When will CGC pulp grading start? 4 4

[Dr. Love]

Same with bedsheets. Went into the 1" deep giant slabs. Can't feed them in as reholders either, the cert numbers designate the books as magazines and won't take em. It does not compute!

 

[ComicsAndCode]

When CGC started out, we already had the Overstreet price guide and Wizard magazine was still in circulation as well. So you were able to reference either or both for valuation, not to mention the growing volume of internet sales. And that helped a lot to build comic collector's confidence for submitting to CGC. But for pulp, a price guide doesn't exist, nor has anyone really bothered to collect and analyze pulp sales data as of yet...maybe GPA will start doing so. And plus, somewhat related, there's no decent reference book on pulps that I'm aware of, sort of like a Gerber photojournal (correct me if I'm wrong on that).

Therefore, to me, the pulp market is a big question mark. I just can't imagine the volume of pulp submissions growing all that much over time - it's very niche. And I see a handful of folks on Instagram hyping it up, a bit of herd-mentality going on there, but that activity seems to be largely confined to that platform. And given how scarce pulps are, I think we'll be seeing the same copy of some of the "blue chip" pulps selling over and over (within a small group of collectors), something like what happens with OA. 

So we'll see...in any case, good luck to those getting into it and CONGRATS to all the OG pulp collectors who've held on to theirs!

Curious what others think.

[Surfing Alien]

On 2/8/2024 at 12:03 AM, ComicsAndCode said:

When CGC started out, we already had the Overstreet price guide and Wizard magazine was still in circulation as well. So you were able to reference either or both for valuation, not to mention the growing volume of internet sales. And that helped a lot to build comic collector's confidence for submitting to CGC. But for pulp, a price guide doesn't exist, nor has anyone really bothered to collect and analyze pulp sales data as of yet...maybe GPA will start doing so. And plus, somewhat related, there's no decent reference book on pulps that I'm aware of, sort of like a Gerber photojournal (correct me if I'm wrong on that).

Therefore, to me, the pulp market is a big question mark. I just can't imagine the volume of pulp submissions growing all that much over time - it's very niche. And I see a handful of folks on Instagram hyping it up, a bit of herd-mentality going on there, but that activity seems to be largely confined to that platform. And given how scarce pulps are, I think we'll be seeing the same copy of some of the "blue chip" pulps selling over and over (within a small group of collectors), something like what happens with OA. 

So we'll see...in any case, good luck to those getting into it and CONGRATS to all the OG pulp collectors who've held on to theirs!

Curious what others think.

Bookery's Guide to Pulps and Related Magazines by Tim Cottrell is the industry standard reference guide.  While not as profusely illustrated as the photo journals, he lists virtually every pulp and pulp-like mag and digest. Although the pricing was widely out of date upon publication of the second edition (by his own admission) it is an incredible resource.

There's also "The Art of the Pulps" by Doug Ellis, Ed Hulse and Bob Weinberg, "The Adventure House Guide To Pulps" by Doug Ellis, John Locke and John Gunnison and of course, for a pure visual feast, the "I'll Pound You To a Pulp If you Don't Show Yours" thread on these boards which will surely make your eyeballs sore with jealousy over your lack of pulps

[ThothAmon]

On 2/8/2024 at 12:03 AM, ComicsAndCode said:

Curious what others think.

Valuing pulps starts with reviewing Heritage’s sales data.  I also have the comic anrt price guide by Jerry Weist. It’s an excellent reference for pulps and magazines.
 

As to how to value your pulps for grading ask yourself how much would I be satisfied getting from CGC if I never see this again? The answer for me is 95 percent or more of my pulps will go in as $400 or less. 

[ComicsAndCode]

@ThothAmon @Surfing Alien thanks for pointing out those pulp references! Sounds like a copy of Bookery's guide could be tough to find. 

Edited February 8 by ComicsAndCode

[waaaghboss]

Top ten list of how CGC pulp grading is a good thing!

10.  Protects spicy books from drool.

9.  Pulps are too fat for the reholder scam.

8.  Graded bedsheets can double as floatation devices.

7.  Pulp collectors have too much empty space on their bookshelves.

6.  Collectors can breath a sigh of relief and give up on finishing runs, as prices explode.

5.  Pulp collectors can tell those snooty comic collectors that ours is bigger.

4.  2.0 books can parade as highest graded copies.

