CGC and eBay Partner on Expert Review Service 3 3

[bc]

1 hour ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

 because it is up to any potential buyer.

Now that you done edumacated me - this is awesome for CGC's revenue.

So several people can get the verification on the same book! Ka-ching ! 

[James J Johnson]

1 hour ago, valiantman said:

Somewhere, there's someone thinking "I really want a high grade first appearance of [fill in the blank], and I see one for sale on Ebay. The seller says it's Near Mint, but they're asking $1,000.  When I send it to CGC it will be worth $2,000!  But I wonder what the experts would say?"

CGC Review says "4.0 to 6.0" - buyer realizes that's a long way from "Near Mint" and saves $1,000.

In theory that would be a good thing. 

+1   And in theory and practice, this is a good thing. Doesn't mean that every raw book will have to be rendered a CGC 2nd op. It's an available resource for examples like you just cited and other similar situations. Lots of hobbies have this. CGC is making that service readily available to all and the beauty of it is that it can be used prior to purchase to avoid any potential hassle of return.  

[F For Fake]

17 hours ago, Callaway29 said:

Do we know when it starts? And I wish they’d focus on perfecting their current services before offering new ones.

Agreed. Instead of dedicating staff to looking at pictures of comics on eBay, I wish they'd train more staff to grade and encapsulate the books that are on their premises. Or design cases that won't destroy the comics that are being encapsulated. 

The guys grading books for free (including me) in the PGM forum must feel like suckers now. We should be asking for tips! Grade your GSX 1? That's gonna be $5. Grade your NM 98? That's $20, because the art hurts my eyes.

[Aweandlorder]

17 hours ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

Who’s gonna try it out and share the results ?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Incredible-Hulk-271-VG-FN-5-0-1st-Appearance-Rocket-Raccoon-Guardians/113799443166?hash=item1a7ef9b2de:g:CJoAAOSwDH1dFMp9

[theCapraAegagrus]

16 minutes ago, Aweandlorder said:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Incredible-Hulk-271-VG-FN-5-0-1st-Appearance-Rocket-Raccoon-Guardians/113799443166?hash=item1a7ef9b2de:g:CJoAAOSwDH1dFMp9

Getting a $10 discount if the book is graded is kinda cool, I guess?

If you intend on buying and submitting anyways, what's the harm in a 'pre-screen' of sorts?

[Aweandlorder]

I'm happy for CGC for achieving this milestone step in their business career. 

I'm just not happy about the future of grading that's being implied from such a service. It seems that no one here really senses the same threat, so I'm glad it's just me

But as someone here mentioned. This is an unavoidable step in the collectible service evolution and CGC was there first 

[Krismusic]

32 minutes ago, Aweandlorder said:

I'm happy for CGC for achieving this milestone step in their business career. 

I'm just not happy about the future of grading that's being implied from such a service. It seems that no one here really senses the same threat, so I'm glad it's just me

But as someone here mentioned. This is an unavoidable step in the collectible service evolution and CGC was there first 

Can I ask why your not happy about the future of grading that's being implied from such a service? 

I am assuming its the vagueness in the grades that is giving such a wide array in conditions, but grades before CGC and the 100 point system started off as like a 4 or 5 point system and more layers were added as dealer adopted the grading service. I guess its kind of like going back to the old system of Fair, GD, Fine, Mint conditions. 

[Aweandlorder]

1 hour ago, Krishosein said:

Can I ask why your not happy about the future of grading that's being implied from such a service? 

I am assuming its the vagueness in the grades that is giving such a wide array in conditions, but grades before CGC and the 100 point system started off as like a 4 or 5 point system and more layers were added as dealer adopted the grading service. I guess its kind of like going back to the old system of Fair, GD, Fine, Mint conditions. 

I wrote about it extensively earlier on in this thread but in general this gives legitimacy to grading books that are not present at the inspection stage

[Dylan John]

Now that Ebay and CGC have a relationship I think there should be a crackdown on "CGC IT" being a grade lol.

[James J Johnson]

On ‎7‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 6:40 AM, TwoPiece said:

Getting a $10 discount if the book is graded is kinda cool, I guess?

If you intend on buying and submitting anyways, what's the harm in a 'pre-screen' of sorts?

It's very cool, because if you intended to submit for grading, the pre-purchase second opinion was free.

[cigars&comix]

i still dont get it. based on 2 images of a front and back cover they are going to determine the grade? come'on.

IMHO - There should be a minimum of 5 images, something like front cover, back cover, splash page, centerfold staples page, and 1 other. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

27 minutes ago, cigars&comix said:

i still dont get it. based on 2 images of a front and back cover they are going to determine the grade? come'on.

IMHO - There should be a minimum of 5 images, something like front cover, back cover, splash page, centerfold staples page, and 1 other. 

