Acquired an Action Comics 4, should I RISK putting a repro cover on it? 0

[Krismusic]

4 minutes ago, James J Johnson said:

And think of this. As it now stands, if you tire of owning this, you have a liquid asset. It can most likely be resold for what you paid.

But consider strongly: This is a PGX slab. Many hobbyists are still unaware that a PGX slab basically equates to Pandora's box. What evils are locked up in that slab will be loosed upon you if and once opened. The potential for disaster is there. This or that missing, brittle/disintegrating paper, crumbling this and that; in my strong opinion, a PGX slab is a pig in the poke. You can't be assured of having a reasonable expectation when you open a PGX slab, concerning how a Pandora's slab will convert to a CGC slab.

My advice is to leave it as is, mount your Action #4 repro cover nearby, for display purposes and let the PGX slab remain as is.

I agree with the pandora box analogy as you wouldn't know what's hidden inside the PGX slab but the OP really doesn't like the PGX slab its also a coverless book I dont think it will disintegrate now so in my personal opinion I would take the risk as a CGC NG coverless book will be easier to sell no risk no reward right.. not like it will drop a grade it will still be a NG. I believe he might get a incomplete tact on if there are missing pages. just has to be extremely careful opening the slab and see what the pro resto guy would do maybe have him open it if he's very familiar with paper and brittleness and stuff he would be able to handle or tell you no dont it will fall apart.. etc.. 

[Ryan Vandal]

18 hours ago, Krismusic said:

I agree with the pandora box analogy as you wouldn't know what's hidden inside the PGX slab but the OP really doesn't like the PGX slab its also a coverless book I dont think it will disintegrate now so in my personal opinion I would take the risk as a CGC NG coverless book will be easier to sell no risk no reward right.. not like it will drop a grade it will still be a NG. I believe he might get a incomplete tact on if there are missing pages. just has to be extremely careful opening the slab and see what the pro resto guy would do maybe have him open it if he's very familiar with paper and brittleness and stuff he would be able to handle or tell you no dont it will fall apart.. etc.. 

I am pretty sure I will be getting a resto guy to hep out with this definitely. The book does look brittle, and I want to make sure its removed from the case safely. Then as well see if he can do anything to the spine that is covered with glue... not sure if thats a possibility though. We'll see.

 

EDIT: Its not that I dont like the PGX slab, actually the new PGX slabs are not bad at all in my opinion. They feel very much like how CGC's old slabs used to be. What I hate about PGX though is the embarrassment affiliated with owning a PGX slab. It just isnt taken seriously.

Edited November 23, 2019 by Ryan Vandal

[Krismusic]

On 11/23/2019 at 5:47 AM, Ryan Vandal said:

I am pretty sure I will be getting a resto guy to hep out with this definitely. The book does look brittle, and I want to make sure its removed from the case safely. Then as well see if he can do anything to the spine that is covered with glue... not sure if thats a possibility though. We'll see.

 

EDIT: Its not that I dont like the PGX slab, actually the new PGX slabs are not bad at all in my opinion. They feel very much like how CGC's old slabs used to be. What I hate about PGX though is the embarrassment affiliated with owning a PGX slab. It just isnt taken seriously.

I am not sure I understand the embarrassment in a PGX slab I own a few and I have seen a quite a few examples of cross over grades and they are very similar with CGC in grading standards. I mean every company makes mistakes or misses things doesn't mean they are an embarrassment to own. Plus I am not in it for the slabs I am in it for the comic inside and protection etc.. that slabs offer. unless someone shows me that PGX cases are inferior and cause damage or something like that I dont think they should be considered a embarrassment to own. we are collectors and want to preserver our collectables that's why CGC, CBCS and PGX exist to help preserve display and offer a fair assessment of the comic. Collect the book not the label.

 

[Readcomix]

Maybe I'm not correctly following your goals (investment/enjoyment, both long-term?) but why not hunt for a real cover for a while? One of the best parts guys out there is already in this thread @zzutak and the boards have a way of turning stuff up when you put the word out. There's an "I wanna get married" thread for parts searchers in Golden Age.

