Poekaymon Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 (edited) TLDR: if you ordered two copies of any raw direct from Campbell's shop, would you expect at least one of them to come back 9.8? So I recently had a long thread on here where I swore off high ratio variants that come out of the gate at hundreds of dollars. But I'm still enticed by "cheap" artist variants. I've never ordered a raw though. So I'm hoping someone who actually orders raws directly can fill me in. Take, for example, JSC. I don't collect signatures, and like to stick to blue label 9.8s. I've been tempted to get some of his variants directly in raw, unsigned form, but they give zero indication of condition, and in fact have a disclaimer, so I have no idea how many I'd need to get to land on a 9.8. If it takes more than 2, I think it is basically always going to be better to just get a graded one later. And yet, his unsigned virgin stuff sells out very quickly, limited to two copies per order, so I guess they must be pretty high quality. Edited January 23, 2020 by Poekaymon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpoolica Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 You can get 9.8's when you buy raw from his shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poekaymon Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Not to be cute, but I figured that was the case. Technically "can get" could mean a chance anywhere from 1% up. Let me try a different way. If you bought 10 of his raws, how many would you personally expect to come back 9.8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpoolica Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 The majority should..so 6 or more, unless there is damage during shipping(which you must factor in) If you just want a 9.8 or nothing then just buy it already graded Buying any raw book online and hoping for a 9.8 is a gamble Raze 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poekaymon Posted January 24, 2020 Author Share Posted January 24, 2020 True though I think at better than 50% it’s a winning gamble. Thanks for your input. Deadpoolica 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpoolica Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Poekaymon said: True though I think at better than 50% it’s a winning gamble. Thanks for your input. Glad I could help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevlar Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 On 1/23/2020 at 6:19 PM, Poekaymon said: True though I think at better than 50% it’s a winning gamble. Thanks for your input. No way...I'd say that directly off the printer you might have a 50/50 shot at a 9.8. But then they get touched and put into boxes. Then they get shipped to Campbell (or any other shop doing a variant). Then they are pulled out of the boxes. At that point I would say less than 25% of books a 9.8 at best unless they are cardstock covers. And that's which a good print run. With Marvel, the amount of ink loss on back covers is staggering and once you put a new book into a bag and board and pull it out, you see enough ink loss to drop a book in grade. I have seen some print runs where I have looked through hundreds of books to find just a couple 9.8 candidates due to printing issues that are not sever enough to be considered "damaged"...they just aren't 9.8s. Publishers don't care about the grade of books that get sent out....even if the best that a whole print run would grade would be a 9.6. If they are all NM- or better they did their job. Typically anything "NEW" whether bought from a shop or bought online would be 9.2 or better and most online retailers wouldn't ship out anything less than a 9.2 unless they made note of condition. If someone complains that they got a book that was only a 9.2, I'd immediately block them from ever buying from me because they are going to be more trouble than the sale is worth (and believe me...I've done it). I tell customers that if you want ONLY 9.8s, don't buy sight unseen and just buy already graded copies even if that means you pay a premium (which you should) because of the grade. dupont2005 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poekaymon Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 If a 9.8 is more like 25% of these variant shop raws, then I would expect 9.8s to be 4x the price plus $30 or whatever for CGC's services. But that definitely isn't the case. So I'm not sure what the disconnect is. Anyway, I just preordered some cheap raws from Mr. Campbell. Will send them in and see how we do. Deadpoolica 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevlar Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 21 hours ago, Poekaymon said: If a 9.8 is more like 25% of these variant shop raws, then I would expect 9.8s to be 4x the price plus $30 or whatever for CGC's services. But that definitely isn't the case. So I'm not sure what the disconnect is. Anyway, I just preordered some cheap raws from Mr. Campbell. Will send them in and see how we do. Not exactly how it works. It's still supply and demand so it's different for each individual book based on supply (how many are submitted, how well the print run prints, etc) and demand (title, first appearance, quality of art, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poekaymon Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Figured I would update on this. I ended up getting 2 Campbell raws and both came back 9.8s. In the meantime, I have grown weary of JSC, but that's beside the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
