Personal Collection 4 4

[october]

35 minutes ago, valiantman said:

People against CGC remind me of couch potatoes at home watching car races.

"I don't need anyone to tell me how to (grade comics / drive fast), I've been (grading / driving) for decades and I'm just as good as any of them.  I don't have to get third-party sponsorship to prove it."

 

Yeah, right.

I like CGC for selling on the open market, but I can think of a half-dozen people I would rather buy raw from than the equavalent slab. CGC is not nearly as consistent as a lot of individual graders. Not to mention the sqaushed into oblivion junk I've occasionally cracked out of slabs. 

[valiantman]

23 minutes ago, october said:

1 hour ago, valiantman said:

People against CGC remind me of couch potatoes at home watching car races.

"I don't need anyone to tell me how to (grade comics / drive fast), I've been (grading / driving) for decades and I'm just as good as any of them.  I don't have to get third-party sponsorship to prove it."

 

Yeah, right.

I like CGC for selling on the open market, but I can think of a half-dozen people I would rather buy raw from than the equavalent slab. CGC is not nearly as consistent as a lot of individual graders. Not to mention the sqaushed into oblivion junk I've occasionally cracked out of slabs. 

I should have said "Sellers against CGC..." because they want to get full CGC third-party prices based on first-party self interest.

CGC 9.6 is something that matters every time a comic is sold.

"I say it's a 9.6" might work well for a raw book from a dealer with a great reputation, but what about the next guy?

"I bought it from a well-respected guy who said it was 9.6" doesn't work the same.

"I bought it from a guy who said he bought it from a well-respected guy who said it was 9.6" doesn't work at all.

[october]

12 minutes ago, valiantman said:

I should have said "Sellers against CGC..." because they want to get full CGC third-party prices based on first-party self interest.

CGC 9.6 is something that matters every time a comic is sold.

"I say it's a 9.6" might work well for a raw book from a dealer with a great reputation, but what about the next guy?

"I bought it from a well-respected guy who said it was 9.6" doesn't work the same.

"I bought it from a guy who said he bought it from a well-respected guy who said it was 9.6" doesn't work at all.

If you (the general "you", not you specifically) are taking anyone's word for a grade, be it a self-interested dealer or CGC's sometimes inconsistent opinion, you are doing yourself a disservice and should learn to form your own opinions on grade. 

CGC calling something a 7.0, a dealer calling something a 7.0 and a person saying a dealer told me it was a 7.0 all carry roughly the same meaning for me...not much. I look at the comic myself and draw my own conclusions. On the reselling side it's been really helpful to understand CGC standards, but I don't always agree with them, especially when it comes to keepers. Easy example: CGC is lenient on foxing and hard on clear stains. This makes no intuitive sense, I disagree with it, and I buy accordingly. 

[Nazirite]

1 hour ago, Ninja0215 said:

I have used them before and i had a good experience . I do feel however that i had a better one here and if i want to get the most out of my collection then might as well go with the best of the best. 

I respect that, your reasoning seem sound. Unlike some CGC loyalists on this site. 
 

[valiantman]

1 minute ago, october said:

20 minutes ago, valiantman said:

I should have said "Sellers against CGC..." because they want to get full CGC third-party prices based on first-party self interest.

CGC 9.6 is something that matters every time a comic is sold.

"I say it's a 9.6" might work well for a raw book from a dealer with a great reputation, but what about the next guy?

"I bought it from a well-respected guy who said it was 9.6" doesn't work the same.

"I bought it from a guy who said he bought it from a well-respected guy who said it was 9.6" doesn't work at all.

If you (the general "you", not you specifically) are taking anyone's word for a grade, be it a self-interested dealer or CGC's sometimes inconsistent opinion, you are doing yourself a disservice and should learn to form your own opinions on grade. 

CGC calling something a 7.0, a dealer calling something a 7.0 and a person saying a dealer told me it was a 7.0 all carry roughly the same meaning for me...not much. I look at the comic myself and draw my own conclusions. On the reselling side it's been really helpful to understand CGC standards, but I don't always agree with them, especially when it comes to keepers. Easy example: CGC is lenient on foxing and hard on clear stains. This makes no intuitive sense, I disagree with it, and I buy accordingly. 

