• 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.

Concerns about sending comics in for grading and is it worth it
0

24 posts in this topic

New to the site. I have been collecting since the 60’s and I am waiting on some comics being pressed as we speak. I am considering sending in several comics of value to be graded and have heard of these “newton rings” how often does this happen? How many people here have experienced this? Is it rare and what’s the percentage rate? Also is it really worth it to send in a comic to be slabbed? By the time I get my Green Lantern 76 graded it will cost me over $100. Them to grade, me ship to them and them ship back. Other than knowing a “professional” grade to sell,  why would it be worth it, because other posts here say if you store it with the correct bags and boards it will last as long. Any thoughts or comments. Thanks 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, GrandmasterG said:

New to the site. I have been collecting since the 60’s and I am waiting on some comics being pressed as we speak. I am considering sending in several comics of value to be graded and have heard of these “newton rings” how often does this happen? How many people here have experienced this? Is it rare and what’s the percentage rate? Also is it really worth it to send in a comic to be slabbed? By the time I get my Green Lantern 76 graded it will cost me over $100. Them to grade, me ship to them and them ship back. Other than knowing a “professional” grade to sell,  why would it be worth it, because other posts here say if you store it with the correct bags and boards it will last as long. Any thoughts or comments. Thanks 

Slabbing is worth it for selling IMO.  It removes the worry about having a restored comic and makes it easier to find a price to sell it at

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, GrandmasterG said:

New to the site. I have been collecting since the 60’s and I am waiting on some comics being pressed as we speak. I am considering sending in several comics of value to be graded and have heard of these “newton rings” how often does this happen? How many people here have experienced this? Is it rare and what’s the percentage rate? Also is it really worth it to send in a comic to be slabbed? By the time I get my Green Lantern 76 graded it will cost me over $100. Them to grade, me ship to them and them ship back. Other than knowing a “professional” grade to sell,  why would it be worth it, because other posts here say if you store it with the correct bags and boards it will last as long. Any thoughts or comments. Thanks 

Welcome to the boards.  I’ve been collecting since the early 70s.

The value of slabbing books depends on the collector and of course the books.  Some people slab books because they like slabs or they’re building registry sets or they want to sell them.  Some prefer their books raw so they can open them and read them.  My rule of thumbs is a book should be worth at least $200 slabbed and the value of the slabbed book is greater than expected value of the raw book plus grading and pressing costs.  
 

Please be aware that there is some risk pressing and grading comics.  Books can get damaged Or disappear in shipment, books can get damaged during pressing and books can get damaged during the grading process.  It’s fairly rare but certainly it does happen.  
 

Also be aware that your first submission may have surprises for you.  You may be very disappointed in the grades as your grading may not be as tight as cgc. You may get back restored books as I did with my first submission.  Books I’d had in my collection for thirty years coming back trimmed or color touched.

id suggest you scan or take pictures of a few of your books and post them in the grading forum for starters

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you've gotten really good advice so far. 

As other have said it's really about what you are trying to accomplish. If it's for selling, slabbing more valuable books can be worth it. Buyers pay more to know exactly what they are getting. 

If you plan on hanging on to them, then I would say just enjoy them as is. 

I do generally get more valuable books slabbed, even though I rarely sell them. It gives me peace of mind because they are protected (although some will argue the protection is meaningless if you take care of your books).

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, GrandmasterG said:

New to the site. I have been collecting since the 60’s and I am waiting on some comics being pressed as we speak. I am considering sending in several comics of value to be graded and have heard of these “newton rings” how often does this happen? How many people here have experienced this? Is it rare and what’s the percentage rate? Also is it really worth it to send in a comic to be slabbed? By the time I get my Green Lantern 76 graded it will cost me over $100. Them to grade, me ship to them and them ship back. Other than knowing a “professional” grade to sell,  why would it be worth it, because other posts here say if you store it with the correct bags and boards it will last as long. Any thoughts or comments. Thanks 

Pretty much.

I value CGC for authenticating signatures and potential restoration (or lack thereof). They're also respected for their grading criteria. Plenty of people enjoy owning Blue Label CGC'd comics; I'm not really one of them. It's all up to how you want to enjoy your comics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't be worried about newton rings, they don't seem to be nearly as big a problem as they were a couple of years ago (though many cases now appear to be scuffed in the inner well - which may be intentional on the part of CGC in an attempt to eliminate the newton ring effect). And $100 to get your GL #76 graded sounds about right - assuming your comic is VF/NM or better.

