Overstreet guide - grades not listed? 0

[lou_fine]

On 1/24/2020 at 7:27 PM, GlennSimpson said:

I am playing around with the Overstreet guide and was looking to apply the values to my collection, but wasn't sure on a couple of items:

1. What should I value a book graded at 7.0, when the guide only lists 6 and 8?  Meet halfway?

Well, if it's for insurance purposes and you want to use the Overstreet guide, I would simply go for the arithmetical differences between the grades because that is what auction houses like CC and CL do when they come up with guide estimates for the in-between grades.  Heritage doesn't do this calculation as they will only list the stated Overstreet grades and valuations (i.e. the below and above stated grades) and hence I assume, leave it up to you to determine your own estimates for the in-between grades.  

On 1/24/2020 at 7:27 PM, GlennSimpson said:

2. What should I value a book graded at, like, 9.0 when the guide only lists a 9.2 value?  Or same situation but the book is 6.0?  Just make them all $1?

At the front of the comic book pricing section of the Overstreet guide, it states "The minimum price listed is $3.00, the cover price for current new comics.  Many books listed at this price can be found in $1.00 boxes at conventions or comic stores".

The way I interpret this is that if he lists a book at $3.00 in a particular grade; it most likely would sell for only a dollar if lucky.  Anything in lesser condition than what is listed in the guide would most likely have NO real collectible value and should probably not even be taken in account for insurance purposes due to its insignificant value.    

 

2 hours ago, GlennSimpson said:

It occurs to me I should probably just ask collectinsure what they require, lol.  Although my original question of how Overstreet is supposed to work is still a point to ponder.

This is definitely a good idea and you should probably ask them if the insurance value is to be based upon your replacement value or should it be based upon what you can realistically sell the book for.  Especially since these 2 numbers will not be the same.  I suspect their answer will be the replacement value since that is generally how insurance always works. 

The other key point to note is that the Overstreet guide is just that, a guide and really nothing more.  True vintage collectible comic books will often sell for huge premiums or even multiples of guide prices in all grades across the entire condition spectrum, while many of the more recent non-key mid-run books from the past 45 years will only be able to sell at a big discount to their listed guide valuations.  

[GlennSimpson]

So just to let people know, I checked with CollectInsure:

Them:

Thank you for your email. Our policies are based on market value. In the event of a loss our claims adjusters would ask you for your inventory lists along with values. As long as the claims adjusters can verify the values that you are placing on the items within reason, you would be paid accordingly.  

Me:

I’d like to take that one step further.  The Web site comicspriceguide.com would list a given cover-price $2.99 comic from 2 years ago at $3.00 in 9.4 condition, and maybe $2.75 in a 9.0 grade.  Overstreet’s Price Guide, on the other hand, might only give the $3.00 value for NM, indicating that a 9.0 is worth either $0 or some small amount, like $1. When you take into consideration that I have thousands of comics in the above situation (in a 9.0 or less condition), I believe it could make a significant difference.  So would your adjusters agree more with the comicspriceguide.com valuation or the Overstreet?

Them:

Glenn,

Our claims adjusters have a wealth of resources to pull values from for the very many different types of collections that we insure. Unfortunately, I am unable to tell you which resource the adjusters may use at the point in time of a loss as the values do vary. Since the policy is based on market value which is defined as the value of the item before the time of loss, you will receive fair market value in the event of a loss. Additionally, there is an appraisal clause in the attached policy, Page 12 of 25, Collectors Coverage Form, page 4 of 6, D. Conditions 2. Appraisals which help to resolve any disagreements on values should a loss occur.

2. Appraisal

If you and we fail to agree on the amount of loss, either may demand that the amount of loss be set by appraisal. In this event, each party will choose a competent, independent appraiser within 20 days after receiving a written request from the other. The two

appraisers will choose an umpire. If they cannot agree upon an umpire within 15 days, you or we may request that the choice be made by a judge of a court of record in the state of your residence. The appraisers will separately set the amount of loss.

If the appraisers submit a written report of an agreement to us, the amount agreed upon will be the amount of loss. If they fail to agree, they will submit their differences to the umpire. A decision agreed to by any two will set the amount of loss.

Each party will:

a. Pay its own appraiser; and

b. Bear the other expenses of the appraisal and umpire equally.

If there is an appraisal, we will still retain our right to deny the claim.

Each claim and each policy is reviewed on a case by case basis to afford the most coverage possible in the event of a loss.

--------------

So, I guess the lesson here is to err on side of lower-valuation, as I would not want to pay for $100,000 worth of protection but then submit a claim and be told that it only had a $30,000 value.  Thinking I will go with Overstreet, use their values when listed (including the $3.00 for NM), but not put a value on the rest (or put them at $1, will see where I am once I have done the items listed).

