For a “guarantee” company, CGC seems unwilling to guarantee their grades. Which raises the question, why grade your books if the grade isn’t guaranteed. I prefer raw books, and am never going to ship my valuable books in the mail to a company that seems to have very little quality control.
How many of their 9.8’s are really 9.6’s and vice versa? Yet, the value between some 9.8’s and 9.6’s can be astronomical. CGC admits it’s subjective, which is why they don’t guarantee their grades. Which is absurd. Most people can’t tell the difference between a 9.8 and 9.6. It’s a racket.
I honestly get kind of the same feeling when I get books from your claim sales. They are so high grade, they just look beautiful. Always learn a lot from your videos as well.
Thanks for being transparent, love the chemistry between the both of you. I decided to put the breaks on getting modern books slabbed because anything below a 9.6 really kills the value of the even though you can’t tell the difference between a 9.6 and a 9.8 and in some cases a 9.4! Right now I am using Mylars to protect my comics
Great video! Once again, I feel that you hit it again. Always great to get a perspective from a dealer and collector. I greatly appreciate and enjoy the videos and claim sales.
Fantastic show guys!! I am pretty sure I have bought some comics from your eBay store. I should probably get into instagram. Excellent topics and info! Love this content
Nice to know this info, thanks. Got pulled into your video cuz of the Riot Fire Down Under t-shirt. Seen them live about 5 times back in the late 70's and early 80's plus I saw Narita live too.
Such an underrated band, they should have been bigger. They were big here in Texas. Seen them live 4 times with Guy singing and once with Rhett. Actually met the band on the Born in America tour.
House of Mystery goodness always makes me smile. (Wrightson, Kaluta, and Adams all day every day). And to answer your question... if I was watching television and looked out my window at those two creatures I'd probably scream but then say, "Damn Bernie! Your creations in real life are even more impressive!"
You guys are great. IG sales have a learning curve. I'd plan on showing 4 hours of books in a 2 hour show. People want to see diversity. Speaking of diversity, I initially thought focusing on super high grades books was going to be tough because of the pricing. It's a niche below modern age. But, when I got my books from you and compared them to the 7.5s I have. It's no contest. They are bright, and crisp, and worth the premium. Keep it up. Also, the problem here is that GPA is your reference and Comic Link is killing you.
Hi Dave and Rachael. Just got my 3 x economy tier comics back. 29 DAYS ! 😮 and that’s from the U.K. to the U.S and back again. To say I’m pleased is an understatement. Good to see some love for RIOT. I’ll have to fish mine out from the back of the drawer now. 😀
I collect Golden Age books but I go out of my way to avoid those slabbed ones, mainly because I buy my back issues for the story and the art more than anything else.
Hi Guys, great vid as usual and again very informative. I hadn’t heard of ComicLink until a previous vid of yours, so I went to take a look. I created myself an account, made a wanted list to get notifications and started to look through the books. I found a some I was interested in, but noticed there are no shipping fees to be found on the website, so I emailed them. I couldn’t stop laughing when I found out how much shipping was to the UK, $95! That however is the same price for up to three, but still far more than eBay for instance. Needless to say, I haven’t been back.
I have never slabbed any of my books, ever! Many of mine were signed on the interior, because that's how we did it back then. So slabbing books never was for me. A good movie, also drives up the sales of a character, in my opinion.
Well it is a buyer’s market right now. Everybody is worried about the cost of everything else like food and gas and looking for deals. I would not stop slabbing because you know the market will change to a sellers market sometime in the future.
This show was fun. I enjoy the horror books more now than when I was younger. The artist and the stories are just amazing. Your tips and opinions are much valued to me. I hope you two decide to open a Whatnot stream. I will definitely be there.
I feel like I say this every single time, but another great video. You guys give such practical, applicable information for collectors of all kinds. Btw, please keep showing horror every time. 😁
I slab late bronze, copper books. I rarely do auctions because of what you experienced. I'll roll with low end books that will sell for ~$70 9.8 but I Must be highly confident that they will get a 9.8. I usually do a triple check before I submit. If I have doubts I'll pull it, maybe needs another press, etc. I try to avoid coin flips. When I fail I'll try to move them out even under $25 in a "reasonable" time period. One should not get caught up trying desperately to get your costs back. Keep that cash flow going and move on!
nice video- I personally dont deal with slabs. I know how to grade and I can buy my own plastic.I dont have any problem with grading and putting stuff in plastic, I just am not going to 10x what the book is actually worth. I have found that the raw market at least is beginning to stabilize( as long as u dont count exclusives and the people that think their raw book should sell for 9.8 price) I just kind of slog thru all the silly stuff out there .Its tough sometimes and I wish grading companies would go away and people could realize they can trust themselves to grade. But, as will the sports card market,they arent going to go away.
I love buying lower grade slabs! I also sell them for slab price, but I haven't had good luck with auctions. I just sold X-Men 68 (reprint era) in a CGC 5.0. People will pay slab price as long as the books present well, but it's a slow burn to find those happy buyers. Not a volume business! Love your content!
Hey Dave. Hey Rachel. Just discovered your channel via the RU-vid recommendations and really enjoyed the video and the dynamic of a father and daughter collecting and selling. I subbed you up on here and IG. It’s really tough selling some days and I feel for you. I think in this market if the book is within the 1985 and up range and is not a key, it might be better to just leave it raw. Like, that Web 3 is a great book and a great 9.8 grade, but people are just in a holding pattern saving their cash for keys on the dip. Looking forward to your upcoming vids.
