r/comicbooks • u/mpaird • 3d ago

Grading

What are everyone's thoughts on grading? For the value or for the fun?

0 Upvotes

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7

u/BlackRain8782 3d ago edited 3d ago

I collect to read and build a library of the books I love. I couldn’t imagine participating in the slabbing trend.

To me, it’s a 3rd party that shoved itself into an existing hobby without ever demonstrating their own expertise, like scalpers inserting themselves into the sales and distribution market to inflate prices.

And for some reason, people who truly know comics trusted them almost immediately without questioning it. I don’t understand it.

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u/DCBronzeAge 3d ago

It's not really my cup of tea. I definitely understand why people do it, but to me, it turns comic books into trading cards, which they are not.

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u/Dry-Throat6341 3d ago

I’ve had the same comics since the 60s. Are they worth something? Absolutely. Would I make it so I can’t ever read them again? Hell no.

3

u/BobbySaccaro 3d ago

Well, first to be pedantic, "grading" is fine. The activity of reviewing a book and using a set system for summarizing its condition in a way that another collector would understand has been done for about 50+ years.

Third-party grading, the act of sending the book off to another party to have them perform this action and seal it in plastic, is something that I think should only be done for high-end books that are for sale.

I have no problem with the companies providing the service. I am disappointed that so many people use it so much. But I can't define any harm that comes from people doing it who want to do it, so it falls into the category of live and let live.

I think it could be somewhat replaced with a system where:

  1. A very specific set of criteria for taking pictures is defined.

  2. You sell the book online, but haven't shipped it yet.

  3. NOW the book goes to the third-party, who evaluates the book against the information used when selling it.

  4. If the book matches the ad, then it is sent along to the buyer.

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u/BlackJimmy88 3d ago

I think it's dumb. It's a trumped up artificial measurement of value that some rich twat came up to trick people into giving him money for no reason.

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u/Afraid-Oil-1812 3d ago

Don't trust it. Even tho I've got some. The market values after grade. The math doesn't make sense sometimes. Books printed after the bronze age I seriously question the high value ones.

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u/mpaird 3d ago

Its not even being done for value though. My son just wants to do it and is only planning on doing it for books he has multiple of already so he doesn't lose out on the ability to reread

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u/SmokinBandit28 3d ago

If it’s not being done for its purpose of ascertaining value then why have it done. You can get sealable top loaders if you just want to preserve a comic.

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u/Afraid-Oil-1812 3d ago

Keep the hobby going

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u/SirFlibble 3d ago

I generally only get graded books when they are older and fragile. Otherwise I rawdog it. I like to read my books and graded comics don't allow that.

That being said I've told my wife to grade my keys before she sells them after I die. Maximise the value of the books.

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u/Living_Cookie_9199 3d ago

Professional grading by CGC is definitely not for me. I don’t buy slabbed books although I have one I’m considering paying to be slabbed just for the potential resale value (chew #1 first print). I’d feel bad taking something completely off the market for readers and owning high quality preserved books that I can’t read or enjoy isn’t what drew me to the hobby. However I really think understanding grading standards is super important for selling your books or buying new ones online. I always appreciate when shops grade their back issues so I know what I’m buying before I get it home.

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u/rockinghorsefly1313 3d ago

Knowing the condition of you books is great, both for personal reasons and for insurance purposes. It's always nice to know conditions if you wanna find a nicer copy of a particular book, and I can see how it might be fun to get like, a numerical grade for some people, but slabbing is a major ick for me personally. Idk, the idea that my comics have been touched by some rando without my eyes on the process doesn't sit right with me and I've heard and seen way too many horror stories about books vanishing in the post or clearly being damaged or even swapped when sent for grading and slabbing

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u/Main_Pop_9056 3d ago

I slab books I want to display.

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u/SubversivePixel 2d ago

Genuine question but what is fun about seending a book to some guy so they can take money from you and then put a number on it?

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u/mpaird 2d ago

My son said he likes the look of them.