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"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!"

Started by SW3D,

26 posts in this topic

SW3D

SW3D

Posted
Posted

There's a saying, "You can't see the forest from the trees". No... sometimes you can't... not until you take a step back that is... and wait... and close your eyes and clear your mind... then open them... and just look without thinking... then suddenly there it is! Viola! The answer!

 

Sadly, I am a fool for not realizing this sooner... for the answer was in front of me all along... hidden in plain sight... but my eyes were blind to it all... caught up in the hoopla... caught up in the novelty of it all... caught up in comic lust.

 

Well I can understand the fallacy of it all... where the confusion lies and the deception begins. Such things have shaped the modern world. I can see it in so many places, and the chaos that it brings. Shadows lingering in the open light... you can't see it but they are there... laughing in your face... invisible in sunlight... but laughing none the less.

 

But even the best of charades and deceptions come undone.

 

Here's another saying: "Who's born as a donkey can't die as a horse."

 

Riddles? Perhaps... but everything happens for a reason.

 

Sometimes a system is created with only the best of intentions. A system designed to be unbiased and hold itself to the highest of moral and ethical standards... standing for something... something great... something good... something we can all aspire to... an ideal... much like a superhero. But as time and history have consistently shown, even the highest of ideals which begin with the best of intentions are vulnerable, and often veer off course from their intended paths... misguided by a few ethically challenged individuals. Such a sad thing really. But it happens. Every day. Every where on God's Green Earth.

 

Perhaps you have no idea what I am referring to? Perhaps you have no clue? Well there's a simple solution... stand back... close your eyes... clear your minds... now open your eyes and then you may see the forest from the trees.

 

http://www.cgccomics.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=3232&CCS-Pressing-On-site-at-Megacon

 

See more journals by screenwriter3d

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etanick

etanick

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Posted

Look on the bright side, you learned about pressing now instead of later after spending more money on chasing slabs.

 

Pressing is not limited to high grade only because any books that can be improve to get a higher grade can be a candidate for pressing so up and down the chain. There is a small minority of books that don't need pressing and get a higher grade on resubmit.

 

I returned to the hobby in 2009 and went crazy buying slabs...learned about pressing 3 months later...do some research on my slabs and saw quite a few used to be in slabs with lower grades. Not happy about it and sold off a big amount of those books and refocus on buying raw books.

 

I don't see myself as a victim but I rather not play in that kind of game. I still buy slabs here and there but the days of wanting to have the best of anything is long gone.

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Lost

Lost

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Posted

Lame. Pressing has always been a part of the hobby. Improves the look of books without adding anything to them. The train has left the station and yall are at the wrong ticket counter a day late.

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SW3D

SW3D

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Dear Etanick,

 

Thanks for you feedback and opinions. You're absolutely right about the bright side, I won't be spending money chasing slabs.

 

Hey if you interested... http://www.eclipsepaper.com/pressing.htm

has its definition of pressing. You will note the use of the word restoration.

 

Here's the dictionary's definition: the act of restoring or state of being restored, as to a former or original condition, place, etc.

 

Well... I don't want to beat this issue to death... but we should all face the reality of the situation... it is what it is... Pressing is a Restorative technique.

 

End of Story!

 

SW3D

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SW3D

SW3D

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Hey... I can understand why you're Lost... but maybe I can help you get Found.

 

Let me bring you back into the light...

 

But seriously... restoration does not have to soley "give"... if anything restoration also takes "away"... as minor defects which can be pressed out are no longer visible to the naked eye... thus taking away an eyesore. Once you undertake a conscious act to alter the condition or appearance of a comic book, you have committed restoration. That's just the plain and simple truth.

 

Take a look at this definition as provided on the Eclipse Paper Conversation website (http://www.eclipsepaper.com/pressing.htm). You will note the word restoration used...

 

Pressing is the term given to the direct application of pressure (with or without heat and/or with or without humidity) in order to reverse, eliminate or lessen some forms of damage. Its main purpose is the improvement of a book’s appearance (and therefore) condition. While pressing has been a mainstay of restoration treatment for decades, it has only recently been adopted by some comic collectors as a way of improving the overall appearance of a book without finding or purchasing a higher grade example.

 

Failure to see Pressing as a non-Restorative technique is a gross misunderstanding of what pressing actually does and the overall goal of pressing is to accomplish. To restore something or change its appearance.

 

For I ask you and ask you all... if it is not Restoration... then what is it?

