Dogtired Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) I'm new to the notion of professional grading, though I've collected comics for years (with a several-decade hiatus). I recently meet my childhood hero Stan Lee and got a few books graded for the first time. Aside from the general shock that came with not being able to remotely guess the grades (Tales to Astonish 170 came in at 9.4 when best I thought might be 7, Daredevil 3 that I swore might be 6.5 that came in at 4.0, etc.; though some were more or less as expected). Glad that as a kid I bought and held that newsstand Secret Wars 8 for a buck and kept it in good shape…too bad I sold ASM 300, X-men 3, and Iron Fist #14 (or whatever the issue is with Sabertooth…). Live and learn… My biggest shock and disappointment was Journey Into Mystery 93 that I would have bet money on being in the 7-8 range. Staples intact, corners remarkably squared, small Marvel chip out of the top, solid cover with good gloss, no water damage, no torn or missing pages, no color breaking creases, so subscription crease, and a solid spine (not really any creases--reading or at the staples--showing that I could see), aside from a little bit of brittleness at the edge near the crease that may have given a 1/4" spine split at the bottom. It just looks sharp--maybe read once or twice and carefully put away. When I got the book back, it graded at a 1.8. Only thing it said was "Tan to Off-White Pages." I was really floored. Thinking it a 6 and having it grade a 4…I'll call that a learning opportunity on the strictness of grades. But legitimately expecting 7-8, and saying "4-5 I'll be upset, but can probably figure it out," and having it come back 1.8…I am still trying to figure it out. Does "Tan" anywhere in the description automatically drop a book to the G range? To be fair, it came back with a small tear in the upper right front, about 3/4" that I hadn't noticed before. Even then, two small tears (cumulatively maybe just over an inch) and a chip I would have thought at LEAST a 6. given how well the book presents. So going forward, do I need to remember that any "Tan to Off-White" book will be sharply downgraded? Heck, my son's ASM 13 which presents far worse (bigger chunks out of the cover) came in at a 3.0 (had off-white pages though). I had serval other classic silver age books I'd have done instead if I thought this one would have been so bad. Given how spendy signatures and grading can be, I'm trying to 1) calibrate my expectations of how things grade; 2) figure out what the less-well-known (to me anyway) grade killers are so I can avoid them going forward; and 3) figure out of CGC or other companies have reputations as being more capricious than other companies (I know it's an art, not a science). I have a nice 3rd appearance of Iron Man that is all intact and presents quite nicely, but I'd not waste money getting signed since the pages are more tan than the JIM book. Seems general "presentation" has no bearing on these books, though I have no idea what issues carry the most weight when grading. Anyone able to offer help to a guy that's new to the professional grading world? Thanks! Edited February 26, 2018 by Dogtired Typos and added info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisco37 Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 It definitely presents well for the assigned grade. 7-8 was very optimistic on your part based on the photos. But, does look a lot better than 1.8. There's gotta be something going on inside the book (page tears, writing, pieces missing, stain, etc...). Might actually be worth springing for the grader notes on that one to see what you missed initially. The Tan designation does have an impact, but not to drop it down to 1.8. I had a 6.0 (not this book) that had "Light Tan to OW" pages. I think brittle is the only PQ designation where the grade will really get clobbered. SilverSniper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Pontoon Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 That book looks pretty toasty and flaky and not very supple to me. I wouldn’t be surprised it the cover would split completely if opened it too far. Plus, it has a sub crease? That’s pretty much an automatic 4.0-5.0. IIRC, Overstreet won’t go above a 4.0 on a sub crease; in general CGC won’t go past 5.0, though I may have seen a few exceptions on the boards. You don’t have to pay for grader notes if you submitted the book: https://www.cgccomics.com/grading/cgc-grader-notes.aspx Finally, you may want to try the Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Grade? Forum for other folks opinions before sending books in until you develop a better feel for CGC grading. https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/forum/42-hey-buddy-can-you-spare-a-grade/ Welcome to the Boards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber-Bob Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 I think the bottom staple is detached, that is a major downgrade. Also, what you called a Marvel chip on the top, is not a production issue(Marvel chip) but a real chip. Spine split is always a big downgrade, that tear in the upper right is quite long, sub crease is a huge downgrade, and the Tan Page reference is a killer. It all adds up to a very low grade book but I do think the detached staple pushed it into below 2 territory. As suggested, read the notes that should have come with it. I also think you need to educate yourself on grading, the CGC way. The good qualities about the book don't matter = they don't add points to the equation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysterio Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) Looks like the cover may have separated at the top staple as well, I can see what looks like internal paper on the side of the staple opposite the spine. With both staples having commitment issues you're basically looking at a cover that is essentially detached, which is pretty much an automatic 2.0 best case. That, plus the other defects, gives you a 1.8 with pretty good eye appeal for the grade. Edited February 26, 2018 by mysterio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogtired Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Awesome! Thanks for all the input. Far as I know, the cover was still attached. I'd read through it once and checked before I handed it off. I've got no particular ego tied up in this, given how little I know about grading. It was just a pricey lesson is rather not repeat I may ask for a copy of the grading notes. Didn't know I could do that as the original submitter. That would probably give me the best sense of where things went horribly awry And yes, 7 was optimistic on my part. Some of the books I got right, some were off by a grade or two. This one and the one that graded 9.4 were the two that really took me by complete surprise though. I guess they balance each other out mysterio 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogtired Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 And now that I know there's a "Buddy can you spare a grade" sub-forum, I can get some better input before trying this again. Much obliged! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
