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why do people avoid 9.6 moderns? is the .2 really worth it?
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54 posts in this topic

if it's not a WD #1 type book, what's the point of the added expense of a 9.6 slab on 99.9% of the stuff out there. you can buy scads of 9.6 raws for cover price or less on most issues out there.

 

Totally. For more common books - slabbing a 9.6 is generally going to be a money loser, while 9.8 books have a least a chance of recouping slab costs and maybe turning a profit. Few collectors are interested in slabbed 9.6 run of the mill moderns, so it's understandable that once a modern book becomes valuable enough to slab in lesser grades that the "9.8 or better" crowd would still be willing to pay a premium for the grade, to match the rest of their collection.

 

just saying that if someone mass subs and has a load of 9.6 and is selling mostly to recoup the grading fees and it is a title i collect, i'll probably pick up a run of 9.6's instead of 1 or 2 9.8's.

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If I'm buying a slab, it's pretty simple:

 

1. If it's a common book where a 9.8 is not much more than a 9.6, I'm buying the 9.8.

 

2. If it's a tougher/rarer book to get in 9.8 or it goes for considerably more than a 9.6, I'm taking that 9.6. I have no problem with my Goon #1 Avatar CGC 9.6. If I run across a good priced 9.8 someday, great. If not, I don't care.

 

The monetary, IMO, pushes too much for 9.8. Honestly, I don't buy CGC for value purposes. It mainly started because I was so tired of the poor grading of most sellers. But some of the professional grading lately has really made me question this (especially supposed 9.8s that are still fetching high prices).

 

Pat

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I usually submit several hundred moderns to CGC each year for grading and I must admit that anything that comes back less than a 9.6 will be sold for a loss normally, unless it's a hot title, etc.

 

I purchase a lot of moderns each month (and I buy multiple copies of numerous titles), probably way too many and will go through the main titles and select the highest potential graded copies for submission. Any copies with slight dings, etc. automatically get reduced to VF or better for resale just to unload them at a loss.

 

Average cost for submission for a moderns w/shipping is around 17.70 per book, so I will submit multiple copies of high grade moderns that are relatively hot (Blackest Night #1) or high grade copies from the 80's. The 9.8's which I receive will be where my profit comes from, 9.6's will off set the few copies which I recieve that come back with a lesser grade (9.2-9.4). And yes, granted few and far between 9.9's and 10's can pay off.

 

I must admit that when I originally started submitting to CGC, I considered myself to be a good strict grader with over 30 years of collecting, but I was horrible at submissions as I would randomly pull bagged comics out of a box that I might have had 5 or 6 copies of and if the cover looked great I would send it in, that only took a few submissions and after I received a few 6.5 copper age books and looked on the back of the case and noticed manufacturing flaws, I made it a point to check copper/moderns especially close for any potential defects.

 

I have enjoyed this thread and would love to hear any responses. Also for my personal collection, I will keep a copy of the titles I collect that I receive back from CGC for my own collection and sell off the rest to help support my Silver and Bronze Age sets I am working on. Mainly Captain America 100-454 for now and I try to keep the Silver Age at VF or better in graded condition until I finish the set.

 

 

 

 

 

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I don't get it? Is the .2 really worth the extra money on moderns?

 

With that said, the difference between a 9.6 wd 1 that I bought vs a 9.8 was $100. I didn't see the point in spending that for a keeper book.

 

I've read how people are disappointed in 9.6's, I will take any 9.6 for my permanent collection.

 

I whole heartly agree, to be honest I can`t tell a cgc 9.2 from a 9.4 as well.

To me near mint is near mint. The only reason why I buy cgc 9.8`s is to resell but I would be happy with a cgc 9.6 for my own collection in the long run at a much, much cheaper price.

Edited by ComicConnoisseur
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I say collect whatever makes you happy but unless there's particular Modern with a production flaw there should be no reason to have to settle for a 9.6. There is a difference between a 9.6 & 9.8.

 

I personally only have 3 Moderns that are less than 9.8, 1 is a highest census 9.6 variant, another 9.6 that is a tough book, and a 9.4 of a variant that has only 1 9.6 in the census.

 

I submit upward of 300 Moderns every month... They all go in as 9.8 pre-screens. No one wants a 9.6 from me.

 

 

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In some cases you can buy more than 2. lol

 

Walking Dead #1 9.8 is about $700 right now.

 

Instead you could buy:

 

Walking Dead #1 9.6 about $300

Chew #1 9.8 about $200

Invincible #1 9.6 about $100

Proof #1 9.8 about $100 (or less??)

 

I used those books since I know they are popular here on the boards and people are familar with them. You could also drop that Chew #1 to a 9.6 and add another comic.

 

It's Quality vs. Quantity. People on both sides of that fence. (thumbs u

 

It all comes down to your budget and personal preference.

 

 

for $700 you can buy a ton of sweet vintage material with some modern goodies tossed in, basically all of the above books in 9.4ish condition.

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or you could get all your 9.8's straight of the shelf, like 3 bucks each. (thumbs u

 

For common books, sure.

 

For the books I think most people are referring to, the reality is that most people didn't even know about these books until far after they were gone.

