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Slabbing
EDITOR'S REQUEST: CGC's policies and their impact on the industry are ever-changing. In an effort to keep this section as impartial and informative as possible, I ask that anyone with new information or well thought-out opinions please submit material to yours truly for inclusion here. Thank you.
The Case For and Against the CGC
by Win Bent
The Case For the CGC
Grading: The main service offered by Comics Guaranty, LLC (CGC)
is the consistent, certified grade it gives to comics. This is a great
boon to the investor, who previously had to rely on the opinion of one
or more graders who may have used a nonstandard or biased grading system.
In addition, CGC graders check for restorations done to a comic, and note
such restorations on the grading label - no more surprises!
Protective Holder: By "slabbing" a graded comic in a tamper-evident
protective holder, both the buyer and seller will know what to expect;
buyers will know what to expect (a benefit particularly attractive to those
buying via phone, mail, or the Internet), and sellers can be confident that
their comics will retain their condition in storage and shipment.
Various Grading Systems: The CGC has several categories of
grading systems: "Universal" (blue label), "Modern" (red label),
"Restored" (violet label), and "Qualified" (green label). These
standard systems allow for the differences in expected ranges of quality
(readily distinguished via the label color - no more guessing!), as well
as noting high-grade comics with a single defect.
Increased Value?: The CGC does not make any claims as to the
value of the comics they grade. However, it has been seen (on eBay and
elsewhere) that CGC-graded comics are often sold at prices above those
listed in the Overstreet Price Guide. It is reasonable to assume
that this is due to the guaranteed grade, as well as the value of
the protective holder. The assurance that a comic has been reliably graded,
and is protected for safe storage, is obviously enough to convince buyers
that it's worth spending the extra dollars!-
komicbob posts:
Hey people there's some interesting input on CGC in the Greg Manning catalog. I think there may be a
LITTLE bias here 'cause he had about 400 slabbed books for sale in the
catalog...
"The most significant event in the comic world within the past year has been
the introduction of the Comics Guaranty Corporation, most often referred to simply as the
'CGC'. CGC provides a number of services that greatly benefit our hobby. -
Consumer
protection through a restoraion check. This provides full disclosure of what was discovered
during the grading procedure right on the label encapsulated along with the comic.
- A market
established grading standard. The CGC grading standard evolved from a wide survey of comic
book dealers and collectors alike. While grading comics remains an art where opinions can
differ, this market standard helps one to better know what to expect when purchasing comics,
especially through mail or internet trade.
- A high tech comic book holder. The CGC protective
holder is slim, lightweight and tamper evident, but can be opened , if need be. It's a huge
advance in the technologhy of comic book preservation and storage.
- An industry standard
grading scale. This 1 to 10 scale provides the consumers (dealers included) with a reliable,
consistent and easy to understand grade, which allows a higher convidence level to exisit in the
comic book marketplace.
GMAI is an advocate of the comic book certification service for a
number of reasons, the most important being the consumer protection aspect which will
ultimaltely stimulate the comic book market place like it has the rare coin and baseball card
market before it. There is great appeal to the notion of purchasing an item without seeing it and
knowing exactly what to expect upon delivery."
The Case Against the CGC
Slabbing: Encasing a coin in clear plastic makes sense; it
protects the coin against damage, but allows you to see the whole coin.
The same goes for stamps, and trading cards. But a comic is a book, with
pages, and interesting things inside. Once you've slabbed it, you cannot
see those things. Sure, you can take it out of the slab, but then why did
you put it in there in the first place? There are other ways of protecting
comics against damage, ways which allow you to see the book at your leisure.
Grading: A standardized grading system would be a major benefit
to comic collectors. As it is now, one person's FN may be another's VG,
and may be influenced by undesirable motives. The CGC offers a guaranteed
grade according to a standardized system,
but currently (Apr 2000) says that the grading system is "beta," and that
the system is subject to change. What does that do to the guarantee put
on comics today?
Old Grades and New: The CGC has several categories of grading
systems: Old comics, New comics, Restored comics, and "Conditional" grades
(e.g. "NM, except for one defect"). Most collectors would like to see a
single grading system (possibly excepting Restored comics); an old comic
should not be treated "kindly" just because it's old, and if a comic has
a defect, it's not NM.
