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My five cents, once again just my opinion- I think CGC went out of control during the pandemic when probably due to the stimulus checks, nowhere to go and boredom, people started submitting large volume books left and right and were getting pretty favorable returns and the problems they always had started to really show. I remember submitting Cap America 6 winter soldier cover A and getting back cover B but thought nothing of it at time, just happy to get the book back and not have to deal with customer service) As things have returned more to normal (and all the people who were looking for a quick fix have left or burned through their funds), and the economy has shown has cracks, this has started to decrease. However, there are still a lot of books out there that have no reason to be graded e.g. most store exclusives, modern hot comics of the week (most times crash down before you can get them back to CGC) or random non key, non iconic ratio variants.
The following has worked well for me. For most moderns I typically donāt slab. The ones I do slab are ones that 6 months later the book remains hot, still sells for a very good price and I got high grade copies. If not, selling them raw it is (or if I have enough 9.8 that I donāt want to send CGC any more of my money. Sure, even sending a stack in Iām going to get a few 9.6s (donāt get me started on the non existing difference between 9.8, 9.6 and resubmissions that result in higher/ lower grades) . Generally, the hope is my 30-40 dollar investment (purchase book, slabbing, ship there and return ship, never do less than 25 per shipment to CGC or as close as you can get b/c its flat return ship if I remember right) will sell for 100-200 each book which in my mind is a good return and I donāt have to argue with some thoughtless, rude person on ebay on whether my book is NM or NM+ or whatever, so you have to be selective in what you send in. If you choose the correct books it can still be very profitable (apologies to those that buy moderns to read). For myself, if I want to read, we all know where to find it online.
With the new 9.9s going for 10k, 20k, most collectors are not buying these (apologies if you are part of the 1% that can afford those books), so 9.8 I feel will still hold some of its value. I can name plenty of books e.g. Supergirl on the crater by Adam Hughes where even a 9.6 goes for good money. Signature Series from CGC (also preferably in 9.8) is also useful when selling or for personal reasons (yes Iām aware sketchiness also exists in acquiring signatures) as it for the most part provides some sort of security that the signature you have is genuine or authentic or as close a guarantee without actually getting it yourself.
For bronze, copper and silver age books, I like the security of books have been screened by a 3rd party for defects e.g. missing stamps, trimming, frankensteined together from various other copies and other added work (yes Iām aware CGC once again is not perfect) but down the line I rather trust a 3rd party grading company than pull out a prized copy of a book to find out its been restored and is not worth what I thought it did. I have bought books from respected sellers that Iāve then submitted to CGC that have come back trimmed. With older books, the high grade books 9.2 and up are out of most people reaches (apologies if you are once again 1% and can afford four, five, six figure books). On top of this, for older books, graded copies of books like early ASM even in low grade and other keys are still very easy to move graded and give most buyers/ sellers piece of mind. The counter argument of course exists that Iām paying for that 3.5 grade and the books is not actually a 3.5 in the slab. Playing devilās advocate, for raws, of course Iām going to give me book the highest condition/ grade and it comes down to whether the buyer agrees. At a con you can see the book so you can easily make the determination (assuming you know how to grade). Online itās a bit more difficult, mainly dependent on pictures. Of course you can always crack it out of the slab afterwards if thatās what your heart desires
Long story short, we are all not in the same boat, we all have our reasons for being in this hobby and there is no right or wrong way to collect as long as you are making money or enjoying it, or reading good stories or having fun.
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I use CGC to grade some personal collection stuff to keep it a bit safer and older things that will grade lower because of their age but still have value at a midgrade level.
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I use slabbing with cgc and others as a way to preserve old paper. Especially fragile old paper.
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Letās hope CGC is actually doing techniques that preserve the books. I guess only time will tell usā¦ If theyāre grading is sub par, makes you start to wonder where else they might be cutting corners to cut costs and raise profitsā¦ 
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Donāt forget, recently they were bought out by Black Rock, which is nothing but share holder investors who will put profits first over everything elseā¦
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Basically thats why I send them in lately. But with an asterisk as the oneās I send in as my PC books are the ones that have value such that if I were to find myself in an unfortunate situation, they can be quickly liquidated for FMV. And that includes being passed down to family. Because my family wouldnāt know which books are $1 bin fodder or worth $1000.
So they are my PC books and may always be, but intended to be moved if yhe situation warrants it.
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But are they actually preserving books? I think you can do at home both cheaper and better. They donāt even use the micro chamber paper any more. Itās a restoration check thatās important for a lot of older books.
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They keep my kids grubby little hands off them, so yeahā¦they do in that perspective.
I do have concerns whether they are able to ābreatheā. But that is more about how you store them.
I have more concerns about proper storage of slabs than raw books when it comes to controlling environmental conditions.
Keeps you from reading them too. So when you sell themā¦ you can putā¦ āNever readāā¦ 
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Some of the slabs I have are clearly read. Some real good low grade books. Also some that I read and still pulled a 9.8 like my saga #1
I was super excited to see a cgc 9.8 Witchblade #10 Newsstand pop up on eBay. Then I looked at it. How the hell does a 9.8 have a ton of spine tics and color rubs? You can look it up and see for yourselves if itās of any interest. Just further evidence they donāt know or give a ā ā ā ā about what theyāre doing there!
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Not defending CGC, but wondering when they put it in the mylar / inner well after the book is graded, if it is too tight, presses down on the book and causes the horizontal ticks on the spine. If it is, they need to fix that as it damages the book. If you ever crack it and resubmit you would not get a 9.8.
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Apparently it was a 10 before encapsulation and the owner didnāt mind all the damage?!
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Actually Mike Hudson said on the interview posted earlier with Swagglehaus that cgc 9.9s can have 1 color breaking spine tic. A cgc 9.8 could have 2 color breaking spine tics. So this is in line with their new grading standard.
Best to check all cgc 9.8 graded books carefully before buying.
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Itās almost like weāve come full circle in the hobby and are back to every single individual needing to grade on their own again - even when itās graded already.
Dear lord what a mess.
Thatās phrase āYea but itās all subjectiveā isnāt working anymore like it used to.
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Thereās a reason industries have āstandardsā that are created from governed groups that usually consist of those that take part in said industry. Computer and tech companies adhere to standards, etc, along with many other companies in their respected industries.
Thereās no standards when it comes to slab companies and grading, they all make their own rules up as the go along (probably different standards between graders too). This is why paying for a āgradeā is very subjective and it will always be subjective until a governing body that oversees standards for the entire industry is created.
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If people are okay with anything above an 9.0 having anything color breaking thereās really not much hope for this hobby.
We have established grading definitions by Overstreet that were completely disregarded in the name of profit. Sure Overstreet could use a bit of tweaking but a 9.9 having a color breaking spine tic or corner crease is beyond laughable. Itās not funny though itās infuriating.
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They donāt even open Modern books for Christās sake when grading.
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One reason I pointed out for people to just send me a pic of their book, the front of it all I need to lie to them and tell them itās a 10.0ā¦
Could you imagine having a house inspector just show up, stand in front lawn and then write up his report for the house youāre about to buy without even stepping inside? In the real world, this would be completely unacceptable so why do we let CGC do this?
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