A few questions from a newbie (please humor/bear with me) 1 1

[Poekaymon]

New collector and first time poster.  I did do some searching on these topics.  I'm sure most or all of this is repeats for you veterans anyway.  If it's any consolation, I am active on other forums where people post the same stuff every day and I (usually) help, so karma, and such, right?

1.  I've read just about every post there is to read on the whole "displaying your comics vs. scanning the front and hanging that instead" debate.  I sort of wish I had read those posts first because I recently picked up a bunch of variant virgin covers with the intention of displaying them on the wall.  I figured that since I hang art I could do the same with comic books using UV glass.  But according to many posters, art isn't on paper, which is a big difference, so now everyone has me paranoid.  I understand that sunlight is bad.  And UV light is bad.  And some have gone so far as to say that any light whatsoever is bad.  I'm just not clear on how bad is bad--I mean are we talking a few percent degradation over 100 years kind of bad or highly noticeable within a decade bad?  I can live with the former.)  Either way, I was planning on wall-mounting them in a home theater room with total light control.  (Zero sunlight, direct or indirect, and whatever lighting I want.)  So I figured I'd do LED lights with minimal/or no UV and/or use some UV blocking material as well.  (Subquestion: Is there any point adding UV blocking material to the frames if you're already using only LEDs in a no-sunlight room?  Seems like no, but I've been wrong before.) 

Anyway, say that I am mostly displaying early moderns in such a room, with no sunlight whatsoever, and LED lighting on 4-6 hours a day.  Any guesses on whether that still going to do noticeable harm in the next, uh, 20 years?  

2.  I've mostly been buying from Ebay and I think it's been okay.  (I only do CGC 9.8s.)  I heard that more "serious" types like the auctions at Comiclink.  But when I looked for stuff on that site, almost everything up on there already had bids exceeding BINs currently up on Ebay, and with time left on the Comiclink auctions.  Is that normal?  Talking at least a 10-20% markup even with 3 days left on the stuff I was interested in.  The Ebay copies look fine to me, and so do the sellers, but maybe I'm missing something.  I can't figure out why someone would pay, for example, $650 or more for something with multiple copies up right now on Ebay with $550 BINs.  

3.  One CGC 9.8 I bought recently has pretty noticeable scuffing on the slab.  And as I wanted to display them, I'm completely willing to pay for a new slab.  It (early modern) was graded roughly a year ago.  How concerned do I need to be about getting downgraded as part of the reslab?  As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem to have sustained any internal damage, but what do I know.  Is there anything I can do to protect myself?  Like can I ask them to cancel the order if they think they are going to downgrade it after cracking it open or is that not possible?  Would really hate to drop down from 9.8 just because I wanted to make the slab look nicer.  I understand it's always a risk, but, again, are we talking 1 in 100 or 1 in 10 type risk?

4.  Relatedly, I have a single CBCS 9.8 modern.  Only because I'm OCD I'm tempted to send it in to get a CGS label.  Am I at substantial risk of a downgrade?  (I understand these questions aren't really knowable, just soliciting opinions.)  I can live with a small chance, but I'm not clear on the consistency between the companies.

5.  I have a few raw moderns that I was going to send in as well.  Is there any reason _not_ to request pressing screening?  I really don't think it will help, but I'm happy to pay a little extra to give them the best chance of 9.8.  (Or is pressing more for lower grades anyway?)

6.  What's the best way to send raws?  I've only ordered slabbed comics, but it seems to me almost any way I pack it myself runs substantial risk of damage in transport.  Are there blank slabs or something that one can get just for this purpose?

 

Thanks a lot.

Edit: Guess this should have been in the newbie forum.  Please move if so.

 

 

Edited December 2, 2019 by Poekaymon

[marvelmaniac]

Welcome To The Boards!!!

We were all beginners/newbies at one time so ANY questions you have feel free to ask, at least that is how I feel.

Unfortunately the only question I can shed any light on is the first question pertaining to UV light.

Any UV light (Especially Sunlight!!!) is going to be harmful to paper or anything for that matter.

You want to keep books/collectibles away from windows, incandescent and florescent lighting, heat sources, etc.

If your displayed books are going to be in a room without windows and you are using LED bulbs you should have absolutely no problems.

If there are windows, UV protection and  keeping the shades/blinds/curtains closed to keep out as much sunlight as possible will absolutely help to prolong the life of your books.

