It also bothers me when people insist that I cannot know the grade of a book without getting it slabbed. I’m like… man… I was grading comics before a lot of the people working at CGC were BORN. I KNOW the difference between VG and Fine, between Fine and VF, between those and Near Mint. And for me, I don’t care what the difference between 9.6 and 9.8 on a modern age book. At that point I don’t think you’re collecting comics. At that point you’re collecting numbers. Spending hundreds more for a modern age book because of a 9.8 instead of a 9.6 is crazy to me. I’m good at identifying a 9.8 vs a 9.6, I just don’t care from a collector standpoint. I’d rather have a nice copy I can physically look at the pages. From a selling standpoint I can see why you want a 9.8: because you want money. 9.8 vs 9.6 is all about money money money. I can’t see 9.8 as a collector. I don’t see the appeal. I would rather have a raw 7.0 that I can open so I can say, “check this Kirby art, look at the lines on the Silver Surfer in this panel… smell those off white pages.” Maybe even read it. You can’t do that with a 9.8 in a slab. And reprints and online reading isn’t the same experience.
You have a point, But you are a curator of these items for only a certain amount of time. And if you do have books worth hundreds maybe thousands of dollars. When you pass it on to the next one they will know what they have and what it is worth since they won't have your keen eye to point out a VF+ v a FN- Also you can rest assure you life collection doesn't end up in a dollar bin. I have a hulk 181 in a 4.5 white pages. Bought it off the wall in mid 90s for a 100 bucks. Got it graded in 2016 I would have had no idea it was worth that much if it wasn't for the grade. And if you want after you get your nice old keys slabbed buy a reader copy for cheap and have it both ways your nice collectable and one you can touch and read.
I would never buy any book over say $200 unless it was slabbed. I just want re-assurance that what I am buying is graded correctly. I don't necessarily trust a dealer or myself sometimes.
Funny that you say this because I feel the same way. I want to read the book and hold it in my hands. I bought a slab and cracked it open so I can read the book. But then I felt odd afterwards because I don’t know if I’ll be able to recoup my cost for it. Lol
You make an interesting point. It is essentially about one's risk tolerance. I am more risk tolerant in this, and so I regularly buy raw comics over 200 dollar. This way I often pick up comics that carry considerable value for a very sharp price. But I do also - inevitably - accept a certain level of risk, even though I do my homework with each comic that I buy.
The same potential for different graders to arrive at different grades exists in the diversity of potential definitions for a so-called "True" collector.
@@popsequentialism7213 Still trusting that grader over a shop keeper or some random garage seller over their perceived value. Example, eBay has a Vampirella #1 raw at $1000 with spine ticks all to hell. 🤣. People aren't going to trust you over a grader. The graded one will also KEEP that value over some raw book over time.
@@Pope-of-Comics now consider that Vamp #1 gets graded 9.2 despite all the spine ticks. Now, "true" collectors will pay an artificially inflated price because they've been convinced that these are the "professionals" in which we must trust. It's very strange to me that so many people are willing to pay top dollar for a number that's based on subjective opinion that has zero accountability,.
Bad news, certified used cars and diamond grading are scams too. There are no warranties on the grade of comics. Grading is subjective, as demonstrated at every youtube unboxing where veteran dealers are consistantly suprised by the grades their books receive, sometimes higher, usually lower. I have also heard dealers say they try to send in only a single grade of books in one shipment because if lower grade books are mixed in with higher, it seems to bias the overall grades lower. I dont know how one becomes a paid comic grader; what type of training or testing might be involved, but I would be interested to find out. We can agree that grading is generally consistant, but with the crazy $ involved, even in this downturn, a couple of tenths in the grade can be a difference of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I am uncomfortable with that. It can be pretty high stakes to say that the grader got it mostly right. Keep up the good work of making us all think about how we collect, some for the artistry, some for the value, but usually a mix of the two.
What drives me nuts is that I just do not like graded slabbed comics. I am old school and prefer them raw. However I do understand the reasons as prices now are insane. I agree with all you had said, p.s. what bugged me more was figuring out that 1st appearance directly behind you.... 1st Punisher it appears to be.
Slabbed are good but NOT at all worth the extra $100's that people expect for them just because they have a label and glued inside a case. Its only worth what the actual book inside is worth.
Hi there, I am a new collector (now a few years into the hobby) and I also prefer raw. I enjoy bagging and boarding them myself and holding them in my hand. Most of all, I enjoy the vastly lower prices, especially as I am collecting mostly moderns and some fun, but non-key, older ones. So raw it is for me! And I loved your itch about figuring out what the comic is behind Reggie's back!! I was looking at his other slabs, but hadn't even realized that of course there is there one too. So when I read your remark I started sifting through the video to check myself. At 2:23 we can see just a bit of the left side of the slab, and there I see a stark yellow comic cover, with Spider-man in the top left and an elbow and part of an arm to the left side of the cover. That is guaranteed Amazing Spider-man 129, as that is the Punisher's elbow, aiming his gun at Spidey. You, my good Sir, are eagle-eyed! Thanks for the puzzle.
