Grading shenanigans at CGC? 9 9

[electricprune]

On 10/18/2024 at 5:41 PM, grendel013 said:

There was always a limit. Did it decrease? I think it was set at like 20 maybe?

I did not know that. Thanks.

[Dr. Balls]

On 10/18/2024 at 2:20 PM, Darwination said:

I've never understood why collectors are willing to pay 10X for a borderline 9.8 over a 9.6 and 10X more for a borderline 9.9 over a 9.8.  There's really minute differences in all these comics (imo).

Many years ago (like 10+), the uniqueness of a 9.8 was much more of a "thing" than it is now. Why people pay those premiums when there are soooooo many 9.8s out there of most copper/modern books is beyond me. CGC wants people to see that they are giving out 9.9s to increase their submissions.

That Dazzler #1 in 9.8 just ain't that special anymore with so many 9.9s on the census now. as soon as the luster and fun of getting a 9.9 in your submission wears off, someone will sub a whole stack of Dazzler 1s and yank out some 10s - probably a year or two from now.

And honestly, the minute you send a 9.9 through the postal service - regardless of your packing ability - it's gonna be a 9.8 when it arrives. The subtle difference between 9.8 and 9.9 is one strong bump of a shipping box.

[DanJD]

On 10/18/2024 at 5:23 PM, Dr. Balls said:

 

And honestly, the minute you send a 9.9 through the postal service - regardless of your packing ability - it's gonna be a 9.8 when it arrives. The subtle difference between 9.8 and 9.9 is one strong bump of a shipping box.

This right here…

 

ps- your avatar and name always cracks me up.

Edited Friday at 10:44 PM by DanJD

[grendel013]

On 10/18/2024 at 5:49 PM, greggy said:

You can always over-ride that with a VPN.

Mods notified

[lostboys]

On 10/18/2024 at 5:39 PM, grendel013 said:

So this is YOUR submission...

 

[Tnexus]

Looks like that Michael Jordon submission was pressed by CGCSportsIlluatrated early Sept. They have a post on their Instagram on Sept 3rd about it saying it's off to CGC. It may be a coincidence submission, but it puts the turnaround around 2 weeks for that from the submission creation date.

[WernerVonDoom]

On 10/18/2024 at 1:28 PM, LordRahl said:

I haven't made it through the whole thread and don't intend to but lemme guess... everyone is conspiracy theorizing as to why Dazzler 1 and Secret Wars 8 have multiple 9.9's in one submission and the world as we know it is ending. Christ people, it's Dazzler 1 and Secret Wars 8... the only surprising thing is there aren't already 500-600 of each in 9.9. And the only reason for that is because CGC was artificially holding back those grades, which apparently they are no longer doing. 

Well, the only thing people are complaining about is that they are no longer artificially holding back 9.9s, which is an awful idea.

[Stefan_W]

On 10/18/2024 at 4:28 PM, LordRahl said:

I haven't made it through the whole thread and don't intend to but lemme guess... everyone is conspiracy theorizing as to why Dazzler 1 and Secret Wars 8 have multiple 9.9's in one submission and the world as we know it is ending. Christ people, it's Dazzler 1 and Secret Wars 8... the only surprising thing is there aren't already 500-600 of each in 9.9. And the only reason for that is because CGC was artificially holding back those grades, which apparently they are no longer doing. 

Well, my take was slightly different.

There were two copies of Dazzler 1 in that submission and both hit 9.8. Up to that point in time, which includes the time period early on when CGC had no qualms about giving out the occasional 9.9, CGC had awarded exactly one 9.9 for that book. So 2/3 of the total number of CGC 9.9 copies in existence were in that submission, and not only that but 2/2 copies in that submission hit that elusive grade. 

I applaud that CGC is awarding 9.9s and 10s when they are deserved. In fact, I was asking for that for months and it was music to my ears when they started coming out. But I am curious about the story behind how so many 9.9s were in one submission. Unless the person who put those books in steps forward we will never know the details, but you have to admit it is all intriguing. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 10/18/2024 at 8:18 PM, Stefan_W said:

Well, my take was slightly different.

There were two copies of Dazzler 1 in that submission and both hit 9.8. Up to that point in time, which includes the time period early on when CGC had no qualms about giving out the occasional 9.9, CGC had awarded exactly one 9.9 for that book. So 2/3 of the total number of CGC 9.9 copies in existence were in that submission, and not only that but 2/2 copies in that submission hit that elusive grade. 

