PGX vs CGC - background info

Discussion of all "slabbed comics" whether Valiant or not

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Post by greg »

As far as Valiant books go, PGX is probably "pretty close" on their grades,
because it "not worth it" (as you said) EXCEPT when they give Valiant books 9.9 and 10 grades.

Those PGX 9.9 and PGX 10 are probably CGC 9.8 at best, and CGC 9.4 at worst.

The 9.9 and 10's that PGX gives occur far too often,
and legitimate copies of books in those grades would
be sent to CGC if the seller really believed in the grade.

PGX 9.9 and PGX 10 are a joke... a "boost" for the submitter
to keep submitting to PGX instead of CGC.

Just be aware that PGX 9.9 and 10 are probably somewhere
between CGC 9.4 and CGC 9.8, and that it would cost to get
it reslabbed by CGC (assuming you want to) and bid accordingly.

:thumb:

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Post by *SQUEE* »

I have bought 3 PGX 9.8 books before I knew what I was doing and started only buying CGC.
The books are Solar 10, Magnus 5, 12 all in PGX 9.8. I have smashed open all the cases and had a go at self grading for a CGC submission in the future. I agree on the Magnus books grade but the Solar 10 looks like a 9.6 to me. The cases are much better on the PGX tho.

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Post by terreth »

As far as Valiant books go, PGX is probably "pretty close" on their grades,
because it "not worth it" (as you said) EXCEPT when they give Valiant books 9.9 and 10 grades.

Those PGX 9.9 and PGX 10 are probably CGC 9.8 at best, and CGC 9.4 at worst.

The 9.9 and 10's that PGX gives occur far too often,
and legitimate copies of books in those grades would
be sent to CGC if the seller really believed in the grade.

PGX 9.9 and PGX 10 are a joke... a "boost" for the submitter
to keep submitting to PGX instead of CGC.

Just be aware that PGX 9.9 and 10 are probably somewhere
between CGC 9.4 and CGC 9.8, and that it would cost to get
it reslabbed by CGC (assuming you want to) and bid accordingly.
Agreed :thumb:

Other then I have seen more then one PGX book get a grade, opened, sent to CGC and get a higher grade. But all the 9.9 10 hype is not worth playing around for if you want return on your investment.

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Post by myron »

Jay Tomio wrote:So to summarise all this for the future readers and utilizing my overrated education to the fullest for the purpose of beneficial elucidation, PGX is the suck.
sweet and simple... :thumb:

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Post by Phantom »

PGX is a scam! Just read that on the cover page for topics. How long has that been in the title?

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Post by greg »

Phantom wrote:PGX is a scam! Just read that on the cover page for topics. How long has that been in the title?
Since April 9th

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Post by Phantom »

Cheers Greg. :oops:

Nb ~ something in the post soon for you :thumb:

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Post by greg »

Phantom wrote:Cheers Greg. :oops:

Nb ~ something in the post soon for you :thumb:
:thumb:

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Post by Chiclo »

I noticed yesterday that there is not currently a Wikipedia entry for PGX.

The potential boggles the mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profession ... Xperts_LLC

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Post by aggr1103 »

Reopening this smelly, annoying bag of worms for some advice.

I've got a couple of books I want encapsulated. I don't care about grade - these are my treasures and I have no plans on selling. I just want them in a case for display purposes - and to allow for a small child to handle without destroying. I've done the math and sending them to PGX is definitely the cheaper route - $44 shipped back for two comics vs. $87! for the same from cgc for two books.

Think its worth it just for encapsulation?

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Post by Escaflown4 »

aggr1103 wrote:Reopening this smelly, annoying bag of worms for some advice.

I've got a couple of books I want encapsulated. I don't care about grade - these are my treasures and I have no plans on selling. I just want them in a case for display purposes - and to allow for a small child to handle without destroying. I've done the math and sending them to PGX is definitely the cheaper route - $44 shipped back for two comics vs. $87! for the same from cgc for two books.

Think its worth it just for encapsulation?
If you just want to slab it regardless of whether the book is graded accurately, then by all means go with PGX. However, please note that they do have plastic cases sold individually for display purposes too.

http://www.comicbookcases.com/index.html

I have never bought from this website, but I've seen the cases during comic shows and they look pretty descent.

If you want a cheaper solution, you can always go with top loaders.

Image

I do have some of these for sale if you're interested.

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Post by aggr1103 »

Thanks. Using toploaders at present, but they are rather flimsy and in the hands of a 3 yr old they won't protect the comics like I want them to. They also seem to scratch really easy.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not letting my son play with them on purpose, but at some point in the future I know he'll be big and curious enough to pull them off my shelves and pull the one I had sketched for him off his bookshelf.

Grade isn't important either. These comics weren't bought for investment.

