Have it graded or not before selling?

[blueriver-migration]

Just some very basic questions and I appreciate any feedback. First off, how do you determine whether or not it's worth it to get a comic graded before selling it on an auction site? Obviously it's not worth paying $30 or $50 to grade a comic worth $2, but what if it's selling for around $125-150? I realize that there are many variables here, but I'm just trying to understand the thought process. It's hard to find exact graded vs. non-graded matches to compare. Is there a general rule of thumb regarding how much grading adds to the sale value? 10%?

 

Thanks for the help

 

Steve

[PovertyRow]

Obviously it's not worth paying $30 or $50 to grade a comic worth $2, but what if it's selling for around $125-150?

 

Well, it depends on how much the 125-150 book cost you. Basically you ask yourself some simple questions:L

 

1) How much did I pay for the book in the first place?

 

2) How much is it going for unslabbed in the same grade?

 

3) How much is it going for slabbed in the same grade?

 

4) Am I confident I will get the grade I expect form the CGC submission?

 

5) Will the delay in getting the book back from CGC have any impact on the price realized?

 

If you can answer all of those questions you may well have answered your own.

 

Oh yeah - don;t forget QP - Quality Of Production. Even if your book gets a high grade from CGC, depending on the issue check how miscuts, bad wraps, lesser page quality etc impact the price. The newer the book the more the impact usually.

[Aces]

I assume you are asking about older books and not the cheap modern grading rate.

 

The general rule I use is the book should be worth close to $200 in the grade I think it is once CGCed. Use GP to check this.

 

It may be worth it on some $100-$200 books but only if you are sure of your grading. Say a certain 20 cent Marvel sells for $125-150 in 9.4, but if it comes back 9.2 it's only going to get you $50-60 and if 9.0 only $25-30 (grading fee).

[blueriver-migration]

Thank you for the replies. I suppose I was hoping that if you had two identical books selling at the same time, one graded and one not, that you'd at least be able to get the grading fees back as a buyer would factor that in to his or her resale price. Plus, you might get a small premium on top of that as the buyer would be "assured" of the quality of the book.

 

Poverytrow, the questions you posed make a lot of sense. I'm having a bit of trouble finding slabbed vs. non-slabbed comparisons on some but I'll continue to research it. The first question regarding what I paid for the book is interesting- I'm not sure I follow your thinking on this. If I'm selling anything and want to get the highest price possible, does it matter how much I paid for it?

 

Aces, the books I'm looking to sell all list for more than $200 although they seem to be selling for around $125-175. This seems to rule out the Modern fee rate at CGC, so the cheapest grading would be $29 with the 40 day turnaround. Since I'd like to sell the books before the end of the year, I suppose I'm looking at $49 and/or the coupon rate on 3 books. Seems like I'm slightly below the threshold you mentioned. Maybe a very detailed description on the auction page would suffice.

 

Much appreciated.

 

Steve

[racnek63]

 

I'd also look at the CGC census. Perhaps the book you have hasn't been graded very often, and/or you have a shot at having the highest-graded example? Boasting about that in your auction could draw in a few extra $$$

 

Don't slab a Youngblood #1 though, no matter how nice it is.

[divad]

Thank you for the replies. I suppose I was hoping that if you had two identical books selling at the same time, one graded and one not, that you'd at least be able to get the grading fees back as a buyer would factor that in to his or her resale price. Plus, you might get a small premium on top of that as the buyer would be "assured" of the quality of the book.

 

As mentioned above, this is not always true. It depends on the issue, and how and where you are selling it.

 

Poverytrow, the questions you posed make a lot of sense. I'm having a bit of trouble finding slabbed vs. non-slabbed comparisons on some but I'll continue to research it. The first question regarding what I paid for the book is interesting- I'm not sure I follow your thinking on this. If I'm selling anything and want to get the highest price possible, does it matter how much I paid for it?

 

It's a cost analysis Most people are not in the business of losing money.

 

Aces, the books I'm looking to sell all list for more than $200 although they seem to be selling for around $125-175. This seems to rule out the Modern fee rate at CGC, so the cheapest grading would be $29 with the 40 day turnaround. Since I'd like to sell the books before the end of the year, I suppose I'm looking at $49 and/or the coupon rate on 3 books. Seems like I'm slightly below the threshold you mentioned. Maybe a very detailed description on the auction page would suffice.

 

If the you are confident in your grading and those are the OS Book values, then you have selected good candidates for slabbing.

[PovertyRow]

I'm not sure I follow your thinking on this. If I'm selling anything and want to get the highest price possible, does it matter how much I paid for it?

 

It does, if price you paid plus the extra slabbing cost is not exceeded by the sale price.

[blueriver-migration]

I appreciate the additional responses.

 

I'll check out the CGC census, racnek63. And I think I understand the cost analysis that both diva and povertyrow mentioned. Kinda slow on the uptake this week.

 

Thanks all.

 

Steve

[PovertyRow]

Kinda slow on the uptake this week.

 

It gets better with time!

[blueriver-migration]

Good grief, povertyrow, it seems to be getting worse these days!

 

By the way, perv toy row sounds like the glistening neon lights of Broadway in the city (I'm over in Oakland). Do they still have that video game arcade wedged between the porn shops? I used to play a little Defender there many moons ago.

 

Thanks for the insight.