General discussion thread - keep the other threads clean 29 29

[skypinkblu]

Did anybody actually contact or email Chip or were all questions simply posted in this discussion thread?

 

 

 

I did, I pointed him to the thread. He answered me and said he was not going to post. I didn't coach him, don't know if anyone else did. I listened to what he said and waited for him to post.

 

 

I've always felt that the PGM was for SOME people, a way to advertise without putting up a sales thread, but if you are going to use it...there are some very respectable graders there. One would hope that if you put your books in a grading forum, consistently that you'd use those grades as guidance, otherwise, why bother?

 

Yes, it's hard to grade from a scan, faults pop, slight stains can look dark etc. Lots of times I'll grade the book in front of me, look at the scan and I will lower my grade before posting a sale here, or even while I'm posting. I've been known to remove a post to lower the grade.

 

I do that because when you are shopping online and you are looking at what's in front of you what you see is the SCAN...so that is the grade the book appears to be when the person shopping views it. I know I'm not the only person here who does that.

 

I'm very upset when I miss something, it's not often thank goodness, but it happens, I'm never upset when someone thinks the book looks better at home.

 

I'm not sure that Chip posted his opinion of the grades on here except in that one case and had he said it was an error, I would have accepted his response.

 

It seems however, that was not the case. If you are worried about how the forum perceives your grading, then you should be worried EVERYWHERE. Collectors are here and on eBay.

 

Do I think he's a terrible person, absolutely not. Do I think he needs to re-evaluate how he presents and lists things...yes. I hope and think he will learn.

 

There are a few others though, whose responses really threw me.

 

Yes, it DOES matter what you use as your grade on eBay. It's not a free for all. I don't know why anyone would think it's different. There are lots of careful eBay sellers on these boards.

[Park]

I used to sell raw books on eBay and finally stopped when I went to becoming a full time dealer. Even though I rarely had returns, I decided to slab everything to avoid disagreeing with anyone because it's less hassle. I'm of the school of thought of paying a little more to save a headache later.

 

Back in the day though, when I was new to selling on eBay I was a different grader than I am today (even though I had few complaints). CGC was an unknown entity and I just graded the way I thought books were supposed to be graded. As I joined this place and also continued to submit books to CGC, I began to tighten up (or for a better way of saying it, started to adapt CGC standards) but I still kept my own raw grading for eBay. I'm quite sure there was a time when I graded raw books tighter here than on eBay for a while.

 

Why?

 

Because this place was full of 'educated collectors' (insert here). I was actually embarrassed about being called 'too loose' on this chat forum so I graded differently here than I did on eBay. Yup. I did.

 

And it wasn't to deceive, rather it was to cater to different markets and give them what I thought they wanted.

 

There is a bit of unspoken posturing around here, especially in the PGM forum, the way you'd have it in a 'country club' or some place where image is important. Very different than just hanging at the local dive bar where nobody cares. That is why (as others have already mentioned) I've also found the PGM forum to be on the tight side at times relative to my standards (and how I believe CGC grades) and I have personally and publicly disagreed with some posted grade opinions...even relatively recently.

 

Anyhow, as time evolved I realized that everyone was looking for CGC grading both on eBay and here and as my understanding increased, so did my ability to grade the way CGC did.

 

Fast forward a few years and I still regularly sell raw books on this forum. I don't think I've ever started a "PGM" thread on this forum (if I did, it must have been long ago and I don't remember it) but many of my raw books get slabbed (I see them coming back to market, even on the same forum a few months later). From what I can see most come back in a reasonable grade range - majority in the advertised grade, some a little under, some a little over.

 

Let's face it, even CGC changes their own grades from time to time. I've resubmitted books, disagreeing with the grade only to see it change either up or down.

 

There are different schools of thought on grading, even today, and I find that unless you are a CGC dealer, or an avid CGC fan/collector, most of the time people don't know how to CGC grade. But ultimately, there is an 'us and them' grading standard - or better put, a CGC and non-CGC grading standard.

 

There really is no black and white, "this is the right grade", be all and end all grading perfection that is 100% right all of the time. Most of the time we are just in a close range. Some people are just closer in range than others.

