Just recently I tried to sell something on a Facebook group. I thought that I was following the rules of the group. But it turned out that the condition of what comics I were selling was too good for the group.
That's got to be a first! Selling some that was too high grade!
Obviously, the way I looked at grades of comics were flawed. But I feel like my way actually makes sense if you see it as Obi-Wan Kenobi. I.E. from a certain point of view.
I know that I am going to make some comic book collectors angry with my theory of grades and condition. But hear me out.
In order for comic books to get the big bucks, you now have to take you comic books to places like CGC to get graded. For a fee, an expert will examine every single page of your comic, including the position of the spine, how the staples are placed, and how each page was cut during the production process. Once a number from 0.5- 9.8 is determined for the book; the comic is placed in a plastic case and sealed. This is called a slab. (Ratings of 10.0 can occur. But it's really, really rare!)
Slabbing in my opinion is giving a comic book a grade. It's called grading by CGC and such. Thus it's got a grade. By the views of most collectors, anything around a 6.0 or lower is a low grade. Some will consider 5.0 the beginning of low grades. I'd consider anything a 7.0 a low grade but that's just me.
The number of books that are slabbed and graded is relatively small. But that number grows every day. Still probably no more than 2% of books on the market are slabbed. The other 98% is considered to be bagged. That means to prevent additional damage to a comic, it is put inside a plastic or mylar bag and sealed with tape or other adhesive. Some collectors like to put a thin cardboard piece of paper to help prevent folding and creasing during storage.
Anyways, when I was growing up, there was no such thing as a numbering system for comic books. Instead, we based comics on condition. The ultimate condition was Mint. Most books were NM and the level of condition went all the way down from good, to fair to ultimately poor. Near Mint is the unslabbed equal to 9.8, BTW.
In MY OPINION, if a book isn't slabbed, it isn't graded but it is still low grade. Think of it like this, so you had a book that was graded 9.8 and slabbed and then you also have the exact same book that was bagged and in the condition of Near Mint. The price of the two books, which are in the exact level of quality, would be astronomically different.
For example, I checked on the 9.8 and the Near Mint price of an Incredible Hulk #181; the first full appearance of Wolverine. At one store selling both books, the 9.8 is listed at $2700. The Near Mint copy is selling for $900. Similarly, the same store has a slabbed 5.0 for $1000! Based on these prices a 1.0 slabbed would probably been selling for a $100-150.
This all kinda reinforces my theory of comics based on grade/condition.
In my opinion, the Near Mint book is mid grade because it's worth less than the 5.0 slabbed book! I know that there's of course some overlap but the way I think the system should be is as follows:
High Grade:
10.0-7.00
Mid Grade:
4-6.99
Conditions: Mint-Very Fine
Low Grade:
3.99-0.5
Conditions Fine- Poor
Again, this is all my opinion. The comic book community will never go for it. They had hard enough time going for grading when it was first introduced. But creating such a system was the only way the industry was going to survive after the comic book bubble burst in the early 90s.
Some experts think that the comic book bubble is going to burst any moment. While I doubt highly that the collecting of older comics is going to die out, there is great concern that the market is glut with too many revolving titles. Will a new way of valuing comics have to be developed in order for the industry to survive it's next economic downturn?
For some, digital is considered comics' saving grace. for the future But where's the fun in collecting digital books? Plus, if the power goes out or you run out of battery, how can you read a blank screen?
My ranking system is just that- mine. It is one way of how I determine if a book is worth it's value. But that's the whole essence of collecting. It has different value to each and every person. I dig through bargain bins. If I didn't there is no way I'd have a collection of over 10,000 comics and graphic novels. Some collectors want their books slabbed only. To have such a collection cost money and results in fewer titles.
Clearly I have an old school way of collecting and valuing. I don't really have any intention of selling my collection. But from time-to-time when I want a little spending money, if there's something I'm not a fan of, I will sell it. Case in point was issues 1-6 of Garth Ennis' Herogasm, autographed with COA. I'll just know from now on that in the future to check the grading requirements better of the site I am selling my books at.
Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
