Actually, I can say with confidence that it is at best only the second nicest.  The CGC census lists one graded 9.8.  For those non-comic book collectors out there, that means the book looks like it was printed yesterday and plucked right off the production line, never opened, and placed in a holder.  However, CGC has only graded 15 so far, so small sample size.

[quote="dbartman";p=361694][/quote]

I agree and no one has bought that for about a year. $500 is too high for now. (The guy was kind enough to share some information about grading with me though.)

However, I believe there are only two Green S1s on ebay in better condition at the moment. They are about $100. A few years from now a 6.5 may be the best available for weeks. If an average Green S1 is $150-$200, an already slabbed copy may be worth it, considering time, shipping and cost.

Ive sen PSA 6 First edition holo Charizard cards go from several hundred to $4-5k. DnD wont catch up, but no price would surprise me for a collectable after that. :)

BTW, every module with an overstock notch wont be worth grading. :(

I find the whole grading thing fascinating in that it really is subject to so much interpretation.  Is there training for this profession or internship where after a year of being an apprentice, a person graduates to being a soul crushing grader?  :)

I have an S1 in SW but it is not without its flaws.  It looks like the original price sticker was pulled off the item where by removing a square portion of the cellophane and someone thought it was a good idea to write .25 on the cover in blue ball point pen.  You can barely see it, but it's there.  How badly would something like that effect the grade (harshly I would imagine)?  I'll have to upload a picture when I get a chance.  I have to watch a YouTube video on professional grading, for which I'm sure there are a bunch out there as well, just to get an idea of what it entails.  The adoption of doing this has to reach a level seen in comics in order tor me to really consider it worthwhile.  I'm not sure I would purchase a slabbed module, at least not right now.

Edit: added image.


-SKA

I have probably made a post like this half a dozen times on the Acaeum, but here is one more. The collecting portion of our hobby is in its infancy still. As Axel mentioned many people still view these items primarily as something to be used for gaming purposes instead of something to be preserved in amber. We have more people entering the hobby who view these items as good long term investments and I imagine those people will be happy to seem items slabbed which will move these items closer to the art world. I have whinged in the past about noble knight selling a NM copy of X for $500 and selling a VG copy for $475. This is because (not to pick on you Axel) because there are still gamers who are buying that item to read and use it (and then perhaps sell it down the road). We are getting closer to the comic world model where that $500 item in NM would be $150 in VG, but NK also preys on the fear of missing out. We have lots of new people with means entering the collecting world and they have a small percentage of the collecting knowledge of Acaeumites (for example) so they see a BIN and pull the trigger since they have the means to do so. I expect prices to continue rising long term on truly scarce items (but I would guess that at some point more common shrinky modules will level off).

I have been grading modules for 40 years. I've made the point before that I think the Acaeum standards are off about a letter grade (i.e. items described as Fine are really VG, etc.). What is particularly hard is grading one's own items as people hope that their items are better than they fear. I suppose I am known as a soul crushing grader probably because I know what actual NM copies of these items look like. I started grading baseball cards back in the seventies. I had thousands of cards before I turned to RPG's when my sister came home with the Holmes box from GenCon 10 (since mom wouldn't let 11 year old me go to the Playboy Club). Anyway my point is that I started applying grading to RPG's very early on. Doubles were for reading/playing with. Singles were for setting aside in amber for posterity.

aia wrote in Your opinion doesnt matter anymore:Sorry i still don't get this thing to incapsulate books in plastic cases... ok that this way the item will be preserved (and even for this i have some doubts... one is about rust, the other is for the extreme situations like a shock on the case which could damage the content as well).
While i do understand that this could work for CCG (where the risks mentioned above are null), i do  ot understand why someone is happy to deny to himself the joy to take his precious module and read it... this would be really frustrating for me... (a card instead can be enjoyed even in a case as it has only two sides and both are accessible thought the case!)

You are one of many and are in good company. Lots of folks hate slabbing cards and comics. Its an ageless discussion. :)

Slabbing an item is preserves it and establish a third-party grade. Slabs have internal plastic sleeves so, stored properly, rust shouldn't get worse. People always say "buy the comic not the grade" (or card) meaning check for damage after its slabbed etc. Folks have items they want to curate and preserve, beyond the joy of reading.

But yes, it is slabbing. Its a dead module or comic laying there on a slab. You can crack them open with bolt cutters and a screwdriver, but omg taking that 9.0 #1 out of a slab to read would be like using a baseball bat from the hall of fame.

I should mention, if I haven't already, I am selling stuff on ebay. Frankly I need to if I want to continue buying stuff and there are more things I want to buy now than in 2016 when I started lurking here. Chinese Pokemon? Sure. Warhammer 40k 2nd edition Codex? Add it to the pile.

For some time, I believed the 50th anniversary of DnD would be a big year to promote awareness of the game. I doubted I would be able to afford nice B2s at some point. Sorry for sounding like the greedy one in the bunch but I cant control my own foresight. :) Yes, its wrong most of the time. The new pizza buffet down the street isn't great.

And selling kinda sucks. The difference in price and condition is all over the place. I thought grading would separate the 8s 9s and 9.8s.  Whelp, now I think were looking at separating 4s, 5s and 7s. So how rare is a 9.0 module and what is a fair price in mid 2024? Especially when a later print DMG sold for $500 in 2022, because it was beautiful, when average copies were going for $45? For now, I am only selling run of the mill stuff and things with established premiums because "they are what they are."

There are things I would never grade or sell. Frank autographed a R3 for me. It has humidity damage - but dammit its cool. I have a Master Set in shrink of all the mono modules and extras from 1978. But I want my display to be slabbed 8.0+ Monos, the B Series, Super module set. Basicaly what you see here. :) But not in bags, boards and top loaders.

And pics...

QR Code...

Absolute guess, but it would be a "moderate", or maybe "major" defect. So that would take it to an 8 or 7 from the start. Its not as bad as a missing corner or an alteration that improved appearance which drives it down even more.

Thanks btw. I worked on this area for over 3 months before I could move stuff in. I think someone who knew what they were doing would have completed it in two days. One part of the ceiling still isnt finished, save for plastic sheeting, because of the reasons you mentioned. :)

I used hospital-like self sticking carpet tiles and plastic wall things from Menard's. I build the shelves from red cedar, along with the ceiling, and the bookcases are Ikea. I did take care to use plastic sheeting behind the walls and ceiling. The room is sealed off from dust and still smells new. LED lights give off no heat. Most of the money went into a decent sliding glass door to keep the temperature consistent. The whole room is 3.5'x9.5'. Its just big enough for two people to fit.