I could maybe see having the resto person crack it tomdeacidify while waiting, plus you can then get/do the definitive check for panels, coupons etc completeness. Only possible downside is interim storage while you search if the brittleness level is pretty bad. A book of its size is a carful insertion even in the my.ars that are meant for them.

Are there magazine size mylars? That might be easier to insert into safely for a temporary home if it's brittle. 

[Sauce Dog]

This is the exact same boat i'm in right now, as I just picked up a copy of 'Startling Comics #10' that is coverless but in a PGX case (though this one has a repo cover already on it). I love getting cover-less big key golden age issues for super cheap and doing my own repo covers for them (since the 99% of those being sold are based on bad scans of lower grade books and have not been cleaned up/optimized correctly). 

Going to crack it and get it re-graded (though possibly just with the 'other' non-PGX guys for such an item) just to avoid the aweful stigma of that PGX label

[gadzukes]

If I owned this PGX slab (I saw this comic on ebay and actually thought about bidding on it) I would 100% crack it out of the slab.  You have to know what you have.  How brittle are the edges.  Maybe the brittleness is only on a few outer wraps and all the center wraps are nice.  Maybe the CF is in excellent condition.  I want to know what I have when I buy these "project comics".

I thought about bidding for this comic to get the outer wrap.  I wanted the outer wrap for a Action 4 that I own and thought that I might be able to remove the tape.  Ultimately, the massive amount of spine tape and the "brittle edges" kept me away from it, but I wondered about the interior.

[HuddyBee]

On 11/27/2019 at 10:36 AM, Krismusic said:

Collect the book not the label.

Precisely, and I feel with a coverless comic, would a change in case really change its value? I mean anyone can tell it is coverless, an 0.3 for PGX/Voldy or an NG for CGC. I really don't see the point in getting it graded by CGC, heck he could just pop it out, count the pages, and leave it raw.

Also @Ryan Vandal crack the slab, if you really are that concerned with it missing pages (tho the cases where this has occurred with PGX are very rare), count 'em as soon as you can so you aren't asking for a refund 1 year after you bought the book.

[Ryan Vandal]

Alrighty, I cracked the case this morning.... No missing pages! Woo! Super happy! If you guys wanna watch me crack the case open and count the pages I have a video of the whole thing on my instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/canadiancomicguy/

Thanks for all the tips guys! Super relieved its complete (Except for the missing cover/back)

[gadzukes]

On 12/5/2019 at 11:07 AM, Ryan Vandal said:

Alrighty, I cracked the case this morning.... No missing pages! Woo! Super happy! If you guys wanna watch me crack the case open and count the pages I have a video of the whole thing on my instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/canadiancomicguy/

Thanks for all the tips guys! Super relieved its complete (Except for the missing cover/back)

Admit it.... you're happy you cracked it and don't have to worry about clipped coupons or missing pages.  Well done.

[Readcomix]

On December 5, 2019 at 11:07 AM, Ryan Vandal said:

Alrighty, I cracked the case this morning.... No missing pages! Woo! Super happy! If you guys wanna watch me crack the case open and count the pages I have a video of the whole thing on my instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/canadiancomicguy/

Thanks for all the tips guys! Super relieved its complete (Except for the missing cover/back)

Awesome news! Congrats! How's the page quality? Supple? Or at all brittle?

[joeypost]

Just sent in a book with a color copy cover. Here is the grade and notes. Was a Universal 0, which may be a mistake. 

 

 

.0 OFF-WHITE TO WHITE

COVERLESS. COVER IS A COLOR COPY.

[Ryan Vandal]

On 12/9/2019 at 2:14 PM, joeypost said:

Just sent in a book with a color copy cover. Here is the grade and notes. Was a Universal 0, which may be a mistake. 

 

 

.0 OFF-WHITE TO WHITE

COVERLESS. COVER IS A COLOR COPY.

I wonder if this means NG (No grade) since its says .0? Any update on this?

[Ryan Vandal]

On 12/6/2019 at 8:37 PM, Readcomix said:

Awesome news! Congrats! How's the page quality? Supple? Or at all brittle?

Extremely brittle, a few pieces were falling off when I unslabbed it. Definitely gotta be careful going forward with this book.