The value can increase from 20 to 50 percent depending on the rarity of book. The grade assigned to the book should not change, unless any damage occurred postencapsulation, in which case the grade will be adjusted accordingly. The company was founded by alec born and steve borock, the latter earning a reputation in the community while working many years at. Before cgc comics, collectors were at the mercy of vendors to determine the grade and value of a comic book. A lightly restored book will be valued higher than a book with heavy restoration in the same apparent grade. A detailed explanation of how to determine a comic books condition based on the established grades is generally included in a comic book pricing guide. Once the comic book has been graded by cgc, it is placed in a tamperevident sleeve, meaning that if the comic book is removed, the cgc valuation of the comic book is no longer valid. Once restored, a comics value depends upon several factors. Chuck rozanskis grading standards mile high comics. The price guide, currently in its 37th release, features information on the ten point comic book grading scale, as well as approximate values of thousands of american comic books with different. Ten point grading system in overstreet price guide. There are grades in between these basic grades such as finevery fine, but we want this to be a general easytofollow comic grading guide for the novice. Our staff of friendly and dedicated employees offer over 250 years of experience in the comic book market place, and look forward to assisting you.
We monitor the fire hose of online comic book sales across various marketplaces and report on the sales of cgc and cbcs graded books in our comics price guide. How to grade the condition of your comic books liveabout. Cgc charges a cost for every comic book graded, and not every comic book is going to be worth it, not even after it is graded. The worlds largest collectibles auctioneer comic books, vintage comics, original.
In fact, in 2007, cgc crossed the millionbook mark and has now graded over 2 million comic. According to comic book fans, there are several problems with the cgc comics grading model and process. The 2 reputable thirdparty professional grading services both begin with c use the same scale, but not exactly the same criteria, but overstreet has collaborated with them for their newest grading guide. When you submit a comic book to cgc, it is inspected before grading actually begins. After your comics arrive at cgc, up to three graders will inspect your comic before a final grade is given. Have comics purchased from us or from your personal collection graded by cgc. In this installment we will take a look at comic book certification services cbcs. Introduction to cgc grading for new comic book collectors. Comic grading 101 with cgc live stream comic books. Whether you are an avid comic collector, a repeat offender one who once collected but fell by the wayside, are new to the industry, or someone who came across some old comics, welcome to the world of comics. The premier online comics price guide free comic book values.
Every comic book certified by cgc is graded by the hobbys most experienced and trusted team, according to wellestablished grading standards. Comic book grading part 1 certified guaranty company. This is intended to be a basic guide so that you have a general idea of the grade of your books for pricing purposes. I cant imagine slabbing a comic book and rendering it unreadable.
There are different systems used by different price guides and grading companies. This fee is charged for each graded book sent into desert wind comics that must be removed from any graded encasement. Best bet would be to talk to alpha comics and they can get you an idea of the cost. After buying a few graded comics on ebay and starting my own certified. We have values for any marvel, dc, image, idw, darkhorse, or dell comic book that is in your collection.
Buyers now have a very good idea as to what the condition of a comic book is. Learn what is the comic book rating system and how a comic book is graded with cbcs comics grading guidelines. Aug 30, 2017 comic book grades are given out through a company called the certified guaranty company also known as the cgc. Comic book grading learn the scale and how to apply it. Grading process certified guaranty company, llc cgc comics. The primary reason to grade a comic is that there is a direct correlation between the condition of the comic and the value of the book. Cgc prides itself on being an impartial comic grading service that provides a professional and impartial assessment of your comics quality. Gpa for cgc comics is the worlds first analysis and reporting service for online auction and dealer comic book sales. Due to the fragile nature of comic books, cgc does not offer a grading guarantee. Unlike baseball cards, which are doublesided and can be viewed from the confines of a sleeve, comic books contain multiple pages and are meant to be read. Comiclink is the online vintage comic book and comic art auction destination featuring comic book auctions spotlighting the most desirable cgc graded examples of key comics, as well as comic art auctions featuring the biggest names in comic book illustration from the golden age to the present.
