Albert Thurgood

Customs duty/import taxes would be payable by the laws of your own country. You can get a quick-and-dirty check by looking at a comparable item on Ebay, and seeing what the shipping costs would be. Ebay builds in the import taxes in calculating the shipping costs. (At least it does for Australia so I assume it does for other countries).

This is an interesting thread. The first threads I read when I joined recently were discussing best bags and boards for long term storage. I think one of the arguments was that it was better to leave bags open so that any gasses released could escape from the bag. It makes sense not to have those gasses trapped in an enclosed bag. I assume you stored these in a box with a lid to protect from light, so it is still a question whether to leave the mylar bags open or not. FWIW I also agree with @Randall Dowling that heat is a big contributor to browning.

2.5

would be at least fine without that tear, so 5.5

3.0

Very sorry to hear that. Such terrible thing to happen to you. I "liked" your post but not the news...

8.5. It is lovely for a book so old.

I will go with 4.5 to 5.

Yes still attached at top staple. Thanks to all for your grades! Unfortunately, this is one of the worst two in my collection (of about 4500 books).

Excuse my ignorance, but how could it have been creased after being slabbed? Surely the reason for slabbing is to prevent any future damage.

Thanks! Though if they were in a bit better grade, I could retire now...

5 to 5.5

Following on from my FF #1 and X-Men #1 threads, here is the final tale of woe in the trilogy... I have seen a slabbed CGC 2.5 with a 2" x 1" chunk of the top RC missing and generally distressed, but not sure if this one can get that high...?

I may have got here too late but would it be possible for you to post individual shots of those books with different grades? It would be instructive for people to actually see in one place what different grades look like.

Well I hope I don't spoil it now with my entry to the Club... It looks pretty shabby. I bought it from a dodgy dealer in the '70s who probably thought he was safe in offloading it on an international customer.

It looked pretty good even before the press. Do you have a photo of it after the press but before it was slabbed? This would be instructive for those (like me) who have not seen what a clean and press can do.

3.5

I would have given it a 6. I guess I am not a purist as the back cover tear does not worry me much - who needs to see these old ads? If it's slabbed or in mylar the front cover will look great. Also I think the "Qualified" suggestion was for a "green label" grade. It is not about restoration, but about what the grade would have been if not for a major defect like that tear. I don't think you have to pay extra for that...?

4.5

3.5

Following on from my FF #1 thread, here is one of the other keys that I bought from that dodgy dealer. Interested in your thoughts...

Thanks to everyone for their grades! @Chaos_in_Canada I can see no evidence of a colour touch there, so probably just my bad photography skills.

Ouch! I just checked and my Iron Man run stopped at #53. In the words of Maxwell Smart, "missed it by that much!"

I agree with Morganmi, they should let you know. Was there anything specific in the notes? (FWIW I would have rated this a 5 to 5.5).

I got this back in the '70s. Back then, things were very different. You had to buy from dealers on trust; no pics; no grades; being in Australia meant about a 1 month turnaround between ordering and receiving. (Well maybe that last one is back again in these covid days...) Back then I was a student without much $, and buying FF#1 was about the most expensive thing I had bought. I was disappointed with the condition of this when I got it (and of other books in the same order that I will post later). I never ordered from that dealer again. What do you think? Also, could this be improved by cleaning? PS I wonder if anyone here knows of, or has anything from, the collection of Bob McCall? He must have been pretty keen if he had his own stamp made.