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Where do 9.8's come from? Whats on a shelf? Whats in your mail?

Started by Sam T,

42 posts in this topic

Sam T

Sam T

Posted
Posted

I'm a fairly inexperienced collector so this stuff might be common knowledge but I have a few questions about cgc grades and modern comics. I know my questions all require a lot of assumptions and unknown variables but I'm asking for an overall generalization (obviously any jerk can bring any book down to a .05 and a team of nasa scientists could keep a book gem mint for a decade but lets be reasonable). Here are the questions:

 

1) Where are people getting raw 9.8s?

 

2) If I go to my LCBS and grab a copy off the shelf on Wednesday when maybe 1 or 2 serious comic nerds have picked it up at all, what kind of grade would that book get? What about an issue thats been on a shelves for a few weeks and definitely thumbed through by 5+ people?

 

3) If i use a service like DCBS, what kind of grade could those books receive right out of the envelope?

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

Posted
Posted
I'm a fairly inexperienced collector so this stuff might be common knowledge but I have a few questions about cgc grades and modern comics. I know my questions all require a lot of assumptions and unknown variables but I'm asking for an overall generalization (obviously any jerk can bring any book down to a .05 and a team of nasa scientists could keep a book gem mint for a decade but lets be reasonable). Here are the questions:

 

1) Where are people getting raw 9.8s?

 

2) If I go to my LCBS and grab a copy off the shelf on Wednesday when maybe 1 or 2 serious comic nerds have picked it up at all, what kind of grade would that book get? What about an issue thats been on a shelves for a few weeks and definitely thumbed through by 5+ people?

 

3) If i use a service like DCBS, what kind of grade could those books receive right out of the envelope?

 

1. They know what to look for. 9.8s of brand new books are very easy to find, especially if the dealer has a large volume of books to pick through. If you go to your local store when they open up on new comics day, you should be able to handpick just about all the 9.8s you could want. In a typical case, depending on production, there are (very generalized) maybe 30-40% 9.8s, 60-70% 9.6 or less, and 0-1% 9.9s and 10s.

 

2a. See #1.

 

2b. Fairly low. After a few weeks and thumbing though, you might find a copy or two in 9.8. Depends on a host of factors.

 

3. Total crapshoot.

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Sam T

Sam T

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Amadeus never fails to rock me! great explanation! Just to kind of nail #3 down a little more. I know its by far the most general question but would you expect 7.0-9.0 or more like 5.0-7.0 from a book of the shelf for a few weeks (assuming no major glaring defect). I know for modern comics theres very little value below 9.4-9.8 but it seems like an interesting thought experiment.

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400yrs

400yrs

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I've been using DCBS and have been very pleased with the books I've received. I do make sure to get everything in bags and boards. I don't think I've received anything below a 9.4 with most of the books being 9.6s with many 9.8 quality books.

 

The books that I get from DCBS have been much nicer than books from my old comic shop. That was one of the many reasons I switched to dcbs from an LCS.

 

So in a way, DCBS is a shoot because you can't literally go and see and pick out the books you get as you could at a comic shop, but for me, what I receive is way nicer than the choices I'd have at an LCS anyway.

 

 

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Ramses717

Ramses717

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3) If i use a service like DCBS, what kind of grade could those books receive right out of the envelope?

 

I've been using DCBS for several years. It's only 12 cents extra for a bag and board with each book. Their packaging is pretty good though I have had a couple with corner damage. If you contact them, they will usually replace that book and include it in the next shipment. Once they receive their shipment they place yours aside in a bag/board, you should get a fair amount of 9.8 candidates.

 

I've recently started ordering a few extras of some books that I'd like to eventually use for SS.

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

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Me, personally, when I'm picking books, I want to be able to pick MY copy from the stack, so I can be assured of a 9.8 (or better), rather than hope somebody else does it for me.

 

But that's just me. The odds of getting high grade books from DCBS are decent, but they're not odds I wish to play, so I don't.

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400yrs

400yrs

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Posted
Me, personally, when I'm picking books, I want to be able to pick MY copy from the stack, so I can be assured of a 9.8 (or better), rather than hope somebody else does it for me.

 

But that's just me. The odds of getting high grade books from DCBS are decent, but they're not odds I wish to play, so I don't.

 

Did you start buying new release books again?

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

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Me, personally, when I'm picking books, I want to be able to pick MY copy from the stack, so I can be assured of a 9.8 (or better), rather than hope somebody else does it for me.

 

But that's just me. The odds of getting high grade books from DCBS are decent, but they're not odds I wish to play, so I don't.

 

Did you start buying new release books again?

 

No, but I do pick up the odd book now and then.

 

I bought Solar #1 and Magnus #1, which were the last new books I picked up.

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BeachBum

BeachBum

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I'm a fairly inexperienced collector so this stuff might be common knowledge but I have a few questions about cgc grades and modern comics. I know my questions all require a lot of assumptions and unknown variables but I'm asking for an overall generalization (obviously any jerk can bring any book down to a .05 and a team of nasa scientists could keep a book gem mint for a decade but lets be reasonable). Here are the questions:

 

1) Where are people getting raw 9.8s?

