Comic Guaranty LLC

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Comic Guaranty LLC, also known as CGC, is a Sarasota, Florida comic book grading service. CGC is an independent member of the Certified Collectibles Group of companies. It is the first independent, impartial, expert third party grading service for comic books. The company was launched in early 2000 and has since gone on to become an important yet controversial part of the comic book collecting community. Comics can be submitted for grading through comic book stores that are registered with the CGC or directly by the owner (no middleman) through one of CGC's Internet partners, which offer a 10-20% discount. The company also sends representatives to several comic book conventions.

1 Process
2 Criticism
- 2.1 Conservation versus Restoration
- 2.2 Other Criticisms
3 External links

[edit] Process

Comics graded by CGC are placed in an inner well (a sealed Barex sleeve, similar to Mylar), then sonically sealed in a hard plastic, tamper-evident holder (the process is often referred in slang as "slabbing") with a label at the top indicating the grade, page quality and any notes. The comic books are graded on a scale from 0.5 to 10. [1]

There are various label colors denoting different types of books graded by CGC:

Blue - a standard unrestored copy
Purple - a restored book
Green - "Qualified": a book that would otherwise have graded higher if not for a certain defect which affects its technical grade drastically (such as a clipped coupon, clipped stamp or a large tear on the back cover of an otherwise high-grade book). This is also used for books that appear to bear creator signatures on the covers that were not verified by a representative of CGC at the time the book was signed. (If the signature is on the interior, the book will get a Blue label.) A book that has had its staples cleaned or replaced without any other restoration present would also receive a green Qualified label.
Yellow - "Signature Series": signed, unrestored collectibles witnessed by CGC's employees and authorized representatives at comic book conventions, comic book stores, and at private signings.
Red - (now defunct) denoted a Modern comic. CGC decided that "Modern" was too vague a term and now puts these comics into the Blue category
Yellow/Purple - A combination label verifying a signed collectible in restored condition

[edit] Criticism

Not all experts agree with CGC's grades. The comic book store chain Mile High Comics offers their customers a refund if a comic book which they evaluated as "Near Mint" is given a lower grade by CGC. [2]

[edit] Conservation versus Restoration

Some collectors feel that any work done to improve the quality of a book should be defined as restoration. CGC and restoration professionals qualify "any work done" into two categories: Restoration (adding to or changing the chemical composition of a book, or making physical changes such as trimming, all to artificially improve the quality of the comic book) and Conservation (removing changes made to the comic book since it was printed to bring it back to as close to its original condition as possible). CGC's official definition of "restoration", from their Glossary: "Restoration. Treatment that returns the comic book to a known or assumed state through the addition of non-original material for aesthetic enhancement." [3] Note the use of a qualifier at the end, which allows for pressing, dry cleaning, disassembly, etc. Arguments against this type of definition is that "trimming doesn't add anything to a comic book."

Since CGC does not consider Conservation procedures to be Restoration, a Universal graded comic may contain a book that has had the following work done to it: tape removal, dry cleaning (erasing pencil writing or surface grime with an eraser or other object, most notably Wonder bread), tucking loose wraps back under a staple [4], non-disassembly pressing (where the book is pressed using a combination of pressure, heat and moisture - there is no method for detecting this procedure), and disassembly and reassembly of a comic if done correctly [5]. Done correctly, the comic will receive a Blue label. Done incorrectly, it will receive a Purple label. Steve Borock's controversial views on this:

"Q:What is your personal opinion about pressing a comic book prior to grading submittal?

Steve Borock: Who cares? Really, when you get down to it, dealers and smart hobbyists have been doing it for years and years. So the Certified Collectible's Group helps let the cat out of the bag, wants to keep Friesen under their umbrella because they feel his company would be a good fit (see PCS entry below), and the biggest complainers are the guys who don't want the collectors to have a level playing field. Taking a bend or fold that does not break color out of a comic book is not a bad thing. It is not like you are adding glue and/or color touch, using something artificial, to bring paper closer back to LOOK like it's original state. You ARE bringing it back closer to its original state. I and many of the top collector's and dealers have never seen a problem with this".[6]

They will also allow for a very minor amount of glue or color touch on a Golden Age comic book (published in or prior to 1950) and assign the Universal label. However, glue or color touch on a comic book published after that IS considered restoration and will receive a Restored label.

