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A few thoughts on Grading and Encapsulation

  • james54 | Male | 69 years old | Texas

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I've minced words on several occasions about third party grading and about the encapsulation of comics. So I thought I would take a few minutes to expound upon my views.

First of all third party grading has been around for many years, while not in it's current form, I have on numerous occasions graded comics in collections for insurance companies over the years. This would make me a third party grader, allthough the insurance agencies were less concerned with condition then market value. At shows throughout my tenure as a comic collector and dealer I have assigned grades to comics to settle desputes, has have many other people that attend shows and conventions. Third party grading is nothing more than the assigning of a grade by one or more disinterested persons.

Encapsulation is placing a comic in a somewhat archival condition that when stored properly can prolong the life of the comic. The most common encapsulation we have is Polybags and acid free boards. This is not however what we think of when we think of encapsulation, what we think of is placing a comic in a hard plastic that will prevent incidental damage to the book. Bags and boards will not prevent incedental damage.

So I am not against third party grading nor am I against encapsulation. What I am very much against is the idea that because a comic has been graded by a service and encapsulated in hard plastic that it can somehow be worth more than the same grade of comic that has not been graded by a service or encapsulated. Yes I understand that grading adds to the cost and therefore might cost a little more based on that cost, but when I see a book go for $100 in near mint condition ungraded and the same book sell for several hundred in Very Fine+ graded we have a serious problem with our chosen hobby.

Now it's very true that not all books increase in value just because they have been graded anymore than all books will increase in value because they have been signed. Let's face it Jack Kirby's signature would be worth more on a 3x5 card then on a Captain America book drawn by Sal Buscema (nothing against Sal, he is a great artist whom I have long admired in his own right, but the value would be in the signature rather than the book).

But I digress, my point is a near mint comic should be worth nearly the same regardless of if it has been encapsulated and graded or not. Notice I say nearly the same, I can see passing on the cost of getting a comic graded to the buyer in some cases. In other cases it should be absorbed by the seller.

Let's say I have a copy of "Numb Nutz #1" (a made up comic of dubious value) and I like it so much I pay to have it graded so now my $2.00 comic has cost me around $35.00 and it is graded at a 9.6. Does this mean the comic is now worth $37 to anyone that wants to buy it? Or does it mean should I decide to sell it it's worth $2 and I take a loss on getting it encapsulated? I would think the later. In the above case I should not pass the cost on to the buyer as I had it encapsulated and graded just to please myself. Now let's take my other comic, you know "Crazy Eyed Giant Squids of Phobos #3" (another made up comic of dubious worth) that I have decided to sell for $2.00 (it cost me $4.95) and I have assigned a Near Mint grade to it. A potential buyer wants it for $2.00 but doesn't trust my grading skills and wants me to send it in to have it graded and encapsulated. In this case the buyer should absolutely pay the cost of the comic, the grading and any shipping fees. It's sort of like the person that contacted me about a comic I had listed for 46 cents, I told them that, yes I still had it, but the shipping would cost $7 so unless they found some more things to buy it would not be worth them getting.

So when should you get a comic graded by a grading service.

1) When there is a dispute between the buyer and seller concerning condition or the seller feels that there could be a dispute.

2) When the comic is being put up for sale at an auction and lists for over $100 I think it would be a good idea to have it graded.

3) You like the way encapsulated graded books look and have a comic that you are very fond of that you have no intention on selling but want to keep in as pristine a condition as possible.

If you can afford to have a comic service grade your collection and really like how they look then by all means go for it. There are several services available, make sure you follow their instructions on how to pack and ship your comics to them. Remember however just because your comic has been encapsulated does not mean that it is immune to the effects of ultra violet radiation or mishandling, you should still store them properly in a cool dark place. As for myself, I may at some point in the future have a few comics graded for auction purposes, but on the whole I seriously doubt that I can afford to have all 13,000 plus of my books graded by anyone other than myself. Although there is that copy of "Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung-Fu Kangaroos" (a real comic of dubious worth by the way) that I have in near mint...

  • Apr 27, '15 by bratink's avatar bratink
  • i am not even a long time comic collector but i totally agree with you. Me and a friend of mine have some comics from the 60's and 70's and they are in almost perfect condition but they are not graded so people think they shouldnt pay what they are worth. Me . i go by the middle of the line and use that price and if they dont want it because someone else needs to tell them what they can already see, then so be it move on!!
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