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CGC Grading Etc...
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gregory
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Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2023 10:26 am

dosselmeyer wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:Comic Link is a pretty big player in comics and art. They have also already had a RPG focused auction. I spoke with one of their consignment directors yesterday and they are planning a new RPG auction for early next year.

His email is rossk@comiclink.com (Ross Kearney) if anyone want to talk to him about consigning something.

As per my message above, do they disclose their ownership and any affiliation to a grading house. I haven't checked their website for it yet, but will. Someone will beat me to it hopefully, as I don't want to play Batman all alone.

gregory
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Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2023 5:41 pm

This message needs to be deleted as it was a duplicate. Can't find the option.

Last edited by gregory on Fri Oct 06, 2023 8:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.

dosselmeyer
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Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:33 am

gregory wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:
As per my message above, do they disclose their ownership and any affiliation to a grading house. I haven't checked their website for it yet, but will. Someone will beat me to it hopefully, as I don't want to play Batman all alone.

I'm honestly not sure.

I agree that Heritage is a problem, being based in Texas the rules for auctions houses are quite loose.

dosselmeyer
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Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:35 am

gregory wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:

CBCS is wholly owned by Beckett collectibles.

dosselmeyer
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Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:40 am

stratochamp wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:
But you are not perfect and you will make mistakes and a module that Vince did in the back room at Orc's Nest will slip through and receive a shrinkwrap grade from you and it will then have your imprimatur until someone with a better eye comes along and realizes it is not legit. I know people who have been in this hobby for a long time (30-40 years) and I have seen them make mistakes regarding original shrinkwrap. This is why I think it is ridiculous that you are doing this. But since people are currently (and understandably if they plan to sell the items) not willing to have their flimsy petroleum-based sheaths removed, I realize you are fulfilling a niche in our still maturing hobby. Both things can be true: that it is ridiculous and will make you money.

Will we make a mistake? Potentially. We are human. We feel very confident in our accuracy and the resources available to us or we would not have moved forward in this direction.

I appreciate your skepticism honestly, I hope we can eventually win you over with consistent and accurate grading, but if we cannot... that's ok. I still appreciate your vast knowledge and willingness to contribute to the conversation.

gregory
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Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2023 8:19 pm

dosselmeyer wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:
CBCS is wholly owned by Beckett collectibles.

Thanks! Who is Beckett owned by?

Badmike
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2023 9:57 am

sauromatian wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:From those pioneering, brave souls who've gotten shrink-in-slab already: how about what the Reverend Fred Ghurkin referred to as the glass-onion effect? Both the shrink (possibly a little yellowed with age) & the slab are not 100% clear, so the slightly opaque composition of each one is added to produce a measure of cloudiness. How cloudy is it? Is it enough to affect the use of the item for display?

I've had SW items slabbed, zero cloudiness so far. But honestly, if the SW is less than ideal I'd just pull it off. There doesn't seem to be a lot of sense slabbing an adventure with really awful SW. I expect some people might get less than ideal items slabbed for whatever reason, but it's not going to be the norm and the market is going to tell with that kind of stuff.

Mike B.

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Badmike
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2023 11:31 am

The biggest thing to prevent bubbles and speculation nonsense is an informed collector base. One of the main causes of the comic book bubble of the 90s (and maybe the sports card bubble also) was an uninformed mass of people outside the hobby speculating and artificially driving prices. Part of this was the fault of Wizard Magazine, which fed the beast by tampering with the guide prices (they had their own monthly guide) and then putting on their own branded conventions that showcased the artists and titles they had invested in. Which is not sustainable, as seen in the crash in that hobby. RPG collecting right now isn't big enough to push that kind of growth. It's never going to have the engagement of hobbies like cards, comics, or even video games, it's just too niche.

The market will figure this out. Yes you are going to have people new to collecting who are going to pay ridiculous prices for items that are not really rare. That's just the nature of the beast. As I said, the best weapon against this is an informed collector base. Teach people that an average condition S1 or S2 is NOT worth breaking the bank over, these had numerous print runs and even though they are old, nice copies can be found. Try to correct misinformation when you see it and realize the people spreading the misinformation are probably doing it unaware, although some might be doing it on purpose. Sharing information will help new collectors more than anything else, particularly in the case of making them realize there are a LOT of common, average condition books, games and modules out there.

Mike B.

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Tszii
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2023 12:39 pm

Badmike wrote in CGC Grading Etc...: It's never going to have the engagement of hobbies like cards, comics, or even video games, it's just too niche.

Mike B.

You are likely right and would know better than me. That being said, I am not sure. Prices in Magic, Pokemon and Comics seem to largely be higher from the number of 30 somethings joining the hobby, not largely from the folks returning to the items of their youth. Lots of folks are engaged with DnD IP.

