Upgrayedd2

I’m curious if CLINK provides a lot-style option. 

On 9/25/2022 at 9:48 PM, O Doyle Rules said:

If so, any educated guesses to the how much the comic can be improved? For example can the extreme spine roll be corrected? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks to all who reply!

 

 

 

 

I hope your user name is based on Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia. 
As Tony stated, it requires an evaluation to determine if it’s ‘safe’ for a C&P. A forum member recently documented how CGC returned a submission for C&P due to the condition. In short, they believed the comic would gain additional damage during the process. 
Best of luck with the path you choose. 

On 9/29/2022 at 1:30 PM, Tony S said:

Count me among the group that believes grading notes are largely useless. I've been sending in books to CGC since the beginning - and over the years have come to the opinion people see them as FAR more useful than they really are. Perhaps the one thing collectors/CGC customers need to understand is this:  The grading notes are not nor ever have been an exhaustive  list of every single defect. Instead they represent simply what the graders took the time to write down. I've seen countless examples of books that the reason it graded 8.0 is  small color breaking corner crease - and that's not even in the notes. Instead the notes are "light spine stresses" or "light bends to cover". Which have practically become the cut and paste of "it's not NM and and I have to give a reason why so here you go." 

The only grading notes that are useful are the ones that mention defects you can no longer see as a result of the book being encapsulated. That way you don't break a book out to regrade only to discover a light stain on the front cover only visible from the inside of the cover. 

The G.I. Joe is most likely a mistake. It is so far off that the grade was probably intended for a different copy and it just got the wrong label. It's why CGC wants the book back to regrade.  The Strange Tales more likely a reflection of really inconsistent grading right now.  For TAT's to have improved like they have on Moderns and Economy if fast tracked, either there a LOT of new graders or people are being pushed to grade much faster. Maybe both.  What is...ironic.... to me is that IMHO CGC is way, way strict on  NM and better grades. I have 9.4's from a decade ago that don't look as nice - to me anyway - as 8.5's and 9.0's I have been seeing the last six months.  You are a new grader. You want a reputation of being too loose or too strict?  So the occasional book that comes through noticeably over graded stands out. 

Agreeing to disagree is cool with me as well  

Lots of great points and love how you share without judgement. Absolutely agree how Grader Notes (sometimes?) do not accurately capture defects. Such a bummer. 
From a differing perspective, I recommend supporting those who want to see Grader Notes for all submissions (whether those begin at 9.6 or below will be left for another discussion) because we are one community. And if you support their cause they should in turn support yours. I sometimes fail to follow my own guidance because of that pesky ego. So for now I say stand by those who want the Notes and share with those how they can help support a comic cause close to you. 

On 9/29/2022 at 3:30 PM, Phill the Governor said:

Aside from my own skepticism about the UV light bleaching... what are board thoughts on this?

 

 

I've seen countless people on Instagram claiming to have used this and received only blue labels afterwards.

My initial thoughts are that it's a wet-cleaning which should result in Conserved labels.. but don't? Any insight?

 

 

Great question but I believe it requires 2 separate questions: (1) lights only and (2) lights + chemical whitening  

The trend for answers will be based on whether you’re a collector or someone whose primary goal is to generate income.

Furthermore, there’s members who consider C&P restoration.  Until there’s statistical proof using light or lights + whitening and encapsulation leads to page degradation, I say, “go for it.” The only way anyone will know is to crack out a comic which was exposed to lights or lights + whitening. A rather lengthy experiment requiring cracking comics at 1, 5, 10 or more year intervals and the same experiment for comics not being encapsulated. 

So much to consider. 

On 9/28/2022 at 11:18 AM, Mijael.Levy said:

This book was stolen by a Fedex employe. It was headed to Oklahoma. It was held a couple of days at Memphis. Box arrived empty . Buyer bough from me many times and has good reputation in the comunity.

The book can be easily recognisable. There aren't many copies and it has a stain mark next to the top staple. If you see it slabed or unslabed please contact me

Levy. Maybe I missed it in the details but what’s leading you to believe the carrier stole the comic? By this I mean did the box arrive with signs it had been opened and then resealed?

I make a video of every comic I receive as I open it. This is to protect myself and the seller. I comment on any damage to the shipping container as I unpack the comic. 
 

in addition, I make a video of myself packaging what I sell and turning it over to the shipper. This is in case someone should ever try the, “I received a Bo’s with a rock in it.” 

So glad you took pics prior to submitting 

Side Note 

I agree with everyone’s comments above but would like to add, “take pictures of the comic before you submit it”. 

On 9/27/2022 at 2:18 PM, JD112868 said:

Do they remove it from the polybag ?  

For example I have X-Force #1 with Deadpool card.  How would they grade it and encapsulate it.

thanks in advance

Out of curiosity, separately submit the poly bag. I bet they will grade and encase it. 

