Some Critical Comments on the Current Grading System

[drbanner]

...just looking for something to complain about.

 

Either that, or someone looking to stir up some controversy. I suspect dad is a shill account, with the obvious shill suspects (CI/tinkerer/JC or Meth/Hammer/Blackie/Fan_4) being a bit too obvious, so I'm gonna guess it's bug or MK!

[Bugaboo-migration]

......so I'm gonna guess it's bug or MK!

Come on Mikey........does that really sound like me?

 

The posts are too long and boring for me. I'd be having way more fun with a new shill account than that.

[drbanner]

The posts are too long and boring for me. I'd be having way more fun with a new shill account than that.

 

What fun is a shill account if you're gonna act yourself anyway!?!?

 

[Bugaboo-migration]

What fun is a shill account if you're gonna act yourself anyway!?!?

True......but I could think of more fun ways to do it than to call myself "dad" and make 2 page long posts about comments on the current grading system.

[Rickdogg]

banner and bug you guys crack me up. Mike the newspaper comment had me rollin'

[Ronny-migration]

I do not believe that standards will get stricter. Over the past thirty years, that has been true, but now with at least one grading company that will end that trend (in my opinion).

 

If CGC gets any stricter, I'm never going to make a DIME on ebay. 6.5 ASM 252 anyone? I swear they drop these things when they unpack them. Bastards.

[Dr_Neff]

My point: While I believe there are still tons of quality books to be graded, I'm not sure that there is enough material for too many more companies to beinvolved in certification (and be profitable). Yes, modern material maybe, but that still seems to be a losing proposition.

 

I agree. Ive been thinking about this too, and as much money as CGC takes in and for all the 1000s of books they have graded so far, I think they are playing out a losing hand.

 

Their business is very expensive, and grading books is very time-intensive. And every high grade book they grade is another book (or a sale) they will never make again. While I think there are plenty of high grade books not graded so far, many of those will never be graded, and many more not until they are for sale (5 - 15 years from now).... and as you say, grading modern books is just not a winning proposition.

 

So there will come a time when submissions slow down and the rent and the payroll gets harder to make each month and the parent company says "enough". . I'm not against CGC or saying this will happen this year...just that there are a limited supply of gradable vintage comics...maybe not enough to sustain CGC forever.

 

...and if CGC cant make a go of it; if they are someday no longer around...where will we be as collectors with graded books and books that can no longer be graded?

 

I disagree. It is much more expensive to get your books checked for restoration at a Restoration Lab (et. al.) or even more expensive to have your collection appraised by a competent professional. Not to mention the Archival angle. Clearly, CgC negates both these factors wonderfully. Allow me to illustrate:

 

A) book sent to "Lab" for restoration check = $125.00

B) Appraisal at $45.00 per hour, 3 hour minimum = $135.00

C)Book put in Fortress for archival storage = $25.00

Total: $385.00

 

OR you can send your book to dealers who suggest that they can provide these services FREE if you allow them to make first offer, should you be parting with that treasure....

 

For the same (1) book to be identified, checked for restoration, graded, and encapsulated by CgC = priceless[i/]. (sorry I had to do it)

 

Really, more like $23.20 economy (save $361.80)

$39.20 standard (save $345.80)

$63.20 express (save $311.80)

$88.00 minimum Walk-Thru (save $297.00)

(prices with your 20% off out of the gate)

 

 

 

 

 

Additionally, there are over 90,000,000,000 comics ~ not mentioning next month, and the month after, and so on. We will have expired before the grading service industry.

 

So which do you think is more likely:

A) currency crash and switch to Euro or Credit/Debit kills coin market

B) ANOTHER player strike kills baseball cards

C) CgC grades all the comics in the world, or everyone for no precipitating reason stops submitting comic books to settle arguments, or quell fears caused over grading .

 

 

[sfilosa]

Additionally, there are over 90,000,000,000 comics ~ not mentioning next month, and the month after, and so on. We will have expired before the grading service industry.

 

AND THE INTERNET IS THE WAY OF THE FUTURE. This was the reason to buy any and all high tech stocks. Yet, only a few (eBay being one) are actually making any money. Yet, the INTERNET is the WAY of the FUTURE. In other words, you can be right, and still be incorrect.

 

How does this relate. Simple, like I said before, go to any decent size comic book convention and you will see that 99.999999% (not sure if that is the right amount of numbers after the decimal, but you get my point), WILL NEVER BE WORTH GRADING.

 

Almost any late Silver-Age book in less than NM condition really isn't worth the grading fee. How many times do you see a NM- books go for between $50-70 on eBay. Quite a lot. Now back out at least $25 to grade that book and the actual cost of the book is $25-45. Well guess what, most of these books list for a higher value in Overstreet Guide.

 

CGC provides a great service (restoration check being one of them).

 

But, most books will never need to be graded let alone need a restoration check. And I can honestly see a huge slow down in modern grading, once people realize that there isn't any money to be made in 99% of the books.