Hype: Somewhere, sellers and/or buyers are being convinced that
CGC comics are worth more, presumably because of the guarantee. This does
not stand up to reason, yet slabbed comics are being bought for prices which
are anywhere from three to ten times the price listed in the Overstreet
guide. Why? What convinces people that there's that much extra value in
a slabbed comic?-
rcheli posts:
The word that CGC uses for the "one flaw otherwise" is
"qualified" (get it right, young man). I think that that's their worst
trait. Another point is that does the same person grade every comic? If
not, there is bound to be variations among grades -- which we expect
anyway now as it is. -
whbjr posts:
Right, "qualified," sorry - I wanted that link! (whine whine
whine, I was under a time constraint, okay?) Also, it's worth noting
that the CGC has already been seen to make mistakes (a generous way to
look at it), thus raising the question: What, exactly does the
guarantee get you? A refund on the grading-and-slabbing fee? "But I
spent $10,000 for this comic which is only worth $5,000! Where's my
refund?" -
stupidman posts:
Yeah, how and/or who grades these comics at CGC? Was it
Sothebys or another big auction house that had 3 people grade a book
and then average the scores? Wouldn't that make things fluctuate less? -
fingfangfoom posts:
Dealers like this destroy the 'feeder system' of
new collectors. We did this once back in the late eighties early
nineties, are we going to do it again? -
wildwest63 posts:
...it wouldnt suprise me very much if they don't start
pushing the slabbing itself, coming out and saying that the book's worth
2x guide because its slabbed, as Ive seen done in both cards and coins. -
drskull9 posts:
When an appraisal company (a real one) appraises anything it is
with a set of controls. They would be horrified to even have to look
at a Spawn #1. In my opinion, the CGC should ONLY grade comics Silver-Age
and back or risk making themselves into a laughing stock... Common is as Common does.
CGC Pros and Cons
posting by ellegon
I can see several points where the CGC is providing a service that is very marketable and desired by some in the comic community, but I can also see a larger number of points where the actions of the company, and, even more specifically, what those who are jumping on the bandwagon of "slabbing" are doing will eventually hurt the comic industry.
Positive Points: -
CGC offers a 3rd person analysis of comic books for those who are
unable - either due to experience or physical locality - to grade comics
themselves.
-
The container used for CGC-graded books appears to give a good level of
protection for the comic in question.
-
CGC grading states that they look for restoration, which many collectors
may not have experience with.
Negative Points:-
The existence of a "QUALIFIED GRADE" and a "MODERN GRADE" indicates a scalar on grading (An old book gets graded more loosely than a modern comic because of age or availability.) In my opinion, if a comic is a NM except for a bunch of child's scribbles or cut coupon on pages 3 and 4, it is no longer a NM. Similarly, if the comic is 50 years old, and compared to a modern comic, it looks like a Fine, it is not a NM because of age and the fact that there are not as many copies around. It is a Fine.
-
The lack of a set standard for grading (at least, nothing that I can see via the CGC website) indicates that each grader grades using his or her own criteria. There is not even a mention of Overstreet standards, which have themselves changed to become more flexible as years have passed to allow more and more defects in the higher grades. How can the CGC guarantee the grading of a comic if the standards and rules for what constitutes a (CGC) VG vs a F vs a VF are not clearly laid out? Does tape on a cover automatically place the comic into a Fair grade, or a qualified VG+?
-
The slabbing process and voiding of the grade if opened provides a ready made way to explain away inaccurate grading. Comics have an interior - unlike coins or stamps - so there is no way to guarantee the veracity of the grading without giving an open excuse for missing something. The grading and sticker removal rules also assume that no degradation of the comic will take place while in plastic - something cannot be proven or dis-proven at this time. (A colleague of mine off of eBay recently purchased a high CGC-graded comic, and found that it was missing pages. Yet he cannot go back to the CGC and complain because as soon as the case is opened, the grading is invalid and no longer guaranteed.)
-
The CGC seems to be positioning itself as an advocate on behalf of dealers, and not on the behalf of collectors, or even has been pointed out
in recent publications, much for investors. The investors main benefit would seem to be my 1st point under positive - having a third person look at a comic in question before you buy as an evaluation of it's worth - perhaps due to physical proximity to the sale. But even according to posts and comments left on the CGC website, some sellers on eBay have been realizing a "twenty times guide" result in their auctions because of the CGC label. With all due respect to the CGC, the fact that a comic is graded by this company should not confer a greater value BECAUSE it has been graded by CGC. A NM whatever valued at 100 dollars in Overstreet should not garner any more than a non-CGC graded comic, in my opinion. If I want to purchase a high grade whatever as a collector, and not as an investor, your company is encouraging dealers to make it cost exponentially more for me to purchase said comics.
-
The CGC seems to be skewing the price guides in such a way as to discourage future collectors and investors.
-
Case in point - a little while ago, I found a NM Spawn #1 comic graded by CGC that sold for $91.00 on eBay. Coincidentally, at the same time, another auction that was for 50 (FIFTY) Spawn #1 (bagged and boarded) NM that also sold for $91.00.
-
Case in Point - a CGC-graded near mint Fantastic Four #48 recently sold for $2400.00 dollars on eBay. It was a nice book, but at the same timethere were a fair number of other auctions of non-CGC graded books, also nice books, which were selling in the $100-200 range.
How will either of these two buyers (as investors or speculators) ever realize a profit on their books? These kind of events I worry / suspect will lead to another market crash like what was seen in the early and mid 90's, which will hurt all comic collectors. (Speculators spend horrendous amounts on comics on which it is doubtful they will ever make a profit, and when they realize this, they dump as many of them as possible in order to get some return on their investment, driving all prices down and perhaps costing dealers some of their livelihood...short term gain for long term pain?)
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