I got burned by a terrible 3rd party presser a few years ago. Then I watched your videos, joined a great group on Facebook, honed my craft over hundreds of books and now I do them as a side business. thank you for helping motivate me along the way!
Great points man. I press and clean my own books but when people ask me to do their book I tell them no. I just can’t stand the thought of messing up somebody’s book.
Great stuff. I think I'm inching closer to getting a book or two slabbed which means I'm getting closer to pressing. Great guide for someone in my spot. Thanks!
You make some very valid points Regie, as usual. I've only sent two books to a third party presser in the past, he was actually really good and probably the most reputable guy in the UK. He is insured and cleans/presses as his job. I did struggle with trust throughout though. I'd rather clean my own books now, just received my first self pressed books back from CGC today, I was a nervous wreck 😂
Look I'ma make this comment easy. Just go out and learn how to press because no one is going to take care of your books better then you're self. Even if you press one book a week your self you will still be faster then ccs. Trust me don't send your comic into comic book limbo. It isn't that hard to learn how to press. Ccs does a horrible job. Wen I first started submitting I used them and all my books look waived inside the case that ccs pressed.
Agreed CCS is a big gamble. They do big volume, are faceless, don't care about your books, are SLOW, and so a poor job to boot. No reason to EVER use CCS.
Solid advice. My problem with CGC right now is with as many people as they have been hiring you don’t know who at CCS is going to be pressing your books. Same logic applies to who is grading your books right now.
Before sending my books to get graded with the man who does all of my books I built a rapport let him know exactly how special my books were to see if he really cared. He had been pressing books for many many years and had a ton of references. He even allowed a free sample of his work with any book you wanted to choose. Needless to say it's been a blessing. Maybe I just got lucky. My goal would to be one day press my own stuff but many years from now lol
About 1 month past the timeline CCS gave me, I was curious about the status, so I sent them an email. In quick order, I received an email telling me that the book was now being pressed. Within a months time, my book was pressed and graded. I learned my lesson that day that I could’ve shaved off at least a month had I kept in contact with CCS. I’m too familiar with how a pressed book should look like, but I don’t think they did a great job at pressing.
Press your own books! Buy a press and practice on dollar books. So many tutorials on TH-cam. It's really hard to mess up an old book. Moderns can be tricky but as long as you learn before jumping full in you should be fine.
When I sent my books to CGC/CCS the turn around time was 185 days. It’s been 200 days since they received it. They now state turnaround time is 250 days if it was received now. I don’t get it. They’ve made no improvements to their processing speed in 9 months?
Have you taken a moment to think about how many books may be submitted to CGC in a given day vs how many can be cleaned/pressed? Let’s just say that they can press a few hundred books per day. How can you catch up when a few thousands arrive. Every single day? You could higher more people and buy more pressers but then your costs go up and so do the costs for pressing services. You also have to train those people which means that productivity goes down before it goes up. At the end of the day, you have options which is why I created this video. Hope this helps.
On my first CGC order I did not press. My second CGC order I used CCS to press. I now have a third order at a 3rd party presser, using their CGC account for the 15% discount on grading (since I used up my CGC membership credit already) and had them ship directly to CGC. However, you make a valid point of having the books returned to me first (before sending to CGC) to evaluate the "defect removal. I will definitely use some of your ideas when considering how to handle my next submission. Thanks !!!
You may want to check to see if you are still getting that 15%. That was one of the arguments that people made for using a third party presser but the changes to the membership tiers removed that offering. It’s now down to 10% only at the Elite level.
@@RegieCollects Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely confirm that. I am leaning toward CCS for my next submission for all 5 reasons you mention on your other video. In my first CCS submission they overcharged me $100, so I had to contact them, and they corrected it.
It's probably better to learn to do this yourself. The DIY'er, newbie storefront presser and the costs associated with shipping make it too risky, just not a good business proposition. Not to mention that there are other ways to get the book "pressed" without subjecting it to extreme heat and pressure over a short time. Short cuts always have drawbacks. Either that or take the true grade of the book. Play the ball where it lies.
TheComicBookPreser is a legit legend in the pressing community. Been interviewed on TH-cam A few times. Big wait list though, which speaks volumes about his work.
