Tony S

The better way to phrase your question would be "what is the best grade a book could receive with a small staple tear?" The problem answering is that a small staple staple tear might be 1/16", 1/8", 1/4". Small isn't very descriptive. It is also a mistake to conclude that the grading notes represent every possible flaw a book has. The grading notes are the flaws that the graders took the time to list. I've sent in books with a "small" staple tear and seen grades as high as 9.2. In the past, people on these forums have posted up pictures of 9.8's and 9.6's with noticeable staple tears. But there has been much discussion that those tears probably occurred AFTER said books were encapsulated from the book being jostled around by handling and shipping (the so called Shaken Comic Syndrome) If the staple tear is no more than say 1/8" and the finger bends don't break color, pressing and resubbing might get a better grade. There are never any guarantees though.

Pay attention and learn. If you want to scam a bit on eBay and still have great reviews they show how it's done. Hype books with near meaningless terms like "near perfect" . Near perfect isn't a grade, there is no scale or reference for it. Offer other "details" like Page Quality, restoration and staple attachment so it LOOKS like you are providing lots of detailed information about the book. Do a lot of no reserve, low starting bid auctions so people feel like they are getting bargains. Offer time payments. Take returns cheerfully for 30 days. Plenty of experienced collectors and dealers buy comics on eBay. But eBay is also where all the newbies shop. A lot of them don't know 5.0 from 8.0. So build your business around those less knowledgeable collectors and if someone buys a book that knows it's not as nice as you said you give their money back promptly and smile. Your feedback stays at or near 100%, you get top rated seller status from eBay.

Daniel Dupcak pretty sure....

More sad news...

OMG!! I don't actually, 100% agree. I mean really, picture #2 is more likely what most of us can aspire for...... but I cannot quit laughing I would however by the bro in the WW (Wonder Man?) outfit a beer. I mean that takes some courage

Tape by itself will not get a restored (PLOD) grade. Tape is always noted on the label. If the tape is repairing something (like say a tear or reattaching a piece or reattaching a page to a staple) then the book is graded as though the defect is still there. So graded as though the tear was there, the piece still missing, the staple still detached. If the tape is unnecessary (say accidental or as reinforcement) the tape is treated as a defect and affects the final grade. CGC modified their stance on tape in 2013. The purpose being that tape can never improve the grade of a book. https://www.cgccomics.com/news/article/3327/CGC-Modifies-Stance-on-Grading-Submissions-with-Tape/

The book will get a green, qualified label. The numeric grade will be same as if the hole was not there. But the label color will be green - not blue. It will say "qualified grade" at the top and will note the hole punch.

Covers and the interior of comics were printed separately. The interiors of comics were a few sheets of really large newsprint printed on both sides, then mechanically folded and three edges trimmed. Then a cover slapped and stapled on. Quality control was only wishful thinking with vintage books. Size and alignment varied significantly in a print run and between print runs. If the book was trimmed a bit small, the cover was a too large and hangs over the edge(s)

My experience is this... Generally speaking, low grade restored books (say 3.5 or less) sell for about the same amount of money slabbed or unslabbed. As the grade gets higher, a premium starts to emerge for graded and slabbed. If I knew a (key) book was restored, I wouldn't bother paying for professional grading and encapsulation unless I expected a grade at 6.0 or better.

What you see is reinforcement done with mending paper and paste (wheat, cellulose or a bit of both) It's either poorly done or someone has tried to remove some of it. Or I guess it could be the book has been mishandled since the repair. Most likely is just amateur, poor quality work Whatever it grades, it will get some flavor of a restored grade. If the reinforcement is the only restoration done, then it should get a conserved label. But a lot of times where you see restoration in one spot there are other spots on the book with other things done. If you are OK with some amateur restoration and the price is consistent with amateur restoration, go for it. But know what you are buying.

I collect interesting labeling errors when I run across them. I've seen several of this type of error (blue instead of purple) over the years. I don't own an example of this type of error because the individuals that have such for sale are always trying to get the unrestored price - or at least substantially more than the restored price - for their books. The OP's example of Nick Fury 1 CGC 8.0 at $135 is on the high side for an unrestored 8.0 CGC is good about fixing such when brought to their attention. But you don't know what you don't know. The book pictured is in every way a restored book. Including it's census entry. But with a blue label. Once it leaves the building......

