Brand new to CGC grading service. Need advice! 1 1

[M-F0uRce99]

Hello!

I have a large silver age collection I've decided to sell. I am brand new to sending comics off to be CGC graded and I have a lot of questions. Sorry if some of my questions are dumb or have an obvious answer. I'll start with:

1- Should I pay to have all submitted comics screened?

2- I have many comics I'm on the fence about paying to have graded. I'm not sure if the grading cost would be higher than the comic value. I noticed on another thread someone wrote " If the cover looks complete, some Silver Age comics should be graded and slabbed no matter what the condition." I figured this would be a great way to start the grading process for my collection. It would also give me an idea of what different grades look like when the graded comics are returned to me.  Has anyone ever seen or made a list of "Silver Age Comics that should be CGC graded no matter what the condition"? I have been researching auction prices, but if such a list exists, I'd love to get the grading process started!

3- Is there a "better" or "worse" time of the year to submit comics to CGC?

Also- if anyone can give me a good link to any other threads or websites with really good answers for newbies, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for your help! 

 

[Artboy99]

The first thing is you need to be a reasonably accurate grader. Then if possible purchase a Overstreet's Comic Book price guide and look up the books value in the guide based on the grade. An alternative way to figure out the value of the book is to search books via completed auctions on Ebay.

Basically it costs approximately $50 to get a book encapsulated. In my opinion the book needs to have a certain value to it to make it worth sending in for grading/ slabbing. I try to do only $150.00 + value books. Also you need to consider if the book is in demand.

You might have a copy of Fantastic Four #87 which is from the silver age, and even have a high grade copy that is a very fine+ (8.5) but is it worth sending it in for grading when it might sell for $60 bucks?

Hope this helps you.

[revat]

23 hours ago, captain_em said:

Hello!

I have a large silver age collection I've decided to sell. I am brand new to sending comics off to be CGC graded and I have a lot of questions. Sorry if some of my questions are dumb or have an obvious answer. I'll start with:

1- Should I pay to have all submitted comics screened?

2- I have many comics I'm on the fence about paying to have graded. I'm not sure if the grading cost would be higher than the comic value. I noticed on another thread someone wrote " If the cover looks complete, some Silver Age comics should be graded and slabbed no matter what the condition." I figured this would be a great way to start the grading process for my collection. It would also give me an idea of what different grades look like when the graded comics are returned to me.  Has anyone ever seen or made a list of "Silver Age Comics that should be CGC graded no matter what the condition"? I have been researching auction prices, but if such a list exists, I'd love to get the grading process started!

3- Is there a "better" or "worse" time of the year to submit comics to CGC?

Also- if anyone can give me a good link to any other threads or websites with really good answers for newbies, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for your help! 

 

The previous answer tells you a bit more about WHAT you should probably submit.  In general, you want to only submit things where the graded copy will return a value higher than the cost of grading (and related fees) relative to the cost of the ungraded comic, assuming you care only about value (which is fine).  Many people care about things OTHER than monetary value, which is fine too.  And everyone's preferred return on investment is different.  You're gonna have to do your own research on that. 

1.  What are you screening for?  Restoration? Pressability?  Cleanability?  You should learn about those first before trying to make any decisions about whether or not they need screening.  Or if you make a ton of money but don't have a ton of time, you can there certainly are people you can mail to first for 'screening'.

2.  You can mail in a few comics to test your grading skills.  You can just google 'silver age keys' and get a decent idea of what should be graded. 

3.  For 'better' or 'worse', there's times that they process somewhat 'faster', if that's what you mean.  Spring/summer is convention season, which means a lot more submissions typically.  They process probably faster in the fall/winter (though there might be backlogged in thanksgiving/Christmas).

[M-F0uRce99]

Thanks for your help revat and artboy99!

You are both very helpful!

I have an Overstreet Guide and I will try to learn more about how to grade.

I've been trying to study graded comics in auction photos and comparing them to mine. In some cases I see a 5.5 and think "Wow! My copy looks a lot better than that!". And then in other cases I see a comic that looks like an 8.5 to me and it's graded a 5.5! 

I have another question-

In your experience, does cleaning and pressing usually raise the value of a comic or certain type of comic?

For example- If I have Amazing Spider-Man 1963 #s 4-10 and they appear to be in the 2.0-4.0 grade range. They are complete but show their age having been read many times- Are these the types of issues that would receive a bump in value with cleaning and pressing?

Is there a "clean and press" thread?

Thanks again

[Bomber-Bob]

22 minutes ago, captain_em said:

I have another question-

In your experience, does cleaning and pressing usually raise the value of a comic or certain type of comic?

