My 'pressing' results...

[mintcollector]

Hello,

 

I wanted to start a thread about this because I recently ventured into the 'dark unknown' of having several already CGC graded comic books presented for a pre-screen; and then those that made the possible cut, submitted for 'pressing.' THIS WAS MY FIRST EVER EXPERIENCE WITH PRESSING. Today I called CGC and got the grades. To be quite honest, I did not go into this with high hopes. I am very cautious with my books and I normally attempt to buy the best quality books I can buy the first time around. I also requested that the 'presser' be very conservative with their grading, picking only those books that had an excellent chance at an upgrade. It is my hope that this thread will help 'shine a possible different light' on the subject of pressing. It should be noted that I am by no means blaming anyone when I share these results. I just want people to realize that there is no 'magic machine' that automatically turns books into high grade (or in this case, high grade books into higher graded books).

 

Here are the results I encountered (for better or worse):

 

I submitted nine books (CGC graded between 9.2-9.4) for a pre-screen and possible pressing. Out of the nine, six automatically were declined as these books would NOTbenefit from being pressed. It should be noted that all these books were all key (or semi-key) 'silver' and 'bronze' age books.

 

The three that were submitted for pressing were deemed possibly eligible for a one grade upgrade. Of these, two were 9.4's and one was a 9.2.

 

Out of these three books, here are the results:

 

9.4 = 9.4 (no grade change)

 

9.4 = 9.4 (no grade change)

 

9.2 = 9.4 (one grade bump)

 

In conclusion, only one book received a higher grade. While it was a 'silver age' key (albeit a very minor one, at that); I was disappointed as to the results of the other two. Therefore, my first pressing submission yeilded only one upgrade out of nine books submitted; with a possible chance of three receiving an upgrade overall. Ironically, the results were conclusive of a 33% success rate. While this is not overtly positive, it does leave me wondering what went wrong.

 

Now to the obvious question, would I submit books for pressing again; knowing that I paid several hundred dollars to get a book in 9.2 to go to 9.4 (ironically, this book is only worth about $275 in 9.2 and $500+ in 9.4)?

 

I do believe had I submitted more books from my collection my results would have been better. I also believe as I have said before, that a lot of books I buy from certain auction sites are already 'pressed.' This also gives me a renewed faith in dealers who disclose books that have been pressed. While I would like to know why my two books that were possibly supposed to upgrade did not; I would consider pressing again in the future. I did however, want to share this story because a lot of people think that pressing is causing a lot of high grade books to enter the marketplace. While this may be true, based on my unscientific experience I can honestly say that this is not the case with my first nine books submitted!

 

Kind Regards,

 

'mint'

[TheMightyJohn]

If you don't mind me asking, what is your pressing process? I'm curious more than anything.

[Tony S]

That you submitted nine books for prescreening for possible pressing upgrade and six were rejected as not improvable further attests to the fact that you are new to CPR. If you want to continue doing this, your goal should be to reach the point where you don't need the person doing the pressing to tell you if the book(s) can be improved upon. You are looking for specific defects that are fixable by cleaning/pressing. At the same time you are trying to judge if any remaining defects that can't be fixed or minimized by pressing will hold the book back in grade.

 

And finally you are trying to determine what CGC will ultimately grade the book when resubmitted. No one is perfect at that because CGC graders are still humans and grading can vary a bit, especially over a span of years.

 

One out of three upgrading isn't great - but it isn't horrible. Your immediate need is to focus on the six out of nine being rejected in the first place.

 

BTW - sometimes you do everything right and a book even drops in grade. And don't loose sight of the fact you can buy raw and have them pressed and slabbed.

 

Have fun. This will make you a better grader if nothing else because your eyes get trained to study for the smallest of defects.

 

[mintcollector]

These were submitted to a well known 'presser.'

 

I do not wish to name the company or individual as I do not believe these results should reflect any one person, company, or individual. They are what they are and many other factors have to be taken into account.

 

Kind Regards,

 

'mint'

[TheMightyJohn]

No worries, I thought maybe you home pressed them and was curious how the process works.

[mintcollector]

No worries, I thought maybe you home pressed them and was curious how the process works.

 

No problem. I should have clarified this. I would never attempt to do this myself. In a way though I am not surprised. What I am surprised is however, are the turnaround times. These books were submitted to CGC sometime early last month and they already have the grades available. I must say I am at least impressed in this regard.

 

I do however, want to bring up one other point. I do not yet know the page quality (I forgot to ask). Therefore, I just hope this has stayed the same or is at least close.

 

We shall see...

 

'mint'

[divad]

Pressing stories are like gambling stories - you generally only hear the good ones . . .

[Mr. Lodge]

This was interesting. Thanks for the detailed account. Good luck on the PQ.

[Junkdrawer]

The one curveball that will get every CPRer is when they stumble upon a "gift graded" CGC book. This had got me good. I found a book that was graded 8.0 with a few visable defects that I new could be fixed and grade thus improved. Well the book vastly improved with the professional pressing job,but only to an 9.0 however in hind sight, the 8.0 original grade was in fact a gift. Just be careful in that regard.

