To crack or not to crack - what is your opinion on cracking slabs?

[sterlingcomics]

Do what feels right for you.

 

Let me add one piece of advice. NEVER crack a 9.9 or 10.

 

That sums it up nicely for me.

[alecholland]

Nope. I just 'em when I'm horny.

 

Do you insert in the FRONT or BACK cover?

With a handle like peewee22, does it really matter?

 

Doc,

 

I'm gonna put the brakes on after that comment. This guy deserves his thread to stay clean and focused on the slabbing subject.

 

See you around.

 

- Brannon

 

I don't mind if Doc does unspeakables with his comics. Might be why all his books have white pages.

[CAMERANIAC]

Nope. I just 'em when I'm horny.

 

Do you insert in the FRONT or BACK cover?

With a handle like peewee22, does it really matter?

 

Doc,

 

I'm gonna put the brakes on after that comment. This guy deserves his thread to stay clean and focused on the slabbing subject.

 

See you around.

 

- Brannon

 

I don't mind if Doc does unspeakables with his comics. Might be why all his books have white pages.

[Guest]

I am considering cracking two high grade SA slabs because the books have an overhang past the pages. The edges are like a straight razor and the corners are perfect. The books are also moving freely in the inner well by a few mm's and all it will take is a couple of bumps for those perfect corners (and maybe even the top edge) to fold. In the interest of protecting these books, I may liberate them.

[nik]

That is the only reason I would ever crack out a book

[CAMERANIAC]

That is the only reason I would ever crack out a book

I agree (thumbs u

[VintageComics]

If you are never in a position where you want to resell then crack it out. There's more to a comic than just the cover. I want to crack all my GA books but am afraid that if I need to sell in a pinch (and I have lots of those, believe you me) It may hinder their ability to sell. On the other hand I have a few books that where cracked before I bought them and I do enjoy them every chance I get!

 

R.

 

 

[jimjum12]

Most of the Golden age that I get are books I buy because of the interior work so I usually do open those...I.E. S&K ,Lou Fine,Timely's ,etc. but most are mid grade or less...SA I usually keep in the case.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[VintageComics]

Like that Batman #32 I got from you, Jim. Louise and I read that book from time to time...and yes CGC missed the notation that the book contains the origin of Robin.

 

(thumbs u

[jimjum12]

Like that Batman #32 I got from you, Jim. Louise and I read that book from time to time...and yes CGC missed the notation that the book contains the origin of Robin.

 

(thumbs u

It's a very early Robin origin maybe the second.Still very affordable in Guide.Who can argue with Robinson AND Sprang in the same book?GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

P.S. Sprang always viewed himself as a fine artist forced to do comics because it paid the bills.He really let his hair down when he did those Professor Nichols time travel stories.I think it would be psychologically impossible for me NOT to break the slab

[COI]

If you are never in a position where you want to resell then crack it out. There's more to a comic than just the cover. I want to crack all my GA books but am afraid that if I need to sell in a pinch (and I have lots of those, believe you me) It may hinder their ability to sell. On the other hand I have a few books that where cracked before I bought them and I do enjoy them every chance I get!

 

R.

 

 

GA is a little different because usually the book in question is a low or mid-grade and since reprints are not as readily available, you'd have to crack many GA books if you wanted to see what was in them.

 

If you're collecting SA Marvels in higher grades you have options in terms of reprints as well as cheap reader copies, so there's really no good logical reason to crack those books outside of what Grails mentioned.

[chromium]

I've cracked over 250 slabs and will continue cracking till I die... I buy the books to read.

 

I don't want read reprints, HCs or TPBs...I want to read, and equally important smell, the original book. Nothing beats the feeling of reading a book that was printed over years ago and thinking about the little kid that picked it up with his 10 or 12 cents and was blown away for a little while.

 

I love the feel of the old paper, the battle scars showing what the book has been through, reading the old letters, Stan's Soapbox, the editorial comments, the wishy-washy explanations why they had to use a reprint story last month or why they'll have to raise the cover price etc etc...

 

Plus the books look a lot better in a nice mylar than they'll ever do in a clunky slab.

 

The financial aspect mentioned isn't really that important to me, not only because I only buy what I want (to keep) but also because I have no market or avenue to sell.

I mainly buy mid-grade books and with a little effort I hardly ever pay a premium for a CGC book. If the book I'm looking for can be bought for the same price slabbed or raw (which is often the case for books in the 3.0 - 6.0 range) I'll get the slabbed book every time.

Mainly because of the resto check, but also because I'll know the book has no hidden defects and is (close to) the grade given. Because of my geographical "problems" I never get to inspect a book in hand before I buy it, so CGC has been a godsend as they basically perform these tasks for me.

 

I'm not interested in buying high grade books, basically because I don't consider them books anymore, but collectibles or even investments (not that there's anything wrong with that) and it would serve no purpose reading these books, let alone crack them out of the slab.

[He11blazer]

I've got a few crackers!

 

 

If you don't live in the UK, you probably now think I've gone peculiar...

 

 

[namisgr]

I'm with Chromium. The only reason NOT to crack out a book is if it's for re-sale. They look so much better in mylar, you can look through them (heck, even read the suckers!), smell the freshness of the newsprint, and they take up alot less space.

 

Disclosure: I was a serial cracker in the earliest days of CGC.

[minty_fresh-migration]

[lizards2]

I've got a few crackers!

 

 

If you don't live in the UK, you probably now think I've gone peculiar...

 

 

Wallace and Grommit are pretty popular here in the States as well :thumbsup:

[Dick Pontoon]

Well, Chromium saved me the trouble of trying to coherently explain my reasons for cracking. (thumbs u I've opened all of mine, except for 2 I haven't had time to get to yet. Although I do have a 9.0 Strange Tales coming; I'm curious to see if that will pose a dilemma when the times comes.

[rjpb]

The only reasons I see not to crack

 

1) The possibility one might decide to resell in the short term.

 

2) High grade - especially if an inexpensive reader is available.

 

3) Gift grade that would likely be jeopardized on resubmission, and no one would accept raw

 

 

I prefer the look of books in mylar, and like to take them out on occaisson. If I were to win the lottery and could afford anything, I would likely buy 6.0-8.0 GA for the most part, and keep them raw, perhaps with a high grade slabbed copy here and there of a favorite book as a duplicate.

[nik]

My main reason for not cracking books that are HG out is to prevent people that come over and want t handle my raw books

 

Thay can touch/handle/play with the slabbed ones all they want

[alecholland]

My main reason for not cracking books that are HG out is to prevent people that come over and want t handle my raw books

 

Thay can touch/handle/play with the slabbed ones all they want

 

Can they shake them like a snow globe?