I’ve seen amazing results by some local collectors, lights-only, followed by the commensurate CGC paper grades. Problems arise when someone gets overzealous and tries to jump more than one page quality. Getting a comic from say, “light tan to white” to “off white” is easily achieved. But much like other cleaning and pressing procedures, skill and experience go a long way. 
 

Best of luck to all who try. And please to share before and after pics. 

On 9/28/2022 at 11:45 AM, Dr. Balls said:

Two routes to go on that Joe:

1. It never sells because no one even looking at it would pay a 9.6 price or

2. It sells to someone with Mr. Magoo-level eyesight and when they finally see it in-hand, they are unable to return it due to seller policy.

In any case, CGC wins, everyone else loses.

3. And another 9.6 is added to the registry 

On 9/27/2022 at 8:40 PM, Robert Doggett said:

CGC/Blackstone,

Please return back to your days of integrity.  I am so tired of seeing grades all over the map that shouldn't belong to the books that are encapsulated in the same case.  I have two examples, both within the last few months to show the lack of attention, professionalism and management needed to run a successful company.  I realize CGC must have hired a LOT of unskilled graders to push out the moderns at record speed.  Hence the 20 day turnaround times.  I get it, you want your customers to get their books back quickly.  As a customer (I can't speak for everyone, mind you),I want quality over quantity every time.  If you speed up the process without jeopardizing the accuracy of the grading, I think the mass majority would be all in for that.

I realize that some people are going to call me whiner, cryer, spoiled brat for not getting the grade I wanted.  Life isn't fair and all that jazz, but I discount those comments because those will most likely be the CGC fanboys, the ones that will defend CGC tooth and nail.  I'm tired of the inaccurate grading and the laziness of the staff to perform some sort of quality control.  Books graded 9.4 and below should have some kind of grader notes to identify issues with books.  Keeping in mind that 9.8 is not a perfect book and there is room for a slight flaw here and there.

Grades have been harsh on most books lately.  I took a big hit on my Moon Knight run because of strict grading.  I didn't complain, just kind of rolled with the punches.  I probably lost a grand on them due to the uncalled for low grades but I live and learn daily.  It's a part of life.

The first book I wanted to talk about is a Marvel Team-Up I submitted that was flawless.  Bright colors, sharp corners, perfectly flat, not a spine tick in it anywhere.  I am thinking about sending it back in to get it regraded because I believe it deserves a 9.8.  Because of this, I am not stating an issue number or posting pics of it.  

The second is Warlock 19.  Spine ticks pretty consistent down the spine of the book with several color breaks along the way.  The bottom left corner is blunted.  I question how this book gets by CGC's quality control.

 

 

And lastly, this GI Joe.  I have been contacted by CGC about this book to be resubmitted free of charge and graded properly.  Since it is not my book, all I could do was contact the owner and they refused to resubmit it due to principal.  

 

Neither one of these books that are pictured should have left CGC as they were.  This is a gross failure on many people's part and for them to get by everyone is shameful!  So some books get graded harshly, others unexplainably soft.  For me, it's a spoon shoot as to what grade I'm going to get.  It's making me shy away from grading for the time being.  I can grade better than the employees they have doing this at the moment.  Why pay for THIS service?  

I just want CGC to recognize the books that are leaving their offices and possibly have a senior grader skim over the books that the untrained grader has attempted to grade.  This should not ever happen.

Stepping down from my soapbox.

 

 

Yes and yes and yes to Grader Notes for anything below 9.8. 

Ha! I came across the same thing and, fortunately, found this post. The pictures make is look must worse and as if it could be the comic book pages. But when you hold it in your hand and look along the entire edge, you can clearly see it's the micro-chamber sheet. No biggie.

On 9/12/2022 at 6:07 AM, jason4 said:

He said the missing books from comic shipments are happening to all his friends too. smh. I hope ebay does not side with him. The weight on the delivery is almost 3 pounds. Give me a break. 

Request the name and details of "said" instances of missing books and capture his response. This is all fodder for your case.

On 9/12/2022 at 9:16 AM, Courageous Cat said:

This would be my worst fear realized and I don't know how u could prove that it actually made it to the buyer

I make a video of the packaging process and turning the item over to USPS/UPS/FedEx for high value comics. I inform the buyer and request they record unpacking. It takes time, but after seeing this same problem occur to friends who sold electronics, it puts this behavior to rest. And for what it's worth, I record the opening of any high value comic I purchase. 

So sad we have to take these steps.

I recommend you find as many people as possible who have had/reported problems with the buyer and hopefully eBay will listen and take action.

Awesome. And thank you for providing the submission/order numbers. I can now see the status. Today is day 247, but only 177 business days. I can patiently wait.

Have a great day.

I equally understand and not understand this disparity of CGC verified signatures by collectors. We only have ourselves to blame when scoffing at what could be a verified signature, but not a "CGC verified." However, if you're someone who does not care, it's a gold mine for you.

I recall when pursuing non-U.S. comic variants was not a thing. That was until I came across several collectors who love finding these. Maybe some day we'll look back and wonder why we didn't buy the Hungarian-languaged ASM we saw.