Part of the reason is because its understood that at minimum the cost of grading the comic is added to the raw value of the book. Grading is the process of evaluating the condition and consequent value of a comic book. As longtime users of nostomania know, the value of a comic depends strongly on grade. In fact, in 2007, cgc crossed the millionbook mark and has now graded over 2 million comic books. Certified guaranty company cgc is a third party comic book grading service located in sarasota, florida. The standard comic book grading system that is widely used today is the one developed in the official overstreet comic book grading guide. Description universal blue a standard comic book universal blue no grade ng a comic book that is in such poor condition that cgc will not give it a grade, but merely verify that it is an actual original comic book. Its a complicated process, and if you want to know more about it you can read how it works for yourself here. There are grades in between these basic grades such as finevery fine, but we want this to be a general easy. Typically the owner of a freshlygraded, purplelabeled comic opens the shipping package and immediately slumps into a pile, with much wailing and gnashing of teeth. These comic grading services will grade a comic and then seal the comic in a hard plastic case that displays the assigned grade.
One way comic books are graded is on the basic grading scale, which runs from mint the highest, through near mint, very fine, fine, very good, good, fair, and poor the lowest. There has been a recent rise in the value of cgc graded comic books. Comic book realm use our database to track your comic. While there is some small degree of variation on the following grading scheme within the community, the following is a representative of the general consensus on the comic book grading scale. Cgc grading scale cgc uses a 10point grading scale to evaluate comics. Certified guaranty company, also known as cgc, is a sarasota, florida comic book grading service. Special thanks to our comic grading advisor steve borock, president of cbsc comic book certification service, former heritage auctions consignment director and former cgc presidentprimary grader. I went to a local comic con and decided to submit my own book for grading. Dec 24, 20 the real freakin comic book men greg eide has been selling comic books as his livelihood for over 42 years. Grading will only preserve and protect the value of an alreadyvaluable book. Comics price guide was the first online price guide for comic books back in 1995. Additionally, some comics are slabbed by cgc, cbcs, or pgx.
Cgc uses a 10point grading scale to evaluate comics. Prices vary based on how old your comic is andor the value of the book. Founded in 2000, cgc is the first independent, impartial, thirdparty comic book grading service. The new cgc restoration grading scale quality scale aesthetic determined by materials used and visual quality of work specific repairs done to improve the structural integrity and longterm preservation of a comic book will now be classified as conserved and designated with a blue purple label. Professional comic book grading eliminates concerns about grade misrepresentations by providing a professional assessment of condition and quality. Though comic book grading has been around for decades, it wasnt until 2000 that a new thirdparty grading service, cgc, burst onto the scene and revolutionized the comic book collecting industry. The higher the grade of a comic book the higher the value.
Lets show you some examples, so you can understand what your books grade on this scale. It is an independent member of the certified collectibles group of companies and the first independent and impartial third party grading service for comic books. Restoration is one of the most complicated, misunderstood. Who is the most reputable to help get the most value. But theres also this social contract that exists which allows buyers to put more faith in a book graded by cgc because of the confidence their reputation brings to the table. These grading services assign grades on the same tenpoint grading scale used by mycomicshop. Defective holders will be replaced at no charge, except when it is determined at cgcs sole discretion that the holder was subjected to. Comics that are submitted to cgc are graded by professional graders on a 10 point scale and then sealed inside a hard plastic cotainer to prevent tampering. For more of an explanation about graded books pricing and those services that. It has major defects to the point that there is almost no collector value. Ng no grade reserved for art or single comic book pages 0. Below are cgcs grading standards for each numeric grade as well as the restoration grading scale. Join me for a discussion about comic book grading with two representatives from cgc.
I am new to many of these kinds of aspects of collecting comic books. A proven and respected commitment to integrity, accuracy, consistency and impartiality has made cgc the leader in its field. This collectibles shop page has the standard 10 point grading scale and definitions, as used in the overstreet guide. Comic book grades are given out through a company called the certified guaranty company also known as the cgc. Certified guaranty company cgc is a leading thirdparty grading service for comic books, magazines and other collectibles. Its our desire to be fair at all times and to do our best to give good value to our customers. Comic link the online vintage comic book and comic art. Comic book grading is the process of determining the grade or condition of a comic book, which directly influences its value. I was wondering why the comic books on ebay with a cgc grading and case were worth more than the ones that only came in a plastic sleeve. Ultimately, comic dealers are businessmen seeking to make a profit from the sale of their books. Fine comics in fine are priced significantly less than those in very fine and for good reason. Therefore being able to correctly determine the grade of a comic is an important skill for buyers and sellers alike. Id spend countless hours reading, rereading, organizing, rereading, and reading again. Reporting on thousands of certified comic book sales daily, gpa is the only service that offers the level of depth and analysis required in todays fastmoving comic book market.