Hey Regie, noticing the Secret Wars 1s on your wall. Does CGC differentiate between the blue/white Galactus and the regular Galactus in any way, shape, or form? I've got 3 copies: 1st print newsstand with blue/white Galactucs, but has a rough edge with some magenta, a 1st print direct with the regular Galactus, and the 2nd print that I'd like to eventually grade with CGC. But if they aren't distinguishing between the versions, then I'll hold off. Any help is appreciated!
One of my videos back in 2018 touched on this topic. We as a community talk about these issues but I don’t think it has been something that CGC has taken on.
One of the major things I have an issue with is who??? I mean there are many really good pressers in my comic community such as yahweh and comicbook_pressing but then the horror stories come through but I know these dudes have been doing this for a while. Next is always what books should I send for a clean and press. I have so many right now in my "to be pressed and sent for grading" pile its like where do I start hahaha. I was thinking of sending in 3-4 of the same book to get cleaned and pressed and then send those out for grading to see what happens.
I use CGC. I've had very little issues with them. There are a few books that I've had graded that came back with some questionable grades, but let it be. I don't rely on flipping the books. It's my personal collection. Do I want 9.8? Sure, but to have an AF #15 at a .5, would make me an extremely happy man. Just to have certain grills in any grade whatsoever, is a goal in itself. On the flip side I have also given CGC my business for pressing and thought I'd get a 9.2 or 9.4 back, then received a 9.8. The wait is a killer, but I'm not in a hurry to get them back. I send and forget. It's just extremely convenient. Now the current economical cluster the world is in, grading is one of the things that I've shelved for the moment. I think when I hit retirement, I'm going to learn how to press.
I have an entire series on pressing that you may want to check out. I know folks that have started pressing businesses as a result of watching my videos.
@@RegieCollects yeah I'm trying to catch up on as many videos and techniques that you give out through your titles over the years. On every given comic book subject. I'm definitely going to get your digital book and Vol 2. More knowledge cannot hurt.
If insurance is a determinative factor why is it that CGC NEVER takes responsibility for damage? Please someone point me to ONE story where a comic got submitted and got an insurance payout (not lousy credit etc or some other B.S.) for damage to a book? I am serious. Tell me a story. All I hear are horror stories.
I have personally seen them replace a book right before my eyes. I’ve also heard of at least two occasions where books were replaced one of them was a Hulk 181.
@@RegieCollects Was this an individual collector or a store/heavy customer/investor? Why do we not hear of these good stories? Why are there so many stories of poor treatment and runarounds? You can see the PR problem here at the minimum.
Individual people. You should not be shocked about it at all. Think about it. What travels faster: good news or bad news? Are people more likely to spread bad news or positive experiences? What gets more views: horror stories or positive experiences? No shocker here when you pause and think about it. Also, how many people do you personally talk with per day? I talk with dozens of collectors daily and have for years. I hear way more than the average person.
@@RegieCollects I do agree that bad news travels faster; it is too bad more positive and balanced stories aren't more widely spread (from the content creator sphere).
And, now you know why I approach my channel the way that I do. My views suffer as a result but I feel better about what I put into the community. I would say that we all have an opportunity to spread more balanced information. It’s not just about those that create content. Take care, Mark.
Hey Regie! Question for you: what has been the average grade improvement you've seen after pressing/cleaning a comic? I got a CGC submission back and was thinking of sending a couple of books back for pressing & re-grading but not sure if its worth it.
I don’t really CPR books-crack, press and resubmit. I prefer to take my best shot in goal the first time. I mention this only because I can’t give you first hand knowledge. I will take you that the grade bump depends upon the number of pressable defects that can be seen through the plastic. As well as the amount of dirt that could be removed. Here is a video that speaks to this: th-cam.com/video/4iOL_fzEplM/w-d-xo.html If you decide to resubmit you really want to think about the possible grade outcome versus the cost and time to resubmit.
@@RegieCollects Thanks for the tip Regie. I'm looking at trying to get a bump from 9.2 to 9.6 on a modern book. The FMV differential is around $200 so the math works. I'll take a closer inspection on the book to make sure the defects are pressable. You da man! 🙂
I did. Three years ago when I created that set of pressing videos. A lot changes in that time. My children have gotten older and I’ve gotten busier. Something had to go. 🤣
@@RegieCollects He's asking you if you have insurance. Using the rest of the words in the sentence and over analyzing it, I came to the collusion that he just ended up misspelling the word you.
