Grading Question 1 1

[Atticus123]

After posting this in other forums, I suddenly saw this one -- which is where it belongs. I have an inherited comic collection so I am a Newbie but I am learning and trying to assess value and grading.  I've just had two books done by CGC -- a Spotlight #5 which came back a 9.0 and a Spiderman #100 which came in at 9.2.  I was a little surprised as the latter looked so perfect to me (yes, as a Newbie) and interestingly the grader notes only had one comment, which was 'very light spine stress lines to cover.'  The Spotlight had five comments, one of which was the same. But with four other 'issues' I was surprised the difference in grade was so small.  So I may be 'lucky' that the Spotlight got a 9.0, or 'unlucky' that the Spiderman only got a 9.2.  I guess my question is, is this common?  Is there a range depending on what grader you get and how they are feeling that particular day?  I understand it's not a science, just wondering how subjective it really is at that level...

[Lightning55]

Regarding the Spider-Man 100, it depends on how many ticks and how severe.  If you had even 1 that broke color, you're starting at under 9.6.  If none broke color, but there a lot of them, you still might be under 9.6.  Factor in that maybe you have a few that broke color, maybe a more than a handful in total, front and back, and now you are dropping more.

The Spotlight had more comments, but maybe none were killer factors.  And any of these grades can swing a bit in either direction.  The only way you would ever know for sure is if they included a diagram of defects they saw so that you could compare it to what you thought was wrong, and they aren't going to do that. 

When I send in multiple comics, usually 15 or so, I get some better than I thought, some worse, some the same.  There will rarely, if ever, be a perfect alignment.

[comicginger1789]

I would say shows some pics but generally these flaws you are mentioning can be very hard to see once slabbed and trying to take photos.

My suggestion would be to post pics in the grading forum before you send them in, then you can get a general collector consensus of the grade. We are not perfect but generally the masses can hone in on a correct grade within a .5 range. 

[Bird]

I believe that not all flaws are listed on notes

 

I am pretty sure that books are graded by 3 different graders as well.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Bird

[theCapraAegagrus]

100% subjective.

[Venom Vault]

So I just received my signed and sketch cover books back from cgc. It has been about a year since I've become a member and this was my 3rd time ever submitting to cgc. All 3 of them came back at 9.6 and none of them have notes. Is that common? To have books be so close to 9.8, with no notes as to why there not? 

Next concern, on my very 1st submission, I turned in 3 books. One of which had the wrong info on the label giving credit to another artist but was signed by the cover artist. The label had given credit to artist signature but not the cover. How could that happen? Nobody 2nd checks work? So with my mail call today, 1 of my 3 labels were wrong again. Stating it was a 2017 sketch cover with different writers and everything. But in reality it was the 2018 sketch cover. 

I spend my time getting all these things line up, I pay to get into a con, spend hours getting this worked out inside the con, and I do everything perfectly that cost me money and time. It's hard to understand why one of the most critical steps has happened to be overlooked 2 out of 7 books I've submitted. 

I know I can resubmit for relabel and I don't want a discount. I don't want hand outs. I would like to understand why my books are 9.6 and why I should continue to trust the credibility of CGC. 

[Lightning55]

1 hour ago, 8102922062 said:

So I just received my signed and sketch cover books back from cgc. It has been about a year since I've become a member and this was my 3rd time ever submitting to cgc. All 3 of them came back at 9.6 and none of them have notes. Is that common? To have books be so close to 9.8, with no notes as to why there not? 

Next concern, on my very 1st submission, I turned in 3 books. One of which had the wrong info on the label giving credit to another artist but was signed by the cover artist. The label had given credit to artist signature but not the cover. How could that happen? Nobody 2nd checks work? So with my mail call today, 1 of my 3 labels were wrong again. Stating it was a 2017 sketch cover with different writers and everything. But in reality it was the 2018 sketch cover. 

I spend my time getting all these things line up, I pay to get into a con, spend hours getting this worked out inside the con, and I do everything perfectly that cost me money and time. It's hard to understand why one of the most critical steps has happened to be overlooked 2 out of 7 books I've submitted. 

I know I can resubmit for relabel and I don't want a discount. I don't want hand outs. I would like to understand why my books are 9.6 and why I should continue to trust the credibility of CGC. 

With CGC, there is no guarantee of getting grading notes at all.  I have never had a book graded 9.8 or 9.6 come back with grading notes.  Even when you get grading notes, it is of little help.  You are left trying to figure out what part of the comic had a "slight bend", or "small color loss back cover" (exactly where, please?).  Not saying those faults aren't there, just tough to confirm now, looking through the slab.  Imagine if they wrote something detrimental about a flaw INSIDE the comic, like staples rusty at the centerfold.  Try to verify THAT, now that it's sealed up.

