Hudson

First I want to thank each of you for taking the time to provide your thoughts, comments, and grades on this book. I know it takes time to look at a book, consider its defects, determine a fair grade, and then post. Thank you for spending your time in this manner. I also agree very much with @zzutak in that a defect like that (a tear that runs throgh the entire book) should have been disclosed. It really shakes my confidence in dealers when something that obvious is left undisclosed. Oh and BTW, I paid more than any of the books @zzutak showed in his post above. So before I reveal the grade this dealer assigned, let's first take a look at the grades you all said (assuming the 9.4 was a joke); we have a dozen graders (many of whom are well known on these boards and whose grades are likely well respected). @vheflin 3.5 / 4.0 3.75 ave of possible grades @dick pontoon 3.0 / 3.5 3.25 @Point Five 2.0 / 2.5 2.25 @The Lions Den 2.5 2.5 @NY Roadkill 2.0 / 2.5 2.25 @LowGradeBronze 1.8 1.8 @Q.N.S. 1.8 1.8 @grendel013 1.0 / 2.0 1.5 @Hibou 2.0 / 2.5 2.25 @Vegabomb 1.8 1.8 @Bmattioli86 2.0 2.0 @grendelbo 2.0 2.0 Taking the grades in the right and adding them up I get a total of 27.15. Divided by 12, I get an average grade of 2.2625. I would tend to agree this book should be somewhere in the 2.0 - 2.5 range. Thank you for confirming to me that I am not TOTALLY CRAZY for being upset the well known dealer sold me this stating it was a 5.0 (and not disclosing any of the defects). There are SO many good and honest dealers out there, that it makes me sick to my stomach when a "dealer" does something like this. I know grading is subjective, but out of 12 people here, not ONE person gave this book a 5.0. I am almost tempted to send this to CGC, just out of curiosity as to what they would assign this book. I know it is not worth the grading fee, however, it might be worth it just to see. Once again, THANK YOU ALL, for taking the time to respond.

If the price was right, I would take it, even if it was a 0.5 restored.

It is this rational that made me believe when CGC first starting slabbing books that it would never last. I thought, who would want a comic they couldn't look through or read (unlike coins as Bob pointed out - that all there is can be seen on two sides). Boy, did I miss the boat on that one. As for preferred grade (if there is such a thing). I think 4.0 - 6.0 is a nice mid point. They have been read, but not totally destroyed. They cost more than a rag, but you often do not have to sell a kdney to pick one up.

Nice FF1. I would be happy to own that. I would also be happy to have an Action 1 that looked like that, and display it proudly.

I cannot say that I "prefer" a low grade book over a higher grade copy, however, I do like and appreciate a well loved book. As such I buy books in all grade ranges and appreciate them for what they offer (sometimes a pristine look and sometimes a well read look). Of course, it appears you may be talking about 9.4 vs 9.6 on some bronze age book, where I am talking about maybe a golden age book in the 4.0 range (not a rag, but clearly well read and loved by someone over the years). Thanks for your post. It was well thought out and a great quesiton.

I purchased the below book from a very well known dealer who contacted me and offered it to me. In his email, he listed his "grade" for the book and a price; no photo or description provided. Since I had done business with this person more times than I can remember I took him at his word as to the grade and paid full asking - no negotiation. In fact he actually offered me two books and I purchased both at full asking (which one might argue was above FMV even if the books were in the stated grades, however, I was interested in the books and not interested in bickering over price). In order to keep you unbias in your assessment, I will refrain from stating the dealers name and grade (at least for now). I understand an exact grade would likely require more photos (including one of the BC), however, I am providing the two I currently have on my phone. I am ok with a "range" as opposed to an exact grade given the limited number of photos. If the "range" includes the grade he assigned, then perhaps I am too harsh of a grader. Thank you in advance for taking time to read this and provide your grades, thoughts, comments, opinions, or anything else.

Upon reading this, I had to go back and look at all the books to see what you were talking about; I had not noticed any tongues on any of the books. When I went back, however, I found the tongues in question. Is the creepy guy with the severed tongues really the best part of this classic book? BTW - Great selection of books.

You are not wrong, Mike. Although I am often frustrated with the results and often find at least one or two books that I do not agree with the grades, overall that is all part of the game; perhaps even what makes it fun. I don't expect to ever win one of these things, however, if I can end with a respectable score and perhaps even learn a little about how CGC grades, then it is a win. Thanks for all the time and effort you are putting into this. As for the selection of books, I prefer Golden Age, however, others may prefer modern. I prefer low to mid grades (various defects that need to be evaluated). Others may prefer the high grades where you have to really look to find anything wrong. You provide multiple contests through out the year and I think it is great that you are trying to provide a variety of books, so as to satisfy everyone at least occasionally (a task I would not want to even attempt to complete).

I believe Mike is going to send me this emoji once I finally stop banging my head against the wall and send in my guesses.....

@Get Marwood & I It takes me a long time to get out the dart board, darts and blindfold to determine what wild guess of a grade I am going to submit on these seemingly impossible books.

I think I am going to regret this as I once again embarass myself. That said, if Mike is willing to put in all the work to run this awesome contest then please add me to the list. Put my in coach!

WOW!!!! What a gorgeous book!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you! Just yesterday I looked on one site that lists comics and then shows their "Record Sale" and "Minimum Value". I assume the "Minimum Value" is what they consider the lowest price someone could buy a copy of whatever book they are looking at for. So, out of curiousity, I checked on a book I was looking for to see what they considered FMV (or at least the "Minimum Value"). They listed the "Minimum Value" as $150. A few more clicks on the laptop and I found and purchased a copy for $24.

That is a pretty good profit margin (IMO). 66 - 150%. I would take that all day long. I remember hearing Warren Buffett talk about when he was 7 years old, he would be a six pack of Coca-Cola for 25 cents and then sell each bottle for 5 cents. Thus he was making a 5 cent profit on a 25 cent investment. 20% is not bad, but not as good as buying comics at 2 - 3 cents and selling them for 5 cents. Then again, every bottle of coke is the same (whereas some of those comics may have gone unpurcahsed at 5 cents). I think many people in this thread have made good points. IMO a dealer has a right to make a profit. Heck, I want dealers to make a profit, as I am not a dealer; I am a collector. As a collector, I want dealers to continue to seek out books for me to purchase and profit gives them that incentive. Now, I think SOME dealers are "greedy", however, every buyer and seller has a choice on who they choose to do business with and who they choose to avoid. There are lots of dealers out there to choose from, as well as many other resources available to sell your books (if you choose to do so). I don't know the exact price point (percentage) a dealer should pay for any given book, however, I do know that there are costs associated with buying, holding, and selling books. These costs include both real costs (fees, storage, transport, shinkage, etc) as well as less obvious costs (the opportunity cost of doing something else with those funds while they hold onto the book in question - which could either go up or down in value during the time it is held). There are many things to factor in when considering the OP's very good question, and I am sorry I cannot provide a more solid answer. Thankfully, I am not planning to sell any books in the near future, so perhaps I will leave this dilema to those who will be left with the burden of my collection once I go to that great comic con in the sky.