Newbie question - which should I get graded? 4 4

[revat]

On 7/26/2022 at 1:24 PM, stephenlev said:

On 7/26/2022 at 1:21 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

You need to take a close look at The Killing Joke to figure out exactly which printing it is.  Very easy to be mistaken.

The title is in Green, that's 1st printing, right?

There is more than one edition with green title, but the one you have appears to be 1st edition.  If you're already sure, that's fine.  If you want to check the indicia just to be sure, or google to research more about various editions, that is an option.

[stephenlev]

On 7/26/2022 at 1:43 PM, thehumantorch said:

Post a few in the grading forum so you can get some grading feedback.  Please take good pics of the front and back covers.

If I had to pick books to grade I'd pick the Wolverine 1 mini, Thor 337, and the Hulk.  They are all easy to sell and iconic books from that era.

I posted my Nam #1 in the forum, just to get an idea of what shape most of my books are in: 

 

[rexinnih]

From what I see, they're all Modern so the "fastest" turnaround. Take a look at spines for color breaks or bends that pressing could help with. If no immediate plans, maybe hold for some signature series in the future or send them in. Personally, I have many of those you show and they are all CGC graded. 

[stephenlev]

On 7/26/2022 at 10:00 PM, rexinnih said:

hold for some signature series

What does holding for a signature series mean?

I'm pretty tempted to send a bunch in to possibly be pressed and graded. It sounds fun.

[jokiing]

Thor 337 is a newsstand copy.... slight bonus if in great shape.

Edited July 27, 2022 by jokiing

[stephenlev]

On 7/26/2022 at 11:22 PM, jokiing said:

Thor 337 is a newsstand copy.... slight bonus if in great shape.

And it has an ad for a jewelry store insert, which apparently is a thing?

[jokiing]

On 7/27/2022 at 5:55 AM, stephenlev said:

And it has an ad for a jewelry store insert, which apparently is a thing?

Smaller distribution. I believe sent to some military bases.

[RandyL]

On 7/26/2022 at 1:24 PM, stephenlev said:

Let's say I'm going to sell that Thor. Looks like raw it would maybe get $140 on eBay, but if I grade it and it got a 9.6 it could get up to $300, and if it got 9.8, much more than that. If grading only costs $25, isn't that worth it for some of these?

Agree. 👍

[RandyL]

On 7/26/2022 at 2:33 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Assuming that my memory hasn't failed me, as far as 'value' goes: Thor, Watchmen, The Killing Joke, Wolverine (LS), Hulk, and the 2 Sandman. I could be wrong and I'm sure someone will tell me.

That's the ones I would suggest, too. 

[grendelbo]

Post them in the PGM forum.

https://boards.cgccomics.com/forum/42-hey-buddy-can-you-spare-a-grade/

I'd say the Thor, Hulk, Wolverines and Sandman. Cost in order to sell would need this to be high grade. Otherwise leave them raw to reread and enjoy. The Sandman 8 in particular is worth a thousand reads.

[stephenlev]

On 7/28/2022 at 1:43 AM, grendelbo said:

Post them in the PGM forum.

https://boards.cgccomics.com/forum/42-hey-buddy-can-you-spare-a-grade/

I'd say the Thor, Hulk, Wolverines and Sandman. Cost in order to sell would need this to be high grade. Otherwise leave them raw to reread and enjoy. The Sandman 8 in particular is worth a thousand reads.

What's a high grade in your book? I have a feeling most of them would be at least a 9.0, just based on what I'm seeing on forums.

[grendelbo]

On 7/28/2022 at 7:37 AM, stephenlev said:

What's a high grade in your book? I have a feeling most of them would be at least a 9.0, just based on what I'm seeing on forums.

8.0 or higher is high grade for me.

For slabbing purposes and to offset the cost of CGC's services, were you to sell, I'd say 9.0 or higher.

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 7/26/2022 at 1:24 PM, stephenlev said:

Let's say I'm going to sell that Thor. Looks like raw it would maybe get $140 on eBay, but if I grade it and it got a 9.6 it could get up to $300, and if it got 9.8, much more than that. If grading only costs $25, isn't that worth it for some of these?

Yes, but just understand that you're paying $25 (or whatever) plus a very long time waiting to get your books back.  If you press the books, the wait could easily exceed one year.  If you're patient like me and not desperately in need of the cash, it's worth it.

[revat]

On 7/28/2022 at 10:18 AM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

On 7/26/2022 at 10:24 AM, stephenlev said:

Let's say I'm going to sell that Thor. Looks like raw it would maybe get $140 on eBay, but if I grade it and it got a 9.6 it could get up to $300, and if it got 9.8, much more than that. If grading only costs $25, isn't that worth it for some of these?

