Reasons for removing graded books from their holders. 0

[Black Bat]

I love the look and feel of a book in a mylar bag as opposed  to a slab, but have yet to cross the line of actually "cracking" any books from their holders. I see people around here doing it on occasion- just wondering why? 

[comicjack]

They crack it out to read it and enjoy the art and  the stories inside.I slab just to protect the book from myself because things happen when it comes out of the mylar.I have cracked out some that went in just to check for reso but freed later.

Edited August 31, 2018 by comicjack

[lou_fine]

37 minutes ago, Frank Grow said:

I see people around here doing it on occasion- just wondering why? 

Possibly to save on storage space, especially if the book is going to be stored in an expensive safety deposit box.  

[Black Bat]

59 minutes ago, comicjack said:

They crack it out to read it and enjoy the art and  the stories inside.I slab just to protect the book from myself because things happen when it comes out of the mylar.I have cracked out some that went in just to check for reso but freed later.

That makes sense- thanks.

[cheetah]

Some do not think comics belong in plastic but were made to be read.

Some only slab to verify grade or restoration.

Some see a chance to sell a low grade book at an inflated price by claiming a higher grade.

Some see a chance to sell a restored book to an unsuspecting collector at an inflated price.

 

[october]

I crack all of mine. Slabs are bulkier, heavier, uglier and prevent me from reading the book. I do slab books for resale, but if I am being perfectly honest, I hate them. 

Edited August 31, 2018 by october

[catman76]

The real question to me is, why would anyone keep a comic in a slab and not take it out? I sort of get the idea that buying a slabbed comic makes sure you wont get ripped off if you are buying something expensive, but why anyone would keep a comic in a slab after buying it is beyond me. To each their own, but I have comics to read and look at and smell and hold. To me it's like buying old records to not play or buying books to not read and just have them sit on a shelf. Makes no sense to me.

[Robot Man]

I own very few graded books. I like to read and handle them. I also have just more than a few comics in my collection   No way I could store them all slabbed. They are just so boring if you can only see the front and back covers. Luckily, I no longer need to chase big high grade GA keys. The graded books I do have, I have mostly for the covers only so it doesn’t bother me as much. 

But, when it becomes time to sell my good ones, you can bet I will slab them.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

3 hours ago, Frank Grow said:

I love the look and feel of a book in a mylar bag as opposed  to a slab, but have yet to cross the line of actually "cracking" any books from their holders. I see people around here doing it on occasion- just wondering why? 

So you can feel then, look at them, thumb through them, read them.

I've never understood the appeal of having slabs, which take up lots of space, hanging around of books you intend to keep. I'm with Catman completely.

If you want or need to sell...slab 'em. If you don't...free those babies!

[Black Bat]

I totally agree with the aesthetic and storage appeal of de-slabbing, I guess I'm afraid of the cost of re-slabbing the more valuable ones before selling them, and the risk of damage during shipping/grading etc.  You hear the horror stories...

[jhm]

4 hours ago, october said:

I crack all of mine. Slabs are bulkier, heavier, uglier and prevent me from reading the book. I do slab books for resale, but if I am being perfectly honest, I hate them. 

 

3 hours ago, catman76 said:

The real question to me is, why would anyone keep a comic in a slab and not take it out? I sort of get the idea that buying a slabbed comic makes sure you wont get ripped off if you are buying something expensive, but why anyone would keep a comic in a slab after buying it is beyond me. To each their own, but I have comics to read and look at and smell and hold. To me it's like buying old records to not play or buying books to not read and just have them sit on a shelf. Makes no sense to me.

 

2 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

So you can feel then, look at them, thumb through them, read them.

I've never understood the appeal of having slabs, which take up lots of space, hanging around of books you intend to keep. I'm with Catman completely.

If you want or need to sell...slab 'em. If you don't...free those babies!

Do you think the CGC census numbers are inflated due to collectors freeing the books? If so, to what extent?

[Dr. Love]

Deslabbing aint as easy as it once was either. Stuff can happen.

[RockMyAmadeus]

36 minutes ago, jhm said:

Do you think the CGC census numbers are inflated due to collectors freeing the books? If so, to what extent?