There are a few hurdles to RPGs collecting today but the largest seems to be a lack of contemporary things to collect. Some folks collect the limited covers and I am sure those will get more expensive.The most current examples are the Stranger things and Rick and Morty DnD crossovers. Those were $20 on amazon for a year or more. Now they are $35-$50 because the IP ran out and the print is done.

Edit: I just realized the Magic: Honor among thieves card packs have doubled, to over $100, since the movie came out.

Wizards said they intend to do a better job of monetizing DnD. Breaking up their hardback adventures into modules, various prints and alternate covers, and more items for players to "use" could give folks something to collect and showcase. They might start looking to the origins of these things, like card and comic collectors.

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gregory
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Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 5:46 pm

We just need more famous people speculating...
https://www.tmz.com/2023/10/11/pete-dav ... my-fallon/

More seriously, we still need to know who owns Beckett, ComicLink and any other auction house getting involved. Bubbles are driven by a few powerful players typically, they don't happen randomly.

Tszii
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2023 8:17 pm

I received my 3rd submission. Cleaning and pressing appears to matter, improving the result by .5 or 1. I dont know why I didnt take pictures of the modules before I sent them this time. The quality of the modules I sent were my second choice but the grade was about .5 better than my first submission. I dont know how folks dry clean covers, but they do look cleaner. Spine stresses seem better as well. Adding $15 is more expensive, but I think its worth it. I would consider regrading some of my first submissions.

MegaTherion
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2023 10:11 pm

gregory wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:We just need more famous people speculating...
https://www.tmz.com/2023/10/11/pete-dav ... my-fallon/

More seriously, we still need to know who owns Beckett, ComicLink and any other auction house getting involved. Bubbles are driven by a few powerful players typically, they don't happen randomly.

Eli Global owns Beckett and 100+ other companies in 20 Countries with 10,000 employees

Tszii
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2023 2:45 pm

I spent some time comparing my grades and I will say some of my first impressions were likely a little off. I am also beginning to think things seen more often in comics reduce grades less, and damage more likely seen in modules are graded more harshly. Chipping at the edge of a page dont seem to have a large negative impact. Tears at the spine are graded harshly. Gouges, even tinny ones, where the color is gone and paper is visible, are graded harshly. I also dont think there as many points for perfectly white crisp pages. Comics were expected to yellow with age.

I just noticed this one, or forgot I noticed it before?

** expired/removed eBay auction **

   4199684005

Title
   Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Module
Issue S1
Issue Date    1981
Issue Year    1981
Publisher    TSR Hobbies Inc.
Variant    Sixth Printing
Grade    8.0
Page Quality    WHITE
Grade Date    04/26/2023
Grade Category    Modern
Art Comments    Tomb of Horrors    Gary Gygax text
Key Comments    Single booklet distributed unattached to cover.
Grader Notes
   light scuffing to cover
   light spine stress lines to cover

I would ask, who would remove this from shrink if you thought it would get a 9.6 or 9.8? No ToysRUs or dime store price tag, just the shrink.

** expired/removed eBay auction **

dosselmeyer
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Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2023 9:51 am

Tszii wrote in CGC Grading Etc...: I also dont think there as many points for perfectly white crisp pages.

I would ask, who would remove this from shrink if you thought it would get a 9.6 or 9.8? No ToysRUs or dime store price tag, just the shrink.

** expired/removed eBay auction **

There zero points "given" for white pages. Page quality is graded separately but both companies. RPG pages do age and yellow over time but not nearly as bad as comic pages because comics are printed on newstype which is more acidic.

All books "start" at a 10 and deductions are taken for each defect, it's a deductive and not an additive process.

I would also say that if this shrinkwrap example is submitted you should send it to CBCS so that you do not have to remove the shrinkwrap. :)

Tszii
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Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2023 5:13 pm

dosselmeyer wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:

So stains on pages do deduct from the grade correct? Or does separate just mean noted in the "white, off-white" etc?

Thanks for being here btw!

Badmike
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Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2023 12:27 pm

I will say that CBCS is really strict on color breaks at the spine. Seems to downgrade the item an entire point.

The market will eventually prove to these guys submitting sub-average condition items, even rares/keys, to not waste their time. That, or reasonably price their 4.0 item. Honestly these will sort themselves out.

Mike B.

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gregory
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2023 4:23 am

MegaTherion wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:
Eli Global owns Beckett and 100+ other companies in 20 Countries with 10,000 employees

Excellent. Thanks for the information, it's a great sign that you would respond.

MegaTherion
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2023 12:11 pm

gregory wrote in CGC Grading Etc...:
Excellent. Thanks for the information, it's a great sign that you would respond.

All I did was Google it

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