Collectors get excited when they find that hot book or one of their grails. Comic grading professional comic book grading eliminates concerns about grade misrepresentations by providing a professional assessment of condition and quality. Get the best deals on cgc collectible comics when you shop the largest online selection at. Pgx was created to meet the growing demand for professional, thirdparty comic book grading.
In this installment we will take a look at comic book certification services cbcs. A nice comic with a piece up to the size of a standard postage stamp torn from one corner. One area we focused on is the way you submit comics and access your account information. Oct 23, 2017 in a surprise release today, beckett media, parent to beckett grading service, has announced their acquisition of cbcs comics. Several events have impacted grading over the years. It is very rare especially in older comic books pre1990 to discover a comic in either mint or gem mint condition. 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. If youre not confident in your grading, having the ability to submit a book to or purchase a professionally graded book from one of the industries official grading companies see links above can be the best way to protect your investments.
The comic book price guide for great britain a guide to grading. 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. Comic book grading is the process of determining the grade or condition of a book, which directly influences its value. The cost can be based per piece or based on a percentage of the comic value before evaluation. Sometimes, collectors get so excited about the title of the book they overlook one of the. Before any grading is performed, each book is examined by a cgc restoration detection professional. I have been a comic book fan, collector, publisher pocket comicsmars attacks 1988 and graphic artist for years necessity is the mother of invention. Cbgc provides the only easy to use, online comic submission form. Also, be sure to ask your comicloving peers and lcs for an assessment of your comic books condition. The learn to grade comic books course is the most comprehensive course of its kind. A guide to grading the comic book price guide for great.
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. When grading gets to fine, you start operating on a point system. Oct 31, 2017 somewhere along the process my books all got damaged in the same spot. 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. 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. Each book is placed within protective mylar that has affixed to it a label bearing the invoice and line item numbers, information which is duplicated on the label in a barcoded inscription for quick reading by the computer. One of our goals for the new website is to offer an easier online experience for our customers. Who is the most reputable to help get the most value. This plastic case forever seals your comic, unless you destroy the case to extract the comic. 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. Even professional grading services like cgc, cbcs, and pgx acknowledge that the same book may not always receive the same grade if it is. But only when the book is otherwise quite beautiful, and the tape does not in any way mar the appearance of the book. Insurance is required on all orders and should be purchased based upon the fair market value of your books as.
The cgc comic shop, we are a buyer and seller of comics, cgc submission center, professional grader and valuer,cgc european agent, comic locating service. One of the bottom corners was smashed on every book very frustrating. Back in 2012 or so, i discovered graded comics from cgc comics guaranty corporation an independent third party that professionally grades a comic book and securely encapsulates said comic in a sealed plastic slab with a label that details key information and the actual grade of the comic whew, thats a mouthful. Cgc is the leading comic book collector grading and slabbing.
Books are carefully handled and tracked through the grading process, and always fully insured while on our premises. Cgcs restoration grading scale is a transparent system that is much more descriptive and accurate than before. How to grade your comics comic book grading labels. For one, if you have a really valuable book, it offers a form of protection. Grading is an inherently subjective process and there will always be small differences in opinion. View market values for books, store your collection, and meet fellow comic fans. Aaron albert, a collector of and an expert on comic books, has studied, taught, and written about the comic book genre for more than 20 years. Therefore being able to correctly determine the grade of a comic is an important skill for buyers and sellers alike. 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. Comic book grades are given to a book reflecting the quality of printing, storage, and upkeep of a particular book. Every type of restoration found on each book will be individually graded for quantity and quality, with a cumulative score determining the final restoration grade assigned.
To grade a comic, you need to take in to consideration a number of factors before being able to assess the correct grade. This company was started by steve borock, the former president of cgc so he definitely has some clout in the industry. Due to the nature of paper, discoloration is expected over time. 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. Comic book grading is one of the most important parts of speculating. 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. A grader must comb over a book in very minute detail, looking for myriad imperfections like wear, tears, rounded corners, marks, page color e.
As with grading all collectibles, there is a degree of subjectivity as there are many factors to consider and all of them must be weighed to determine an overall grade. Comic book grading labels collectors condition comic. This collectibles shop page has the standard 10 point grading scale and definitions, as used in the overstreet guide. There are grades in between these basic grades such as finevery fine, but we want this to be a general easytofollow comic grading guide for the novice. The best way to understand why a specific comic book received a check mark designation is to refer to the graders notes. The company was founded by alec born and steve borock, the latter earning a reputation in the community while working many years at cgc, and was recently purchased by beckett media. As longtime users of nostomania know, the value of a comic depends strongly on grade. May 27, 2016 in this part two of four in the graders notes article series, we will explore high grade comic books and the graders notes from cbcs for those books. We are currently migrating data to our new system and conducting tests, and we are really excited for you to try it out. The worlds largest collectibles auctioneer comic books, vintage comics, original and animation art. Here, collectors could easily compare and discuss grading with dealers. This is intended to be a basic guide so that you have a general idea of the grade of your books for pricing purposes.
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. Useful for when you are unsure of the grade of a book or do not wish to grade the comic. Comic grading is the process of encasing a comic book in a plastic case. When grading a comic book, the first thing youll see is the cover.
To those who were asking about the scandal with pgx, here is a story from april of this year. Cbcs comic book certification service the newest and second most popular comic book grading company. Cover shows significant wear, and may be loose or even detached at one staple. Beckett grading has acquired cbcs comics comic booked. The term grade is used to describe what condition a comic book is in. The higher the grade of a comic book the higher the value. And in some instances even a second flaw can drop a. A high grade, like an a or mint, is good, while a low grade. Comic grading company has a simple and affordable pricing structure without any clubs to join. The most difficult, contentious and eternally frustrating aspect of comic collecting is grading. 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. Only very minute printing and bindery defects or the most barely noticeable handling defects present.