 

I tend to have luck on grabbing these books before they are hot. But being honest, from the list above, I only bought 1 of the issues when it came out:

 

Walking Dead #1 - Started on #6

Chew #1 - Still angers me. Would have bought when #1 came out but Colorado stores ordered so few copies that they were gone within hours (before I got out of work to buy mine).

Invincible #1 - Bought #1

Proof #1 - I was super late to this party.

 

I bought my #1 from Mile High when #6 was out. At that point, WD wasn't worth anything (the price I got it for from Mile High is almost laughable). Hardly any interest on the book. And by comparison, there was less on Invincible. So what does that mean? It really didn't catch on for a LONG time.

 

Pat

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The answer to this thread is simple:

 

8 is a higher number than 6.

 

No other reason.

 

There is a difference between average 9.6s and average 9.8s, but the price for weak 9.8 is the same as the price for an average 9.8 which is the same as the price for a strong 9.8...because they're all 9.8s (setting aside issues like "centering" and "page quality", which don't affect the numeric grade.)

 

What's the difference between a strong 9.6 and a weak 9.8? Often nothing.

 

I've pre-screened books at the 9.8 level, had them rejected, sent 'em back through...having done nothing to them in the interim...and received 9.8s.

 

Now, don't get me wrong....there IS a very noticeable difference between average 9.6s and average 9.8s...but there are just as many strong 9.6s and weak 9.8s that, on any other day, would easily...and quite justifiably...reside in the other's case.

 

Why, then, is the price so vastly different between 9.6s and 9.8s...?

 

REALLY GOOD question, eh...?

 

And of course, the other answer is that there are plenty of copies in CGC 9.8 of most anything modern, so there's no sense in wasting time with an "inferior" copy.

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I want only 9.8s but realize it's not rational to pay a fortune more for a book with miniscule differences. Collectors can be obsessive and they want what they want. A 9.6 is still a fantastic book... just not highly desired.

Edited by eastcoaster
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On 4/1/2010 at 12:32 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

The answer to this thread is simple:

 

8 is a higher number than 6.

 

No other reason.

 

There is a difference between average 9.6s and average 9.8s, but the price for weak 9.8 is the same as the price for an average 9.8 which is the same as the price for a strong 9.8...because they're all 9.8s (setting aside issues like "centering" and "page quality", which don't affect the numeric grade.)

 

What's the difference between a strong 9.6 and a weak 9.8? Often nothing.

 

I've pre-screened books at the 9.8 level, had them rejected, sent 'em back through...having done nothing to them in the interim...and received 9.8s.

 

Now, don't get me wrong....there IS a very noticeable difference between average 9.6s and average 9.8s...but there are just as many strong 9.6s and weak 9.8s that, on any other day, would easily...and quite justifiably...reside in the other's case.

 

Why, then, is the price so vastly different between 9.6s and 9.8s...?

 

REALLY GOOD question, eh...?

 

And of course, the other answer is that there are plenty of copies in CGC 9.8 of most anything modern, so there's no sense in wasting time with an "inferior" copy.

If 9.8s are so plentiful, why do they command a large premium over 9.6s? Clearly they are in short supply relative to other grades.

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On 3/31/2010 at 7:54 AM, BeachBum said:

I say collect whatever makes you happy but unless there's particular Modern with a production flaw there should be no reason to have to settle for a 9.6. There is a difference between a 9.6 & 9.8.

 

I personally only have 3 Moderns that are less than 9.8, 1 is a highest census 9.6 variant, another 9.6 that is a tough book, and a 9.4 of a variant that has only 1 9.6 in the census.

 

I submit upward of 300 Moderns every month... They all go in as 9.8 pre-screens. No one wants a 9.6 from me.

 

 

There is a reason to settle... the price. If you're not picky about 9.6s you can have a much bigger collection.

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21 minutes ago, eastcoaster said:

If 9.8s are so plentiful, why do they command a large premium over 9.6s? Clearly they are in short supply relative to other grades.

Because 8 is a higher number than 6. 

No other reason. 

And keep in mind: 

Quote

And of course, the other answer is that there are plenty of copies in CGC 9.8 of most anything modern, so there's no sense in wasting time with an "inferior" copy.

And what is the "they" you're referring to, when you say "Clearly they are in short supply relative to other grades"...?

Here's a look at the census for Locke & Key #1, a relatively popular modern book:

935661480_lockeandkey1census.thumb.png.b7d4780728f3a8857677ab9285fc354d.png

There are more 9.8 copies of this book than every other grade combined...by a factor of 3:1. And yet, 9.8s command a significant premium over 9.6, despite being 4 times more common.

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1 hour ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Because 8 is a higher number than 6. 

No other reason. 

And keep in mind: 

And what is the "they" you're referring to, when you say "Clearly they are in short supply relative to other grades"...?

Here's a look at the census for Locke & Key #1, a relatively popular modern book:

935661480_lockeandkey1census.thumb.png.b7d4780728f3a8857677ab9285fc354d.png

There are more 9.8 copies of this book than every other grade combined...by a factor of 3:1. And yet, 9.8s command a significant premium over 9.6, despite being 4 times more common.

Yeah but you are only talking about supply. To get a complete picture you have to talk about demand.

1000 people wanting 1 available copies is far different than 1 copy wanted with 1000 copies available. Rarity doesn't mean anything if no one wants the rare item.

There are not enough 9.8s to go around and plenty of unwanted 9.6s.

Edited by eastcoaster
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