Especially if you buy them from Bry! I just cleaned up on a bunch of modern 9.8s on his site, but a ton more great, reasonably priced books are still available. PS- the Neal Adams X-Men are way undervalued IMO.
This is all excellent advice. One additional nuance is that CGC charges a $5 invoice fee per service, and different services get shipped separately. So if you send in 25 books for a 9.8 prescreen, you’ll pay the $45ish shipping plus the $5 fee. But if you decide to not prescreen some books, you’ll pay the $5 fee twice and pay for two shipments. And if you decide to do custom labels, that’s another $5 and separate shipping. To be most cost effective, therefore, you should send in a lot of books (15+) and have them all be for the same service.
Hey Bry great video but I noticed you diodn't factor in the cost of the book in your calculation. Are we assuming the book was bought at cover price? Personally my threshold for sending comics in to CGC is a value of at LEAST 100 bucks in a 9.8 or $75 at the bare minimum.
In my experience as a long time Todd McFarlane fan, if you send your NM/ M McFarlane book in to him to sign, it’s gonna come back a 9.4. That man is rough during signings!
Really appreciate this breakdown. I've been setting aside a bunch of books to potentially get graded but this formula will really help me with choosing what to grade.
If there is a large price disparity between a 9.8 and a 9.6 then a high grade raw that has a chance at reaching 9.8 will usually ballpark around the price of a 9.6. So if you miss the jackpot then you can resell for a small loss in grading fees and selling fees. Those grading fees can be offset with a larger submission and the selling fees offset by trade or using a selling means that avoids fees. If you have the money, gamble away!
I think part of the fun is sending it in and waiting to see what you get. I've only sent in a total of about a dozen books, got a couple of 9.9s on modern books and some surprise 9.8s
It depends…sometimes it’s cheaper and faster to buy them graded… also just because a book at a certain grade sells for X amount doesn’t mean you will get X for it… most of the time it’s the seller’s that are well known or part of a circle to get X… people buy grails only to have prices tank or not be able to sell sometimes for YRS…. just like any market there’s a lot of funny business… Sellers like Brice might sell with ease but average Joe might not… so collect what you love and who knows maybe one day you hold a key or important Grail … just don’t chase the list that many TH-camrs give you as chase to buy only for them to either pump their bags or influence and inflate prices thinking they can move the market…. Always ask why(?)…. Good luck collectors
Wow... A video where I have to agree to disagree on points. Granted, this video does focus more on resale and flipping than keeping in PC. But I'm dismayed that you gloss over keeping and perserving comics for PC like you did. There are more factors than what you brought up on just to have in the PC. It did come off as dismissive to a degree. You have to look into factors like insurance, storage, avenue of replacement if books get damaged, etc.. It's not a simple put in a mylar with a board and call it a day. I do agree with the point on your overall goal for your collection. This alone would need evaluated before you can make any call of a yea or nay on grading. I'm happy you broke down the resale aspect of this question. It was well done. Love how you keep it positive.
I have books that I struggle with every day to send in for grading-old runs of ASM and X-Men. I think I’ll look each issue over super carefully to see if any NM issues are there.
Ive had some luck selling my raw books then finding slabs in a grade im happy with. The majority of the time i snipe a slab with my profits for under CGC fees
Thanks. This helps a lot. I have couple thousand book collection I am trying to decide which ones to get graded. My only data base is CBPG so I am building a list there to determine which ones are worth grading.
I only have a few books I might want graded, new mutants 98, secret wars 8, hulk 1, Ms Marvel 1 sketch variant signed by Michael Turner. Maybe someday.
Often when i buy a new book and it looks like a 9.8 candidate i store it away and choose to read it digitally rather than taking my chances and causing a lil chingaso on the spine or curl a corner
@@BrysComics I just got 7 moderns back a week and a half ago. All 9.8 - all bananas! 2 books with dimpling on the spine and color breaking spine tick in the bend where the dimple is. The 3rd book is banana too! None of these books have that issue and I took detailed pictures of the books before I sent them off to my local LCS who drove them down to Sarasota and personally delivered them to the facility there. These books got damaged during the encapsulation process - That's my understanding anyway because there's no way that my books would have gotten a 9.8 with the dimpling by the spine and the color breaking spine ticks😅.