I applaud that CGC is awarding 9.9s and 10s when they are deserved. In fact, I was asking for that for months and it was music to my ears when they started coming out. But I am curious about the story behind how so many 9.9s were in one submission. Unless the person who put those books in steps forward we will never know the details, but you have to admit it is all intriguing. 

Is this partially because we or I assume both of us never saw it in writing that holding back 9.9 or 10 was in stone?

The most I heard was the video saying that most often they "didn't check or go through the procedure enough to actually realize a 9,9 or 10, and that is something I'll discuss with the graders to be more ambitious or correlating too" to paraphrase Matt Nelson I think

So that was a comment that just didn't explain as plainly the outcomes of what it is now? Other than they are perhaps now more stringent guidelines explained to the graders? I don't even blame the graders then is what I'm saying, unless they now have "permission or allowance?" Which are such small words for such a big decision that I think they tried doing vids, but among so many submitters? What could those mean

I wonder how many views they have, and I've already halfway forgot the impression I got. At the beginning of them he was like, akin to now we're more earnestly looking, but then you get caught up in the vid of what makes a 9.9 or 10, that I forget why now all of a sudden they ARE when they should have all along....

Or ami I missing something?  If @LordRahl is right? That they said they'd be more ambitious and now we see that they are, just leaves a bad taste but not necessarily a "surprise?"

Idk

[Timed]

It doesn't sit right that now, after all these years, they are starting to "look" for 9.9/10s. It should have been that way since day 1.

But hey, at least my older books are "safer" from the impending 9.8 price drops that moderns will face.

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

On 10/17/2024 at 2:22 PM, Timed said:

Another concerning aspect... I've never heard of someone submitting Dazzler 1/SW 8 on high value or unlimited tier.

Makes you wonder, were they submitted under a higher tier to get the books in the hands of a specific person? Modern tier has the most graders, and newer graders.

I was thinking not so much to get the books into the hands of a specific person, but to not call attention to the charges for the value.

[Silver Surfer]

On 10/18/2024 at 6:09 PM, WernerVonDoom said:

Well, the only thing people are complaining about is that they are no longer artificially holding back 9.9s, which is an awful idea.

Convenient excuse, no?

Edited Saturday at 04:09 AM by Silver Surfer

[aszumilo]

On 10/18/2024 at 6:09 PM, WernerVonDoom said:

Well, the only thing people are complaining about is that they are no longer artificially holding back 9.9s, which is an awful idea.

If they were artificially holding back 9.9/10 books, then they weren't as unbiased as they led us to believe.  By holding them back, it would have caused people to lose money on sales of 9.8 vs possible 9.9 books.  If they did hold back, then that looks bad on their credibility.

And who exactly were they holding the grades back for?  Their favorite submitter?  Random pull a submission out of the hat?

[Poka]

On 10/19/2024 at 5:25 AM, lostboys said:

Honestly, I don't think this is anything shady, just unheard of at this point in time. 

I think this is an example of what the future holds for CGC graded books.

This submission was probably just full of cracked out 9.8s.

I don't think it's that hard to pick out flawless 9.8s that were graded years ago ...crack and resubmit for potential 9.9s

 

This is really simple.

CGC has changed and 9.9s are now attainable.

But to have a good shot at them you'll have to crack out some 9.8s.

 

attainable except for the regular submitter?

[RockMyAmadeus]

 

 

Edited Saturday at 06:33 AM by RockMyAmadeus

[WernerVonDoom]

On 10/18/2024 at 9:34 PM, aszumilo said:

If they were artificially holding back 9.9/10 books, then they weren't as unbiased as they led us to believe.  By holding them back, it would have caused people to lose money on sales of 9.8 vs possible 9.9 books.  If they did hold back, then that looks bad on their credibility.

And who exactly were they holding the grades back for?  Their favorite submitter?  Random pull a submission out of the hat?

It doesn't matter how or why, it just matters that they've been doing it for 25 years. To suddenly switch now 1) hurts the brand, 2) lowers values of books graded in 2024 or later, and 3) just a bad idea after back to back scandals they need to recover from.

[mikenyc]

😂 

Edited Saturday at 12:56 PM by mikenyc
Who cares about my late night thoughts.

[Gaard]

Why would they hold them back?

[HotKey]

On 10/19/2024 at 7:48 AM, Gaard said:

Why would they hold them back?

One scenario could be saving them for a rainy day in case multiple scandals hit.

A more devious scenario is one where this has been planned for over a decade, a slow squeezing of every drop of 9.8 market potential before eventually replacing them with the "new" 9.8, the 9.9, then soak that for every drop you can as well, sort of like planned obsolescence with electronics.

I'm not saying that what's happened, just potential answers to your why question.