Hwachi Sama

Thanks for all of the great input everyone! I would have to agree with Bomber-Bob a little bit more here, though. I understand that 9.8 does not mean completely perfect, but when you're paying 3x or more for a 9.8 than a 9.6, they say it's near mint/mint, and on a 10 point scale it's 98% toward perfect, I feel like you should really have to scour the comic for any defects, not see them upon first cursory inspection. Maybe I'm just too OCD for this enterprise

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums and to collecting, and I just jumped right in because there was a deal that I couldn't pass up. I'm a huge Spider-man fan, and an even bigger Venom fan, so I bought a set from eBay that included origins and first appearances of the black suit. The pictures weren't great on the listing, but they were all graded CGC 9.8. When I received them, I noticed that the spine corner was slightly torn on the Secret Wars 8, and there's a staple tear on Team Up 141. I've been reading up, and I know this is kind of a repeat question, but are these acceptable flaws in a 9.8? Would the Secret Wars be from a bindery tear, the Team Up from manufacturer flaw, either one an injury from an older CGC holder that I've read can damage the comic over time, or the rare and unlikely case of them taking out the 9.8 comics and replacing them with a less than 9.8 comic without cracking the case? Here are pics of the 2 of them. Any and all input is appreciated! Thanks!

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums and to collecting, and I just jumped right in because there was a deal that I couldn't pass up. I'm a huge Spider-man fan, and even bigger Venom fan, so I bought a set from eBay that included origins and first appearances of the black suit. The pictures weren't great on the listing, but they were all graded CGC 9.8. When I received them, I noticed that the spine corner was slightly torn, particularly on the Secret Wars 8. I've been reading up, and I know this is kind of a repeat question, but is this an acceptable flaw in a 9.8? Would this be a bindery tear, manufacturer flaw, injury from an older CGC holder that I've read can damage the comic over time, or the rare and unlikely case of them taking out the 9.8 comic and replacing it with a less than 9.8 comic without cracking the case? I've also included the team up 141 for review, though the wear on the spine corner is less significant. Any and all input is appreciated! Thanks!