• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

polished_gem_comics aka diamond_comics_llc aka silver_valley_comics CGC slab cracking and overgrading for profit
8 8

595 posts in this topic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/5/2020 at 6:21 AM, Hollywood1892 said:

.when it comes to CGC slabs, you are getting a book for 80% the grade and 20% the appearance, but it is still 100% CGC stamp of approval on the product 100% backed by CGC

Can you explain what you mean when you say that a slabbed book is 100% backed by CGC?  ???

Especially when CGC clearly states that grading is subjective and only based upon their professional opinion at only the particular point in time when the book crosses their grading table.  :gossip:

 

As a previous poster had mentioned in a previous post from a prior page:

On 4/28/2020 at 11:08 AM, 90sChild said:

you're not guaranteed a raw grade to translate into a CGC slab grade, when CGC can't even guarantee their own grades.  

If you really believe that CGC will guarantee their own grades, then I guess you must also believe in the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, Santa, and whatever other imaginery things there are out there.  doh!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/3/2020 at 8:33 PM, Myowncollector said:
On 5/3/2020 at 7:51 PM, Hollywood1892 said:

This is true...but more to the point Sellers sell as though they are proffessional graders at the price of a slabbed book when it's not in a slab yet...and they aren't held accountable when the book doesn't come back in the grade they said it was

This also goes back to the ignorance of the buyer too for not being able to grade books themselves....

But as for the seller

If they think it's a 9.4

Sell it for the price of a 9.4 minus grading costs, shipping costs from point of sale and to CGC and whatever other "hidden" costs there might be.

 

I think a seller can sell a book for whatever they want.

Am I missing something here as I thought this book was sold in the old style eBay auction format, as opposed to a BIN or sale price set in advance by the seller.  ???

If so, then it's really much more a case of a buyer being able to buy a book for whatever they want, after factoring in the caveat emptor principle. hm

Even more so in this particular case here where the seller specifically and clearly states in big bold letters that the grade is ONLY HIS OPINION and asks potential bidders to look at the photos as GRADING IS VERY SUBJECTIVE.  Now, if that's not raising big red flags to any potential bidders, then they have only themselves to largely blame as they are definitely not bothering to conduct any due diligence on their own part before throwing down irresponsible bids on a common book that already has well over 5,000 copies graded and slabbed in CGC 9.0 and above.  doh!  :tonofbricks:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, lou_fine said:

Am I missing something here as I thought this book was sold in the old style eBay auction format, as opposed to a BIN or sale price set in advance by the seller.  ???

If so, then it's really much more a case of a buyer being able to buy a book for whatever they want, after factoring in the caveat emptor principle. hm

Even more so in this particular case here where the seller specifically and clearly states in big bold letters that the grade is ONLY HIS OPINION and asks potential bidders to look at the photos as GRADING IS VERY SUBJECTIVE.  Now, if that's not raising big red flags to any potential bidders, then they have only themselves to largely blame as they are definitely not bothering to conduct any due diligence on their own part before throwing down irresponsible bids on a common book that already has well over 5,000 copies graded and slabbed in CGC 9.0 and above.  doh!  :tonofbricks:

Now I must be missing something... what book are you talking about?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, LordRahl said:
3 hours ago, lou_fine said:

Am I missing something here as I thought this book was sold in the old style eBay auction format, as opposed to a BIN or sale price set in advance by the seller.  ???

If so, then it's really much more a case of a buyer being able to buy a book for whatever they want, after factoring in the caveat emptor principle. hm

Even more so in this particular case here where the seller specifically and clearly states in big bold letters that the grade is ONLY HIS OPINION and asks potential bidders to look at the photos as GRADING IS VERY SUBJECTIVE.  Now, if that's not raising big red flags to any potential bidders, then they have only themselves to largely blame as they are definitely not bothering to conduct any due diligence on their own part before throwing down irresponsible bids on a common book that already has well over 5,000 copies graded and slabbed in CGC 9.0 and above.  doh!  :tonofbricks:

Now I must be missing something... what book are you talking about?

Definitely my bad as I meant to say well over 3,000 copies of ASM 194 graded and slabbed in CGC 9.0 and above, with almost 6,000 copies slabbed in total.  (thumbsu

Looks like the truly rare and hard to find one would be one of the CGC 0.5 graded Poor copies since there's only 2 of these according to the population census report.  :devil:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, lou_fine said:

 

then I guess you must also believe in the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, Santa, and whatever other imaginery things there are out there.  doh!

I don't know about all that, but we do believe in the tape fairy! There's a thread about her. :eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is in no way a defense of the practices of the buyer/seller whose behavior was the reason this thread was started!  If you buy a slabbed 9.0 or submit a raw book that comes back with that grade then proceed to crack it open and resubmit it, without pressing or any other accepted improvement practices, and it comes back 9.2 or 9.4, what then?!  The professionals who do it for a living obviously had a difference of opinion.  I hear it even happens from time to time with highly educated medical professionals too! :wink:  There's whole threads on here dedicated to finds at garage sales, thrift stores, etc. about finding gold and paying a pittance for it!  The buyer need not inform the seller that they're exchanging Manhattan for beads.  The buyer knows something the seller doesn't and that's just fine with the buyer.  I guess the removal of the assertions that the books are originally from the wife's father would make the sales acceptable.  If paid professional graders can arrive at different grades for the same book, then it can't be wrong for a seller.  Can it?!  