On the other subject, If there is an actual mistake on the label, you can email customer service to see if they will help you out and correct it.  I had a couple of those occurrences, and they were very accommodating.  The customer service folks have been excellent, in my experience.

[theCapraAegagrus]

8 hours ago, 8102922062 said:

So I just received my signed and sketch cover books back from cgc. It has been about a year since I've become a member and this was my 3rd time ever submitting to cgc. All 3 of them came back at 9.6 and none of them have notes. Is that common? To have books be so close to 9.8, with no notes as to why there not? 

Next concern, on my very 1st submission, I turned in 3 books. One of which had the wrong info on the label giving credit to another artist but was signed by the cover artist. The label had given credit to artist signature but not the cover. How could that happen? Nobody 2nd checks work? So with my mail call today, 1 of my 3 labels were wrong again. Stating it was a 2017 sketch cover with different writers and everything. But in reality it was the 2018 sketch cover. 

I spend my time getting all these things line up, I pay to get into a con, spend hours getting this worked out inside the con, and I do everything perfectly that cost me money and time. It's hard to understand why one of the most critical steps has happened to be overlooked 2 out of 7 books I've submitted. 

I know I can resubmit for relabel and I don't want a discount. I don't want hand outs. I would like to understand why my books are 9.6 and why I should continue to trust the credibility of CGC. 

Yes.

Everyone makes mistakes.

CGC should fix the label at no cost to you. They made the mistake. Email or call them about it.

CGC is the most-credible professional grading company for a reason. The difference between a 9.6 and 9.8 is minuscule. 3 graders agreed to assign them 9.6s. You're free to disagree, but, you're paying for their collective professional opinion.

[The Lions Den]

On 4/15/2020 at 2:35 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

100% subjective.

Now you're starting to sound like me...   

[The Lions Den]

On 4/15/2020 at 10:02 PM, 8102922062 said:

I know I can resubmit for relabel and I don't want a discount. I don't want hand outs. I would like to understand why my books are 9.6 and why I should continue to trust the credibility of CGC. 

All it takes is a small bend and a couple of tiny spine stress lines and your 9.8 (or better) becomes a 9.6...sorry.  

[manofsteel]

15 hours ago, Bax77 said:

Because you don't know how to grade using CGC standards.

What are the CGC grading standards? 

[The Lions Den]

23 minutes ago, manofsteel said:

What are the CGC grading standards? 

Please go to the CGC Home page. It's in the "CGC Grading" menu under "Grading Scale."   

[manofsteel]

54 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

Please go to the CGC Home page. It's in the "CGC Grading" menu under "Grading Scale."   

Thank you. 

[The Lions Den]

1 hour ago, manofsteel said:

Thank you. 

You're welcome!   

While it may seem a bit vague, it actually does give some useful information.

If you're a high grade collector, you should understand how one or two tiny flaws can be the difference between a 9.6 and a 9.8. As a general rule among modern books, 9.6 is one of the most common grades given. But when you get above that, any minute flaw can tip the scales. So if you want 9.8's or better, try to find books that appear to be virtually perfect---the best of the best. Then you'll have a shot at getting that 9.8 or better...

[manofsteel]

1 hour ago, The Lions Den said:

You're welcome!   

While it may seem a bit vague, it actually does give some useful information.

If you're a high grade collector, you should understand how one or two tiny flaws can be the difference between a 9.6 and a 9.8. As a general rule among modern books, 9.6 is one of the most common grades given. But when you get above that, any minute flaw can tip the scales. So if you want 9.8's or better, try to find books that appear to be virtually perfect---the best of the best. Then you'll have a shot at getting that 9.8 or better...

I'm not particularly a high grade collector. I can't afford the GA Supes I collect in high grade. Though I do have about 50 Supes 75's (1987 V2) graded 9.8 with the early CGC labels. I've been wanting to go through them to see if any look like they may bump to a 9.9. 

[The Lions Den]

1 minute ago, manofsteel said:

I'm not particularly a high grade collector. I can't afford the GA Supes I collect in high grade. Though I do have about 50 Supes 75's (1987 V2) graded 9.8 with the early CGC labels. I've been wanting to go through them to see if any look like they may bump to a 9.9. 

Why not? It sure seems like a good opportunity...   

[manofsteel]

8 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

Why not? It sure seems like a good opportunity...   

no reason not to!

[The Lions Den]

1 hour ago, Bax77 said:

If you have money to waste, go for it!

I was actually referring to the process of going through the books and looking for the best ones.

In my view, this is a worthwhile activity, even if you don't end up submitting any of the copies to CGC. I'm sure that many people have some extra time on their hands right now...