Has Interest In Batman #232 Dropped? 2 2

[Math Teacher]

Last year, I remember someone saying that Batman #232 was an under-valued BA key. So, I got a Voldy #232 in 9.4 grade. I am now trying to sell it, to help pay for the AF #15 I recently purchased. I'm trying to sell it to some comic-collecting friends, and the best offer I have gotten is $1,000, which is exactly $100 more than I paid for it. On GoCollect, the FMV is $1,550, and GPAnalysis has a last sale of $1,640. I understand that CGC books demand higher prices, but I don't think the difference should be this great.

Has Batman #232 fallen out of favor recently, and nobody told me? If this has become a less valuable comic that Batman #251, I may have to lower my expectations.

[Randall Ries]

Maybe trying to sell it to friends is holding you down. Sometimes friends feel like they should get "friend pricing". Friends are friends but business is business even among friends. Try selling it on the boards here and see what happens.

Bat 251 has become the darling of the Bat books. Even over 232 which logically shouldn't be the case. Perhaps it is less the book and more about the Joker. As long as the Joker stays in the public's good graces, that book will enjoy rising value and desirability along with all Joker covers across all ages. If someone breathes into the ear of the collective consciousness "The Joker stinks! He's all washed up!", that books value will plummet.

I was reading the All Star 8 thread and find that the book is starting to deflate because the public didn't like the latest movie.

Bat 232 has value all its own. No movie or Joker to float it. Just a solid 1st appearance of a major nemesis and the beginning of a great story line. I bought a graded 9.6 a couple years ago and it's a keeper. $1500 is a fair price for your book. I wouldn't settle for less.

BTW, what the heck is a "Voldy"? LOL!

[alexgross.com]

On 2/3/2021 at 2:35 PM, Math Teacher said:

Last year, I remember someone saying that Batman #232 was an under-valued BA key. So, I got a Voldy #232 in 9.4 grade. I am now trying to sell it, to help pay for the AF #15 I recently purchased. I'm trying to sell it to some comic-collecting friends, and the best offer I have gotten is $1,000, which is exactly $100 more than I paid for it. On GoCollect, the FMV is $1,550, and GPAnalysis has a last sale of $1,640. I understand that CGC books demand higher prices, but I don't think the difference should be this great.

Has Batman #232 fallen out of favor recently, and nobody told me? If this has become a less valuable comic that Batman #251, I may have to lower my expectations.

i think some people assume that a voldy 9.4 may only equal a cgc 9.2, so that could be part of it. i also notice the difference in page quality to be more significant with books like this. white pages really command more than owwp or owp books. so that could also account for some of it. but i do think its a great book with good prospects. @Randall Ries voldy refers to one of the 'competitors' of cgc in the grading game. 

[kimik]

The lowball offer is due to the Voldy slab, unfortunately.

[Funnybooks]

On 2/5/2021 at 2:05 AM, kimik said:

The lowball offer is due to the Voldy slab, unfortunately.

agreed...the nature of how demand goes these days

[Randall Ries]

47 minutes ago, Funnybooks said:

agreed...the nature of how demand goes these days

It's really quite sad. Even pathetic how some view grading companies. Can't see past the company to a nice book inside the holder. That's a Bat 232 in there. I would not give one inch of it away just because it is a graded book by another company. Some of the nicest books I have are not CGC graded.

On their page, one can post photos of CGC graded books. Even sell them on the For Sale pages. They aren't snobs. Are people here REALLY that insecure so that other books can't at least be SHOWN here? That's pathetic.

Good for them for allowing CGC books to be featured on their page. They haven't forgotten it's still about the comic books and not envy. Like when Pillsbury got all haired out when Ben and Jerry's used their cookie dough in their ice cream and sued them for it:

"What's The Dough Boy Afraid Of?"

[Funnybooks]

14 minutes ago, Randall Ries said:

It's really quite sad. Even pathetic how some view grading companies. Can't see past the company to a nice book inside the holder. That's a Bat 232 in there. I would not give one inch of it away just because it is a graded book by another company. Some of the nicest books I have are not CGC graded.