@@terraincognita3749 That is awesome sir and what surprises me is that there are a lot of old-school venders that still sell there comics RAW, so I wish you good hunting....
To those who say it removes debate on the grade, actually it can make it fiercer in cases where CGC is just plain wrong. I’ve seen badly graded books from CGC. I’ve seen videos of books damaged by CGC, books cased in the wrong cases. I saw one book with a big chunk out on the spine graded 6.5. No way is a comic with a chunk missing from the spine a 6.5.
I saw this once, not your video here, but a video touching on this issue. The guy's video I saw had some VERY good research, and documentary footage of auctioneers and graders and how they work together to help control pricing. It was hard to argue against the guy's point. It was very detailed going all the way back to the start of these companies and who started them, etc. I myself have graded copies, I think they look great in their cases and it helps protect them... But I have questioned at times the market's valuing of books or devaluing books, all because of "movies", but that's just me. I don't think movies should be the sole driver of whether a comic wins or loses in the value wars, so to speak, and that is exactly what it seems to be these days. The way I see it now is "Oh a new TV series is coming out, lets hype this series up so we can get a crap ton for this comic before the show comes out..." The show turns out to be trash, comic book value drops to trash (even if you bought a really expensive variant, and that's a whole other subject lol). One can't look at this pattern of behavior among sellers and say it isn't scammy to push comics this way. Again grading is cool, I've done it myself for some comics I love, but trying to chase the market all because "hey the next movie/tv show is coming", is stupid and I feel a lot of folks do this now and ruin collecting and the values of comics. Because a comic could be an amazing series, but have a trash show if the producers for the show/movie sucks at their job and writing scripts, thus the comic book value will then drop all because someone didn't know how to do a good job producing the series that didn't even depict the comic correctly.
Agreed with you Regie. Wow, I know way to many folks who bought raw with restored or Frankenstein covers or pages. It is rampent in Golden/Atomic age comics. I've seen it happen to newer dealer friends as well. Nothing hurts more than an FF1 with restored color touch and married centerfold. I see everything having its place. At some point my collection will be sold. Can I crack things out? Sure! Can I get good at restoration spotting, I consider myself really good, but a convention is a terrible place to look for restoration. Folks don't even look for the missing value stamps/tattoos/inserts let alone resto. With values on certain keys costing real monies to slab, ever rising fees and especially wanting top $$ at auction, we need safeguards. The bill on an AF15 IN AN 8.0 WILL FREAK YOUR FAMILY OUT when it comes time to sell and your dead. Take advantage of the market drop to save on that cost, i do! 80% of my collection is raw, but all super/mega keys are stabbed. So unless you live in a vault at the Smithsonian, gravity, pest, fire, water and other environmentals are your enemy.
yes, i have heard/experienced those stories too,... what have u heard about having to get books reslabbed after 10 years or so,....? -or- the people who have cracked out their comics and the cover was stuck to the inside of the slab,...i've heard of both,.... only time i've ever bought a slab was when im looking for a particularly rare issue and a slab was the only copy available i could find. i do agree with you though, its best to safeguard your very best stuff, and go regular with all the rest......
@@mrdigit3353 on the reslab question, it depends. I have slabs that are older than a decade. I keep them in a climate controlled environment, cool, correct lighting millimeter, etc...dark, no windows. The cases are in great shape and scratch free. Not everyone does the same. If you buy an older slabbed comic, look it over. Was it from a dealer who stored all their inventory in a storage locker? Someone from south Florida with loads of humidity? CGC is in Florida and introduces humidity at certain times of the year when they slab/seal the books. In wiinter it's low, summer it's high. Just remember that CGC will mug you if it's a FF1, AF15, etc... is it worth rehabbing now if you aren't selling for another 10+ years? Save your monies and buy the dip in the market, unless you see something really wrong with the book.
People are saying there are scammer facilitators out there such as Alfred in NY that is about to be exposed…using previously signed books and submitting those books during current signing events!
While I agree...CGC isn't a scam, there are some shady dealings they've been involved in that starts to cut into that "Professionals" tag. At the end of the day we choose to go and get out books slabbed. Don't like it...don't do it and stay away from those books if it bothers you that much.