Between shipping, pressing and grading, I’m out 60+ while not including the cost of the book. It basically isn’t worth it to grade anything now unless it’s a big book
wondering if I should grade my Batman #1 (1940) with detached cover, that I found at a flea market? its very beat up and I'm guessing its a 1.0 or lower (has tears and stains and creases throughout).
I feel CGC is the way to go for short term flipping. Because they currently sell for the highest amounts. However, anyone that has even the smallest amount of grading skills, csn cleanly see CGC is by far the worse at grading comics. So the reason CGC sells for the most is strictly because they are the most popular, and everyone knows popularity changes as time passes. For long term investments i would choose CBCS or PGX.
That Adam Hughes Catwoman is awesome, but I'm a bigger fan of the homage he did of that book featuring Harley Quinn - I'd take that over Catwoman version any day. The Natali Sanders Homage to the Catwoman book is awesome too.
My cutoff is about $150 minimum value for grading IF the difference between the raw book and the graded book well exceeds the difference between the two, AND I'm 100% confident that CGC and I will agree on grade, which we never do. Despite having and judiciously using the CGC Guide I still cannot figure them out and often question the legitimacy of the practical use of that book. I know I'm looking at it but I'm not wholly sure that they are. I only submit a few books a year because it's mostly just not worth it. If I have a $25 raw book that MIGHT grade to my expectations through CGC that MIGHT be worth $100 IF it's a 9.8 then yes, I'll likely send it. But if that book is running at, like, $32 for a 9.6 then, to me, that's just too much unnecessary risk and I'll sell the raw copy. It's tricky to work the math sometimes and I've got numerous books in the "CGC maybe" stack that likely never will visit Florida because it just doesn't make sense to do. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to agonize over it, but I'm not interested in, as a neighbor once said to me, "throwing coins into the wind."
8:37 I sent X-Men 283 in for grading after getting a signature witnessed with Chris Claremont and it came back at 9.8! Then I realized Claremont didn’t write that book 🤣 so I have a 1 of 1 I guess 😁
I think some chc employees are lazy to grade. I got an 8.0 on my new mutants 98. The front cover is glossy with no spine ticks almost near mint, and the back cover looks good except the bottom left corner it's has a fold and light color break I think it should of been a 9.0
Even when it's worth it, I'm finding an ever expanding buyer pool looking for raw books. Myself included. I've never understood why anyone would pay a ridiculous premium for a slab when you can get a discounted nm raw. Unless it's a golden or silver age grail and you need the grade reassurance, or restoration reassurance, savvy buyers who are able to grade comics are way better off shopping for deals on raw books. Especially if you're ona budget like me!
There are many worse ways to spend money. Grading for PC is worth it if that's your thing. Imagine the next generation of comic collection estates. Instead of the kids being left long boxes of raws, they'll have gigantic boxes of slabs to put out in garage sales (or call Bry's).
What is something worth …..supply and demand….simple…..the more items graded….cards,packs,boxes,……comics……especially when you receive low grades…..of course the supply increases thru the years……the price for these lower graded items will drop……of course rare items will appreciate in value…..low supply…..
Gradings not gonna go away but there’s literally about 100 examples of raws selling for more than graded books now. Spawn is a prime example I literally watched a graded 9.6 230 b&w sell for 850 30mins later a raw same book went for 1050. Those were both auctions I think we’ve split into blocks I see like Spider-Man still selling higher graded than raws. And honestly I think so many moderns being graded before release is a root cause.
The swapping, while rough on the rare individual that gets scammed that way, is well... very rare. In contrast, there are tens of thousands of books affected by bananagate. In my opinion, swapgate has caused far less grief.
@@Supertomscustoms A vintage grade of (1.0) from the 50s or 60s will always sell (at minimum) 3X what that same item would raw…….collectors value grading (right or wrong…..)