Without a doubt. To what extent? Impossible to know. The census only tells us one thing for sure: the maximum possible amount of copies that have experienced grading events. If there's a book with 75 copies on the census, that number could be 75 different copies, or it could be 65 different copies, with 10 resubs, or it could even be 20 copies, each submitted 3+ times.

We don't know, and, never could know, aside from some specific examples (like pedigrees.) We just know that, if the census says 75 copies, there aren't 80 slabs of that book floating around out there. It's a maximum potential number, but that's all.

[adamstrange]

1 hour ago, jhm said:

Do you think the CGC census numbers are inflated due to collectors freeing the books? If so, to what extent?

How would de-slabbing inflate the numbers? 

I doubt many collectors do it or that it affects many books.  The folks I know that do it, keep the labels and send them in if they re-slab the book or include them if they sell the book.

In the coin world, they have had difficulties with the census even though I doubt there is any de-slabbing for aesthetic reasons.  Census problems are driven by the crack and re-submit contingent.

[adamstrange]

8 hours ago, Frank Grow said:

I love the look and feel of a book in a mylar bag as opposed  to a slab, but have yet to cross the line of actually "cracking" any books from their holders. I see people around here doing it on occasion- just wondering why? 

The books I collect all look much, much better out of the mylar or slab than in.

The one privilege that I as owner have, is the ability to hold the book in my hands to read and appreciate it without any intervening plastic to dull or minimize the experience.  If I just wanted to look at comic books, I can do that for a practically nothing by visiting friends or viewing scans on line. 

[Black Bat]

33 minutes ago, adamstrange said:

The books I collect all look much, much better out of the mylar or slab than in.

The one privilege that I as owner have, is the ability to hold the book in my hands to read and appreciate it without any intervening plastic to dull or minimize the experience.  If I just wanted to look at comic books, I can do that for a practically nothing by visiting friends or viewing scans on line. 

yeah, I do not like my books living in a thick plastic slab.  But I do like seeing them in sparkly clean mylar!  
I'm mostly hesitant to crack mine due to the expense of re-slabbing the more valuable ones in case I want to sell, coupled with the possibility of damage during the shipping/handling/grading process. I heard scary stories... pre code horror horror stories.

[fifties]

I've bought a few slobbed, err, slabbed books in the past.  The first occurrence upon receiving them is to jailbreak them so I can read them.  After all, that's what a comic book is all about; the stories.

[Cat-Man_America]

Reasons people crack out books:

1. To resubmit in hopes of a grade bump.

2. To see what the comic actually looked like underneath Newton Rings.

3. To have a book re-holdered in after a slab is damaged.

4. To have the grade label and a readable book.

5. To find out if the competition has built a better mouse trap.

If I've missed anything, please fill in the gaps! 

[jhm]

5 hours ago, adamstrange said:

How would de-slabbing inflate the numbers? 

I doubt many collectors do it or that it affects many books.  The folks I know that do it, keep the labels and send them in if they re-slab the book or include them if they sell the book.

In the coin world, they have had difficulties with the census even though I doubt there is any de-slabbing for aesthetic reasons.  Census problems are driven by the crack and re-submit contingent.

Just resubmits without sending in the original label. I've seen it quite a few times. I try to always investigate as many past sale images as I can find when analyzing scarcity based on census numbers.

The good part about collecting classic Gold is that it's a fairly small population of goodies with a lot of inventory info if you're willing to do the research.

To be honest, I didn't know so many folks out here crack their slabs. I would love to, but I'm too paranoid when I pay such crazy premiums for, say, a 9.4 vs. a 9.2. I guess I don't send enough in to feel confident in how it will come back.

[EC ed]

2 hours ago, Cat-Man_America said:

Reasons people crack out books:

1. To resubmit in hopes of a grade bump.

2. To see what the comic actually looked like underneath Newton Rings.

3. To have a book re-holdered in after a slab is damaged.

4. To have the grade label and a readable book.

5. To find out if the competition has built a better mouse trap.

If I've missed anything, please fill in the gaps! 

6. To replace the microchamber paper with fresh (and add a third sheet at the centerfold )