The cgc Raise Prices Effective January 21, 202521443

Originally Posted by KatKomics
Just an observation/rant/venting...

People complain about a % difference in realized prices for different grading companies....does it really matter?? why and to whom and when does it matter??

Any book with FMV at less than say $100 is not worth even grading (you can sell for less than FMV and still be ahead for having not paid grading fees).

Maybe if you are in business and this is how you pay the bills it matters.
How many re-subs are required because of slab "issues" or poor grading standards or heaven forbid someone used CCS pressing - how much time and effort and extra grading/pressing and shipping fees are incurred - is the % difference worth it now?

Me - I've been "collecting" since I was a child - still have issues my mom sent to me rolled up in a tube at summer camp when I was like 8 to 11'ish
Economic theory is all my books - are 'worthless' whatever I paid (mostly cover price) is a sunk cost - the utility of the book has been used - I've read it and loved and cherished it - it is now worthless sitting in a box.

ANY amount I sell it for is gain - if I sell it for less than cover price (never mind FMV) it is still a gain (I would now have actual cash in my hand , that has utility, vs nothing ,no utility, in a box) - some may say, but, but, but it is worth what FMV is - is is though??...while sitting in a box, can you take that box and pay your bills with it?... it's only 'worth' what you actually get for it...

Or are these Shrodingers Comics - worth nothing and everything (alive and dead at the same time??)

As long as I make back grading and shipping fees all else is 'profit'
Then you get the debate on did I get 'enough' profit...so what's enough?

If I hand my books over at a convention I save shipping, if I use promos I save fees - if MCS picks up from CBCS I again save shipping - these are not insignificant charges (if I sell though MCS their fees are less than some other sales channels too!) - what's the % difference now when I take those savings into account....
If I leave my MCS sales as a credit to buy another book I save a % on my purchase - if I build a credit over time I make 10% or more because my currency is losing value to the USD so my USD credit is gaining value...what's the % difference now?

idk...I think % differences while real are not as big a deal as people try to make them out to be - unless this is a primary income activity where loss of a few % with a higher cost base can become death by 1000 cuts.
If you are just a small fish collector does a couple % matter.
Now - I've never sold an individual issue for more than $1k - for 'big' or 'rare' books is the difference there too? - I've not experienced it in the range I play in and I've been happy whatever was required to get the 'keys' I was after - Hulk 181 in 7.0 might be my most expensive purchase - although not my most 'valuable' book....are there people who would pass on their desired grade of AF15 because it was CBCS instead of CGC or would only pay less - or are those differences due to the natural fluctuations of how auctions work

Originally Posted by Davethebrave
at high values it suggests that CGC books (for vintage / high value) are graded more strictly. Otherwise people would purchase a CBCS book at a discount and then re-slab as CGC… the only (rational, see below) way this does not happen is if the reslabbing results in a grade drop.

Originally Posted by esaravo
In my opinion, the only data that helps perpetuate the idea that CGC slabs sell for more money than CBCS slabs are auction data. I agree that CGC has probably slabbed around 90% (or more) of all graded comics. They were the first company to do it, and have been around for about 25 years. CBCS is much smaller and has been around about 10 years. Therefore, the majority of collectors, and even many non-collectors, know the CGC brand. So if there is an auction with two similar books, one in a CGC slab and one in a CBCS slab, there are a lot more people that would want the CGC slab. More competition usually means higher prices.
However, there are so many variables when it comes to auctions. How many times are there two nearly “identical” books in the same auction? When that happens, why can one sometimes sell for a lot more than the other, even if they are both in CGC or CBCS slabs?
In addition, prices fluctuate so much and so quickly, especially over the last few years. A 9.6 CGC book could sell for say $500 last week, and yet then sell for $450 today. So when a site like Key Comics compares a sale for a CBCS book from several months ago with a recent CGC sale, it means absolutely nothing. I am sure if you look hard enough, you can find other sales for that same book in a CGC case that sold for less than the CBCS one did months ago.
I also don’t like the fact that there are so many sites and influencers that constantly only use information that makes CGC look better. But if there is a recent sale of a CBCS slab that goes for more than a recent CGC slab, there is no mention of that anywhere.
I have been buying graded books for around ten years, and I have used both companies to grade books from my collection. I will continue to buy slabs from both companies. I would really love to see both of the companies survive and show respect for each other. I might as well point out here that CGC has never shown any respect to CBCS, and has gone out of their way to hurt and discredit them. How come you can post pictures of CGC slabs on the CBCS forum, but not the other way around? And for numerous years, CBCS accepted Yellow label signatures from books submitted in CGC slabs. How many times has CGC tried to exclude CBCS from events such as conventions and signings, by having exclusive rights that denied them access? Why don’t more sites report CBCS sales? Is it because there’s not enough sales, or because they are controlled by CGC?
Competition is a good thing, as it should make both companies want to improve. So as collectors, we need to have more than one company that can grade comics. For the good of the hobby, can’t we all get along?

Originally Posted by esaravo
Why don’t more sites report CBCS sales? Is it because there’s not enough sales, or because they are controlled by CGC?

Originally Posted by esaravo
I agree that CGC has probably slabbed around 90% (or more) of all graded comics. They were the first company to do it, and have been around for about 25 years. CBCS is much smaller and has been around about 10 years. Therefore, the majority of collectors, and even many non-collectors, know the CGC brand. So if there is an auction with two similar books, one in a CGC slab and one in a CBCS slab, there are a lot more people that would want the CGC slab. More competition usually means higher prices.