For example- If I have Amazing Spider-Man 1963 #s 4-10 and they appear to be in the 2.0-4.0 grade range. They are complete but show their age having been read many times- Are these the types of issues that would receive a bump in value with cleaning and pressing?

Is there a "clean and press" thread?

Thanks again

It depends on the flaws of the comic book. Think about it, a press is simply flattening out the book. Would it help a tear ? Of course not. Would it remove a stain ? Of course not. If you see a crease that breaks the color of the comic, a press will not help. It will only help where there is a bend or fold or a light crease that does not break any color. BTW, the cleaning is simply using a a dry eraser to the white sections, usually on the Back Cover, to the comic. It does not actually 'clean' the comic.

[jas1vans]

Someone shared this in a previous post in reference to grading: https://comics.ha.com/tutorial/comics-grading.s?show=comicdefinitions 

If you search Heratige's sold listings you can look at different cgc graded books to help you see the differences in grades.

 

Good luck!

[M-F0uRce99]

Thanks! You are very helpful! I will study my comics for pressing candidates.

I googled "comic book cleaning", and I actually saw videos on youtube of collectors cleaning their own comics with erasers. I wouldn't dare try this myself on my comics that I plan on grading and slabbing!

I understand that cleaning doesn't remove permanent stains. But I don't mind paying for it if it increases the value or selling power of the comic. Can I get some experienced opinions on this?

As I mentioned earlier, I'm going through this grading process to sell my collection, as opposed to keeping them.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

[Artboy99]

4 minutes ago, captain_em said:

Thanks! You are very helpful! I will study my comics for pressing candidates.

I googled "comic book cleaning", and I actually saw videos on youtube of collectors cleaning their own comics with erasers. I wouldn't dare try this myself on my comics that I plan on grading and slabbing!

I understand that cleaning doesn't remove permanent stains. But I don't mind paying for it if it increases the value or selling power of the comic. Can I get some experienced opinions on this?

As I mentioned earlier, I'm going through this grading process to sell my collection, as opposed to keeping them.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

can you give us any ideas of the comics you are planning to sell?

I generally feel that paying for professional cleaning would be of benefit to only the very valuable books where the cost associated with cleaning/ pressing/ realizing the full potential of a book makes a difference in the result of the sale. I also do not recommend the type of cleaning that would create a restored book ( unless the book already has restoration )

[revat]

12 minutes ago, captain_em said:

Thanks! You are very helpful! I will study my comics for pressing candidates.

I googled "comic book cleaning", and I actually saw videos on youtube of collectors cleaning their own comics with erasers. I wouldn't dare try this myself on my comics that I plan on grading and slabbing!

I understand that cleaning doesn't remove permanent stains. But I don't mind paying for it if it increases the value or selling power of the comic. Can I get some experienced opinions on this?

As I mentioned earlier, I'm going through this grading process to sell my collection, as opposed to keeping them.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

In general, a cleaner book will likely fetch a better price than a 'dirtier' book.  But the price difference depends on the grade, the book, and amount (and type) of dirtiness.  But of course unless you can do it yourself, the cost of cleaning might be prohibitive for some comics in some but  not all grades, and extremely valuable for some other comics in some but not all grades.  Also, of course, the quality of cleaning is a factor as well, and whether or not book is VISUALLY improved.  Some cleaning or restoration removal can actually make a book look worse or drop the grade to the extent that value might actually be lost.

The questions you have are extremely reasonable, but there are soooo many variables involved, its really a case-by-case basis where someone very experienced would have to evaluate each book individually.  Of course for best results, that person would likely have knowledge and experience and skills gained over years or decades, but also would be providing a valuable service for which he/she would likely require some level of compensation. 

 

as stated by others, there is probably some benefit to revealing a bit about your collection in terms of titles, years, and conditions (and key issues to the extent that you know them).  These discussions about pressing/cleaning/grading might be entirely different if you have zero keys and they're all in bad shape, or if you have 200 Hulk 1's in your attic.

[thehumantorch]

3 hours ago, captain_em said:

Thanks for your help revat and artboy99!

You are both very helpful!

I have an Overstreet Guide and I will try to learn more about how to grade.

I've been trying to study graded comics in auction photos and comparing them to mine. In some cases I see a 5.5 and think "Wow! My copy looks a lot better than that!". And then in other cases I see a comic that looks like an 8.5 to me and it's graded a 5.5! 

I have another question-

In your experience, does cleaning and pressing usually raise the value of a comic or certain type of comic?