It’s interesting, I “knew better” but submitted and got hammered in some cases. I wasn’t as interested in selling raw books as much originally. I have been, shall we say, converted. The good news is that most of those types of slabs are gone now.
I’m sure there are lots of slabbers who really have no business sense at all. And ending up with stacks of them with no worth. If both of you find it difficult then that says it all. Great segment from you, the humour is awesome.
I think people are still buying more to collect, less distraction and competition from FOMO. Likely card collectors and others crossovers are more focused on their primary joys and less focused on comics.
CGC actually got my economy books back in less than 9 months... and then I had another set of books 3 months behind that they also sent along, meaning that they came back in 6 months. I almost think they had some new young grader who just rushed them all through.
I don’t believe any of those books you showed were keys except Web Of Spider-Man #1, which is pretty common. Some books aren’t worth grading unless they’re 9.6 and above.
No, I’ll grade it and offer it to you. I got it specifically for that. Give me a couple of days and I’ll shoot you the info. I don’t think it will be expensive.
I’m new’sh to this. And I’m sure you hear this all the time, but I really love how beautiful slabbed books are. I just haven’t been able to bring myself to buy one yet. I think it’s because I’d not be able to read the story or see the art inside. Do most people who buy slabs just purchase the omnibus to enjoy the story inside?
Books in really high grade that are valuable are a bit dangerous to read if keeping them in the same grade is important to you. Some people just find the stories online or get a reader copy.
I think it might be time for you to do a sit down video of your greatest DC horror Treasures..I love that stuff.I have almost all the Adams and Wrightson covers just not high grade..I own the only Graded CGC copy of Rocket's Blast Comicollector #114 1974 Signed By Bernie Wrightson.Stunning cover..I always have a smile after your vids..ya that sounded creepy.
Useful information for anyone interested in getting a comic graded by CGC. It would seem with the present state of the comic market that it really wouldn't be with cracking open a slab especially if it was you who submitted it before unless you could find a say to drastic increase the end grade. Rachel gives an objective and critical analysis of an ungraded book from what I have seen. We seen that in the past videos of submissions and what it graded for before and after. Rachel would often point out details that were likely the reasons why it had received a lower grade. Times are tough these days and I suppose for anything collectible, many people have dropped out of the market because they don't have that extra money for collecting.
I have quite a few customers that like when I can find cheap slabs and pass savings along to them. Especially if they are new to slabbed books. Also, the hunt is fun.
And now ppl are trying to sell there raw comics for the same as the Cgc Slab. So someone will price a raw 7.0 ( so they say) comic for the same price as that book in a Cgc 7.0. What happened to a book bring $10 near mint and then the 9.6/9.8 being $100 plus? Now that near mint raw book ppl want to sell for $50 plus. It’s ridiculous
I bought my first slab -- a Tomb of Dracula #1 in a CGC 7.5 from Heritage... Covrprice says I overspent but I have my copy at a cost that seems to be just a hair above the actual selling price according to e-Bay. I'm happy to own the book, but the slabbing doesn't impress me. I'd probably trade it for a raw 8 if I could compare the two. I prefer raw books and my grail doesn't fit well with the rest of my collection. C'est la vie...
The new CGC price hikes will push more people away from stabbing altogether since CBCS books have never commanded as strong a price!! The main reason I have stabbed books in my collection is that I purchased them at raw prices. Win, win 4 me!
The CGC thing is bonkers. You are right, some books don't need slabbing. You can clear a better margin selling raw! I love to collect but can't help but feel the hand of the pickpocket (CGC/CBCS). I get it, I can leave my major keys raw, but if I pass that only makes it doubly hard for the spouse. I am sending in a couple of books and will have to pony up 1400.00 + . I had to weigh the rising costs and the fact that CGC will now want 4% versus 3%. It's a mugging gone amuck. I have to get ahead of the deadline either way. The small value books (under 2K ) I can leave for a future date. We definitely see the pendulum swinging the other way. I hope people who enjoy collecting can get back in and feel happy they are not being run down by speculators.
People who sing the praises of raw are forgetting the reasons for the creation of CGC in the first place. I'd say you don't need to slab moderns or anything under 100.
Golden State 2010 New Teen Titans #9 for $34 Was that actual pedigree?! or the stamp they threw on slabs during the World Wide Comics estate sale? I have a few raw and slabbed (extra stickers) myself.
I’ve never sent anything to cgc. I’ve bought slabs. What the safest and quickest way to reslab? I have a few cracked cases that need reslab but I hear horror stories. I wish cgc would reslab in comic cons
I am trying to determine if I should send my immaculate copy of Amazing Spiderman # 77 in to be graded, not a key book or anything it is the condition that draws me to it. I almost watched a guy get fired for mislabling the price of this issue at my LCS 30 years ago. It was like a 50$ book then and I got it for 10$, the owner chewed out his employee on the spot it was kind of embarassing as I had found it in a box in the corner for odd books and went to buy it immediately. I am so afraid it will be damaged either in transit or by a careless nitwit at CGC, any advice would be helpful thanks!
@@richardolney1822 Thanks for the advice! It is in an old polybag since the book dimensions are different since it is a silver age book and my normal 90s era poly is too small. Do You remember the prices for the pressing and overall fee? I have that and a newsstand version of the first appearance of Carnage and those are the only 2 books that I have that are seemingly decently valuable. Thanks! :edit: I forgot to ask is it like sports card grading (PSA) where they upcharge You depending on value of the item post grading?
No, they clean books too. They (one grader) didn't like some books, and I have to question if they were "wet cleaned". I don't do that (wet cleaning) personally.