The MP Grading sounds like a good idea on its face, but all it would take is an item being slightly bumped or dinged (even something extremely minor, or barely visible) as it is being un-packaged at any auction house -- and immediately the grade assigned to that item by MPG is no longer valid.
And how likely would it be that a description would mention a post-grade "baby" ding or bump that had been caused by handling, once it had arrived at said auction facility?
while MPG sounds good in theory, it isn't a possible answer because of the sizes of posters.
Lobby cards, which CGC is slabbing & grading are the only real size that can be done successfully & reasonably, but not other sizes for good reason
#1 a slab has depth. While a short magazine box (box made for comic magazines transport) will hold 125-150 magazines bagged & boarded, only 26 slabbed comics fit in the same box.
this has an effect on how many comics can be displayed in boxes on a table at a convention as you would bee 5-6 times the number of boxes to bring the same amount of comics
#2 MPG's method for larger items is to print a small invisible mark and a visible mark on either the front or back. Then they include a paper authenticating the item.
well here's the issue - in order to see or read the marks, you need to be a dealer approved by MPG and pay a membership fee and a research fee for each look-up. You would need a special reader (you pay for it) and a constant internet connection with access to their database. All of these costs are borne by the dealers.
moreover, the authentication sheet is easily lost or in my case, I just throw them away (clearly their method means nothing to me)
it isn't a reliable method and does nothing for me. If the service was free and everything involved was free - I'm not sure I would bother with it then even, because I don't need their help and as an evidentiary issue, I have 100% disagreed with the grades on the 3 items I have bought from Heritage that came with MPG grading (in each case, MPG graded higher than I would have)
there are other reasons I don't think they're useful..
I agree with everything above. Sellers will grade the same poster differently. Heck, I will grade differently than the seller, but I do try to be consistent with myself. That's where the value is TO ME. I also assume that the seller is also consistent. Over time, I know what a Bruce VG means, as well as a Rich C-7. The pictures certainly help, but I look at the grading first.
What I don't want to see is having us move to a central grading authority with slabbing, like happened with higher end comics. Doing that takes away the ability to actually enjoy and display the product.
good points Jay, I agree with both.
in comics, we have 2 schools, those that like slabbing and those that believe it defeats the purpose of collecting, as in this case, slabbing reduces the comics book to a cover and that's it. It then becomes strictly a commoditized item that is traded like stocks on Wall Street.
I call them "coffin books". They are 'dead' as comics.