On their page, one can post photos of CGC graded books. Even sell them on the For Sale pages. They aren't snobs. Are people here REALLY that insecure so that other books can't at least be SHOWN here? That's pathetic.

Good for them for allowing CGC books to be featured on their page. They haven't forgotten it's still about the comic books and not envy. Like when Pillsbury got all haired out when Ben and Jerry's used their cookie dough in their ice cream and sued them for it:

"What's The Dough Boy Afraid Of?"

sad but true

There's a generation of collectors that buy the label...they could not even tell you the artist to the cover but they know it's the first appearance of Carnage...

[Randall Ries]

4 minutes ago, Funnybooks said:

sad but true

There's a generation of collectors that buy the label...they could not even tell you the artist to the cover but they know it's the first appearance of Carnage...

I buy the book. As I bet you do. Look through the holder and past the label. "OH!" I say to myself. "That's a nice looking 7.5! I see that it's definitely a 7.5 but wow! Nice 'un! And affordable!"

I really see no difference in grading in any of the companies. They all make mistakes and they all get it right. There may have been a starter grading company trying to find the sweet spot in grading and made mistakes as beginners will. But they have gotten it together. I don't think any of them are "The Best". There's just a prejudice there and an insecurity promoted by CGC that somehow they are the end-all-be-all of grading.

[kimik]

I buy the book, and CBCS tends to grade more loosely than CGC. It is as plain and simple as that. If they did not, then CBCS would not sell for a discount.

Edited February 6, 2021 by kimik

[Randall Ries]

1 hour ago, kimik said:

I buy the book, and CBCS tends to grade more loosely than CGC. It is as plain and simple as that. If they did not, then CBCS would not sell for a discount.

It is not as plain and simple as that. Grading by all companies is all over the map. CGC is no better or worse than CBCS. They sell for less because of the prejudice CGC and its adherents has built against other grading companies in the media. It is plain and simple as THAT. Go look at that GL 76 I posted. That isn't a 9.6.

[kimik]

2 minutes ago, Randall Ries said:

It is not as plain and simple as that. Grading by all companies is all over the map. CGC is no better or worse than CBCS. They sell for less because of the prejudice CGC and its adherents has built against other grading companies in the media. It is plain and simple as THAT. Go look at that GL 76 I posted. That isn't a 9.6.

I agree that there is inconsistency with grading by all companies, but GCG is the most consistent of the bunch.

CBCS slabs sell for less because they had grading from the start and that established there reputation re: loose. It is funny - during the first month or two of operations there were people paying more for CBCS books due to Steve's rep. However, as time went on and more books CBCS books hit the market, their weaker grading became more apparent and collectors voted with their $$$$. Even if they tightened up now, which CBCS has not based on what I am still seeing on books I am interested in, they would still sell at a discount due to the reputation they established from the start. The broader market decides which grading company is viewed as the most credible based on where they put their money, and the market finds CBCS lacking.

 

[lou_fine]

On 2/3/2021 at 2:35 PM, Math Teacher said:

I may have to lower my expectations.

I believe you just might have to look for nicer "friends" who won't try to take advantage of you.    

[lou_fine]

8 hours ago, Randall Ries said:

Are people here REALLY that insecure so that other books can't at least be SHOWN here?

If you are referring to our rather insecure hosts of these very boards here who seems almost ready to pee their pants at the mere mention of the gang across the street from them, the answer is a very obvious and definite YES, YES, YES!!!    

[Randall Ries]

5 hours ago, kimik said:

I agree that there is inconsistency with grading by all companies, but GCG is the most consistent of the bunch.

CBCS slabs sell for less because they had grading from the start and that established there reputation re: loose. It is funny - during the first month or two of operations there were people paying more for CBCS books due to Steve's rep. However, as time went on and more books CBCS books hit the market, their weaker grading became more apparent and collectors voted with their $$$$. Even if they tightened up now, which CBCS has not based on what I am still seeing on books I am interested in, they would still sell at a discount due to the reputation they established from the start. The broader market decides which grading company is viewed as the most credible based on where they put their money, and the market finds CBCS lacking.