The grading is not the problem......the problem lies with the value some people want to PLACE on the grading. In an ideal world the price of the grading service would be the ONLY value added to a collectable. Grading services SHOULD only serve as a playing field leveler between the buyer and seller........ THAT'S IT. ASM #1 is worth what it's worth in a condition. A graded ASM #1 SHOULD be worth the EXACT SAME plus the price of grading services.......I think that's how it should work. The BOOK is the collectable.....NOT the slab.....
I see your point. But if I have book X and believe it’s a 9.8 and worth $800…that’s my opinion. You could show 10 other ppl and not one will say it’s a 9.8. Or maybe they all say it is. But a graded book that says 9.8 is definitely worth the $800. Your book based on what you believe might be a 9.6 and worth $80.
@@saleens330 You've made my point......book X is $800.00 at 9.8. Book X, in my opinion, SHOULD be worth $800.00 + grading costs if it grades out a 9.8. So it would then be worth $825.00 or whatever. I'm against JACKING the value of the book way up JUST BECAUSE it's graded. I hope I'm making sense......
I've been reading comics for 50 years, with a 10 year gap. I still have @75% of all the books I ever bought. I've never had 1 of them graded. I'm not sure what the point of this comment is.... 😂
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Nowadays it sometimes ends up being cheaper to buy a book already graded then getting it graded yourself.
Especially if you buy them from Bry! I just cleaned up on a bunch of modern 9.8s on his site, but a ton more great, reasonably priced books are still available. PS- the Neal Adams X-Men are way undervalued IMO.
It’s a buyers market for sure
@@nerdyoldwoman9651yep he has some good stuff out there.
Books like Thor 6 hardly worth grading anymore
Great video (as usual), thanks Bry!
This is all excellent advice. One additional nuance is that CGC charges a $5 invoice fee per service, and different services get shipped separately. So if you send in 25 books for a 9.8 prescreen, you’ll pay the $45ish shipping plus the $5 fee. But if you decide to not prescreen some books, you’ll pay the $5 fee twice and pay for two shipments. And if you decide to do custom labels, that’s another $5 and separate shipping. To be most cost effective, therefore, you should send in a lot of books (15+) and have them all be for the same service.
Yeah, slabbing books seems to be really risky today especially considering the price of grading.
Thanks for these tips, I have a few comics I'm interested in getting graded. More things to consider before going ahead or not.
It's the "mailing them away" part that I can't get around, lol.
You can also drive to CGC and drop them off...😅
Congrats to the winners. Great video. Thx Bry
Great video Bry! Great tips!
I do like having some of my favorite comics slabbed to preserve and display but it can definitely be hard to decide. Great video!
Great educational video Bry, thank you.
Awesome breakdown thanks as always
Doing a great job on your videos. Love your content.
When sending comics to CGC, have them pressed. Could be the difference between a 9.6 and a 9.8
You have a new subscriber now 🤟 nice video
👏
I never ask that question. The question i ask is, is the comic worth protecting. Everything other questions flow from that one question. ❤
Isn't that the same question? (Is it even worth it? Vs is the comic worth protecting?) 😂
Great content as always man! Personal collection, I just like to preserve comic nostalgia for some of the ones I like, Keep up the good work!!
awesome video Ill def be referring to this in the future
Very informative thank you!
I would/have got books graded with the intention of being able to sell them without any question of subjective grading. Keep grinding bro!✌️
Hey Bry great video but I noticed you diodn't factor in the cost of the book in your calculation. Are we assuming the book was bought at cover price? Personally my threshold for sending comics in to CGC is a value of at LEAST 100 bucks in a 9.8 or $75 at the bare minimum.
Great video - Thanks for the grading insight.
A lot of things to consider for sure. Thanks for the video on breaking it down.
Great video, really helpful when you're learning to grade your books.
Appreciate the info. Glad to be more informed
Thanks for info -informative
Great info as always
I have always wondered this. Most helpful sir!
In my experience as a long time Todd McFarlane fan, if you send your NM/ M McFarlane book in to him to sign, it’s gonna come back a 9.4. That man is rough during signings!
Imagine sending him an ASM 300 9.8…I don’t know how people do it
You answered so many of my questions with this. Thanks man.
Really appreciate this breakdown. I've been setting aside a bunch of books to potentially get graded but this formula will really help me with choosing what to grade.
