CGC Graded comics: is it really worth it? 1 1

[BA773]

Sometimes i reflect to resell everything and take the path of digital but I can never do without some physical copies because i love it and i want to have a mark of it so i reflected to invest into graded books but im still interrogated by the question about if its worth it?  

I know that its already happen sometime to me to spend too much on raw comic books and i have the feeling that the price are more defined on cgc comics and so its seems to be a better investment... but on an other side its seems so strange to me to think to pay 5 or 10x the price of a comics just because of a certification  

So the question is really vague but are cgc comics a good investment? Are you assured to always can resell your book to the price you paid for? Or its also a very fluctuating market? 

And the last question is is it worth to slab a comics who worth under 10 dollars, are just the fact of grading and slabing it make it worth it? 

[KCOComics]

On 11/29/2023 at 2:00 AM, BA773 said:

 

So the question is really vague but are cgc comics a good investment? Are you assured to always can resell your book to the price you paid for? Or its also a very fluctuating market? 

 

 

Are CGC comics a good investments?? 

For higher dollar books you wish to easily resell yes.  It standardized grading and generally removed the risk of unidentified restoration which was very important. 

Are you assured to always can resell your book to the price you paid for?

nope - market conditions change and many books arent worth the cost of grading, yet we see them graded all the time. 

On 11/29/2023 at 2:00 AM, BA773 said:

 

And the last questin is is it worth to slab a comics who worth under 10 dollars, are just the fact of grading and slabing it make it worth it? 

No!!!! Do not slab cheap books. It's not worth it.  A lot of stuff I've seen you post about, will never be worth the cost of grading and you'll never resell it for more than the grading cost. 

The Value in those books is exactly what you use them for.  To read and enjoy the stories. 

So don't have them graded.  It will cost a lot, you won't get to read and enjoy them and you will never recoup the money when you look to resell. 

[shadroch]

As a newcomer, if you are looking to invest or flip, buy CGC books. Buy raw books to read, but invest in CGC.  I like the other company's slabs better, but they don't bring the same prices.  Slabbed comics take up a lot of room so you need to plan accordingly.

[BA773]

On 11/29/2023 at 11:00 AM, KCOComics said:

 

Are CGC comics a good investments?? 

For higher dollar books you wish to easily resell yes.  It standardized grading and generally removed the risk of unidentified restoration which was very important. 

Are you assured to always can resell your book to the price you paid for?

nope - market conditions change and many books arent worth the cost of grading, yet we see them graded all the time. 

No!!!! Do not slab cheap books. It's not worth it.  A lot of stuff I've seen you post about, will never be worth the cost of grading and you'll never resell it for more than the grading cost. 

The Value in those books is exactly what you use them for.  To read and enjoy the stories. 

So don't have them graded.  It will cost a lot, you won't get to read and enjoy them and you will never recoup the money when you look to resell. 

Thanks great informations in your post, really helping! I just got a point few hours ago, i realized something, if i go in the slab market i will principaly buy books that i like the cover but not the story, im a fan from the 90s 00s era, and if i start the slab i will just buy a book because of the cover or because there is a first app but it will be the most part some books that i will never readed... 

For exemple, yes i love Black Bolt, yes FF 46 Cover is absolutely beautiful, but honnestly if i look into i already know that the old story are just poor and is absolutely not my kind of stuff (i dont criticize people who like old stories but for me its just boring) 

[KCOComics]

On 11/29/2023 at 5:19 AM, BA773 said:

Thanks great informations in your post, really helping! I just got a point few hours ago, i realized something, if i go in the slab market i will principaly buy books that i like the cover but not the story, im a fan from the 90s 00s era, and if i start the slab i will just buy a book because of the cover or because there is a first app but it will be the most part some books that i will never readed... 

For exemple, yes i love Black Bolt, yes FF 46 Cover is absolutely beautiful, but honnestly if i look into i already know that the old story are just poor and is absolutely not my kind of stuff (i dont criticize people who like old stories but for me its just boring) 

I'm a fan of many of those old stories lol. But I can appreciate the writing grew more sophisticated and adult with time. 

 

Still - Fantastic Four had really hit its stride by #46. Stan and Jack at their best. You might want to check it out.  

 

[revat]

I would add that geography can dramatically impact the investment potential of CGC comics (and comics in general).  When submitting you'd have to pay higher shipping, deal with customs/duties, worry about customs checking (damage going to US, coming back from US), added time and risk of loss, less recourse in the event of damage/loss/delays, as well as differences in foreign currency exchange (and related fees).  And its not necessarily a huge issue, but language issues may prevent someone from fully understanding the terms and conditions with regard to submitting.  Depending on the value one is dealing with, all of that matters a lot.

And when potentially selling, the bulk of the market is in the US, and many buyers are hesitant to purchase internationally due to additional cost and risk and potential hassle of dealing with international sellers, when most books are available locally.  Add in the exchange rate and fees, or the tax issues, and that's another thing to deal with or factor into your equation.