 

Bunk.

[kimik]

5 hours ago, lou_fine said:

If you are referring to our rather insecure hosts of these very boards here who seems almost ready to pee their pants at the mere mention of the gang across the street from them, the answer is a very obvious and definite YES, YES, YES!!!    

No. It is general business practices everywhere. No company is going to feature a competitor's product or service on their own website. Why should CGC be any different? These are their message boards, not ours.

[kimik]

2 hours ago, Randall Ries said:

Bunk.

 

The fact is CBCS shot themselves in the foot at the beginning and are now viewed as somewhere in between PGX and CGC, but closer to the PGX end. When they first started up I had hopes they would be a viable alternative since competition = better service and turnaround times in every other industry. As I posted above, at the beginning Steve's reputation carried sway and collectors were paying just as much or more for CBCS slabs. Then they started to see the differences in grading, and that was it. It is still the same issue now. Every so often I will buy a CBCS slab or two that looks like it can at least hit the same grade with a resub to CGC, which would result in a nice quick profit due to the discount. Out of the last 15 I have done this with, one came back higher, 5 came back the same grade, and 9 came back lower. Now I do not even bother.

The one thing I will use CBCS for is books that were signed pre: signature series. Since CGC does not authenticate signatures (even though they should consider it as an new source of revenue), they are the only game in town.

[lou_fine]

1 hour ago, kimik said:

7 hours ago, lou_fine said:

If you are referring to our rather insecure hosts of these very boards here who seems almost ready to pee their pants at the mere mention of the gang across the street from them, the answer is a very obvious and definite YES, YES, YES!!!    

No. It is general business practices everywhere. No company is going to feature a competitor's product or service on their own website. Why should CGC be any different? These are their message boards, not ours.

 

And yet, according to Randall in his post up above, the other company apparently has no issues with members posting scans of CGC slabed books:

16 hours ago, Randall Ries said:

On their page, one can post photos of CGC graded books. Even sell them on the For Sale pages. They aren't snobs. Are people here REALLY that insecure so that other books can't at least be SHOWN here? That's pathetic.

Good for them for allowing CGC books to be featured on their page. They haven't forgotten it's still about the comic books and not envy.

 

[mattn792]

Meanwhile, at PGX headquarters...

[Randall Ries]

On 2/7/2021 at 2:58 AM, lou_fine said:

 

And yet, according to Randall in his post up above, the other company apparently has no issues with members posting scans of CGC slabed books:

 

It's true. CBCS features CGC books as well as PGX as photos and sale items in their for sale area. I think it's classy. Not arrogant and insecure like CGC. (OH! WE'RE the BEST and everyone ELSE SOX! So NYAAAAHHH!!!!) If CGC was confident in their craft, they wouldn't disallow other company's books to be shown off here. No other reason. At least with CBCS it's about the books.  CGC isn't the last word in grading. Who's to say they are more accurate? No one. As I have said many times, I have seen CGC books that no WAY they are the grade they were assigned. There's an 8.5 Bat 227 on ebay right now. There is NO WAY it's an 8.5. Just because the label says it doesn't make it so. It's a 7.0 at best.

So what if CBCS got off to a rough start? I bet CGC did as well. That's why they suddenly get "tougher" on grading every 6 months. It insinuates that they either have been slacking or been TOO tight. If they were right on even 80% of the time, there would be no need to "get tough on grading". To me, that's market manipulation. I look through the case to the book inside when I buy. If it's a nice 6.5, I'll get it. Oddly enough, I WON'T buy a lousy looking 9.0. There shouldn't BE such a thing as a lousy looking 9.0, but there they are.
 

 

[D2]

On 2/7/2021 at 1:28 AM, kimik said:

No. It is general business practices everywhere. No company is going to feature a competitor's product or service on their own website. Why should CGC be any different? These are their message boards, not ours.

That is untrue. 
CBCS forums have no problem with others posting up their CGC graded books.