"inconclusive" and a total/partial refund is an option, if grade is indeterminate 

[justafan]

27 minutes ago, cigars&comix said:

i still dont get it. based on 2 images of a front and back cover they are going to determine the grade? come'on.

IMHO - There should be a minimum of 5 images, something like front cover, back cover, splash page, centerfold staples page, and 1 other. 

As I thought more about it, I WOULD definitely use this service IF as part of the service they also contact the seller and request additional images of specific areas for them to review. that would be a HUGE time saver for me and well worth the $10 per listing for me.

@Brittany M. is that part of the service?

it's hard to use this service on listings with stock photos.

[drotto]

On 7/16/2019 at 9:40 AM, TwoPiece said:

Getting a $10 discount if the book is graded is kinda cool, I guess?

If you intend on buying and submitting anyways, what's the harm in a 'pre-screen' of sorts?

Getting the discount on a book I am buying and likely to submit does make the service a lot more attractive.  But it only benefits people like us who are likely to submit books in the first place. Plus, only seems likely to be used on high end books. But, I still wonder what happens the first time CGC says it is a likely 6 to 8 blue on a high price book, and it comes back 5.0 Purple.

The service could end up hurting CGC if that happens too frequently. 

[Point Five]

I missed this thread when it posted last week, just catching up on it now...

A lot of good points already raised. I guess I'd say this is a smart strategy for CGC and a service that looks like it could be good on paper, but the devil will be in the details.

A concern is that CGC is putting their valuable brand on a service with a LOT of potential for problems. There are an infinite number of subtle, hidden defects that go into a book's grade and seller scans vary SO widely. On a golden or silver age book, it seems like even honest sellers might have trouble providing all the necessary accurate visual info for an estimated grade range.

I honestly feel sorry for CGC's customer service team... I think generally they are doing a good job under pressure and they could be dealing with a lot more disgruntled cold calls. If I'm bidding on a raw GA book on ebay, raise my bid an extra $400 based on a CGC pre-estimate of 6.0-8.0, win the book, get it slabbed and have it come back a 4.5 for whatever odd reason... seems like a headache of a situation where some buyers will then be pointing fingers at CGC, even if unfairly.

It will be wild to see how this all plays out.

 

[bc]

19 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

"inconclusive" and a total/partial refund is an option, if grade is indeterminate 

True, but using the example of the IH271 listing, the "likely" grade & label type is solely based on just a front & back cover scan. That leaves a lot of potential downgrade issues with the interior contents of the book.

I agree with @cigars&comix suggestion that there should be several pics required to further determine a more accurate outcome that results in less butthurt down the road (as drotto & Point Five just posted about).

If the goal is to drive more slabbed books submissions (while generating incremental revenue), why not have the seller do a little more work to emulate the actual grading process?

Edited July 17, 2019 by bc
confused on posters

[Point Five]

16 minutes ago, justafan said:

As I thought more about it, I WOULD definitely use this service IF as part of the service they also contact the seller and request additional images of specific areas for them to review. that would be a HUGE time saver for me and well worth the $10 per listing for me.

@Brittany M. is that part of the service?

it's hard to use this service on listings with stock photos.

The thinking is good, but it's hard for me to imagine CGC will have the time to go back and forth with an ebay seller to make ten bucks.

 

[ADAMANTIUM]

3 minutes ago, bc said:

True, but using your example of the IH271 listing (thanks for that by the way!), the "likely" grade & label type is solely based on just a front & back cover scan. That leaves a lot of potential downgrade issues with the interior contents of the book.

I agree with @cigars&comix suggestion that there should be several pics required to further determine a more accurate outcome that results in less butthurt down the road (as drotto just posted about).

If the goal is to drive more slabbed books submissions (while generating incremental revenue), why not have the seller do a little more work to emulate the actual grading process?

I agree. They should have a stipulation before purchase of what there determinable criteria is, so peeps don't waste time or ask sellers for more pics....

They might do that for all I know

I haven't clicked it yet...

[Point Five]

6 minutes ago, bc said:

True, but using the example of the IH271 listing, the "likely" grade & label type is solely based on just a front & back cover scan. That leaves a lot of potential downgrade issues with the interior contents of the book.

I agree with @cigars&comix suggestion that there should be several pics required to further determine a more accurate outcome that results in less butthurt down the road (as drotto & Point Five just posted about).

If the goal is to drive more slabbed books submissions (while generating incremental revenue), why not have the seller do a little more work to emulate the actual grading process?

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.

 

[ADAMANTIUM]

8 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.

 

it should be the buyer's prerogative to contact the seller, if CGC just can label what "criteria" is needed before the buyer's purchase 

Maybe idk