3. 

    

2.  Bookery will save on ink with new pulp numbering system

1.  No more pulp flakes in bed!

Edited February 11 by waaaghboss

[Bookery]

If people know me, they know I'm not the sort of person who laughs out loud when they are in a room by themselves. 

 

But I did when I got to #3....

 

[waaaghboss]

Grading turnaround seems pretty good, received and awaiting grading on the 13th, Grading/Encapsulation/Imaging on the 15th.

[waaaghboss]

Looks like the census is starting to be populated.  Most books seem to be landing in the 3.5 range.  Highest grade I could find is an 8.5 spicy adventure.

Edited February 15 by waaaghboss

[jimjum12]

On 2/15/2024 at 3:54 PM, waaaghboss said:

  Highest grade I could find is an 8.5 spicy adventure.

That must be sweet. CGC believes in grading tight. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Darwination]

Happy to see they are catching missing pages.

[PopKulture]

On 3/3/2024 at 1:05 PM, Darwination said:

Happy to see they are catching missing pages.

Why would it get a qualified grade? Because it’s a tacit admission the cover is the only thing worth consideration for the hobby going forward?? Just greasing up the gears and getting that mammoth inertial flywheel going on the commodification engine?

Why wouldn’t it get a 0.5? It’s incomplete. 

[Darwination]

I've barely grasped the basics of CGC grading and never really quite understand how qualified issues work.  My comment there is mostly just to say I'm happy they are counting pages and noting missing ones, as I'd be ticked to find a missing story page I didn't know about. 

This one's been sitting for a while at MCS also with a green label:

Interestingly, the girlies have been getting slabbed for a long time (I guess because they are similar in build to the comics?).  It hasn't really caught on with the handful of us girlie collectors out there as far as I can tell since the few of us I know like to be able to thumb the mags (contrary to stereotype of being a  cover-only collecting genre), or it may just be the fact nobody wants to pay the imagined increase in value (this one's actually reasonably priced imo).  Missing pin-up pages are pretty common, and it's often the whole slick section of pin-ups having been spirited away by some lonely soul.  For me, that's not a dealbreaker, but it does cut the value of the book in half.  Missing story or illo pages, though, are another matter (to me at least).

I'm gonna keep posting new ones that pop up in my eBay emails that raise questions of how the grading is being done.  These two popped up under "Tales Pulp," yeah that's a big net cast with that search, I know.  Somebody slap me if I'm spammin'

Resto because of the spine glue?  Too much spine glue?  Resto cuz of the trim?  Too much trim?  Beaut copy in any case.

I've heard this is a killer mag.  Big chunk missing, tape at corners, trimmed 3 edges.  No need to mark as resto cuz it's grody? 2.5??? Bergey cover? It was published in Philly, so it's possible, but I don't see it.  The wiki says Bergey did some interior illustration, and Kofoed used Bergey all over the place (Brief Stories, Laughter, Paris Nights), I'll believe it if the contents page says so.  OFC YOU CANT EVEN LOOK AT THE CONTENTS PAGE CUZ IT IS IN A BOX

Edited March 5 by Darwination

[Surfing Alien]

On 3/5/2024 at 12:08 PM, Darwination said:

I've barely grasped the basics of CGC grading and never really quite understand how qualified issues work.  My comment there is mostly just to say I'm happy they are counting pages and noting missing ones, as I'd be ticked to find a missing story page I didn't know about. 

This one's been sitting for a while at MCS also with a green label:

Interestingly, the girlies have been getting slabbed for a long time (I guess because they are similar in build to the comics?).  It hasn't really caught on with the handful of us girlie collectors out there as far as I can tell since the few of us I know like to be able to thumb the mags (contrary to stereotype of being a  cover-only collecting genre), or it may just be the fact nobody wants to pay the imagined increase in value (this one's actually reasonably priced imo).  Missing pin-up pages are pretty common, and it's often the whole slick section of pin-ups having been spirited away by some lonely soul.  For me, that's not a dealbreaker, but it does cut the value of the book in half.  Missing story or illo pages, though, are another matter (to me at least).

