CGC policy confusion, ethics

[spoonerism]

Update: The Captain America #1 came back as 4.0 restored. The book had extra staples through the cover, and when these were added, the loose centerfolds that then poked out were trimmed, so they called it trimmed pages. *rolls eyes*

 

They didn't give a summary of the restoration, either. No "Minor (A)" or whatever.

 

CGC seems so arbitrary and inconsistent. I'm sure that, had a different grader gotten this on a different day, it would have been considered a qualified 4.0 -- just like if a book has damage from a separated siamese, or other damage on internal pages.

 

Luckily, David Alexander is a very reasonable and kind man, and the guy he got this book from also was understanding about the PLOD effect. So, while I am not getting the price adjustment down to what I wanted, I did get a significant concession.

 

I'll have to scan it and put it up.

 

Also, I have my Batman 47 almost back from Susan Cicconi, who did the restoration work. I'll have before & after pictures up on my blog today:

http://welborn.blogspot.com/

[bluechip]

Update: The Captain America #1 came back as 4.0 restored. The book had extra staples through the cover, and when these were added, the loose centerfolds that then poked out were trimmed, so they called it trimmed pages. *rolls eyes*

 

They didn't give a summary of the restoration, either. No "Minor (A)" or whatever.

 

CGC seems so arbitrary and inconsistent. I'm sure that, had a different grader gotten this on a different day, it would have been considered a qualified 4.0 -- just like if a book has damage from a separated siamese, or other damage on internal pages.

 

 

 

These are the sort of things that have amplified the value pressure on restored books.

 

Most people I know who don't mind restored books still would prefer to have solid information summarizing it.

 

And a trimmed centerfold doesn't improve the appearance of a book so it shouldn't IMV be called restoration. It;'s not even a hidden defect. it's obvious when you open the book the center pages are trimmed and it detracts from the book -- doesn't improve it.

 

Trimming the entire book can make it appear better, and in that case restoration detection is useful to let the person know the book isn't really as good as it appears.

 

But calling a trimmed loose centerfold "restoration" can be very misleading. It's damage. You see the word restoration and you think the book used to look worse before the work was done -- not better.

 

And, yes, if the very same danage -- or much worse -- had occured during the printing process it would not be called restoration. It would be noted as a defect if it was noted at all.

 

But the average person is not going to know all of the above when they pick up thatbook in a holder. They'll just see "restored" and they;'ll likely have been told that is equivalent to "bad" and that it means they book will never go up in price. So they may pass up what migbht actually be a rare and perfectly decent book to go some chroimum ultimate spider-man reprint because guides are saying it's going up and up.

 

It comes down to what do you think is more likely to have happened between now and 10 to 20 years from now? Do you think the ten thousand or so "limited edition chromium ultimate spider-mans" will be worth exponentially more? Or do you think the hundred or so copies of Captain America 1 will be worth more (even if they have a trimmed centerfold)?

 

Even if CGC were not working toward a better system for labelling restoration (which they supposedly are) I would still put my bet on that "restored" Cap 4.0

 

(and no I do not have a restored Cap 1 that I am hoping will benefit from the comparison. Or, for that matter, more than a handful of restored books that I know of. I just think the system's gone off the rails a bit, and am gratified to see signs of a little daylight shining through)

[spoonerism]

Yeah, I am going to love my Cap #1 no matter what. And, truth be told, I'll probably break it out of the CGC, save the label and keep it in a mylar just so I can pull it out and finger through it.

 

Eventually, I may resubmit. Especially if they change their restoration information policy. As a matter of fact, I imagine they could make a lot of money by changing a few key policies and re-grading a bunch of books.

 

And although I seem down on CGC, they are much better than the competition. I have a PGX 1.8 E.C. book that looks like it was put in a 3-ring binder, ripped out, upon and then fed to rats. I have the next issue in the same series as a PGX (PGC? CGX?) 1.0 that looks like it should be an actual 2.0.

[bluechip]

I may resubmit. Especially if they change their restoration information policy. As a matter of fact, I imagine they could make a lot of money by changing a few key policies and re-grading a bunch of books.

 

 

 

The number of potential customers slabbing restored books will never compare to the number of brand new "limited" editions.

 

By the time all the Captain America #25s are graded, I wouldn't be surprised if it amounts to all the slabbed copies of the top 25 most valuable comics combined.

 

But that doesn't mean there is no financial incentive to get ir right.

 

CGC is essentially a two-tiered business, one a rare item grading service and the other being essentially the co-manufacturer of new collectibles.

 

I've heard it opned that health in one tier means the other tier has to sufffer, but I don't think so. They've both been healthy before; you just haven't seen too many companies operating in both at the same time.

 

Even more, I think the health of the new comic collectible business depends on the health of rare comic collectibles. How do you sell a Cap 25 printed weeks ago in a slab unless people think it's going to keep its value or increase? And how do you do that if people hear the value of really rare books are not increasing or even falling because of some new standards and policies?

 

Do we believe people are really going to buy long-term the notion that a restored golden age Cap 25 is worth less than a brand new one? Or that a small stack of brand new Cap 25s is a great investment while the golden age Captain America 1 is not just because the GA book has a trimmed center page?

 

It may work short-term, as customers buy into the number and label color fixation. But long-term, no. Long-term you risk hurting the rare market and flaming out franklin-mint style on the new market.

 

Long-term, it is better for slabbers to have a healthy maket for rare golden age keys, even the ones in low grade or restored. If I was a novice, I would be much more likely to believe the talk that a brand new Cap 25 is worth a hundred bucks if I wasn't also hearing that a first Cap from 1941 was worth only a few thousand.