TC33

I have heard many stories of PGX books graded 9.4 etc being broken out and sent into CGC and actually coming back with a higher grade 9/6/9.8 etc. HOWEVER, Lower/mid and mid upper books (especially older books/not modern etc) almost always come back significantly lower after breaking out and being sent to CGC, so that is where you need to be especially careful buying a pgx book. Broken record, but no matter which of the 3 companies are grading the book, examine the books defects closely yourself and pay what YOU think the book deserves, not a figure based on a designated number at the top of a label that can be extremely subjective and change, even if the exact same book is sent over and over to the same grading company. Remember, you are Buying the Book, not a label designation! As for grading mistakes, it happens with all grading companies albeit far more often with PGX than CGC (you get what you pay for!). Over the years, I have broken out several CGC books only to find out major defects were never disclosed on the label. The entire spine being taped on the inside not even mentioned on a GL #2 GD+ 2.5 (just barely happened) that I thought looked pretty nice otherwise and was shocked to find out was not disclosed, blue label JIM 83 in Gd no label qualification that was missing a huge chunk on an interior page that even went into the story (this was many years ago), so no company is perfect by any means, but at least CGC is far more likely to get it right than PGX, especially resto detection etc. I would still take a PGX scanned book over a raw book from an unknown seller on ebay any day, they did catch some trimming and other minor resto in a large lot of ebay books I purchased and was unaware of, so they are pretty decent for the price, just lack the level of quality control you get with the other two companies which are much better, but are not always perfect either.

I have heard the same from Mike (he had spent many months carefully working on a couple of the books I submitted). Mike also told me he heard the same from others he considers pro's. CGC will only give out B on all work no matter how well done or slight unless you send it in house and pay big bucks for their own team to restore for you, (conflict of interest???) I think he mentioned there is even a lawsuit pending against CGC because of this biased grading practice. I had just sent in a good sampling of my restored books (from 3 differently quality pro's) to see if what I had heard checks out and sure enough, they won't give an A out for anything. It's total B.S the books I submitted would get a B quality for work and not an A, especially the book Matt Nelson worked on! B work pretty much means mediocre to the majority of us. You get a fine 6.0 grade out of 10, yeah, that's pretty mediocre for book grading, not great, just average, fine = medicore compared to "A" work in my lingo.

Never try to dry erase any area that has color to it, you will very often lift the color off way before you get any ground in dirt/stain to come out.

So I have submitted multiple restored books from some of the better restoration professionals out there and they always come back with B designation! The books look amazing, for sure do not meet the guidelines of B as being mediocre quality or using chalk/pencil etc. So I sent the last book in with a cert from Matt Nelson Classic Conservation (from a few years ago) himself detailing his work, it was virtually impossible to tell it was even restored, it was so well done and only slight/moderate work at that! Guess what, I still got a B ,mediocre restoration designation!!!! WTF!!! CGC was so much better when it just had the P or A for professional materials or amateur materials, their new designations make no sense and it appears to me it is impossible to get an A unless you actually pay CGC to restore a book for you today/right now! I have heard the same thing from many other people with pro restored books, never an A unless you pay CGC/Matt and party to restore it for you! Who else wishes they go back to the pro or amateur designation as the A/B/C is so biased that it no longer holds any true meaning?

Even though I have a black light and feel pretty comfortable I can spot most restoration except very well done trimming or very slight high end pro work, I personally have a hard time paying over a grand or so on books not CGC graded as the blue label takes away the doubt and ebay is a 50/50 gamble as even some honest sellers miss the resto on raw Key books they buy when it is slight/mod and very well done. I know the lure of a below market price on a raw ebay book is tempting, but I have had and heard of enough bad experiences to know it is risky gamble on getting an undisclosed restored book with big dollars on the line and I am just not that much of a gambling man.

Purchased a nice HG CGC ASM 129. Smooth transaction! Thanks!

I just received my CGC 2.0 Hulk #1 from Joey, very nice! Great guy to deal with.

I am one that would much rather have a mid grade copy of every Marvel/DC #1 Key instead of only 1 NM copy. I understand the desire to get the best copy available, it just does not fit my budget since I want a respectable copy of all of them and not just 1 high grade beauty.