If there is a large price disparity between a 9.8 and a 9.6 then a high grade raw that has a chance at reaching 9.8 will usually ballpark around the price of a 9.6. So if you miss the jackpot then you can resell for a small loss in grading fees and selling fees. Those grading fees can be offset with a larger submission and the selling fees offset by trade or using a selling means that avoids fees. If you have the money, gamble away!
Love your content and knowledge my friend do you have canadian pricing to on your web site ? Thanks
Yes I believe it automatically
Converts based on location
Great info, as per usual.
great video.
Well informed info. Ty
Great video. Sellers certainly should research which books are worth grading.
Another great video señor Schleppy... I mean Bry, lol.
To grade or not to grade, that is the question!
I just sent in a few books from my collection based off this video. Thanks for the great information as always!
Good luck!!
Grading the PC can be addicting. Solid vid to help take off some rose colored glasses 👌🏼
I think part of the fun is sending it in and waiting to see what you get. I've only sent in a total of about a dozen books, got a couple of 9.9s on modern books and some surprise 9.8s
Great info
It depends…sometimes it’s cheaper and faster to buy them graded… also just because a book at a certain grade sells for X amount doesn’t mean you will get X for it… most of the time it’s the seller’s that are well known or part of a circle to get X… people buy grails only to have prices tank or not be able to sell sometimes for YRS…. just like any market there’s a lot of funny business… Sellers like Brice might sell with ease but average Joe might not… so collect what you love and who knows maybe one day you hold a key or important Grail … just don’t chase the list that many TH-camrs give you as chase to buy only for them to either pump their bags or influence and inflate prices thinking they can move the market…. Always ask why(?)…. Good luck collectors
Wow... A video where I have to agree to disagree on points. Granted, this video does focus more on resale and flipping than keeping in PC. But I'm dismayed that you gloss over keeping and perserving comics for PC like you did. There are more factors than what you brought up on just to have in the PC. It did come off as dismissive to a degree. You have to look into factors like insurance, storage, avenue of replacement if books get damaged, etc.. It's not a simple put in a mylar with a board and call it a day.
I do agree with the point on your overall goal for your collection. This alone would need evaluated before you can make any call of a yea or nay on grading.
I'm happy you broke down the resale aspect of this question. It was well done.
Love how you keep it positive.
Great examples
I have books that I struggle with every day to send in for grading-old runs of ASM and X-Men. I think I’ll look each issue over super carefully to see if any NM issues are there.
Great advice
Curious on your thoughts on cgc and jsa grading if it takes value away from sig series?
Ive had some luck selling my raw books then finding slabs in a grade im happy with. The majority of the time i snipe a slab with my profits for under CGC fees
Another great video
The question I ask myself regularly. Followed by how do you find a reputable company that does cleaning and pressing?
Thanks. This helps a lot. I have couple thousand book collection I am trying to decide which ones to get graded. My only data base is CBPG so I am building a list there to determine which ones are worth grading.
I only have a few books I might want graded, new mutants 98, secret wars 8, hulk 1, Ms Marvel 1 sketch variant signed by Michael Turner. Maybe someday.
Nice breakdown on valuation of those books.
Man with all the problems they’ve had, the drop in graded books and now a hurricane coming. I really would not send books to CGC for a while
I use CLZ to grade my raws to sell my books... thoughts?
I’ve only graded Bronze/Copper/Modern age books that would be worth at least $150 at 9.4 or higher. Otherwise, I’m fine keeping my pc raw.
Thanks for the info. CGC isn't what it used to be.
Often when i buy a new book and it looks like a 9.8 candidate i store it away and choose to read it digitally rather than taking my chances and causing a lil chingaso on the spine or curl a corner
I definitely think for personal use books are definitely worth grading
Every time I get ready to send some books off to CGC, there seems to be another issue pop up with them.
Same here! I have several books I'm chomping at the bit to send in and won't until they fix "things".
I just got a batch back with no banana wells…
@@BrysComics I just got 7 moderns back a week and a half ago. All 9.8 - all bananas!
2 books with dimpling on the spine and color breaking spine tick in the bend where the dimple is.
The 3rd book is banana too!