@@RegieCollects sorry yeah I was just laughing at the title card at 4:41. I love the channel and this video so don't get me wrong. A simple mistake that just made me laugh. Overall though since this was a 110% video I'd still give this a 10.9/10. Keep up the great work Regie! ❤️
I think Pressing is ultimately dishonest. People are trying to disguise the flaws in their books so they can get higher grades from graders. The very fact that they're trying to 'get one past' the graders because they know if they sent it in like it is, it would get a low grade shows this. Pressing only exists for this purpose. Since this practice is so widespread, one might assume that basically all 9.8s aren't *real* 9.8s, but a lower grade comic that has disguised many of its flaws. This means essentially that the entire upper graded comic market is overvalued...which leads to crashes. You all did it to yourselves.
@@RegieCollects Oh, I see. So you won't actually make a rebuttal to what I said to even support your claim that my statement is full of assumptions. Interesting. 'I would, but...' Heh. Yeah, Have a nice day.
I got burned by a terrible 3rd party presser a few years ago. Then I watched your videos, joined a great group on Facebook, honed my craft over hundreds of books and now I do them as a side business. thank you for helping motivate me along the way!
You are very welcome bro. Not all pressers are created equally. I too have learned that the heard way.
Where are you located TMXcomics?
Hey, TMX, what group is it that you joined? Is it still around?
@@stacheofcomics113 I'm in Allentown, PA
@@drodz1535 Comic Book Professional Pressers
Detailed + Great Advice = Fantastic Video!
Great points man. I press and clean my own books but when people ask me to do their book I tell them no. I just can’t stand the thought of messing up somebody’s book.
Nah, you don’t need that in your life. 🤣🥴
Great stuff. I think I'm inching closer to getting a book or two slabbed which means I'm getting closer to pressing. Great guide for someone in my spot. Thanks!
You make some very valid points Regie, as usual. I've only sent two books to a third party presser in the past, he was actually really good and probably the most reputable guy in the UK. He is insured and cleans/presses as his job. I did struggle with trust throughout though. I'd rather clean my own books now, just received my first self pressed books back from CGC today, I was a nervous wreck 😂
It gets easier. Sorta. 🥴
Regie, great video, you're correct, you bring the information to us and we make our own decision what to do. Appreciate your work, great job Brother.
Look I'ma make this comment easy. Just go out and learn how to press because no one is going to take care of your books better then you're self. Even if you press one book a week your self you will still be faster then ccs. Trust me don't send your comic into comic book limbo. It isn't that hard to learn how to press. Ccs does a horrible job. Wen I first started submitting I used them and all my books look waived inside the case that ccs pressed.
Agreed CCS is a big gamble. They do big volume, are faceless, don't care about your books, are SLOW, and so a poor job to boot. No reason to EVER use CCS.
Some great points. I haven’t used a 3rd party presser before.
Some good points for sure!
Really good tips here. Ask how they trained, talk to others who have used them. Yes, see examples.
Thank you as always
Amazing advice!
Great video sir! Just excellent!
Great video Regie! Now that you did this how about an update pressing video? Maybe new skills you have acquired since the last video.
Solid advice. My problem with CGC right now is with as many people as they have been hiring you don’t know who at CCS is going to be pressing your books. Same logic applies to who is grading your books right now.
CCS has dozens of pressers and many of them are just bad. Their also slow and expensive. There's really no upside to using CCS.
I disagree.
Before sending my books to get graded with the man who does all of my books I built a rapport let him know exactly how special my books were to see if he really cared. He had been pressing books for many many years and had a ton of references. He even allowed a free sample of his work with any book you wanted to choose. Needless to say it's been a blessing. Maybe I just got lucky. My goal would to be one day press my own stuff but many years from now lol
About 1 month past the timeline CCS gave me, I was curious about the status, so I sent them an email. In quick order, I received an email telling me that the book was now being pressed. Within a months time, my book was pressed and graded. I learned my lesson that day that I could’ve shaved off at least a month had I kept in contact with CCS.
I’m too familiar with how a pressed book should look like, but I don’t think they did a great job at pressing.
I see that Thundercats. That didn't take long, haha.
Press your own books! Buy a press and practice on dollar books. So many tutorials on TH-cam.
It's really hard to mess up an old book. Moderns can be tricky but as long as you learn before jumping full in you should be fine.