This is correct for you, specifically, but not for the general "you".

There are 6,000,000 CGC slabs, so the expectation is that the quality of CGC's product is consistent enough to establish a stable market - like a McDonald's hamburger - people know what to expect, and generally get what they expect, even if a particular hamburger they might end up purchasing was dropped on the floor.

"A person saying a dealer told me it was a 7.0" carries no weight with the general "you" because there is no stable market based on 6,000,000 examples of "a person who knows a dealer" - so they're all burgers that may have been dropped on the floor.

[Number 6]

Up until a couple years ago, my preference was to have all of my collection raw in Mylars. 
 

However, when my father-in-law died and I experienced helping my wife’s family try and liquidate all of his stuff (a lot of which I’m unfamiliar with but the wife is convinced we can get her mother some money for it) I decided I owed it to my wife to make a decision: I’m not going to leave her a ton of stuff to try and wade through like that. 
 

So either I a) sell off all my collections (which is probably the more responsible thing to do) or b) get the books that are worth it slabbed so that way when I die she doesn’t have to sit there and figure out what do with it, she’ll know to simply box up the books that are in plastic, send them to Clink and wait for the check. The rest that are raw...keep them, Craigslist them for a $100 bucks, or just toss ‘em.  

[the blob]

9 minutes ago, october said:

If you (the general "you", not you specifically) are taking anyone's word for a grade, be it a self-interested dealer or CGC's sometimes inconsistent opinion, you are doing yourself a disservice and should learn to form your own opinions on grade. 

CGC calling something a 7.0, a dealer calling something a 7.0 and a person saying a dealer told me it was a 7.0 all carry roughly the same meaning for me...not much. I look at the comic myself and draw my own conclusions. On the reselling side it's been really helpful to understand CGC standards, but I don't always agree with them, especially when it comes to keepers. Easy example: CGC is lenient on foxing and hard on clear stains. This makes no intuitive sense, I disagree with it, and I buy accordingly. 

do you buy books online? if you buy a raw 7.0 and return it if you think it is more of a 6.5? do you do the same for cgc books? i'm just curious. cgc's 7.0 gives you liquidity. MCSs 8.0 may very well be a cgc 8.5 or 9.0 after you spend money slabbing, sure.

[october]

20 minutes ago, the blob said:

do you buy books online? if you buy a raw 7.0 and return it if you think it is more of a 6.5? do you do the same for cgc books? i'm just curious. cgc's 7.0 gives you liquidity. MCSs 8.0 may very well be a cgc 8.5 or 9.0 after you spend money slabbing, sure.

I buy comics online every day. 

I don't return 7.0's I think are 6.5's, because I build in a cushion to account for slight grading differences in the price I pay.  I don't return slabs either, because it's much more of a hassle to argue about a grade when it's in a slab. A lot of sellers don't take returns on slabs, myself sometimes included. Yet another reason I prefer buying raw. Less arguments when you get a lemon.

I don't find slabs to be any more or less "liquid" than ungraded on most (certainly not all) comics. Not on 9.6-9.8's and not on most five figure books, but beyond that? It hasn't been a problem for me. Not sure how much you have bought in the marketplace here, but slabbed books (ironically enough) had NEGATIVE liquidity on here. For a decade it was easier to sell a raw book in the marketplace than it was a slab. Go figure. 

Edited February 26, 2021 by october

[the blob]

9 minutes ago, october said:

I buy comics online every day. 

I don't return 7.0's I think are 6.5's, because I build in a cushion to account for slight grading differences in the price I pay.  I don't return slabs either, because it's much more of a hassle to argue about a grade when it's in a slab. A lot of sellers don't take returns on slabs, myself sometimes included. Yet another reason I prefer buying raw. Less arguments when you get a lemon.

