Although I think I'm starting to ramble...

But, it is a 9.8

I have many 9.8 books in my collection that if cracked for signatures will never come back a 9.8. My first experience with this was, I believe issue two of the two part Alpha Flight and X-Men story. Both were purchased as a 9.8. One returned unscathed while the second dropped two grades. I was still a novice on anything that has to do with pressing, Matt Nelson was still his own boss, or at the very least paired with Stephen Ritter. I discussed with him what could be pressed and what couldn't.

I turned over a bunch of books and each one returned a bit higher than before, including the previously mentioned book that dropped to a 9.4. I decided to press a few more books and even pressed a few myself. I started to think that I would always press just in case, but it didn't always work.

Some say that on site grading is not good for the grade itself. I'm not sure I agree with that, but I do believe that onsite grading should be used just for the fan. Dealers get books back quicker anyway, and if you spend the money you can find a book or two on eBay months later.

CGC does not have a quota on how many books a grader must grade. They even have a relaxed environment allowing the grader to get up and walk away. There is no stress on a grader needing to do his job. But then why are there so many social media posts about grading companies being too harsh or too lax.

Someone once said to me why does a self-grader need to collect graded comic books. It was that one thought (and a new car) that slowed my collecting habits.

I love my CGC collection and CGC remains my primary grading company. Will it change? I'm not sure, but if I'm comfortable looking at a book and grading it accurately myself, why do I need it slabbed?

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb