent 100 moderns with a pre-screen ceiling of 9.2; 88 passed, 12 didn't.

 

88% success rate (and who knows how many ONLY made it to 9.2).

 

Me? Smarter?

 

I'm guessing most of the other posters here could easily beat that ratio.

 

I guess my true smarts will be determined on whether I can make a profit on all my dupes or not. Or is that just greed? Care to respond CI or Andrew Knight?

(I mention you two only because I just finished reading the Chuck/morals thread).

 

Rick

[thecomicsheet]

My first pre-screen was for 9.4 on a batch of about 100 moderns. I expected 75 to 80 percent to pass. Only 50 percent did. Saved me hundreds of dollars in wasted grading fees.

 

With today's increased prices for CGC grading I would suggest you look very closely at pre-screening versus just blindly sending in the books. A $3 reject fee can be very kind compared to a $19 fee for an unexpected 7.5 disaster.

 

Personally I've sent in about 900 books to get graded about half pre-screen and half not. After several grading disasters, I don't think I will ever again send in a book that is not part of a pre-screen batch.

 

The reject fee by the way is $3 for Moderns, $5 for Economy, and $7 for Standard. You don't pay the fee on books that pass. Cheap insurance in my opinion.

 

Give CGC a call. They will be glad to explain the process to you.

 

Good luck.

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Whoah Darryl, only 50% made it to 9.4? Well, I'll tell you how many of mine crack that # when I get them back. Let's see...50 out of 100 minus the 12 that didn't make the cut = I need at least 39 to come back at 9.6 or higher to top ya.

 

 

I don't like my chances. I think I'm a decent grader, but the moderns I sent in ranged mostly from '75 to '87. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

And I agree: pre-screen is definitely the way to go. Unless you're a pro with ice in his veins. Dogg, Pimp, Darth, Greggy...speak up, boys!!

 

Rick

[thecomicsheet]

Well, just to make it a fair comparison with my batch, all of the books have to be a quarter century old or older ('75 to '78) . I acquired several thousand books back in the mid 70's and put them in a closet (actually several closets). There they've been for the last 25 years (I can't really be that old! ).

 

The pre-screen let's you take a lot more chances with what you send in to get graded. When it costs $19.00 I can't afford a lot of mistakes. But if I only pay a $3 penalty, somtimes getting 1 out of 3 ain't bad. For example on that batch that I sent in, I didn't think they would all make 9.4 or better. But I did think I would hit it on 75% or so. 50 percent was a disappointment. Through that experience and others I have learned to be extremely pessimistic on my CGC grade expectations.

 

Good look on your screening.

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Good look on your screening.

 

Good "look"?

 

Funny how your 'slip of the type' is actually just as appropo...if not moreso!

 

And Thanx.

 

Rick

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

I was bored so I thought I would tally up my first pre-screening (9.2) experience.

 

My 100 modern submissions ('75-'89) resulted thusly:

 

12 rejects

9.2- 1

9.4- 15

9.6- 35

9.8- 37

9.9-

 

This got to me wondering...what's the highest number of submissions from an individual/company that resulted in zero 9.9s or 10s? I'm currently at 163. But that includes bronze AND silver as well as the mods.

 

As for the business side of thing$, it took the sale of 27 books to cover the costs. Not bad.

 

Rick

 

 

[chrisco37]

(37) 9.8's out of 100 books. That's something like.....37%

 

Seriously though, those are pretty good numbers. You say the books ranged from '75-89. What book was the oldest 9.8?

 

Chris

[Darthdiesel]

I didn't see this the first time around Rick - congrats on your high percentage rate! Nice job too with recouping costs. If one does a search on "prescreen" I think you can find when I listed my breakdowns with grades, costs and post grading sales. I even listed straight grading a lot of Byrne X-Men and McFarlane Spideys and slaes to recoup those. Very helpful for some new to getting stuff graded.

 

I would always recommend the prescreen if you have 100 books, made up of 10 -20 different books (5 to 10 copies each), mostly moderns that are on the "hot list": USM 1-5, Batman 608-612, Thirty Days of Night 1-3, Any newstand/con variant of the discount promo comics, ie. FF60 Newstand, DD vol 2 43? newstand... get them prescreened at 9.8 and up, keep the highest for yourself and then sell the rest to recoup your costs.

[FlyingDonut]

My BOX of FF 60 Baltimore Comicon 60s I'm going to have to get done at some point. Hoping to find a 10.0 in there and donate it to this years (warning blatant plug) September Baltimore Comicon CBLDF auction.

 

BTW, the DD cover price variant is 41, not 43.

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

What book was the oldest 9.8?

 

Hmmm, let's see.

 

The 9.8s worth mentioning are:

 

Multiples of Dark Knight Returns #2, #3, #4 (1986)

Batman #405 & #406 (1987)

Punisher War Journal #6 w/ Wolverine (1989)

Transformers #2 (1984)

X-Men #150 (1981)

X-Men #136 (1980)

 

And the oldest one from this batch is also my favorite-

JLA #136 with Joker getting hammered by Bats in the foreground (1976)

 

When I decide to sell some more of these, I'll let you all know first.

 

Rick