 

[William-James88]

On 1/24/2020 at 10:27 PM, GlennSimpson said:

I am playing around with the Overstreet guide and was looking to apply the values to my collection, but wasn't sure on a couple of items:

1. What should I value a book graded at 7.0, when the guide only lists 6 and 8?  Meet halfway?

2. What should I value a book graded at, like, 9.0 when the guide only lists a 9.2 value?  Or same situation but the book is 6.0?  Just make them all $1?

1. Yes, meet halfway. It's a decent rule of thumb.

2. Also yes, those not in the guide for less than 9.2 usually end up in dollar bins at comic book stores and the like.

[Silentbob]

On ‎1‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 5:49 PM, Tony S said:

So as general guidelines

Yes, split the difference for "split grades". Split grades being gd/vg, vg/fn, fn/vf  For + and - (like say VG-) there is no real guideline. Many including myself add or subtract 10%

If a book only has a listing in the price guide at the 9.2 price, what that means is it rarely has value as a collectible in lesser grades. When books are cheap in NM, no collector really wants a less than NM copy.  So the book that is $4 is in OPG at 9.2 and lists no other price is essentially a reading copy in any lower grade. Books that comic book stores typically have in their .50 cent or one dollar boxes. So yes, list such books as no more than a buck. 

Collectinsure doesn't really require anything except you keep a list. OPG is probably the best overall guide for raw books to estimate value for insurance purposes. For slabbed books GPA would be better.  The only requirement I'm aware of is that you have to provide to GPA a list of any single book valued above a certain threshold. When I first signed up years ago that threshold was $5,000. I believe it is now $25,000. You can do this online under "scheduled items". 

Using this rationale could a 9.2 be considered the sweet spot for getting the most bang for your buck, or are there other considerations based on the specific book?

[GlennSimpson]

Actually sorta stumbled across my own thread on the internet searching for some other information, thought I would update this with what I decided.

For books where Overstreet lists the 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 9.0, and 9.2, I just literally divide the gap by 2 or 4 as pertinent.  So a book in 4.5 where the 4 is $4 and the 6 is $6 would be $4.50 (to use a very easy math example).

For books where Overstreet only lists a 9.2 value, I started off with the basic "if it's not in 9.2, it's only a dollar".  But then I thought, are we saying that the same book in 9.0 or 4.0 are both worth a dollar?  That doesn't seem right.  So I made up the following guidelines:

I use the same 9.2 value in Overstreet for both 9.2 and 9.4.*  Right now I am grading everything that is 9.4 and above as 9.4, may go back and review those again later.

A book worth more than $6 in Overstreet 9.2 but that is the only grade listed - check another price guide for value (it's pretty rare but it happens)

A book worth $6 in 9.2: $1 in 9.0-6.0, $.50 in 5.5-5.0, $.01 in less than 5.0

A book worth $5 in 9.2: $1 in 9.0-7.0, $.50 in 6.5-6.0, $.01 in less than 6.0

A book worth $4 in 9.2: $1 in 9.0-8.0, $.50 in 7.5-7.0, $.01 in less than 7.0

A book worth $3 in 9.2: $1 in 9.0, $.50 in 8.5-8.0, $.01 in less than 8.0

Some other items for context:

I'm looking more at the total value of the collection rather than maximizing other items.

I have a lot of time on my hands, but still need to move "fast"

I am using $.01 rather than $.00 just to keep track of the difference between "worth nothing" and "haven't entered anything yet".

When the new Overstreet comes out, there's some significant effort to identify the items that have changed.

I am grading based on various online tutorials which are mostly based on reverse engineering CGC's grading, which is arguably more lenient than Overstreet's grading.  So I acknowledge I am applying Overstreet values to CGC grades.  Where that is generous is that it lists books still at cover price for 9.2 rather than 9.4.  But otherwise it is very conservative.  

*Which is actually what I was rethinking today, trying to see if anyone had suggestions on what additions or multiples of Overstreet 9.2 to apply to 9.4, 9.6, 9.8.

Edited January 23, 2021 by GlennSimpson

[William-James88]

On 25/01/2020 at 11:09 AM, GlennSimpson said:

Does anyone happen to know what Overstreet's intentions were here?  Like if you have a book in 9.0 and they are only listing a 9.2 price, was it their intention that you do some sort of math to work out the value?

It just means the book is worth something if new. You can price it however you want.

Edited January 23, 2021 by William-James88

[GlennSimpson]

For some books, they have pricing in a range of grades.  Or others, they only have a 9.2 value.

[William-James88]

Just now, GlennSimpson said:

For some books, they have pricing in a range of grades.  Or others, they only have a 9.2 value.

Yeah, I realized that later. I edited my comment.