Why don't dealers have all high-value comics graded?

[mlovest]

I just don't understand why any high-value comics dealer would not have their best comics graded by CGC or another trusted third-party source. The differences in prices realized are huge. I do know their are trustworthy dealers out there that can and do grade as well as Steve B and company, but when you are toting a key issue at a convention, why would you leave it to chance? Submit the book and sell it for a high premium if it gets the high grade you think it deserves.

 

And yes, I do understand that some buyers what raw copies they can hold in their hands, but you can always remove the graded comic after you buy it.

 

I know some of you are high-value comics dealers on here, so what am I missing? And I do understand CGC's turnaround times are not good for a businessperson, especially given they charge you up front for a grading service which may not take place for months. This means a ton of capital is held up and out of your hands as you wait to get back your wares...

 

V/R,

Mike

[Mephisto]

A lot of these dealers can get CGC like premiums for these types of books becuase they are established and are sometimes the only place to get the books from. There is no need for them to even bother paying to have these types of books grading. Like Steve mentioned paying for a Church More Fun in the days before CGC for $110,000 when OS listed it at $28,000.

[mlovest]

Actually for really high-priced comics, that makes sense. There are few that can afford them anyway... But what about pre-100 Amazing Spider-Man issues? In NM raw, they generally fetch far less than CGC copies. You're far more likely to sell a few of these at a convention for example. CGCing the copy would give more people with $300 in their pocket the confidence to make the purchase when they spot the book on a wall but don't know the seller.

 

V/R,

Mike

[deathlok]

The biggest factor for many dealers would be cost and time. It costs a lot of money to get their inventory slabbed and their books would be tied up being graded.

[awe4one]

so what am I missing?

 

You missing the fact that all collectors don't need the CGC stamp of approval before buying their comics. Some dealers recognize this and tailor their CGC submissions to meet their clientele's desires...

 

Jim

[Aman619]

The biggest factor for many dealers would be cost and time. It costs a lot of money to get their inventory slabbed and their books would be tied up being graded.

 

thats right.

 

Play this game: Youre a dealer. You have some really nice looking books. You think theyre 9.4s... a bunch of them at least, maybe a 9.6 in there. So whattayado?? If you send them all off to CGC youre sitting on your thumbs for up to 3, 4 months.... and its really a gamble what grades youll get. So maybe you choose to keep em in mylars and price them as slabbed 9.4s and try to sell them. More profit with no grading fees, and you sell them a lot quicker. DId you lose money on some of them? sure. But maybe you made some money too since they might have been 8.0s that look like 9.2s and 4s

 

I like the question because I always get a bit curious when I see a nice looking raw book, especially a key at a dealers booth. Why is it raw? Is it a cracked out 8.0? or did they just buy it? Or are they in a hurry to sell it? I ask, but I dont always believe the answer..

 

If I were a dealer, Id send out my keys and anything that looked 9.4 or better. But if the pile got too big, well, I guess I;d go raw and take my chances on my salesmanship! And for years afterwards Id worry that I sold a 9.6 at a 9.0 price!! Damn.

 

but back to your question: You just dont know the reason why a particular book is being sold raw. There are innocent reasons, and then there are of course the other kind.

[Hobgoblin]

I just don't understand why any high-value comics dealer would not have their best comics graded by CGC or another trusted third-party source. The differences in prices realized are huge. I do know their are trustworthy dealers out there that can and do grade as well as Steve B and company, but when you are toting a key issue at a convention, why would you leave it to chance? Submit the book and sell it for a high premium if it gets the high grade you think it deserves.

 

And yes, I do understand that some buyers what raw copies they can hold in their hands, but you can always remove the graded comic after you buy it.

 

I know some of you are high-value comics dealers on here, so what am I missing? And I do understand CGC's turnaround times are not good for a businessperson, especially given they charge you up front for a grading service which may not take place for months. This means a ton of capital is held up and out of your hands as you wait to get back your wares...

 

V/R,

Mike

 

 

1) The cost of having silver age books graded.

2) The time it takes to have silver age books graded.

 

And most importantly

 

3) Having all high grade books graded will raise the cost, making it impossible for some collector's to afford them. Who wants to up the value of a book by grading it if less people would be able to purchase it afterwards.

 

[DiceX]

From what I've seen at the convention, and a lot of shops...they charge the CGC price for the raw book, so why would they want to pay to have it slabbed?

I mean, when it get's slabbed, the grade will be lower than the grade they've given it, so it's not "cost effective" for them.

[Mr. Zipper]

I like the question because I always get a bit curious when I see a nice looking raw book, especially a key at a dealers booth. Why is it raw? Is it a cracked out 8.0? or did they just buy it? Or are they in a hurry to sell it? I ask, but I dont always believe the answer..

 

It all depends on the dealer as well...

 

For instance, why should a well-known, reputable and respected dealer (e.g., Superworld) pay slabbing costs for every book? Their established reputation assures customers that they will be "close" in grading, and if there is any sort of problem with the book, they will make it right. So, in their case, Superworld's reputation and good track record is the buyer's "insurance policy" ... and a slab is not critical.

 

Now, if it's an unknown weekend warrior dealer that you may never see again, a slab may be more important as an "insurance policy."

 

Sadly, the weekend warrior type dealer -- however honest he may be -- is the least able to afford the slabbing costs and tie his inventory up for months.

[sterlingcomics]

Dealers leaving money on the table...by catering to raw enthusiasts....I doubt it.

 

I personally think the main reason why raw inventory doesn't get CGC'd is because they are CONFIDENT that CGC will grade it less than what they can get away with raw. That and the fact that they need to move the inventory, so time is of the essence.

