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Brand new to CGC grading service. Need advice!
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28 posts in this topic

5 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

Hey Cap, once you'll picked out books you're gonna send in for grading check them carefully.  It's pretty easy to miss something and grade a book that's not worth it 

Count pages - should be 8 double sided pages to the center and 8 more double sided pages to the back cover, while counting pages look for large rips or missing pieces or missing Marvel value stamps or filled out puzzles or other interior damage,

Look for color touch - most often black applied to black areas of covers- that can often be spotted by looking for bleed through on the interior of covers and by looking at covers at an angle in good light, color touch will reflect light differently.

Check for trimming - comics do have variation in size because it's a cheap printing process but if you compare each book's dimensions to other books and any appear significantly smaller it may be trimmed.  Covers were typically printed larger than the interior of comics so the cover should extend past the inside comic - overhang - so if the cover and interior are flush it's probably trimmed.  Imagine using a paper cutter to chop off some defect on a cover's edge but also slicing through the book itself and eliminating the cover overhang.

Check for stains.  CGC is quite hard on stains, even small ones, and they're easy to miss.  Rusty staples and loose centerfolds are also easy to miss.

Some great advice! Thank you!

I will look for all those things before submitting for grading. 

I'm curious.....do you guys pay for the screening process? 

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3 hours ago, captain_em said:

Some great advice! Thank you!

I will look for all those things before submitting for grading. 

I'm curious.....do you guys pay for the screening process? 

I don't usually but then I tend to send in books that are worth sending in even if they don't hit my expected grade, usually Golden Age, or Silver Age keys.  When I send in moderns I only send them in if they're worth grading even at one grade increment below what I believe they are.  

My first submission was a surprise.  2 of 10 SA books that had been in my collection for 25 years came back trimmed and I was pretty disappointed.  On the plus side a Fantastic Four #12 that I had at 5.5 came back as a 8.0 - pressing helped a lot.

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On 9/24/2018 at 12:11 PM, thehumantorch said:

Hey Cap, once you'll picked out books you're gonna send in for grading check them carefully.  It's pretty easy to miss something and grade a book that's not worth it 

Count pages - should be 8 double sided pages to the center and 8 more double sided pages to the back cover, while counting pages look for large rips or missing pieces or missing Marvel value stamps or filled out puzzles or other interior damage,

Look for color touch - most often black applied to black areas of covers- that can often be spotted by looking for bleed through on the interior of covers and by looking at covers at an angle in good light, color touch will reflect light differently.

Check for trimming - comics do have variation in size because it's a cheap printing process but if you compare each book's dimensions to other books and any appear significantly smaller it may be trimmed.  Covers were typically printed larger than the interior of comics so the cover should extend past the inside comic - overhang - so if the cover and interior are flush it's probably trimmed.  Imagine using a paper cutter to chop off some defect on a cover's edge but also slicing through the book itself and eliminating the cover overhang.

Check for stains.  CGC is quite hard on stains, even small ones, and they're easy to miss.  Rusty staples and loose centerfolds are also easy to miss.

I went to a comic book store and saw ASM #28 inside the glass display. I looked at the spine - no stress marks so I suspected it has a heavy color touch. I opened the cover and saw multiple bleed through spots along the spine even some creases were color touched. Always check before you buy.

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2 hours ago, JollyComics said:

I went to a comic book store and saw ASM #28 inside the glass display. I looked at the spine - no stress marks so I suspected it has a heavy color touch. I opened the cover and saw multiple bleed through spots along the spine even some creases were color touched. Always check before you buy.

Great advice! Thanks! 

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There are services available where the one who will clean and press will give you an assessment of the book. Some charge for this service, some do not. In either case, make sure you go to someone who is reputable and not just advertising on Facebook. 

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On 9/28/2018 at 2:27 PM, joeypost said:

There are services available where the one who will clean and press will give you an assessment of the book. Some charge for this service, some do not. In either case, make sure you go to someone who is reputable and not just advertising on Facebook. 

Thanks for the helpful information!

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On 9/25/2018 at 1:31 PM, JollyComics said:

I went to a comic book store and saw ASM #28 inside the glass display. I looked at the spine - no stress marks so I suspected it has a heavy color touch. I opened the cover and saw multiple bleed through spots along the spine even some creases were color touched. Always check before you buy.

How was it priced? That has to be one of the hardest if not THE hardest black covers to find in VF or better condition. Only 7 9.6's, 15 9.4's on the census. :frustrated:

It's a shame so many of these are showing up with CT on the spine. 

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35 minutes ago, Not A Clone said:

How was it priced? That has to be one of the hardest if not THE hardest black covers to find in VF or better condition. Only 7 9.6's, 15 9.4's on the census. :frustrated:

It's a shame so many of these are showing up with CT on the spine. 

No price on it. Odd enough, all other books are priced. The employee had no idea of the price. The owner isn't in his store.

Edited by JollyComics
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