Grading Service Terms

Scope

These terms apply to every service listed under services: grading submission, pressing and cleaning, restoration detection, appraisal and valuation, consignment and brokerage, and vault storage. Submitting books to us means you accept them.

Ownership and authority

By submitting a book you confirm that you own it outright or are authorised to act for the owner, that it is not stolen, and that it is not subject to any lien, dispute or insurance claim. We report suspected stolen material to law enforcement and to the relevant collector registries.

Declared value and insurance

You set a declared value for each book before it leaves your hands. That figure determines the grading tier, the service fee and the limit of our liability.

Books in our custody are covered under our vault policy up to the declared value. Under-declaring to save on fees caps what you can recover if something goes wrong. We would rather you declare honestly and pay the correct tier.

Our maximum liability for any book, in any circumstance, is its declared value. We are not liable for consequential loss, lost profit or lost market opportunity.

Pre-screening and approval

Every submission is pre-screened before it goes anywhere. You receive a per-book grade estimate, a press recommendation and a fee breakdown, and nothing proceeds until you approve it in writing.

A grade estimate is exactly that — an experienced opinion, not a promise. The final grade is set by the grading company alone. If a book returns below estimate we will explain why, but we cannot and do not guarantee a grade.

Turnaround

Published turnaround times are estimates based on the grading company's current queue and are outside our control. Queue times move, sometimes considerably, around major conventions and census events.

Every stage of your submission is timestamped and visible on the submission tracker. We do not charge for delays we cause; we cannot refund delays the grading company causes.

Pressing and cleaning

Pressing uses controlled heat, humidity and pressure to relax non-colour-breaking defects. Both CGC and CBCS treat it as conservation rather than restoration, and a pressed book carries no restoration label as a result.

Pressing cannot repair colour-breaking creases, tears, missing pieces or brittleness, and it carries inherent risk on brittle Golden Age paper. We assess every book for press candidacy first and will decline work we think is unwise. Where you instruct us to proceed against that advice, you accept the risk.

Fees and payment

• Service fees are quoted per book and confirmed before any work begins.
• Grading company fees, shipping and insurance are passed through at cost and itemised on your invoice.
• Fees are payable on return of the books, or deducted from proceeds on a consignment sale.
• Once a submission has shipped to the grader, or a press cycle has begun, those fees are non-refundable regardless of outcome.

Consignment

Consigned books are listed at a reserve agreed with you in writing and remain your property until sold. Commission is deducted from the sale proceeds and the balance is remitted by wire within seven business days of the buyer's inspection window closing. You may withdraw an unsold consignment at any time with fourteen days' notice.

Uncollected property

Books left with us for more than 180 days after we notify you that they are ready, and after three written attempts to reach you, may be sold to recover outstanding fees and storage costs. Any surplus is held for you. This is a last resort and has never yet been necessary.