Why do you have to pay a grading company more money if the book is worth more money? 2 2

[Mokiguy]

So just why do grading services charge more for the same grading service and the same holder if the book is more valuable? It’s the same way with coins, and I never understood why. Are they spending more time grading a $2,000 book compared to a $100 book. If so, then the folks getting a $100 book are getting ripped off because the grader is not taking the time to properly evaluate a lesser value submission compared to a higher dollar submission. The only conclusion I can come to is because they can. Like what are you going to do about it?Grading is not like an auction where the auctioneer or auction company gets more money if the item sells for more. In an auction if an item sells for more, it is because bidders decided it was worth more and ran up the bid. And if nobody starts the bidding at the opening amount, the the auctioneer lowers the open until somebody bids. But a graded item is not the same. There are no bidders establishing the opening price, no guarantee that it will sell for a higher amount until it is actually sold.

What say you?

 

Edited February 20 by Mokiguy

[Grendel72]

Insurance liability.  

[shadroch]

Comparing the company that pays for you to be able to use their website to a mafia hood is in poor taste.

Everyone here gets it. You don't understand how the collectible world works.  I've no idea why you choose to advertise that fact, but you keep being you. Don't let facts get in your way.

[csaag]

On 2/20/2024 at 11:13 AM, Grendel72 said:

Insurance liability.  

yeah but if you get upcharged, your insurance stays at what you declared value when you submitted. I believe I've seen that from CGC comments

Edited February 20 by csaag

[Mokiguy]

On 2/20/2024 at 8:16 AM, shadroch said:

Comparing the company that pays for you to be able to use their website to a mafia hood is in poor taste.

Everyone here gets it. You don't understand how the collectible world works.  I've no idea why you choose to advertise that fact, but you keep being you. Don't let facts get in your way.

You are right ..... that was poor taste and I edited that out. But it would be nice if you took the time to actually answer my question rather than trying to denigrate me personally. Don't let facts get in my way you say ................ but what facts are you speaking of? you certainly haven't shared any. Everyone here gets it is not a fact.

Edited February 20 by Mokiguy

[revat]

I’m sure some of it if not most is insurance and liability, but there are probably other aspects that can only be explained by decision makers within the company.

if it’s something of great enough interest that you think the public should know the exact reasoning and cgc would have a reason to publicly make an official statement, consider interviewing cgc or blackstone bosses or consider getting a job there.

 

[shadroch]

Why does one company sell a candy bar for $1.29 while another charges $6 for a similar-sized one? 

Why does Mickey Ds charge fifteen cents an ounce for small sodas but only eight cents per ounce on the bigger ones? 

Because they can.

  Is it a conflict of interest?  Please report them to the comic grading guild.

[Mokiguy]

On 2/20/2024 at 8:44 AM, shadroch said:

Why does one company sell a candy bar for $1.29 while another charges $6 for a similar-sized one? 

Why does Mickey Ds charge fifteen cents an ounce for small sodas but only eight cents per ounce on the bigger ones? 

Because they can.

  Is it a conflict of interest?  Please report them to the comic grading guild.

So then why did you say I don't get it when you just said the exact thing I said in my opening comment ....... because they can.

[comicginger1789]

On 2/20/2024 at 11:08 AM, Mokiguy said:

So just why do grading services charge more for the same grading service and the same holder if the book is more valuable? It’s the same way with coins, and I never understood why. Are they spending more time grading a $2,000 book compared to a $100 book. If so, then the folks getting a $100 book are getting ripped off because the grader is not taking the time to properly evaluate a lesser value submission compared to a higher dollar submission. The only conclusion I can come to is because they can. Like what are you going to do about it?Grading is not like an auction where the auctioneer or auction company gets more money if the item sells for more. In an auction if an item sells for more, it is because bidders decided it was worth more and ran up the bid. And if nobody starts the bidding at the opening amount, the the auctioneer lowers the open until somebody bids. But a graded item is not the same. There are no bidders establishing the opening price, no guarantee that it will sell for a higher amount until it is actually sold.

