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CGC and eBay Partner on Expert Review Service
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275 posts in this topic

6 minutes ago, Point Five said:

Again, good thinking but asking sellers to provide interior shots seems even more dicey. Books can be damaged by sellers opening them fully to show inside covers or centerfolds. Not every ebay seller is as knowledgeable as we are (and even we have all done it!).

Still another problematic scenario is that a book gets a subtle defect like a spine split, a tear or a detached staple while in the seller's possession but after CGC has already provided their estimate. The seller may then try to hide behind CGC's opinion when the buyer asks for a return. Even if ebay forces the return, CGC's brand will take some lumps.

As a general comment, there seems to be a disconnect between the amount of money that will be riding on CGC's opinion, and the amount of time and information a CGC grader will realistically have to arrive at that opinion.

 

+1

All great points.

Will be watching on the sidelines to see how this plays out as well.

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What do we generally ask for in the "Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Grade?" forum? A front and back scan. We seem to have a goodly number of members who are on the money or +/- .5.

What gets used in any of the annual grading contests? A front and back scan. A lot of folks here seem to do pretty well under those conditions.

What do the majority of people selling books on the Boards use? A front and back scan. (Though there’s a growing number of people who only scan the front.) Again, doesn’t seem to be an issue or a stumbling block for the buyers or sellers.

I don’t think CGC is going to have too difficult a time approximating a grade, especially with the spread they’ll be operating under.

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17 minutes ago, Pontoon said:

What do we generally ask for in the "Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Grade?" forum? A front and back scan. We seem to have a goodly number of members who are on the money or +/- .5.

What gets used in any of the annual grading contests? A front and back scan. A lot of folks here seem to do pretty well under those conditions.

What do the majority of people selling books on the Boards use? A front and back scan. (Though there’s a growing number of people who only scan the front.) Again, doesn’t seem to be an issue or a stumbling block for the buyers or sellers.

I don’t think CGC is going to have too difficult a time approximating a grade, especially with the spread they’ll be operating under.

I am within 1.0 of the actual grade on scans on this forum, and usually within 0.5 or right on.  The difference is that people posting for opinions here have nothing to hide.  The are not trying to hide defects, and usually provide high quality scans as opposed to photos.  Hi res scans are much better at showing fine details, and the books are seen in a uniform angle with no glare or shadows.  Photos are often at strange andles and have odd shadows which throw things off.  When I post for opinions, I will even use a contrasting background to the book to make sure the corners and edges stand out.  When was the last time you saw that on eBay?

 

Also when many people post for opinions here they will list what defects they see, which makes you look more critically at certain areas.

Edited by drotto
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10 minutes ago, Pontoon said:

What do we generally ask for in the "Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Grade?" forum? A front and back scan. We seem to have a goodly number of members who are on the money or +/- .5.

What gets used in any of the annual grading contests? A front and back scan. A lot of folks here seem to do pretty well under those conditions.

What do the majority of people selling books on the Boards use? A front and back scan. (Though there’s a growing number of people who only scan the front.) Again, doesn’t seem to be an issue or a stumbling block for the buyers or sellers.

I don’t think CGC is going to have too difficult a time approximating a grade, especially with the spread they’ll be operating under.

Those are all good counterpoints. But for fun, I'll take your example of the grading contest books and serve it back:

-- When Andy or BUTM does the grading contests, they provide extremely large clear scans, of a much higher quality than the average Joe on ebay. There's a spectrum of picture quality there and most pics are just OK. Some pics enlarge, some don't.

-- Even with those scans, Andy and BUTM know to give us critical information that doesn't show up in the scans. "There's a long non-color-breaking crease, from the tip of Batman's cape up to the logo..." "Two centerfolds are detached..." I'm not sure how a CGC grader would know exactly the right questions to ask in most of these cases.

-- Even with good scans and with tailored descriptive information, there are typically books in the contest that most or all of us bomb on. If we are in the right grade range 95% of the time, we're doing extremely well, but that other 5% represents quite a lot of potential headaches... plus CGC is estimating the presence/non-presence of restoration, not a factor in the contests, which seems potentially even dicier.

