Certification offers many benefits for comic book collectors, dealers and retailers. As an independent grader, impartial to any party, CGC provides this certification with accuracy and enthusiasm. Some key benefits include:
Establishing a Grading Standard
CGC's top grading experts traveled the country to have the leading comic book collectors, retailers, and dealers review a grading set of comic books. Using the average of their opinions as a guide, our expert grading team has been able to establish a consistent market standard that is widely trusted throughout the hobby.
Performing Expert Restoration Check
One of the most important parts of the CGC expert grading team's review of your comic book is to perform a thorough restoration check. When detected, restoration is specifically noted on the grading label.
Increasing Confidence Among Buyers and Sellers
With impartial grading and a consistent standard, expert restoration detection, and a tamper-evident protective holder, buyers and sellers trade with more confidence by mail, phone, and on the Internet because they know what to expect of a CGC-graded book. Because buyers appreciate impartial and accurately graded comic books, they become confident and aggressive bidders. Sellers are assured that they are receiving a fair price for their book's condition.
Providing Holders That Can Be Safely Opened
We have designed our holder for optimal visibility of the comic book so it can be opened carefully and removed safely. Due to their fragile nature, we recommend the immediate re-certification of the comic book once our holder is opened.
Offering Better Protection for Comic Books
The CGC holder is made of state-of-the-art materials and is designed to meet the needs and demands of comic book collectors. There is no other holder that protects comic books as well as the CGC holder.
Developing the Standard
Everyone seemed to agree that the Overstreet reference was the foundation of the comic book grading standard, but there were a number of subjective interpretations of its published definitions. It was critical to understand how these guidelines were being applied to the everyday buying and selling of comics. To accomplish this, approximately 50 of the hobby's top experts took part in an arduous, if not grueling, grading test. By averaging their grades, an accurate grading standard reflecting the collective experience of the hobby's most prominent figures was thus developed.