Other problems arise with the techniques that are not considered restoration. A prime example is this Boy # 17. This book went from a 4.0 to a 9.0 using a combination of these techniques, and received a Blue (Universal) label. Here is Steve Borock's explanation: [7].

In 2005-6, CGC's parent company, the Certified Collectibles Group, tried to launch a new separate company called Paper Conservation Service (PCS), with CGC's main restoration expert Chris Friesen as its President. Official announcement[8] It can be inferred from the company name and the President's previous experience as a former Restoration/Conservation Specialist (Friesen dissolved his Renaissance Restoration service when he joined CGC) that the company would have provided Conservation services such as dry cleaning, non-disassembly pressing and a restoration removal service (for example, removal of color touch) and other conservative procedures. PCS closed it's doors shortly after their opening announcement: "Our primary purpose has always been to act in a protective role to the collectibles fields in which we operate. While I feel the value that PCS brings to the market has been misunderstood, we have always listened to all sides of every argument and responded to collectors and hobbyist as a fundamental component of our business development. Ultimately we did not feel that we were serving in the collectors' best interest if there was a perception of conflict between CGC and PCS." [9]

A concern for many was that Purple label and not previously submitted comics with restoration could be "unrestored" to the point where they would receive the blue Universal label, and it could then be sold as if the comic had never been restored. This was confirmed by Steve Borock: "If a comic book was given a purple label by CGC and then "cracked out" had the restoration removed (or enough of it removed), it could possibly get a blue label." [10] The service was by invite only and reportedly you had to sign a confidentiality waiver ("service contract" they called it) saying you wouldn't reveal any information. The company was supposed to act independently from CGC. In the end, CCG closed the service down, because of negative reaction to the service. Many collectors felt that this was a clear conflict of interest. So Friesen returned to CGC as their main restoration expert. To this day the general public has no idea what may or may not have been done by PCS. This of course doesn't mean that those seeking Conservation services don't have options, as dealers and collectors looking for Conservations services (including restoration removal/"unrestoration") are still sending their books to non-CCG owned Restoration/Conservation experts.

[edit] Other Criticisms

The Guaranty in the name CGC guarantees that what they encapsulate is an authentic comic book, looked at by 3 graders (who grade the comic book to the best of their abilities), the book will be checked for restoration and the book will be encapsulated - first in an inner well, then sealed in a tamper-evident holder. Note: this is the service that is advertised. Some collectors feel that the word "Guaranty" in the name CGC implies more than the service as stated.

There are some reasons why books may be returned unencapsulated - such as cover overhang (the cover protrudes beyond the interior book) that would damage the cover if encasulated. This also applies to some European variants and Museum Editions of modern comics. In such cases the grading fees are refunded and the book is returned ungraded. Black and white books on cheap paper (such as Ashcans and Eerie #1) cannot be graded by CGC due to the fact that these books may be easily counterfeited.

There is a grading curve. Older books get more lenient grades than moderns. There are some theories why they do this. One is because of the differences in modern printing technology. Another is the wide-spread use of conservational storage methods since the late 1970s give these newer books better protection than Golden Age Comics and Silver Age Comics where collectors had to create their own methods to protect and store their comic books.

CGC does not reveal their grading standards. However, CGC does consult with Overstreet for their Grading Guides, and most, if not all, of the Senior Graders at CGC are Overstreet Advisors, including Steve Borock (President of CGC), Mark Haspel (Vice-President of CGC), Paul Litch (Modern Age Specialist), among others. At one point Steve Borock announced that CGC was going to fully adopt Overstreet standards [11], but then 3 weeks later backpedaled from that assertion [12].

CGC does not reveal Pedigree requirements/standards. However, Mark Haspel (Vice-President of CGC) is considered an expert on Pedigree detection and has contributed to a book about Pedigrees that will be published in 2007.

A very informative thread - Has CGC changed their pedigree criteria? Updated 12/30/06 [13]

Update 1/19/07 - CGC has updated their website and, for the first time in 7 years, they list Pedigree requirements/standards [14]. This is very helpful, but questions linger: did CGC use these standards when they certified the Central Valley collection as a pedigree?

CGC used to put some grading notes on the label, but hasn't done this since 2001, when, dealers asked for the notes to be removed from the label. The argument was that dealers were saying that it was confusing for customers, and customers were complaining. These customers thought that the grade given was not the final grade, that it was before you subtracted the grading notes from the stated grade. Why anyone would think CGC would operate in this manner is unknown, but apparently it occurred so frequently that CGC did what the dealers asked. Grading notes are available if you call CGC's customer service line (1-877-NM-COMIC) during regular working hours (weekdays 9AM-5PM), not available on evenings or weekends. Members of the Collector's Society ($100 a year) can look up the date graded online.