I get some of the reasons why people prefer slabs. Some reasons that I see: with expensive books, it is a way to better protect them, to increase their fair market value - a slabbed 3.5 of say Amazing Spider-man 1 will most likely fetch more money than a likely, but raw 3.5 of the same book. There is also the esthetical aspect: comics look sharp in a slab, even those that have considerable visual defects. And there is the ethical/ human desiree, as with all collecting/ organizing, of wanting uniformity; all comics neatly in a slab. That said, I prefer raws for my personal collection. I have several reasons for it. First, my collecting focus is almost exclusively on non-keys, like fun or sexy moderns and older. With non-key comics, the price differences between raw and slabbed is so vast ... and I am a man of modest means, so I pick raw ;-) I also really, really enjoy bagging and boarding and handling my PC comics myself. It is part of the joy. With slabbed comics, too much is out of my hands. And, slabs take up SO much space ... I just don't want to have to store them that way. Now, when I buy comics to sell at a profit - that's another part of the hobby for me - then I am defo open for slabs. A profit is a profit ;-) Though I must say that I usually see more profit in raw lesser known keys. There is less competition in that field than with slabs. Well, I am happy for anyone who enjoys the hobby, whether they focus on slabs or raw or a mix of it. Do what works for you. Does it bring joy? Does it match with your financial needs and goals? Does it not bring too much stress? Then I would say you are on a good path. Cheers to all and have a great time out there! Harmen, a comic fan from the Netherlands
CGC grader credentials are well documented. On the CGC website there’s a bio for each. Most of them have been or were on the overstreet committee or whatever it’s called for many years.
Why can't I? Both go to training and both are certified. I can confidently say that if you've purchased a diamond, you have no clue what the experience level was of the person that graded that diamond. The same way that you have no clue about the mechanic that certified your car.
@@RegieCollects unless of course they have a geology degree from a reputable university with years of experience and tons of reviews. But you're also right, and it would depend on the grader..which would also apply to anything else out there 'gradable'..including comics. I'll be honest, I don't have all of the facts..I just have a friend who is a jeweler and she has TONS of credentials and I remember many complaints from the community when cgc was hiring new graders to deal with back-log. I love you Regie and definitely don't want to engage in a heated debate over this with you..just playing a little devils advocate I guess. Keep doing your thing man! Salute!!
Debate is fine. It’s healthy. 🤣😂 Your friend has major credentials and expertise now but she didn’t always. I’m sure that she had a mentor and or checks and balances were put in place to monitor her work. The same can be said for CBCS and CGC. The same can be said for appraisers, mechanics, plumbers, etc. Yes, they are doing the works but there is an apprenticeship period where everything is monitored.
Regie, you know that I have a few books and very few Graded and slabbed. It has nothing to do with this being a "scam". These are books or lets say artifacts that have been authenticated and given a value. Yes it is a collectible, BUT name a reputable museum that does not encase valuable artifacts in protective cases? Name a reputable collection that is curated that does not have a person who certifies the artifacts are real and accessed a value. The other FUN fact for me is to my understanding, there is no one telling me I MUST Grade and slab my collection or it has zero value. Grading and slabbing is NOT a scam it is just another process that some people do to protect, verify and assess a value of their collections.
"Encased" and graded are two different things. Museums carry antique artifacts, not collectables. You can also encase a comic without going through a grading company. Benefits of grading are for selling and a third parties opinion on condition.
Not a scam but sloppy business practices…newton rings, plastic bits in the slab, inconsistencies in grading, etc. also conflict of interest when the same company grades its own comics as 10s or 9.8s and sells them. Increasing grading cost for speculative prices of comics is also another interesting aspect of the industry. What certifications does a slabbing vendor possess from what institution?
Don't disagree about the sloppy business practices. I can't speak on companies grading and selling their own comics as I haven't seen that personally. I can't speak for some of the others but CGC has a training curriculum for graders. The same way that BMW has a certification course for its certified mechanics.
Third party grading is a way of defining the condition of a collectible. That helps to remove any debate regarding the value of said collectible. Definitely not a scam.
When a book gets sent in and gets different grades, different times, different companies, then I will ask you what the real grade is? It may not be a scam, but the hobby has been bamboozled into believing absolute numbers on subjective assessments. When assessments become objective, then the given number will have more meaning
Unfortunately, this will never occur because grading is a subjective thing and it doesn't matter if you are talking about raw or slabbed grading. It's all subjective.
@RegieCollects with investment into software, algorithms, and AI, there is an opportunity to eliminate much of the subjectivity. The capability is there; albeit tremendous resource currently. But to say "never" I feel is inaccurate.
“Much of the subjectivity” is not an absolute. I stand by my statement that all subjectivity cannot be removed. Grading a comic is not a science. It is an art. All art is subjective.
@RegieCollects agreed. Grading is an art; not objective. And therein lies the problem. Assigning absolute numbers to an art is problematic and where the word "scam" gets tossed around. I don't think it is a scam, but without attaching a word "label"; something is inherently wrong with that
I personally don’t know of many things that are purely objective. Medicine is art/science and the same can be said about law. These things are about training and judgement. There isn’t anything new here. Acknowledge that these things aren’t perfect and move forward one way or the other.