What say you?

 

If I try to sell a book as a 9.8, it will sell (this is fact) for fractions of what it would graded. CGC takes a portion of that in exchange for verifying it. It's the power they have as the hobby's established top tier company. Is it right? Maybe not but the way I see it, I get $1300 for a raw 9.8 that I am advertising as such but could will get double or more for one graded. If it costs me a smidge more for that to happen so be it, I come out ahead either way. 

Edited February 20 by comicginger1789

[SOTIcollector]

On 2/20/2024 at 11:08 AM, Mokiguy said:

So just why do grading services charge more for the same grading service and the same holder if the book is more valuable? It’s the same way with coins, and I never understood why. Are they spending more time grading a $2,000 book compared to a $100 book. If so, then the folks getting a $100 book are getting ripped off because the grader is not taking the time to properly evaluate a lesser value submission compared to a higher dollar submission. The only conclusion I can come to is because they can. Like what are you going to do about it?Grading is not like an auction where the auctioneer or auction company gets more money if the item sells for more. In an auction if an item sells for more, it is because bidders decided it was worth more and ran up the bid. And if nobody starts the bidding at the opening amount, the the auctioneer lowers the open until somebody bids. But a graded item is not the same. There are no bidders establishing the opening price, no guarantee that it will sell for a higher amount until it is actually sold.

What say you?

 

There are several reasons.

1) Insuring an expensive comic book costs more than insuring a cheaper one.

2) The level of scrutiny that goes into grading an expensive book is greater than that of a lesser book. A book that was published last week won't need as extensive a restoration check as a million dollar book.  The person with the million dollar book may have the resources and will to attempt types of restoration that are hard to detect.  A person with last week's book does not.  It stands to reason that a grading company can, and should, put more effort into grading more expensive books.

3) What the market will bear.  They know people will pay more, so they have a business model that is built on charging more for the more expensive books.  The same thing happens in many service industries.  Why does an airline charge different prices to different people at different times?  Because they know they can, and they built a business model around it.  Why do hotels charge different prices for the same room depending on the night of the week and the season?  The list could go on and on.

[Mokiguy]

On 2/20/2024 at 9:36 AM, SOTIcollector said:

There are several reasons.

1) Insuring an expensive comic book costs more than insuring a cheaper one.

2) The level of scrutiny that goes into grading an expensive book is greater than that of a lesser book. A book that was published last week won't need as extensive a restoration check as a million dollar book.  The person with the million dollar book may have the resources and will to attempt types of restoration that are hard to detect.  A person with last week's book does not.  It stands to reason that a grading company can, and should, put more effort into grading more expensive books.

3) What the market will bear.  They know people will pay more, so they have a business model that is built on charging more for the more expensive books.  The same thing happens in many service industries.  Why does an airline charge different prices to different people at different times?  Because they know they can, and they built a business model around it.  Why do hotels charge different prices for the same room depending on the night of the week and the season?  The list could go on and on.

That all makes sense except for the insuring part ...... that I don't understand. Who is paying the insurance and to whom and for what reason? Or are you just meaning about the cost to insure for shipping in case the book gets lost or damaged?

[flchris]

On 2/20/2024 at 11:44 AM, Mokiguy said:

That all makes sense except for the insuring part ...... that I don't understand. Who is paying the insurance and to whom and for what reason? Or are you just meaning about the cost to insure for shipping in case the book gets lost or damaged?

Basically, part of the fees that you pay for CGC's service goes toward insuring the book while in their possession, so if something happens to the book while in CGC's possession, it's covered. Higher-value books cost more to insure, thus, higher fees to grade (in a nutshell).

(Insurance while it's shipped to CGC is separate, usually covered by the shipper.)