 

2) If I go to my LCBS and grab a copy off the shelf on Wednesday when maybe 1 or 2 serious comic nerds have picked it up at all, what kind of grade would that book get? What about an issue thats been on a shelves for a few weeks and definitely thumbed through by 5+ people?

 

3) If i use a service like DCBS, what kind of grade could those books receive right out of the envelope?

 

1. They know what to look for. 9.8s of brand new books are very easy to find, especially if the dealer has a large volume of books to pick through. If you go to your local store when they open up on new comics day, you should be able to handpick just about all the 9.8s you could want. In a typical case, depending on production, there are (very generalized) maybe 30-40% 9.8s, 60-70% 9.6 or less, and 0-1% 9.9s and 10s.

 

2a. See #1.

 

2b. Fairly low. After a few weeks and thumbing though, you might find a copy or two in 9.8. Depends on a host of factors.

 

3. Total crapshoot.

 

9.8s of new books are not always very easy to find. Due to the coverstock Marvel & DC presently use from week to week things can be a crapshoot. It's usually a Marvel issue but I've seen problems with DCs in the recent weeks. There are more things to look for in 9.8 than just the spine and edges these days.

 

It can be very frustrating, especially when you see a week where most of the titles from one publisher have the same defects. It's not a distribution problem but a production problem.

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RockMyAmadeus

RockMyAmadeus

Posted
Posted

I'm a fairly inexperienced collector so this stuff might be common knowledge but I have a few questions about cgc grades and modern comics. I know my questions all require a lot of assumptions and unknown variables but I'm asking for an overall generalization (obviously any jerk can bring any book down to a .05 and a team of nasa scientists could keep a book gem mint for a decade but lets be reasonable). Here are the questions:

 

1) Where are people getting raw 9.8s?

 

2) If I go to my LCBS and grab a copy off the shelf on Wednesday when maybe 1 or 2 serious comic nerds have picked it up at all, what kind of grade would that book get? What about an issue thats been on a shelves for a few weeks and definitely thumbed through by 5+ people?

 

3) If i use a service like DCBS, what kind of grade could those books receive right out of the envelope?

 

1. They know what to look for. 9.8s of brand new books are very easy to find, especially if the dealer has a large volume of books to pick through. If you go to your local store when they open up on new comics day, you should be able to handpick just about all the 9.8s you could want. In a typical case, depending on production, there are (very generalized) maybe 30-40% 9.8s, 60-70% 9.6 or less, and 0-1% 9.9s and 10s.

 

2a. See #1.

 

2b. Fairly low. After a few weeks and thumbing though, you might find a copy or two in 9.8. Depends on a host of factors.

 

3. Total crapshoot.

 

9.8s of new books are not always very easy to find. Due to the coverstock Marvel & DC presently use from week to week things can be a crapshoot. It's usually a Marvel issue but I've seen problems with DCs in the recent weeks. There are more things to look for in 9.8 than just the spine and edges these days.

 

It can be very frustrating, especially when you see a week where most of the titles from one publisher have the same defects. It's not a distribution problem but a production problem.

 

(very generalized)

 

(thumbs u

 

Speaking as one 9.8 pro to another, we both know what's required to get 9.8s, which companies are easier, which are not, and what specific issues affect specific eras of books (like, for example, the American Entertaiment chromium variant of Crimson #1, with the slice in the back cover.)

 

I see a lot of new books (one example that stands out is Amazing Spiderman #539) that have the same vertical "S" dent in the middle of the cover, obviously a result of a roller issue. And, of course, the entire book must be looked at. No book should ever be graded on "just the spine and edges." That's madness.

 

But, generally speaking, it is fairly easy to get brand new 9.8s on a routine basis (or you wouldn't be offering the service you do....right?) Always, on every single book published? No. But must we mention the exceptions that make the rule every single time...?

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seanfingh

seanfingh

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I am of the opinion that the most pernicious defect is spine flaking. Common in copper books like the first 16 or 17 issues of Sandman, early Hellblazers and also the gatefold books from Marvel from 2000 and 2001, among others. Sometimes CGC is harsh and sometimes it is ignored. It makes it tough to be certain about whether a book is 9.8 or 9.6-under. :pullhair:

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cheetah

cheetah

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I have had a suprising amount of success getting 9.8 books raw off of ebay. There are a few sellers who are honest graders and who give high-resolution scans that you can look over and find one that doesn't have spine dings or blunted corners. Persistance pays off and I've been able to close almost all the modern holes in my collection by eBay or $1 box diving at conventions. Some need a press to make the grade but, frankly, if you are looking for Ultimate Avengers #2 2nd print in 9.8, you are going to have to take that step at times.

 

It seems a bit ridiculous given the track record most people have on eBay, but the HQ copies are there if you look hard enough.

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