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Universal or Qualified Label?
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41 posts in this topic

I recently received a CGC Universal label on a signed comic book that was not signed under the direct observation of a CGC representative. Three other signed comic books that I submitted at the same time received Qualified labels. Would anyone be able to explain this to me? Thank you in advance for any replies.

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What's to explain, that's how it works. CGC has a Signature Service Program where the signature is guaranteed to be genuine but the signing has to be witnessed by a CGC rep.

No CGC witness = a Green Label Qualified grade as they cannot guarantee the signature to be genuine.

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The signed comic book did not receive a Qualified label. It received a Universal label. The other three signed comic books that I submitted at the same time received Qualified labels. That is why I am confused.

 

A couple of reasons why this could happen:

 

1) CGC screwed up (it happens)

2) The book has a signature on the inside (not on the cover) - this gets you a blue label

3) The book is low grade enough that an unverified cover signature wouldn't really affect the grade - this gets you a blue label too

 

If it's not 2 or 3, I'd give CGC a call on Monday to ask.

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Thank you for the reply, mschmidt. Your explanation leads me to believe that it may in fact be intentional and not an error. Is a Universal label more desirable with a signature on the cover of the comic book? If so, I will simply leave it alone and be happy with it.

Edited by My young Padawan
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My bad on misreading the original post. However, I did not realize that a signed book in low grade could receive a Blue label. Often, especially on keys, it's usually low grade that are submitted for signatures. Interesting.

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I recently received a CGC Universal label on a signed comic book that was not signed under the direct observation of a CGC representative. Three other signed comic books that I submitted at the same time received Qualified labels. Would anyone be able to explain this to me? Thank you in advance for any replies.

 

 

 

 

The Green Qualified label is for specific defects on an otherwise mid or high-grade book. Unwitnessed signatures is one usually of those instances, but in this case the book may have been low enough grade already that Qualifying it would basically serve no purpose.

 

If an unwitnessed signature, for instance, meant the difference between a Universal 7.5, or a Qualified 9.6, CGC would give the book the higher Qualified grade with a Green label stating in all caps "NAME WRITTEN ON COVER IN MARKER."

 

But if an unwitnessed signature meant the difference between a Universal 2.0, and *maybe* a Qualified 2.5, there's basically no reason to qualify it at that point. So in a situation like that, the signature is just factored into the grade with a Universal Blue label, this time stating in lower case "Name written on cover in marker."

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The comic book received a grade of 9.4 and a Label Text notation "NAME WRITTEN ON COVER IN MARKER." The same reasoning may apply. The comic book may otherwise have received a higher grade. It just does not make sense that one of the four signed comic books that I submitted would be returned to me with a Universal label.

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The comic book received a grade of 9.4 and a Label Text notation "NAME WRITTEN ON COVER IN MARKER." The same reasoning may apply. The comic book may otherwise have received a higher grade. It just does not make sense that one of the four signed comic books that I submitted would be returned to me with a Universal label.

 

If it's a 9.4, it's a CGC mistake.

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That is annoying. Would it be worthwhile for me to ship it back to CGC in order for it to be reholdered with a Qualified label, or is a Universal label more desirable?

 

Keep the Universal label. A plurality of collectors avoid Qualified books.

 

It's a QC error - he should get it fixed.

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The comic book received a grade of 9.4 and a Label Text notation "NAME WRITTEN ON COVER IN MARKER." The same reasoning may apply. The comic book may otherwise have received a higher grade. It just does not make sense that one of the four signed comic books that I submitted would be returned to me with a Universal label.

 

 

 

If the label says "NAME WRITTEN ON COVER IN MARKER." in all caps, then yes, the book should have been Qualified, and the wrong category was selected from the drop-down menu.

 

You can send the book back to CGC. We will fix the label for free, and reimburse you for the shipping.

 

Contact our customer service manager Brittany McManus at:

 

bmcmanus@cgccomics.com

 

briefly explaining the problem, and she will help you with getting everything fixed. :)

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