Many of the same issues exist for purchasing comics, slabbed or raw.  But imagine if you had to purchase a raw comic internationally (probably from USA), already paying more in shipping/insurance, fees, customs, exchange rate.  Then you had to submit the book, and all that it entails.  Then after a while you wanted to sell the book (probably to USA).  Of course there are individual cases where there are opportunities to buy/sell locally, but you need to factor everything in to your calculation to make the best investment decisions.

But obviously there are plenty of situations where it's worth it, and if you can predict the market accurately, anyone can make money.  But seemingly there is less margin for error.  So if you really like it and want to collect and have fun, and occasionally profit on something you enjoy, then its great.  If you're planning to help finance your car using comic proceeds,  I'd treat it more like a serious business than a hobby.

[BA773]

On 11/29/2023 at 4:49 PM, revat said:

I would add that geography can dramatically impact the investment potential of CGC comics (and comics in general).  When submitting you'd have to pay higher shipping, deal with customs/duties, worry about customs checking (damage going to US, coming back from US), added time and risk of loss, less recourse in the event of damage/loss/delays, as well as differences in foreign currency exchange (and related fees).  And its not necessarily a huge issue, but language issues may prevent someone from fully understanding the terms and conditions with regard to submitting.  Depending on the value one is dealing with, all of that matters a lot.

And when potentially selling, the bulk of the market is in the US, and many buyers are hesitant to purchase internationally due to additional cost and risk and potential hassle of dealing with international sellers, when most books are available locally.  Add in the exchange rate and fees, or the tax issues, and that's another thing to deal with or factor into your equation.

Many of the same issues exist for purchasing comics, slabbed or raw.  But imagine if you had to purchase a raw comic internationally (probably from USA), already paying more in shipping/insurance, fees, customs, exchange rate.  Then you had to submit the book, and all that it entails.  Then after a while you wanted to sell the book (probably to USA).  Of course there are individual cases where there are opportunities to buy/sell locally, but you need to factor everything in to your calculation to make the best investment decisions.

But obviously there are plenty of situations where it's worth it, and if you can predict the market accurately, anyone can make money.  But seemingly there is less margin for error.  So if you really like it and want to collect and have fun, and occasionally profit on something you enjoy, then its great.  If you're planning to help finance your car using comic proceeds,  I'd treat it more like a serious business than a hobby.

Buy slab for resell was never an idea. If i want to play i already have the sports bets but i stopped it for a long time now... we re not make money with the luck or at least not for long. 

I badly explained another point, i was speaking about buy some books who are already slabbed not to send books for grading, i hate just to think about to send my book and dont have idea of what im going to receive back and all the process is so boring... 

[stormflora]

On 11/29/2023 at 10:49 AM, revat said:

I would add that geography can dramatically impact the investment potential of CGC comics (and comics in general).  When submitting you'd have to pay higher shipping, deal with customs/duties, worry about customs checking (damage going to US, coming back from US), added time and risk of loss, less recourse in the event of damage/loss/delays, as well as differences in foreign currency exchange (and related fees).  And its not necessarily a huge issue, but language issues may prevent someone from fully understanding the terms and conditions with regard to submitting.  Depending on the value one is dealing with, all of that matters a lot.

And when potentially selling, the bulk of the market is in the US, and many buyers are hesitant to purchase internationally due to additional cost and risk and potential hassle of dealing with international sellers, when most books are available locally.  Add in the exchange rate and fees, or the tax issues, and that's another thing to deal with or factor into your equation.

Many of the same issues exist for purchasing comics, slabbed or raw.  But imagine if you had to purchase a raw comic internationally (probably from USA), already paying more in shipping/insurance, fees, customs, exchange rate.  Then you had to submit the book, and all that it entails.  Then after a while you wanted to sell the book (probably to USA).  Of course there are individual cases where there are opportunities to buy/sell locally, but you need to factor everything in to your calculation to make the best investment decisions.

But obviously there are plenty of situations where it's worth it, and if you can predict the market accurately, anyone can make money.  But seemingly there is less margin for error.  So if you really like it and want to collect and have fun, and occasionally profit on something you enjoy, then its great.  If you're planning to help finance your car using comic proceeds,  I'd treat it more like a serious business than a hobby.

Unless you're making margins of hundreds to thousands of dollars per slabbed comic, it's never going to replace your day job. It's pretty much exclusive to businesses and big collectors.

As consumers who look to collect and not resell, the sole value in slabbing would be its visual appeal. But it is simply far too expensive and foolish to slab a comic just for that reason alone. If you want to put a comic on display, get a nice picture frame or display rack and use that instead.

As for buying slabbed comics not for resale, you're paying a premium to make sure you're getting a comic at that specific grade. It avoids the issue of a seller claiming that a comic is a certain grade when it might not necessarily be so. But you could easily emulate this practice and save money by having a keen eye and experience in differentiating the general condition of each grade. It is far more significant with an expensive $100+ comic or supposedly NM-graded comic rather than some cheap reader copy.

It's not too hard to research and figure out the overall difference between Poor / Fair / Good / Very Good / Fine / Near Mint, by both dictionary definition and visual inspection. Buying a bunch of comics alone should already be enough to allow you to have a rough idea with some comparisons.

Edited November 29, 2023 by stormflora