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by doodlebird »

Just going to drop in my two cents. I just want slabbed books for their signature confirmations. The only other reason is for a nice case to help hang them on the wall with. yeah I don't trust pgx much but I have bought one of theirs as it was dirt cheap and I just liked the book to hang on the wall. If I was looking to buy and sell I would use cgc, but pgx can work for new or cheap stuff. I'm not a big fan of slabbing books, but it has a its place.
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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by Intrepidxc »

Old thread, but hopefully you guys can give me your opinion.

My LCS has a number of pre-unity PGX slabs all graded 9.8. I'm particularly interested in Harbinger 2-7, but they have most of the issues I'm missing from my pre-unity collection. I've convinced him to sell them to me for about 3 dollars above the raw NM prices :twisted:

I'd really like to buy them and submit them to CGC for grading (still trying to get a graded pre-unity set), but I have a few questions.

1. How much could/should I expect the condition to vary from CGCs grade? (this thread was all over the place)

2. Should I crack open the slabs and then send them to CGC or just send them in the PGX slabs? I'm thinking the PGX slabs would offer better protection during shipping. As I think about it CGC may not even take them in slabs, they will probably want them just bagged and boarded.

3. Does anyone have any experience having PGX slabs regraded by CGC? If so, please share!

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by ckb »

Intrepidxc wrote:Old thread, but hopefully you guys can give me your opinion.

My LCS has a number of pre-unity PGX slabs all graded 9.8. I'm particularly interested in Harbinger 2-7, but they have most of the issues I'm missing from my pre-unity collection. I've convinced him to sell them to me for about 3 dollars above the raw NM prices :twisted:

I'd really like to buy them and submit them to CGC for grading (still trying to get a graded pre-unity set), but I have a few questions.

1. How much could/should I expect the condition to vary from CGCs grade? (this thread was all over the place)

2. Should I crack open the slabs and then send them to CGC or just send them in the PGX slabs? I'm thinking the PGX slabs would offer better protection during shipping. As I think about it CGC may not even take them in slabs, they will probably want them just bagged and boarded.

3. Does anyone have any experience having PGX slabs regraded by CGC? If so, please share!
CGC has changed their stance on removing books from PGX slabs and I can't remember where that stance is today, you should contact them about that one.

Your chances of getting the same grade subbing a PGX graded book CGC is about the same as sending a raw book to CGC. Buying PGX books at raw prices is really the only way you should even consider it. You really have no idea what you have. People have sent PGX 9.4s to CGC and gotten back 9.8s, they have sent PGX 9.8s and gotten back much lower. They have sent 9.8s and gotten 9.8s. CGC standards are unpublished and PGX is just one man's opinion on the grade as he plays online poker all day long.

So, it is still wise to do a CGC prescreen with PGX books just like raw books.

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by Intrepidxc »

ckb wrote:
Intrepidxc wrote:Old thread, but hopefully you guys can give me your opinion.

My LCS has a number of pre-unity PGX slabs all graded 9.8. I'm particularly interested in Harbinger 2-7, but they have most of the issues I'm missing from my pre-unity collection. I've convinced him to sell them to me for about 3 dollars above the raw NM prices :twisted:

I'd really like to buy them and submit them to CGC for grading (still trying to get a graded pre-unity set), but I have a few questions.

1. How much could/should I expect the condition to vary from CGCs grade? (this thread was all over the place)

2. Should I crack open the slabs and then send them to CGC or just send them in the PGX slabs? I'm thinking the PGX slabs would offer better protection during shipping. As I think about it CGC may not even take them in slabs, they will probably want them just bagged and boarded.

3. Does anyone have any experience having PGX slabs regraded by CGC? If so, please share!
CGC has changed their stance on removing books from PGX slabs and I can't remember where that stance is today, you should contact them about that one.

Your chances of getting the same grade subbing a PGX graded book CGC is about the same as sending a raw book to CGC. Buying PGX books at raw prices is really the only way you should even consider it. You really have no idea what you have. People have sent PGX 9.4s to CGC and gotten back 9.8s, they have sent PGX 9.8s and gotten back much lower. They have sent 9.8s and gotten 9.8s. CGC standards are unpublished and PGX is just one man's opinion on the grade as he plays online poker all day long.

So, it is still wise to do a CGC prescreen with PGX books just like raw books.
Sounds good. I'll see about picking the Harbinger books up and getting them submitted. I'll post here and let everyone know what CGC says about cracking open PGX books.

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by ckb »

Intrepidxc wrote:
Sounds good. I'll see about picking the Harbinger books up and getting them submitted. I'll post here and let everyone know what CGC says about cracking open PGX books.
Ugh, Harbinger!

Hey, I would definitely work out a deal with the LCS owner to open them right at the store and check for coupons. No sale if the coupons are missing.

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by Intrepidxc »

ckb wrote:
Intrepidxc wrote:
Sounds good. I'll see about picking the Harbinger books up and getting them submitted. I'll post here and let everyone know what CGC says about cracking open PGX books.
Ugh, Harbinger!

