Can expert graders actually notice a difference on a 0.2 grade variation?

[Aman619]

sometimes the popcorn thing means "waiting for the other shoe to drop", or "too soon to tell"......

I myself have been fooled by letting my guard down..

[Aces]

I normaly use it when watching other members flame each other.

If the show is fun to watch that is...

[garthgantu]

I'll try to get this thread back on track, and at the same time expose myself (down Bug! Down boy!) to some potential ridicule by stating that, while I consider myself to be a consistent and tough grader after 30 years of gazing at comics, I don't believe I could accurately discern a .2 difference on a consistent basis.

 

That is to say, if you gave me a stack of high grade (9.4 - 10.0) books, and asked me to grade them, and then presented me with the same books the following day, the only way I'd be able to consistently grade them the same would be through mental tricks - memorizing where a given defect on a given cover is, for instance. When you consider that we're talking about differences in grade that could result from a comic's cover being opened slightly roughly, or place on the bottom of a stack vs. the top, it's easy to see why the answer to your question is basically "no." (Heck, a glance at the range of conditions among 20 CGCed books purportedly in "9.8" would bring you to the same conclusion, IMHO.)

 

Things get even murkier when you ask 'expert graders' to consider books from different eras... I don't think there's necessarily even any consensus on what constitutes a 9.6 for a Golden Age book, vs. 9.6 for a SA, BA, or modern. I think it IS safe to say that there are discrepancies in almost everyone's grading across eras, though - including CGC's.

[Foolkiller]

I don't think you're exposing yourself at all. I think I'm pretty good at grading, and I'd have the same thing happen... I'm not sure I could back to back days come up with the same grades on all the books. I think I'd be in the ballpark, but right every time, I doubt I would be.

[mlovest]

Excellent points, JC! Shipping really can wreck havok on comics evens packaged well and withing the CGC well. Ouch!

[garthgantu]

Interesting to consider that in some ways, shipping 'raw' comics might be safer than slabbed books. With raw books, you can really insulate them against any kind of bumping against the inside of the packagaging. With slabbed books, no matter how well you cushion the package interior, there's always going to be some free space within the slab itself...

 

I wonder if CGC has considered some sort of express line just for re-slabbing at shows? I realize they've got to re-grade the book in most (all?) cases, but this might cut down on any damage that's occuring inside the well of the case during shipping...