Do Extra Staples Always Mean a Green or Purple Label?

[WABAC52-migration]

A few years ago I picked up a nice original owner collection. I decided to take a few books to Balticon to have them pre-screened by Matt Nelson. One of the books is Iron Man 55. Matt grades the book at 9.4 but tells me it has a "married" cover and shows me an extra set of staples inside the book. I'm convinced the book was produced this way and not manipulated by the OO.

 

Later, I read the following in DiceX's very informative Q&A Comic Production Flaws sticky thread:

 

"It looks to me like it was a "hand bound reject".

I'll try to explain it...

 

A publisher requires a certain number of books to be produced.

During the bindery run, they have enough raw product to produce the run + a percentage predicted by the bindery allowed for waste.

Say the run is 100,000 books and the bindery expects 3% waste...They receive 103,000 books worth of raw product.

 

During the run there are books that jam up in the binder, or have odd flaws (untrimmed, unstapled, no cover, etc.). Those books are stacked to the side until the end of the run.

 

When the raw product has been depleated, if the count doesn't add up to what the publisher ordered, they have to find a way to fill the order.

They go through the "reject" skid to find any books that can be salvaged. There is usually nothing wrong with them, they just have been produced incorrectly.

They take those books and piece together what they can.

These books are bound by hand, stitched (stapled) by hand, then hand trimmed on a flatbed cutter. Whatever they have to do on a book by book basis.

After "pulling rejects", if the order still has not been filled, they have to go back to press to run enough raw pieces to finish it off.

 

The book you sent looks like it was produced without a cover.

The body of the book had already been stapled, so a fresh cover was placed on the book and stitched onto the body. (The second set of staples)

The staples are done by hand, so that would explain why they were off centered.

There are no other staple holes in the cover, so it was definately a raw cover that was placed on the book.

Afterwards it was hand trimmed on a flatbed.

 

No doubt in my mind that the book left the factory this way.

I don't know if this book would have passed through CGC without a purple label, because I don't know if they would have been able to tell it was a factory error."

 

This exactly describes my IM55. Does this type of book always receive a green or purple label? If so, why is this type of "flaw" graded more harshly than printer's creases, miscuts, missing staples, and other types of production flaws.

 

Has anyone ever received a blue label on a book with an extra set of staples?

 

 

[Spiderphill]

I would imagine a green label because they dont know for sure, unless they know for sure its a manufacturer thing.

[porky]

it would be tough to marry a cover so well that CGC couldn't detect it. also, if the staple through your cover are in unusual places/unusually spaced that would be further evidence that the comic was made that way since they would have had to find a comic with that staple pattern to marry to the interior.

here's my bizarro Supergirl #1 i got recently

unfortunately the staples are rusty. i also found a JIM recently with one extra staple on the inside. and i have another with 4 staples like yours. can't remember right away, it might be an Avengers. i've never really heard of one of these being graded, but i don't think it will be treated any differently than having missing staples.

i like unusual books, so if it's the real deal,

[WABAC52-migration]

Interestingly enough, I just checked this book and found it only has 1 extra staple not 2. The staple on the inside of the book is the bottom staple and is spaced exactly the same distance from the bottom of the book as the top staple is from the top. The staple that holds the cover is about 1" above it. To me, this is the "extra" staple and further evidence that the the book was stapled this way when it was produced.

 

As much as I would like to have this book graded, I don't want to risk it unless others have experienced receiving a blue label under similar circumstances.

[porky]

Interestingly enough, I just checked this book and found it only has 1 extra staple not 2. The staple on the inside of the book is the bottom staple and is spaced exactly the same distance from the bottom of the book as the top staple is from the top. The staple that holds the cover is about 1" above it. To me, this is the "extra" staple and further evidence that the the book was stapled this way when it was produced.

 

As much as I would like to have this book graded, I don't want to risk it unless others have experienced receiving a blue label under similar circumstances.

 

yep. sounds like my JIM. the cover probably came off/ was damaged due to being only attached with one staple. book was then remade with two.

[Topnotchman]

Your not risking much other than grading and shipping fee's. Just send it in and let us know what CGC says.

[DiceX]

IMHO, I wouldn't slab it. You completely lose the novelty of this book if you can't open it up.

 

 

[godquest]

IMHO, I wouldn't slab it. You completely lose the novelty of this book if you can't open it up.

 

+1

[PovertyRow]

To contribute a bit to the possibilities, I still have a CGC 4.5 TOM MIX COMMANDOS #12 (from 11/1942) in the Blue Label.

 

Notations states "Original staples removed. 2 extra staples added not from manufacturing."

 

 

I'll scan the label when my scanner starts communicating with the computer. It zonked out a few days ago.