Another excellent subject. I was just watching another RU-vidr video that discussed pros and cons on grading video games. Very similar debate on basic collecting vs investing. They have the same problems with preserving, seller misrepresented products, color touch, etc. I personally feel that grading gives me "some" peace of mind when buying high dollar book online. Not at the 100% level but more than 75% sure of the product. Still can't compare with evaluating a book in your own hands. Keep up the good work!
Regie, I think you're a real gem in this community because you always bring objective facts and numbers to the table rather than just attacking someone's point of view. I also appreciate the fact that you'll bring on people with varying points of view to try and discover the root of their views.
I don't aways agree with guests but they have a point of view and we shouldn't be afraid to explore that. People don't always agree with me and that's okay. Such is life. 🙂
Salutation Regie. Nicely explained with other comparison hobbies like coins and cards . I have never and will never have a comic grade but, That's me, but for hard core collectors it's a must.
Great topic, Regie. I think it's almost redundant to take the statement you read at face value. It wasn't well articulated, but the mistrust of grading companies is probably the central element to what that messager was trying to convey. There is a purpose that graded slabs fulfill. Absolutely. But the lack of consistency is a real issue. Especially now that unfettered access to grader notes is no longer assured. With a sport, non-sport or deckmaster card the full object is temporarily preserved without detracting from any of the visible components of the object in the slab. It has a front and a back and that's it. But a comic has an interior that can no longer be accessed onced slabbed and graded. The thing that can make a book valuable (first appearance, origin story, death) -if not on the cover will be completely inaccessible, which detracts from the joy of the original object and limits the object's original, intended purpose. A book that represents well in a case can infer better condition than the interior lives up to. A cover can be perfect and pages can be missing. And mistakes can be made whereby the wrong comic goes into the slab or has the wrong label. This phenomenon is far less common in card grading. No, these aren't "scams," per sé but they are problematic. And as regards VHS tapes, audio cassettes, videogames or LPs, there is an elevated value given to factory sealed items, while utilizing no metric for grading whether the tape or game or LP plays perfectly or not. It is purely cosmetic and even then only with regard to the packaging. Is the correct tape or game or vinyl album guaranteed to be present in a factory sealed, gem mint 10 graded slab? No. Not at all. At least a graded, bubble-packed action figure, while not able to be enjoyed as intended, is totally visible within the slab, preserving the same aesthetic that was present when the object was first purchased. So I empathize to a degree with fans who believe grading to be a scam, because there are aspects to the process and the final graded product that seem shady. How many of us have submitted comics that should have recieved higher grades than they did only to resubmit and get those higher grades? A lot of us have. That alone is evidence of a flaw in the certification process and an inconsistency among so-called "experts." But do I buy slabs? Yes, I do. Because they are (in most cases) verifiably what they claim to be within the scale of an accepted metric. That makes resale easy. But we shouldn't kid ourselved that slabs actually preserve the comics. They don't. At least not for as long as we might expect. CGC recommends reslabbing every few years -but of course they do, since they get paid again. And that objectively seems scammy.
Reg, another great video and commentary. Years ago, a wise dealer friend shared his thoughts on graded books, and I still keep his point in mind. When buying and selling comics, people usually debate on price and grade of a comic. My friend said professional graded books helped him eliminate the grade argument so he and his customers can focus their attention to price. It made such great sense to me. I deal in both raw and graded books, but when graded, I feel far more confident asking fair market pricing. I don’t know anybody who feels graded books are a scam. People may “prefer” raw books, but with the comic folks I know, none would consider a graded book a scam. Thanks for the video bro.
I was once a naysayer when it came to graded comics. I decided to my Silver Surfer #4 because I wanted to protect it. This is the comic that got me into flipping. Anyway, it came back with the dreaded putple label. 😢 I no longer buy bigger books that aren't slabbed.
Great vid! I believe it's a little of both... It's not a scam due to the acceptance of the grading system being THE definitive agreement on authenticity and quality, it's the only known method that exists. It takes that burden off of any parties involved in a transaction and solely on the institution that gave a grade to an item in said transaction. That's where the scam creeps in, I've sent stacks of the same exact comic book, say 10 total, all in the same exact Inherent condition, off to be graded by a widely accepted institution. When they returned, they're all now equivocally given a grade of 9.8... This 9.8 is now their accepted measure of value between both parties if they were ever to be exchanged.. Right?... What if I told you that one out these 10 graded books, has, with a Sharpie Marker, my initials written front and center on a panel on page 11 within it?... Is that one still a 9.8? Is it ever even going to be acknowledged in any way in any future exchange or assessment? That's why it's a scam, that grade, regardless, is that item's identity now, it's the only way to decide it's worth that's deemed acceptable by the majority. Oh yeah, what if I told you I've put my initials on page 11 of dozens upon dozens of raw books, which are now officially sealed and stamped as 9.8's? Just to see when it'll finally be discovered, What if you've bought one? Will you ever know? will you care? Can you accept that?...-NH
The 9.8 grade is based upon the cover and not the interior pages. The only evaluation of the interior comes from the page color designation. Additional, a low page quality (e.g., brittle) can impact the overall grade but a sharpie signature has zero impact. Hope this helps.
