Why people send random book for grading to cgc? 1 1

[BA773]

A things i cannot understand is why some people send their books for grading them when there aren't some keys issues?

Because in my head this is an expensive process that only worth to make for greats books. 

So which reasons can push someone to send a random book to cgc?

Edited September 4, 2023 by BA773

[BA773]

When im looking on Mycomicshop  I find every book with mo special interest avalaible on slab, why grading a Batman 504? for exemple

[SOTIcollector]

Good question.  Some things that come to mind:  Sentimental reasons.  Bragging rights.  Display purposes.  Set completion.  Ease of handling.

SENTIMENTAL REASONS:  This hobby exists for nostalgia.  A very high percentage of the people who collect comics are doing so as a means of holding onto or recapturing something from days gone by.  Those same people can understandably have sentimental attachment to a comic.  What was the first comic you ever bought?  What was the first comic that ever made you feel like (fill in the blank)?  It makes sense that some of these collectors might want to slab a book that they have a sentimental attachment to, even though it doesn't increase the value of the book and other copies can be had for less.

SET COMPLETION:  It's important to some collectors to have a complete run.  Somebody may want to slab those "in between the keys" issues to complete a run or a set of some sort, even though specific ones in the set aren't "worth" slabbing.

BRAGGING RIGHTS:  Some people like to have the "only slabbed" or "one of only X graded copies."

DISPLAY PURPOSES:  Slabbed comics display well, and people pay money all the time to display their collectibles (wall hanging hardware, showcases, frames for art, etc.).  It makes sense that some might feel the slabbing fee is worth it to have a book that displays well.

EASE OF HANDLING:  It's much easier to handle a book that's been slabbed than an unslabbed book.  Some might find it worth the price to be able to let their significant other, kids, parents, or strangers see and handle the book.

All of these reasons place a value on something other than just the value of the book slabbed versus the value unslabbed, and none of these reasons requires the book to be a key.

 

[shadroch]

Stupidity.  Many people think having a book graded is a magic bean that will turn into a fortune. 

[dbcn]

I've slabbed some SA keys, and I've slabbed modern books simply because I like the cover art, and I have other keys that I have no plans on slabbing.

Per your example @BA773, not only are there slabbed Batman 504s, there are signed slabbed 504s - so clearly this book means something to someone, key or not. To flip your question: There are also thousands of non-slabbed keys; they're keys, why wouldn't those be slabbed...?

 

Afaik, there are no rules in this game: Anyone can slab or not slab any book for any reason they like, and shouldn't need to defend themselves or be called stupid for it.

 

As to why some people would slab a non-key book, all of the reasons @SOTIcollector mentions and 1000 more; but: imho, it's none of my business - am I personally interested in buying a signed copy of Batman 504? Not at all, but someone else might be.

[BA773]

On 9/4/2023 at 5:49 PM, dbcn said:

I've slabbed some SA keys, and I've slabbed modern books simply because I like the cover art, and I have other keys that I have no plans on slabbing.

Per your example @BA773, not only are there slabbed Batman 504s, there are signed slabbed 504s - so clearly this book means something to someone, key or not. To flip your question: There are also thousands of non-slabbed keys; they're keys, why wouldn't those be slabbed...?

 

Afaik, there are no rules in this game: Anyone can slab or not slab any book for any reason they like, and shouldn't need to defend themselves or be called stupid for it.

 

As to why some people would slab a non-key book, all of the reasons @SOTIcollector mentions and 1000 more; but: imho, it's none of my business - am I personally interested in buying a signed copy of Batman 504? Not at all, but someone else might be.

You cannot really flip the question because the raw book did not suffer any process. A slabed book is like buy some Fins for your car, there is a process.

[Cman429]

I never understood this either. I watch a lot of IG sales streams and often there will be people selling slabbed random commons for like $25-40. At best maybe you make just enough to buy a Starbucks latte.

[steveinthecity]

On 9/4/2023 at 12:32 PM, Cman429 said:

I never understood this either. I watch a lot of IG sales streams and often there will be people selling slabbed random commons for like $25-40. At best maybe you make just enough to buy a Starbucks latte.