[divad]

A few years ago I picked up a nice original owner collection. I decided to take a few books to Balticon to have them pre-screened by Matt Nelson. One of the books is Iron Man 55. Matt grades the book at 9.4 but tells me it has a "married" cover and shows me an extra set of staples inside the book. I'm convinced the book was produced this way and not manipulated by the OO.

FWIW, Matt is a very-experienced comic handler. If he says the book is a 9.4, it's probably a 9.4; If he says it has a married cover, it probably has a married cover. We all make mistakes in judgment, but he had the book in hand to inspect.

 

Does this type of book always receive a green or purple label? If so, why is this type of "flaw" graded more harshly than printer's creases, miscuts, missing staples, and other types of production flaws.

 

Has anyone ever received a blue label on a book with an extra set of staples?

 

If it is a production flaw as DiceX described, it will receive a Blue label. If the book's staples were added by an owner of the book, it will receive a Purple label. It is generally quite easy to tell if a book has had non-production line staples added.

 

That being said, I have had a 4-staple production book graded in a Blue label. I have also added vintage staples to a book that had no staples in it when I purchased it (the staples were removed by the OO to help "preserve" the book). The book was graded 9.4 W Blue label and sold for a handsome sum.

 

 

[WABAC52-migration]

Thanks for the info Divad. Nice to know that this type of production flaw can receive a blue label. Since this is an OO book I'm very confident that he didn't staple the cover to the book. Doesn't guarantee CGC will agree but might be worth submitting.

[VintageComics]

Every so often I see a book with a second set of staples under the cover, on the interior from production.

 

It's not so uncommon. If it is from production, it will receive a blue label.

 

DD #169 is a book that comes to mind where I see this often.

 

 

[PovertyRow]

If the book's staples were added by an owner of the book, it will receive a Purple label.

 

 

Divad, I am not sure what part of my post you did not understand?

 

I still have a CGC 4.5 TOM MIX COMMANDOS #12 (from 11/1942) in the Blue Label.

 

Notations states "Original staples removed. 2 extra staples added not from manufacturing."

 

I bolded the relevant parts.

 

Perhaps it is part of the "GA Bump" but this book shows CGC does not always give a PLOD to post-manufacture staples.

[VintageComics]

If the book's staples were added by an owner of the book, it will receive a Purple label.

 

 

Divad, I am not sure what part of my post you did not understand?

 

I still have a CGC 4.5 TOM MIX COMMANDOS #12 (from 11/1942) in the Blue Label.

 

Notations states "Original staples removed. 2 extra staples added not from manufacturing."

 

I bolded the relevant parts.

 

Perhaps it is part of the "GA Bump" but this book shows CGC does not always give a PLOD to post-manufacture staples.

 

In lower grades additional staples seem to be allowed (they are acc. to Overstreet) and are factored into the grade.

[divad]

If the book's staples were added by an owner of the book, it will receive a Purple label.

 

 

Divad, I am not sure what part of my post you did not understand?

 

I still have a CGC 4.5 TOM MIX COMMANDOS #12 (from 11/1942) in the Blue Label.

 

Notations states "Original staples removed. 2 extra staples added not from manufacturing."

 

I bolded the relevant parts.

 

Perhaps it is part of the "GA Bump" but this book shows CGC does not always give a PLOD to post-manufacture staples.

 

Hi Michael,

 

I didn't read your post, nor did I respond to it, so I really don't understand your confusion.

 

-d

[divad]

If the book's staples were added by an owner of the book, it will receive a Purple label.

 

 

Divad, I am not sure what part of my post you did not understand?

 

I still have a CGC 4.5 TOM MIX COMMANDOS #12 (from 11/1942) in the Blue Label.

 

Notations states "Original staples removed. 2 extra staples added not from manufacturing."

 

I bolded the relevant parts.

 

Perhaps it is part of the "GA Bump" but this book shows CGC does not always give a PLOD to post-manufacture staples.

 

In lower grades additional staples seem to be allowed (they are acc. to Overstreet) and are factored into the grade.

 

Sounds fair to me.

[PovertyRow]

Hi Michael,

 

I didn't read your post, nor did I respond to it, so I really don't understand your confusion.

 

-d

 

Hi David

 

I don't know. A small post count thread like this, I guess I would have expected you would read at leat the post immediately preceding yours (aka mine... )

 

 

 

[divad]

Basically, they give Blue labels to any book older than us, Pov . . .

[TC33]

I had a Green Lantern #1 that looked FN/FN+, but it had an extra set of staples and it got a blue label VG/FN 5.0, so for sure not a purple label, nobody considers extra staples "restoration", but they may just hammer the grade because of them if my book as an example means anything.