Happy hunting. And...beautiful copy of GS X-Men #1.

Gotta agree with Grend (above). Who knows, maybe you'll come across a cover one day.

On 9/12/2022 at 4:45 PM, The Meta said:

Are qtips a good tool to use for this type of application?

I believe the q-tip material would get stuck to the gunk.

On 9/12/2022 at 3:36 PM, joeypost said:

The white looks like you lifted some of the ink off. Is the area raised?

I am unable to determine what the white is. Hopefully once I get additional feedback on how to proceed with removing the gunk, I will be able to determine what the white portion is.

Greetings,

I noticed today that my submissions no longer appear. CGC received the packages on 10JAN2022. Actually, only one appears (order confirmation number CGC0343771657). This Order Number refers to my complete submission. What I am looking for are the Economy submissions:

(1) Order# CGC9799171023 (1 comic)

(2) Submission Number 3989083 (5 comics)

(3) Submission Number 3989084 (8 comics). 

I see the note that submissions greater than 8 months no longer appear and I must use the search option...but, when I enter a confirmation number I get an error stating, "order not found."

Can you please provide me with an update?

Thank you.

On 9/11/2022 at 6:26 AM, Catwomancomics said:

Looks like a small stain.

 

Edit:   thanks for posting that info on the book.  I checked for the graders notes and was shocked that there wasn't any.  I couldn't figure out why the book got such a low grade at first. I kept looking at all the edges and corners.  Then I thought maybe in was in the interior of the book.  I gave up.  Few weeks later, I decided to scan the book and then I saw it. I quickly went back through my pictures of the books I sent in and realized that it wasn't there before.

Bummer. Yet another example, with no explanation, of CGC;'s failure to not provide Grader Notes. I hope the community to brings up each example of the missing notes. Would be great to see Grader Notes as a requirement for all submitted comics. At least for any comic receiving a grade less than a 9.8.

PS - I also scan all comics before submitting them for grading.

I used a heat gun on low. It took less than 3 seconds for the gunk to detach from the comic book cover. 

Here is a close up of the gunk. It feels sticky. The best way to describe it is if you scrapped the sticky part of tape and applied it to the cover. I cannot tell what the small white area is on the right. It could be part of the gunk or pulling of color from the cover.

At this point, I have t figure out how to proceed. The two recommendations I've received from forum members are: (1) naphtha or (2) kneaded rubber eraser. Still thinking about it. I will also reach out to the seller to see what they think.

On 9/4/2022 at 1:02 PM, Artboy99 said:

What grade of book did you purchase? I ask because that sticky residue is definitely on the book and you may be better off simply returning the book as it is rather than trying to "fix" it. You may not have received what you purchased in the first place.

The seller graded the book at a 5. To me, that's a conservative grade. The only items (beside the gunk) are ticks along the spine at the staples, color breaking crease above the DC logo, barely visible crease on bottom right. Other than those items, there are no creases, finger bends or any other visible discrepancies on the front cover. As for the back, super, super clean. No creases or defects.

The seller has already offered to fully compensate me for the purchase. In addition, they also agreed to let me try to remove the comic from the bag and then removed the gunk from the cover. They said if at anytime the comic is damaged, they would refund me the full amount. 

As you can see, I've successfully removed the comic from the bag.

I recently received a comic book from a store. They are great and I've been doing business with them for years.

When I tried to remove the comic, it would not come out. Thankfully, from learned lessons in the past, I chose to not force it and instead investigate why it's stuck. It appears a section of the cover is stuck to the comic bag (circled in blue in photos). It looks like a piece of tape. The store that sold it to me has agreed to refund my money if, in the process, a piece of the cover detaches and/or the comic gets damaged. At this point, I'm in it more for the adventure. I want to see if I can (1) detach the cover from the comic bag unscathed (2) identify what is stuck to the cover (3) remove it from the cover.

I am looking for any suggestions. My initial though it to slowly apply heat and work up the temp to see if that will detach the cover from the bag.

Thanks in advanced.

On 8/27/2022 at 9:34 AM, Tnexus said:

I hate when people say this garbage. There's not a labor problem in this country, there's a wages problem. If you pay garbage wages, you're going to get garbage employees.

A full time CGC submission specialist makes $15-$17 an hour based on the CGC job listing. That's about $2350 a month minus taxes (approximate). A 1 bedroom apartment costs about $1300 a month in Fort Lauderdale. That's 54% of living expenses just in rent alone. That doesn't include school, food, gas, phone, bills, outings, family, etc. CGC can pull in almost $1000 alone with just one 25 modern FT submission that takes what? maybe three to four hours of total labor from start to finish?

So yeah, I wouldn't care either if I was being paid like that.

(Apologies for the tangent, now back to our scheduled post.)

My mom got her degree at a private university in California. She paid for her tuition by working during the summer and a few weeks during the winter break. That same university now charges $83,000 a year (tuition and room). Would love to see how many students (who now get loans) can generate that income with today's wages.