DedalusMan

Ok, just got notified by CGC and they gave this book at 7.5 and categorized it as C-1 for what they determined to be a small amount of color touch restoration and "very small, multiple tape pull" on the front left center cover. So that explains weird spots on Punisher's leg, and you all were spot on! I just wonder if there's any way to clean that up to get rid of the C-1 designation. 

Just an FYI update - these books have been graded by CGC! ASM #101 got 9.0 and ASM #102 got 8.0, so a bit better than anticipated but most of you were pretty close to the mark! I did have them both cleaned and pressed, which was probably worth a half-grade or so increase. I'll post photos when I receive the books.

Thanks again for everyone's input, and I hope you are all doing well...

On 3/2/2020 at 7:39 PM, Deadpoolica said:

Man was I ever off 

Lol, I think that everyone tends to go low when there are a lot of close-ups that may exaggerate a book's flaws. I wonder if CGC's graders use a magnifying glass when they grade

Ok, thanks for the feedback! I didn't realize water stains were such a downer for CGC. Does anyone know if dry cleaning can remove water stains like this? I think I read somewhere that it cannot, but if anyone knows differently, please let me know!

Thanks.

2 hours ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

I wonder if grade/notes were somehow mixed up? Idk. I would contact CGC to see what's up.

Yep, that's exactly what I was wondering, and I'm going to ask CGC to recheck the book and regrade.

Ok, please indulge me again. I submitted my Wolverine #4 for grading and it came back lower than I expected. Please let me know what you think is a fair grade for this one. I included a couple of close ups of a visible water stain on the bottom corner. The rest of my set (#1, 2 and 3) all came back 9.6 and are in identical condition as this one, except for the water stain. Would that alone be enough to downgrade this to 9.0?

1 hour ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

I can't see the crease. I must be blind.

I wouldn't say "robbed". I would've guessed 7.0 with those grader notes.

Ok, I guess I was being a bit dramatic, but hey, there is no crease...

35 minutes ago, Deadpoolica said:

Considering I kept going back & forth on 7/7.5 I wouldn't say you were robbed 

Maybe graded slightly harder than usual, I mean what were you expecting?  

Well I would be ok with it except the grader notes indicated a "moderate crease" which "breaks color" when there is no visible crease whatsoever, much less a moderate one, and no visible color break on the back cover! This leads me to believe the grader made a mistake, which should be rectified at no cost to me. I am going to be resubmitting this as a mechanical error and demand an accurate (i.e. higher) grade.

Here's a silly question from a relative newbie - when you resubmit, do you send it back in the original case or do you actually crack it open and send it in "raw"?

FYI, here are the grader notes: light spine stress lines to cover
moderate crease left bottom of back cover breaks color

My question is, where is this moderate crease on the back cover???

Here are some more close-ups of the back cover. PLEASE tell me if I am just blind or if there is NO CREASE??

Ok thanks to everyone for your input!  Here's the shocking reveal (was I robbed or what?!):

I'm not sure if this is kosher, but I'd appreciate an honest opinion on this graded comic. I don't quite agree with the grade, so I'm putting this out there for review and comment without showing the final grade. I will reveal the grade afterwards.

Thanks!

Ok, here's the graded and signed book! I took a close up of the small crease on the top right corner, which I believe is what most impacted the grade. You can barely even see it without a close-up shot. Let me know if you agree with CGC, or if I should request a re-grade, since the rest of the book (back and front) is pristine (any dust you might see is from the scanning bed, which I guess needs to be cleaned lol).

Thanks!

FYI my CGC submission tracking was just updated! CGC gave it 9.0. I would've been thrilled with anything over that, but the grader notes say: "small crease right top of front cover breaks color, very light spine stress lines to cover"

It's hard to tell from the one scan I took whether this book might deserve a higher grade, so I'll follow up with pics once I get the slabbed book back. I had the book pressed and cleaned, so it will also be interesting to see if we can spot any difference.

Hello folks. I'd appreciate an assessment of my Batman #251. I have been told that it's a very clean copy, by Neal Adam's manager himself, who offered to buy it from me at NYCC 2019, lol! Anyway, I had it signed and submitted to CGC (and CCS for pressing), but would like to know what grade you guys think it deserves. Thanks!