I don't find slabs to be any more or less "liquid" than ungraded on most (certainly not all) comics. Not on 9.6-9.8's and not on most five figure books, but beyond that? It hasn't been a problem for me. Not sure how much you have bought in the marketplace here, but slabbed books (ironically enough) had NEGATIVE liquidity on here. For a decade it was easier to sell a raw book in the marketplace than it was a slab. Go figure. 

Not sure how you quantify that. I have bought the occasional slab here. Usually obscure stuff nobody can make a big GPA comparison to, usually things I viewed as underpriced I. I have not sold slabs here other than very recently and, factoring in not paying any ebay fees, I pretty much sold for the going rate here vs. ebay (10% or so discount). it is true, this is not the place folks will pay a new GPA high, for the most part, but I also don't see raw books selling for more here than on ebay depending on the reputation of the seller.

[october]

12 minutes ago, the blob said:

Not sure how you quantify that. 

It's based on personal experience selling thousands of slabs and raws on here for 15 years. 

It has changed lately. Much easier to sell slabs on here over the last 2-3 years. 

[the blob]

10 minutes ago, october said:

It's based on personal experience selling thousands of slabs and raws on here for 15 years. 

It has changed lately. Much easier to sell slabs on here over the last 2-3 years. 

well, do you have a different mindset when pricing raw vs. slabs? slabs have GPA data to go off of and why would you take too big a cut from that? whereas pricing a raw book seems to be a more holistic process where there is more potential for the flippers here to think they might be getting a deal, particularly after a pressing and slabbing.

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by the blob

[Ninja0215]

I wouldn't have the Slightest idea on how to price a raw book but if you can; you must be some kind of superhuman . 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Ninja0215

[Ninja0215]

1 hour ago, Nazirite said:

I respect that, your reasoning seem sound. Unlike some CGC loyalists on this site. 
 

I certainly wouldn't call myself a loyalist but it would be nice to have a place to set my feet on. I do plan on going across the street again but it's not going to be often so when I can , here is where I will build my church.  

[ADAMANTIUM]

Just now, Ninja0215 said:

I wouldn't have the Slightest idea on how to price a raw book but if you can; ypu must be some kind os superhuman . 

If your confident enough and are aware of the cost to grade (and or) press, it can be calculated easy enough. Just takes some experience and some agreeability on the the part of the seller/buyer  

Often this is more how to build a following imo, is if your estimates of grades/prices can match the market, that and how willing or generous your willing to be. I sold a vg plus as just a good. Partly because the condition was low, and I don't want to quibble on the mechanics when low grade is fairly obvious. I provided pics well enough and it sold for what I would consider fmv. I wasn't always that confident nor generous, just because I wasn't aware of it all.

And each book itself can fall into different market/condition/fmv criteria, including what you yourself paid/need/willing to let it go for  

also price to replace, what your upgrades look like, haha just a long list!  

this is also why I prefer slabs  

[Ninja0215]

1 minute ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

If your confident enough and are aware of the cost to grade (and or) press, it can be calculated easy enough. Just takes some experience and some agreeability on the the part of the seller/buyer  

Often this is more how to build a following imo, is if your estimates of grades/prices can match the market, that and how willing or generous your willing to be. I sold a vg plus as just a good. Partly because the condition was low, and I don't want to quibble on the mechanics when low grade is fairly obvious. I provided pics well enough and it sold for what I would consider fmv. I wasn't always that confident nor generous, just because I wasn't aware of it all.

And each book itself can fall into different market/condition/fmv criteria, including what you yourself paid/need/willing to let it go for  

also price to replace, what your upgrades look like, haha just a long list!  

this is also why I prefer slabs  

I unfortunately don't have experience there....yet, doesn't mean I can't learn 

[ADAMANTIUM]

2 minutes ago, Ninja0215 said:

I unfortunately don't have experience there....yet, doesn't mean I can't learn 

Oh yes we can!

I don't mean to sound like I have it all together either

For example selling anything at auction scares the bejeezus out of me

0-3 feedback bidders under fmv then all the stuff mentioned above even if it is a slab

All in the hopes of above fmv on a couple of listings idk the benefit of that yet cause I too am not experienced

I'd much rather pick a book with a steady following and agree on a price that I too am comfortable with...

