The biggest and most popular third party grading company. Complete with firsthand accounts and detailed colour illustrations, this book. Comic grading company has a simple and affordable pricing structure without any clubs to join. World class, proven, professional comic grading experts.
Since 1970, the name overstreet has symbolized a vast knowledge of american comic books. Naturally, where there is a market originator and leader, there will be competition. Game0929 video is my personal views on using both cgc. Certified guaranty company cgc is a leading thirdparty grading service for comic books, magazines and other collectibles. In the world of grading comic books, there are only three companies. This comic book grading scale has been used for several decades, during which time the scale has been expanded to more accurately describe a book s condition. A fr is the lowest grade a comic book can receive as long as the story and art are complete. Overstreet guide to grading comics 2015 overstreet comic book grading guide by robert m. Books in this grade are almost always creased, scuffed, abraded and soiled, but readable. A lightly restored book will be valued higher than a book with heavy restoration in the same apparent grade. Because our location is in the midwest, we feel that offers comic lovers a better choice than other grading, appraisal and brokerage services. Vault grading received my comic in september of 2016. A comic book in fr condition may have nonstory elements such as coupons, ad pages, or marvel value stamps cut or torn out of the book.
Comic book grades are given to a book reflecting the quality of printing, storage, and upkeep of a particular book. The advantages of the collectors condition comic book raw grading labeling system is. First, is the use of a forward slash to denote a book as being between grades. Pgx was created to meet the growing demand for professional, thirdparty comic book grading.
Like most things i do here at the certified comic shop, im always happy to talk about the finances of. Comic grading professional comic book grading eliminates concerns about grade misrepresentations by providing a professional assessment of condition and quality. You can think of the grade of a comic book like a grade on a report card. The higher the grade of a comic book the higher the value. Jul 16, 2014 a few weeks ago, i attended a local comic convention here in vancouver and i heard about the new company comic book certification service. Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading. Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it. Its only been within the last 15 years or so that the problem of bias in comic grading was amended, and it took the form of commercial grading. Some collectors consider this the lowest collectible grade because comic books in lesser condition are usually incomplete andor brittle. Pgx was established in 2002 to meet the growing demand for impartial, thirdparty grading and continues to be the fastest, most affordable grading service in the industry. Advice on how to get your comics graded, slabbed and safely shipped to graders like cgc. The result is very good, after going through color grading and stuff. Tales from the crypt v2 papercutz full set by insainment issuu.
However, grading is an inherently subjective process and there. Comic book grading labels collectors condition comic book. Preventative restoration, widely used and accepted by collectors, consists of nonadditive restoration on a book with one or two major defects. I have contemplated taking the comics out of their pgx case and sell them outright as a raw ungraded comic. The book pretty much summarizes all the checking points in determining the value of a comic book, and provides extensive comic book grading scale and descriptions for each grading level. This book may range anywhere from poor to near mint and there is no obligation to clarify its condition. A grade represents the condition of a book in a way that collectors can understand. Books that have been encapsulated and certified by an objective. The scale increases in quality and assigns descriptors to the varying numeric levels, such as 0. Useful for when you are unsure of the grade of a book or do not wish to grade the comic. Avery comic pressing comic book pressing and cleaning. For both you will need to have a very good idea of the market value of each book.
These records are from an impartial 3rd party source gp analysis. This company was started by steve borock, the former president of cgc so he definitely has some clout in the industry. Cbgc provides the only easy to use, online comic submission form. High grade books are great candidates, as are keys e. Grading is extremely important when collecting comic books. The standard comic book grading system that is widely used today is the one developed in the official overstreet comic book grading guide. Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading standards. One of our goals for the new website is to offer an easier online experience for our customers. A larger amount of tape is also allowed in this grade.
You then hand the book over to them, and it gets sent off to be graded. Comic grading is the process of encasing a comic book in a plastic case. The most difficult, contentious and eternally frustrating aspect of comic collecting is grading. This plastic case forever seals your comic, unless you destroy the case to extract the comic. For one, if you have a really valuable book, it offers a form of protection. The term grade is used to describe what condition a comic book is in. Grading is an inherently subjective process and there will always be small differences in opinion. Even professional grading services like cgc, cbcs, and pgx acknowledge that the same book may not always receive the same grade if it is. A fr copy will have virtually no eye appeal and will display major damage. The comic book price guide for great britain a guide to grading. I dont think a pgx graded book is less valuable than a raw book but the maximum prices will always come from a cgc book at the same grade.
