Looking for advise about getting comics graded 1 1

[Jeffcmeadows]

Hello! I have never sent comics into CGC --- although I did create an account years ago. I am a comic book fan, but not the best collector. Most of my books are what I would call readers. I have read several threads here asking a question similar to mine, but was hoping someone would be kind enough to help me out in making some specific choices. I do not really plan on selling my comics, but after a health scare last year I have been considering getting some slabbed or maybe pressed and slabbed. I thought maybe some specific examples would help.

My main question is would it be worth it, in other people's opinions to get these books graded and should I consider getting them pressed/cleaned. I know the return time can be fairly long, but that is not really a concern right now. I really just want to make sure it would be easy for my wife to sell the books when I am gone.

Example 1.

I got my hulk 181 slabbed by a competitor. Mainly because I wanted my wife to have an idea of which book to sell and they had a representative at the convention I attended. I did not get it pressed or cleaned. They graded it at a six. I was curious if people thought it would be worth it to send it in, get it pressed/cleaned and then regraded. Would that be very expensive to do? 

Example 2

I still have my Silver Surfer 1. It is not in great shape but my old school eyes would probably place it on the higher end of good or maybe VG. Is that the type of book that is worth grading/pressing or just better to keep raw? 

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[Jeffcmeadows]

Geez, I meant advice! Sorry for typo in title!

[zzutak]

You are correct: having your valuable books certified/encapsulated by CGC will definitely make them easier for your heirs to sell.  But CGC-certification comes at a cost (one that will often exceed $100).  So be sure to learn the rules before entering the game.

The folks who hang out in the Spare A Grade / PGM Forum are pretty sharp when it comes to estimating a book's eventual CGC condition grade.  Read the forum rules, browse thru some recent posts, reread the forum rules, and then start your own PGM thread.  The quality of the grade estimates you receive will be directly proportional to the quality and thoroughness of the data (description and images) you provide.  Once you receive a grade, it's generally pretty easy to find recent comparables and estimate your book's current FMV.  Good luck!

PS: I would not advise using CGC's "regular speed" Economy service unless you plan on still being with us in 2024. 

[KCOComics]

Honestly, you sound like a great collector to me.  There is a purity to having reader copies that were actually bought to read. 

I assume you are thinking about grading for the purposes of selling? Or leaving them to family who can sell them?  If that's the case grading would be worth it for the more valuable comics. If you are just hanging on to them and not selling, I wouldn't grade them. 

As for your two specific examples:

The Hulk 181 - if you post pictures of the comic in the "spare a grade" section (not the slab, since it's in a competitor's case), people can help you identify pressable defects.  If there are things like non color breaking creases, it may be worth having it pressed and regraded by CGC. 

The SS1 is worth having graded.  As for pressing it will again depend on the type of defects and overall condition. 

 

If you post pictures or a list of books, I'm sure folks here will have opinions on what's worth grading. 

Good luck! 

[Vixom]

Asking spare a grade is fine. Better yet visit it every day, write down your grade and see how you do compared to the best graders. Once you learn how to grade you can grade your own books and put grade and value so your family will know. 

Personally I slab ones that will grade better than most people would think. Sell raw the ones that look better than they would actually grade. 

Lots of people aren't capable of doing this. But if your family is able to take good photos then any raw book will get fmv 99 percent of the time. Also must be able to ship it safely. Slabbing is definitely easier though for most. 

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 10/11/2022 at 8:23 PM, Jeffcmeadows said:

Example 1.

I got my hulk 181 slabbed by a competitor. Mainly because I wanted my wife to have an idea of which book to sell and they had a representative at the convention I attended. I did not get it pressed or cleaned. They graded it at a six. I was curious if people thought it would be worth it to send it in, get it pressed/cleaned and then regraded. Would that be very expensive to do? 

Example 2

I still have my Silver Surfer 1. It is not in great shape but my old school eyes would probably place it on the higher end of good or maybe VG. Is that the type of book that is worth grading/pressing or just better to keep raw?

For advice on pressing, we would really need to see if there are any press-able defects.

