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No More Grades, Just BIG NUMBERS!

Started by joe_collector,

635 posts in this topic

blowout

blowout

Posted
Posted

I think the creation of this new label will create the thought amongst some that books in the old holders are inferior or decaying. A good way for CGC to make money by having eveyone send in their pre-July 2003 books to have them reslabbed!

 

Not only that but I'm sure many dealers and flippers will be re-subbing books to get rid of those horrible 'minus' marks on the old labels.

And here we were all wondering how CGC would make money when all the HG vintage books ran out... 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

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lighthouse

lighthouse

Posted
Posted

Just so that I maximize the opportunity for people to disagree with me...

 

Here is a link to a terribly long post I just made in the other thread about this very same topic...

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=241289

 

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blowout

blowout

Posted
Posted

Lighthouse, in priciple I agree with your position. BUT, I think it is far to early to throw out the old grading system completely. There needs to be a transition period for the numerical grade to be fully accepted into the market before the alpha grades are disgarded. The old grades are confusing for some, but so are the numerical ones for collectors used to the alpha's.

The real problem here is that CGC has removed beneficial information from the label and that is NOT a grading improvement.

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hobbes

hobbes

Posted
Posted

I do not mind the lack of a "text" grade on the new cgc label,however I do agree with Clobbertime about the lack of negatives on the label. That missing info bothers me far more than the lack of a "text" grade.

 

 

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lighthouse

lighthouse

Posted
Posted
Lighthouse, in priciple I agree with your position. BUT, I think it is far to early to throw out the old grading system completely. There needs to be a transition period for the numerical grade to be fully accepted into the market before the alpha grades are disgarded. The old grades are confusing for some, but so are the numerical ones for collectors used to the alpha's.

The real problem here is that CGC has removed beneficial information from the label and that is NOT a grading improvement.

 

 

I dunno...

 

It was big deal about a year ago when Blockbuster announced that by 2005 they would no longer have any VHS in inventory, all rentals would be switched to DVD... How long do you need to support the dying past, and at what point do you make the leap to embrace the future? If you are going to make a change I believe it's better to make it all at once. People are quicker to adapt than we give them credit for. They adapted to CGC a whole lot faster that "most" people expected. I think they will adapt to a numbers-only system just as quickly...

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PovertyRow

PovertyRow

Posted
Posted

How long do you need to support the dying past, and at what point do you make the leap to embrace the future?

 

This is part of what troubles me about your idea that alpha grades are outmoded. There is no "leap into the future". The numeric grades have their roots in the alpha grades. The existing numeric grades are exactly reflected by the alpha and vice-versa. They are simply retaining the same numeric grades and removing their alpha counterpart. There is nothing new here, nor futuristic.

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

Posted
Posted
Sums it up for me in a nutshell. This is the most blatant dealer pandering so far from CGC. frown.gif

 

The most blatant one was taking off the grader's comments like "date stamp on back cover," "name written on first page," etc. This one doesn't really affect their role as a reporter of the book's state since the numerical grades match up to the worded grades one to one, but the removal of those comments does reduce the functional usefulness of the label.

 

I really hope that new grading company Hughes is rumored to work for adds comments to the label. Right now, 3PG's reporting seems to be the most comprehensive in the industry.

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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It was big deal about a year ago when Blockbuster announced that by 2005 they would no longer have any VHS in inventory, all rentals would be switched to DVD...

 

So what does this have to do with CGC comics and alpha vs. numerical grading?

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

Posted
Posted
It was big deal about a year ago when Blockbuster announced that by 2005 they would no longer have any VHS in inventory, all rentals would be switched to DVD...

 

So what does this have to do with CGC comics and alpha vs. numerical grading?

 

Because Blockbuster is planning on exclusively selling CGC comics by 2006?

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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Here is a link to a terribly long post I just made in the other thread about this very same topic...

 

I really would understand your point of view, IF CGC had been using ONLY alpha terms on their labels. The numerical grade has been there since day one, is easily sortable and can be deciphered by and non-English speakers alike.

 

This new label changes absolutely nothing about the above scenario, but it does create a more commodity-based item with less details than ever before... and right on the heels of other similar changes where valuable info was deleted.

 

This isn't a numbers vs. alpha argument, as numbers have always been on the label. I can see only one reason (that dealers would appaud) for deleting those nasty alpha grades.

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

Posted
Posted

I spent my good ideas on last night's thread aboutthis. Why rehash...Lighthouse has some good points. We are trying to be CGC's ambassadors to the world...Chuck no longer has a monopoly on the title of "Comic Messiah". Everyone is thinking it all has to do with money primarily. CGC is a business; doesn't that make sense. Steve Borock came out with a reason; yet wehat do we see next... "his answer's a cop-out", "what a load of BS" 893blahblah.gif If I were Steve, why even bother to respond to the challenges placed on here when he answers it gets shoved back in his face and people keep harping on their own agendas?

 

Honestly, I said I won't miss the grades. I don't miss the date stamp stuff and I just ask the seller on books I value if there is something there using the ebay ask seller a question function.

 

I never took CGC's removal of the letters to mean it was a dumbing down of the label or a way to appease the dealers. Steve's answer was good enough. I notice when I describe conditions of my books to folks I quote "936/9.8 potential" first then mention "NM+ to NM/MT"; I don't care about the negatives. I think that old time collectors know what the numbers are and if they don't go get a Wizard or Overstreet. It's in there. Or go to CGc's website and look up Grading link. Old Time collectors will always put money into the hobby. Just because CGC removes the letters won't change the fact that they will still be chasing down HG or needed keys. But if it takes a simplification of the convoluted grading to appeal to the new blood, so be it.

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blutobc

blutobc

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Posted

I agree that this so called label improvement is a money grab by CGC to increase their base...dealers(less negative info) and flippers(resub).

 

Something I haven't seen mentioned yet with the talk of what newbies supposedly want is that using VF/NM in a description helps identify knowledgeable comic collectors. Seeing a description of "this comic really looks good, nice copy" instead of F/VF lets me know real quick if the guy knows what he's talking about.

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blowout

blowout

Posted
Posted

I never took CGC's removal of the letters to mean it was a dumbing down of the label or a way to appease the dealers. Steve's answer was good enough.

 

Correct me if I am wrong Darth but when it comes to CGC books aren't you primerily a SELLER? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

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