Hey, I would definitely work out a deal with the LCS owner to open them right at the store and check for coupons. No sale if the coupons are missing.
I just made that arrangement with him. Apparently I'm the only one whose shown any interest in any of his valiant stuff in years. He wants to move the books so he's pretty much willing to do whatever I ask. In fact I just convinced him to sell me the books for the raw NM price (assuming coupons).

I'm going to my LCS tomorrow to crack them open. I'll let you guys know what I find.

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by greg »

The short version of the story is this:

If someone sends their books to PGX, they get graded and slabbed according to one guy's opinion.
Those books go back to the sender as "legit" as they were to begin with, plus one guy's opinion.

If someone has connections to PGX, they might grade and slab their own books.
Those books get put into the market with fake grades, overlooked restoration, overpriced junk.

When buying a PGX book, especially online, it's very hard to know which one you're getting.

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by Intrepidxc »

Intrepidxc wrote:
ckb wrote:
Intrepidxc wrote:
Sounds good. I'll see about picking the Harbinger books up and getting them submitted. I'll post here and let everyone know what CGC says about cracking open PGX books.
Ugh, Harbinger!

Hey, I would definitely work out a deal with the LCS owner to open them right at the store and check for coupons. No sale if the coupons are missing.
I just made that arrangement with him. Apparently I'm the only one whose shown any interest in any of his valiant stuff in years. He wants to move the books so he's pretty much willing to do whatever I ask. In fact I just convinced him to sell me the books for the raw NM price (assuming coupons).

I'm going to my LCS tomorrow to crack them open. I'll let you guys know what I find.
Well I opened all the PGX slabs with the owner of my LCS. The only book that was complete, i.e. had the coupon was Harby #2. Harby 3-6 were all missing the coupon and nothing was noted on the PGX slab! I passed on the whole bunch as the Harby 2 didn't look like a 9.8 to me.

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by ckb »

Intrepidxc wrote:
Intrepidxc wrote:
ckb wrote:
Intrepidxc wrote:
Sounds good. I'll see about picking the Harbinger books up and getting them submitted. I'll post here and let everyone know what CGC says about cracking open PGX books.
Ugh, Harbinger!

Hey, I would definitely work out a deal with the LCS owner to open them right at the store and check for coupons. No sale if the coupons are missing.
I just made that arrangement with him. Apparently I'm the only one whose shown any interest in any of his valiant stuff in years. He wants to move the books so he's pretty much willing to do whatever I ask. In fact I just convinced him to sell me the books for the raw NM price (assuming coupons).

I'm going to my LCS tomorrow to crack them open. I'll let you guys know what I find.
Well I opened all the PGX slabs with the owner of my LCS. The only book that was complete, i.e. had the coupon was Harby #2. Harby 3-6 were all missing the coupon and nothing was noted on the PGX slab! I passed on the whole bunch as the Harby 2 didn't look like a 9.8 to me.
Holy crap, what a horror show. Speechless.

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by 400yrs »

That sucks. I just picked up a few PGX Invincibles online because they were a part of a group of CGC books that I bought and the seller gave me a good deal on them. There are no coupons to worry about, but I'm not expecting the quality to be up to CGC levels.
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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by Intrepidxc »

400yrs wrote:That sucks. I just picked up a few PGX Invincibles online because they were a part of a group of CGC books that I bought and the seller gave me a good deal on them. There are no coupons to worry about, but I'm not expecting the quality to be up to CGC levels.
I might still buy some PGX books if I needed them for my collection, but I'd want to physically see the books first. I don't get a warm fuzzy with PGX graded books like I do with CGC books.

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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by 400yrs »

Intrepidxc wrote:
400yrs wrote:That sucks. I just picked up a few PGX Invincibles online because they were a part of a group of CGC books that I bought and the seller gave me a good deal on them. There are no coupons to worry about, but I'm not expecting the quality to be up to CGC levels.
I might still buy some PGX books if I needed them for my collection, but I'd want to physically see the books first. I don't get a warm fuzzy with PGX graded books like I do with CGC books.
Definitely cgc is better than pgx, but I'm very hesitant on cgc 9.8s unless I can see them in person or they are submitted by someone like ckb.
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Re: PGX vs CGC - background info

Post by Intrepidxc »

400yrs wrote:
Intrepidxc wrote:
400yrs wrote:That sucks. I just picked up a few PGX Invincibles online because they were a part of a group of CGC books that I bought and the seller gave me a good deal on them. There are no coupons to worry about, but I'm not expecting the quality to be up to CGC levels.
I might still buy some PGX books if I needed them for my collection, but I'd want to physically see the books first. I don't get a warm fuzzy with PGX graded books like I do with CGC books.
Definitely cgc is better than pgx, but I'm very hesitant on cgc 9.8s unless I can see them in person or they are submitted by someone like ckb.
Yeah, I've gotten all but one of my 9.8s from board members. Haven't been disappointed yet!


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