smileLP

thnx, DL

ah, ok, on ebay i didn't know the final price, so i approximated, apparently too high. cuz the final price was not revealed (price had a slash through it meaning best offer accepted). thast's bigger drop from asking to accepted than typical. thnx fyi, i decided to lower my initial asking price by $600, partly due to your input/help, so thnx

rockmy, i didn't use those stats when making my statement or price. i simply looked at the last 2 that sold on ebay, and noted there were currently no other 9.6's. that's how i do all my pricing; maybe my smaller sample is a more "current" valuation as for only wanting agreement, yes i admit it might be partly true, only because what i wanted agreement for was that i didn't think this was a 9.6, and when cgc does stupid things it annoys me. i was pleasantly surprised that half the comments said it looked 9.6 to them. i wasn't expecting that. i found other comments very int'ing also. but essentially, i have to disagree w/your comment about just wanting agreement. as for my price being high, hey, w/cgc giving it a 9.6, and half of y'all saying "looks 9.6 to me," who cares what i think? i don't expect it to sell for my asking price, but like i said, i lower the price over time. if someone buying it has a problem, return or partial refund. i'm agreeable that way and have the 99.99% feedback to prove it two-piece, thanks for the input; i guess what i'm saying is this flaw looks too big/obvious/noticeable, to drop it from 9.8 near perfect to 9.6 close-to. like i said, if i was grading this raw, 9.2 would be my grade. maybe i would be a little greedy and put 9.2/9.4. how did cgc miss by so much?? that's what made me post my query in the first place. i took the powers that be at their word that NM is best condition possible (9.4), so if something is higher, it better be flawless and glowing. but over time, the powers that be have chipped away at that simple, and logical, notion rockmy, i have a similar take on the acceptance of raw books and higher prices. in fact, i find cgc such a pain to send in and then be disappointed w/the grade (not to mention the time & expense) that 99% of the time i take a possibly cgc-worthy book, figure out what it would sell for as cgc, make it just a little lower, and usually it sells at that price! sometimes i even get what would've been my cgc price! i have an FF4 for sale now that is so beautiful that i didn't want cgc giving it a FN+ cuz of some marvel chipping, right edge, so i'm selling it raw and calling it VF/VF- or VF- minimum. subjective? yes, but this book is a gem and to assign it anything starting w/"FN.." would be a real disservice. i sell raw at high prices, and it helps that my grading feedback is beyond glowing, etc., and i do have lots of loyal/repeat customers. i only use cgc very sparingly cuz i, as a rule, i can get near-cgc prices w/o the hassle. also, i value my time and if i make a little less, eh, so be it..... some sellers need to wring every penny they can, but that's not me. i'm payin' the bills... ; ) thanks again to all for your comments!

OP here a few points: 1) i'd be surprised if CGC didn't already have some kind of formal spot-checking/inhouse quality control system in place. i doubt they train their graders and then just cut them loose w/o any further review. it's possible, but it's hard to imagine any successful company not already having a review program 2) rockmy...., your info on what this has sold for recently appears to be wrong. the 2 most recent copies of cgc 9.6 on ebay were both right around $3K; mine is certainly not 50% more than that. also, when i said "i priced mine at a high/9.6 price," i didn't mean "high 9.6," (high for a 9.6), i meant a high price.... a 9.6 price! heck, even though i disagree w/it, cgc gave it a 9.6, so that's what i'm selling it as. anyone who wants to return it cuz they have higher grading standards than cgc (who i personally think overgraded this book) is welcome to return it. also, i priced mine a little high cuz there were no other 9.6's on ebay at the time i put it up there. so they can buy mine, a little pricey, or consider lower grades or higher (9.8?), if they exist. lastly, as a 10-yr ebay seller, i have evolved what i think is a good pricing strategy: start very high, and lower it each month. you might get an impulse buy at the very high price, but on avg., it sells for less, i.e. what the market will price it at 3) in conclusion, i'm an old-school comic guy who went w/the changes as they came down the pike. ok, no such thing as mint, NM highest, etc., but then, ok, something called NM+, etc, etc.... all i have is my common sense to guide me, and that reasoning ability suggests that if 10 is perfect, then 9.8 should be virtually perfect, maybe 1 tiny, half thing somewhere, and 9.6 maybe a tiny thing somewhere. that's me, that's my logical mind. setting aside cgc for a moment, as an ebay comic seller (w/100% feedback; my grading has been described as spot-on), when i look at high grade books, i know something amazing gets 9.4, virtually no flaws, and something w/a little flaw or two (frankly, like this TOD 10) will get a 9.2. i suspecdt that under cgc's microscopes and bright lights, most items i might consider higher than 9.4 would probably not earn a higher grade. maybe they would. as we've all said, it's subjective... 9.6 vs. 9.8.... etc..... but i know what a 9.2 is, or thought i did. same for 9.4. this book, to my thinking, has too big a problem in that one corner, to say nothing of a couple other little things, to earn a 9.6. in my opinion, cgc overgraded it, based on my knowledge, experience and powers of reason as explained thanks y'all for the input and the help, and your opinions are always of interest to me!