Like others have mentioned, CGC is almost mandatory for getting fair value when selling any comic worth $200 or more - especially if you are not an established seller. But if your goal is simply to keep and preserve the comics you have collected over the decades, mylars and fullbacks will be a cheaper and, most likely, safer alternative.

Best of luck with the submission, hope they all come back tens! (thumbsu

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the forums!

Are you grading with reselling in mind? Or are you grading because you want to display and like the look of cases? Or are you grading because you are curious and just want to see what some of your books come back as?

If you answer yes to question 1, definitely grade provided the grade you expect will help the sale. For example, if a raw copy of ASM 69 sells in Fine condition for $35-50, and a graded copy sells for only $75 or so, might not be worth it. However, is ASM 69 is Near Mint and raws sell for $125 but graded can sell for $225, well then that makes more sense to maybe get the guaranteed grade.

If you answer yes to question 2, that is fine. Go for it!

If you answer yes to question 3, also fine. Go for it!

 

If you are grading books because you think it will protect them longer, well, the jury is out on that. You can handle a graded book more, but from experience, graded books tend to sit on shelves as much as ungraded books and they aren't any more or less protected. Dropping is about the only thing a graded copy might be saved from and even that could hurt it. 

Personally, I always think "hey I wanna get this graded" but never do. I find raw books enjoyable. I read and store them with care and that is what I love more. I have a couple graded comics that I won and they really are just to look at which, after getting them as gifts, has really just confirmed the notion that I don't really want any books in my personal collection to be slabbed. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

The value of slabbing books depends on the collector and of course the books.  Some people slab books because they like slabs or they’re building registry sets or they want to sell them.

I fall into this category. I just like how my comics look inside a slab. I've read them multiple times, and now they're safely encapsulated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, GrandmasterG said:

Also is it really worth it to send in a comic to be slabbed? 

It seems like the only real reason to get a book slabbed is to maximize the resale value...  So unless you can easily sell a book for AT LEAST the $~20 it costs to be processed by CGC, then it doesn't really make financial  sense.  If you're planning to sell the book right away then it should be easy enough to research what slabbed examples in similar condition are actually SELLING for, and then determine whether the potential higher sale price is worth going through the hassle rather than just selling it raw and letting the next owner worry about grading ;)

 just wish there were more options to purchase EMPTY comic book slab containers!  I'm not planning on selling any of my books, but I LOVE the look and protection aspect of having books encapsulated in slabs... 

The only trouble is that the only quality empty slabs I can find online seem to sell for AT LEAST $15 a piece...  And if it's $15 for 1 DIY empty plastic slab, then you might as well spend the extra few bucks and get it slabbed AND professionally graded at the same time by CGC! 

I Just wish CGC didn't take so long, and of course there's the crippling mental anguish that people must have to endure while ensuing they're safely packing and shipping their prized comic collections!  And then praying that the courier doesn't pull an Ace Ventura, and the comics are actually returned in their original condition lol 

Edited by StreetPreacher
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, StreetPreacher said:

It seems like the only real reason to get a book slabbed is to maximize the resale value... 

Maximizing resale value is likely the most popular reason for slabbing but not the only one.

Adding books to a registry set is very popular and allows collectors to 'compete' with each other and display their sets. 

The case does add a good deal of protection.  No more tape pulls, no chance of slicing your book as you put it into a mylar or take it out.  You can also hand a book to a non-collector and not worry about him bending it or opening it.

Certifying signatures is also important.

And some just prefer the look of slabs over mylars

 

Edited by thehumantorch
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first batch of slabs I personally submitted versus buying came back today!  Most of them have at least minor Newton Rings,  The smallest was only about 6mm across.  Most were about 1+ inches somewhere just right of the lower center of the slab.  I've definitely seen worse on older slabs.  In general, I find the Newton Rings don't bother me too terribly so long as they aren't huge.  I think it also depends on the cover art-- the worst looking newton ring I own is a close up of a character's face and the artwork suffers terribly from the ring.  More detailed covers don't seem to be as bad to me.  Depending on the light and the angle they are barely noticeable and might not bother you, but I think, like the decision to slab, it's a very personal one.  I do slab comics that have no marketable value-- it's for sentimental reasons, or I just like the look.  I also like registry sets.  My non-slabbed comics for my personal collection are in mylite2s with fullbacks, which I think also offer superior protection and make the comics look great.  I've started weeding my collection for high grade comics that are a little more valuable to start slipping into my submissions, but frankly the intent there would be to sell them for enough to afford to slab something I want to keep.  I think another consideration if you decide to slab a bunch of comics is storage considerations-- you can get about 25 slabs in a shortbox, maybe more or less if they are older frames or thicker comics, and that space can fill up fast!  If you're more interested in displaying a few comics on a rotating basis, for example, you might look into a frame option you could insert a comic within mylar and switch it out (just watch for those UV rays).  

