100 books to submit to CGC~Would you pre-screen first? NOOB Here 0

[STORMSHADOW_80]

5 hours ago, adampasz said:

I was thinking about doing a pre-screen submission, but I don't even see any info about it on their submission form. Does something show up once there are 25 books in my cart? Do I just add the pre-screen request as notes in my order??

#confused

If it's not coming up on the software just hand write a big "9.8 Pre Screen" on the paperwork. That's what I did on my last sub.

[adampasz]

 

4 hours ago, CKB said:

 

I'll pay the $5 all day long and take the loss rather than pay the $25 for the unsellable modern in 9.2 or 9.4 or 9.6.

 

You can sell the 9.2-9.6's but it's more work, so maybe not worth it in some cases. It really depends on the book, of course. When it comes to slabs, there seem to be some basic pricing tiers that are predictable. Has anyone compiled stats around this?  
e.g.:
200$ Tier - 9.8 = 200$, 9.6 = $120, 9.2  = 75$
100$ Tier - 9.8 = 100$, 9.6 = $70, 9.2  = 30$
etc.

 

[adampasz]

Mystery Solved. Once you add 25 books to your shopping cart, this dropdown magically appears...

 

[PatrickG]

On 3/10/2017 at 3:51 PM, 1Cool said:

Exactly.  I've still got a few lower grade slabs from last year's onsite Baltimore submission.  No one wants the occasional 8.5 modern slab where you missed an inside tear or something else.  Way better to pay the $5 (even if the book will only sell for $5 raw) then lock up $20-$25 in books that just won't sell.

I'm sending off my first batch that hasn't gone through someone else. I think, for me, most of what I'm submitting will sell even at a lower grade because it's almost all stuff like 1:50 variants, con variants, international editions, or comics you wouldn't see in the wild. I'd rather sell for $5 below my cost than spend $5 to leave a book unslabbed.

Granted, it would be different if I were submitting typical monthly books I could go back and get another copy of. A lot of what I'm submitting doesn't exist in the registry and so, by default, is the highest graded copy.

It may sound counterintuitive but my approach is this:

For widely available modern books, get them cleaned and pressed and submitted by your presser. If it's not worth cleaning and pressing for a widely available book, it's not worth submitting yet; keep in a 4 mil mylar or a toploader.

For rarer books, you'd be better off selling $5 below your cost (make sure you budget in ALL your costs, shipping, acquisition costs, etc.) than pay to leave it unslabbed. You might still be better off with cleaning and pressing but, in particular, I can't see the value in pressing cardstock or chromium. If it wouldn't sell at $5 below your cost at the lowest grade you can foresee, it's not worth submitting yet; keep it in a 4 mil mylar bag or a toploader.

[adampasz]

Following up, since I got my pre-screen results back (yes, sounds like a medical exam!): 80% of my books passed.

So, let's say I submit 100 moderns and, per book, it costs $17 to grade and $5 to screen. At 80% success rate, the total cost is (100 * $5) + (80 * $18) = $500 + $1440 = $1960.

If I were just grading 100 books, it would be $1800, and I'd also end up with a bunch of 9.4 and 9.6 slabs.

Moving forward, I don't think pre-screen makes much sense for me, at least not for ultra-high-grade moderns.  If my accuracy were closer to 50-60%, it might be more sensible for me to pre-screen.

I guess the lesson is: the best way to save money at grading is to get better at grading for yourself.  

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by adampasz
Updated using $18 as the base grading cost.

[Jmchnaway]

@adampasz, I believe you only get charged the $5 prescreening fee if the book doesn't pass, so the cost in your scenario should be (20 * $5) + (80 * $17) = $100 + $1360 = $1460.

[STORMSHADOW_80]

2 hours ago, adampasz said:

Following up, since I got my pre-screen results back (yes, sounds like a medical exam!): 80% of my books passed.

