Will CBG Cover Controversial Issues?

[Deathlok]

but who ARE all these people that collect comics and dont care about CGC? When you go to conventions, and speak to fellow collectors, do any of you have first hand knowledge of this? Or is the convention-going sample already distort the question. Seems to me if you collect back issues, grading enters the equation. And it follows that CGC-grading will too.

 

So does CBG only cater to new comics fans> and comics movie fans? If so why have a price guide, and columns on Ebay auctions listing CGC grades?

 

Im just not buying their answers as anything other than a persecuted "we dont have the resources or the time" and "we cant afford litigation" and the "front office wont let us" litany of excuses so they can just focus on packing their next issue with more useless stuff that interests Maggie etc but nobody else reads.

 

Does anyone here think that the Ewert thing is NOT widely known to all back issue collectors?

 

Maybe CBG is exactly what they say they are, though, and this stuff just doesnt interest their readers. If so, we have very little in common with them anymore.

There is a local con run here in Los Angeles, where there is only one dealer who has slabbed books. Every time I visit this con I observe the clietele. Almost all of them have no knowledge of CGC at all, and these are comic collectors. They ask questions about the holder and how they can get their comics graded. Some scoff at encapsualtion. The same holds true of collectors who visit my LCS.

 

The members of this board are a unique bunch and tend to think that what applies here applies to all of the hobby. That simply is not the case.

[jimm94]

 

I would love to see a magazine more attune to Platinum and Golden Age discussions/issues as well as directed towards investors. I completely understand why CBG is not that, and again I don't fault them, but doesn't mean I shouldn't raise the comment or have to sound elitist in doing so.

 

I think Comic Book Marketplace came closest to achieving this, but they unfortunately couldn't stay afloat. I thought many of their articles were quite good in providing a scholarly (but not too high brow) look at the content, context and creators in the comic medium. A magazine for Platinum and GA collectors would have an extremely small target audience. I don't see a tremendous upside in terms of profitability. Regarding investors, what is there really to say specifically to them? "Here's a list of keys and other important books, here's what's rare and what isn't. Buy the highest grade copies you can possibly afford. Diversifiy your assets, and don't count on comics as your only source of retirement funds." I'm oversimplifying it, but that's about it. Any other information they should be reading would be applicable to all collectors.

 

That bit of logic can refer to any hobby, market or business today and yet we have entire television broadcast focused on discussing them 24 hours a day.

 

True, but the world economy is a heck of a lot larger sandbox than collecting comics is. There's a lot more choices on what to invest in when you're talking about NASDAQ or 401k Mutual Funds.

[whetteon]

 

I would love to see a magazine more attune to Platinum and Golden Age discussions/issues as well as directed towards investors. I completely understand why CBG is not that, and again I don't fault them, but doesn't mean I shouldn't raise the comment or have to sound elitist in doing so.

 

I think Comic Book Marketplace came closest to achieving this, but they unfortunately couldn't stay afloat. I thought many of their articles were quite good in providing a scholarly (but not too high brow) look at the content, context and creators in the comic medium. A magazine for Platinum and GA collectors would have an extremely small target audience. I don't see a tremendous upside in terms of profitability. Regarding investors, what is there really to say specifically to them? "Here's a list of keys and other important books, here's what's rare and what isn't. Buy the highest grade copies you can possibly afford. Diversifiy your assets, and don't count on comics as your only source of retirement funds." I'm oversimplifying it, but that's about it. Any other information they should be reading would be applicable to all collectors.

 

That bit of logic can refer to any hobby, market or business today and yet we have entire television broadcast focused on discussing them 24 hours a day.

 

True, but the world economy is a heck of a lot larger sandbox than collecting comics is. There's a lot more choices on what to invest in when you're talking about NASDAQ or 401k Mutual Funds.

 

I would tend to disagree but to each his own.

 

Does anyone on these forums have some old spare CBM magazines they'd be willing to mail me if I cover the shipping cost? PM if you do.

