Modern Comics - Minimun value to consider sending to CGC ? 0

[Ghostergameak]

My collection is all modern age comics from the late 80's to early 2000's. They are all bagged, boarded and in boxes. I have an excel file listing titles, quantity and my cost (most of them were bought direct from Westfield Comics) along with a current Overstreet Price guide value. I'm not really interested in selling any at the moment, but am trying to gauge what a good cut-off value would be to have sent in for grading. I realize that it is subjective for each person, so I'm looking to see what others have done in the same situation. For example I have half a dozen that show of value over $100. Would anyone go lower than that, like down to $50 ? Or how about a run of 3-4 issues together that value out over $100 ?

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

 

[shadroch]

A run of 3 or 4 would cost close to $100, so the value would have to be much higher, no?

[CKinTO]

I think this comes down primarily to 2 things:

- why do you want to slab, is it purely for selling? Or do you also want to keep around (but potentially sell down the road?)

- what grade you think your books are in

For most modern books, except for a few keys (eg. NM98, BA12, NYX3), and rare variants, books only get worth something decent (let’s say >$150) in 9.6 or 9.8, and for many books, only 9.8. 

So a lot of the decision re: “is it worth it” comes down to whether you’re confident it would be a 9.6 or a 9.8 (and at this level, the difference between the 2 grades is pretty hard to spot if you’re not experienced in grading). 

So there’s a lot of factors, but ultra simplified, I’d say minimum value I’d consider (graded) is $100, and if you’re new at graded books, I’d err closer to $150/200, because you’re likely to over-grade your books. 

 

[Ghostergameak]

18 hours ago, CKinTO said:

I think this comes down primarily to 2 things:

- why do you want to slab, is it purely for selling? Or do you also want to keep around (but potentially sell down the road?)

- what grade you think your books are in

For most modern books, except for a few keys (eg. NM98, BA12, NYX3), and rare variants, books only get worth something decent (let’s say >$150) in 9.6 or 9.8, and for many books, only 9.8. 

So a lot of the decision re: “is it worth it” comes down to whether you’re confident it would be a 9.6 or a 9.8 (and at this level, the difference between the 2 grades is pretty hard to spot if you’re not experienced in grading). 

So there’s a lot of factors, but ultra simplified, I’d say minimum value I’d consider (graded) is $100, and if you’re new at graded books, I’d err closer to $150/200, because you’re likely to over-grade your books. 

 

My main goal is to preserve my more valuable issues. I don't have any plans on selling them at least not for another 10-20 years. I have little experience in grading. I was very careful when reading them and making sure they were stored properly. Thanks for the info, it gives me some food for thought. By the way I do happen to have a NM98. I didn't realize what the value had climbed too.

[CKinTO]

In that case, an easy way to get ballpark market values is to use Ebay Sold auctions (Advanced Search). Search for example for "New Mutants 98 CGC 9.0" and you'll see the last 3 months of sales. You can put in a few different grades (including what you think your book is in) and get a rough sense for value and whether you think valuable enough to get graded. 

[shadroch]

There are many ,many ways of preserving your books that don't involve sending them on perilous journeys via the post office and being separated from them for months. 

[Ghostergameak]

4 hours ago, CKinTO said:

In that case, an easy way to get ballpark market values is to use Ebay Sold auctions (Advanced Search). Search for example for "New Mutants 98 CGC 9.0" and you'll see the last 3 months of sales. You can put in a few different grades (including what you think your book is in) and get a rough sense for value and whether you think valuable enough to get graded. 

Thanks that is excellent advice and I will do that.

[Bomber-Bob]

I don't see any point to grading Modern books unless you are going to sell them. Some of your books with higher valuation today may see a decline in the future, especially movie or television related hype. If you never submitted you may be in for a shock with the CGC grades returned. Most moderns need a 9.8 to be worth grading.  If you do submit, try it on a small batch and only submit books that appear to be in perfect condition.  As far as preservation, why do you think they will be better off in a slab ? IMO, mylar and a stiff backing board is much better for preservation, takes up a lot less space also.

[FN-2199]

With moderns, I think the question to ask is, "What is the minimum grade to consider sending to CGC?" There is a short list of copper and modern books worth grading less than 9.8 in my opinion and I like copper and modern books. 

If preservation is your concern, almost all of us would all suggest putting your books in Mylites2s with fullbacks. For the ones you really want to protect, put those in toploaders. All my "hot" 9.4 variants that many people slab are being stored comfortably in mylar with a fullback. I would only grade 9.8s, books you are selling, or keeping your choice keys slabbed to show off on social media. 

[Sdmeyer11]

'm going through the same process now and can agree with most of what has been said already. I researched the heck out of each book on eBay. My advice, don't just look at past sales. Also look at how many are currently for sale, if there is a ton of inventory you may have to sit on the book for a while if you plan to sell. I just received my first back batch from CGC and the grading can be a head scratcher. A book that came back a 9.4  looks better (to me) than a few that came back 9.6 and 9.8. Obviously I'm not an expert grader. Overall I'm enjoying the process of digging through comics that have been sitting for 30+ years.

[William-James88]

On 1/2/2018 at 2:38 PM, Sdmeyer11 said:

'm going through the same process now and can agree with most of what has been said already. I researched the heck out of each book on eBay. My advice, don't just look at past sales. Also look at how many are currently for sale, if there is a ton of inventory you may have to sit on the book for a while if you plan to sell. I just received my first back batch from CGC and the grading can be a head scratcher. A book that came back a 9.4  looks better (to me) than a few that came back 9.6 and 9.8. Obviously I'm not an expert grader. Overall I'm enjoying the process of digging through comics that have been sitting for 30+ years.

I am doing the same thing now, all the advice here is great. Thanks all!