My only suggestion is we make another company big. CGC is getting crazy on prices. To back up Reggie's point, The Phantom comic book hits 9.6. as an old vintage comic (like many vintage) . There is not a recorded 9.8. (last I checked)
Here's another point to throw into this debate... slabbing a comic prevents you from ever reading and enjoying the comic again. I think that's why people don't slab music, movies, video games etc... but for some reason, comic collectors are hellbent on locking their comics in slabs...
Every single word that you uttered is factually incorrect. 🤷🏾♂️ Every single item that you named is actively being graded. Additionally, a slab can always be cracked and the comic read. The idea that someone is going to casually read a high dollar comic is sorta laughable-especially when you can read facsimiles, or digital.
I think a lot of people who call graded books a "scam" don't understand that they are not the market for graded books. You point out that graded books are certified, and that this adds value. But what you didn't say is that the certification more importantly adds liquidity. Any book graded by CGC or CBCS will be easier to sell than a raw copy. This makes the book more valuable. Not all collectors are concerned with ease of resale. This is fine. But others are, whether because they are primarily interested in the financial aspect of the hobby or for more prosaic reasons like estate planning. These collectors are the people who graded books are for. Now, I think the hype over graded moderns - especially ratio variants - is a little sketchy at times. But that's a separate issue from grading in general, and if you don't like it you just don't participate. Keep up the great content, Regie!
Don't get me wrong, I love me some raw books, but the ability to preserve books to hand down to my kids..that's priceless. Graded books are a fantastic addition to the hobby. Thanks Regie for your great content!!
So I watched and heard what @Reggiecollects said. While I agree that graded books are here to stay. What I do not agree with is that all the companies are not 100 percent impartial. I say that because most of the time money dictates favoritism. If you spend thousands of dollars with x grading company you will likely get more favorable grades. This wouldn't bother me if the mark up was the fmv of said book plus the cost of grading. I know the market is down and 10x multipliers are probably a thing of the past. If I send 5 books a year to get them graded. I have a zero percent chance of favorable grades most of the time it will be far harsher than those that send in hundreds or thousands of books. So is it a scam no but it is biased. I have been collecting buying and selling for 40 years. So I probably am accurate in grading my stuff. I don't clean or press my books as to me that's not collecting either. It's profiteering which is legal not arguing that . I just wonder what happens when all those chemicals and moisture inductions make books worthless because if you dare take them out of the holders as is recommended by the grading companies at a certain point. Do they turn to dust or become so brittle? I suppose only time will tell. So in summary 😂 it's not a scam but it does have a tinge of sketchy in my opinion. So raw and wriggling for me. Just my opinion.
I would consider grading comics, rare comics that are so good they need protection, when the grading companies use a scanning process to grade at least the cover so all books would be graded equally. Grading the interior is, or should be, much more straight forward.
I personally prefer having raw high grade comics in my PC. However one would be foolish to call grading books a scam. I’ve recently gone through my doubles and purchased a collection that I intend to pull and grade the best books out of to have them graded. They should fetch a much higher price post grading. Want to get the hobby to fund itself some how. I guess I won’t be selling to that guy! Keep educating the people Sir!
You can always tell when a person who has already made up their mind about something starts spewing their nonsensical talking points that are totally unsupported by any evidence or data. They present their opinions as facts and are 100% certain that they're 100% correct. It would be entertaining if it wasn't so sad because it's nearly impossible to sway this person with data or evidence; they've been corrupted and the ignorance has deep roots. No matter what the topic is these days - science, history, politics, movies....the comment section is seemingly loaded with "experts" in all of these fields at any given time. In a weird way, these people only add credence and authority to the actual experts that they want to dethrone so badly. We always have to remember that someone's uninformed opinion never outweighs someone's legitimate education and expertise in a topic. To bring it back to graded comics being a scam...I'm confused as to why this person would ever take this position to begin with. If you don't like graded comics, don't buy them. Don't participate in that section of the hobby. Do your own thing, and let people enjoy their thing. Pretty simple.