I also would highly recommend getting comfortable with grading accurately.  I waited what felt like a long time before sending anything in, and I did so with comics I felt extremely confident were 9.8s, a carefully selected few I figured were 50/50% 9.8 or 9.6 (CGC was kind to me-- all 9.8s!) and a single comic I thought would be a 7.0 that ended up being a 6.5 as an experiment.  I didn't want to pre-screen or press, and depending on if you decide or need to press, it adds to your submission costs pretty quickly.  So for me a better strategy is to choose the best possible raw comic to slab that, if it were to come back lower than expected, I would still be happy with in my collection as the very best I had or could find.  My next batch will be comics I want slabbed regardless of grade that are all visually pleasing copies.

It's definitely a little nerve racking sending them off and waiting for them to come back. My package actually came two days early than expected, so that was a plus!  All very carefully packaged, no damage.  I know there are a lot of horror stories out there about slabs getting damaged and the comic within as well, but overall I've been very fortunate to have well packaged slabs.  Only two bad experiences with poorly packed items through eBay.  Hope your CGC experience is positive and rewarding, whatever you decide!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for your opinions. All my comics are bagged in mylers and boards. My goal was definitely for resell but not right away and I only planned on slabbing the ones that would be economically worth doing like some books Worth minimum about $200 or more. Just thought an “official” grade would help with the resell. I mean a 9.0 today would be a 9.0  5years from now right. And figured there would be no dispute haggling on differing opinions on what someone thinks the grade would be. I think I’m pretty good with grading but I think a comic may be a FN/VF another may think VG. I have seen the varying grading opinions here when someone asks to grade a comic. What if we did a little contest and have everyone grade a comic then send it in to CGC and see how close everyone is? Thanks for the input much appreciated. Maybe I’ll volunteer a couple of mine when I get them back from pressing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, GrandmasterG said:

The more I think about it. I don’t know if I want to chance getting Newton rings (they are unacceptable to me) for what you are paying for, and the risk of my comics getting damaged or lost. These are to me irreplaceable. We’ll see. 

I would say don't do it then. Keep them raw and carefully enjoy them.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/25/2020 at 9:09 PM, GrandmasterG said:

My goal was definitely for resell but not right away and I only planned on slabbing the ones that would be economically worth doing like some books Worth minimum about $200 or more.

I only slab a book if I plan on selling it or if I want a signature authenticated. Sadly, CGC only witnesses sigs and won't authenticate them, so I use the "other guys" for authentication. I would probably just wait until you plan on selling the book(s), and then slab it.

Edited by HuddyBee
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/24/2020 at 8:06 PM, GrandmasterG said:

 Other than knowing a “professional” grade to sell,  why would it be worth it, because other posts here say if you store it with the correct bags and boards it will last as long. Any thoughts or comments. Thanks 

It is mainly worth it for sellers who have big books and do not want to deal with returns. Instead of going back and forth over a client wanting a 500$ book and debating the grade you give it, by having it be slabbed by CGC the grade (and thus worth, which is what this is all about) is no longer a point of debate as much and better yet if you sell on e-bay the person can't come back saying it's not the right grade or what they thought it was and your description wasn't accurate an on and on. 

But for a private collection, there is no point to it unless you prefer holding a slab of plastic to the actual comic (some fans do think CGC slabs look great and want their treasures in them simply for aesthetic purposes, nothing wrong with that). And even if you sell them, CGC isn't all that important. Consignment places like Mycomicshop and Heritage Auction grade the books themselves and since those sites are trusted, you don't need to spend the money to get them slabbed in that scenario either. 

Also, speaking of those two sites, I have noticed that in most cases the prices obtained for a book of the same grade that is slabbed versus one that is not slabbed shows that spending the money for CGC is not worth it. Spending $30 on a book worth $100 so that you can get $100 for it rather than selling it raw for $85 means you are at a loss.

Also, for key books, a raw book is often wanted even more since people think there is a chance at it being worth more if they press it while a slabbed book feels more set in stone. Look at the example below, all books at the same grade and it's the raw books that were worth more. 

 

image.thumb.png.61d74d55b180e285d3a6a4bbea236734.png

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
0