Speculators that missed their mark?

[dbcn]

On 9/4/2023 at 2:34 PM, BA773 said:

You cannot really flip the question because the raw book did not suffer any process. A slabed book is like buy some Fins for your car, there is a process.

I thought you were asking why someone would get a book slabbed - clearly there is a process, and that process can be expensive (I don't know that 'suffer' is the word I'd choose) - but I wouldn't think of it as 'fins for your car' - I'd think of it more like music - some people like some artists, others can't possibly understand the appeal. Each to his own: some people are just going to put spoilers on their Chevy. 

[BlackOut21]

I’ve done this recently. I was putting together a submission and decided to randomly add some books that weren’t keys but figured I’d be able to move them quicker. A couple of the books I don’t want to sell now because I like the way they look slabbed plus it reduces the chance of damaging them more. Most likely I’ll add them as freebies in a sale and chalk it up as a lesson (trust me there have been tons of lessons I’ve paid for,lol).

Ultimately I learned that just because it’s slabbed doesn’t mean it will sell quicker. Also even with the data it can be hard to predict what people will like and it’s sometimes better to make decisions based off what you want for your collection.

Below are some of the books I got graded. 
 

 

[MattTheDuck]

I've never sent any books in to be slabbed and have purchased fewer than 50. To me, the primary reason to slab a book is that you want to sell it either now or sometime in the future.  Slabbing it eliminates one of the objections a buyer might have - a disagreement about the grade if a book is left raw.

[shadroch]

I came across a low-grade late SA collection when I lived in Las Vegas. The books were well-read and had some artwork added to some of the books.  Overall, they'd be in the 3.0-4.0 range. I offered him $4 a pop and would have sold them for $10. He claimed they hadn't been cherry-picked, but I didn't believe him. He passes, and a few weeks later he sees me and pretty much accuses me of trying to rip him off. He said some of his books were worth hundreds and he'd sent them all out for pressing and then to be graded. None of them would have been slabbed by someone who had a clue.  

Multiply that by a few hundred collectors a year and then again for the twenty-plus years. You'll see thousands of books that weren't graded for sentimental reasons or as an experiment but simply because stupid people get greedy.

Edited September 4, 2023 by shadroch

[MAR1979]

As stated by wise folks in this thread like  @SOTIcollector  ;  Sentimental reasons. I've submitted at least 100 comics that have little or no value purely for that reason.

Here are some examples without revealing the personal sentimental reasons for doing so...

 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2023 by MAR1979

[Semicentennial]

They send it in because they're trying to make more money.  A lot of non-key Marvel/DC cgc 9.8 from 2000 and before can go for at least $50 or more.   You're going to make more money selling a non-key cgc 9.8 than a $5 high grade non-key raw comic. 

[Gaard]

It's not always about money.

[Jeffro.]

On 9/5/2023 at 2:32 AM, Gaard said:

It's not always about money.

In one way it is about money because slabbing crappy books (like many of the ones in this very thread) is akin to........

[the blob]

People come across a pile of comics. They look up their ASM 135 and see it is worth $____, but in 9.8. They decide that, of course, their copy is a 9.8 (and then several other books). They don't have a clue about grading and get back a bunch of 5.0s. tah dah. 

 

[Sigur Ros]

I do it because the elitists here like to complain about people sending in their "worthless junk".

Bonus for me if people start complaining about TATs.

[the blob]

I don't mind much because over the years I have assembled a collection of inexpensive "exemplars" to assist in my grading. 

 

[the blob]

On 9/4/2023 at 10:50 PM, Semicentennial said:

They send it in because they're trying to make more money.  A lot of non-key Marvel/DC cgc 9.8 from 2000 and before can go for at least $50 or more.   You're going to make more money selling a non-key cgc 9.8 than a $5 high grade non-key raw comic. )

That's a pretty big investment to make for a $50 sale hoping it comes back a 9.8. $9 added for the pre-screen/reject (do they tell you what they would have graded it on a pre-screen?)