Why do Anti-Pressers HATE pressing?

[prez]

If you're going through grandpa's attic and find a dusty stack of comics with an AF15 on top, covered in dust, then would the purists here say that blowing the dust off the book would be "restoration"?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay since you both seem challenged by coming up with an answer, let me be more direct:

 

Where does cleaning end and restoration begin? Be specific.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well with your analogy,wiping dust off of an attic find is one thing. Using chemicals to clean it is another.

Look, people can do what they want with their books,but don't kid yourself that you're not enhancing a book.

Just because a grading company says it isn't, doesn't mean you're not.

 

Not all cleaning is done with chemicals

 

Pressing has collapsed values of some books. One example Incredible Hulk 181 in 9.8 before pressing was a 30K book, now not so much.

 

 

When and where were hulk 181s selling for 30K? the highest one I can find is on heritage from 2009 at 26k and compared to others sold around the same time its already insanely over priced. I know the 26k has white pages but really wp is worth 9k extra?

 

 

In 2003 a 9.8 sold for 17k, not sure where these 30k 9.8s are at

 

 

There's a 9.8 WHITE that sold for just over $11k back in Feb 20, 2015.

 

Not sure if the increase of high grade copies in the market is due to rampant cleaning and pressing, but it sux to be the guy who forked out $26k for a 9.8 WHITE in 2009.

 

 

 

 

[BarryAllen]

If you're going through grandpa's attic and find a dusty stack of comics with an AF15 on top, covered in dust, then would the purists here say that blowing the dust off the book would be "restoration"?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay since you both seem challenged by coming up with an answer, let me be more direct:

 

Where does cleaning end and restoration begin? Be specific.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well with your analogy,wiping dust off of an attic find is one thing. Using chemicals to clean it is another.

Look, people can do what they want with their books,but don't kid yourself that you're not enhancing a book.

Just because a grading company says it isn't, doesn't mean you're not.

 

Not all cleaning is done with chemicals

 

Pressing has collapsed values of some books. One example Incredible Hulk 181 in 9.8 before pressing was a 30K book, now not so much.

 

 

When and where were hulk 181s selling for 30K? the highest one I can find is on heritage from 2009 at 26k and compared to others sold around the same time its already insanely over priced. I know the 26k has white pages but really wp is worth 9k extra?

 

 

In 2003 a 9.8 sold for 17k, not sure where these 30k 9.8s are at

 

 

There's a 9.8 WHITE that sold for just over $11k back in Feb 20, 2015.

 

Not sure if this has anything to do with the increase in high grade copies in the market due to rampant cleaning and pressing, but it sux to be the guy who forked out $26k for a 9.8 WHITE in 2009.

 

 

 

 

Hard to pin the existence of multiple high grade copies of such a recently printed book on pressing... Sure, pressing does increase the number - but without any facts this isnt a book I would lean into that argument on.

[BarryAllen]

I will pay extra $ for a virgin, undefiled, "un-pressed" CGC book

 

My answer is both Yes and No to your comment. While is nice to own a virgin, undefiled, "in-pressed" CGC book. FYI, I own at lease baker's dozen of these.

 

But...I always find a raw virgin undefiled, "un-pressed" book with greater thrill than a sealed CGC book. Every time I find a very nice clean raw book brought. I can't explain why but I like the smell and feeling the cover and pages, the smile on my face...

 

Like I had my first date.

 

(read as William Shatner)

 

So much here..., so hard to resist memes and mockery...

 

[jcjames]

 

Here I thought it would be a good thing to present a classic book in the best appearance possible without altering the original material, inks, paper or staples of the book itself?

 

 

I agree with your statement and, though I prefer an unpressed book, I am okay with a properly pressed book. However, the advanced pressing techniques we are seeing today sometimes do alter the original structure of the book. Staple tucks, spine realignment, right edge fanning is not what I call originality. Also, with all the home pressing going on, I see a lot more brown edges,staple tears, and misaligned books than ever. A properly pressed book, done by a professional, can make a dramatic improvement on a book. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

 

I agree that the increase in DIY home-pressing has probably damaged many books, and those are apparent from their damages that you mentioned (and those would affect the grade right?).

 

But shouldn't a book that was properly professionally pressed be indistinguishable from one that wasn't?

 

[prez]

If you're going through grandpa's attic and find a dusty stack of comics with an AF15 on top, covered in dust, then would the purists here say that blowing the dust off the book would be "restoration"?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay since you both seem challenged by coming up with an answer, let me be more direct:

 

Where does cleaning end and restoration begin? Be specific.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well with your analogy,wiping dust off of an attic find is one thing. Using chemicals to clean it is another.

Look, people can do what they want with their books,but don't kid yourself that you're not enhancing a book.

Just because a grading company says it isn't, doesn't mean you're not.

 

Not all cleaning is done with chemicals

 

Pressing has collapsed values of some books. One example Incredible Hulk 181 in 9.8 before pressing was a 30K book, now not so much.

 

 

When and where were hulk 181s selling for 30K? the highest one I can find is on heritage from 2009 at 26k and compared to others sold around the same time its already insanely over priced. I know the 26k has white pages but really wp is worth 9k extra?

 

 

In 2003 a 9.8 sold for 17k, not sure where these 30k 9.8s are at

 

 

There's a 9.8 WHITE that sold for just over $11k back in Feb 20, 2015.

 

Not sure if the increase of high grade copies in the market is due to rampant cleaning and pressing, but it sux to be the guy who forked out $26k for a 9.8 WHITE in 2009.

