StyleMantis

Ok ok I think I understand. So this is legit, but by the nature of the practice of getting pristine books, unintentional (or intentional) shady things happen due to necessary overrun. For sake of hypotheticals to entertain a modern age noob like me to understand these variants: 1) Let's say 10 years from now, this book of "250 9.8 CBCS" is selling for $1000. A raw one comes up, gets graded by CGC at 9.8. Would one assume it would be worth around $1000 as well? or would it be less because it is no longer "certified" in its original numbered form? or would it be more because it's a shady "mystery" copy? 2) Assume you're not in it for the speculation value (for the most part, but let's be real, money is money). Let's say you love the art/artist, the character or whatever. Would you get the "legit" copy (in this case) for $150? Or would you go for a raw copy for say $50 (also knowing it's most likely not a 9.8)? In my case, I like the idea that it is rare and I intend on keeping it for years and giving it to a grandkid some day. I'm not buying it and expecting it to appreciate much in value. But I don't want to buy an "uncertified" one that I know is going to NEVER appreciate in value. Does that make sense? 3) We established that the 250 is most likely not entirely truthful. But if we say for example, there's 250 certified and another 750 "floating" around. Because this is all make believe anyway, and only the original seller knows, does it even matter? Don't collectors have to assume they are very rare due to the relative scarcity? Sorry if all these questions have already been asked before, but I can't seem to find them online anywhere. Thanks so much so far for all the advice.

Ok this is NOT the book, but it is being sold in the exact same way: https://amorphousink.com/products/weapon-x-11-dellotto-variant-featuring-x-23?variant=2670856175645 The virgin variant is only sold graded, with a 250 run. So let's imagine this book, raw being sold on ebay. And two other versions of it graded CGC. The original seller was Frankies comics and that group (7 ate 9, etc.). Again, if I'm being stupid for not saying which book it is - let me know. I'll be really disappointed though if I found a cheap version of it that someone snatched up, however.

Don't want to post just yet, because #1 I'm still considering buying it (again, I like it mostly for the art vs. the value) and #2 if we determine it is some sort of a scam or whatever, I don't want to encourage this practice. Is that fair or am I being silly here? And yes, it was graded by the "other" company, not CGC. But I did some further digging and there are now two versions of this cover graded by CGC - one a 9.6 and the other a 9.8. But again, none of these should have been available raw for CGC to grade (according to the original seller).

I'm not new to comics - I rediscovered the fun of them when I found my old collection as a kid. But I don't understand how some things work these days, so hopefully you can clarify. There's a book I'd like to buy that was ONLY issued as a graded 9.8 version. There was a limited run, so there are only so many out there - and they are numbered. No raw variants of this comic should be available. It is therefore expensive. To my surprise, on Ebay there's someone selling this book, ungraded. There's another one also being sold as well, but it is with a different grading company than the original limited run. Neither have the limited run print numbers like the "original" batch. Both are cheaper than the original run, but not by much. So what's the deal? Speculation aside (maybe they are copies that should have been destroyed, or they broke the case or whatever), If the original run of these books are numbered - and these are not - how do these get valued? Are they not worth as much (assuming they were re-graded at the same 9.8)? Or is it like a signed comic that the grading company didn't see get signed? Not worth as much? I'm just curious because I'm still debating whether I like the limited run variant idea or if I hate it. I can see how stores may not be not entirely truthful about how many are produced (or have shady people at the printers that steal some copies). What I do love is the art, which is in the end the real reason I'm considering the book to begin with. Thanks so much for any thoughts on this!

Totally get it - and I'd rather be conservative and be happily surprised than the other way around. I'm in the process of figuring out which books to send in, so knowing especially which ones can be helped with a clean & pressing is a great help. Thanks again!

I see I see. I'm quickly learning how impossible it is to get a 9.8 unless you never touched the book since day one....

Thanks so much for responding - if you are thinking this is an 8.5, what areas should I be looking at for defects? To my eyes this is a very very clean book, but is it just that the corners (LR and upper left) aren't 90 degree sharp edges? Just trying to learn. Thanks so much.

And one more for me to learn from. I'm trying to find a high grade comic in my collection. Thanks so much!

Another one for me to learn from. Thanks so much. This has been a pretty humbling experience knowing that I should have taken better care of these as a kid ;-)

As I'm new to this, I'm just trying to nail down some comics that might nab me a good grading. Thanks so much for your help with this!

Mostly because of that back cover correct? Just trying to learn and get a feel for this....

I have a feeling this one is going to get beat up pretty bad because of the back, but it looks to be in otherwise great shape. That line in the upper left corner isn't a crease, it's a mark of some sort. Care to give me an idea what grade this might get?

Thanks you guys - it really helps to understand why things are graded what they are. You guys are great!

I see - so it might make sense if I'm planning to keep it for years to come. Never thought about that, but it definitely makes sense vs. slapping it back in the box. So much more research I have to do. Thanks so much!

Also to note, some of the pages stick out slightly (seen in bottom right corner) which looks like how it's originally stapled. Thanks so much!