Prescreens, tiers, and shipping oh my! 0

[Publius Clodius]

Hello,

I recently acquired a large number of comics at an estate sale, and joined CGC at the $299 elite level. I'd like to submit 25 comics for PRESCREENING (the minimum number required) and possible GRADING/SLABBING. I'm not understanding a couple things (at least!) about submitting. My biggest quandary is what tier to choose, how to even choose a tier, (mostly looking at comics published from 1957-1968 and of approximate grades ranging  from 2.5 to 7.0) and what value to place on the submissions. From what I've read it seems like it would be better for me to LOWBALL the values to then pay less for possible slabbing. But I'm assuming there is something I'm missing. And I want to follow the CGC norms. My goal is to sell most of the collection on ebay, at shows, and auctions, for as much as possible. The stuff I really love I'll keep. 

I only want the comics that are worth the cost to be graded/slabbed, of course. Someone told me it's probably not worth slabbing anything worth less than $200.00. (GOOD ADVICE?) I'm usually a pretty quick study, but I'm not 100% confident in my estimates of grades and values, or how to properly fill out the invoice. I'm an experienced ebay seller, so this stuff is not completely foreign to me. If anyone can offer sage advice/information on HOW TO PROCEED, it would be greatly appreciated.

If anyone has anything to say about shipping and insurance, specifically 3rd party insurance, I'd be happy to hear that as well.  I do still have the CGC shipping materials from when I joined. 

Below is the list of some of the comics I'd like to submit, with a few pics, and some general info. Some of these don't meet the $200.00 threshold for the grade, but I'm including them in case some of you deem them worth slabbing. I know this is a very detailed question, so to anyone who responds, THANK YOU VERY MUCH in advance. It only let me load two pics, I can add more if anyone is interested. 

 

Batman    #171           1st SA Riddler                '65     6.0 (my best guess for grade)  $700  (FMV for the GRADE LISTED according to GOCOLLECT COMICS) But many on EBAY, HERITAGE, graded 7.0, sold for $500.+/-.

Shazam   #1                                                       '73     7.0                                             $60

Batman   #181            1st Poison Ivy                 '66     4.5                                              $550

Batman   #121             1st Mr. freeze                 '59     2.5                                              $1100

Space Mysteries  #1                                           '57     4.5                                              $240

Batman   #105               2nd Batwoman             '57     3.5                                               $250

Action Comics   #285                                          '62     5.0                                              $120

Action Comics  #340       1st Parasite                  '66     6.0                                             $140

Wonder Woman # 160                                         '66      4.5                                             $170

Batman #189                  1st SA Scarecrow          '67      3.5                                           $170

Marvel Super Heroes #18  1st Guardians/Galaxy   '68    5.0                                          $140

 

                

 

 

 

[Publius Clodius]

[Publius Clodius]

Ok thanks. I don't want to try and pull anything over on CGC, I just want to make sure I understand what I'm doing. Thanks for the response. 

[csaag]

1 hour ago, Publius Clodius said:

Ok thanks. I don't want to try and pull anything over on CGC, I just want to make sure I understand what I'm doing. Thanks for the response. 

CGC can bump you up into another tier regardless of what you declare.  I can't say how often or what criteria they use but it can happen.   In that case you will owe money as if you originally declared that amount and you will have that extra insurance.    You won't get any refund if you choose a higher tier and it ends up not really worth that level.   That doesn't mean you always just choose the lowest tier as there's turnaround times involved and if they don't bump it up then you may not have adequate insurance

One idea is to choose a value of what it would cost to replace the book for a raw copy in similar condition. 

Make use of the "Buddy Can you spare a grade" forum to get ideas from posters as to poss grades.   Then you can look at goCollect, Ebay etc to see prices for those grades

 

As far as a dollar value to slab or not to slab - that depends on what  you consider minimum profit (if your aim is to sell)

In addition to CGC fees, there's the cost of selling on Ebay/auction houses/etc, Paypal fees (if you use any of them)   to consider.  Of course you'll still have those Ebay fees selling it raw.    You just have to put in some time and run the numbers.  Also factor in the time involved with getting it graded

Edited December 18, 2020 by csaag
typo

[Publius Clodius]

Thank you very much for your time in giving me a through answer. That helps. 

[revat]

random tips:

for pricing of GRADED comics, there's a pay service called GPA analysis that most serious collectors use for SLABBED PRICING.

 

I think when you finally decide what to submit, no harm in running through the whole process with a cgc customer service rep so your expectations are clear and limit the chances you make a user error.