Does smell affect a books grade?

[Rocketeer]

This might be a stupid question, but if a book absorbs an odor ,would it have a bearing on the grade.

 

 

The reason i ask is cause i keep my cgc books in a closed unfinished wood cabinet. My wife has been busting my chops for a year now to stain it and i'm afraid if i do the books would after a while smell like the stain/varnish, so i've been stalling and stalling.

 

I remember as a kid i had some books that smelled like mothballs and i hated to even read them.

 

So I guess what i'm asking is if i send a nm graded book in to be re-slabbed 7 years from now and it stinks like cherry oak would it lower the grade?

[ninanina]

Overstreet advises in Fair/Good "Acidic odor my be present". Otherwise, no mention of odour is made. So, I don't think the odor your thinking about, would affect the grade. I am thinking any book that may smell this way, can be aired out anyway. But, other than Overstreet's comment, the rest is just an opinion.

[THE_BEYONDER]

[Aman619]

well, if you eat a lot of beans, dont store your comics in the cushions of your sofa.

[xrcst]

I do hate it when the books smell like cigarette smoke.

[Mephisto]

 

Beyonder would you buy a stinky book if the QP is awsome?

[Rocketeer]

 

Beyonder would you buy a stinky book if the QP is awsome?

 

and it stunk like mothballs?

[drdonaldblake]

overstreet has no formal statement on smell of a comic affectign grade but legend has it that some mile high experts can detect a mile high by smell alone

 

the hawkeyes dsicovered and stored in a mothball closet by joe smejkal have a characteristic odour to them also

 

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

 

Beyonder would you buy a stinky book if the QP is awsome?

 

Hmm....

 

If it had perfect QP......at least it wouldn't smell like a POS.

[murph0]

It might not have an affect on the grade, but if it's a strong smell, it would definately effect it's "sellability"

 

Brian

[Mephisto]

 

Beyonder would you buy a stinky book if the QP is awsome?

 

Hmm....

 

If it had perfect QP......at least it wouldn't smell like a POS.

 

But what if the book was stored in a barn? Then it might stink like a POS. I remember months ago a nasty FF 112 was on their that came from some guys parent's barn.

[THE_BEYONDER]

 

Beyonder would you buy a stinky book if the QP is awsome?

 

Hmm....

 

If it had perfect QP......at least it wouldn't smell like a POS.

 

But what if the book was stored in a barn? Then it might stink like a POS. I remember months ago a nasty FF 112 was on their that came from some guys parent's barn.

 

I thought I was being clever......apparently not.

[goldust40]

Smell may not affect a books' grade, but it does affect its' sellability. I've had books which looked FN but had a strong acrid aroma which put me off them - let alone any potential purchasers. As smell is the strongest memory trigger any books you own that have an acidic or musty stench will always be undermined and identified at least a little by this, as if they've been adulterated in some way due to inadequate storage.

 

As for grade, it's a long term thing. A high grade book that smells like a POS may look great, but may also be in a more advanced state of deterioration. Again an archive expert would help. Mothballs aren't as bad as some odors, but I guess it all boils down to taste- in my case it bothers me. Not a stupid question at all!

[towards2112]

Tried sprinkling baking soda in an old copy of Whiz years ago that had

a VERY acidic smell to it. Pages were tan, but very supple.

Lightly dusted the powder inbetween every page, sealed it up in

a zip bag for the weekend. Took the smell away for about a week,

but the process was far more work than a $50 book was worth,

and end results didn't last long. Cheap pulp = high acid.

[ArnoldTBlumberg]

The references to a vinegar or pickle odor in the Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide indicate when a book has become highly acidic and the paper has begun to break down severely. The result is often a detectable odor. So the smell itself is not really the cause of downgrading, but it is a symptom of something happening to the paper that *is* cause for downgrading.

 

...And if your comic has a light, buttery, vanilla smell, then it's automatically Gem Mint, even if three quarters of the book is missing.

 

 

Arnold

[goldust40]

The references to a vinegar or pickle odor in the Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide indicate when a book has become highly acidic and the paper has begun to break down severely. The result is often a detectable odor. So the smell itself is not really the cause of downgrading, but it is a symptom of something happening to the paper that *is* cause for downgrading.

 

...And if your comic has a light, buttery, vanilla smell, then it's automatically Gem Mint, even if three quarters of the book is missing.

 

 

Arnold

 

Sounds like the comic you're describing is good enough to eat

[CosmicBob]

It might not have an affect on the grade, but if it's a strong smell, it would definately effect it's "sellability"

 

Brian

 

Then explain why greggy is able to sell so many books?

[garthgantu]

New premium service for CGC: slabs with little xmas tree air-fresheners enclosed!

"Give your GA beauty that 'new comic smell' !"

[shiverbones]

conversely, what about a comic that still maintains that INCREDIBLE newstand fresh smell. I have recently come across a large collection of late 70's DC's that all smell EXACTLY like a new book used to. I had thought all my books smelled like that, but after smelling these, i was hit in the face & now know the difference. Its powerful!

[read_em-migration]

Arnold - what about Lance Shoeman's proposed "odor chart" from the latest Grading Guide?