I have a few comics that i would like to cgc, I'd like to hear about anyones experiences with it, also iv'e heard pressing a book before grading is a must, is this true?
There are occasions where pressing may be warranted, but I believe that there is a big misconception about it being mandatory with any book being graded. Often times it is really just a waste of time and nothing more than a money grab by these companies. The biggest misconception is that it will better the grade and thus the value of the book. While that can be true in instances, there is no guarantee.
Here are some books I have had graded without pressing. There was absolutely no reason to waste money on pressing these books. I guess the key is to know your grades and being informed enough to know when and why pressing may be an option. 9 times out of 10 it is simply and over hyped waste of money IMHO. Especially if you are are not experienced enough to reconize what is and isn't a pressable flaw.
Take this next book for instance.
The small flaws that kept it from grading higher were not pressable flaws. The light binary corner wear not only would not benifit from pressing, but actually might have made the light wear on the corners of the book worse, by causing the them to possible split under the pressure of pressing.
In short, Pressing is NEVER a must, but a educated risk and being able to determine if the flaws are even pressable in the first place.
Thanks for sharing your comics and pics and advice. one big thing is, cgc pricing is based on the value of the comic correct? if so if I have a high value comic (my dad has showcase 14, rare 4th appearance of the flash) should I call to see what the price would be to have it graded? and is there a MAX fee they charge? what if it's worth millions?
FIRST.... YOU need to determine the condition of the book (or have a knowledgeable person help you assess the condition)
Then you can determine a FMV (Fair Market value) for the book and what grading tier you would have to submit it under. (Check their website for the pricing tiers)
Some people will intentionally try to under value certain books in order to get them in a lower pricing tier. Sometimes it works, but if CGC determines the book has a substantially higher FMV they will automatically raise it to the next Pricing tier and bill you the difference in the pricing.
I no longer use CGC and their services so you may have to call on extremely rare or valuable books
I use CBCS for all my grading needs and their top pricing tier is $81 per book up to $4000
They do also have a One-day grading service that charges 2.75% of the FMV of the book.
There is a great deal of information out there about when pressing makes sense and when it doesn’t. If you want to utilize another forum, the cgc and cbcs forums should have several topics on this subject already
Comments
Hmmmmmm!!!!!!
Here are some books I have had graded without pressing. There was absolutely no reason to waste money on pressing these books. I guess the key is to know your grades and being informed enough to know when and why pressing may be an option. 9 times out of 10 it is simply and over hyped waste of money IMHO. Especially if you are are not experienced enough to reconize what is and isn't a pressable flaw.
Take this next book for instance.
The small flaws that kept it from grading higher were not pressable flaws. The light binary corner wear not only would not benifit from pressing, but actually might have made the light wear on the corners of the book worse, by causing the them to possible split under the pressure of pressing.
In short, Pressing is NEVER a must, but a educated risk and being able to determine if the flaws are even pressable in the first place.
FIRST.... YOU need to determine the condition of the book (or have a knowledgeable person help you assess the condition)
Then you can determine a FMV (Fair Market value) for the book and what grading tier you would have to submit it under. (Check their website for the pricing tiers)
Some people will intentionally try to under value certain books in order to get them in a lower pricing tier. Sometimes it works, but if CGC determines the book has a substantially higher FMV they will automatically raise it to the next Pricing tier and bill you the difference in the pricing.
I no longer use CGC and their services so you may have to call on extremely rare or valuable books
I use CBCS for all my grading needs and their top pricing tier is $81 per book up to $4000
They do also have a One-day grading service that charges 2.75% of the FMV of the book.