Edited by Coverless 9.8
Spelling
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Coverless 9.8 said:

This is in no way a defense of the practices of the buyer/seller whose behavior was the reason this thread was started!  If you buy a slabbed 9.0 or submit a raw book that comes back with that grade then proceed to crack it open and resubmit it, without pressing or any other accepted improvement practices, and it comes back 9.2 or 9.4, what then?!  The professionals who do it for a living obviously had a difference of opinion.  I hear it even happens from time to time with highly educated medical professionals too! :wink:  There's whole threads on here dedicated to finds at garage sales, thrift stores, etc. about finding gold and paying a pittance for it!  The buyer need not inform the seller that they're exchanging Manhattan for beads.  The buyer knows something the seller doesn't and that's just fine with the buyer.  I guess the removal of the assertion that the books are originally from the wife's father would make the sales acceptable.  If paid professional graders can arrive at different grades for the same book, then it can't be wrong for a seller.  Can it?!  

Asked and answered, several time earlier by many.  The practice is just fine, opinions differ.  The embellishment with lies and probable photo manipulation to mislead well-meaning buyers is the crux of the problem.  That tilts the table in the seller's favor unjustifiably.  It's a form of a con.

People fall for scams all the time, but that doesn't make it acceptable.  We all have to watch out for each other.  If I'm stepping into a trap, I'd sure like someone to tip me off.  The best way is to rid ourselves of the landmines, and those planting them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, Coverless 9.8 said:

This is in no way a defense of the practices of the buyer/seller whose behavior was the reason this thread was started!  If you buy a slabbed 9.0 or submit a raw book that comes back with that grade then proceed to crack it open and resubmit it, without pressing or any other accepted improvement practices, and it comes back 9.2 or 9.4, what then?!  The professionals who do it for a living obviously had a difference of opinion.  I hear it even happens from time to time with highly educated medical professionals too! :wink:  There's whole threads on here dedicated to finds at garage sales, thrift stores, etc. about finding gold and paying a pittance for it!  The buyer need not inform the seller that they're exchanging Manhattan for beads.  The buyer knows something the seller doesn't and that's just fine with the buyer.  I guess the removal of the assertions that the books are originally from the wife's father would make the sales acceptable.  If paid professional graders can arrive at different grades for the same book, then it can't be wrong for a seller.  Can it?!  

The problem lies with if a seller's 'disagreement' with CGC grade is always higher.  When you resubmit to CGC, it can come back higher or lower.  See the problem?

Edited by kav
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Lightning55 said:

lies and probable photo manipulation to mislead

Definite photo manipulation.

I saved over 250 CGC slabbed ebay images in the past 3 days. Books in his wheelhouse, his M.O.-strategy. His regular sellers. I know which he's after based on what he bought and resold, no sense making the list here. As the formerly CGC slabbed books show up NM/unread straight from the refrigerated safe in his listings, I'll compile.

What hasn't dawned on him is that each and every book is different. Staple placement, centering, size, wear, printing blips, streaks, and donuts, color, etc., etc. Whether a book is in a slab or out, it can be identified. They're all unique. Unless he starts altering images to the point to move staples and add or subtract elements, in which case his buyer will notice immediately that it's not the "same" book in the image when they receive it. Good luck with that! :wishluck:.

Edited by James J Johnson
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, kav said:

The problem lies with if a seller's 'disagreement' with CGC grade is always higher.  When you resubmit to CGC, it can come back higher or lower.  See the problem?

I'm a relative novice on these boards but weren't there times in their history when CGC had a reputation for being more or less lenient when it came to grading?!  People always want to know to know the wisest way to submit books to get the best grade possible.  Should they submit multiple copies of the same book at the same time, etc.?  If  people knew of a more lenient professional grader wouldn't they want that person to grade their submissions?!  Name any system and users will attempt to game it as best they can to their own advantage!  I'm not defending the con but maybe he's a glass half full kind of person with rose colored glasses to boot! :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Coverless 9.8 said:

I'm a relative novice on these boards but weren't there times in their history when CGC had a reputation for being more or less lenient when it came to grading?!  People always want to know to know the wisest way to submit books to get the best grade possible.  Should they submit multiple copies of the same book at the same time, etc.?  If  people knew of a more lenient professional grader wouldn't they want that person to grade their submissions?!  Name any system and users will attempt to game it as best they can to their own advantage!  I'm not defending the con but maybe he's a glass half full kind of person with rose colored glasses to boot! :wink:

your board name reminds me of a seller who listed a coverless GA book as 'mint'.  When I asked him how a coverless book could be mint he replied angrily that "The part of the book that is here is mint!!"  I asked if i could list a single page as a mint copy since the page-'the part that was there'-was mint.  Didnt get a reply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not about gaming CGC.  The grade is the grade, a professional opinion, but you can have a different outlook on it.  He can call it a 10 if he wants to, but that is not the rub.  It's changing photos and info to "match" the new higher assessment.  That is what is misleading, and just plain wrong to do.  That is not legit business conduct.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, kav said:

your board name reminds me of a seller who listed a coverless GA book as 'mint'.  When I asked him how a coverless book could be mint he replied angrily that "The part of the book that is here is mint!!"  I asked if i could list a single page as a mint copy since the page-'the part that was there'-was mint.  Didnt get a reply.

The book may well have been mint, especially when contrasted to the cover that had been ripped off of it! :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Coverless 9.8 said:

The book may well have been mint, especially when contrasted to the cover that had been ripped off of it! :wink:

Turn your 2.0 into a 9.8!  Rip off cover!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
8 8