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I am confused! Why do people crack open their CGC graded comics?
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I was surfing online and I found this video:

 

 

Why do people crack open their CGC comic books? Are books going to get damaged if kept into the CGC case (maybe paper will deteriorate quicker)?

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Many people buy a CGC book primarily for the verification of the grade and whether or not restoration is present..... in an effort to avoid being ripped off by strangers on the internet who sell misrepresented items. After they receive the book, it is removed and placed in a mylar to join the rest of their collection. Many, many people still enjoy actually reading the comic and flipping through it. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

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Some people like to read, touch, smell and fondle their comics.

 

Yes. In the slab, only ~ 5% of the book is visible. There are a whole other 34 pages just brimming with artwork in there (usually more if we're talking Golden Age) that you can't see when the book is in the slab. ;) I want to have access to 100% of a book I own. Some people don't care. Those that do become slab-crackers!

 

Also, I like to change the microchamber paper occasionally, which requires deslabbing. Also, I really enjoy the 'conservationist' feeling I get from putting 3 or 5 sheets of microchamber in there, rather than just 2. ;)

 

More generally, there are arguments to be made that storage in mylar in an acid-free environment is "better" for the longevity of book than sitting in the slab, but opinions differ. As an aside, one thing that is clear is that books can be damaged in various ways by the inner well of the slab...putting them in mylar takes that out of the equation.

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But sometimes the premium price that you pay for a CGC graded comic books is a lot. For example, Mycomicshop currently has ASM 85 9.0 at $425 when Overstreet's Guide has the same issue, same 9.0 conditions at $111. This is $314 more! I am a newbie at serious collecting so please forgive me if this is a stupid question or observation.

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If the CGC book is priced right, I'll buy it slabbed just to crack it out and put it in my cabinet. I have some CGC stuff, but generally, unless its a 'prized possession' I crack out other CGC books just for the sake of storage.

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If the CGC book is priced right, I'll buy it slabbed just to crack it out and put it in my cabinet. I have some CGC stuff, but generally, unless its a 'prized possession' I crack out other CGC books just for the sake of storage.

 

Do you inform CGC of the cracked book? I wonder if the current stats on the CGC database are updated.

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If the CGC book is priced right, I'll buy it slabbed just to crack it out and put it in my cabinet. I have some CGC stuff, but generally, unless its a 'prized possession' I crack out other CGC books just for the sake of storage.

 

Do you inform CGC of the cracked book? I wonder if the current stats on the CGC database are updated.

I do.

 

But I charge $5 for the service.

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If the CGC book is priced right, I'll buy it slabbed just to crack it out and put it in my cabinet. I have some CGC stuff, but generally, unless its a 'prized possession' I crack out other CGC books just for the sake of storage.

 

Do you inform CGC of the cracked book? I wonder if the current stats on the CGC database are updated.

 

Nice people inform CGC. They don't have to so the census does have some ghost books in it.

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But sometimes the premium price that you pay for a CGC graded comic books is a lot. For example, Mycomicshop currently has ASM 85 9.0 at $425 when Overstreet's Guide has the same issue, same 9.0 conditions at $111. This is $314 more! I am a newbie at serious collecting so please forgive me if this is a stupid question or observation.

 

Overstreet values are a guide.

 

And, yes, you do pay a premium for CGC books over a raw example. But for some people they're happy to pay the premium at purchase time and then crack the book open for their own enjoyment.

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But sometimes the premium price that you pay for a CGC graded comic books is a lot. For example, Mycomicshop currently has ASM 85 9.0 at $425 when Overstreet's Guide has the same issue, same 9.0 conditions at $111. This is $314 more! I am a newbie at serious collecting so please forgive me if this is a stupid question or observation.

 

....it's only stupid when you DON'T ask. My exception with CGC books.... when I will leave them IN the slab, is if I'm unsure if I can afford to keep it, or if the book is scarce AND top census. I generally go after 6.0 to 9.0 books and am confident I can take good care of them raw. At 9.2 and up, I'd probably leave it slabbed, as one slip of the hand can really hurt it. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

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....it's only stupid when you DON'T ask. My exception with CGC books.... when I will leave them IN the slab, is if I'm unsure if I can afford to keep it, or if the book is scarce AND top census. I generally go after 6.0 to 9.0 books and am confident I can take good care of them raw. At 9.2 and up, I'd probably leave it slabbed, as one slip of the hand can really hurt it. GOD BLESS...

 

Uh! This approach totally makes sense. 9.0 and under books do not seem to be super premium priced and you still get a great reading and collecting copy of an issue that you can feel confident cracking open and store in mylar.

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Yes. In the slab, only ~ 5% of the book is visible. There are a whole other 34 pages just brimming with artwork in there (usually more if we're talking Golden Age) that you can't see when the book is in the slab. ;) I want to have access to 100% of a book I own. Some people don't care. Those that do become slab-crackers!

That's a nice succinct way of explaining it. (thumbs u

 

Maybe it's just me, and with the caveat that I see a lot of value in CGC's service... but when I own a slabbed book, I sometimes don't entirely have the feeling that I 'own' that issue. In some ways, it's like having a high-quality poster of the book, albeit with the knowledge/satisfaction that it is authentic. I'm less likely to form a true attachment to the book, and more likely to consider selling it, than if I can flip through it (even briefly), and fully 'understand' it and enjoy it.

 

 

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But sometimes the premium price that you pay for a CGC graded comic books is a lot. For example, Mycomicshop currently has ASM 85 9.0 at $425 when Overstreet's Guide has the same issue, same 9.0 conditions at $111. This is $314 more! I am a newbie at serious collecting so please forgive me if this is a stupid question or observation.

 

 

Most cgc comics aren't priced at a premium. The ultra high grades have their collectors that buy and keep them slabbed. CGC was started as a direct response to online/mail ordering as a way to show the condition of that book without having to trust the seller. People buy slabbed comics for all kinds of reasons, and a lot of collector's don't keep them slabbed once they're in their collection. Having a comic slabbed is really only a benefit when trying to sell it.

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