Cracking a PGX case

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Summydad1
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Cracking a PGX case

Post by Summydad1 »

There is a VH1 book that I do not have and have always wanted on eBay in PGX 9.2 for a great price. I have never owned a PGX slab for obvious reasons. I have 2 questions for you guys. Are PGX cases easy to crack? What would a PGX 9.2 equate to in CGC? I have had good experience cracking older CGC cases but new CGC cases are much more difficult to open. Thanks for any help. BTW, the price is atleast half of what a high grade raw goes for.
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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by DirtbagSailor »

Here is what you do.

1. Like raw books in general, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised or viscously disapointed in any subsequent CGC/CBCS grade you receive.

2. PGX holders are about as easy to open as other holders.

3. Since the books is something that you have wanted for some time, get it pressed on the way to CGC. Might as well go hard or go home!

4. Whatever the final grade is, it is what it is, and that is part of the adventure I suppose. Buy the book; not the grade.

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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by Summydad1 »

Thanks DBS. If I get it, my intention was to honestly just crack the case and leave it raw. I'll just keep waiting for a reasonably priced CGC 9.8.
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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by apacseller »

I cracked an old Platinum Age book and it went from a PGX 6.5 to a CGC 7.0, so miracles can happen!!! I was scared to death of getting a purple label though :)

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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by TheeBaldMoose »

Summydad1 wrote:Thanks DBS. If I get it, my intention was to honestly just crack the case and leave it raw. I'll just keep waiting for a reasonably priced CGC 9.8.
Hey, if it's an older PGX case, I say swing for the fences! Obviously, inspect the book first, and if it looks like a sharp one, go for it!
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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by greg »

The danger in PGX is proportional to the dollars.

If you're buying a PGX book that would sell raw for $5 in the same grade, then anything over $5 and you're paying for some plastic but as long as you don't overpay for the plastic, there's little risk.

If you're buying a PGX book that would sell raw for $50 in the same grade, then there's a chance the book is over-graded and paying $50 would be too much... paying $80 even worse... and paying $100+, really bad.

If you're buying a PGX book that would sell raw for $500 in the same grade, then there's pretty much no good reason for the original submitter to have used PGX, since they know they won't make as much as CGC, except that they're either stupid (not a trustworthy seller), they hope you're stupid (not a trustworthy seller), or they're already sure there's no way CGC would have given the same grade and PGX is giving them special treatment (not a trustworthy seller).

I'm not picking on PGX exclusively, since all the things I said about the $500 PGX book seller are also true if the same book is being sold raw (no slab).

In other words, PGX is a gamble, but not worse than raw books already are... and the higher the dollars, the higher the danger.

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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by apacseller »

Since I listed an extreme outlier situation with my book, I should give some additional details:

- It was a platinum age book that has some heavy niche demand, but not a major.
- It was pressed and cleaned.
- It didn't appear to have any restoration from the outside.
- It had been graded quite a long time ago by PGX, before their reputation was totally demolished.
- It wasn't a high profile book (like TMNT, or Hulk 181), so I thought it might have been a unique slabbing situation.

As I said, I was rewarded with a PGX 6.5 to CGC 7.0, but this is an ABSOLUTE OUTLIER. I only mention this, because most threads end up with 100% hate on PGX, so I like to at least give one possible positive story.

But BE CAREFUL! You are rolling the dice big time.

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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by greg »

apacseller wrote:Since I listed an extreme outlier situation with my book, I should give some additional details:

- It was a platinum age book that has some heavy niche demand, but not a major.
- It was pressed and cleaned.
- It didn't appear to have any restoration from the outside.
- It had been graded quite a long time ago by PGX, before their reputation was totally demolished.
- It wasn't a high profile book (like TMNT, or Hulk 181), so I thought it might have been a unique slabbing situation.

As I said, I was rewarded with a PGX 6.5 to CGC 7.0, but this is an ABSOLUTE OUTLIER. I only mention this, because most threads end up with 100% hate on PGX, so I like to at least give one possible positive story.