Unfortunately, nobody can give you a "how long", we cannot completely stop the degradation of comic books, we can only use proper storage methods/procedures to slow it down, if stored/displayed properly you should see minimal, if any degradation in your lifetime

I have not displayed comics (until recently) but I have had all of my collectibles displayed in a room with windows, some for 30 years and keeping the blinds closed and only having two small lamps with  black shades and 60W bulbs, there is no discernible light damage to any of the Items on display.

If you are displaying raw books they do make UV protected frames for displaying books, but they only offer 97% protection so again, away from direct sunlight.

https://www.bcwsupplies.com/comic-book-showcase-current-uv

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 12/1/2019 at 1:02 AM, Poekaymon said:

...

1.  I've read just about every post there is to read on the whole "displaying your comics vs. scanning the front and hanging that instead" debate.  I sort of wish I had read those posts first because I recently picked up a bunch of variant virgin covers with the intention of displaying them on the wall.  I figured that since I hang art I could do the same with comic books using UV glass.  But according to many posters, art isn't on paper, which is a big difference, so now everyone has me paranoid.  I understand that sunlight is bad.  And UV light is bad.  And some have gone so far as to say that any light whatsoever is bad.  I'm just not clear on how bad is bad--I mean are we talking a few percent degradation over 100 years kind of bad or highly noticeable within a decade bad?  I can live with the former.)  Either way, I was planning on wall-mounting them in a home theater room with total light control.  (Zero sunlight, direct or indirect, and whatever lighting I want.)  So I figured I'd do LED lights with minimal/or no UV and/or use some UV blocking material as well.  (Subquestion: Is there any point adding UV blocking material to the frames if you're already using only LEDs in a no-sunlight room?  Seems like no, but I've been wrong before.) 

Anyway, say that I am mostly displaying early moderns in such a room, with no sunlight whatsoever, and LED lighting on 4-6 hours a day.  Any guesses on whether that still going to do noticeable harm in the next, uh, 20 years?  

2.  I've mostly been buying from Ebay and I think it's been okay.  (I only do CGC 9.8s.)  I heard that more "serious" types like the auctions at Comiclink.  But when I looked for stuff on that site, almost everything up on there already had bids exceeding BINs currently up on Ebay, and with time left on the Comiclink auctions.  Is that normal?  Talking at least a 10-20% markup even with 3 days left on the stuff I was interested in.  The Ebay copies look fine to me, and so do the sellers, but maybe I'm missing something.  I can't figure out why someone would pay, for example, $650 or more for something with multiple copies up right now on Ebay with $550 BINs.  

3.  One CGC 9.8 I bought recently has pretty noticeable scuffing on the slab.  And as I wanted to display them, I'm completely willing to pay for a new slab.  It (early modern) was graded roughly a year ago.  How concerned do I need to be about getting downgraded as part of the reslab?  As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem to have sustained any internal damage, but what do I know.  Is there anything I can do to protect myself?  Like can I ask them to cancel the order if they think they are going to downgrade it after cracking it open or is that not possible?  Would really hate to drop down from 9.8 just because I wanted to make the slab look nicer.  I understand it's always a risk, but, again, are we talking 1 in 100 or 1 in 10 type risk?

4.  Relatedly, I have a single CBCS 9.8 modern.  Only because I'm OCD I'm tempted to send it in to get a CGS label.  Am I at substantial risk of a downgrade?  (I understand these questions aren't really knowable, just soliciting opinions.)  I can live with a small chance, but I'm not clear on the consistency between the companies.

5.  I have a few raw moderns that I was going to send in as well.  Is there any reason _not_ to request pressing screening?  I really don't think it will help, but I'm happy to pay a little extra to give them the best chance of 9.8.  (Or is pressing more for lower grades anyway?)

6.  What's the best way to send raws?  I've only ordered slabbed comics, but it seems to me almost any way I pack it myself runs substantial risk of damage in transport.  Are there blank slabs or something that one can get just for this purpose?

...

1. You want dim light, regardless of the source, and what spectrum(s) they emit. I would make sure that each display piece is covered by UV-protective glass/film.
2. Auction houses don't have any/much risk. They're a middle man. You're paying for security, additional authenticity, and in some cases better-presenting comics. eBay kinda sucks for everyone.
3. Re-holder is just that. CGC will not re-grade your comic unless the case is damaged in a way that may have affected the comic book. There's no guarantee that the new case will be free of 'scuffs' or Newton Rings.
4. "Substantial risk"? No. However - there is a risk. CGC will grade the comic as they see fit. They won't take Voldemort's opinion into consideration.
5. If money is no object to you, then there is no reason not to pre-screen.
6. It's probably best for other members to chime in on this. You don't want to have any potential movement in-package. Any sort of slab will be risk for damage.

