Tiers and defects, the manufactured kind.

When I first found out about CGC I was upset. I thought how could they mess with my hobby? I said as much as we sat down; they even agreed with me. I continued to tell them how I was baffled when I picked up my first two CGC books. One was a 9.8 and the other was only a 9.0. I told them I had two other interviews with only ten questions but for them I had so many more. I described the background of the company I thought I knew. I felt like I was in confession because even before I started I was telling them everything.

I transcribed my Interview with Brad Guigar using my own style and finesse. I don?t know if I can do this with CGC. Maybe eventually I will get into each question with depth but until then I will be as straight forward as I can. My First question was about the tiers they have. I wanted to know if grading on one tier was easier or quicker than another one; for example grading a modern age book from five years ago to a book maybe from the Seventies or Sixties. Shawn said go ahead for Paul to take lead on the question and the lengthy answer was ?yea?. Yup?difficult answers, but Paul Continued anyway.

Paul: The main Difference between the eras is how they were made. The Manufacturing defects, other than that there are page counts, restoration checks. The main difference with modern age books you have to know how they are made now just like for the silver age books you have to know how they were made then.

Me: So pretty much manufacturing defects really do not come into play, when grading?

Paul: well they do come into play but only in the higher end grades

Me: So you are talking about a 9.4, a 9.6, 9.8?

Paul: Once you get up there, manufacturer errors do come into play.

This helps me understand a few things about my own books, the ones I purchased already graded. My Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #12. This double sized issue has two corner chips. I couldn't understand how this book with such an obvious flaw could be labeled as a 9.8. If they were all like that in the high end then I understand why a manufacturing defect would not affect the grade. Another example of this is my copy of Sandman #1. I thought the spine was so damaged that the grade I would get would be no higher than a 7.0. The staples were strong and solid but it looked flaky from top to bottom. Although it had the qualified label, it was a 9.2 because it was a manufacturer defect.

I like the thought of a tiered system. It means (to me anyway) that you won?t have a modern age expert grading a silver age book and vice-versa. Not to mention all the other comic book eras out there. But what about my next question. I the past few months I have read journals and chat board entries about how long it is taking to get books graded. I wanted to know when the best time to send in books because we already know convention season is the worst time.

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb