Purchased from eBay this ASM 361 as "NM or better". What do you think? 2 2

[SECollector]

Hey guys! So, I grabbed this book from eBay where it was presented as "NM or better". And of course I paid accordingly. Having the book in hand I noticed that it has at least 4 or 5 light colour breaking spine ticks and a light non colour breaking bend on the upper right corner of the front page. I am not a grader but shouldn't these defects drop it to a VF? Opinions would be highly appreciated since I intent to actually discuss this with the seller. Thanks a lot!

Edited March 6, 2018 by SECollector

[James J Johnson]

Some damage to the paper at the bottom staple's lower hole and multiple stresses. I've seen many 9.2s of this issue with similar traits, but none that I can recall 9.4 or better. All in all, you got what you paid for. An ebay NM. Or what passes for 9.4 on ebay raw books. I've seen worse.

Edited March 6, 2018 by James J Johnson

[SECollector]

1 hour ago, James J Johnson said:

Some damage to the paper at the bottom staple's lower hole and multiple stresses. I've seen many 9.2s of this issue with similar traits, but none that I can recall 9.4 or better. All in all, you got what you paid for. An ebay NM. Or what passes for 9.4 on ebay raw books. I've seen worse.

Thanks for the input. I guess buying graded and getting them out of the slab is a better alternative, more pricey but more safe, when ordering from eBay. 

[PunisherPunisherPunisher]

Very tough to find 9.8 raws on eBay, some sellers have books that would be lucky to be 8.0s and class them as NM and the prices they want are crazy, sometimes you would be better off spending the extra $100 or $200 and getting a slabbed 9.8

Very frustrating at times 

[1Cool]

Probably closer to a 9.2 but for a E-Bay NM that is not a bad book.

[SECollector]

6 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

Probably closer to a 9.2 but for a E-Bay NM that is not a bad book.

Thanks. I will let this go, and consider this a lesson learnt ("eBay NM vs real NM" lol). In a more serious note, that was only my second time buying raw books from eBay from a seller that I don't know. The 1st time was a great experience, this one I'm not so thrilled about. I will try to stick with sellers I trust when it comes to raw books.

[1Cool]

1 minute ago, SECollector said:

Thanks. I will let this go, and consider this a lesson learnt ("eBay NM vs real NM" lol). In a more serious note, that was only my second time buying raw books from eBay from a seller that I don't know. The 1st time was a great experience, this one I'm not so thrilled about. I will try to stick with sellers I trust when it comes to raw books.

That is definitely the safest way but I also see a lot of people giving the book a 1 grade bump down compared to what is posted in an e-bay ad (9.4 to 9.2) and people seem more happy.  Not sure what you paid but if the book was priced at the going rate for a 9.2 from a tight seller I'd feel confident buying it.

[Ride the Tiger]

By ebay selling standards i'd be pretty happy with that book. At least it appears to be ballpark. The "or better" in the listing is kinda something you have to ignore.

[T'Challa]

5 hours ago, PunisherPunisherPunisher said:

Very tough to find 9.8 raws on eBay, some sellers have books that would be lucky to be 8.0s and class them as NM and the prices they want are crazy, sometimes you would be better off spending the extra $100 or $200 and getting a slabbed 9.8

Very frustrating at times 

Very Frustrating indeed!  I love the "High Grade" assessment that many eBay sellers list their books as and the book is roached!  

[rob_react]

7 hours ago, PunisherPunisherPunisher said:

Very tough to find 9.8 raws on eBay, some sellers have books that would be lucky to be 8.0s and class them as NM and the prices they want are crazy, sometimes you would be better off spending the extra $100 or $200 and getting a slabbed 9.8

Very frustrating at times 

If it's a book that exists in any numbers at all in 9.8 it's worth just buying the CGC 9.8 and skipping the pain of buying off of eBay looking for a gem. I can say from bitter experience that it can take dozens of eBay copies to get a 9.8*. on anything other than band new books (< 1 year old, I've found.)  If you're lucky you can get a lot of 9.2s and 9.4s but 9.8s are tough to come by. 

*Stormwatch 37 is probably the greatest example for me. 

[SECollector]

2 minutes ago, rob_react said:

If it's a book that exists in any numbers at all in 9.8 it's worth just buying the CGC 9.8 and skipping the pain of buying off of eBay looking for a gem. I can say from bitter experience that it can take dozens of eBay copies to get a 9.8*. on anything other than band new books (< 1 year old, I've found.)  If you're lucky you can get a lot of 9.2s and 9.4s but 9.8s are tough to come by. 

*Stormwatch 37 is probably the greatest example for me. 

Agreed, and just for the heck of it I will go and buy a CGC 9.8 right now lol. 

On another note, and just to point out the obvious, that not all sellers are equal: some weeks ago I won an auction for a complete run of ASMs between 200 and 297, minus the bigger keys (238, 252 and 265). It was advertised as "the books are F or better with the majority being VF or better". I grabbed it for $240 and I was extremely happy when I realised that only very few were actually F. 85% of them was actually - in my eyes at least- a strict 9.0-9.2 with many of them even nicer.

[alexgross.com]

i think buying raw books on ebay is a giant headache that you probably want to avoid in the future. paying a bit more for something graded will save you this kind of trouble. come to one of the big conventions in the usa sometime when you can and then you can personally inspect all the raw stuff you like! 

[SECollector]

6 minutes ago, www.alexgross.com said:

i think buying raw books on ebay is a giant headache that you probably want to avoid in the future. paying a bit more for something graded will save you this kind of trouble. come to one of the big conventions in the usa sometime when you can and then you can personally inspect all the raw stuff you like! 

This is exactly what I plan to do Alex. I will be in NY in May and I have already a list with comic shops I will be visiting, and I am seriously considering booking another trip in October to come to NYCC. It will be loads of fun. 

[AJD]

1 hour ago, www.alexgross.com said:

i think buying raw books on ebay is a giant headache that you probably want to avoid be careful about in the future. paying a bit more for something graded will save you this kind of trouble. come to one of the big conventions in the usa sometime when you can and then you can personally inspect all the raw stuff you like! 

FTFY

I think I'm way ahead of the game by buying raw books on eBay, but trust your eyes, not the written descriptions.

[Old Fashion PB and J]

On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 8:27 AM, 1Cool said:

Probably closer to a 9.2 but for a E-Bay NM that is not a bad book.

 I have bought tons of accurately graded books, that is a reckless comment.

[Old Fashion PB and J]

book is a 9.0. And not even a pretty 9.0 IMO. Send it back and block the seller.

[SECollector]

32 minutes ago, The Resurrection said:

book is a 9.0. And not even a pretty 9.0 IMO. Send it back and block the seller.

For a book like this it wouldn't be worth the shipping cost back to the US (I am in Europe). The seller apologised and offered a small refund which was at least appreciated as a gesture. I will buy the book graded at a later point. 

[Jester Hats]

On 3/7/2018 at 8:54 AM, The Resurrection said:

 I have bought tons of accurately graded books, that is a reckless comment.

 

On 3/7/2018 at 8:55 AM, The Resurrection said:

book is a 9.0. And not even a pretty 9.0 IMO. Send it back and block the seller.

Jeeze. 

Edited March 9, 2018 by Jester Hats

[speedcake]

On 3/6/2018 at 2:54 PM, SECollector said:

Agreed, and just for the heck of it I will go and buy a CGC 9.8 right now lol. 

On another note, and just to point out the obvious, that not all sellers are equal: some weeks ago I won an auction for a complete run of ASMs between 200 and 297, minus the bigger keys (238, 252 and 265). It was advertised as "the books are F or better with the majority being VF or better". I grabbed it for $240 and I was extremely happy when I realised that only very few were actually F. 85% of them was actually - in my eyes at least- a strict 9.0-9.2 with many of them even nicer.

ah dang, I think I tried to win that lot too. glad it was full of goodness for you.

[Joosh]

So the seller advertises NM or better, the book arrives at a 9.0-9.4 which equates to VF/NM to NM. And you are upset? 

Refund and apology why? What am I missing?