Going to first comic con 0

[ernieherring]

So I'm going to my first comic con this saturday in baltimore, md and plan on getting some of my comics graded. Is there anything in advance I should do or will they help me out at the desk with the things I need to fill out? Also any tips or cool things I should check out??

[Bird]

have each book bagged and boarded with one piece of tape. Otherwise they will help you with everything although it will go much faster if you want to go ahead and fill out the forms first

[zosocane]

Are you an Associate member of the Collector's Society (CS)?  It's only $25 to sign up and you receive a 5% discount on all grading tiers.   And, more important, you will get a membership number that allows you on cgccomics.com, after you log in, to track the status of your submitted books in the grading pipeline from the "received," to "verified," to "grading" , to "quality control" to "shipped" stages.   I would make that small investment before you go to Baltimore and then have your membership or "CS" number handy when you arrive at the CGC desk.  Then, the CGC staff will fill out an e-form on their iPad for your submission -- it's much quicker now than in the days of filling out physical forms.  The e-form the staff fills out generates an invoice number, which is what you track on cgccomics.com over the following weeks and months.

As for the rest of the con, my biggest tip to any rookie con attendee is dont blow your load at the first two or three dealers you see.   Go to each dealer desk and check out what they have, make a mental note of who has what, who are the serious dealers, who has the good inventory that appeals to you, who has good pricing, who is over-priced.   Get all that uploaded into your brain before you open your wallet.   Then, with your due diligence completed, start doing deals.   

With long-standing reputable dealers like Dale Roberts, Greg Reece, New Force/Gator, HighGrade Comics/Bob Storms, Leroy Harper, SuperWorld/Ted VanLieuw, Worldwide/Steve Ritter, and others, you don't need to check the inside of raw books for latent defects, but for smaller dealers, you must ask to inspect the inside of the book -- make sure the cover isn't detached, centerfold is intact, no missing pages, no coupons cut, etc.   Ask the dealer to take it out of the bag, don't do it yourself.  If you're buying moderns, this rule doesn't apply but for pre-1980 books, I always look at the inside of an unslabbed book.

Remember, cash (paper money) is always king and gives you a bit more leverage than paying with a CC.   Don't be afraid to bring plenty of Ben Franklins or Ulysses Grants.

You're going to have a blast at your first con, enjoy!  I remember mine from 1979!  .  Happy hunting.

Edited September 25, 2018 by zosocane