On 1/26/2020 at 12:42 PM, ivegotneatstuff said:

Just a crazy idea here...but I would think the graders SHOULD know if a book has been pressed by CCS because they are all under the same umbrella/company - and if the graders DO detect a pressable/cleanable bend, dent defect etc... they should bring it to CCS's attention BEFORE they grade/add it to the notes. They could then potentially kick it back and say "hey, there are still pressable defects on this book... can you take a look at it again to see if they can be removed like, now... or did you try your best and they simply aren't fixable?" 

I'm confused why this isn't happening to be honest. 

According to CGC, their graders are not supposed to know if a book has been pressed CCS. But you're right that someone in quality control should be able to determine if a book was not properly pressed, based on the grader's notes. 

2 hours ago, DedalusMan said:

Wow, you're right. Although that's really barely there, lol. And yup, I'm kicking myself for not taking detailed before photos. Anyway, I thought that a proper pressing could remove these kinds of creases if done correctly.

I heard back from CGC/CCS and they said they would try to "touch up" this book. And actually, they said that the "light crease" on the left top back cover is not the diagonal crease, but the slight overhang on the left top edge where the cover hangs over the inside pages. This should have been pressed out originally, but they're going to try again. Don't know if they're going to be able to fix the spine stress creases, but they indicated that fixing the corner crease could raise the grade. It's worth a shot!

2 hours ago, Lazyboy said:

Yes.

If the spine creases weren't there when you sent the book, that's bad. If they were, it's not great, but pressing can't remove creases, though it can lessen their appearance.

You should always have good pictures before you submit anything, especially if it has real value.

Wow, you're right. Although that's really barely there, lol. And yup, I'm kicking myself for not taking detailed before photos. Anyway, I thought that a proper pressing could remove these kinds of creases if done correctly.

Thanks folks! I've already submitted a request to get this fixed. I'll let you know if I hear back.

Hi, I recently got my X-Men 101 pressed and graded by CCS/CGC. Unfortunately, the Grader Notes indicated: "light crease left top of back cover" and "spine stress lines". However, when I looked closely at the back cover, I noticed a bunch of creases near the spine, which looks like a pressing error. Unfortunately, I didn't take a "before" picture of the back cover, just the front, but I don't remember seeing these creases. Even if they were there before, shouldn't pressing have eliminated them? Should I ask CCS to re-press this book to address this problem? Also, I could not see the "light crease" on the left top back cover, can anyone else see it?

On 12/9/2019 at 8:57 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Nothing good.

Photographic close-ups always make things look worse than they actually do in hand. Anyway, how do we really know that was a 9.8?? 

Lol, I knew that close-ups would only make things look worse! But you have to be careful, because that sometimes can skew your analysis.

Take a look at this issue of X-Men #120 as an example. The close-ups of the spine make it look worse than it really is. What grade would you guess it received from CGC?

On 1/17/2020 at 6:01 PM, Deadpoolica said:

9.2/9.4

On 1/17/2020 at 6:48 PM, Deadpoolica said:

Front:

Top Left corner rub/creasing

Spine Tick slightly above the N in austin

Color rub bottom right

Back:

  Rubs or dirt near both staples with possible crease on the bottom one

Ok, I took some closeups of the top left corner and bottom right. The top left is very slightly rubbed or creased, but the lighting in my prior photo made it seem to be worse than it actually is, and I don't think it breaks color. Also the bottom right appears to be just the way this cover was printed, as the "color rub" is actually a result of some pixels not being fully colored in, as opposed to having been physically rubbed off. The spine tick on the front spine is clearly there as is the dirt and crease near the bottom staple, on the back. 

That said, any updated opinions on the grade? Also, could a good pressing and cleaning remedy any of these flaws?

30 minutes ago, Deadpoolica said:

9.2/9.4

Thanks. Can you point out the specific flaws that you see?

I'd appreciate feedback on this X-Men #129, which I am considering submitting to CGC, I'm a little hesitant because so far none of my other X-Men (#101, 103, 109, 120 and 121), which were in similar condition, have come back with a 9.8, even though I had thought at least some of them would. Does this one have any chance? I'm guessing not likely, due to that little bit of spine stress, which is such a killer. Anyway, please let me know what you think.