Slabbing Valiants (and other books)

[oldjello]

Long time listener, first time caller regarding this subject, but I wanted to ask the more experienced members to assist a noob like myself on the processes of slabbing. I own 4 slabbed books, 2 of which are valiants (Unity 1 [9.8] and A&A 0 [9.8]). I finally did the big reorganization project over the weekend and found a good chunk of books that I'd like to get slabbed.

For those that do this:
What does one look at when determining if a book should be slabbed (demand for certain books is certainly a criteria)?
I came across a decent amount of very nice books that I'd like to get graded, most I'd like to keep and the others I would like to move to start thinning out the herd. My basement doesn't need 10 extra copies of Rai 0, but if a few of them are worthy of a slab, I'd like to get in on it now that my disposable cash flow is better than it was.
I also want to know if my eyes are bad, meaning does my definition of a 9.8 really mean a 9.8? Maybe my 9.8 is a 9.4 to trained eyeballs.

I also want to slab my "holy grail," which is Showcase 30, which will probably earn a low grade, but I want to slab it for me-- not to sell.

Let me know your feedback and please move this to the appropriate forum if I've muddied it with something off-topic.
Thanks.

Green Jello...

[FormerReader]

My advice would be to study Overstreet's grading standards. Inspect other slabs and see if you agree with the grade. Go to the CGC boards and practice your grading in the section of the boards where people give their opinion on grades for books people post. Ask some of the guys around here that submit a lot of books via PM if they don't post here. Don't be disappointed if the books get lower grades than you expect as you refine your ability to accurately grade.

[nycjadie]

For me, it's all trial and error. My first 9.8 screen came back at 50%. I've received as many as 28/30. Most of mine come in at 2/3. I actually think they do a quota with the prescreens because my rejects that I resubmit come back at 2/3 as well. Crazy.

Research, research, research, my friend. Or by them on the market. You might save more money that way.

[oldjello]

I appreciate the replies. I'm assuming Overstreet probably has a page dedicated to how to prescreen, etc.
I'll start doing some research. This is a project that will take some time and effort, and as stated from the previous post, some trial and error need to be involved. As I was reorganizing, I found some books that looked very hopeful for some higher grades-- but as always, I want to be cautious as not to be too overzealous in my first batch.

[jmatt]

You might enjoy this grading tutorial. It pertains mostly to older issues but I still found it fascinating.

As for what gets a 9.8 and what gets a 9.4 or 9.6... that's like reading tea leaves. I submitted a Harby #0 pink which I thought was a pretty good candidate for 9.8 and received a 9.4. It's like some zen koan with an unknowable answer.

[DirtbagSailor]

I look at a book, and if I am able to pretty much detect no flaws, I submit, which leads to a 60/40 return of 9.8 / 9.6's (with an occasional random 9.4).

IF a book is significant in any grade (e.g. A Grail) then I submit no matter what.

[oldjello]

Another question:
I see you can submit books and will CGC not slab if it's under a certain grade (if you specifically tell them not to slab less than a 9.4 for example), or is it submission price, then you get what you get?

I know records and good beer, and my collection of comics have been gracing the lower level of our house-- so the grading side of comics has piqued my interest.

[kjjohanson]

Another question:
I see you can submit books and will CGC not slab if it's under a certain grade (if you specifically tell them not to slab less than a 9.4 for example), or is it submission price, then you get what you get?

I know records and good beer, and my collection of comics have been gracing the lower level of our house-- so the grading side of comics has piqued my interest.

What you're referring to is their prescreen. Generally they require that you submit a minimum of 50 books for a prescreen. You choose the minimum grade, and they charge you to slab anything that meets your minimum as they would normally charge for grading. Anything that gets rejected you still get charged a fee for (I think $5 per rejected book).

I recommend picking up the Overstreet Grading Guide. It's how I learned what falls into what grade, and my submissions have come pretty close to my expectations:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160360 ... YYVWVF2EP4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[oldjello]

Thank you.
I appreciate all of the responses.