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Batman #171 missing cover. What can I do to get a better grade
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26 posts in this topic

I recently purchased Batman #171. It has no cover but the book itself is in immaculate condition. I was told CGC will grade this a NG or 0.5-1.0. My question is if I purchase or source out a 171 cover and send to CgC with the book. Will it receive. Better grade or am I better off just sending them book as is. 
 

does this book hold value regardless or I invested wrong this time around. 
 

any information will be highly approached. 

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3 hours ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

If you marry a cover it can receive a Restored grade, if you're interested in that.

That said, I can't imagine that you'll have much luck finding a high-grade Batman 171 cover that isn't, you know, attached to a high-grade Batman 171 book.

I hate devolving this hobby to just financial concerns, but... fiddling with this probably isn't a good investment either. This book exists in volume, despite its top-line price. Below 8.0 (and especially below 7.0), valuations here drop pretty starkly. Let's say that you manage to marry a fantastic cover and earn an 8.0 purple label here (anything above that, not realistic... even assuming that finding an 8.0 cover is realistic, which it isn't). While purple values are best examined on a per-book basis, a hat-pull number might be to suggest you're looking at a book worth 3 blue grades lower. And that means you're looking at prices down in the trenches, where the relative glut of mid-grade copies of this issue keeps values low. Furthermore, frankly, I think the price hit for a married cover book here might be worse than a "normal" purple label. Married covers are, to the extent that they're tolerated by collectors in general, mostly a creature of the Golden Age (in part because quite a few people saved covers specifically, so there are way, way more bookless covers than later eras). Marketability for a married SA book? Ehhh....

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20 hours ago, Nvhustle190 said:

does this book hold value regardless or I invested wrong this time around. 

Whether any purchase of anything, in this hobby or any other, is a good or bad investment, the most important element to consider is how much you paid. So my question is, what did you pay for this? 

And of course:

 

welcome.gif

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16 hours ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

If you marry a cover it can receive a Restored grade, if you're interested in that.

From what I recall, I think he/she could actually submit the book with a married cover and receive a Qualified grade. And it doesn't even have to be attached...  :whatthe:

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I'll give you my take which is a little different. 

You can find a front cover (post here, watch eBay).  When you find a nice one, jump on it.  Have a pro marry the cover and you can get a conserved label. 

Now, to be clear - if your goal is to flip books and make money, this isn't the way to do it. It will take time, patients and probably cost more than this particular book is worth...

So, why do it? It's exciting to find the parts and bring books back together.  Just a different way to enjoy the hobby. 

I've successfully married one book and I'm working on 4 more.  The 4 i'm working on are a bit rarer than this one, so you may have an easier time if you feel like playing the parts game. 

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8 hours ago, KCOComics said:

I'll give you my take which is a little different. 

You can find a front cover (post here, watch eBay).  When you find a nice one, jump on it.  Have a pro marry the cover and you can get a conserved label. 

Now, to be clear - if your goal is to flip books and make money, this isn't the way to do it. It will take time, patients and probably cost more than this particular book is worth...

So, why do it? It's exciting to find the parts and bring books back together.  Just a different way to enjoy the hobby. 

I've successfully married one book and I'm working on 4 more.  The 4 i'm working on are a bit rarer than this one, so you may have an easier time if you feel like playing the parts game. 

hm

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On 10/13/2020 at 3:47 PM, James J Johnson said:

Whether any purchase of anything, in this hobby or any other, is a good or bad investment, the most important element to consider is how much you paid. So my question is, what did you pay for this? 

And of course:

 

welcome.gif

Hello, thanks for your reply. I paid $60... did I loose on this one ?!

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I am kidding. There are allot of factors and it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. 

If you are a fan and you'll read and enjoy it, then no you didn't lose. 

If your concern is the monetary value, it's going to be a tougher to sell coverless because a little more $$ can get you a low grade complete copy.  

I personally wouldn't have bought it, but I'm sure batman fans would be interested in having a reader, so not a total loss. 

Edited by KCOComics
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$60 isn't too much - IMHO - to have paid for the book. Neither would I call it a bargain. 

As others have said, find a cover you will get a green label Qualified grade. As the Overstreet Price Guide notes, it's much easier to find coverless books than it is to find only covers. Especially really nice high grade appearing covers. 

CGC will label this NG. No grade. Period. They will not give the book a .5 or a 1.0.  The Overstreet Price Guide grades coverless books .3. The other grading companies follow Overstreet's lead on this and grade coverless books (and covers only) .3.  

I would not get this book professionally graded and encapsulated. The only coverless books I've ever had professionally graded are major keys (TOS 39, Hulk 1) or one book - Avengers 2 - that had a Kirby signature.  My own guideline is a book probably ought to be worth a $100 as is to be worth the cost of grading. I break that rule every once in a while when I really like a cover.  But then this book is coverless....  When I DO GET a coverless book graded, I use another grading company whose name shall not be spoken here because I want a grade - even a .3 - as opposed to a No Grade. 

Edited by Tony S
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14 minutes ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

That's messed up. I'm hating the Qualified label more and more everyday.

To be fair, for that 9.4 the guy I bought it from was positive there was no way it was married, as he got it ungraded from an original owner collection in the 70s (it's a golden age horror book)...so yeahhhh, might be a CGC mistake as it left him surprised when the grade came back.  

Point being...WILD CARD! :D

Edited by Sauce Dog
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3 minutes ago, Sauce Dog said:

To be fair, for that 9.4 the guy I bought it from was positive there was no way it was married, as he got it ungraded from an original owner collection in the 70s (it's a golden age horror book)...so yeahhhh, might be a CGC mistake as it left him surprised when the grade came back.  

Point being...WILD CARD! :D

:luhv:

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