To CGC’s credit, this fiasco helps people forget the previous fiasco!
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There are times that this hobby, and all it’s nonsense, make me saddened to see what it has become.
I can blame CGC for this new grading criteria (and I do)
I can blame Marvel for ratio variants and that whole fiasco with print numbers (and I do).
I can go on and on and on about all the topics that have partially ruined the hobby or dramatically altered for the negative.
But in the end, it is us the hobbyist, that allow this to happen with where we put our dollars.
These 10.0’s and 9.9’s will sell for ungodly money that is not far from the value of a house in some cases.
We, are the problem too. And maybe even moreso than they are
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So they either incorrectly graded 9.8’s for two decades or they changed their grading scale making all previous grades prior to 2024 obsolete. That’s the reality. What a joke this has become.
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Yet people will continue to use there shady and shitty “service”.
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So I have a couple thoughts in my head with respect to the prices of cgc 9.8s moving forward. Please let me know if I’m off base here but we need to have a transparent discussion about this as I think this is a much bigger story than “oh cgc at it again”. I feel like it’s going to impact the market dramatically.
So back when this 9.9 prescreen was announced, there were a lot of confusion and discord about what is going to happen. Some CHU members back then said that there is no way people are going to crack their 9.8s and try to resubmit to get that mythical 9.9 or 10.0 grades. I didn’t want to debate it at that time as I’m rather new to this spec/flipping game but my intuition at that time was of course people are going to crack their 9.8s to chase the new grades. It wasn’t based on any real tangible evidence just my assumptions and observations on human behavior (aka greed). The prices for cgc 9.9s and 10.0s are astronomical.
Now that we are getting evidence that people are cracking 9.8s and resubmitting, it’s going to make the CGC 9.8 census be completely out of wack. Because we know that not every one who cracks and resubmits are going to bother to send in the old label to get CGC to update the census (again human behavior assumption: people are lazy). This is going to make the numbers on the census for 9.8s balloon, and therefore prices on these will fall.
Ryan on the video alluded to other big books that people may be cracking and resubmitting. I think it’s actually worse than that. We know collectors come in all sizes and I wouldn’t be surprised if people are thinking about sending in some lesser cgc 9.8 books like in the $150-200 dollar range where they can accumulate them much more quickly. Think about it, their cost to accumulate them will be much lower and if we’re taking the 10x to 20x multiplier for the prices of cgc 9.9s and 10.0s, it actually makes it worth their while to do this. They will just be out their grading fees which is 20-25 dollars per book, if they don’t come back higher and they could just sell them to recoup their losses. If they get 9.9s and 10.0s then it could potentially be worth $2000-$5000 per book that comes back. Basically they’re gambling to try get the higher grades at a much lower cost (aka just grading fees).
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Perfectly said.
CGC grading has always been subjective, particularly in recent years, but the new ease of 9.9s has literally thrown 24 years of criteria out the window. That is utter horse****.
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Black Rock; where greed knows no bounds.
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Professional grading is always subjective. Every grader, even those not paid to grade conform their their own standards. What’s a beauty could be trash to another set of eyes. You might think you’re wife or husband is a knockout 10 while I think they’re just a 7…
It is and will always be just a “paid opinion” with a label attached to it…
I think you are a 4. sheesh.
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I mean, I put you at a 4.25 but some days you’re more a 3 when you’re grouchy… 
I am a solid 4.
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I’m ugly but have cute features.
19/f/cali here
,
I have an 8.5 Batman 423 (at best) which graded 9.4 recently. So my thought is they lowered the bar to make more money off moderns.
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Happy people who smile do grade higher. That is a proven fact.
I had been skeptical that CGC would really see a pullback in revenue, but among all the actions they’ve taken to spur submissions this year, I see something like this and think they really must be desperate.
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I am a 1.5 today. So damn grouchy.
You didn’t think they were desperate when they were trying to scam…er I mean persuade people to send in their FCBD books for grading?
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Sure, FCBD is part of all their collective pleas for business. Maybe it’s my personal bias but I felt at least some FCBD comics would be more worthy of slabbing than strategy guides. 
Next up: Did You Know? CGC grades your grandma’s Better Homes & Gardens and grandpa’s Reader’s Digest
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I suspect the problem is that they made their deal with Blackstone during the boom period, and it’s likely that Blackstone were expecting there to be further growth as their rationale for the acquisition; but since then, submissions have likely fallen significantly, so they’ll be under pressure to mind more revenue streams.
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