So I had some Fantastic Four Comics graded

[uclapeterg]

So I had the following comics graded. My guess comes after.

 

Fantastic Four 5 5.5 off-white (I thought it would get a 4.5 outside chance at 5.0; ow to white pages)

 

Fantastic Four 6 4.0 off-white (same as my guess)

 

Fantastic Four 13 6.0 off-white (4.5 cream to off white)

 

Fantastic Four 16 8.0 off-white (7.5 cream to off-white)

 

Fantastic Four 17 7.5 cream to off-white (8.0 off-white)

 

What I have learned is that I can't see page quality or as others noted on here, that a cream/OW book is really not that bad. I thought the 17 had better page quality than either the 16 or 13. Oh well.

 

I learned something else too: NOT TO BE SO HARD ON MY BOOKS!

[ArAich]

Got any raw books for sale???...

[Aces]

Fantastic Four 13 6.0 off-white (4.5 cream to off white)

 

Was the 13 a 4.5 and your guess 6.0?

 

That's way off...

What did you miss?

 

Was it for sale? Did you have scans?

 

I need to upgrade my 13.

 

edit: Sorry I saw: your guess comes after!

 

OK the 13 is a 6.0 OW.

 

Was it for sale?

 

 

[greggy]

My guess comes after

[Aces]

I saw and corrected.

You high speed internet guys are too quick!

 

I have to wait for the page to load to go back and correct a mistake.

[joe_collector]

My guess comes after

[uclapeterg]

I do have scans of all the books. Do you want me to put them up?

 

I was hoping to sell all the books off as a lot. I still have a 12, 15 and 19 that I want to send to CGC.

 

I'll certainly entertain offers. The 5, 16 and 17 are not for sale (no dupes).

[Aces]

I PM'ed you about the 13!

 

I just got a 4.5 FF 6 from Heritage so I don't need that one.

 

Pics of 13 would be welcome!

 

Ohhhhh...

Post 666!

[sfilosa]

I agree that page quality is somewhat hard to determine. Unfortunately, with high grade books, it can make a huge difference in the final sale price. I know I passed on several books on eBay that I would have paid 10-20% more than the final sale price, but the books had Cream to Off-White pages. I really believe with border line books (i.e. books that are in less than NM but only guide for $25-75), page quality can make difference between CGC worthy or not.

[uclapeterg]

I believe I am coming around on the whole argument. I want as white pages as I can get (I think we all do), but I think I am a lot more open to CR/OW pages than I used to be. Besides, I only buy to collect, not to flip.

[murph0]

Without a doubt, C-OW books are being passed over for really no reason. If you can't find any hint of tanning on the book, but it's still labelled as C-OW. I suggest you give it a shot, I've got so many C-OW books that simply AREN'T cream at all. Just a thought, however, I guess I'd still prefer you don't buy them as this means I get the same book as you but for 10-20 percent cheaper

 

Brian

[sfilosa]

Without a doubt, C-OW books are being passed over for really no reason. If you can't find any hint of tanning on the book, but it's still labelled as C-OW. I suggest you give it a shot, I've got so many C-OW books that simply AREN'T cream at all. Just a thought, however, I guess I'd still prefer you don't buy them as this means I get the same book as you but for 10-20 percent cheaper

 

Actually, they are passed over for a reason. Because, they aren't valued as much as a books with Off-White or better pages.

 

While they don't have the sigma that restored books do, I put Cream to Off-White pages in the same category as Arrival Dates on the Front Cover. A lot of collectors won't buy these books, unless the book is very hard to find in high grade. It seems as the book gets older (i.e. early Silver-Age to Golden-Age), then arrival dates become more acceptable (as does Cream to Off-White pages), in my opinion.

 

 

[murph0]

However, you don't see a difference in price for books with inconspicious date stamps or writing. But you do see it with C-OW pages, even when there's no apparent "cream". So I don't really think that comparison can be drawn, as it doesn't seem to be true generally. Perhaps you might pay less for a book with a date stamp (as would I) but it doesn't look like the general collecting population would as evidenced by sales.

 

Brian

[garthgantu]

Your personal preferences re: PQ aside, it's correct to say that CGC doesn't apply PQ to the overall grade, right? I know we've had this discussion before, but in the context of Discount's 'estimates' of the likely grades his FF books would receive, this seems to be a factor. Discount attributes the page quality discrepancy to the higher grade, it seems... In other words, his explanation for why his 'projected grades' were lower than CGC's 'official grades' is that he's harsher on the PQ. But that should really be factored into CGC's assessment of each book's condition, right?

 

Or is the explanation simply that Discount not only regarded the PQ as farther from White than CGC ultimately did, he weighed the PQ more heavily in the overall grade than CGC did/does...?

 

Would you say this is an accurate take, Discount?

[uclapeterg]

Your last point about CGC including page quality in their grade calculation, I have heard the arguments both ways: First, that CGC doesn't factor in PQ when determing grades (except for obvious things like a 9.8 can't have less than cream pages, etc.) and second, that CGC does factor PQ in. For example,a 9.6 with white pages can be a little less "structurally sound" than a 9.6 with off-white-to-white pages. Didn't Steve say something to that effect awhile back on the "Ask CGC" forum?

 

Your other point about my own page preference factoring into my guesses may be correct. I am a page nut and want my comics to last as long as possible. I probably factor page quality into my buying decisions more than the usual comic buyer.

 

I did try, however, to keep PQ and the "guesses" at grade completely separate. The fact that the higher grades have I thought better page quality is completely coicidental.

 

I did make two points by starting this thread:

 

(a) my grading might be a little harsh

 

(b) I had the opportunity to see books before slabbing so I know what the interior is like; the fact that CGC thought my 17 was C/OW made me more "open" to the idea of buying more C/OW books because I have seen the inside of one. For a "page nut" like me, I learned something. And that I can thank CGC for.