 

And so that begs the question, which grading standard is correct?

 

The one in the CGC holder last week? This week? This dealer who is tighter than CGC or that dealer who isn't?

 

I personally don't remember the last time I looked at a seller's grade and decided whether I was going to buy a book or not based on their assigned grade. I assign my own grades and my own price points on all of my purchases. I'll talk with my dollars and cents and take the plunge based on my own opinion and live or die by that decision. I'd only expect a refund if there was a hidden defect that would prevent me from accurately grading a book.

 

Finally, as a person who spent over 2 decades in customer service (and am now in my 3rd), if a customer gets what they expected to receive, meaning they looked at the big pictures, read the description, asked questions, and then bid and won and got the book as described, then you have met those expectations and your job as a seller is done.

 

If they are looking for a book with CGC grading, they should buy CGC graded books because that is the only way to guarantee CGC grading.

 

 

Way too many words.

[VintageComics]

In case someone is reading between the lines, I didn't coach anyone.

 

I agree with being consistent. If you are looking to build a reputation as a good grader and a reliable seller then consistency is important. (thumbs u

 

And it's worth noting that buyers quickly recognize tight grading and eventually end up paying more for tightly graded books than loosely graded ones. Absolutely.

 

Some of the best guarded secrets are where to buy tightly graded books from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[VintageComics]

Way too many words.

 

I'm going to start calling you Puck.

[porcupine48]

There have been many times I have seen,or purchased a book from here, where the seller has stated,for instance,I have this as a ( insert grade) but will say it is( insert one point lower grade) for here to make everyone happy...

[thehumantorch]

Chip did send me a pm and initiated a discussion. Seems like a very nice young man.

 

I can accept that some of the grading in the grading forum is strict. I have trouble accepting that essentially every book is higher grade on ebay than in the grading forum.

 

Chip, I'd like to suggest that you grade a book as if you were gonna sell it here and then list it on ebay at that grade. You'll develop a reputation on ebay as a super strict grader and your auction results will likely be higher in the long run.

 

Chip, I must also compliment you on the amount of work you do to list that many books on ebay every month. I can't imagine how hard you work to scan, sell and ship $100k a year worth of books when many of them are relatively low $$ values.

[skypinkblu]

OK, just to change the subject since it's a sales discussion thread. As far as I know, Top Notch #2 is the first Swastika cover, not Human Torch #5(4), but I don't want to thread crud.

[EC ed]

OK, just to change the subject since it's a sales discussion thread. As far as I know, Top Notch #2 is the first Swastika cover, not Human Torch #5(4), but I don't want to thread crud.

I don't think pointing out a factual inaccuracy would be thread crud...spread the knowledge...

[skypinkblu]

I pmed him a while ago...I guess I could post if he does not answer.

[VintageComics]

OK, just to change the subject since it's a sales discussion thread. As far as I know, Top Notch #2 is the first Swastika cover, not Human Torch #5(4), but I don't want to thread crud.

 

Marvel Mystery #4 is 03/40 and earlier than the Torch issue as well.

[vaillant]

Not sure I follow your explanation about being "too tight"… Who is too tight?

 

People who are not familiar with CGC grading think CGC grading is too tight.

 

You hear it all the time:

 

"Thought this would grade higher"

"They were tight on this one"

"6.5 looks like a 7.5"

 

(thumbs u All clear now, thanks!

 

I prefer the short answers.

Which are often not answers, and wrong and partial. :shrug:

 

Take a poll

 

Now maybe you are exaggeratedly intelligent compared to me, I don’t know, but what this SHOULD mean?

Please. :shrug:

[VintageComics]

He's just being sarcastic.

[vaillant]

Being sarcastic is a luxury he should not afford, given how – more than often – he replies.

[N/A]

Never rely on Roy to explain my actions.

 

I do not agree that short answers are not answers, wrong or partial. They can be easy to read and concise. Roy insists on length which I assume means he believes size matters.

 

I did not agree with your statement and suggested taking a poll.

[Jeffro.]