 

And back on topic, I renewed my subscription to CBG because I enjoy a handful of their articles. However, when I'm looking for in depth market coverage on my funny books I usually come to these boards. They have taught me so much about the hobby in general these last few years.

[OldGuy]

The same holds true of collectors who visit my LCS.

In my experience 99% of the people that do business at my LCS have at best seen a picture of a CGC graded comic, but have never seen one in person.

 

There's a guy at the LCS I see every week. He buys everything that comes in every week and has been since 1963 when he got his first job. This guy has a collection that could stand up as one of the premier SA to Present collections in the world. He's never seen or bought a CGCed comic. Is he not a "serious" collector (rhetorical question)?

 

People don't have to throw bags of cash into this hobby, buy and sell CGC graded books or even have an Ebay account in order to be serious about it.

[Davenport]

 

On the other hand I can see the value of CBG reporting some of these issues. I think in a perfect world they would cover most if not all of these issues, but I understand it not being a priority for them. They are in business to do the same thing as CGC or anyone else that runs a business, and that's to make money. Pandering to the elite 5 or 10% just doesn’t pay the bills.

 

Even after reading all their explanations I'm still at a loss. If you view CBG's HOME page they have a 'Ticker' news feature and many news items contain phrases " has announced " , "announced that ", "has released " , and "multiple websites are reporting on ..." The source is crystal clear.

 

So why blatantly disregard specific Company announcements and Company stated fact (like anything CGC officially announced regarding the Ewert situation)

 

Perhaps pandering to the elite 5 or 10% does pay the bills.

[OldGuy]

 

On the other hand I can see the value of CBG reporting some of these issues. I think in a perfect world they would cover most if not all of these issues, but I understand it not being a priority for them. They are in business to do the same thing as CGC or anyone else that runs a business, and that's to make money. Pandering to the elite 5 or 10% just doesn’t pay the bills.

 

Even after reading all their explanations I'm still at a loss. If you view CBG's HOME page they have a 'Ticker' news feature and many news items contain phrases " has announced " , "announced that ", "has released " , and "multiple websites are reporting on ..." The source is crystal clear.

 

So why blatantly disregard specific Company announcements and Company stated fact (like anything CGC officially announced regarding the Ewert situation)

 

Perhaps pandering to the elite 5 or 10% does pay the bills.

 

Point taken.

[jimm94]

 

So why blatantly disregard specific Company announcements and Company stated fact (like anything CGC officially announced regarding the Ewert situation)

 

Sadly, CGC has made no official public announcement about this issue outside of the boards.

[esquirecomics]

I think some of you are respectfully missing the point that initiated this discussion in the first place. It is not about CGC collectors vs non-CGC collectors, or whether collectors should become CGC collectors or even the market share of CGC books vs. non-CGC books.

 

Even if CGC collectors/dealers, and I agree we are, constitute a minority of the hobby, that does not diminish the significance of some of the issues relevant to the certified market. C'mon, CBG cannot devote one page or two to certified comic issues in its magazine?

 

And what share are we of the market? GPAnalysis has tracked (and they only track a portion of the CGC market) that $87,368,634 has been spent on CGC books since June 2002. I'd say, regardless of the minority position we hold in the collecting/dealing community, that our small segment is deserving of attention.

[esquirecomics]

Maggie Thompson just weighed in on the discussion on the CBG boards.

[Davenport]

 

So why blatantly disregard specific Company announcements and Company stated fact (like anything CGC officially announced regarding the Ewert situation)

 

Sadly, CGC has made no official public announcement about this issue outside of the boards.

Messageboards are public if the public can read them. A Company official (like a company President) stating an official company position/action should be a no-brainer reportable news item.