None of these books have that issue and I took detailed pictures of the books before I sent them off to my local LCS who drove them down to Sarasota and personally delivered them to the facility there.
These books got damaged during the encapsulation process - That's my understanding anyway because there's no way that my books would have gotten a 9.8 with the dimpling by the spine and the color breaking spine ticks😅.
Between shipping, pressing and grading, I’m out 60+ while not including the cost of the book. It basically isn’t worth it to grade anything now unless it’s a big book
I always prefer buying books graded than submitting them alot easier that way
Im looking to sell a first edition/print of the Killing Joke, in pristine condition. Is it worth it to grade it?
You can try to sell it raw for the 9.8 price minus the cost of grading
@@BrysComics Thank you so much!!! (:
Now 30 for grading 28 for shipping to and from. Pressing 15 73 dollars to grade all in.
Grade it if it's worth it to you, do not worry about the market. Also if you have super old or valuable, this could be worth it to keep it safe.
Most people buy/sell books. Knowing the value, and the market is necessary. $$ is part of the hobby.
Grading is such a pain… but if u have a banger u might want to do it
Good advice here
It’s always tough. I’d love to get a few of my personal comics graded because they’re nostalgic to me. But probably not worth the cost.
wondering if I should grade my Batman #1 (1940) with detached cover, that I found at a flea market? its very beat up and I'm guessing its a 1.0 or lower (has tears and stains and creases throughout).
🤦♂️
Nah..
Just toss it out.
it always comes to conditions and sometimes age of books
I feel CGC is the way to go for short term flipping. Because they currently sell for the highest amounts.
However, anyone that has even the smallest amount of grading skills, csn cleanly see CGC is by far the worse at grading comics.
So the reason CGC sells for the most is strictly because they are the most popular, and everyone knows popularity changes as time passes. For long term investments i would choose CBCS or PGX.
That Adam Hughes Catwoman is awesome, but I'm a bigger fan of the homage he did of that book featuring Harley Quinn - I'd take that over Catwoman version any day. The Natali Sanders Homage to the Catwoman book is awesome too.
Nobody EVER wants to know what you are beating off too...except maybe pornhub.
...so stop being a public perve
I think the graded books look great just so expensive to get a book graded
Just bought my Dad a 3 stooges 1 from 1953 cgc 5.0 I prefer the slabs but I prefer to buy slabs rather than send off books to get slabbed.
My problem is holding onto books that I was going to send to get graded lol
The turn around time and shipping makes me not want to try it. Plus it can add up fast and get expensive
My cutoff is about $150 minimum value for grading IF the difference between the raw book and the graded book well exceeds the difference between the two, AND I'm 100% confident that CGC and I will agree on grade, which we never do. Despite having and judiciously using the CGC Guide I still cannot figure them out and often question the legitimacy of the practical use of that book. I know I'm looking at it but I'm not wholly sure that they are.
I only submit a few books a year because it's mostly just not worth it. If I have a $25 raw book that MIGHT grade to my expectations through CGC that MIGHT be worth $100 IF it's a 9.8 then yes, I'll likely send it. But if that book is running at, like, $32 for a 9.6 then, to me, that's just too much unnecessary risk and I'll sell the raw copy.
It's tricky to work the math sometimes and I've got numerous books in the "CGC maybe" stack that likely never will visit Florida because it just doesn't make sense to do. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to agonize over it, but I'm not interested in, as a neighbor once said to me, "throwing coins into the wind."
8:37 I sent X-Men 283 in for grading after getting a signature witnessed with Chris Claremont and it came back at 9.8!
Then I realized Claremont didn’t write that book 🤣 so I have a 1 of 1 I guess 😁
Does this mean you will start taking ungraded raw comics in trade??
Thanks for all the info. Grading is nice but probably not worth grading most of your/my collection.
The problem is it’s too hard to determine condition from afar
I think some chc employees are lazy to grade. I got an 8.0 on my new mutants 98. The front cover is glossy with no spine ticks almost near mint, and the back cover looks good except the bottom left corner it's has a fold and light color break I think it should of been a 9.0
Even when it's worth it, I'm finding an ever expanding buyer pool looking for raw books. Myself included. I've never understood why anyone would pay a ridiculous premium for a slab when you can get a discounted nm raw. Unless it's a golden or silver age grail and you need the grade reassurance, or restoration reassurance, savvy buyers who are able to grade comics are way better off shopping for deals on raw books. Especially if you're ona budget like me!