So, let's say I submit 100 moderns and, per book, it costs $17 to grade and $5 to screen. At 80% success rate, the total cost is (100 * $5) + (80 * $18) = $500 + $1440 = $1960.

If I were just grading 100 books, it would be $1800, and I'd also end up with a bunch of 9.4 and 9.6 slabs.

Moving forward, I don't think pre-screen makes much sense for me, at least not for ultra-high-grade moderns.  If my accuracy were closer to 50-60%, it might be more sensible for me to pre-screen.

I guess the lesson is: the best way to save money at grading is to get better at grading for yourself.  

 

Congrats on the 80% pass rate. That's pretty good. For me I like the pre screen service. Sometimes 9.6s aren't worth grading with the way the market is.

[Bird]

1 hour ago, Jmchnaway said:

@adampasz, I believe you only get charged the $5 prescreening fee if the book doesn't pass, so the cost in your scenario should be (20 * $5) + (80 * $17) = $100 + $1360 = $1460.

I think you are correct. That $100 prescreen charge for the 20 rejections saved you some time and money. But hopefully you got a membership that gives a discount down lower than $18 for each modern slab if you are subbing 100 books at a time?

[1Cool]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

I think you are correct. That $100 prescreen charge for the 20 rejections saved you some time and money. But hopefully you got a membership that gives a discount down lower than $18 for each modern slab if you are subbing 100 books at a time?

After you consider shipping cost and subbing fee I usually factor in $20 each slab and that takes into account the 10% discount.

[1Cool]

Congrats on the 80% passing rate.  I think I was at 70% a year ago but my last one was down to abut less then 50%.  You start stretching a bit in terms of definite 9.8s when your not only grading moderns so I'm sure passing rates drop a bit over time.  80% is definitely great.

[adampasz]

2 hours ago, 1Cool said:

Congrats on the 80% passing rate.  I think I was at 70% a year ago but my last one was down to abut less then 50%.  You start stretching a bit in terms of definite 9.8s when your not only grading moderns so I'm sure passing rates drop a bit over time.  80% is definitely great.

Ha ha! Thanks! I've been feeling like a total badass all day. 

And yeah, I can see how it gets trickier once you start stretching to other grades.
I'll report back once I crunch the numbers on my invoice. I changed the per-book cost in my previous post to 18$, so it would match the original question. But, with the CGC membership, I think my per-book cost is like $16.45. And of course none of this factors in shipping...

Edited April 11, 2017 by adampasz

[adampasz]

Got my pre-screen books back today. It's fun getting a box full of 9.8s. Still not sure why they're not 9.9s though.  

 

Edited April 24, 2017 by adampasz

[migmtl76]

When you guys say Modern books what year does its start at?

I have consulted a few sites and I never find the same info on ages.

For me the 1980s is not modern but for some collectors it is.

30-35 year old comics are not modern to me LOL

[ADAMANTIUM]

Just now, migmtl76 said:

When you guys say Modern books what year does its start at?

I have consulted a few sites and I never find the same info on ages.

For me the 1980s is not modern but for some collectors it is.

30-35 year old comics are not modern to me LOL

For CGC the modern tier consists of 1975 to now..... otherwise it may vary.....

[ADAMANTIUM]

9 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

10 minutes ago, migmtl76 said:

When you guys say Modern books what year does its start at?

I have consulted a few sites and I never find the same info on ages.

For me the 1980s is not modern but for some collectors it is.

30-35 year old comics are not modern to me LOL

For CGC the modern tier consists of 1975 to now..... otherwise it may vary.....

as for the boards, it pretty much goes, 60's is silver age, 70's is bronze, Copper and Modern are tricky as CA is more around 1983-84, and modern is 1993-94 till now..

BUT there are pinned threads at the top of each page in the CGC forum that pretty well describe what year's go into each forum Silver through Modern....

Edited June 17, 2019 by ADAMANTIUM

[Gaard]

On 3/10/2017 at 1:14 PM, adampasz said:

Does something show up once there are 25 books in my cart?

Yes