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X-Men # 1 Magneto Cover -Advice please
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32 posts in this topic

So I pulled several copies of X-Men # 1 with the Magneto cover that I was going to submit for grading. The front cover of the books look great however when inspecting the back cover I noticed an indentation to the right of Juggernauts arm .  This only affects the cover and not the pages.The indentation seems to originate from the inside to the outside of the cover as it is slightly raised . Out of ten copies all have the same issue. Some to a larger degree but it is still there. Please view the 2 samples attached. The first is more pronounced than the second. To further investigate I then pulled copies of the other variants and none of them have this issue. Can you guys please give me advice as to whether this is a known factory/bindery flaw and if this is something that will affect the grade?

Any help and or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

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I would look up copies online in CGC 9.8 cases and compare, and also contact CGC directly.  But I'm fairly certain its not a thing. If it's worth it you, can probably try pressing them and see if it helps.

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Thanks Revat and faster friends. I  have a graded 9.8 that I checked and it does not appear to be there. I believe pressing would help but on a few copies the indentation goes completely through the cover. It is slight but there all the same. I guess your suggestion to contact CGC will be my next option. I just thought that this may have been a known issue with this particular book and someone on the forums may have had experienced this. 

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Was likely the case you bought these from the same LCS and the books they received either all, or a run of them, had this defect. Happens frequently even today.

You can obviously get slabbed whatever you want, for whatever reason. But if you're grading to sell, these books even in 9.8 aren't generally worth the cost of grading (especially if you're thinking about pressing first). It would be cheaper just to buy already graded 9.8s if that's what you're looking for... as you may know, Jim Lee's X-Men vol.2 #1 was the highest selling comic of all time, so unlikely will ever have real value! I have a yellow label #1 gatefold cover signed by Jim Lee just for my PC (personal collection) as it was such an iconic book from my childhood, but doubt it will ever be worth anything substantial given the print run. Again, ppl have different reasons for slabbing but thought worth mentioning. 

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Thanks CKinTO - I appreciate your input. My dilemma is this: I recently started to review my collection after a long hiatus from collecting. I want to downsize and sell most of my collection. Although this book is not a high value book it does sell well in 9.8 shape. Anywhere from 45.00 to 80.00. I won't be paying my sons college LOL. But it's not terrible either.Most of these books I have are 9.8 not withstanding the indent. I am in no rush to sell and don't mind paying up front then waiting for them to be graded so I can earn more on on the back end. Selling them raw is definitely tough and you can't get much. I really don't want to submit them and end up with 9.6 or lower. Then I lose. That's why I was wondering if this is common or known with this book and if CGC gives something like this a pass?

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These books routinely sell for between $40 and $60. The Magneto cover sometimes sells for even more than that. So for me , getting them graded and selling them is worth it.I was caught up the hoarding hype of the late 80's early 90's and have plenty of these books that have never been read or opened. I have  meticulously maintained them for almost 30 years now and want to sell some. We all know what a dealer would offer and I don't want to go that route, You wont get rich grading and selling but it is far better than the alternative. My big question is the indent on the back cover of the Magneto Variant. Whether or not GCG dings that or gives it a pass will guide my decision. Just looking for some advice on that from you guys.

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2 hours ago, HitThePost said:

But if it only sells for $40 you'll be losing money, right?

50 dollars a book or more would be better -I would not lose at 40 but the profit margin would be smaller

Variant? What's variant about it?

I meant the Magneto Cover-Sometimes referred to as a Variant as there were 5 different covers for this book

 

 

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On 10/25/2018 at 7:33 AM, Martin4 said:

These books routinely sell for between $40 and $60. The Magneto cover sometimes sells for even more than that. So for me , getting them graded and selling them is worth it.I was caught up the hoarding hype of the late 80's early 90's and have plenty of these books that have never been read or opened. I have  meticulously maintained them for almost 30 years now and want to sell some. We all know what a dealer would offer and I don't want to go that route, You wont get rich grading and selling but it is far better than the alternative. My big question is the indent on the back cover of the Magneto Variant. Whether or not GCG dings that or gives it a pass will guide my decision. Just looking for some advice on that from you guys.

No slack, I think they will ding it.

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Kobalt - I tend to agree but I am not quite sure as CGC sometimes gives a pass to manufacturing flaws. I am hopeful that that this may be the case here. The attached scans show this issue on multiple books that are all 9.8 condition except for this indent and I have more. I cant be the only person with this and I am curious to find out if any boardies have encountered or have any knowledge here. Has anyone else noticed this? 

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2 hours ago, Martin4 said:

Kobalt - I tend to agree but I am not quite sure as CGC sometimes gives a pass to manufacturing flaws. I am hopeful that that this may be the case here. The attached scans show this issue on multiple books that are all 9.8 condition except for this indent and I have more. I cant be the only person with this and I am curious to find out if any boardies have encountered or have any knowledge here. Has anyone else noticed this? 

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Then it would probably be better to do a prescreen for 9.6/9.8, as you see fit. You may skip the cost to press them, but it's up to you.  :foryou:

 

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2 hours ago, Martin4 said:

Kobalt - I tend to agree but I am not quite sure as CGC sometimes gives a pass to manufacturing flaws. I am hopeful that that this may be the case here. The attached scans show this issue on multiple books that are all 9.8 condition except for this indent and I have more. I cant be the only person with this and I am curious to find out if any boardies have encountered or have any knowledge here. Has anyone else noticed this? 