[revat]

If the grading company you used provided grading notes, you should attempt to get them, and then share them for better advice.

 

BUT really it theoretically comes down to numbers, like a real business proposition.

So you have a 6.0 graded by another company.  You'd have to research it, but lets say you can get $4,000 for it right now as is.  

Selling costs vary, depending where/how you sell it, but lets say 10%.  So now you've netted $3,600.  Research will tell you what venue/method is right for you.

Next you're getting hit with income tax.  As an example, lets say you're into it for a $1,000, could be more, could be less, you do the math.  Probably a long term investment, so lets say 15% federal tax rate for long term gain.  Don't know what state you live in, lets say 5% state tax.  So 20% of the $2,600 profit is $520, paid to taxes.

So your net is $3,080 TODAY without any additional cost, risk, or effort.

 

But if you press and CGC it, it will cost you about 3%+3% of FMV (we'll use $4K, but it might be higher) = $240+fees+ shipping and insurance both ways = $300

BUT if the grade bumps to 6.5 you get $5,500

If it stays at 6.0 you get $4,900

If your current grading company overgraded or it gets damaged it grades 5.5 you get $4,300

If other significant damage occurs in shipping, pressing, or grading, you might get much less

 

then you do your math again.

Of course the trick is knowing what pressing can do to improve the grade and how CGC grades, so you can make good estimates and do good math.

 

 

 

 

[comicginger1789]

On 10/11/2022 at 8:23 PM, Jeffcmeadows said:

Hello! I have never sent comics into CGC --- although I did create an account years ago. I am a comic book fan, but not the best collector. Most of my books are what I would call readers. I have read several threads here asking a question similar to mine, but was hoping someone would be kind enough to help me out in making some specific choices. I do not really plan on selling my comics, but after a health scare last year I have been considering getting some slabbed or maybe pressed and slabbed. I thought maybe some specific examples would help.

My main question is would it be worth it, in other people's opinions to get these books graded and should I consider getting them pressed/cleaned. I know the return time can be fairly long, but that is not really a concern right now. I really just want to make sure it would be easy for my wife to sell the books when I am gone.

Example 1.

I got my hulk 181 slabbed by a competitor. Mainly because I wanted my wife to have an idea of which book to sell and they had a representative at the convention I attended. I did not get it pressed or cleaned. They graded it at a six. I was curious if people thought it would be worth it to send it in, get it pressed/cleaned and then regraded. Would that be very expensive to do? 

Example 2

I still have my Silver Surfer 1. It is not in great shape but my old school eyes would probably place it on the higher end of good or maybe VG. Is that the type of book that is worth grading/pressing or just better to keep raw? 

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Hi and welcome!

I would definitely press and clean and grade both, if preservation and maintaining value are concerns. Both are very desirable grades for those issues. Pictures and grader's notes on the graded book would really allow for people to comment on whether the press/clean portion is needed.

Edited October 12, 2022 by comicginger1789

[Jeffcmeadows]

Thanks for all the great responses! I will try and get some pictures, sadly I will only have the hulk 181 in the slab as I did not take pictures beforehand.

Thanks again to everyone for helping me out here. As others surmised, I do not really plan on selling anything in my lifetime, but want to make sure my wife at least has some idea of which books are valuable. 

[csaag]

If you're looking into passing them along to heirs, you should make sure they understand any tax consequences when the time comes.  Some states have inheritance taxes.     Heirs would also need to know how to establish a cost basis value at the time of transfer

[Jeffcmeadows]

On 10/12/2022 at 12:53 PM, revat said:

If the grading company you used provided grading notes, you should attempt to get them, and then share them for better advice.

\

 

 

Thanks for helping me get a grasp of the numbers. Here are the notes I had for the Hulk 181 and I will try and post some pictures in the spare a grade thread suggested here.

 

Notes on Hulk 181

Notes:
spine stress breaks color front cover, color rub near spine on front cover
front cover creases, bends, edge wear, some breaks color, small stains, slight color fading
back cover creases, edge wear, some barely breaks color, small stains