So the sliding scale, the special labels, the way they seal them, and the increase in value all stems from coins. Apr 04, 2016 welcome to the world of 3rd party grading. Cgc employs a team of more than twenty professional graders. Is getting the comic professionally graded up its price, or is it just nice to have it in a fancy case with a grade number. The grade of a comic book is based on its physical condition. Every type of restoration found on each book will be individually graded for quantity and quality, with a cumulative score determining the final restoration grade assigned. Cgcs restoration grading scale is a transparent system that is much more descriptive and accurate than before. We are proud to provide certification and grading services for collectors and hobbyist in the comic book industry.
For each sale discovered, we match it to the specific comic in our massive database which also includes variant covers and printings. The book has never appeared on my account with cbcs and the customer service had been awful in trying to find the lost book. The collectible must have no evidence of any manufacturing or handling defects. At mycomicshop, we use the basic grading scale for most of our comics priced. In general, the more restoration has been performed, the less the comic is worth compared to its apparent grade value. Remember that these costs can be higher for expensive books because cgc is insuring that your comic will be safe while in their possession. Many comic book fans simply dont see the value of cgc grading because it emphasizes the books age and value, not its art or storyline. Taking into account the capricious nature of cgc grading, comics in this grade can be expected to grade out with cgc at 6. The collectible is nearly indistinguishable from a 10. I just want to get the most out of what is probably my best comic. In general, cgc is set up the same way as ngc and pcgs as far as the grading process. The cpg team has put together our grading standards based upon market standards in the hobby as well as included extensive research into cgc grading. Cgc is an independent member of the certified collectibles group of companies. In these rare cases, a check mark will be placed on the label by the numerical grade.
The company was founded by alec born and steve borock, the latter earning a reputation in the community while working many years at cgc, and was recently purchased by beckett media. To qualify, the book must still be encapsulated in its original cgc holder. In rare cases, a comic book will look much better than the given grade. The book pretty much summarizes all the checking points in determining the value of a comic book, and provides extensive comic book grading scale and descriptions for each grading level. This grading process details the exact condition and completeness of a comic, allowing the seller to get an idea of how much it is worth. Back in 2012 or so, i discovered graded comics from cgc comics guaranty corporation an independent third party that professionally grades a comic book and securely encapsulates said comic in a sealed plastic slab with a label that details key information and the actual grade of the comic whew, thats a mouthful. It is the first independent and impartial third party grading service for comic books the company was launched in early 2000 and has since gone on to become a notable part of the comic book collecting community. As with grading all collectibles, there is a degree of subjectivity as there are many factors to consider and all of them must be weighed to.
View grading tutorials for other collectible types. From our humble beginnings, we have grown to the largest, most complete comic book price guide with well over 1,000,000 comics in our database. A detailed explanation of how to determine a comic books condition based on the established grades 4 is generally included in a comic book pricing guide. A comic book in a cgc holder is encapsulated in a new cgc holder. Again, grading comics can be very subjective and have a company like cgc give their opinion can make comic books go for much more than their cover price, especially those with high grades. The market value of comic books is partly determined by a grading process. The two basic systems consist of a number scale from one to ten such as the cgc uses and. Most comics graded using the tenpoint grading scale have cover scans, so when youre considering purchasing a comic you can see the front and sometimes back cover scans of the exact comic being offered. Even professional grading services like cgc, cbcs, and pgx acknowledge that. The best possible existing condition of that comic book. Even though youd think cgc should have comic grading in it it actually stands for certificate guaranty company.
But as a rule of thumb, as im deciding which comics to submit for grading i always estimate the true cost of. Learn what is the comic book rating system and how a comic book is graded with cbcs comics. You can easily identify a slabbed comic because the grades will include the name of the grading service, such as cgc 9. Another way is on a tenpoint grading scale from 10. Any obvious signs of restoration are noted and the comic book is given tracking information so that the exact comic book you sent can be located at any.