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No More CGC Submissions for me
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222 posts in this topic

I've been selling comics on ebay for a year now and in a quick amount of time learned to build up a presence and following on my SA and BA books. I have consistent great feedback on my shipping, accuracy, and yes...my grading. Im no pro by any means, but when I state a grade whether it be a 4.0 or a 9.0, I get no complaints whatsoever.

Thats why it came to a surprise to me my last CGC graded submission. Ive only submitted twice. The first time was about a year ago when i submitted some old books from my collection. I wasnt sure what to expect but I took a shot and submitted 10 books. I expected higher grading but I didnt know much back then.

I then submitted my 2nd submission recently of 5 books. I had estimated in my grading a range of 7.5 - 9.0 for these books. What came back was so anything but.

I received a 5.5, 6.0, 6.0, 7.0, 7.5. This is absolutely ludicrous. As a reseller I lost hundreds of dollars on this as I could've sold these for higher grades with zero complaints (and no grading fees!).

I will continue to use CGC for their excellent chat boards but thats about it. From now on its high res images and my suggested grade and let the customer decide.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

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2 minutes ago, Key Largo Comics said:

Maybe the issue is your grading not CGC's?  (shrug)

excellent suggestion..did you read my post?

 

40 minutes ago, moemaya said:

I have consistent great feedback on my shipping, accuracy, and yes...my grading.

Im not tooting my horn, but if I assess a book at 8.0, my customers agree and are satisfied with their purchase. So when my 8.0 comes back as a 6.0, thats a big difference.

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2 hours ago, moemaya said:

I've been selling comics on ebay for a year now and in a quick amount of time learned to build up a presence and following on my SA and BA books. I have consistent great feedback on my shipping, accuracy, and yes...my grading. Im no pro by any means, but when I state a grade whether it be a 4.0 or a 9.0, I get no complaints whatsoever.

Thats why it came to a surprise to me my last CGC graded submission. Ive only submitted twice. The first time was about a year ago when i submitted some old books from my collection. I wasnt sure what to expect but I took a shot and submitted 10 books. I expected higher grading but I didnt know much back then.

I then submitted my 2nd submission recently of 5 books. I had estimated in my grading a range of 7.5 - 9.0 for these books. What came back was so anything but.

I received a 5.5, 6.0, 6.0, 7.0, 7.5. This is absolutely ludicrous. As a reseller I lost hundreds of dollars on this as I could've sold these for higher grades with zero complaints (and no grading fees!).

I will continue to use CGC for their excellent chat boards but thats about it. From now on its high res images and my suggested grade and let the customer decide.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

Did you have your books pressed?  It seems like CGC is pushing people to press books the last few years since they are being extra harsh when it comes to small defects that can be pressed out.  Your primary question is one you will have to answer yourself and gauge it on how well your books sell vs prices you could realize if you slab the books.  CGC is the industry standard in terms of grading books but they are also stricter then most of the standard e-bay buyers.  If 9 out of 10 people are happy with your 8.0 and you can get 8.0/7.5 prices then I think you have your answer especially if CGC saying they think your 8.0s are a 7.0 / 6.5 without a press and you have to pay for grading fees.

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One of the most common mistakes old school raw graders make I think is not to mark down enough for things like non-color breaking stresses / dings and surface dirt.  If you have the books dry cleaned and pressed they may well come back with your pre-assessed grade or better.  IMHO you should accept the advice of the stalwarts here and adapt to the times and learn how to mix CGC into your business.

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I think you’re grading system and CGCs’ are different. Their grading system is strict. It takes a bit of practice to figure out but once you understand it then your expectations will be in the ballpark.

I don’t submit frequently mainly because of the cost factor. I don’t really sell too many books. Whether you agree or not with CGC grading, as a seller it is still important to be familiar with it.

If you make more without the grading then you don’t need CGC. However I personally would rather purchase from someone whose grading is on par with a reputable grading company.

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My guess is that maybe a lot of your customers are keeping the comics raw and not grading them trusting your grading experience but if some do grade and find your off they might not buy from you again and its not like they can get a refund many months or years later. I've had a experience with a ebay guy not disclosing restoration I trusted his grade and got the book for under his grading with 1 point difference so I figured if he/she is off by a 1 point its not a huge hit to me, it came back many months later with restoration. So I blocked the ebay seller not going to buy from that person anymore, what can I do it was a year since I purchased it and got it graded and returned from CGC, it was a 80$ comic so not a huge hit. 

For large purchases I prefer CGC books as I won't have to worry or undervalue my bid based on what the seller is stating as I know with CGC books I know exactly what I am getting not guessing or hoping or under bidding to compensate for sellers with bad grading or sellers who might have missed restoration, etc.. Also some of your customers might be doing what I do and what others have mentioned paying prices for a VG for a VF cause of the uncertainty of your grading skills or just the risk involved, etc.. 

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11 minutes ago, Callaway29 said:

When I buy a raw book on ebay, I pretty much completely ignore the seller's assigned grade. I use the pictures to make my determination, and if the pictures are insufficient, I assume the worst. Perhaps others do the same, and pay what they are comfortable with based off their own assessment...hence they aren't upset with your over-grading.

This is exactly what I do as well. 

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2 hours ago, moemaya said:

Anyone else have a similar experience?

no, usually I'm in line 90% of the time with CGCs grade. That is both when they undergrade and overgrade. I've been critical of how their standards especially for moderns have changed the past few years. I've never been off as greatly as your examples especially in silver/bronze where I feel they are less strict

Edited by jsilverjanet
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