The problems with grading is it is gambling combined with credentialism worship(fallacy). The gambling element is what grade you will receive with the additional expectation of a higher overall value depending on the grade. The credentialism is do those scores even mean anything we didn't already know? Could we of decided it's an "85", 8 out of 10, or just in great condition? If you took the case off of ten graded 75s to 95s could someone even tell the difference and sort them all properly without the grades on the cases? Is an 85 that meaningfully different than a 90? Doesn't being able to send the same exact item in over and over to get different grades just show how subjective and arbitrary it all is? Not to mention a lot of grading companies have perverse conflict of interest relationships with certain auction houses, etc. -> Claims other people are biased. -> Wall of graded comics books behind him, lol. The car example is apples to oranges. You need to make sure the car actually will run. The car isn't going to be slotted into a plastic case to be looked at or resold at an auction house. Diamonds are common as dirt and are actually worthless as it's all the marketing that pushes their perceived value on those who don't know that. Also the ultimate thing to consider is condition is subjective person to person so a specific grader saying this is X grade as soon as it's presented to anyone else they could just disagree with the grade, but it the slab _prevents_ it from being re-evaluated. A feature... not a bug!
@@RegieCollects I get it, but that doesn't magically whisk away the pseudo-science of the whole thing, or the inherent corruptability which is why you even had to make a video like this in the first place, right? People calling it a scam are basically aware of these things, and while it's not completely a _scam_ per se, it does have some serious flaws. The _real_ question we both should be asking is how could we _improve_ the current model so that people like you who like graded stuff (which there's nothing wrong with that) get something that isn't prone to all this while having a better product in the end almost anyone can get behind. The goal here would be to change it so it naturally will heavily weed out the pragmatic opportunists that the current models allows to basically run the show. This would not only improve the value of _all_ future graded stuff, it would greatly improve the reliability of the grades themselves, and remove the stigma it has with people who don't like the flawed current system. Now how you go about that is the real question! Maybe multiple judges all form their own opinions and then the grade is a collaboration of them, or leave it to some futuristic AI overlord?
The tone and tenor of your first comment to second is night and day. I salute you for that. I personally think anything involving people will always be flawed. The issues that have surfaced in the last several months have to be addressed by the grading companies. How? TBD. I hope that they are able to address these issues and anticipate the next set of challenges (because there will be more) to protect consumers/collectors. With that said, the people that have a bias against graded books will potentially never be swayed but that’s a story for another day.
Nice video. As far as your point that these are "objectively graded," i slightly disagree. Any process involving humans has a degree of subjectivity - otherwise you wouldnt be able to crack out a book, send it back and get a different grade. I think you are correct though when you say it has been evaluated to an "industry standard." The book has been examined by someone with no financial motivation to skew the grade up or down - a third party. Personally, I do not collect graded comics because it takes away so much of what I love in the hobby. Being able to read you books, look at the interior art, smell and handle them is all part of it for me. If slabs make you happy, that's great - there is definitely a market for them. My method for avoiding scams is to only buy from reputable dealers who i know are above board. It gives me the same assurances GCG does, while still being able to buy raw books with confidence. A good relationship with a great vendor goes a long way in this hobby
I'm also a raw collector for life. I think if you don't read your books and it's just for preservation, money and show then slab it. No offense it's just my opinion.
It only makes sense to slab true rarities. For example legit auction house worthy rarities from the silver and gold era. But slabbing common AF 90's comics (90's X-men, Spawn etc) that were mass produced and preserved in the 100's of thousands is just plain stupid and silly. I don't care if your 1st appearance of Gambit is a considered a 9.8 "grail" there are literally long boxes across the country filled with hundreds of copies of the same issue. It doesn't matter the "demand" a comic is only valuable is is actually organically scarce NOT if its being hoarded by a bunch of greedy dorks.
I agree Reggie just wish that when my book leaves me doesn't come back from CGC the gold standard in grading comics, in worse condition alot of horror stories out there Cgc could ruin your book which sucks
I think punching down on a persons inability to use written language to your standard is a cheap shot. But I sorta agree with true comment or. There are no disclosed procedures of how books are rated. They give you what a 9.8 means but won't quantify how they got there. Also, how did they got the training to make these decisions?. Where is the school of certification they attended? What are any of the grading companies code of ethics? How do we make sure they are being held accountable? So while you pointed at good points, not many of k could be backed up by something more than what we think they are doing. I think grading is a cool idea, but I am very weary of their practices for now. Great channel.
At the end of the day, getting a comic graded is a decision that you make. Either you want to do it or you do not. The questions you are asking have answers and I’m confident you can find them if you opt to get books graded. A more informed consumer is a better consumer. Lastly, it’s not about my standard. The rules of grammar and punctuation were established long before I learned to read or write. 👊🏾
If you look up the true meaning of a pre owned item it is nothing but a marketing tool to change the name from a used item. Just like the word start up. know body wants to invest in a new company, but they will in a start up.