namisgr, i think you hit the nail on the head, most days a 9.4, that day, someone in a hurry?, a 9.6 to me, w/my many yrs in the bsns, i think it's a 9.2 w/that corner! that corner alone might not make it a 9.2, but there are a few other tiny things it's funny how we can't even agree in this pedigree forum ; ) some say "return it, it's NG," others say "looks like 9.6 to me!" if you're curious how this will turn out, i've decided to keep it. i bought it at a 9.4'ish price, maybe i can sell it at 9.6 (as we've said, some of you think it IS a 9.6) which means a nice profit, but if i have to i will offer a partial refund or sell it as a 9.6 that some feel is more a 9.4, and make just a small profit i guess i'll roll the dice on this baby. would somebody who believes in cgc grading absolutely and as the last word, please come forward and buy it ; 0 thank you all for your help i just put it up on ebay for a very 9.6/high price. if you're one of the contributors here who said, "it ain't no 9.6!", don't buy it!! if you liked it, feel free... ; )

yikes (thnx) i also have the fear that the comic was switched. is there a way to tell if the slab has been opened? or if it's been opened, it couldn't be sealed again so it's ok? thnx again

i bought the TOD 10 9.6 sight unseen, it was mailed to me; but i only put down a deposit, the rest of the payment due upon my satisfaction (my terms). i'm going to be a reseller on this comic and it was a good price, if a true 9.6 w/no probs. here are the rest of the photos... it was graded exactly 3 yrs. ago (9/15) **if i call cgc, do they have a photo of this comic when it was submitted? if i can see that corner as it appeared then, i'll know if it suffered subsequent damage. do they provide this service?** thnx!

hi y'all. i just bought a tomb of dracula #10 CGC 9.6. it is registered as same on cgc registry, so that's all fine. but i was surprised by the amount of wear in UL corner. doesn't cgc assigning a 9.6 mean it's virtually perfect? this flaw is NOT hard to see, in fact, it's the first thing your eye is drawn to. here's a photo. can this really be 9.6? assumption is rest of book is flawless, i guess, if true. it's not, on some edges, when looking through magnifying reading glasses, but maybe close enuf? also, the top of the book, the front cover, is cut at a slight angle - - the amount of blue over the yellow title/marvel line on the left, is a little less than on the right (doesn't that detract from grade/attractiveness). it's slight, but in the realm of 9.6's is that a consideration? thanks for any help. trying to decide if i should keep this. paid a 9.6 price! maybe it incurred some damage after slabbing? or is this UL corner ok w/9.6?? p.s. i notice i can pry the case open a little on each side, maybe 3 or 4". is that normal? another cgc i have here (i only have 2) is completely sealed on both sides and can't be pried open. my TOD 10 does NOT open enuf to pull a comic out and switch another in. thnx again!