9.9's and 10's from CBCS18228

Originally Posted by DrWatson
I like graded books. That said, I truly believe that ALL encapsulated books with a number are gimmicks. Theres too much deviation between books of the same grade. The entire system was designed to monetize comic books and make them more liquid.

Originally Posted by theCapraAegagrus
Quote:

Originally Posted by Whynotv2
Sorry, wrote a wall and didn't intend to. Anyway, being able to see the thoughts and reasons and have it follow a set of rules that everyone has access to may make it less of a "gimmick" because now there's a known, quantifiable reason for the grade.

If everyone knew how to grade and spot restoration, CGC and CBCS (etc) would be obsolete. If they sold their notes as, "this is exactly why it received this grade", they would go out of business much quicker.

Originally Posted by Whynotv2
Just like every "certificate of authenticity" means the signature or card/comic is genuine? I can sign a book for you as "Stan Lee" and give you a CoA, but it doesn't mean anything. In this market, at least as far as it applies to both CGC and CBCS (though CBCS does have a "verification" team) I could have a video of an artist/writer signing my book. Keep the camera on me and the book the entire time while I drive it to CBCS/CGC, hand it to them, continually record the entire process thereafter, and it won't be enough to get a "witnessed signature" notation. So no, I don't believe that providing exact notes/details would put anyone out of business. If that were the case, I could simply go get a job at CBCS/CGC as a grader, learn what I can, leave, and start my own grading company using the exact same methods as the other two (or however many grading companies there are). And all things considered, we should be told and have access to exactly why a book received a grade. We are paying for a service. Asking for and receiving an answer as to why a book was graded as it was should be acceptable. I get a test back from a teacher/professor at school and I see the grade "B" on top of it, all I have to do is flip through it and I can see why. I've paid for the class and have access to the "grade notes". I go to the grocery store and the check out girl says "You need knee replacement surgery, schedule it with my assistant bagger and we'll get you fixed up." But lady, I'm here for groceries, why does my knee need to replaced? "I'm taking some classes and know what's best." Well, just because you have a couple of classes, or in the case of grading, have some notes for the exact grade, it doesn't make you an expert. A better example, the amount of comic book stores (and individual collectors) who press comic books. The pressing queues at CBCS and CGC haven't diminished and if anything, pressing has seen a spike!

All in all, I've got to disagree with your assessment as there is value behind comics being graded by companies with reputations (even if one of them apparently sells 9.9 and 10 grades, but that recent horse has been well beaten), random people who have notes, and even any new companies that pop up out of the blue.

Originally Posted by Whynotv2
If I went to "grading school", or even worked for CBCS/CGC and was taught grading, then began offering my services would it honestly lose CBCS/CGC business?

Originally Posted by Whynotv2
My long winded point...how would it lose them business? A signature COA or the COA with a "genuine" book doesn't lose them business because most people don't care about them. They only care about the number on the sealed slab and which company's name is on the label. If I went to "grading school", or even worked for CBCS/CGC and was taught grading, then began offering my services would it honestly lose CBCS/CGC business? If you believe that it will, I'll have a few dozen long boxes full with nothing but 9.8 and 9.9 (with a few 10's in each) that I'm going to be selling later in the week. So no, the "tangent" is not unrelated at all. It's a rather good example illustrating that people care about the company's name/reputation. Sure, maybe in 5 or 6 years a customer who knew how to grade to the "standard" may take some money from CBCS/CGC, but it would be a drop in the bucket and they'd have to offer something that CBCS doesn't (faster turnaround times) and CGC doesn't (integrity, after the Ultimate Fallout 4 9.9/10 incident) at a competitive price point.

Originally Posted by Whynotv2
My "point" is an example that has relevance. It is also my opinion. "There are two type of people in the world. Those who can extrapolate from the data." You seem to be the other type.

Let me think about why people send comics to be graded. *Jeopardy music* What is, to potentially increase the book's value for eventual resale?" Which is the most likely answer and as such, the integrity of the grader matters. So again, other folk learning to grade (or as my original intent was and has been twisted out of context was to better understand what makes a grade, ie. how many and what sized ticks constitute a tenth or half point deduction, how a color break tick affects a grade vs a non color breaking tick...) WILL NOT take any revenue from CBCS/CGC because that person doesn't have the backing of years/decades and tens of thousands of books/collectibles that have been graded behind them.

Send me some of your books to be graded. Include a check for $10 per book. I'll cover the return shipping and have them back to you in a few days time with grades for each printed on an Avery label stuck to a top loader. For an extra $10 per book, I'll upgrade the grades to a 9.9 regardless of the condition and for an extra $20 per book they'll be graded as 10s. After you receive the graded books please let me know of how you successfully sold them at a higher price due to them being graded. When that happens, I will concede that people who don't have established companies with "proven" track records that are accepted by the collector's community will indeed affect the revenue generated from CBCS/CGC.

Now if that's not the point, please do enlighten me (I'm now asking a second time) on how people who learned to better grade/understand based on CBCS/CGC practices for grading would affect revenue generation by CBCS/CGC? I'll even give you one minor scenario...they *may* lose a little revenue from prescreening on newer books, but doubtful that it would be much.