But BE CAREFUL! You are rolling the dice big time.
:lol:

While there might be 100% hate on PGX, it's because they put poisoned apples in the barrel.
Maybe only 10% are poisoned, maybe it's only 1%, or maybe it's half... but it's not 100% bad at PGX.
The hate might be 100%, but it's because you can't be sure when you pick an apple (slab) that it isn't poisoned.
Some are just fine... delicious even... but you're paying for that risk. :D

There's a confirmation bias involved, though. People don't like to admit failure, so if there are a few verified stories about PGX missing restoration, clearly over-grading, or otherwise buyers getting ripped off... there's a good chance that it's the tip of the iceberg since other people aren't going to say anything when they get scammed. Meanwhile, a story like yours is worth repeating... and other "PGX is OK" stories are worth repeating, because they're wins. The good experiences are more likely to be told and re-told, because people aren't usually shy about winning.

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apacseller
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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by apacseller »

greg wrote:
apacseller wrote:Since I listed an extreme outlier situation with my book, I should give some additional details:

- It was a platinum age book that has some heavy niche demand, but not a major.
- It was pressed and cleaned.
- It didn't appear to have any restoration from the outside.
- It had been graded quite a long time ago by PGX, before their reputation was totally demolished.
- It wasn't a high profile book (like TMNT, or Hulk 181), so I thought it might have been a unique slabbing situation.

As I said, I was rewarded with a PGX 6.5 to CGC 7.0, but this is an ABSOLUTE OUTLIER. I only mention this, because most threads end up with 100% hate on PGX, so I like to at least give one possible positive story.

But BE CAREFUL! You are rolling the dice big time.
:lol:

While there might be 100% hate on PGX, it's because they put poisoned apples in the barrel.
Maybe only 10% are poisoned, maybe it's only 1%, or maybe it's half... but it's not 100% bad at PGX.
The hate might be 100%, but it's because you can't be sure when you pick an apple (slab) that it isn't poisoned.
Some are just fine... delicious even... but you're paying for that risk. :D

There's a confirmation bias involved, though. People don't like to admit failure, so if there are a few verified stories about PGX missing restoration, clearly over-grading, or otherwise buyers getting ripped off... there's a good chance that it's the tip of the iceberg since other people aren't going to say anything when they get scammed. Meanwhile, a story like yours is worth repeating... and other "PGX is OK" stories are worth repeating, because they're wins. The good experiences are more likely to be told and re-told, because people aren't usually shy about winning.
Totally agree. I should also disclose that I don't currently own any PGX books or have the intentions of buying any. The risk of undetected restoration (or worse) is too great. This was an obscure event that was my only path to getting this book, so I weighed the risks :)

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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by jmatt »

The slabbing industry is an interesting market. If there's one established king in the field, like CGC, it must be extremely difficult for others to get a toehold. I can't really see much competition on price because saving $8 is not worth gambling on anything that's not widely accepted like CGC. That leaves service and turnaround time... and grading laxity.

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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by agent_graves »

DirtbagSailor wrote:Here is what you do.

1. Like raw books in general, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised or viscously disapointed in any subsequent CGC/CBCS grade you receive.

2. PGX holders are about as easy to open as other holders.

3. Since the books is something that you have wanted for some time, get it pressed on the way to CGC. Might as well go hard or go home!

4. Whatever the final grade is, it is what it is, and that is part of the adventure I suppose. Buy the book; not the grade.
This.... I’m building my PC slowly, but realizing lately that if it’s a 9.6 and won’t drastically affect my budget, go for it. A lot of key 9.8’s I be looking at, be asking for rent money, lol.. It’s more about the book and not the grade when you have no interest in reselling, at least initially...
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Summydad1
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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by Summydad1 »

Update: I passed on the book. Only because I was going to keep it raw. It was a Chaos effect alpha red and the guy had it at $99. It was a PGX 9.2. I offered him $75 and he turned it down. I figured $75 would be acceptable for a NM- copy. Oh well, still waiting for a CGC 9.8 under $300. Ha. I may be waiting awhile.
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Re: Cracking a PGX case

Post by apacseller »

Summydad1 wrote:Update: I passed on the book. Only because I was going to keep it raw. It was a Chaos effect alpha red and the guy had it at $99. It was a PGX 9.2. I offered him $75 and he turned it down. I figured $75 would be acceptable for a NM- copy. Oh well, still waiting for a CGC 9.8 under $300. Ha. I may be waiting awhile.
Well, there's a 15% off ebay coupon going live (I think it maxes at like $333), so today might be your day!!


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