Jeez JC. Chill out. The OP has offered to respond via PM as to who the eBay buyer is. Giving the name out via PM is a reasonable work around. I think the OP is giving the benefit of the doubt where it is not due - but that's not an awful thing and it certainly doesn't warrant your "kinda deserve what happened to you" comment.

For certain a label error.

That is most likely manufacturing. I've not seen this defect with a single extra staple the copies I've seen had two extra staples. One set of staples that are just in the interior pages, one set that attach the cover to the book. But it usually looks like this. I've sent in several books with the manufacture added staples. The extra staples were noted on the label but it didn't appear to be having any significant affect on the grade. But each time I have crossed my fingers hoping it was in fact manufactured that way and not something else.

Unless you specifically request a blue label, books with stickers get a green, qualified label. With the green label, the defect (the sticker) has NO EFFECT on the numeric grade. If it is in fact a 9.8 copy, it will get a 9.8 grade. But the label will be the Qualified Green label. Not the universal blue. The sticker will be noted in the text on the label. I have no idea what grade the book will get if you specifically ask for a blue label and have the sticker count as a defect for the purposes of assigning a numeric grade. Seanfingh's estimate of 7.5 is as good as any, but it could be lower still.

Silver Surfer 44 was manufactured wavy on the interior pages. The only flat copies I've seen were pressed. The common amateur press of heat only isn't going to fix this book. Because nearly all were printed this way, it will have little to no affect on grade. I would send it in as is.

Sorry, but it is sun fading. You can tell by the yellow in Amazing Spider-Man. Yellow is a color that simply fades exposed to sun light. And what you see on your 7.0 is a faded yellow.

ComicLink & Comic Connect would be my first and second choices. If you really just want to sell, get the books to one those two auction houses and let them take care of everything. Not just the auction, but deciding what books should be professionally graded and encapsulated (CGC) and what books going to CGC should be cleaned and pressed before graded. And have them arrange for all of that along with doing the auction. They would cover the cost of such upfront and deduct the costs of pressing/grading from your payment(s). If you think you probably want to sell this is also the best way - emotionally- to go about it. I know half a dozen people personally that I recommended having their books sent directly from the grading company to an auction house. Rip off the bandage so to speak. Also saves postage costs. But they decided they'd like to see the books one last time and send them in for auction after they had a chance to see all cleaned up and slabbed. NOW they are all comic book collectors. Instead of a nice wad of cash in the bank they have an expensive hobby

Pressing can flatten out subscription copies that were folded and mailed. But those books nearly always have a crease visible on the back and/or front covers. In areas of color the crease nearly always breaks color. A 10 inch crease is not a small defect. Even after pressing It's rare that a subscription copy ever grades higher than 6.0 - and 5.0-5.5 is more common.

Cannot tell for sure from pictures what it is. I think it very likely the grading notes would say. And that CGC took into account whatever it was when assigning the grade.

Great information and even better picture!

CGC would not fix the microchamber paper showing. They probably would fix something like hair trapped in the holder.

New CCD scanners start at close to a grand. Used is your friend here so eBay and Craigslist. Look at the thread that was linked above. Lots of good suggestions. My own is an HP Scanjet 8300. They were built like a tank, sold in large numbers to businesses and government agencies. HP has kept the drivers up to date. ch

I was ten years old in 1964. My years of buying comics as a child was 1964-1970. At 16 I discovered girls and cars and sorta ignored comics until I was junior in college. My brother and I read/bought everything except Romance, Archie and Westerns. Marvels were where the most excitement was at, but Batman was on TV and Gold Key impressed with both the Disney characters and small superhero line that had painted covers - front and back - and no ads. Tower had great art, Harvey had Spooky and Charlton taught you Judo. That wide interest persists to this day. For me, there is no Marvel Vs DC.

Peter (Comics4less) is a great example of how one can build a solid business on eBay. Low starting bid, no reserve auctions. Every single week. Conservative grading. cheap but secure and quick shipping, easy returns. I discovered him early on and nabbed a good number of bargains. But as time went on Peter amassed more and more followers. It is RARE that anything goes cheap now. I still purchase a few books from them every once in a while. But it tends to be the more obscure stuff that I like (say Charlton or Tower Superhero) where I'm not competing with as many buyers. Comics4less attends a lot of shows but only brings inexpensive $1-$3 books. At those shows he goes looking for inventory. He sells literally all of his good stuff on eBay, not shows. It's a solid business model that if someone wanted to put in the work, time and money could be duplicated.