Order matters. Tape matters more.
More books get hurt in the mail than on the press table. Here's how to box yours so they arrive exactly the way they left — raw and graded both.
Pack in submission-list order — top of your list is top of the stack.
Blue painter’s tape only. Nothing stickier goes near a comic.
We get your form the moment you hit submit, so there's nothing to send. Print your copy and put the paper in the box with the books — that's how we check your order in.
Your books need to come out of the box in the same order as your submission list. We check your books in one at a time, in that order — so the box should read top to bottom like the list reads top to bottom.
(This is the one people get wrong.)
Bagged and boarded keeps a stack stiff and stops spine rolls in transit. Keep the stack flat, never standing on edge.
(Already bagged and boarded? Leave them that way.)
Slabs get their own stack and their own wrap. Don’t lay raw books on top of graded ones, and pad the corners — a cracked case is a real expense.
Tape the outside of the wrap with blue painter’s tape and nothing else. No packing tape, no duct tape, no masking tape on or near the books — a strong adhesive can transfer to covers, lift ink and leave residue. Painter’s tape peels clean.
(The tape never touches the book itself.)
Bubble wrap or cling film around each stack, cardboard on both faces, and enough padding that nothing shifts. Seal the box on the outside only, then ship to PO BOX 142, Harwich, MA 02645.
(Shake test before you seal it — if anything moves, add more padding.)
Everything above is how we want your books packed. If you’d like the long version, CGC publishes their own shipping guide, and our submission walkthrough covers everything that happens after the box lands.
Painter’s tape photo by Imjustmatthew and parcel photo by Meanwell Packaging, via Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 and CC BY 2.0.