For example- If I have Amazing Spider-Man 1963 #s 4-10 and they appear to be in the 2.0-4.0 grade range. They are complete but show their age having been read many times- Are these the types of issues that would receive a bump in value with cleaning and pressing?

Is there a "clean and press" thread?

Thanks again

Welcome to the boards Captain. 

Overstreet grading guide is a good start but CGC may not grade to the same standards as the grading guide.  

Studying the images of graded books is also helpful  but comics are more than just the front and back cover: a book can have hidden damage inside such as stains, loose centerfolds, ripped pages or missing pieces and that will affect the grade.  If you continue to study images online - I'd recommend Heritage as they have a massive past auction database and they provide high quality scans (you'll need to open a free account to see sales results) you will begin to get a handle on grading.

Regarding which comics are worth pressing and cleaning you'll have to choose books with improvable defects and books that are valuable enough to merit that attention.  There's not a ton of information out there on pressing and cleaning as guys in the industry don't want to give away their secrets but here's a pretty detailed website that should give you some ideas of how it's done and what it can do.

http://www.kaptainmyke.com/comics/howtopresscomics.htm

Cleaning will generally help a comic with dirty white areas.  Study your books, especially back covers and white lettering on the front.

Pressing can remove spine roll, small dings, bends, and perhaps slightly improve the appearance of a color breaking crease but it can't repair damage to inks on the cover.

There's a forum here to post comics for grading.  I'd recommend scan or photograph a few and put them up there and see how your grades compare to ours.

[M-F0uRce99]

Thanks again!

Is the forum you are referencing to "Buddy can you spare a grade?" ?

If so, I will post pictures. What's a good amount of pictures to post? And what part of the comic in each picture? 

 

[Artboy99]

4 minutes ago, captain_em said:

Thanks again!

Is the forum you are referencing to "Buddy can you spare a grade?" ?

If so, I will post pictures. What's a good amount of pictures to post? And what part of the comic in each picture? 

 

Yes that forum.

Front cover in its entirety

Back cover also all of it.

And possibly any interior pictures of importance ( although not required for a general feel for the grade which is what that forum is great at )

[M-F0uRce99]

Will do!

Thanks again!

 

[The Lions Den]

[M-F0uRce99]

 

[M-F0uRce99]

 

[M-F0uRce99]

Does anyone know if there is a "comic book storage" info forum? I'd like to post this there.

 

[JollyComics]

On 9/4/2018 at 6:12 PM, captain_em said:

Will do!

Thanks again!

 

You also check all pages if there is any missing pieces/wraps, cutouts, tears or remarks. You need to check the centerfold if it is attached to both staples.  I recommended you to check with www.comics.org by entering with the title and issue number. The website will tell you how many pages in that book so you will have to count pages or wraps.

[M-F0uRce99]

5 minutes ago, JollyComics said:

You also check all pages if there is any missing pieces/wraps, cutouts, tears or remarks. You need to check the centerfold if it is attached to both staples.  I recommended you to check with www.comics.org by entering with the title and issue number. The website will tell you how many pages in that book so you will have to count pages or wraps.

Thank you for replying! I will definitely check out comics.org! I'm always looking for advice from experienced folks like you.  I also made a post not too long ago with questions about storing my comic books. If you could read the post and offer your advice and opnion, I would greatly appreciate it!

[thehumantorch]

On 9/21/2018 at 9:15 PM, captain_em said:

Thank you for replying! I will definitely check out comics.org! I'm always looking for advice from experienced folks like you.  I also made a post not too long ago with questions about storing my comic books. If you could read the post and offer your advice and opnion, I would greatly appreciate it!

Hey Cap, once you'll picked out books you're gonna send in for grading check them carefully.  It's pretty easy to miss something and grade a book that's not worth it 

Count pages - should be 8 double sided pages to the center and 8 more double sided pages to the back cover, while counting pages look for large rips or missing pieces or missing Marvel value stamps or filled out puzzles or other interior damage,

Look for color touch - most often black applied to black areas of covers- that can often be spotted by looking for bleed through on the interior of covers and by looking at covers at an angle in good light, color touch will reflect light differently.

Check for trimming - comics do have variation in size because it's a cheap printing process but if you compare each book's dimensions to other books and any appear significantly smaller it may be trimmed.  Covers were typically printed larger than the interior of comics so the cover should extend past the inside comic - overhang - so if the cover and interior are flush it's probably trimmed.  Imagine using a paper cutter to chop off some defect on a cover's edge but also slicing through the book itself and eliminating the cover overhang.

Check for stains.  CGC is quite hard on stains, even small ones, and they're easy to miss.  Rusty staples and loose centerfolds are also easy to miss.