It's a large buying pool for raw books.. so they can get them slabbed and able to make a few $$
There are many worse ways to spend money. Grading for PC is worth it if that's your thing. Imagine the next generation of comic collection estates. Instead of the kids being left long boxes of raws, they'll have gigantic boxes of slabs to put out in garage sales (or call Bry's).
If it's 15% to sell on eBay, it's not the same cost to sell the slab and the raw. 15% of a big number is bigger than 15% of a small number.
Your maths not mathing 😜
Ok Pythagoras
Answer: No (unless it's a grail worth thousands)
I think it’s worth it
It’s worth it if your not going to read it and it’s a very rare book or key issue.
Value < $150 = Don't bother.
I recently sent a submission to CGC. Cost me $30 to send it to them, they charged $80 to send it back. 😬
I just deed-polled my name to Anthony Caruso
😂
What is something worth …..supply and demand….simple…..the more items graded….cards,packs,boxes,……comics……especially when you receive low grades…..of course the supply increases thru the years……the price for these lower graded items will drop……of course rare items will appreciate in value…..low supply…..
Just slab your favorites, im just a collector and not a reseller, though, lol
It is a grading question.
Will I attract more women if I get my books slabs? Probably not right!!
I only grade over $500 raw. $100 9.8's are nonsensicle.
Gradings not gonna go away but there’s literally about 100 examples of raws selling for more than graded books now. Spawn is a prime example I literally watched a graded 9.6 230 b&w sell for 850 30mins later a raw same book went for 1050. Those were both auctions I think we’ve split into blocks I see like Spider-Man still selling higher graded than raws. And honestly I think so many moderns being graded before release is a root cause.
Grading will always have value, but the faking could damage the industry.
Faking?
@BrysComics Hey! Yes, you know best, but with the stories that some slabs have been cracked open and tampered with, then resealed; it impacts trust.
The swapping, while rough on the rare individual that gets scammed that way, is well... very rare. In contrast, there are tens of thousands of books affected by bananagate. In my opinion, swapgate has caused far less grief.
"Grading" will forever be a part of collecting. From Video Games to Cards to Toys.....it's not going away
It may not go away but as the majority of collectibles are graded , it will become less and less of a value.
@@Supertomscustoms A vintage grade of (1.0) from the 50s or 60s will always sell (at minimum) 3X what that same item would raw…….collectors value grading (right or wrong…..)
Theirs a sucker born every second... - some old timey guy
The grading is not the problem......the problem lies with the value some people want to PLACE on the grading. In an ideal world the price of the grading service would be the ONLY value added to a collectable.
Grading services SHOULD only serve as a playing field leveler between the buyer and seller........ THAT'S IT. ASM #1 is worth what it's worth in a condition. A graded ASM #1 SHOULD be worth the EXACT SAME plus the price of grading services.......I think that's how it should work.
The BOOK is the collectable.....NOT the slab.....
I see your point. But if I have book X and believe it’s a 9.8 and worth $800…that’s my opinion. You could show 10 other ppl and not one will say it’s a 9.8. Or maybe they all say it is. But a graded book that says 9.8 is definitely worth the $800. Your book based on what you believe might be a 9.6 and worth $80.
@@saleens330 You've made my point......book X is $800.00 at 9.8. Book X, in my opinion, SHOULD be worth $800.00 + grading costs if it grades out a 9.8. So it would then be worth $825.00 or whatever. I'm against JACKING the value of the book way up JUST BECAUSE it's graded.
I hope I'm making sense......
Lol have some of these books.
I've been reading comics for 50 years, with a 10 year gap. I still have @75% of all the books I ever bought. I've never had 1 of them graded.
I'm not sure what the point of this comment is.... 😂
The point is to stay on the path you're on lol, CGC has burned me more than once...
It's pointless, but we getcha! 😅
@@DavidClark-vu3dw 🤣🫡
I appreciate you commenting!!