Yes, but just understand that you're paying $25 (or whatever) plus a very long time waiting to get your books back.  If you press the books, the wait could easily exceed one year.  If you're patient like me and not desperately in need of the cash, it's worth it.

Good advice.

As some have already stated, EVERYONE has a different preferred rate of return.  It SOUNDS like you're spending $25 to be able to sell for $300, but are you really?

$25 grading + shipping there, shipping back, insurance both ways, CGC invoice fee (of course all of those fees can be lowered per unit with economies of scale), plus the risk of damage and/or getting a low grade, plus the cost of tying up your book AND money for 1 year plus, plus possibly the cost (and wait) of pressing. 

Then once you get the book back, your revenue from sales is higher but so are the fees and taxes (even if the rates are the same).  

 

 

So lets take the "Thor" example and do a quick analysis.

 

Option 1: Sell now on ebay 

- Sells for $140 gross revenue, sells take 12% off for ebay and paypal fees, you net $123.20  THIS WEEK, we will ignore income tax for this exercise, but don't forget about it.  One transaction, you package it and mail it out, only two opportunities for damage, you packaging and the customer opening.

 

 

Option 2:  Send to CGC for grading, it gets a CGC 9.6, sells for $300, or a CGC 9.4 and sells for $200, so if we conservatively assume those are equal in likelyhood, your expected value is $250.  (note that if it gets a 9.2, you are squarely in loss territory after ebay fees, but we're ignoring that for simplicity)

- We will say total submission+invoice+shipping there+shipping back+ insurance there+insurance back = $35 total (could be more, could be less, but this is reasonable).  You wait ten months to get the book back and make a sale immediately, but there is the chance of damage at the following points PRIOR TO ENCAPSULATION:  You packing it, CGC opening it, CGC logging it in the system, 1st grader handling, 2nd grader handling, actual encapsulation, plus all the transfers between those processes.  Then it has to ship back to you safely without getting lost damaged.

- So your expected returns are $250 - 12% = $220, but then subtract the $35 to get $185.

 

Summary- So your profit pre-tax is essentially $123.20 in Option 1 or $185 in Option 2.  So you basically tied up $35 for a year to get an extra $53 profit, which is ok for some people, not worth the effort/cost/risk to others.  This profit margin is not universally worth the risk to everyone, and other factors come into play of course like inflation, opportunity cost, collection goals, how/where/when they sell, financial positions, etc.  Also one's own confidence in their knowledge of how CGC grades would be a huge factor in risk assessment.

And this is without assessing pressing.  The point of all this is to say, answers are not always so simple, even when they appear to be.  So it helps to do some research on one's own, and ask a more specific question.

 

[stephenlev]

On 7/28/2022 at 2:27 PM, revat said:

the chance of damage at the following points

That's something I never considered - I assumed if I pack it well, once it arrives at the presser, it's not going to be further damaged. Do people honestly have many experiences of CGC damaging books during handling? I feel like that would kill their business if it was even a semi-frequent occurrence. 

[revat]

On 7/28/2022 at 11:45 AM, stephenlev said:

On 7/28/2022 at 11:27 AM, revat said:

the chance of damage at the following points

That's something I never considered - I assumed if I pack it well, once it arrives at the presser, it's not going to be further damaged. Do people honestly have many experiences of CGC damaging books during handling? I feel like that would kill their business if it was even a semi-frequent occurrence. 

If you dig around these chat rooms a bit, you will find all manner of complaints about mistakes allegedly made by CGC graders or pressers, including but not limited to administrative errors, lost books, damaged books, shipping errors, accounting errors, labeling errors, slabbing errors.  Now they grade millions of books so in my opinion the odds are still negligible of true damage, but certainly everyone has their own comfort levels.  And any error might tie up your book (and money) for an additional amount of time.  Additionally, there are some defects a given book might have that might be more prone to 'extra damage' in the event of handling or movement.  Like if a book had loose staples, or a piece was almost entirely torn off, or some defect made worse if the presser isn't a super expert.  And even if the instances of CGC damage are rare, even rarer are the instances where they would accept liability and responsibility (which I'm fine with, but I factor it in to my decision making).  

A very common defect (which dosesn't hurt the book) is newton rings, when the book is encapsulated with an air bubble (or not enough air?), either way it looks worse and is pretty common (though I think less than before percentagewise).  But that is common and will often hurt resale value (though I think CGC'll fix it for you for free, but it takes time too).  You can search for those if curious.

So much of all these decisions depend on the book, the price, the market, the defects, your own risk appetite, your own finances, your collection, your ability to grade vs cgc, your assessment of the future market, your understanding of pressing, your opportunity cost, your selling venue, your tax situation, your knowledge and experience, the time you can put into research, etc.

[KirbyTown]

On 7/28/2022 at 2:06 PM, revat said:

is newton rings

I landed on something recently about using a suction cup to manipulate the oil art? 🤷‍♂️