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Do you buy books with tape?
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59 posts in this topic

I don’t buy books with tape. They’re simply a hard stop for me. A mental barrier I can’t get past. Sometimes it puts me in a real pinch with scarce books, and I find myself wishing it didn’t bother me. 

So, obviously there are many who can cope. What are your thoughts? Did you never care? Did you hit a wall like me where, as your tastes matured and you transitioned into golden age, you simply had to accept tape in order to acquire some of your target books?

Feel free to discuss other defects you struggled with, and softened on, over the years as well... Anddddd...go...

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I would not buy a silver age or newer book with tape because I think you can always find a copy without tape, in the same grade.  Golden Age, I do not like tape but some books are so scarce or otherwise held onto in permanent collections that it may be your only choice. I hate brittle comics and I am not fond of restored yet I have a USA #6 that is slightly restored and a USA #8 that is slightly brittle.  To put it in perspective, the USA #8 was G.A.tor's personal copy until he finally upgraded. If he had to "settle" for that then you know its a scarce book on the market! Sometimes, if you want a particular book badly enough and if it is rare, then you have to accept what comes around or just accept that you will never have a copy.

The one thing I still cannot get past is rusty staples with rust migration into the paper.:fear:

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This is my only book with tape. This book along with This Magazine is Haunted #3 and Fawcett Movie Comics #15 were produced with notoriously bad cover stock. Almost all copies have complete spine splits or are coverless. I may never find one unless I settled for this copy, and I’m ok with it.

WorldsOfFear2_zpsbf8920c7.jpg

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14 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

Purchased from Greg Cicchetti (VWClobberingThing) around five or so years ago... who I believed bought it from another board member in Italy or that board member once owned it. 

It was the best presenting 3.5 I've ever seen and it was slabbed around the time when CGC changed it's rules regarding tape. 

I always wanted a copy of this book but never wanted to spend money that would have normally gone toward Spidermans... 

Waviness is due the scanner image.  One day I really have to rescan the book as I still own it. 

 

2199560_Full_Obv.jpg

Hell of a 3.5!

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I'll fiddle with tape to see if it will come off before I buy a book.  I once had an Amazing Spider-Man 25 with cellophane tape inside that lifted off with little effort because it was so dry.  Otherwise, no, it's just another book I'll have to upgrade.  Nothing I collect is rare enough that I can't wait.

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The only book that I am aware of with tape is an FF 20 that had the inside cover corners taped as reinforcement, it is otherwise NM. I Typically avoid tape. This book I purchased 30 years ago - always intended to someday get the tape removed.

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1 minute ago, lizards2 said:

The only book that I am aware of with tape is an FF 20 that had the inside cover corners taped as reinforcement, it is otherwise NM. I Typically avoid tape. This book I purchased 30 years ago - always intended to someday get the tape removed.

Snob.

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I just picked up a Marvel superheroes #12 for a good price , part of it is believing the hype , but mosty because my daughter loves Captain Marvel ( or at least that’s what I told myself ) I’m literally the 3rd person to own this comic and the tape is so small and minuscule - but I still know it’s there . It’s at CCS/ CGC now and I’m having it removed . I don’t look at a graded comic with tape with the same disdain as I do a purple label but it bothers me ...doh!

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Im a GA collector and as others have said, in some cases the choice is a) a book with tape or b)no book at all.... so you take the one with tape. 

I've owned a few taped books, always interior. So far I havent had to choose between a book with exterior tape and no book, but we'll see when the time comes. 

 

I have a bigger personal issue with a book being detached from its cover, and those two seem to interplay with each other...

 

Edited by miraclemet
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Tape and rusty staples are deal breakers for me - I can't stand them as I view both flaws as something that could continually worsen and do further damage to the book.

I have had to pass on a few books because of tape and rust - and while it sucks in the moment, I know long term I will not be happy with the book - so there is no point in buying it.  Plus I have passed on too many books now with these defects, so I can't break now :)

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I try to avoid tape. To my knowledge I only have one book in my personal collection that I knowingly bought that has tape:

PlanetComics2front_zpsffd05a1c.jpg

I had bought it as a placeholder and planned to upgrade it, then found the cost of upgrading unappealing due to value/cost.

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If I need a cheap reader copy of a gold or silver book I would. I’ve bought coverless books or books with completely detached covers just to have a reader to go along with my slabbed copy. 

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