I'm gonna keep posting new ones that pop up in my eBay emails that raise questions of how the grading is being done.  These two popped up under "Tales Pulp," yeah that's a big net cast with that search, I know.  Somebody slap me if I'm spammin'

Resto because of the spine glue?  Too much spine glue?  Resto cuz of the trim?  Too much trim?  Beaut copy in any case.

I've heard this is a killer mag.  Big chunk missing, tape at corners, trimmed 3 edges.  No need to mark as resto cuz it's grody? 2.5??? Bergey cover? It was published in Philly, so it's possible, but I don't see it.  The wiki says Bergey did some interior illustration, and Kofoed used Bergey all over the place (Brief Stories, Laughter, Paris Nights), I'll believe it if the contents page says so.  OFC YOU CANT EVEN LOOK AT THE CONTENTS PAGE CUZ IT IS IN A BOX

Qualified is fairly straightforward as I understand it. It's a book that looks really nice but has some major flaw, usually inside, but could be like a back cover tear or coupon cut, that would knock it down to a grade much lower if not qualified. Since the qualification is clearly on the label, I don't see any problem. There's collectors who would rather have a gorgeous looking book with an ad page out inside than a rag as a filler and CGC made the decision to give those books their own category. 

 

I assume the resto label on the Strange Tales is due to the sealed spluts. I think they were clear that trimming would be allowed on blue labels but would preclude the book being graded above 4.0

I guess it will become apparent over time how crappy or deep the trim would have to be to trigger a purple on its own without other resto ( or if it will just hammer the blue grade further and further down the same way any other degree of missing pieces would)

[Bookery]

On 3/5/2024 at 5:32 PM, Surfing Alien said:

I assume the resto label on the Strange Tales is due to the sealed splits.

Yes.  Trimming should never be considered restoration since, by definition, nothing has been "restored".  Quite the opposite... part of the book has been permanently removed.  Restoration is repairing a book in such a way as it appears closer to its original state.   A book missing its overhang does not appear as its original state.  Tear seals, color-touch, paper replacement is all restoration.  Things like tape and trimming are not, since neither makes the book appear as it once was.  Trimming (and of course, I mean, post-production trimming, as many pups were publisher-trimmed to begin with) is so common in pulps that if done neatly is not seen as egregious as it is with comics, though it still definitely impacts grade.  And to be fair, some pulps had such large overhangs it must have made them annoying to try and read them in their day.  In the 1800s some hardbacks were published with their pages still uncut, and it was up to the reader to cut them apart themselves in order to read the book.  These were cost-saving efforts by the publishers, at a time when fractions of a penny made a difference.

I like that CGC not only notes trimming, but also notes how many sides have been trimmed.  This is important, since some pulps had overhang on 3 sides, some on top and bottom, and some on one side only.  

[Darwination]

So, seriously, slap me if I'm spammin, but I got another in me eBay emails of interest as far as figuring out how this grading is gonna go

Even a little glue on the cover seems to indicate resto?  But at the inner spine is far less of a strike?

Looks like there will be some nasty weird menace issues getting the treatment

2.5 again.  Maybe the grades around Good will be much easier on pulps than on GA comics?

Edited March 6 by Darwination

[waaaghboss]

The recent census update is live.

Edited March 6 by waaaghboss

[PopKulture]

On 3/6/2024 at 11:25 AM, waaaghboss said:

The recent census update is live.

What a really fantastic marketing tool the census is, especially in this nascent phase. 

I mean, I’m really tempted to send in some late 40’s westerns and other under-the-radar pulps so I can puff up my chest and claim the  “highest graded” for a while… 

Edited March 6 by PopKulture

[Darwination]

Small amount of glue on the cover getting the purple again and seeming very common.  Just cause it's on the outside? Not that I can see where it is from the auction pic.  The real question is how much the purple is gonna ding the sales price which is hard to tell because I'm not getting a feeling yet for how the grading/boxing is affecting the sales prices either (besides them being generally jacked)

[Bookery]

On 3/11/2024 at 12:30 PM, Darwination said:

 The real question is how much the purple is gonna ding the sales price which is hard to tell because I'm not getting a feeling yet for how the grading/boxing is affecting the sales prices either (besides them being generally jacked)

Pulp collectors seem to be a hardier lot than their comics counterparts.  They've not only dealt with, but embraced The Man in Purple, The Purple Cloud, The Purple Empire and the Purple Scar.  I suspect they won't be too daunted by the Purple Label!