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Forum - View topicINTEREST: Beckett Collectibles Now Grades Manga
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invalidname
 Contributor Posts: 2515 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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Enlighten me: is there an actual collector’s market for manga? Not just that someone will pay hundreds of bucks for a long out-of-print title like Four Shojo Stories or a full set of Tezuka’s Phoenix, but like actually caring about the condition of the book, keeping it in plastic sheets like comics collectors do?
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 1440 |
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There are probably at least a few collectors out there, but they most certainly aren't hunting for anything displayed in the image from this article. Nobody needs to buy copies of One Piece or Jujutsu Kaisen through private dealers when Amazon has them for regular MSRP. Much like with the surge for Video Game and Trading card "grading" this seems like a glorified scam. |
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dm
 Subscriber Posts: 1550 |
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I don't know about wrapping them in plastic, but I expect there are collectors -- you'll see rare volumes of out-of-print manga offered for eye-watering prices sometimes, just like any other kind of book. I don't know if there's any kind of "first edition" premium -- prices probably collapse should someone bring the series back into print. I expect this is a service for used book stores so they'll know what to offer/ask for things, for one thing. |
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Chris Handsome
 Posts: 338 |
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Grading video games is already a gigantic scam and you can watch/listen all about it on the internet. I wouldn't trust card grading either, but now manga grading? Don't make me laugh.
I doubt anyone wants my uncensored 1st edition printing of Pokemon Electric Tale Of Pikachu where Gary's sister had huge breasts anyways. |
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light turner
Posts: 209 |
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Genuinely always felt these services were a scam akin to the comic book stuff of the 90s. And I'm a collector myself. One who likes putting games and books on his shelf rather than in gaudy plastic boxes with a printed label score on them.
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R. Kasahara
 Posts: 725 |
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Condition does affect prices for that out of print stuff, at least on eBay (that's part of what helped me luck into rarities like Domu and Flower of Life vol. 4 for not-outrageous prices). However, i don't think manga collectors care so much about variant editions, different printings, and so forth. We just want to read. Beckett seems not to know what manga collectors actually want. This seems to be aimed more at general comics collectors, many of whom don't know much (or care) about manga. I can't see this service being all that successful. |
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Arale Kurashiki
Posts: 807 |
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I'd think if you were an actual manga collector (as objects of history, as opposed to just reading it in your language) you'd be collecting Japanese manga, anyway...
Last edited by Arale Kurashiki on Fri Apr 19, 2024 7:39 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10157 Location: Virginia |
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This is not a scam in the sense that the company will do exactly what they claim to do. That is they will take your comic book, trading card or manga volume and assess the condition that it is in. They will then seal it in a rigid plastic cover with a label showing the title and a numerical grade indicating the condition.
That said, it is a buyer beware situation. You have to decide for yourself if this process adds $30 or more to the value of the graded volume. If you break the seal and take the book out to read or for any other reason the grading is invalid. This works fine for individual comic books as for any old and valuable enough there is usually a collected edition or trade paperback for reading purposes. For English language manga, this is the trade paperback. The grading tells you nothing about the scarcity or value of the book on the secondary market. You have to make that call before you send it for grading. Either RACS or RS! used to sell plastic bags sized for standard sized manga. They haven't been available for years though. Likely didn't sell well enough. |
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R. Kasahara
Posts: 725 |
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Bags Unlimited sells some. I've been using them for some of my older manga for years. That's the most protection any of my manga will get, though, in addition to the basics. I can't imagine slabbing any of my manga in hard plastic. |
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BadNewsBlues
Posts: 6495 |
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Oddly specific reference. |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7447 Location: Maine |
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At least with video games there's been an established collectors market for a few decades and cards have been collected for generations, so grading makes sense here and there's a lot of collectors out there that actually value those grades, same goes for comic and toy collectors. But for manga this is Beckett trying to create a market where there isn't one already. And they will create that market, people start to go a little crazy for this sort of thing as soon as a grade is placed on it, even if they aren't manga readers themselves. It's adding a value to those numbers that's going to be the tricky part. Emerje |
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1777 |
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One thing that I would potentially be concerned about is the acidity of the paper used to make the manga being graded. Manga companies, both here and in Japan, use the cheapest ink and paper available. Over time, the paper will eventually turn yellow and the images will fade. This is especially true if it is exposed to light sources, such as those that will take graded manga and then hang it on their wall. I know a few people that do this with graded comics; It's placed right by a bright lamp so they can show it off. Humidity can also accelerate this deterioration.
So while the manga might be in pristine condition upon grading, over time it'll deteriorate due to the nature of the materials used. Does the grading take that into account? I don't know how it works with graded cards and if those deteriorate over time. The oldest cards I own are Pokemon cards from 1998-ish and haven't noticed any fading, ink bleeding or card stock deterioration. I also second the recommendation for Bags Unlimited. Been buying cel and sketch bags from them for years. |
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feitan000
Posts: 41 |
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No thanks, the manga are cheap af
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Rob J.
Posts: 70 |
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Triage X volumes 4, 5 and 7 are out of print and all are selling for over $100 on eBay. Vol. 5 is even circling $200! I emailed Yen a few months ago about reprinting them -- I got into the manga after getting the anime during one of Sentai's sales and got a standard reply that they have no plans to. So I'm stalled on reading the manga with #3. And you'd think that with a series that's well past volume 20, Yen would at least start issuing 3-in-1's for it when early volumes start going OOP, but there ain't none in sight. I'm grateful that Viz did that for One Piece and Naruto. (Also, I don't do digital for comics/manga, books or magazines because I need to get my eyes away from video screens for at least a couple of hours every day.) So, yeah, there's definitely a market out there for OOP manga. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10157 Location: Virginia |
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Rob J. wrote:
What you are talking about is a different kind of collecting. You want to read the missing volumes. You would probably settle for a reading copy (slightly damaged or heavily worn but intact and readable) if you could get it for a reasonable amount. Beckett is working with situations where there are copies readily available and the collector wants a perfect or near perfect copy. Beckett certifies just how near perfect the copy is and seals it into a plastic slab. It is no longer useful as manga since you can't read it. It becomes a "collectible". All you can do it look at the cover, and you need to store the slabbed copy in the dark so the cover does not fade. If you want to read it you would need another copy. For this they will charge you $30 U.S. Will this raise the resale value by $30 or more? Good question, especially if the price is already rising due to scarcity. |
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