When I sent my books to CGC/CCS the turn around time was 185 days. It’s been 200 days since they received it. They now state turnaround time is 250 days if it was received now. I don’t get it. They’ve made no improvements to their processing speed in 9 months?
Have you taken a moment to think about how many books may be submitted to CGC in a given day vs how many can be cleaned/pressed? Let’s just say that they can press a few hundred books per day. How can you catch up when a few thousands arrive. Every single day? You could higher more people and buy more pressers but then your costs go up and so do the costs for pressing services. You also have to train those people which means that productivity goes down before it goes up.
At the end of the day, you have options which is why I created this video.
Hope this helps.
On my first CGC order I did not press. My second CGC order I used CCS to press. I now have a third order at a 3rd party presser, using their CGC account for the 15% discount on grading (since I used up my CGC membership credit already) and had them ship directly to CGC. However, you make a valid point of having the books returned to me first (before sending to CGC) to evaluate the "defect removal. I will definitely use some of your ideas when considering how to handle my next submission. Thanks !!!
You may want to check to see if you are still getting that 15%. That was one of the arguments that people made for using a third party presser but the changes to the membership tiers removed that offering. It’s now down to 10% only at the Elite level.
@@RegieCollects Thanks for the heads up. I will definitely confirm that. I am leaning toward CCS for my next submission for all 5 reasons you mention on your other video. In my first CCS submission they overcharged me $100, so I had to contact them, and they corrected it.
Good info Regie, I noticed that CGC has a service called quickpress? is that a toned down version of the standard clean & press?
The quick press is no longer offered. I want to say it was eliminated as an option about a year ago.
Healthy amount of ASM on the back wall, I'm digging it! I was under the impression you pressed your own books tho?
Those pressing videos were from more than 3 years ago. A lot has changed in that time.
@@RegieCollects may have covered in the past but curious as to why you stopped.
Family. Work. Publishing two publications in one year. Moved cross country. Multiple videos being released per week. Did I mention work and family? 🤣😆
My buddy turned me on to the guy I use. He’s been really great.
It's probably better to learn to do this yourself. The DIY'er, newbie storefront presser and the costs associated with shipping make it too risky, just not a good business proposition. Not to mention that there are other ways to get the book "pressed" without subjecting it to extreme heat and pressure over a short time. Short cuts always have drawbacks. Either that or take the true grade of the book. Play the ball where it lies.
TheComicBookPreser is a legit legend in the pressing community. Been interviewed on TH-cam A few times. Big wait list though, which speaks volumes about his work.
Hey Regie, noticing the Secret Wars 1s on your wall. Does CGC differentiate between the blue/white Galactus and the regular Galactus in any way, shape, or form? I've got 3 copies: 1st print newsstand with blue/white Galactucs, but has a rough edge with some magenta, a 1st print direct with the regular Galactus, and the 2nd print that I'd like to eventually grade with CGC. But if they aren't distinguishing between the versions, then I'll hold off. Any help is appreciated!
One of my videos back in 2018 touched on this topic. We as a community talk about these issues but I don’t think it has been something that CGC has taken on.
@@RegieCollects thanks for the info.
One of the major things I have an issue with is who??? I mean there are many really good pressers in my comic community such as yahweh and comicbook_pressing but then the horror stories come through but I know these dudes have been doing this for a while. Next is always what books should I send for a clean and press. I have so many right now in my "to be pressed and sent for grading" pile its like where do I start hahaha. I was thinking of sending in 3-4 of the same book to get cleaned and pressed and then send those out for grading to see what happens.
I use CGC. I've had very little issues with them. There are a few books that I've had graded that came back with some questionable grades, but let it be. I don't rely on flipping the books. It's my personal collection. Do I want 9.8? Sure, but to have an AF #15 at a .5, would make me an extremely happy man. Just to have certain grills in any grade whatsoever, is a goal in itself. On the flip side I have also given CGC my business for pressing and thought I'd get a 9.2 or 9.4 back, then received a 9.8. The wait is a killer, but I'm not in a hurry to get them back. I send and forget. It's just extremely convenient. Now the current economical cluster the world is in, grading is one of the things that I've shelved for the moment. I think when I hit retirement, I'm going to learn how to press.
I have an entire series on pressing that you may want to check out. I know folks that have started pressing businesses as a result of watching my videos.
