Really happy but ....

Wow, anticipation can be stressful.

One of my favorite sets to collect is the DC Bicentennial comics of 1976. 33 issues that were adorned with a red, white and blue banner at the top. I managed to pick up 21 issues through auctions, losing some along the way, but I haven't been able to secure one for a while.

So, I thought, let's do what everyone else is doing and submit comics for grading! I bought four high-grade (NM) raw copies from four different vendors on eBay (ratings and feedback were the most important criteria for selecting the dealers).

I received them and packed them off to have CGC'd and crossed my fingers. Hopefully, all of them would come back at least 9.0 and at least with white or off-white to white pages.

Waiting for the comics to be graded was a nail-biting experience. Literally checked my invoice status several times every day until it reported shipped. BUT ... I decided to wait for the package to see the grades. I even filed away the email with the scanned images without looking at it.

Finally, I received the books today and was pleasantly surprised. One 9.0, two 9.4 and one 9.6! Yay! And two had white pages although one was only off-white and not off-white to white.

So I went back to the email with the scans and .... bummers. The scanned images, for which I paid $20, were so puny (478x750 pixels) and one had a huge glare on the image. And no back cover images. I do have a scanner but I can't fit the whole slab, just cutting off the bottom part of the comic.

To sum it up: pleasantly surprised with the grading results from raw comics bought off eBay but not entirely thrilled with the paid scanned images.

FYI, the four comics only cost a little over $70 (not including shipping) so this was definitely a labor of love. Guess I'll skimp on the imaging next time.

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