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Gang, GRADING NOTES ARE NOT COMPREHENSIVE OR EXHAUSTIVE
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15 posts in this topic

6 minutes ago, kav said:

But shouldnt things like missing pages, cut outs or RUST be mentioned 100% of the time?

I'm not a grader but I guess it depends on the grade of the book.

I can see a missing page always being mentioned. Possibly a cut out, although if you are talking about an extremely low grade book I can see it being omitted. There are SO many defects in a lower grade copy it's impossible to list them all effectively.

Rust? I would assume most of the time but again, depending on the grade.

We've already seen in the other thread that CGC may not list it all the time.

It's also possible that the rust happened after the book was graded if the book was stored improperly. That's why I asked the OP in the other thread what the grade of the book was and when it was graded.

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3 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

I'm not a grader but I guess it depends on the grade of the book.

I can see a missing page always being mentioned. Possibly a cut out, although if you are talking about an extremely low grade book I can see it being omitted. There are SO many defects in a lower grade copy it's impossible to list them all effectively.

Rust? I would assume most of the time but again, depending on the grade.

We've already seen in the other thread that CGC may not list it all the time.

It's also possible that the rust happened after the book was graded if the book was stored improperly. That's why I asked the OP in the other thread what the grade of the book was and when it was graded.

By low grade you mean 9.0 I assume.

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15 minutes ago, kav said:

By low grade you mean 9.0 I assume.

I have never considered 9.0 to be low grade.

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3 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

I have never considered 9.0 to be low grade.

Well according to that other thread, they do.

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8 minutes ago, kav said:

Well according to that other thread, they do.

No they don't.

Whether a book is 'low grade' or 'too low of a grade' for something are two completely different things.

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2 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

No they don't.

Whether a book is 'low grade' or 'too low of a grade' for something are two completely different things.

I guess only a 9.2 or above would get the notation.  9.0 is just too ragged.

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Missing pages and cut outs (like coupon's cut out) are going to get a green label. The why of the green label is always explained on the label. 

Rusted staples are nearly always mentioned in the grading notes. At least in my experience. If the book is lower grade - like 4.0 or less, rust might not be mentioned. 

When I see a high grade book with rusted staples and no mention of it in the grading notes, I'll assume the rust occurred after slabbing due to improper storage. There a still a lot of people using fireproof safes and gun cabinets for their precious's 

But what Vintage said. Graders notes are not even remotely close to an exhaustive list of defects.  It's what the graders took time to write down. And when the graders are really, really busy and stuff is backed up they tend to take less notes, especially on non-key books. 

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5 hours ago, kav said:

But shouldnt things like missing pages, cut outs or RUST be mentioned 100% of the time?

Missing page or cutouts would make it incomplete so no blue label. Those would be noted on whatever color label it gets. I think green label. 

What I don't know is what kind of grading hit major rust would cause  like the other thread was focused on? Maybe it would be an 8.5 instead of a 4.5 without the rust? If the submitter doesn't know about it and looks at the book in a 4.5 slab while it looks like an 8.5 they may be compelled to resubmit without that knowledge. Otherwise if it's a beat up looking book in the first place I'd understand the graders omitting it.

I think that unless it's a low grade book all around its important to always notate rust. The other thread had a valid point 2c

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10 hours ago, VintageComics said:

Figured this was worth posting as a thread to itself because people seem to be discussing grading notes without realizing that they were never meant to be comprehensive or exhaustive.

Grader's notes are not meant to be exhaustive. They never were.

They were originally an internal communication between the graders so that they wouldn't miss something as the book passed from one grader to another.

As customers called in, graders would recall the notes to help better explain to customers why their books graded the way they did.

Eventually, grader's notes became a a public thing unexpectedly and eventually CGC decided to monetize them by making them available to the public if you purchased them

a) because they generate revenue

b) so that you didn't have to bother graders, who were on the phone constantly reading notes.

But the important thing to remember is that notes are not exhaustive and each time you submit the same book the notes may be different depending on what the graders feel compelled to record on that day.

I appreciate this posting. I really do. Thank you for this. I am not looking for comprehensive or exhaustive. I just wish interior rust was specifically mentioned in the notes despite the grade because a low grade cheap book may one day be a low grade expensive book and I want to be as informed as much as possible before spending a lot of money. 

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Very informative thread...

If interior stains aren't mentioned, it could be because there are more serious problems going on with the book (like missing pages or restoration). Since the pre-grader counts the pages, he or she would likely be the one to enter that information...

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