CGC does not put the traditional alphabetical grade on the label anymore, the alphabetic descriptive grade (NM = near mint, VG = very good, etc.) was dropped when they revised their labels in 2004 to emphasize the numeric grade and make it clearly readable from a distance - a beneficial look for those buying and selling graded books. Here's Steve Borock's explanation for the change: "The quick answer and bottom line here is that the grade needed to be bigger so people could see it from far away. It was a pain, at conventions, to see the grade on the label on a sellers wall from in front of their table. Also, Nomenclature was removed, not only to make the grade bigger but it was fast becoming obsolete to many buyers of certified comics. When we give out grades over the phone we don't say 3.5 VG minus, we just say 3.5. It is very rare that I hear a customer talking to me about a grade and saying very fine to near mint, they just say 9.0. Finally, and you may not believe this, but we have gotten calls from people who are new to comics and hate anything with a minus next to it. One guy did not care that his book was a 3.5, he just did not understand why he had a minus sign, what he called a negative, on his book."[15]

Some argue that this was a way for CGC to "brand" their service, while CGC argued that the numeric grade is easier to explain and understand and that four years of the company's presence in the marketplace had shifted the emphasis away from the alpha descriptive to the numeric point scale. Nevertheless, this was a controversial move to seen by some as a calculated break from Overstreet. Overstreet now lists both the numeric point grade and the alpha descriptive grade in their annual price guide and their official grading guide.

Heritage Auction's Jim Halperin owns stock in CGC. This has been confirmed by Halperin on the CGC message board [16] and by Steve Borock [17]

CGC does not put the date the book was graded on the label. However, this can be obtained from CGC directly. You can call them at 1-877-NMCOMIC to find out this information during regular working hours (weekdays 9AM-5PM), not available on evenings or weekends.

CGC will put "From the collection of" on the label if there is an arguable reason for it, or if you submit a monetary minimum (confirmed by Steve Borock, but the minimum amount of money is unknown at this time). Such as when the book comes from a collection assembled by a well known comic book creator like Stan Lee or Don Rosa or a celebrity such as Nicholas Cage. However, this is defined as a provenance, not a pedigree. Some collectors feel that this is misleading other collectors into thinking these are pedigrees as the only way you tell the difference is where this info is located on the label. Any person can receive the "From the collection of" notation if a minimum amount of books are submitted (see Dallas Stephens and the Mile High II collection).

CGC does not put both grades (the apparent grade and the actual grade) on Qualified books.

Collectors have identified that there has been "slab damage to the comic in transit in the mail" (aka "SCS" Shaken Comic Syndrome) in the past. The comic is not always snug inside the inner well, and can move when jostled - leaving bends, folds, indentations, and on some occasions - tears on the corners. CGC has stated that they have made some revisions to improve this problem, and they seem to be working, as complaints about SCS have lessened.

examples

CGC charges books by tier - tiers are determined by 2 things, something called "Fair Market Value" and these prices are based upon the insurance value that the collectors themselves originally place on the comics when submitted to CGC. Gemma, a CGC Mod, has also confirmed that CGC uses GPAnalysis to determine what tier you book is submitted as. This is understandable, as GPA only reports slabbed book sales. She did not mention if this was an average of the prices realized, but this seems unfair and open to manipulation, since one large sale (possibly dealer to dealer) can raise your submission costs substantially. The more valuable the book, the higher the grading cost and the faster the turnaround time as CGC does not want to hold onto books worth thousands of dollars for long periods of time. However, on occasion, the comic may be bumped by CGC graders to a higher tier if they feel that the book was not properly insured or inconsistent with GPA (placed in the correct Grading Tier) to reflect the value of the comic in the marketplace. Graders do have access to sales data and sites where comics are sold and sites where sales figures are tracked. The Overstreet Price Guide does not catalogue prices of slabbed books, and this is the reason the guide's top grade is now 9.2 - books that grade 9.4 and higher mostly sell for a price higher than the Guide's reported 9.2 price. Overstreet had a short-lived publication called Overstreet's Comic Price Review that tracked sales on slabbed comics, but it is no longer published.

