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When to settle....
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51 posts in this topic

1 hour ago, Xenosmilus said:

I found a good price on a book but it’s a 9.6 and not a 9.8. I can afford both grades but the 9.8 is double/triple the price. Is it worth it?

I,d say the age of the book, what the top census garde is and how much your're spending would be considerations. Otherwise, the 9.6.

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Will you be buying the book to resell, or do you just want a nice copy?  I never understood the obligation to get 9.8s.  If there are dozens already on the census, it's not special.

In Overstreet terms, you'd be buying NM+ instead of NM/M.  If we put it that way, does it matter?

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I'd buy a nicely-presenting 9.6, especially if there are no really perceptible flaws to be seen through the slab, and save the money.

Such flaws can still appear in 9.8s, such as a small colour-breaking crease, which can surprise and confuse at first.

That's for me adding to my collection, not an investment position on the matter.

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I've passed up on a lot of beautiful books graded in 9.6 because I was aiming to eventually find a 9.8 copy. Sometimes I do, but often times I don't. Now I wished I just bought the damn 9.6 copy when I had the chance. This is predominantly for early-to-mid bronze-era books.

For copper-modern books I'm interested in, I'd still rather hold out for a 9.8. These books are more readily available.

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To me the 9.8 is only a necessity when subbing moderns that you plan to sell or flip. There are always "flavors of the month" that you basically have to have a 9.8 if you want to make a profit. This is only from a subbing point of view. Purchasing.... heck get the 9.6 at a super discount.

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33 minutes ago, letsgrumble said:

For copper-modern books I'm interested in, I'd still rather hold out for a 9.8. These books are more readily available.

My question is: while I appreciate CGC professional grading service, is it enjoyable to have a perfect book when you are unable to touch it, browse it, etc?
Recently I picked out some Defenders which were in NM with White pages and it’s a joy to rebrowse them and/or read the stories. Actually it’s a joy to read a book (well-)printed on Newsprint still with White pages, no matter the grade. :foryou:

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2 minutes ago, Ride the Tiger said:

To me the 9.8 is only a necessity when subbing moderns that you plan to sell or flip. There are always "flavors of the month" that you basically have to have a 9.8 if you want to make a profit. This is only from a subbing point of view. Purchasing...

Does it make sense? Then who purchases them is quite silly because it goes for a "Flavor of the Month" that he/she will never enjoy? I have still to get this.

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Just now, vaillant said:

Does it make sense? Then who purchases them is quite silly because it goes for a "Flavor of the Month" that he/she will never enjoy? I have still to get this.

Flavor of the month meaning a book that has just come out and there is huge speculation. Sometimes its a limited print book or Variant. That has kind of become a trend and then when things settle down with that book the prices drop dramatically. My observation does not apply to books that have stayed the test of time i.e. GA/SA/BA books.

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3 hours ago, october said:

Given the results I have seen from my own submissions, and the amount of times grades have changed with no work done to the book, I think chasing 9.8s is totally ridiculous.

How many stories have we heard of 9.8 prescreens rejected, only to pass the second time around? 9.6...9.8 it's all the same except for the little number.

I don't really chase those nosebleed grades, but I do have at least one 9.8 slab, and several 9.6 slabs.

Having cracked out many 9.6, 9.4, 9.2, 9.0, 8.5, 8.0 slabs, the only thing that is consistent is the inconsistency.

Some of my best and pleasant surprises I've had were buying your 9.2 slabs that you got surprised/shafted on.  They sure as heck weren't 9.2s when I cracked them out. lol

 

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6 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

I don't really chase those nosebleed grades, but I do have at least one 9.8 slab, and several 9.6 slabs.

Having cracked out many 9.6, 9.4, 9.2, 9.0, 8.5, 8.0 slabs, the only thing that is consistent is the inconsistency.

Some of my best and pleasant surprises I've had were buying your 9.2 slabs that you got surprised/shafted on.  They sure as heck weren't 9.2s when I cracked them out. lol

 

I slabbed very, very few books. I’d say my Sub-Mariner #1 was pretty much spot on. I’d have said NM but turned out a 9.6.
The few I deslabbed… I agreed with the grade, not always with the Page Quality.

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BTW, recently bought some raw books from Worldwide (which I love) and I ended up keeping the VFNM/NM- copy over some NM+, in a pair of instances where I bought two copies, just because I liked the better centering, whiteness of pages, inside printing, saturation of color inks on the cover, etc…
There are many factors that make a book pretty, not just the technical grade which in the end just states how good the *paper* is conserved.

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