 

I can honestly say that books I've bought from have always been slightly overgraded (with the exception of maybe two dealers, who are spot on). Slightly higher grade = more money and no wait times for the correct grade from CGC which would kill their profits.

 

And yeah, the ones that are accurate--charge CGC rates for their books (which is always done on popular/key books but also with non-key/non-popular books).

[Hobgoblin]

Dealers leaving money on the table...by catering to raw enthusiasts....I doubt it.

 

I personally think the main reason why raw inventory doesn't get CGC'd is because they are CONFIDENT that CGC will grade it less than what they can get away with raw. That and the fact that they need to move the inventory, so time is of the essence.

 

I can honestly say that books I've bought from have always been slightly overgraded (with the exception of maybe two dealers, who are spot on). Slightly higher grade = more money and no wait times for the correct grade from CGC which would kill their profits.

 

And yeah, the ones that are accurate--charge CGC rates for their books (which is always done on popular/key books but also with non-key/non-popular books).

 

Not the same for small town dealers. If my LCS had every book graded, they wouldn't sell, because a lot of his clientelle are college students who can't afford the higher costs of slabbed books. myself included.

 

Different strokes for different folks. Sure maybe in New York, Chicago, or LA, dealers can slab everything and sell everything, but that wouldn't happen everywhere.

[sterlingcomics]

I agree Hobgoblin. I was referring to the larger dealers who frequent Cons, not the local LCS.

[sfilosa]

I personally think the main reason why raw inventory doesn't get CGC'd is because they are CONFIDENT that CGC will grade it less than what they can get away with raw.

 

I agree.

 

And the main reason is that almost all established dealers DO submit books to CGC, usually in bulk. And I have discuss with some dealers that I would be interested in purchasing some books that they just recently purchased, PRIOR to sending to CGC, and there response is "THEY'RE NOT FOR SALE". Obviously, the dealer felt very confident that the books would receive very HG's from CGC.

 

I extrapolate that comment to mean, the rest of the raw books that are graded and priced at being HG, are more borderline (at best).

 

Now I clearly have no issue with books that aren't valued more then a $100, or are so plentiful in HG, that not having some graded makes perfect sense.

 

But,

[Tango 'n Cash]

Does anyone think the CGC Census has anything to do with this?

 

For example, many 70's and up comics are available in bulk in NM condition, and if I had a crate of some semi-key, then grading the best, selling those, then blowing off a significant portion raw might provide a higher overall profit margin.

 

Otherwise by the time you got them all graded, the market may be half what it once was.

[uclapeterg]

From what I've seen at the convention, and a lot of shops...they charge the CGC price for the raw book, so why would they want to pay to have it slabbed?

I mean, when it get's slabbed, the grade will be lower than the grade they've given it, so it's not "cost effective" for them.

 

I COMPLETELY agree.

[uclapeterg]

Dealers leaving money on the table...by catering to raw enthusiasts....I doubt it.

 

I personally think the main reason why raw inventory doesn't get CGC'd is because they are CONFIDENT that CGC will grade it less than what they can get away with raw. That and the fact that they need to move the inventory, so time is of the essence.

 

I can honestly say that books I've bought from have always been slightly overgraded (with the exception of maybe two dealers, who are spot on). Slightly higher grade = more money and no wait times for the correct grade from CGC which would kill their profits.

 

And yeah, the ones that are accurate--charge CGC rates for their books (which is always done on popular/key books but also with non-key/non-popular books).

 

Not the same for small town dealers. If my LCS had every book graded, they wouldn't sell, because a lot of his clientelle are college students who can't afford the higher costs of slabbed books. myself included.

 

Different strokes for different folks. Sure maybe in New York, Chicago, or LA, dealers can slab everything and sell everything, but that wouldn't happen everywhere.

 

I have never seen a slabbed book at one of the dealers in LA.

[mlovest]

That's my concern, Dice-X. How many times have you pressed a dealer on a grade and asked, "Hey, what would CGC gove this book?" And they reply, "Well, probably not the 9.4 I've given it, but it would be close..."

 

That's why I think the price difference is so high for raw vs. graded. Again, I know there are honest dealers out there--we all deal with them and a good number are on these boards... I just think for higher priced books the reduced doubt will almost always result in much higher income for the seller. I've never heard someone say they won't buy a graded book because it's too much of a pain to take it out of the shell.

 

V/R,

Mike

[Hobgoblin]

That's my concern, Dice-X. How many times have you pressed a dealer on a grade and asked, "Hey, what would CGC gove this book?" And they reply, "Well, probably not the 9.4 I've given it, but it would be close..."

 

That's why I think the price difference is so high for raw vs. graded. Again, I know there are honest dealers out there--we all deal with them and a good number are on these boards... I just think for higher priced books the reduced doubt will almost always result in much higher income for the seller. I've never heard someone say they won't buy a graded book because it's too much of a pain to take it out of the shell.

 

V/R,

Mike

 

Dice grades our dealer's books, basically determining which books our LCS dealer is going to send in.

[mlovest]

I definitely believe many top dealers now cherry pick their high-priced material and send in the better comics for grading. I know keeping the material out of hand is tough, but the investment in the time-value of money would warrant the wait.

 

V/R,

Mike

[garthgantu]

Who wants to up the value of a book by grading it if less people would be able to purchase it afterwards.

 

I disagree with this point. You don't care if less people are able to the buy the book slabbed, as long as one person can. The point of the slabbing is to 'guarantee' a 9.4 or 9.6 etc., which attracts a smaller group of buyers, no doubt, but pickier, deeper-pocketed buyers!