3/11/07 CGC Launches Value Tier

"CGC is offering a new comic books submission tier, called the Value Tier, for books of any comic ages valued under $100 each. This service is priced at just $21 per book, making it the lowest priced submission option for comics issued prior to 1975. A minimum of 30 comic books is required per submission, and no pre-screen service is available. Books will be graded within an estimated 40 business days, the same turnaround time as our Economy Tier. Submitting comics using the Value Tier is the same as with any other service level. List at least 30 books with a fair market value of $100 or less (per book) on a CGC submission invoice. This service is not meant to be a discount on Economy Tier, and therefore CGC reserves the right to charge appropriate tier fees for all comic books with a fair market value significantly above $100."

CGC recommends you get your books re-slabbed every 7 years because the microchamber paper (a small sheet of paper that is inserted between the inside covers and the interior of the comic to protect the comic from any paper off-gassing) becomes inert. [18]

The Jason Ewert scandal. Here is the first thread, revealing the trimmed book [19] and then CGC's official announcement, banning Ewert [20]. CGC released an official announcement that they would recheck any and all Ewert books for free, but this information was only available on their threaded board (here [21])- not on their website, and not reported to any trade magazines (CBG, Wizard, etc).

After (and because of?) the Ewert scandal, CGC curtailed the usability of their CGC serial number search on their website. The serial number search was used to identify other books submitted by Jason Ewert, and several other trimmed books came to light which wouldn't have if the search engine was then like it is now. People have questioned CGC's motivation for this hindering change.

Critics say that CGC panders too much to speculators. Most notorious is their ads that run monthly in CBG and Wizard and on the Internet. Example: [22] These ads trumpet that the mere fact that having a book slabbed equals a larger profit. CGC also implies this in their FAQ: "Q: Will your service make sense for modern books? "A:Our Modern book Service will offer outstanding value for the collector of Modern books, meaning books published 1975 to present. Experience in other fields has taught us that collectibles become more liquid and easily traded, and in some cases more valuable, after being graded and certified. And, incredibly, that extends to new product as well. Also, when one considers the protective strengths of the CGC holder in addition to the advantages of CGC grading, we believe the Modern Service will be one of our most popular." [23]

CGC's relationship with Wizard Magazine is also watched by critics. Their relationship extends past running ads and having a special "CGC Price Guide" section. CGC teamed up with Wizard to create "Wizard First", (example [24]) where Wizard would send bulk comics to CGC to have graded, and then Wizard would sell them at a hefty mark-up. CGC created a special label for Wizard, and also a special new grade: 9.5. This is the only time CGC uses 9.5. CGC originally wanted to call the Red labeled books "Wizard Age".

CGC does not subtract for errors that occurred in the manufacture of a comic book. You can have a book with a large spine miswrap or the book can be miscut, and it can still get a 9.4 or higher. CGC does not take these manufacturing flaws into consideration when grading a comic, but they are still considered flaws by most collectors. Eye appeal used to be very important, but CGC has made that somewhat obsolete. For these reasons alone, one 9.4 can vary drastically from another 9.4, and you should never book a book without a scan, thinking "it's a 9.4, they're all alike..."

CGC has deemed Matt Nelson (Classic Restorations) a "featured partner", and mentions him (and only him) specifically in the CGC Pressing and Restoration FAQ: [25]. Comments about this include: "What I do take issue with is that CGC is openly choosing sides, which I do not feel is impartial, in promoting Matt's (Nelson) services in its FAQ. I can't imagine that CGC would so brazenly promote a particular comic book dealer simply because CGC staff personally believed that dealer's prices, grades or inventory were better than the rest.I have expressed my concern with what I feel is a demonstration of improper bias and I would encourage others to do the same. This has nothing to do with Matt, pressing or restoration. It has to do with CGC not only remaining independent and impartial but also ensuring the public perception of both exists." [26]

Update: Steve Borock has posted the reasons for only listing Nelson: [27] Also, here is the reason CGC will not list Tracy Heft's name in the Glossary: [28]

CGC has started to accept advertising on their website/chatboard from comic dealers (January 2007). Many see this as a bad PR move on CGC's part. Some comments include: "Doesn't CGC have a duty to not only maintain impartiality in fact, but also maintain the appearance of impartiality and avoid situations where impartiality could be reasonably questioned? The acceptance of ad revenue from big submitters just further deepens the perception that CGC **could** be indebted to certain parties and that they may strive harder to assure that the "customer remains satisfied." [29] Click here for some of the controversial ads: [30]