Grading your comic books guide revel in the detail comics. It is the first step for many of processes that a collector will go through, from finding the value of a comic book, to selling a comic book. To those who were asking about the scandal with pgx, here is. Our company has sat well over 600 world record prices selling vintage comic books at auction. Over the years i have tried to sell a number of pgx rated comics with very little to no success. Raw grading labels shown below with grading descriptions. In these rare cases, a check mark will be placed on the label by the numerical grade. One area we focused on is the way you submit comics and access your account information. The pgx comics fiasco original art that fits in your pocket. The premier online comics price guide free comic book values. Its weird, but on some of the other forums i frequent, the noobs are using pgx all the time and have no awareness of any past issues. The primary reason to grade a comic is that there is a direct correlation between the condition of the comic and the value of the book. Most recently, cbcs joined the fray giving comic collectors a third option beginning in 2014.
If we dont, add it to your want list and well notify you when its in stock. So you have to try and grade the book yourself as accurately as possible so that you can look online what each book is realizing in value at that grade and that way you have an idea of the fmv fair market value and how much insurance you need and, therefore. We have values for any marvel, dc, image, idw, darkhorse, or dell comic book that is in your collection. Its probably one of the three most active message comic book message boards and is home to the largest amount of graded comic collectors. Please note that we can only ship up to 30 books in one box so please take this into account when submitting larger orders.
To those who were asking about the scandal with pgx, here. This collectibles shop page has the standard 10 point grading scale and definitions, as used in the overstreet guide. Comic book grading basics what you need to know by admin on thursday, october 15th, 2009 4 comments the grade or condition of a comic book is the most important determination of value outside of the actual title and issue number. Restoration checks are done on all comics during the grading process. Similiar comics rated cgc were no issue for me to sell. It has been graded by mycomicshops experienced graders. While the overstreet comic book price guide helps you learn about comic values, this third book in our new how to line teaches you the importance of condition a factor that is often the key to real collectability and how to grade accurately the overstreet guide to grading comics includes. Cbcs comic book certification service the newest and second most popular comic book grading company. Pgx uses a similar grading scale as the prior ones we have discussed, basing theirs on the overstreet comic book grading guide, which. As with the dinosaurs in the forum, the comic book collecting group each. Theoretically, the higher the grade of the book, the more desirable the book will be. I share my thoughts on all three comic book grading companies. In rare cases, a comic book will look much better than the given grade. I tried calling several times, but their phone is disconnected or its been changed.
While the overstreet comic book price guide helps you learn about comic values, this third book in our new how to line teaches you the importance of condition a factor that is often the key to real collectability and how to grade accurately. Cgc is the leading comic book collector grading and slabbing. Comic book grading company the affordable and reliable. A nice comic with a piece up to the size of a standard postage stamp torn from one corner.
The online form will allow you to easily submit any number of comics, and then you can print a copy of the form to be included in your shipment. Like this video if you enjoyed watching, comment your thoughts down below. The comic book grading companies will offer witnesses, so a representative from the grading company will stand with you as you get a book signed. Cgc is the giant, cbcs is the newcomer but booming, and pgx is third. Therefore being able to correctly determine the grade of a comic is an important skill for buyers and sellers alike. Before you ship your comics, please read the shipping information below. As longtime users of nostomania know, the value of a comic depends strongly on grade. In it, i walk you step by step through 27 comics at every grade level from 0. Once restored, a comic s value depends upon several factors. In general, the more restoration has been performed, the less the comic is worth compared to its apparent grade value. Aug 17, 2017 after my pgx and cbcs grading comparison video, the founder of pgx sent me a personal letter.
The best way to understand why a specific comic book received a check mark designation is to refer to the graders notes. For collector and dealer alike, it is essential to grade the condition of a comic fairly and accurately in order to determine its true value and worth. To grade a comic, you need to take in to consideration a number of factors before being able to assess the correct grade. Special thanks to our comic grading advisor steve borock, president of cbsc comic book certification service, former heritage auctions consignment director and former cgc presidentprimary grader.
Slabbing a random nonkey book is often not likely to pay off in increased value, nor will slabbing books under 6. The learn to grade comic books course is the most comprehensive course of its kind. Imo it seems like raw comics basically same grade bring equal or more dollars than pgx graded book. Cgc was the very first company to grade and slab comic books beginning in 2000. A comic must be relatively complete to be successfully restored. But only when the book is otherwise quite beautiful, and the tape does not in any way mar the appearance of the book. We offer modern, bronze age, silver age, and golden age comics. This is a fairly common trait in the very good category. Beckett grading has acquired cbcs comics comic booked. Were sorry but doesnt work properly without javascript enabled. I used both services and i believe both have their pros and cons.
