Collecting CGC books is not so easy.

When I first started collecting CGC books about a year ago I thought, OK, the first thing I'll do is go through my 1500+ comics and slab my favorite books if they are in decent condition. Some I even sent to be pressed to get the best possible grade (note- for those who may not know, "pressing" is the process of flattening your book and getting the creases/spine roll out...this process is not considered "restoration" so you will still get a Universal Blue label from CGC). I also searched eBay and bought high grade copies of the cool alternate covers I wanted and sent them to CGC as well. Most of the books came back with grades I was happy with at the time and I enjoyed them, along with some other mid-grade key issues I scored off eBay.

Several months later something weird happened. Suddenly those mid-grade books and variant covers I had amassed didn?t satisfy me anymore. I realized, ?Hey, these books are more common, less collectible and less valuable than the higher grade older books.? So, I started selling a lot of my new CGC books?I upgraded some (ASM 129 CGC 6.0 to CGC 8.0, GS X-men 1 CGC 5.0 to CGC 8.0, etc.) and ditched others altogether (DD 168 CGC 7.5, X-men 133-134 CCG 9.0, X-men 188 Sketch Variant CGC 9.8, etc.). I lost money on some and made money on others but all in all it?s been a good experience.

So what have I learned so far? 1) Don?t send in books for pressing unless you are confident they will come back with a high enough grade to make it worth the investment and one you will be happy with in the long run, 2) Don?t settle for a lesser grade if there is any way possible for you to go for a higher grade (if it costs you an extra $100 to go from a CGC 9.4 to a 9.6 or 9.8, do it!!), 3) Buy books that you want to treasure forever, not books that you think will just be a good investment?especially be wary of spending a lot on Modern age variant covers (I bought the Civil War CGC sketch cover set because the art rocks so hard, not because I think it?ll skyrocket in value), 4) Bronze and Modern age books I loved because of the cool covers but didn?t think were worth much are now the pride of my collection and a great investment in high grade (Captain America 173 and 241 CGC 9.6, Doctor Strange 2 CGC 9.6, ASM 161 CGC 9.6, Hulk 250 CGC 9.8, etc.), and 5) never ever spend hundreds of dollars on a raw un-graded book (I bought my first Hulk 181 on eBay, sent it to CGC, and it came back with a ?restored? 7.0 grade?ugh!).

I wish someone had told me these things from the beginning, but hopefully some of you will at least find this information helpful. Happy collecting!