OK - we all collect what we love, but how do you select from your myriad of purchasing options?

As much as it hurts me to do so, I assume we all have grade ranges and paper quality requirements for our collections, so I don't want to revisit those discussions. Instead I am interested in those things that are important to each of us that aren't really about the grade: Pedigrees, Dust Shadows, Spine Ticks, Rounded Corners, Date Stamps; Handwriting in ink/wax pencil/pencil; Cover Centering; Cover Gloss; Color Depth on the cover.

Are they important to you? Ok - some of these items should be covered in grading, but CGC doesn't appear to grade particularly hard, if at all, against date stamps or dust shadows.

Pedigrees: As a collector of mid to high grade silver age DC books I have some pedigreed books in my collection: Rocky Mountain; White Mountain; Pacific Coast (hard not to); Big Apple; Boston; and because I have a copy of Whiz Comics a Crowley - before I am done with my go-go check set I hope to add a Green River, a Sucha News and maybe one of whatever else gets added to the CGC pedigree list for SA DC. But - what I don't do is pay extra for the pedigree status, or at least not substantially more than I would have without the pedigree status. What about you? Is a book's pedigree status as important as the grade? the page quality? is it even a consideration?

Dust shadows/sun fading: Ugh, I despise dust shadows, and while I don't have a copy of the OSPG handy while I am writing this - it seems to me that dust shadows are permitted on grades of 8.0 or less in the OSPG grading system. This is one of those instances where I agree with OSPG and I question CGC. I recently purchased at auction a CGC 9.2 copy of Our Army at War #178 with Off-White pages. This is a favorite cover of mine from the run and the scan provided by the auction house is of good quality and doesn't disclose any dust shadow. The book arrives, I open it, and lo & behold there is a dust shadow running the width of the book at the bottom edge. I am seriously disappointed. Where do you stand on the issue? Are dust shadows or sun lines a deal killer for you or just a negotiation point?

Spine ticks: I have an unreasonable dislike for spine ticks; so much so that I would rather have a comic with a lower technical grade (one or two steps) that didn't have any spine ticks over a book with visible color break at the spine. How about you? What's your deal killer?

Dates: OK, so I don't like date stamps - I know, I know, there are many people who love dates: stamped, pencilled, inked, even wax pencil. I would just as soon replace every book I own that has a date stamped/pencilled/inked on the front cover with another book of even grade as soon as the opportunity presents itself - except Strange Adventures 195 where the number 66 is written on the cover in pen - that's my White Mountain book and I got a killer deal on it. Stamps are the worst for me - particularly if they obscure any of the artwork or are distracting within the masthead. Like 'em/hate 'em? Share your feelings.

Cover Centering: I think everyone prefers a well; centered book, but is it a primary concern for you? Me, well if there is a well centered option, I'll take it; but it certainly isn't a deal killer and I have many poorly centered books that I love.

Cover Gloss: Not a big deal for me with a slabbed book, just because I can't tell. But in a raw book it is something I look at, and I look at it rather closely. I like a nice shiny book with strong colors -

Finally - cover color strike: This is less difficult to tell in a slabbed book than gloss - you can tell if the color is deep and rich even through the plastic. I really prefer strong, clean colors and a clean color strike. I also want my white covers to be white. There's nothing like a dingy white cover to turn me off on a book I am viewing. Where do you stand?

Hey - Thanks for reading...

Next week: what's important within a set listing to you?

and in closing - the image clip of the week: Rocky Mountain.