Either way leaving money on the table because as @valiantman can attest some times it would be better to sell raw than slabbed, same as buying (this is for investment) buying a 8.5 can profit better than a 9.2, BUT in the end buy and sell what you love and your good should could out weigh or off set the bad..... Lord willing

 

[Ninja0215]

4 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Oh yes we can!

I don't mean to sound like I have it all together either

For example selling anything at auction scares the bejeezus out of me

0-3 feedback bidders under fmv then all the stuff mentioned above even if it is a slab

All in the hopes of above fmv on a couple of listings idk the benefit of that yet cause I too am not experienced

I'd much rather pick a book with a steady following and agree on a price that I too am comfortable with...

Either way leaving money on the table because as @valiantman can attest some times it would be better to sell raw than slabbed, same as buying (this is for investment) buying a 8.5 can profit better than a 9.2, BUT in the end buy and sell what you love and your good should could out weigh or off set the bad..... Lord willing

 

I wish I can like this 2000 times 

[Math Teacher]

4 hours ago, Qalyar said:

I like the look and feel of CGC's slabs.

This is why the most valuable books in my personal collection have been slabbed. I just like how my books look in a CGC slab. And I too have slabbed some books that don't necessarily need to be slabbed (eg, BatB #62), I bought Showcase #55 CGC 8.0, and I decided I just wanted all four Murphy Anderson Golden Age "try-out" books graded in CGC 8.0 or higher. I know full well that the cost of shipping (both ways), pressing, and slabbing were very near equal to actual price of the book, but I didn't do this to sell the book. I wanted these books in nice condition, and stored in a format that I enjoy looking at.

Numerous boardies have said that you can get the same amount of protection from decent Mylar bags and decent backing boards. I have no doubt that this is true. Keeping my books protected is not the only reason I get my books slabbed. I also like the presentation.

And the fact that it will make it easier for my family to sell my collection when I pass on is an added bonus.

[Qalyar]

7 minutes ago, Math Teacher said:

This is why the most valuable books in my personal collection have been slabbed. I just like how my books look in a CGC slab. And I too have slabbed some books that don't necessarily need to be slabbed (eg, BatB #62), I bought Showcase #55 CGC 8.0, and I decided I just wanted all four Murphy Anderson Golden Age "try-out" books graded in CGC 8.0 or higher. I know full well that the cost of shipping (both ways), pressing, and slabbing were very near equal to actual price of the book, but I didn't do this to sell the book. I wanted these books in nice condition, and stored in a format that I enjoy looking at.

Numerous boardies have said that you can get the same amount of protection from decent Mylar bags and decent backing boards. I have no doubt that this is true. Keeping my books protected is not the only reason I get my books slabbed. I also like the presentation.

And the fact that it will make it easier for my family to sell my collection when I pass on is an added bonus.

Heck, I'm approaching at least one complete run of books where I'm fairly certain that the entire run is about break-even with the cost of slabbing one of the books (Midnight Nation, for the record; the thread can probably feel free to mock me now). But zero regrets there, as -- for several reasons -- the value I attribute to it in my personal collection substantially outweighs its market worth. As an aside, I'm continually surprised at how hard it is to find legitimate 9.8 candidate copies for modern books that aren't books anyone cares about financially...

More broadly, though, obviously I try not to overpay for things, whether raw or slabbed. And I'm aware that the slab isn't always a net financial positive. But as far as I'm concerned, if profitability is the only motivation for a personal collection, it's not a collection anymore. It's an investment. And that's fine too. But they're different things.

[Lazyboy]

7 hours ago, Nazirite said:

I would really prefer a company that would  just check for restoration, removal of restoration, pressing, witness signature, verify signature etc etc. Slab the book, write a detailed description and that’s it.  Leave the grade between seller and buyer. But that’s just me.  I would use that company any day of the week for my pc or to sell.  I haven’t tried the other company yet but I’m not against using them. 

 

You can't properly grade a book that's encased in multiple layers of plastic, so a slab without a grade is completely useless.