[silversurfer275]

If we can see pics of that cbcs comic and the 9.8 with scuffing that would help

[Foley]

2 minutes ago, silversufer27 said:

If we can see pics of that cbcs comic and the 9.8 with scuffing that would help

You can't post pictures of competitors slabs here.

[silversurfer275]

Just now, Foley said:

You can't post pictures of competitors slabs here.

Oh yeah can we see a pic of the scuffing tho?

[BlowUpTheMoon]

On 12/1/2019 at 1:02 AM, Poekaymon said:

And UV light is bad.  And some have gone so far as to say that any light whatsoever is bad.  I'm just not clear on how bad is bad--I mean are we talking a few percent degradation over 100 years kind of bad or highly noticeable within a decade bad?

Here's a thread on what florescent lights can do to covers.

 

[Poekaymon]

Thanks for the posts, everyone.  I found a really good post on here about packing, so I shouldn't have even asked that question.  In response to two people: I can't seem to get a good pic of the scuffing, but I'll just reholder it as suggested by others here.  I thought they might regrade, but if they won't, then I'm golden.  Thanks!

Back to the lighting though (sorry!), I'm still a bit confused as we seem to have disagreement even within this thread.  (Consistent with the other posts I found.)

I understand that florescent and sunlight will fade comics, as in that example above.  I presume they had heavy, all-day florescents and windows as well.  I consider it beyond debate that such an environment will fade books.  What if you take that same collection, however, and put it in a room with minimal LED lighting, which is only on a few hours a day, in a room with absolutely no windows?  That's more of the question I am trying to answer.

 

[marvelmaniac]

10 hours ago, Poekaymon said:

 

I understand that florescent and sunlight will fade comics, as in that example above.  I presume they had heavy, all-day florescents and windows as well.  I consider it beyond debate that such an environment will fade books.  What if you take that same collection, however, and put it in a room with minimal LED lighting, which is only on a few hours a day, in a room with absolutely no windows?  That's more of the question I am trying to answer.

 

LED bulbs do not give off any UV damaging rays and with no windows there is no sunlight entering so no UV there, so as far as "lighting" that sounds as perfect as you can get without being totally in the dark.

https://www.archivalmethods.com/blog/light-damage/

https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/2.-the-environment/2.4-protection-from-light-damage#nomobile

 

[Krismusic]

32 minutes ago, marvelmaniac said:

LED bulbs do not give off any UV damaging rays and with no windows there is no sunlight entering so no UV there, so as far as "lighting" that sounds as perfect as you can get without being totally in the dark.

https://www.archivalmethods.com/blog/light-damage/

https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/2.-the-environment/2.4-protection-from-light-damage#nomobile

 

I wouldn't say they do not emit UV they just emit such a small amount of UV light as most of the UV radiation is converted to the light. I probably will take years and years of LED light exposure to fade the books but it does emit small amounts of UV. Just saying. 

the best place is away from light if you want your collectable to outlast you in regards to UV fading. 

info: sourced from below link

https://www.premierltg.com/do-led-lights-produce-uv-led-tanning-beds/

[The Lions Den]

11 hours ago, Poekaymon said:

I understand that florescent and sunlight will fade comics, as in that example above.  I presume they had heavy, all-day florescents and windows as well.  I consider it beyond debate that such an environment will fade books.  What if you take that same collection, however, and put it in a room with minimal LED lighting, which is only on a few hours a day, in a room with absolutely no windows?  That's more of the question I am trying to answer.

For many years I've had books that've been stored in a similar manner, and they still look beautiful. Just make sure the room is climate controlled, which is also an important factor...

And oh yes, by the way...Welcome to the Boards!!!   

[BlowUpTheMoon]

On 12/4/2019 at 1:15 AM, Poekaymon said:

I understand that florescent and sunlight will fade comics, as in that example above.  I presume they had heavy, all-day florescents and windows as well. 

In the thread I posted the windows didn't have an effect; it was all fluorescent lights.  The windows didn't come into play.  Unsure if the lights were on 24/7.

[Poekaymon]

 

2 hours ago, BlowUpTheMoon said:

In the thread I posted the windows didn't have an effect; it was all fluorescent lights.  The windows didn't come into play.  Unsure if the lights were on 24/7.

Will steer clear of fluorescents then.  

[Math Teacher]

10 hours ago, Poekaymon said:

 

Will steer clear of fluorescents then.  

Since LED bulbs started to be used, LED bulbs are the only type of bulb I buy. They seem brighter (at least to me), and these bulbs are rated to last more than 10 years (unless they are left on 24/7).

 

Joe