Trusted Raw Graders 4 4

[mlovest]

Who are some companies or dealers you trust for raw comics?  Not just the cheap books, but even better copies?  Understand that most high-dollar books are being slabbed for obvious reasons, but when it comes to picking up more common runs in raw NM, who do you go to?

My recent and long-term tops are: 

• Bob Storms at High Grade Comics (he's always pointing out things of interest like ink or writing or dings on books; recently picked up a handful of Conan's and they are very nice!);
• Doug Sulipa at Comic World (I've picked up a bunch of books from him, and he/they are almost always spot-on); and,
• Lone Star Comics (I think they grade too tightly for consigned books, but the higher prices show customers know this).

There are some good sellers here on the boards, of course.

I really am not trying to slam some of the usual suspects here.  Please stay positive and put up your best raw graders/companies. 

Thank you.

V/R, Mike

Edited August 19, 2021 by mlovest

[KCOComics]

Your asking about guys who grade conservatively? 

I've bought a ton of raws from Ted at Superworld and have always found his grading to be really solid. 

Gary Dolgoff has a reputation as a conservative grader. I've only bought from his eBay story and was never disappointed. 

Dale Roberts is awesome. I've bought a lot of raws from him during his Christmas sales on the boards and they've always been spot on. 

As for smaller dealers /hobbiest here on the boards, I've always liked buying from @october and @jimjum12.   They are tight graders who know what to look for.  

 

[mlovest]

On 8/19/2021 at 5:01 PM, KCOComics said:

Your asking about guys who grade conservatively? 

I've bought a ton of raws from Ted at Superworld and have always found his grading to be really solid. 

Gary Dolgoff has a reputation as a conservative grader. I've only bought from his eBay story and was never disappointed. 

Dale Roberts is awesome. I've bought a lot of raws from him during his Christmas sales on the boards and they've always been spot on. 

As for smaller dealers /hobbiest here on the boards, I've always liked buying from @october and @jimjum12.   They are tight graders who know what to look for.  

 

Thank you.  I guess conservative is the right word.  I was thinking tight and consistent, but conservative is probably better.

I have purchased books from Dale, Gary, and Ted, but it's been awhile.

For the boards, it's hit or miss about what's being offered.  I'm always checking the sales stuff, but Spidey items go fast.

V/R,

Mike

[theCapraAegagrus]

MyComicShop is the only one that I can think of, who I have dealt with.

I've only ordered brand new comics from anyone else, and you'd have to really screw the shipping up to get 'em below NM.

[shadroch]

About 15 years ago, a boardie wanted to get into the flipping game and bought an inventory off of one of the dealers mentioned here as being a good raw seller. It turned out about half the books were color touched.  Seller made it right, but it reinforced the lesson of trust, but verify. 

Bob Storms is one of the few sellers I trust completely. 

Nuff Said.

[revat]

On 8/19/2021 at 7:00 PM, mlovest said:

Thank you.  I guess conservative is the right word.  I was thinking tight and consistent, but conservative is probably better.

I have purchased books from Dale, Gary, and Ted, but it's been awhile.

For the boards, it's hit or miss about what's being offered.  I'm always checking the sales stuff, but Spidey items go fast.

V/R,

Mike

Of course its opinion, but for me "consistent" is a bigger factor than accurate or conservative (obviously overgraded isn't ideal, but if its consistently overgraded and price accordingly, I can work with it).  

For example, in my experience Dale Roberts grades consistently and accurately within what I think the book should be.  If I buy 10 books, I'd expect 5 books to be spot on, and the other 5 to be within + or - 0.5, and the average to be exactly right.  So while I didn't catch the deal of a lifetime, I have a reasonable expectation that I'm not losing money or getting ripped off on any given book.

But for mycomicshop, they are generally known to be conservative, so I might get an average of 10 books a half grade higher, but they'll have more big undergrades AND some big overgrades, but since all the books don't cost the same, there's a better chance of one of my books being worth less than I paid for it.  And just like with gambling, the losses make me feel worse than the wins make me feel good.  Additionally, since they have a rep for undergrading, Mycomicshop still commands relatively high prices for the grade.

But its subjective of course.

[Larryw7]

Jim Payette is a great raw grader.

[Ed Hanes]

Lone star (Mycomicshop) seems very accurate. I have ordered hundreds of comics from them and rarely find one that seems off. I trust them so much that I have started consigning with them. 

[grendelbo]

On 8/26/2021 at 2:20 PM, Ed Hanes said:

Lone star (Mycomicshop) seems very accurate. I have ordered hundreds of comics from them and rarely find one that seems off. I trust them so much that I have started consigning with them. 

They're very conservative IMO and that's a good thing. When buying you'll wind up with a book 0.5-1.0 grades higher than what was listed. Consigning with them could be a double-edge sword though, but when I'm ready to sell they will be my first choice.

[Ed Hanes]

On 8/26/2021 at 4:45 PM, grendelbo said:

They're very conservative IMO and that's a good thing. When buying you'll wind up with a book 0.5-1.0 grades higher than what was listed. Consigning with them could be a double-edge sword though, but when I'm ready to sell they will be my first choice.

I have noticed that sellers get better prices than on ebay...I watched a lot of auctions before I decided

 

[David-Lance Roten]

Lone Star / My Comic Shop. Never an issue there. Just placed a first ever order w/ High Grade. Nothing earth shattering but if scans are any indication I think I'm embarking on a remainder of my life buyer/seller relationship.  

[MattTheDuck]

I posted about this over the Silver Age threads, but I just picked up a set of Strange Tales books from Reese's Rare Comics that they had listed with CGC-style grading, even though they were raw books.  I'm no grader myself, but they by-and-large seemed pretty fair.  The only one I had a question about had some browning around the page edges, which I think might have left it graded too high.  The book looked great otherwise.

[David-Lance Roten]

Just to follow up my post, no pics but books in hand I'll definitely give 2 two thumbs up and seal of approval to Bob Storms / High Grade i.e. raw grading. Legit.