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9.4 Grades slipping?

Started by centipede,

15 posts in this topic

centipede

centipede

Posted
Posted

I am a big fan of CGC. Contrary to statements by detractors, I believe the company has given the industry a needed shot in the arm, and added legitimacy to the hobby. For years I was afraid to buy comics on Ebay as they would always arrive overgraded. That NM comic would always turn out to be a VF. When CGC arrived I started buying again, with confidence. Depending on the comic I collect between CGC 9.4s and 9.8s as a rule. I could rarely find anything significantly wrong with any of the comics I received in those grades. Recently, just in the 9.4 range, I'm starting to see things that I didn't see previously in the 9.4 grade. Like multiple creases, or more significant creases. The cases in my examples are in perfect condition, untampered with. I even called for grader's notes in two cases and they matched what I was seeing. Perhaps this is just my experience based on a small sample of what's really out there. Has anyone else seen slippage in the 9.4 grade, or am I worrying too much? Maintaining grading standards is important to every collector, so I figured this was at least worth posting for some feedback. :)

 

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dekeuk

dekeuk

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I would EXPECT to be able to see defects on a 9.4 comic

 

Maybe the first 9.4's you got were just exceptional and should have been graded 9.6

 

I collect Batman 9.8's and even on those I can see defects (usually production errors like tiny spine splits at the top and bottom of the spine)

 

If you can't see any defects on a 9.4 then you start wondering why it was not a 9.6 or 9.8

 

 

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Bomber-Bob

Bomber-Bob

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I do not believe there is slippage on 9.4 grades.

I agree with the comment that I should be able to see a defect on a 9.4, otherwise I start wondering. Let's face it a 9.4 will have a couple defects. It's all in what bothers you or what you are looking for. I used to be a spine guy, prefering books with no spine creases. Recently, I have been conentrating more on the corners.

When I look back at my 9.4 perfect spine copies, I now 'suddenly' notice the corner defects. They were always there but they simply didn't bother me before.

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akaSteveRogers

akaSteveRogers

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Let's face it a 9.4 will have a couple defects. It's all in what bothers you or what you are looking for. I used to be a spine guy, prefering books with no spine creases. Recently, I have been conentrating more on the corners.

When I look back at my 9.4 perfect spine copies, I now 'suddenly' notice the corner defects. They were always there but they simply didn't bother me before.

 

I thought I was the only one... :insane:

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centipede

centipede

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Thanks for the ongoing feedback on this topic. I'm in agreement with your comments that there will be some defects on a 9.4, and that you always continue to progress as a grader. I also agree with the comment that I am a spine guy (although I do also like sharp corners). Having said that, I currently have 30 comics graded at 9.4 and the last 3 that I purchased are perhaps the least pristine of the group (including two of the Wolverine Ltd series with as many as 3-4 spine dings each). All have grading dates in the last few months. That's why my alarm bells went off. The odds of that happening seemed a little unlikely. I feel reassured by the fact that nobody else has seen a trend in this area, it's probably just a matter of what you personally look for in a comic (spine, corners, cover gloss etc.) Call it luck of the draw. Although I won't stop buying 9.4 comics, I may start concentrating a little more in the 9.6 to 9.8 range as I've been very happy with all of the comics I purchased or sent in for grading in that range.

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dekeuk

dekeuk

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I used to be a spine guy, prefering books with no spine creases. Recently, I have been conentrating more on the corners.

 

 

 

Is that because you can press out the bent corners but can't press out color breaking spine stress? :baiting:

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Jumpmaster

Jumpmaster

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mess Happens! Deal with it! Sometimes I wonder WTF! I Just received a Secret Invasion Sketch Variant #3 in 8.0 I could not explain why it is an 8.0. Most of the time, when I send in a submission, I send 30 books. Most of them grade 9.6-9.8. But, there is always one book that grades low as hell for no obvious reason. And, When I only send 10-15 books on a submission, there are more books that grade lower than expected, I seriously think that the fewer books you send the lower they will grade as you are paying less for grading fees, just my 2 cents. I have sent many books in and that is my experience though. Every time I max out a sub form, all the books grade higher! ODD? I think so.

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divad

divad

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mess Happens! Deal with it! Sometimes I wonder WTF! I Just received a Secret Invasion Sketch Variant #3 in 8.0 I could not explain why it is an 8.0. Most of the time, when I send in a submission, I send 30 books. Most of them grade 9.6-9.8. But, there is always one book that grades low as hell for no obvious reason. And, When I only send 10-15 books on a submission, there are more books that grade lower than expected, I seriously think that the fewer books you send the lower they will grade as you are paying less for grading fees, just my 2 cents. I have sent many books in and that is my experience though. Every time I max out a sub form, all the books grade higher! ODD? I think so.

 

This is such Krap, I can't even believe I took the time to read it, never mind respond. . . . meh

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dekeuk

dekeuk

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I seriously think that the fewer books you send the lower they will grade as you are paying less for grading fees, just my 2 cents.

 

 

Graders only see one book at a time, they have no idea if the book was sent in by itself, or part of a set of 1000 comics that were sent to CGC all at once. At least that is what we have been told....

 

 

 

 

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