Edited February 20 by flchris

[RockMyAmadeus]

[thehumantorch]

On 2/20/2024 at 9:08 AM, Mokiguy said:

So just why do grading services charge more for the same grading service and the same holder if the book is more valuable? It’s the same way with coins, and I never understood why. Are they spending more time grading a $2,000 book compared to a $100 book. If so, then the folks getting a $100 book are getting ripped off because the grader is not taking the time to properly evaluate a lesser value submission compared to a higher dollar submission. The only conclusion I can come to is because they can. Like what are you going to do about it?Grading is not like an auction where the auctioneer or auction company gets more money if the item sells for more. In an auction if an item sells for more, it is because bidders decided it was worth more and ran up the bid. And if nobody starts the bidding at the opening amount, the the auctioneer lowers the open until somebody bids. But a graded item is not the same. There are no bidders establishing the opening price, no guarantee that it will sell for a higher amount until it is actually sold.

What say you?

 

Insurance, costs, amount of time spent grading book are all hogwash.  They charge more for expensive books because they can.  If they charged $500 to grade a book worth $200 they'd have very little business.  

[The Lions Den]

The pay scale for graders may vary depending upon their knowledge and the amount and type of books they grade...  

[Axelrod]

On 2/20/2024 at 12:36 PM, SOTIcollector said:

3) What the market will bear.  They know people will pay more, so they have a business model that is built on charging more for the more expensive books.  The same thing happens in many service industries.  Why does an airline charge different prices to different people at different times?  Because they know they can, and they built a business model around it.  Why do hotels charge different prices for the same room depending on the night of the week and the season?  The list could go on and on.

I mean, in the end it's just this.  As long as a graded book will sell for a premium over an ungraded one, then they can impose a surcharge on the service because the book will still be "worth" more than what you paid to get it graded, and people will pay it.

Now, should the market decide that for some I-can't-imagine-what-this-could-possibly-be reason, a graded CGC book is no longer worth the premium it costs to get it graded, then, suddenly, that premium goes away.

Will the market decide this?  Probably not, but one can at least imagine it.  

[shadroch]

A tale from the early days of CGC.

CGC was in its infancy, still based in NJ, when an Atomic Age collection walked into my friend's store. While going through it, an Action 1 was found tucked into a Batman 3-D. With the owner's permission, T rushed the book to New Jersey for a same-day walk-through.  I'd estimated it was a Fine/Fine Plus, but T thought it was more of a VG. It came back as a 5.5 Restored, glue on cover.  Back then, the PLOD was new and was mostly avoided. The next day, a major dealer calls him and asks about the book. The dealer claimed it was an unsolicited call he frequently made, but T thought someone at CGC must have tipped him off., not that anything was wrong with that.  They went back and forth, and a deal was struck.  A week later, T tells me the book had been regraded, this time a grade and a half lower, but in a blue label and priced about double.  T was not happy that the CGC folks hadn't brought up the possibility of removing the glue and the original owner was peeved that a book he paid experts to grade and sell was now selling for much more and was graded better. 

A couple of years later, T showed me an ad for an Action 1 that was two points higher and said it was the same book.  I can't say it was or not, but he said it was.  In the space of perhaps three years, the book was graded at least three times, and gone from a 5.5 Restored to a 4.0 Universal and possibly to a 6.0 Universal.  This was all before pressing and cleaning became big news.

I may be a point off on the grading as it was almost 25 years ago, so it might have gone from 6.0 to 4.5, or 5.0 to 3.5, but the gist of it is right. At least T didn't have to fly down to Florida with the book.

CGC collected three grading fees on the book.  Life goes on.

[LowGradeBronze]

Also worth considering is that once graded, the higher value books have still more value added to them by virtue of the slabbing. CGC want their cut for creating the added value.

[shadroch]

On 2/20/2024 at 12:51 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

Also worth considering is that once graded, the higher value books have still more value added to them by virtue of the slabbing. CGC want their cut for creating the added value.

Yet the books they increase the value the most for are charged the cheapest fees.   A raw Action #1 in 4.0 would sell for almost as much as a CGC 4.0, IMO, while a raw mint Batman 600 will sell for a fraction of what a 9.8 slab will bring. Is CGC creating value or certifying it?

[mephistopheles]