[jimm94]

Mark,

 

The CBG Dupcak article was one of the very rare instances of investigative journalism I have seen from industry news publishers. All of the various news outlets in the hobby run either: price guides, reviews, interviews, press releases, or articles of an informational/analytical nature regarding some aspect of comicdom. It's all fine stuff - I'm not belittling the contributions of anyone who works as a writer in the hobby. I just personally don't expect CBG or anyone else to cover the "hard news" when it occurs. The industry I work in is actually the same way.

 

What would really be nice is if there were co-operation from CGC in issuing a statement appropriate for publication regarding the whole Ewert thing.

[jimm94]

 

Messageboards are public if the public can read them. A Company official (like a company President) stating an official company position/action should be a no-brainer reportable news item.

 

I agree. My comment is in reference to CGC's lack of proactivity when it comes to communicating this issue to those who may have been affected by it.

[Aman619]

The same holds true of collectors who visit my LCS.

In my experience 99% of the people that do business at my LCS have at best seen a picture of a CGC graded comic, but have never seen one in person.

 

There's a guy at the LCS I see every week. He buys everything that comes in every week and has been since 1963 when he got his first job. This guy has a collection that could stand up as one of the premier SA to Present collections in the world. He's never seen or bought a CGCed comic. Is he not a "serious" collector (rhetorical question)?

 

People don't have to throw bags of cash into this hobby, buy and sell CGC graded books or even have an Ebay account in order to be serious about it.

 

BUT - - when was the last time he bought a SA or GA book? Im guessing from your description that he is practically done buying the older stuff. I wonder if he would want to select a CGC graded book for a new purchase now, or try to find it from raw offerings that coem his way? Depending on what he wants, that might be a long wait! SO having a great (but essentially completed) collection would NOT make you a potentially big CGC customer, would it?

 

 

Any one still filling holes on grade would HAVE to allow for slabbed copies.....

[Excelsior!-migration]

CGC should take out an ad in CBG announcing its decision to ban Ewert, the reasons why and that it is accepting resubmissions for books certified during a specific time period.

 

And while they are at that they might as well give free money away to every board members who posts here. They aren't going to do anything that is going to hurt their bottom line unless they are legally compelled to do so. From what I have read that just isn't going to happen. Heck, they won't even post the CGC numbers of comics they know might be bad in this forum so why on earth take out an ad about the scandal in CBG?

[Scheradon]

The same holds true of collectors who visit my LCS.

In my experience 99% of the people that do business at my LCS have at best seen a picture of a CGC graded comic, but have never seen one in person.

 

There's a guy at the LCS I see every week. He buys everything that comes in every week and has been since 1963 when he got his first job. This guy has a collection that could stand up as one of the premier SA to Present collections in the world. He's never seen or bought a CGCed comic. Is he not a "serious" collector (rhetorical question)?

 

People don't have to throw bags of cash into this hobby, buy and sell CGC graded books or even have an Ebay account in order to be serious about it.

 

BUT - - when was the last time he bought a SA or GA book? Im guessing from your description that he is practically done buying the older stuff. I wonder if he would want to select a CGC graded book for a new purchase now, or try to find it from raw offerings that coem his way? Depending on what he wants, that might be a long wait! SO having a great (but essentially completed) collection would NOT make you a potentially big CGC customer, would it?

 

 

Any one still filling holes on grade would HAVE to allow for slabbed copies.....

 

To add to this, I'd say this guy has been able to pick up his copies fresh from his LCS and has really invested little capital compared to most CGC collectors or even raw collectors trying to get back issues ranging from 1963 on. Since he's been able to do this, which many of us have not, why would he feel the need to go CGCs route?

 

The interesting decision will be if when the time comes to sell this impressive collection, will he (or the person selling it), decide to have them slabbed to attain the maximum value for it?

 

As for the 99% who have supposedly never seen a CGC comic in person...I guess they've never been to a comic convention in recent years as I can always find more than a few dealers with slabs on their walls. I would be willing to bet that estimate is way off.

