What % of new comics are 9.8? 0

[Reno McCoy]

Every Wednesday there's a new batch of comics. These comics might have 30,000 or more copies, or they might be closer to 2,000. Most end up on shelves at comic shops or in pull boxes, but I'm sure a lot are cherry picked before they end up there. With all that in mind, if you had to guess, of all the comic printed today, how many remain 9.8 candidates by the time they get into a collector's hands?

For the sake of argument, let's do this in two ways. What percentage would qualify as 9.8 without a press, and what percentage would earn that after a press?

Yes, I know, this is total speculation and guess work and there's no way to come up with a true number, but I'm still interested in what people say, especially those who are sellers or who are immersed in comics on a weekly basis. And I also know that some publishers have better cover stock than others, which makes it easier to attain high grade. Still, I'm curious what the consensus is.

[valiantman]

At my local comic shop, it's probably 5% are 9.8 on the shelf.  Maybe 10% total after a press... 5% natural + 5% press.

The cover material is probably the most important factor.  

Squarebound cardstock covers and the chromium covers are probably 25% to 50% at 9.8 on the shelf.

Edited February 23, 2017 by valiantman

[Hickok8AA8]

45 minutes ago, valiantman said:

At my local comic shop, it's probably 5% are 9.8 on the shelf.  Maybe 10% total after a press... 5% natural + 5% press.

The cover material is probably the most important factor.  

Squarebound cardstock covers and the chromium covers are probably 25% to 50% at 9.8 on the shelf.

My LCS is very small, a big order on a book for them is maybe 20 copies, outside of preorders. He man handles the books  and isn't a collector or flipper, just a reader. I mean, just pinch grabbing 10-15 books at a time, dropping them full height into bags, and tossing them, leaning forward onto the shelf.  

10% or less sounds about right overall for me too, and they are usually the middle of the stack books.

This says very little of nationwide percentages though, i'm sure big shops getting massive volume and careful staff may have 25% or better 9.8 candidates.

I'm just going to throw out a wild guess at overall print run percentage of 9.8 candidate books, just to see how my guess lines up later on. Based on lazily skimming modern 9.8 registries. Assuming average paper stock, not thick, thin or single solid color, i'd say probably 15-25% 9.8s depending on print run.

[combiner1]

At my LCS I would say about between 45-75% would pass for 9.8. The books are all in bags and board at the shelves. When they open the boxes, all the comics goes from box to bags and boards. This is why I like going there, they really take care of there books. They don't have memberships discount (10%) but that's a small price to pay for good conditioned books. 

[fastballspecial]

It's going to wildry vary depending on the shop. Diamond does them no good either with how they are packed. My guess is 25% across the board.

[Vexsus]

On 2/23/2017 at 8:58 PM, combiner11 said:

At my LCS I would say about between 45-75% would pass for 9.8. The books are all in bags and board at the shelves. When they open the boxes, all the comics goes from box to bags and boards. This is why I like going there, they really take care of there books. They don't have memberships discount (10%) but that's a small price to pay for good conditioned books. 

My shop bag and boards with a 10% subscription discount as well. I figure the amount I save buying bags and boards equals out to places that offer higher sub discounts. Seems 9.8 percentages can really vary week to week. I always go through the stack for every book but sometimes I grudgingly have to settle for 8.5-9.0 teir books. They are usually pretty nice about reordering low stock books or stuff that was only pulled for me without much hassle, I only have that happen maybe once every few months. I'd agree with the 10% estimates being given.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Vexsus