CBCS Pickups

Comics
#41

Just back from CBCS. All were pressed.

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First up ate my Knull/Dylan spec books. Whoops! Glad I didn’t go heavy on these. I have another issue 3 and some issue 6 regular cover As…

I had a good feeling these were 9.8s, but with the white covers it just takes a little color rub.

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My estimate was 9.8’as I saw no flaws. I have a 9.6 CGC, so this is an upgrade for issue #9. I had a good feeling so took a chance.

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I knew this was likely a 9.6, but figured I’d roll the dice and see if I could replace my 9.8 CBCS direct. So this was expected. What I really like about this book is that it has a date stamp in the back cover as to when it went on sale. I just think that’s a cool unique feature for this book. Love the Dinobots, so likely will keep both 9.8 and 9.6.

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Issue 12 I figured was anywhere from a 9.4 to a 9.8. So 9.6 is expected and I’m happy. Issue 12 completes my run of 1-24 in 9.6 or higher grade. The off-white pages was also expected.

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TF #15 was my only disappointment. I was so sure this was a 9.8. Not a single blemish I could see. Black cover too is tough to find in NM. But you see the check Mark…that means it presents better than the assigned grade.

Looking at the graders notes there is a slight “bend” along the back cover. That’s it. I studied this book ad nauseum and never saw this…took me about 10 minutes and just the right angle to see the bend.

But what’s gets me is that this book was supposed to be pressed…and the bend is not color breaking and barely visible. So going to look into what happened here. Is it a manufacturing defect that a press cannot fix? Did they screen it and decide a press wouldnt help but missed the bend?

I have a 9.6 newsstand so this book may be one i send in to CGC some day if CBCS didn’t make a mistake.

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Who doesn’t like a 9.8 CPV? I was expecting 9.4 with a shot at 9.6. I also have Thor 338 9.4 CPV…and a file copy of 337 9.4.

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This book we all know. I bought this off the stand not and shortly after quit comics for a few years…I didn’t know at the time this book was hot. And even when I got back into comics I didn’t even know I had it until I found it shoved in a golden age bag with no board with several other jock covers.

I have avoided getting it graded because it had some scratches on the back cover and a few tiny spine ticks. So I knew it was likely a 9.2. But finally bit the bullet. Still good to know I have some grading skills.

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Here she is…miss America Chavez.

This book I saw in a shop in Maine Last summer passed on it because I was in a hurry. The next day I realized what I left behind. Called them up and had them ship it to me. $25.

And when it arrived I’m like “damn…this is a 9.8.”

And so it was no surprise. The only thing now is when to sell it? This could be a $1000 book if she’s a hit with the fans in Dr. Strange…could she get her own movie or series?

So overall very happy with the results.

4 Likes
UK PRICE Variant VS Canadian PRICE Variant VS US Variant
#42

Next submission may be A bunch of LCSD SIKTC foils. One signed by tynion…may go for the yellow label from CBCS for the PC.

1 Like
#43

Gratz! Love seeing your haul.
Man, I understand that a person doesn’t “have to” get books graded, but they are just so darned appealing.
It’s so exciting getting them back!
Great choices! I agree on the America Chavez hold.
It’s going to be tough to not sell off when we get the 1st official view of her in a trailer eventually, but I can’t imagine she will be a flash in the pan type role.
Love those Transformers too! Fun memories.

#44

awesome haul, fun looking at all those great books.

#45

Is $40 for a cbcs 9.6 Batman Beyond 37 a worth it? I know in a cgc it would be underpriced.

#46

I don’t know if I’m understanding the question. Why would a comic be worth more or less just because of the plastic case around it? CBCS is on par with CGC (if not better/more consistent) in terms of grading and the numbering system they use. you need to decide why you’re buying it.

I will say That issue was notorious for having spine damage. All black cover shows everything. So you’ll be hard pressed to find a 9.8’in the wild.

As for a 9.6…well the Book costs $4 cover price…a Press is $10. Grade/encapsulation is $20. Thats $34 right there and we haven’t even dipped into shipping it back and forth to CBCS or that you’ll likely pay more than $4 cover in the wild.

Given CBCS can be slightly more stringent than CGC, there’s a slight chance you could crack it out and get a 9.8 if you regrade it with CGC.

