Last year a new comic book grading service emerged on the collecting/investing scene.  The company is called Comic Verification Authority or CVA.  According to their website their mission is:

CVA’s mission is to enable collectors, dealers, and investors with a wide range of experience levels to quickly and easily identify examples with outstanding relative eye appeal. In so doing, it allows for these examples to be readily distinguished within online buying and selling environments where comic books cannot be inspected in person before a purchase is made.

They further go on to say:

There exists a variance in eye appeal among third party graded comic books even within the same certified grade. There are examples which are clearly identifiable to an advanced collector or dealer as being strong in grade and sometimes the perceived value of these items can be substantially higher than that of a less attractive example.

The need for CVA in the comic book marketplace is the inevitable result of the subjective aspects of grading, even with established third-party certification. Regardless of the high quality of work performed by CGC, further distinction of examples with superior quality within a particular assigned grade is necessary. Collectors and dealers make this distinction, but not in a way that is systematic, traceable, or recognizable to the less experienced.

This new service is similar in concept to the Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC) in the coin world. Scott Travers, in his excellent book “The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual” sums up the CAC as “grading not just the coin but the previous grader.” The CVA doesn’t seem to be going that far, after all it’s an impossibility since they can’t see the interior pages of the comic book. So what’s the purpose?

The CVA can only give their subjective opinion about the eye appeal of the already slabbed comic. I agree with their premise that although many comics may grade the same for technical reasons, there are often significant differences in the eye appeal or attractiveness of the comics themselves. Looking at a scan or viewing the comic in person allows you to make your own decision. The question you have to ask is do you need a third party sticker to validate your opinion? The CVA only gives an “exceptional” sticker, and these are only given to “premium-quality examples in any grade.” I would like to see them deliver a sticker that identifies when CGC has over graded a comic, but this won’t happen since nobody in their right mind would pay money to have someone downgrade their comic. So we’re stuck with only getting validation of “premium-quality” comics.

Why this is important

The CVA “exceptional” stickers have started to pop up at various auctions, and most recently Stephen Ritter at wwcomics.com has given an endorsement with about 350 of his comics getting this sticker. Since you will see these stickers pop up from time to time you need to know what they are. Whether or not you are willing to pay a premium for this third party service is up to you, and eventually will determine the viability of the CVA.

I’d love to get your feedback about the CVA so please post your comments below.

If you would like to read more about the CVA, see examples, or get other collector/investor opinions, check out the links below.

CVA – Comics Verification Authority
WWComics – come examples and Stephen Ritter’s comments about the service

Thread about the CVA on the CGC Boards
Long thread about the CVA on the CGC Boards