Sell my comic books helps you sell comic books you have inherited, bought, or found in your home for the maximum return. As one of the leading choices in comic book grading, by the leading brand in grading, the acquisition is a game changer in the comic book grading. In a surprise release today, beckett media, parent to beckett grading service, has announced their acquisition of cbcs comics. The overstreet guide to grading comics latest edition. How to grade your comics comic book grading labels. Pgx uses a similar grading scale as the prior ones we have discussed, basing theirs on the overstreet comic book grading guide, which ranges from 0. If youve stumbled across a treasure trove of comics, then sell my comic books is a great place to find out what you have. Then, simply register or login to start the submission process. Comics price guide was the first online price guide for comic books back in 1995.
After your services are finished you can have josh send your comic book to a 3rd party grading company. Grading standards are based on the standards laid out in the overstreet grading guide with additional experience gained from our years in the comic industry. Jun 20, 2014 ebay storeprofile selling comics starting on june 21. Yes, we can grade books but we prefer to keep our grading to comic. We are proud to provide certification and grading services for collectors and hobbyist in the comic book industry. Books that have been encapsulated and certified by an objective thirdparty grading service take the guesswork out of the grading process for both collectors and dealers. Above the unique serial number assigned to each book is the page color. To those who were asking about the scandal with pgx, here is a story from april of this year. The two main methods of describing an overall grade are numerical, and symbol.
Formally know as the comic regime weve been providing collectors with the most up to date comic book news for over 3 years. By requesting prescreen and specifying a minimum grade on your invoice, you will be charged grading fees only for comic books that meet or exceed your specified minimum grade. A standard color coded raw grading tool that is exclusively designed for you the comic book collectorinvestor. The market value of comic books is partly determined by a grading process. Regardless of what tier your comics are being graded in, there are multiple costs associated with cgcs grading process. Our staff of friendly and dedicated employees offer over 250 years of experience in the comic book market place, and look forward to assisting you. For books that have a signature witness, they are sealed with a special label detailing who signed it, where, on what date, etc. Leekirbyditkocomics published on jul 2, 2016 i sent out the exact same comic to be graded by all 3 different comic book grading companies, cgc, pgx and finally cbcs. We do not do comic book restoration but we will grade restored comics if you can supply us with a copy of the restoration paperwork so we can be sure of what all was done. We closely monitor and calibrate our staff to maintain adherence to our established standards.
We are currently migrating data to our new system and conducting tests, and we are really excited for you to try it out. The overstreet guide to grading comics 2016 edition. If youre looking for a hard to find back issue, we probably have it. The original tales from te1e crypt comics, featuring stories dreamed. Pgx professional grading experts, llc the comic book forum. The 2 reputable thirdparty professional grading services both begin with c use the same scale, but not exactly the same criteria, but overstreet has collaborated with them for their newest grading guide. May 31, 2017 leekirbyditkocomics published on jul 2, 2016 i sent out the exact same comic to be graded by all 3 different comic book grading companies, cgc, pgx and finally cbcs. There are grades in between these basic grades such as finevery fine, but we want this to be a general easytofollow comic grading. Josh will bring back your comic book to its glory without using any restoration. Also, pressing is a very delicate process, so please be aware that it could add time to the express and next day grading services.
This grading process details the exact condition and completeness of a comic, allowing the seller to get an idea of how much it is worth. Comic book grading scale, cost, value, and encapsulation. Books with brittle pages cannot grade higher than 3. The scale increases in quality and assigns descriptors to the varying numeric levels, such as. Theres been a wave of people entering the hobby to flip books over the last few years, and they just seem to jump right in without learning or investigating anything. Cover may be detached, and inks have lost all reflectivity.
This is intended to be a basic guide so that you have a general idea of the grade of your books for pricing purposes. Pgx entered the market shortly thereafter beginning in 2002. Or would the rumors of overgrading be proven to be true and cgc would grade the book lower. After my pgx and cbcs grading comparison video, the founder of pgx sent me a personal letter. It was because of these rumors that made me wonder what would happen if i cracked open a pgx slab, removed the comic and submitted it to cgc for grading. The most important part is of course the grade, ranging from 0. In addition to the grade, other details that could impact the value of the book such as spine tears, ripped pages, and inserts are also noted. Before a comic books value is determined, the comic book needs to have an accurate grade assigned to it. Both of these requirements were lacking for much of comic book history, and in the absence of a reliable method of achieving this, access to the culture was stifled and progress was delayed. How to rock a comic book excelsior true believersshowcase your. Gp analysis lists us as a cgc the comic book grading authority online auction firm. Cgc is the leading comic book collector grading and slabbing service. From our humble beginnings, we have grown to the largest, most complete comic book price guide with well over 1,000,000 comics in our database. Both are very valid reasons to get books graded but its critical that you know what that book is realistically valued at in its exact condition to.
236 1402 990 380 1328 710 516 42 954 52 880 972 258 1216 455 29 229 1306 516 1344 1279 1477 708 823 1227 1371 1236 1149 1077 1491 743 190 36 469 1138 1151 659 1131 791 1168 1013 787 121