@@RegieCollects yeah I'm trying to catch up on as many videos and techniques that you give out through your titles over the years. On every given comic book subject. I'm definitely going to get your digital book and Vol 2. More knowledge cannot hurt.
Appreciate you bro.
If insurance is a determinative factor why is it that CGC NEVER takes responsibility for damage? Please someone point me to ONE story where a comic got submitted and got an insurance payout (not lousy credit etc or some other B.S.) for damage to a book? I am serious. Tell me a story. All I hear are horror stories.
I have personally seen them replace a book right before my eyes. I’ve also heard of at least two occasions where books were replaced one of them was a Hulk 181.
@@RegieCollects Was this an individual collector or a store/heavy customer/investor? Why do we not hear of these good stories? Why are there so many stories of poor treatment and runarounds? You can see the PR problem here at the minimum.
Individual people.
You should not be shocked about it at all. Think about it. What travels faster: good news or bad news?
Are people more likely to spread bad news or positive experiences? What gets more views: horror stories or positive experiences?
No shocker here when you pause and think about it.
Also, how many people do you personally talk with per day? I talk with dozens of collectors daily and have for years. I hear way more than the average person.
@@RegieCollects I do agree that bad news travels faster; it is too bad more positive and balanced stories aren't more widely spread (from the content creator sphere).
And, now you know why I approach my channel the way that I do. My views suffer as a result but I feel better about what I put into the community.
I would say that we all have an opportunity to spread more balanced information. It’s not just about those that create content.
Take care, Mark.
Hey Regie! Question for you: what has been the average grade improvement you've seen after pressing/cleaning a comic? I got a CGC submission back and was thinking of sending a couple of books back for pressing & re-grading but not sure if its worth it.
I don’t really CPR books-crack, press and resubmit. I prefer to take my best shot in goal the first time. I mention this only because I can’t give you first hand knowledge.
I will take you that the grade bump depends upon the number of pressable defects that can be seen through the plastic. As well as the amount of dirt that could be removed.
Here is a video that speaks to this: th-cam.com/video/4iOL_fzEplM/w-d-xo.html
If you decide to resubmit you really want to think about the possible grade outcome versus the cost and time to resubmit.
@@RegieCollects Thanks for the tip Regie. I'm looking at trying to get a bump from 9.2 to 9.6 on a modern book. The FMV differential is around $200 so the math works. I'll take a closer inspection on the book to make sure the defects are pressable. You da man! 🙂
Good luck bro.
What do you use to mount your slabs on the wall?
Collector Mount. Discount code and link on the partner page of my website: RegieCollects.com.
I thought you pressed your own books?
I did. Three years ago when I created that set of pressing videos. A lot changes in that time. My children have gotten older and I’ve gotten busier. Something had to go. 🤣
Do your have insurance? 😂
Not sure that I understand this question.
@@RegieCollects He's asking you if you have insurance. Using the rest of the words in the sentence and over analyzing it, I came to the collusion that he just ended up misspelling the word you.
I’ll have to watch the video back to see the error that was made. Thanks.
@@RegieCollects sorry yeah I was just laughing at the title card at 4:41. I love the channel and this video so don't get me wrong. A simple mistake that just made me laugh. Overall though since this was a 110% video I'd still give this a 10.9/10. Keep up the great work Regie! ❤️
I think Pressing is ultimately dishonest. People are trying to disguise the flaws in their books so they can get higher grades from graders. The very fact that they're trying to 'get one past' the graders because they know if they sent it in like it is, it would get a low grade shows this. Pressing only exists for this purpose. Since this practice is so widespread, one might assume that basically all 9.8s aren't *real* 9.8s, but a lower grade comic that has disguised many of its flaws. This means essentially that the entire upper graded comic market is overvalued...which leads to crashes. You all did it to yourselves.
This comment is full of assumption and has no basis in fact.
@@RegieCollects Oh? Why then don't you refute the so called assumptions instead of just declaring something you haven't demonstrated, then?
I would but you seem to have your mind made up and I do not think that will change. Thanks for sharing your point of view.
@@RegieCollects Oh, I see. So you won't actually make a rebuttal to what I said to even support your claim that my statement is full of assumptions. Interesting. 'I would, but...' Heh. Yeah, Have a nice day.
I only go to hero restoration they been in the business for a long time also other TH-camrs use them