I don’t have a problem with comics books being slabbed, to me that comparable to locking cash/jewelry in a safe. To me the scam-part appear when we put significant amounts of $$$ between minor digits - for example: an Action COMICS # 1 in 6.0 Can fetch 3 million dollars while a 5.5 “only” can fetch 1 million dollars - ridiculous price-points I know but hopefully you catch my drift.
I think it’s bc people don’t want to pay for it. And that’s understandable, but then just say their unaffordable and/or you don’t want to pay for it and that’s ok. And some people just prefer raw books and that’s ok too
I’m on both sides of the fence I want all my spawns in cgc 9.8s I got 119 off you. On the other stuff I buy clear boards now for my carnage and poison ivy collections. I’ve even turned on yellow labels now it costs more than they could be worth now. I love getting blanks done on commissions I just get a coa now. I mean a commission costs about 150 on average now with a 95 dollar cgc fee. I can find yellow label sketches everywhere now so much cheaper at auctions. To be honest Reggie I’m seeing smaller lines for commissions now good for us bad for artists.
Totally not a scam. It turns guess work into a known commodity. I think the certification is worth doing, especially on books that can be of significant value.
Graded books are only worth what the book inside the case is worth. The money spent to have it graded and encased is essentially 'wasted' on the process for the satisfaction and benefit of that particular collector. Once that graded book is sold off then it only becomes worth what the book inside is actually worth. The Graded and Case costs are moot. So long as the condition of the book is high then the value is still high but the extra $100's people expect for a graded copy is a WASTE.
I don't understand this comment all. You are entitled to your opinion but if you are saying that a raw book is worth what a graded books is worth any pricing guide will tell you that incorrect. There are absolutely value differences between a raw and graded comic.
@@RegieCollects Dont get me wrong, Ive payed for graded books. I just feel like the grading process is rooted in scam money. I dont believe that placing the raw book into a plastic case increases the value of the raw book by $100's. Its just plastic, not gold. All the case does is protect the book, which any hard protective sleeve can do as well. Those only cost a few dollars.
The values doesn’t come from the plastic. Pause. That would be nonsense. The value comes from a third-party evaluation of the book. It comes from a third party saying that this book is authentic. It comes from the disclosure of defects and the ability for the buyer to purchase with assures. The values comes from a standardization of grading that allows for a value to be assessed in pricing websites. It has nothing to do with the acrylic slab.
The IDEA isn't a scam, the scam is the largest grading company hired people based on an online grading contest. Yea, I'm sure they went through more training, but the inconsistency is mind blowing. I'm sure you know of David ( Comic Book Investments) getting almost 70 % ,of his one hundred crack and resubmit slabs back with higher grades. Personal experience: books coming back with defects that weren't there when they were sent, the wrong book coming back ( I sent in about a 9.0 direct copy and got a 6.5 news stand back ), a book with an imperceptible " light crease to cover " as the only defect, which they may have done , at a 9.6...I could go on and on with friends similar experiences, but you get my point. The point is, CGC's credibility is shot and I for one will NOT support them. BTW, your shows are some of the best...come on down to Fan Expo in New Orleans, I'd like to meet ya....geek responsibly!
when I was growing up here in the uk grading comics was deemed to be a waste of time also people wanted to know what the whole grading numbers was about I think that's still true here in the uk
I understand graded comics I don’t understand the price difference between them For example A 9.8 goes for let’s say $1000.00 But a 9.6 goes for $400.00 that price gap is strange to me I can see a difference but such a big one doesn’t seem right
Yooooooo reg u the godfather of comics u kno that BUT remember it is people that are professionals but it is people !! What if this professional is having a bad day and takes it out on the books and starts grading hard or having a good day and makes everything high!! We never kno who’s lookig at the books so it can happen u let me kno what u think
Wow I'm just saying thank you for this evening true powerful broadcast video commentary is indeed in my opinion truth be told the truth and food for thought. Yes again thank you for your deep point of view with all of the facts.
what is a comic collector? I thought it was someone who liked to read comics and enjoy the art, heck maybe even the ads or letter pages...w/slabbing, all of that is out of the window, now all you have is just the cover to look at...and really are collecting value rather than the story, . i will say, if you have a really expensive book, like action 1, batman 1, etc.,.....slab it, no doubt. i'd do the same thing,.....books of that ilk deserve being sealed to prevent damage,... but the most recent issue of whatever,...oh gosh, don't read it, you might get a tick mark on the spine,....some are sending in the book and have never even read it,.... that said, comics is a wide world and there's room for everyone, so if slabbing is your thing go for it,.....and on the other hand if you prefer the raw material, ditto. cool show regie, thanks for taking the time to address this, it isn't going away imo.