All in all sounds like a fair price. You’re basically paying a few dollars over cover plusnthe grading fees for a nice book.

2 Likes
#47

CGC holds the market share which in turn makes their slabs more sought after and valuable. So yeah the plastic case around it does add value to the books total worth.

Whether the book is worth it or not is up to you, it’s a cool cover.

4 Likes
#48

Yeah. I think I will pick it up if it’s still there next time. Thank you

#49

That right there is everything wrong with the “slab” market in my opinion. That’s people buying the slab and the label slapped on it rather than buying the book itself.

Why does CGC command more when they have just as many or more issues (accuracy in grades, slab issues, damages, etc) than the other grading services out there? We should start to make people think about what they’re buying instead of just buying the label on a slab by a particular brand (the grading company in this instance)…

3 Likes
#50

It’s really hard to ‘buy the book’ online, graded or not. At least if I buy CGC or CBCS or PGX I know I’m buying their opinion of the book vs some random ebayer’s opinion…

#51

Can you cite a reputable source that would confirm your assumption about the QC of each grading co.? As I would be interested in viewing that.
While we do hear a lot of horror stories from CGC, they are almost all hearsay.
And the grading is subjective, as there is no industry wide accepted standard for grading books. Jus’ sayin’.

1 Like
#52

I agree with @jcLu of course you hear more stories about CGC books if they do the bulk of the grading and it is almost always hearsay.

#53

I’ve seen issues from PGX and CBCS as well… (hence me saying they make just as many and possibly more, since yes, they likely grade more books than their competitors), but the point I’m trying to make clear is, why do they command more money? The bottom line is, people should start buying the book, not the slab. That’s my overall point which I was pretty clear about.

Do I have evidence from a particular source? No. I can only attest to what I’ve seen here and other online sites spread around the internet of people posting their actual “evidence” of things gone wrong across all 3 of the major grading companies. That’s no longer hearsay but to me, actual proof in a sense that is a little more than just “hearsay” evidence when they post pictures of the damages, clearly inaccurate grades ,etc. I’ve seen more issues with CGC from my own standpoint than the others, probably cause they do in fact likely grade way more books than the others.

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#54

Are you arguing against grading as a whole? I mean we all know that books are available in different qualities. Who do we trust to determine these qualities?

I think I’ve gotten relatively good at determining the quality of a book but that’s after 2 years of being heavily involved in this and I still don’t claim to be great at it.

Do you trust people’s grades beyond your own? And if so what if I disagree with your grade?

#55

No. I was making a general statement on why people put CGC on the pedestal when it comes down to value if a book is slabbed compared to others.

You’re paying for an opinion when it comes to the grade but you’re also paying to encapsulate the book with other perks of doing so.

Grading is subjective. My standards when it comes to what people assign a point on a scale of 0 to 10 are going to differ from most. Am I a professional grader? No, but I’ve been around long enough to likely point out what they might come back from CGC or CBCS, etc. But honestly, when I think about grading a book, I’m pretty hardcore myself. Most of these billions of 9.8’s likely wouldn’t be 9.8’s in my opinions. The grading scales are flawed if you ask me, that’s why I enjoy most if not all of my books raw.

Then so be it. See above.

I’m not focused on the grade that’s slapped on a slab label. If you reread my first comment about consumers should buy the book, not the slab. There’s more to a slab than what they print as the “grade” on the label.

If and when I do buy a book that’s slabbed, I inspect the book as best I can from the outside. I buy the book, not the slab. I picked a book once graded at 7.5 from a 9.0 just because I thought the book as a 7.5 looked better overall.

#56

I guess the only thing I can say is I am 100% ok with whatever grade CGC slaps on a book I send in and I expect my buyers to be the same.

#57

And if you aren’t ok with the grade I expect you not to buy it.

#58

Heh, like I said. I buy the book, not the slab (which happens to have a grade on it). If I like the book, I’ll buy. If I don’t like the book, I won’t buy. The grade on the label is moot for me.

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#59

I guess part of what I was saying is that it’s even harder to really examine a slabbed book through pictures online so you really have to just trust it.

With the glare and not being able to use light to your advantage.

#60

Probably why I don’t buy that many slabbed books online, particularly if they don’t have good photos to be able to zoom in on, etc.