 

It is not Conservation. Is it not Preservation. So where does it fall... Cosmetology?

 

But let me say this LOUDLY: I am not against Pressing in any way. I am also not against Restoration. There is nothing wrong with any of it. What I stand for is Pro-Disclosure. With that in mind, CCS and CGC must work together to come up with a Pressing Label Color to distinguish those comics which have been pressed through their services. I understand the Purple Restoration Label carries too much of a taint with it and Pressing proponents don't want to fall under this category... okay... that's fine... I'm totally cool with that... but then a Pressing Label with its own unique color should be instituted. That would be fair.

 

Think about it this way... if there is nothing wrong with Pressing and its technique... then why not label it as such? Full disclosure such as a color label for Pressing would solve this. And those collectors who cherish and don't mind Pressed comics could buy them. Those collectors... like myself, will be informed through the labeling system which comics have been pressed... and we will make up our minds whether to buy them or not.

 

Their will be obvious challenges... lamentably anyone who goes through another pressing service might go undetected as the CGC might not able to detect pressing and not label them correctly. Well what can you do?

 

SW3D

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SW3D

SW3D

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Dear William,

 

Thank you for noting the error in my quotation of the phrase.

 

"From to For"... sometimes I think faster than I type.

 

I greatly appreciate it.

 

Could you add any other constructive criticism?

 

What's your opinion about Pressing Vs. Restoration?

 

Do you feel a Third Party Grading System should be unbiased and not in league with a company that offers restoration services and pressing?

 

Is it a conflict of interest?

 

Here's the PR on it...

 

The Certified Collectibles Group (CCG), parent company of Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), has purchased Classics Incorporated, the world's premiere comic book pressing, restoration and restoration removal service (read the full press release). Led by noted comic book authority Matt Nelson, Classics Incorporated will continue to offer the same expert services under a new name: Classic Collectible Services (CCS). CCSpaper.com will be the new home of Classic Collectible Services.

 

If you explore further... they state pressing to be a non-restorative technique.

 

Hmmm... that's a bit dubious... But heck... I'll play along. So why doesn't CGC create a pressing label and end the debate already? We have Purple for Restoration... How about White or Silver for Pressing? This would satisfy full disclosure. And yes... those comics that get pressed through other services probably won't get the label since they will slip through undetected but maybe there's a way around that too.

 

Your thoughts?

 

SW3D

 

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StevenNCSU

StevenNCSU

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I feel you are completely correct in your feeling of pro-disclosure. Whether there needs to be a whole new label or not is a discussion that CGC needs to have internally. Personally, I'm ok with pressed books getting a Universal label if they add a note to the label. Something as simple as "Pressed". I would not be ok with having to pay for grader notes to find out if a book was pressed or not.

 

I would be interested in seeing some data complied of books that were graded, pressed, then re-graded to see how much of an impact we're talking about. I would hope you're not seeing things like 9.0 or less coming back 9.6 or greater after pressing.

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surfer99

surfer99

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I would be ok with a note on the blue label that says "pressed". I would not be ok with a label of a different color as this suggests that a pressed book is somehow inferior to a non-pressed book, which it is not. That's the last thing I'm going to say about the issue.

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SW3D

SW3D

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Hey Steven,

 

Yes... that is an awesome suggestion. I could live with a Universal Blue Label as well that denotes pressing.

 

And you are 100 percent right... it would be nice to know how significant an impact pressing has on grades. I honestly do not know if an 9.0 can jump to a 9.6 but i just got back a 9.0 comic with a noticeable corner bend... probably the only visible defect i can see. i imagine pressing would press it out. I can see that going up to at least a 9.4. And that would make a significant change in its fair market value.

 

But i honestly don't want to spend extra money pressing. i'm happy with the grade. It's a newsstand comic... it went through some wear and tear. That is just natural. 9.0 is an excellent grade for a comic i bought back in 1983. Don't you agree?

 

I greatly appreciate your feedback.

 

SW3D

 

 

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TJ Watson

TJ Watson

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Did you not get enough attention as a child. Pressing is not restoration. No speical label required . What Matt does is just a high tech and safer way of what we have all done for decades. And why do you come off like everything has to be your way or the highway all the time. Especially when your views are the minority on this topic. Just saying TJ

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Bill1

Bill1

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"Did you not get enough attention as a child."

 

Nice attitude. It's his journal, he can say what he wants, as can you. Don't read it if you don't like it. I believe anything mechanical/artificial (not naturally occurring) is restoration. You don't. So what?

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