I used to sell raw books on eBay and finally stopped when I went to becoming a full time dealer. Even though I rarely had returns, I decided to slab everything to avoid disagreeing with anyone because it's less hassle. I'm of the school of thought of paying a little more to save a headache later.

 

Back in the day though, when I was new to selling on eBay I was a different grader than I am today (even though I had few complaints). CGC was an unknown entity and I just graded the way I thought books were supposed to be graded. As I joined this place and also continued to submit books to CGC, I began to tighten up (or for a better way of saying it, started to adapt CGC standards) but I still kept my own raw grading for eBay. I'm quite sure there was a time when I graded raw books tighter here than on eBay for a while.

 

Why?

 

Because this place was full of 'educated collectors' (insert here). I was actually embarrassed about being called 'too loose' on this chat forum so I graded differently here than I did on eBay. Yup. I did.

 

And it wasn't to deceive, rather it was to cater to different markets and give them what I thought they wanted.

 

There is a bit of unspoken posturing around here, especially in the PGM forum, the way you'd have it in a 'country club' or some place where image is important. Very different than just hanging at the local dive bar where nobody cares. That is why (as others have already mentioned) I've also found the PGM forum to be on the tight side at times relative to my standards (and how I believe CGC grades) and I have personally and publicly disagreed with some posted grade opinions...even relatively recently.

 

Anyhow, as time evolved I realized that everyone was looking for CGC grading both on eBay and here and as my understanding increased, so did my ability to grade the way CGC did.

 

Fast forward a few years and I still regularly sell raw books on this forum. I don't think I've ever started a "PGM" thread on this forum (if I did, it must have been long ago and I don't remember it) but many of my raw books get slabbed (I see them coming back to market, even on the same forum a few months later). From what I can see most come back in a reasonable grade range - majority in the advertised grade, some a little under, some a little over.

 

Let's face it, even CGC changes their own grades from time to time. I've resubmitted books, disagreeing with the grade only to see it change either up or down.

 

There are different schools of thought on grading, even today, and I find that unless you are a CGC dealer, or an avid CGC fan/collector, most of the time people don't know how to CGC grade. But ultimately, there is an 'us and them' grading standard - or better put, a CGC and non-CGC grading standard.

 

There really is no black and white, "this is the right grade", be all and end all grading perfection that is 100% right all of the time. Most of the time we are just in a close range. Some people are just closer in range than others.

 

And so that begs the question, which grading standard is correct?

 

The one in the CGC holder last week? This week? This dealer who is tighter than CGC or that dealer who isn't?

 

I personally don't remember the last time I looked at a seller's grade and decided whether I was going to buy a book or not based on their assigned grade. I assign my own grades and my own price points on all of my purchases. I'll talk with my dollars and cents and take the plunge based on my own opinion and live or die by that decision. I'd only expect a refund if there was a hidden defect that would prevent me from accurately grading a book.

 

Finally, as a person who spent over 2 decades in customer service (and am now in my 3rd), if a customer gets what they expected to receive, meaning they looked at the big pictures, read the description, asked questions, and then bid and won and got the book as described, then you have met those expectations and your job as a seller is done.

 

If they are looking for a book with CGC grading, they should buy CGC graded books because that is the only way to guarantee CGC grading.

 

 

Way too many words.

 

I still have a few of my daughter's early reader books. Do you want me to send them to you?

[N/A]

I'll take some.

[VintageComics]

Never rely on Roy to explain my actions.

 

I do not agree that short answers are not answers, wrong or partial. They can be easy to read and concise. Roy insists on length which I assume means he believes size matters.

 

I did not agree with your statement and suggested taking a poll.

 

I'll be the first to say that size doesn't matter.

 

The reason I type out long winded posts is because I like this place and want people to understand what I'm trying to say so that there are no misunderstandings.

 

It's certainly not because of post count.

 

And a far as your poll comment, I didn't actually think someone would seriously start a poll about length of responses but YMMV.

 

 

[N/A]

[Comicopolis]

If you can't explain yourself in one paragraph...

[N/A]

If you can't explain yourself in one paragraph...

 

Then apparently you don't care about the community. Caring is in the number of words and not post count. Who knew?