[Illiterati-migration]

As for the 99% who have supposedly never seen a CGC comic in person...I guess they've never been to a comic convention in recent years as I can always find more than a few dealers with slabs on their walls. I would be willing to bet that estimate is way off.

 

Wait till you get back to KC, man.

[Deathlok]

As for the 99% who have supposedly never seen a CGC comic in person...I guess they've never been to a comic convention in recent years as I can always find more than a few dealers with slabs on their walls. I would be willing to bet that estimate is way off.

 

Wait till you get back to KC, man.

Why, are you going to attempt to solicit him?

[Deathlok]

As for the 99% who have supposedly never seen a CGC comic in person...I guess they've never been to a comic convention in recent years as I can always find more than a few dealers with slabs on their walls. I would be willing to bet that estimate is way off.

 

Really? How many National conventions are there and where are they located? Now how many major cities are there in the US?

[Scheradon]

As for the 99% who have supposedly never seen a CGC comic in person...I guess they've never been to a comic convention in recent years as I can always find more than a few dealers with slabs on their walls. I would be willing to bet that estimate is way off.

 

Really? How many National conventions are there and where are they located? Now how many major cities are there in the US?

 

Let's see, I believe most states have atleast one major city in them right? I would venture that at some point during the year, they have a comic convention of some kind. It doesn't have to be some National convention to attract dealers with slabs. I know they have them at the Comic Con in KC (and it's no San Diego event). I find it hard to believe that someone can be so isolated in the United States that they cannot make a short road trip to a convention somewhere during the year.

 

In addition to conventions, there are also plenty of shows at malls, and you will see some slabs at LCS shops as well.

 

I guarantee you the 99% figure is an exaggeration.

 

Put it this way: Take one of my hole in the wall LCS shops back in KC. I know that my best friend, another good friend, my nephew, and myself would visit regularly. We have all seen a CGC book in person. This means that 396 other people would have to go in there who never had seen a CGC book just to counter balance us alone.

Trust me, the number is way off. Put yourselves in this situation. If you or anyone you know goes to an LCS and HAS seen a CGC slabbed book, then 99 other unaware people have to visit this same shop to make that percentage correct.

[Aman619]

The same holds true of collectors who visit my LCS.

In my experience 99% of the people that do business at my LCS have at best seen a picture of a CGC graded comic, but have never seen one in person.

 

There's a guy at the LCS I see every week. He buys everything that comes in every week and has been since 1963 when he got his first job. This guy has a collection that could stand up as one of the premier SA to Present collections in the world. He's never seen or bought a CGCed comic. Is he not a "serious" collector (rhetorical question)?

 

People don't have to throw bags of cash into this hobby, buy and sell CGC graded books or even have an Ebay account in order to be serious about it.

 

BUT - - when was the last time he bought a SA or GA book? Im guessing from your description that he is practically done buying the older stuff. I wonder if he would want to select a CGC graded book for a new purchase now, or try to find it from raw offerings that coem his way? Depending on what he wants, that might be a long wait! SO having a great (but essentially completed) collection would NOT make you a potentially big CGC customer, would it?

 

 

Any one still filling holes on grade would HAVE to allow for slabbed copies.....

 

To add to this, I'd say this guy has been able to pick up his copies fresh from his LCS and has really invested little capital compared to most CGC collectors or even raw collectors trying to get back issues ranging from 1963 on. Since he's been able to do this, which many of us have not, why would he feel the need to go CGCs route?

 

The interesting decision will be if when the time comes to sell this impressive collection, will he (or the person selling it), decide to have them slabbed to attain the maximum value for it?

 

As for the 99% who have supposedly never seen a CGC comic in person...I guess they've never been to a comic convention in recent years as I can always find more than a few dealers with slabs on their walls. I would be willing to bet that estimate is way off.

 

that was my point. this particular guy doesnt prove anything about CGC one way or the other since he has zero need for CGC at this point. As you say, when he goes to sell will be the time to judge his opinions or use for CGC grading.