 

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8 minutes ago, drotto said:

I am within 1.0 of the actual grade on scans on this forum, and usually within 0.5 or right on.  The difference is that people posting for opinions here have nothing to hide.  The are not trying to hide defects, and usually provide high quality scans as opposed to photos.  Hi res scans are much better at showing fine details, and the books are seen in a uniform angle with no glare or shadows.  Photos are often at strange andles and have odd shadows which throw things off.  When I post for opinions, I will even use a contrasting background to the book to make sure the corners and edges stand out.  When was the last time you saw that on eBay?

 

Also when many people post for opinions here they will list what defects they see, which makes you look more critically at certain areas.

We were thinking the same way. Agree entirely.  (thumbsu

Actually, that is an even sharper way to frame the issue. CGC is necessarily putting some trust in unknown ebay sellers that they are representing the book with accuracy.

 

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In many ways this is similar to CVA. Generally speaking, providing a grade assessment with incomplete info. See front and back cover and make a determination...

Their profit margin for this service has to be multiples of their encapsulation service. No material, no QC, and the turnover is way way quicker since there’s no shipping involved. I’m assuming they send these certificates electronically?

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43 minutes ago, Callaway29 said:

In many ways this is similar to CVA. Generally speaking, providing a grade assessment with incomplete info. See front and back cover and make a determination...

Their profit margin for this service has to be multiples of their encapsulation service. No material, no QC, and the turnover is way way quicker since there’s no shipping involved. I’m assuming they send these certificates electronically?

I think they said they will email the account that purchased it. So I am assuming it might even be tied the buyers account. So transferability is a question as well. 

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7 minutes ago, Krishosein said:

I think they said they will email the account that purchased it. So I am assuming it might even be tied the buyers account. So transferability is a question as well. 

Meanwhile I’m waiting 5 months for my books. I have another batch ready to send but I honestly don’t want to wait half a year to get them back, nor am I going to pay more to get them back quicker. I refuse to reward degraded turn around times by giving them more $$.

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12 minutes ago, wombat said:

So is this available on all comic listings or does the seller have to to do something specifically?

There will be an icon/link on eligible listings. How listings become eligible for this service? I am not aware.

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17 minutes ago, TwoPiece said:

There will be an icon/link on eligible listings. How listings become eligible for this service? I am not aware.

That's what I'm wondering. Does the seller have to "opt in" for this or is it somehow automatically added. 

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4 hours ago, Callaway29 said:

In many ways this is similar to CVA. Generally speaking, providing a grade assessment with incomplete info. See front and back cover and make a determination...

That is not an accurate representation of what CVA does. CVA does not make a grade assessment. They provide an opinion as to the eye appeal of what can be seen and whether or not what is visible lines up with the grade given. They do not...because they cannot...provide a grade assessment.

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57 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That is not an accurate representation of what CVA does. CVA does not make a grade assessment. They provide an opinion as to the eye appeal of what can be seen and whether or not what is visible lines up with the grade given. They do not...because they cannot...provide a grade assessment.

Obviously...

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Let's say that I have a collection I want to sell off.

Some books are worth grading (e.g. GS X-Men #1) and some are not, but are still worth putting up on eBay.  If I am allowed to use the vouchers for grading ANY book (and I should since I sold the one on eBay), then what I have is a free marketing tool on ebay, getting my money back when I get other books graded.  My New Mutants #47 may not sell for much, but it will sell faster and for more than the same book without the CGC logo.

This helps CGC, of course, as it gets their name all over eBay, and it puts hot vouchers in my hands on a use-it-or-lose-it basis.

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I was just made aware of this service in another thread. I had no idea it had been available for so long. I see there hasn't been a post in a while so how's it going? What are peoples opinion now that the service has been around for a while? I don't think I've ever seen a listing on ebay with it added as an option.

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