Great guy! Good communication and fast payment on a Fantastic Four #4. A+ Thanks!

Nice guy, gave me a good deal on a low grade B&B #28! Thanks!

Wow, did they really not know how hot/valuable that book is? Must of had some idea since they at least did not throw it in a bin with $1 books??? Are you sure it is not missing the centerfold, coupon, back cover or anything? Hey, if you will take $600, I can give you an instant $100 profit, Really, congrats! Those deals don't come along but once in a blue moon!

Thanks for the ASM #1, glad to get one of those back in my collection!

Cool! I am a big superhero cartoon fan even though I am squarely middle age. I don't feel so bad because most of the DVD superhero movies are PG13 and obviously aimed a bit more at the older crowd. At least it looks like I am not alone with my enthusiasm.

Let me know how things went with our deal. As a seller, I will typically offer a satisfaction guarantee and take returns for whatever reason except on CGC graded books (no change of heart allowed). (thumbs u

Original 60s - 80s Justice League series all books #106 through 265 plus the annuals.

Even in poor lighting you should be able to spot even minor CT. Most of the CT you would expect to see in this era of books is Black, along the spine line and or around word balloons etc. As Scott said look for creases that break color on either side of a black line and odds are it was hit with a pen/marker. Bleed through from being applied too heavily is obviously easy to spot. Holding the book at an angle to allow you to see the cover gloss is the easiest way to spot CT, even minor does not normally have any gloss. Also buy a small magnifying glass or loupe, so when you find an area you think might have been hit you can look more closely. Black light type detection is not really useful because if the CT is heavy enough for a black light to show it, it is easy enough to spot with your naked eye. I have a black light, (cheap on ebay) but they usually only help in a dark room and even then on rare occasion some forms of color touch do not jump out like others and you can miss some micro dots. I think they are great as I have seen perfect pro work to the naked eye jump right out with my black light. Best bet in a lighted convention room is to bring a small/bright flash light and using that at different angles helps some forms of color touch jump out. If awkward to do that, just hold it in different angles under the room lighting and you will see those slight variances near stress marks, creases etc. that show were people touched up the problem areas. Bleed through to inside cover is the obvious form to catch, but more and more people know that is a bad idea these days, so you have to train yourself.

I have owned both AS 8 (twice) and WW1 over the years, but never a Sensation 1. Damn, I almost changed that yesterday but I got outbid in the last second on a nice looking restored VF and it wasn't even a full bid, it was a 1/2 cut partial bid that beat me. Grrrrrrrr!

Wonder Woman is considered one of the all time big 3 for DC, Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman, so no going wrong there. (the only 3 that have gone non stop ever since the early G.A.!) In general this introduction shows for the first time that a female superhero could be tougher than men and be a mainstream character, so it breaks some gender barriers in an era where that did not often happen. All 3 books are classics, I like the classic All Star cover and significance, but IMHO just about equal is Sensation #1 for her 2nd appearance and the first ever book & series dedicated to a female superhero. That in itself sets it apart from the others for breaking some large male dominated barriers in those very early days. This was a smashing success, not just one full series in Sensation, but a second Wonder Woman series followed soon after! WOW! Plus, who is more powerful AND hotter than Wonder Woman? A great combination!

How many people here were tempted to sell their Showcase 22 over the past few months with all the movie hype and eye popping values realized? (seller realizing his profits) ha ha

Very solid structure, staples, spine etc. From what I have seen, it is really hard to find these above 4.0 or 4.5. I would have estimated a 5.0 if I had sent this to CGC so fairly accurate slab grading. Hey, they seem to be improving and I wanted to give the little guys a chance and save some serious $ on grading, so don't bag on my slab.

I found a black light on ebay a while back for like $15 or $20 (they had a ton) and even the best invisible color touch restoration jumps right out in the black light of a dark room. Also works for some glue restoration detection. Without this, I have seen some excellent CT that was near impossible to spot to the naked eye. A very worthwhile purchase without breaking the bank. Still wish I could get some hands on training at spotting trimming though. I see some in CGC slabs with that and I keep scratching my head how they can tell when it is done with skill (not a hack job). Sorry, the step by step look for straightness and triangle does not work for me unless someone shows me in pictures what the heck I am looking at. I am a visual person.