My guy just flexed Crazy on yall with out flexing 😂😂😂 call my Son wall “The Holy Grail Wall”!!! Keep motivating brother. Also what do you think about the M-She-U?
Professional grading is not a scam. That was too strong a statement. His argument would have credence if he called it a ruse. It makes the masses in our hobby believe that a random grader's opinion supersedes the conviction of a long-time collector. That is not necessarily my point of view. I was just trying to rephrase the argument and open it to discussion.
Reggie… There’s something I want to ask you about but I don’t know how comfortable I feel doing so on a public forum. Essentially I want to call out a particular comic book, currently being offered on eBay. The reason I’m uncomfortable is that I have no reason to believe the seller is dishonest. I just feel certain looking at the book that the CGC label is inaccurate. I believe it’s vastly overgraded and probably restored despite the blue label. Is there a way to send you the information on the book without spilling the beans in the replies here? If you look at the book and agree with my opinion or even if you disagree you might get an video out of it. However strongly you feel that slabs aren’t a scam, I’m sure you agree, let the buyer beware even when there’s a slab and a blue label.
Ummm yeah their “training” and “certifications” are a joke…l urge you to look into the recent hiring … that’s like calling a driver a professional because they watched a drivers ed video
So just to be clear, you are saying the training is a joke due to a recent hiring versus having attended the training yourself. Isn’t that like saying all teachers are bad because the newest teacher is struggling??!?
Not what I’m saying at all …nice try though…I never claimed any training myself…and as for teachers they are not all equal and I don’t value the opinion of one teacher the same as another, based on many factors such as education (instructional) background. How that relates to what you said about new teachers is just you trying to spin the fact that cgc has many UNDER QUALIFIED graders working for them currently. The end 😉
@@RegieCollects Certainly "Reggie" is the more common spelling, if only from Archie comics. But as you say, your spelling is all over the place here! Feel free to ignore this question if it's too personal, but I've often wondered about your name with a single "g." Is there a specific reason for it, or perhaps that spelling is more common than I realize? With regards to the slabbing topic, I wonder if many collectors/enthusiasts haven't noticed how much material value is being driven by the cover art alone? It seems the hobby, reflecting the tastes of the broader culture, is increasingly about visual appeal rather than story telling. Image over text, that is. Just a thought.
My name is Reginald technically, one G. And, if I spelled it the traditional way it just seems old and dated hence the single G. I think the anti-slabbing movement is motivated by many things including snobbery. If someone doesn’t collect exactly like them, it’s wrong. Don’t read your books? That’s wrong. Slab? That’s wrong. Treat them like your spent thousands of dollars on them (because you did)? Wrong.
@@RegieCollects Of course! Reginald only has one g. That makes perfect sense. I'm embarrassed I didn't think of that. As for the "wrong" way to collect: these divided opinions are why I'm bemused by the idea of some mythical comic collecting community. Sure, you can build a community of friends inside any hobby, but this idea that comic collectors form one big cozy family is just strange to me. It doesn't exist in other collecting fields, and I'm not sure why the idea pops up with regards to comics.
I think the idea of a unified comic community is aspirational. If you look at many other collector communities there are tons of division and in fighting. I think comic collectors aspire to not go down that path of us versus them. I personally think many collectors have more in common than they have differences but people want to harp on the differences. I opt to focus on the similarities. It’s a conscious decision. Additional you have to consider the outside forces that show up. There are many people that watch comic content (e.g. movies/tv shows) that don’t read or collect comics. They watch the movies. You also have infiltration from the Disney haters. I do not think these folks are part of the comic community nor do they consider themselves part of the community.
It’s no scam-the prices are what they are, and people pay. But for comics, slabbing them makes them something they are not supposed to be-an unusable, needlessly pricey commodity. I can understand encasing a sports card, framing fine art, as those items can still be viewed, but I believe a comic book ought to be read.
Says the guy with 100,000 comics where 95% of the books are raw. 🤷🏾♂️ Having graded books on the wall is a demonstration of how I feel comfortable displaying graded books versus raw books. Good try my guy. 🤣👊🏾
LOL I got a lot that is raw... but not that much. LOL Sold my Amazing Spiderman #1, 1st appearance of the Justice league, blah blah blah. I am an old dealer dude... Slabbing was not a thing in my old timey days. LOL It's funny and cool that you would answer me back. I appreciate it. BUT, I have only recently come back, slabbing, pressing, buying up everything for fun... now as a hobby. Side gig dude... I am raising prices cause I am buying everything up. No worries... when I start our vids, will have plenty of slabs behind me. Nothing that you guys show though. Just busting your balls. Gotta be honest man. Too many people are taking advantage of the comic book collectors man. Good luck man! LOL @@RegieCollects
Personally, I like to let my comics breathe but if others want to contain them and pay to get them graded, that's fine too. We're all comic nerds. We need to stay united!
