Do people crack open their CGC cases? 1 1

[AsterixTheGaul]

I have been collecting since the late '70's, as a kid with my dad. When he passed 15 years ago I sold the bulk with help of a local Comic Store owner. But I kept a few I really liked, and started buying a few key issues I always wanted and now display about 50 or so on my wall throughout the house (behind UV resistant plexiglass).

Whenever I buy a new book graded by CGC the first thing I do when I get it is crack it open and discard the case. After all, how to you actually check the comic if you don't? Plus it's a comic book, the whole point is to read it, and then in my case display it! So I was in a comic store the other day (first time in like 15 years) and talking to the owner (I brought a few books to see if he was interested) and when I showed him pics of my comics on the wall and that I discarded the CGC cases for ones I bought he was in shock!

So question. Am I unusual is breaking open my CGC cases? Or is that normal among actual collectors? (as opposed to those who just buy books to flip and make a profit). I'd like to think actual collectors don't only look at their comics entombed in plastic and and enjoy actually holding the book itself!

Thanks, - John

[shadroch]

Some people do, but I don't understand the point of buying a slab to crack open when raw books are usually cheaper.

[MattTheDuck]

Not that long ago, there was no such thing as a "slab."  While the overall percentage is probably pretty low, having comics professionally graded has grown in popularity.  I'm no visionary - it's entirely possible that 20 years from now, the price gap between raw and slabbed books could be prohibitive.  It costs me nothing to leave my slabbed books slabbed, and nothing to leave my raw books raw while I wait for whatever the future holds.  Like you, I've considered getting some books framed for display, but honestly there's not much difference between that and slabbing, except for the grade.  Still, the beauty of some of these covers cries out for special treatment.

There are definitely Board members who crack out books.  I believe @lizards2has said he always does this and would agree with the premise that "they're meant to be read" or at least available to be read if you wanted to.

[StillOnly25Cents]

yes, CGC slabbed comics are the new pistachios

[lizards2]

On 10/18/2021 at 9:01 AM, MattTheDuck said:

Not that long ago, there was no such thing as a "slab."  While the overall percentage is probably pretty low, having comics professionally graded has grown in popularity.  I'm no visionary - it's entirely possible that 20 years from now, the price gap between raw and slabbed books could be prohibitive.  It costs me nothing to leave my slabbed books slabbed, and nothing to leave my raw books raw while I wait for whatever the future holds.  Like you, I've considered getting some books framed for display, but honestly there's not much difference between that and slabbing, except for the grade.  Still, the beauty of some of these covers cries out for special treatment.

There are definitely Board members who crack out books.  I believe @lizards2has said he always does this and would agree with the premise that "they're meant to be read" or at least available to be read if you wanted to.

I crack out quite a few, but have balked at some due to current values.  Cracking for me has a lot to do with available storage space, and getting the runs all in a row. I also like to do an accurate grading on what is inside.

I have probably cracked out approaching 300 books? I crack out quite a few before shipping to my Canadian friends, as a lot of books aren't worth the slab(?) I think my motivation in buying slabbed books is that you can often get them cheaper than raws - I attribute this to the fickleness of auctions, and the "no hope left" factor of the grade being what it is. Another motivation is I collect high grade, and sometimes it is easier to just buy a slab than cycle through 10 raw copies that don't make the cut. We are blessed here in having several collectors/sellers/dealers that can actually grade accurately, so you can on occasion fill a hole in your want list with a raw and wild book.

One consideration people should remember is that slabs were never intended for long term storage.  However, if you store your books poorly, maybe it is good to leave them in the slab 

I just got a slab in the other day that was obviously a victim of poor storage, as the label had yellowed - doesn't make me anxious to take that book out. 

[Qalyar]

On 10/18/2021 at 12:25 PM, lizards2 said:

One consideration people should remember is that slabs were never intended for long term storage.  However, if you store your books poorly, maybe it is good to leave them in the slab 

I just got a slab in the other day that was obviously a victim of poor storage, as the label had yellowed - doesn't make me anxious to take that book out. 

I don't see any reason why CGC's slabs are unsuitable for long term storage. Obviously, they aren't a mystic talisman against poor storage conditions, but nothing else is, either.

[lizards2]

On 10/18/2021 at 10:42 AM, Qalyar said:

I don't see any reason why CGC's slabs are unsuitable for long term storage. Obviously, they aren't a mystic talisman against poor storage conditions, but nothing else is, either.

I believe CGC was the one that said that. So, whatever.

[Qalyar]

On 10/18/2021 at 1:02 PM, lizards2 said:

I believe CGC was the one that said that. So, whatever.

The original reason that CGC argued for reholdering (other than the fact that reholdering is a revenue stream) is that 7-10 years is probably the timeframe for saturation of the micro chamber papers. YMMV as to whether that's actually an archival concern. Maybe for books where outgassing / page deterioration is a significant concern? For most books, I really don't think that's a significant issue.

Micro chamber paper aside, for the current cases at least, the inner well is PETG, and that's pretty much a best-in-class long-term archival plastic.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 10/18/2021 at 7:20 PM, Qalyar said:

The original reason that CGC argued for reholdering (other than the fact that reholdering is a revenue stream) is that 7-10 years is probably the timeframe for saturation of the micro chamber papers. YMMV as to whether that's actually an archival concern. Maybe for books where outgassing / page deterioration is a significant concern? For most books, I really don't think that's a significant issue.

Micro chamber paper aside, for the current cases at least, the inner well is PETG, and that's pretty much a best-in-class long-term archival plastic.

Think once, think twice, think - never reply to Lizards2 with the word 'outgassing' in your post 

This from the website:

[Get Marwood & I]

Back when I was collecting Spidey I went through spell of upgrading some of my raw copies by buying graded copies and then cracking them out. I already had graded copies, and just wanted some decent looking raws to go alongside them. Here's a few from the files:

  

I also used to crack all the MJ Insert copies too, so they could sit with the raw collection (unless I managed to get two):

This one I had no choice to crack as the seller posted it in a jiffy bag:

 

 

[theCapraAegagrus]

I wouldn't really mind cracking any of my Universal grade slabs, but it would be lunacy to do that with my SS slabs.

[815K1]

If need to send for signature, then why wouldn’t you crack the slab and get it regraded. Makes sense if it makes money.