The owlone card comes sealed in its original foil packaging. Nov 09, 2012 comic book hot picks for 3420, cgc comment and some new vintage pick ups duration. Vault grading provides grading, pressing, encapsulation, valuation. The two main methods of describing an overall grade are numerical, and symbol. Free shipping on many items browse your favorite brands. Grading your comic books guide revel in the detail. 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. Effective with the 4th edition, published in 2014, the overstreet comic book grading guide has been retitled as the overstreet guide to grading comics, and has been published in a new larger format.
A comic must be relatively complete to be successfully restored. Most collectors will accept any page quality except for books with slightly brittle or brittle pages in a collectible comic. Mint we do not offer to sell comics in mint condition. Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading standards. With new expanded information, it remains the definitive reference for industrystandard comic book grading procedures. Chuck rozanskis grading standards mile high comics. 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. You can think of the grade of a comic book like a grade on a report card. Theoretically, the higher the grade of the book, the more desirable the book will be. Were sorry but doesnt work properly without javascript enabled.
I just want to get the most out of what is probably my best comic. Certified guaranty company cgc is a leading thirdparty grading service for comic books, magazines and other collectibles. While cgc gets a lot of attentionbecoming synonymous with comic book grading in much the same way that xerox is synonymous with photocopyingpgx has managed to hold its own over the years despite operating in the shadow of its counterpart. We need to emphasize, however, that not more than two of the above mentioned flaws can appear in the same comic. Grading is the second investigation a comic goes through, this time to evaluate the condition of the comic cover and pages. The overstreet guide to grading comics 2016 edition. This is a fairly common trait in the very good category. Discoloration, fading, foxing, and even minor to moderate soiling is allowed. We are proud to provide certification and grading services for collectors and hobbyist in the comic book industry. Gp analysis lists us as a cgc the comic book grading authority online auction firm. 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. 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 and slabbing space.
To those who were asking about the scandal with pgx, here is. We closely monitor and calibrate our staff to maintain adherence to our established standards. Our company has sat well over 600 world record prices selling vintage comic books at auction. 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. Use the guidelines below to help assess and grade your collection. These records are from an impartial 3rd party source gp analysis. Read on to discover if cgc graded the comic higher, lower or the same. Comic book grading part 2 certified guaranty company duration. A grade represents the condition of a book in a way that collectors can understand. Take a close look, ideally with a magnifying glass, and make careful notes of any apparent damage, including. For books that have a signature witness, they are sealed with a special label.
The best possible existing condition of that comic book. Newly updated, the overstreet guide to grading comics includes the 10point grading system, as well as exhaustive descriptions of primary and split grades, examples of each grade with more than 200 fullcolor images in all, articles on storage, preservation, and restoration, a look at the independent, thirdparty grading companies, and much more. Cgc uses a 10point grading scale to evaluate comics. Grading your comic books guide revel in the detail comics. Vault grading provides grading, pressing, encapsulation, valuation, and screening services to comic book collectors. Preventative restoration, widely used and accepted by collectors, consists of nonadditive restoration on a book with one or two major defects. Scotty ds comic book series episode 10 the overstreet guide to grading comic books 4th edition duration. Please note that we can only ship up to 30 books in one box so you will need to take this into account when submitting larger orders. A couple of minor flaws might be allowable, but no more. I got tired of using standard labels, cutting, taping, searching, and wasting time. Though comic book grading has been around for decades, it wasnt until 2000 that a new thirdparty grading service, cgc, burst onto the scene and revolutionized the comic book collecting industry.
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. The market value of comic books is partly determined by a grading process. The first has to be the arrival of comic book conventions. Overstreet guide to grading comics 2015 overstreet comic book grading guide by robert m. Below are cgcs grading standards for each numeric grade as well as the restoration grading scale. Professional comic book grading eliminates concerns about grade misrepresentations by providing a professional assessment of condition and quality.
A few weeks ago, i attended a local comic convention here in vancouver and i heard about the new company comic book certification service. In recent years, grading criteria have become even tighter, especially in silver and bronze age books, due to their higher survival rate. This book may range anywhere from poor to near mint and there is no obligation to clarify its condition. Before a comic books value is determined, the comic book needs to have an accurate grade assigned to it. You then hand the book over to them, and it gets sent off to be graded. The largest online source for comic book pricing in the world. Useful for when you are unsure of the grade of a book or do not wish to grade the. When you have completed this course and practiced, you will be able to pick up and grade any comic, whether its one in your collection or that grail book you finally found at a con. In this part two of four in the graders notes article series, we will explore high grade comic books and the graders notes from cbcs for those books. The standard comic book grading system that is widely used today is the one developed in the official overstreet comic book grading guide. After buying a few graded comics on ebay and starting my. Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it.
Comic book grading company the affordable and reliable. The biggest and most popular third party grading company. Also, pressing is a very delicate process, so please be aware that it may add time to the express and next day grading services. With this cost in mind not all comic books are candidates for professional grading. Like most things i do here at the certified comic shop. It is very rare, especially in older vintage comic books, to discover a comic in these grades as they are virtually nonexistent. Comic books are sent to cgc for grading and encapsulation either directly by the owner through cgcs website or through an authorized. When you are searching for a comic book, you need to know how to spot a high grade book. In these rare cases, a check mark will be placed on the label by the numerical grade.
1154 512 1502 19 774 1288 641 1355 17 1233 578 1091 103 749 537 107 1342 959 1262 662 750 1045 951 151 345 1436 394 1119 494 958 304 1116