 

 

 

 

Hard to pin the existence of multiple high grade copies of such a recently printed book on pressing... Sure, pressing does increase the number - but without any facts this isnt a book I would lean into that argument on.

 

Yeah, I didn't claim that the flood of HG copies in the marketplace is due to pressing and cleaning. Nobody has the time and resource to ascertain this. However, It is common knowledge the premise of pressing and cleaning of books is to get a grade bump. I'll just leave it at that.

[Hulksdaddy1]

Anything that happens to a comic in its lifetime is natural to the course of its life.

 

Therefore, no such thing as restored, or unrestored.

 

The comic is what it's supposed to be.

 

[oakman29]

Anything that happens to a comic in its lifetime is natural to the course of its life.

 

Therefore, no such thing as restored, or unrestored.

 

The comic is what it's supposed to be.

 

 

 

How Freudian.

[jcjames]

 

There is no book.

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

 

I'm still amazed at the number of people who don't grasp that the values of everything "going down" was a function of the census from Day 1.

 

So, I'll say it one more time: The prices people were paying in the early to late 00's weren't real.

 

Yes, ACTUAL cash was ACTUALLY paid...but those people were paying those prices because they either A. didn't understand how censuses have worked since coins first started being slabbed in the 80's, or B. completely understood, but didn't care...they wanted the book, and were willing to pay the price, not knowing when another would come along....not IF....WHEN.

 

And EVERYTHING, except nosebleed high key Silver Age and in-demand Golden Age, came along AGAIN....and again, and again, and again.

 

Did pressing influence this? Sure, to some extent, yes! But pressing isn't magic. It doesn't make 6.5 books into 9.8s. The book has to be very high grade to begin with, there has to be something there to work with. The flood of high grade copies came because they were already out there, waiting to be slabbed.

 

If you paid $$$ for a regular Silver, Bronze, Copper, or Modern book in the last 10 years or so, only to watch its value plummet and make you angry, I don't know what to tell you. It's not as if people haven't been talking about this for years. They have.

 

The answer, as always, is to pay what YOU WANT for the book that you want to buy, and then never, ever look back. Will that 9.8 Batman Adventures #12 sell for less in the future than it is now?

 

If history is ANY indication: YES, YES, 10,000 times YES.

 

Oh, but right...that doesn't work for the speculation crowd....and it's certainly against my interests, as someone trying to sell you those very books...but them's the breaks.

 

Not at all sorry if anyone found that "aggressive." We need to be told the TRUTH, rather than sweet, sweet lies. Hopefully, the spoiling will weed out some of the complaining.

 

[grayzr]

Another reason the book dropped in price is supply overcame demand.

 

Lot more out there than people first thought

 

Why has walking dead #1 9.8 continued to increase in price over the years?

I remember when there was less then 500 on the census now there is over 2000 and the price continues to go up

[Jeffro.]

There is no book.

 

 

 

 

And for a pressing thread. It's like 2009 all over again

[StingerMcK]

Haters gonna hate. Anti-pressers are just trying to be the 'purest of collectors' like that makes them superior or something

 

This. All this.

 

I am a better collector than you!

[mysterio]

Another reason the book dropped in price is supply overcame demand.

 

Lot more out there than people first thought

 

Why has walking dead #1 9.8 continued to increase in price over the years?

I remember when there was less then 500 on the census now there is over 2000 and the price continues to go up

 

I can't claim to have my finger on the pulse of that book, but the discussions I've seen lately have all focused on the holding pattern in WD #1 with a slight downward trend. When was the last time WD #1 sold for the latest record price? I don't think it is very recent.

[Hulksdaddy1]

Anything that happens to a comic in its lifetime is natural to the course of its life.

 

Therefore, no such thing as restored, or unrestored.

 

The comic is what it's supposed to be.

 

 

 

How Freudian.

 

Sometimes a comic is just a comic.

[Ryan.]

Anything that happens to a comic in its lifetime is natural to the course of its life.

 

Therefore, no such thing as restored, or unrestored.

 

The comic is what it's supposed to be.

 

 

 

How Freudian.

 

Sometimes a comic is just a comic.

 

[StingerMcK]

 

Sometimes a comic is just a comic.

 

If i have learned anything from these boards, it's that comics are serious business

[MetalPSI]

Another reason the book dropped in price is supply overcame demand.

 

Lot more out there than people first thought

 

Why has walking dead #1 9.8 continued to increase in price over the years?

I remember when there was less then 500 on the census now there is over 2000 and the price continues to go up

 

Check RMA's post above yours

[MetalPSI]

Give ya a great example. Wolverine #80 has a stupid test tube with the X-23 label on it.

 

It was put up for sale for up to $500 in 9.8 at one point. I laughed, I waited.

 

I ended up buying a SS copy that I thought was worth $100 to me.

 

A 9.8 blue label copy of that book is not worth over $40. And I won't pay more than that.

 

It's harder to collect "drek" than one would think. The only reason I really wanted that book was for Cyber.

 

Cyber who?

 

Exactly

[Hulksdaddy1]

 

Sometimes a comic is just a comic.

 

If i have learned anything from these boards, it's that comics are serious business

 

Too much time on these boards then!

 

[Old Fashion PB and J]

The sad part is this. Half the people commenting weren't even here back when this thread happened, and half the people in the thread don't post as much anymore. I will also sprinkle in that many collectors have left the hobby and are replaced with flippers (I am both). But again, this is an observation.