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Here's mine (note: it's a newsstand edition)

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Edited by KobaltDog
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On 10/27/2018 at 12:03 AM, Martin4 said:

Thanks guys. I may try contacting a CGC grader to see if I can get some info. Kobalt yours clearly does not have it. Thanks for the pic.

I'm going to be blunt here to try to save you some hassle.

Those are clearly NOT 9.8 copies, especially when you state that the indentation goes completely through the back cover in many case..  It's not worth your time (or theirs) to contact CGC.  Those aren't manufacturer flaws.  All I see is damage to the back cover, which will drop you down a grade or two.

On top of this, even if you did manage to have 9.8 copies (again, I contest that you do not), IMO it's still not worth the time or effort to grade these.  Say you bring in $75 shipped on eBay for the book (recent eBay sales range from $50-100 shipped), it will cost you ~$15 to ship, ~$8 eBay fees, ~$3 PayPal fees.  That knocks you down to $50 even before the cost of grading.  What does it cost to grade Moderns these days?  With a press?  Is this worth the gamble to submit the books to make $10-20.  Again, this assumes you are getting 9.8s, are able to maintain a favorable sales price, and have all hassle free sales on eBay.  One 9.6 grade coming back to you derails the whole lot, as you're essentially eating that book and all the costs that come with it.

Bottom line... sell them raw and disclose the damage on the back cover.

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On 10/24/2018 at 8:52 PM, CKinTO said:

But if you're grading to sell, these books even in 9.8 aren't generally worth the cost of grading (especially if you're thinking about pressing first). It would be cheaper just to buy already graded 9.8s if that's what you're looking for... 

CGC 9.8 copies generally go for $50-$60. Adding this one to a stack to get graded would cost you about $20...so a significant savings if you want to own a CGC 9.8 copy...assuming yours comes back a 9.8. Hell, GPA on 9.6 copies is higher than the cost of slabbing. If you're trying to sell, that's a different story...

Edited by AGGIEZ
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On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 11:46 AM, masterlogan2000 said:

I'm going to be blunt here to try to save you some hassle.

Those are clearly NOT 9.8 copies, especially when you state that the indentation goes completely through the back cover in many case..  It's not worth your time (or theirs) to contact CGC.  Those aren't manufacturer flaws.  All I see is damage to the back cover, which will drop you down a grade or two.

On top of this, even if you did manage to have 9.8 copies (again, I contest that you do not), IMO it's still not worth the time or effort to grade these.  Say you bring in $75 shipped on eBay for the book (recent eBay sales range from $50-100 shipped), it will cost you ~$15 to ship, ~$8 eBay fees, ~$3 PayPal fees.  That knocks you down to $50 even before the cost of grading.  What does it cost to grade Moderns these days?  With a press?  Is this worth the gamble to submit the books to make $10-20.  Again, this assumes you are getting 9.8s, are able to maintain a favorable sales price, and have all hassle free sales on eBay.  One 9.6 grade coming back to you derails the whole lot, as you're essentially eating that book and all the costs that come with it.

Bottom line... sell them raw and disclose the damage on the back cover.

Is the damage from some bands that held the bunch together? Seeing it on a computer screen and not my phone, yes, these are all rubbed/dinged books and worth $1-$3 each, maybe.

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The damage seems to be from a printing / manufacturing issue rather than storage or shipping. It appears that the indent is raised from the inside of the cover to the outside. Some show as slightly raised and others actually tear through. Maybe when the cover was printed there was something wrong with the machinery that did this? I was hoping someone else has noticed this or had some info on what caused it? I have sent pictures of some of them and I have more. It's a bummer to see this as I have bagged and boarded these since day one. 

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3 hours ago, Martin4 said:

The damage seems to be from a printing / manufacturing issue rather than storage or shipping. It appears that the indent is raised from the inside of the cover to the outside. Some show as slightly raised and others actually tear through. Maybe when the cover was printed there was something wrong with the machinery that did this? I was hoping someone else has noticed this or had some info on what caused it? I have sent pictures of some of them and I have more. It's a bummer to see this as I have bagged and boarded these since day one. 

With a billion copies printed if there was a bump of crud or other on the presses that caused thtis indent for a minute it could have spat out a bunch of copies like this all at once. I have my doubts that CGC is in a position to determine whether something is a "regular" production defect they see 500 times a day or some weird random one or a "known" one (like a missing color or whatever). And if they slabbed 20 copies like this and gave them 9.8s can you imagine how many people buying this book in a slab afterward would raise a stink with cgc giving this a 9.8? You can send one in along with some other submissions and roll the dice on $15 and see what happens or if you have a bunch of other issues/comics  include one #1 in a prescreen to see what happens. Or do you think by putting 15 in at once CGC will be more convinced this is a production error? Aside from the indent there also appears to be a scuff on every issue. There are sooooo many other common books that can get the $50-$60 in 9.8 I would not obsess over this.

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Thanks I appreciate your comments I agree with your suggestions. Out of curiosity I plan on slipping one in on a regular submission. Will probably do a pre screen with some others. Not really obsessing with these was just kind of hopeful someone would tell me that this gets overlooked. LOL .  If the advice I received from you and others here and my suspicions are correct they will get dinged. 

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