[mintcollector]

That you submitted nine books for prescreening for possible pressing upgrade and six were rejected as not improvable further attests to the fact that you are new to CPR. If you want to continue doing this, your goal should be to reach the point where you don't need the person doing the pressing to tell you if the book(s) can be improved upon. You are looking for specific defects that are fixable by cleaning/pressing. At the same time you are trying to judge if any remaining defects that can't be fixed or minimized by pressing will hold the book back in grade.

 

And finally you are trying to determine what CGC will ultimately grade the book when resubmitted. No one is perfect at that because CGC graders are still humans and grading can vary a bit, especially over a span of years.

 

One out of three upgrading isn't great - but it isn't horrible. Your immediate need is to focus on the six out of nine being rejected in the first place.

 

BTW - sometimes you do everything right and a book even drops in grade. And don't loose sight of the fact you can buy raw and have them pressed and slabbed.

 

Have fun. This will make you a better grader if nothing else because your eyes get trained to study for the smallest of defects.

 

You make some very well thought out points. However, I only chose to share my story for several reasons:

 

Number one, a lot of individuals think that 'pressing' has become something that is 'killing the back issue market simply by creating a much greater supply of books overall.' While my unscientific experiment was far from being statistically useful overall, it does show that not any one person can just buy books, submit them for pressing, and enjoy the just rewards. There is a lot of skill (i.e. knowing what books to look for and knowing what to submit) that goes into play here.

 

Number two, I don't think the issue had anything to do with the fact that I submitted nine books and six were immediately rejected. We all buy books online looking at a scan. A lot of books that are 'slabbed' have already been pressed; especially on certain auction sites, more so than others. I would much rather submit them and pay the couple dollar fee to have an 'expert' tell me they were not worthy of being pressed.

 

Number three, sometimes this forum and others act like 'pressing' is something inherently evil that must be stopped. I went through a very well known individual who has a lot of publicity and praise. I thus far have failed to make any positive gains. If you take into account all my costs and the fact that my one key book only went from a 9.2 to a 9.4; I can honestly say that this is the only time I ever lost money in a venture involving the collectibles market. That being said, I do not look at this solely in dollars and cents. This was a GREAT learning experience and I am glad I had a chance to share it. As a result of this venture (and there may be many more), I still find nothing worng with pressing. In all honesty if this is what it takes to get an upgrade of just one book (based solely on this one experience), the people who are 'experts' in this regard, truly make their money. I do wonder however, if I should have submitted more books from my collection? Obviously the results would be a lot different (for better or for worse).

 

I have thus far held off on my second submission while I wait to analyze if it is worth it at this point...

 

Kind Regards,

 

'mint'

[namisgr]

Number one, a lot of individuals think that 'pressing' has become something that is 'killing the back issue market simply by creating a much greater supply of books overall.'

Number three, sometimes this forum and others act like 'pressing' is something inherently evil that must be stopped.

 

Kind Regards,

 

'mint'

 

1. I see it contributing to damaging the back issue market for SA and BA. High grade supply on SA and BA has increased dramatically, in no small part owing to the unprecedented prevalence of pressing.

 

3. This is an overstatement. Some see pressed comics as manufactured collectibles. Some see them as artificially manipulated, or restored in the broad sense of the word. I see pressing as contributing to an increasing number of comics that have lost their fresh, new, off-the-rack appearance, with compressed spines, indented staples, horizontal crease lines along the overhangs, and fuzzy paper at the staples created as the cover has moved perceptibly relative to the staples during the pressing process. For my collection, I prefer unpressed examples whenever they can be obtained and will pay less for books that have been clearly pressed.

 

Finally, I would say that your 3 book experience is too small to have a sense of how pressing impacts CGC grading and the potential for commercial gain of the process.

[Jeffro.]

Pressing stories are like gambling stories - you generally only hear the good ones . . .

 

Unless you're Sufunk.

[Spiderphill]

Pressing stories are like gambling stories - you generally only hear the good ones . . .

I only CPR the books I feel are sure shots. 4/4 but a mixed bag. 7.0 to 8.0( surprised thought only .5) 8.0 to 8.5( thought it was a 9.0) 7.5 to 8.5( spot on) and a 6.0 to 6.5( I thought a 7.5). I have a small stack that need to be done again but life has been hectic. Just thought I'd share my only CPR experience.

[Tony S]

Number one, a lot of individuals think that 'pressing' has become something that is 'killing the back issue market simply by creating a much greater supply of books overall.'

Number three, sometimes this forum and others act like 'pressing' is something inherently evil that must be stopped.

 

Kind Regards,

 

'mint'

 

1. I see it contributing to damaging the back issue market for SA and BA. High grade supply on SA and BA has increased dramatically, in no small part owing to the unprecedented prevalence of pressing.

 

3. This is an overstatement. Some see pressed comics as manufactured collectibles. Some see them as artificially manipulated, or restored in the broad sense of the word. I see pressing as contributing to an increasing number of comics that have lost their fresh, new, off-the-rack appearance, with compressed spines, indented staples, horizontal crease lines along the overhangs, and fuzzy paper at the staples created as the cover has moved perceptibly relative to the staples during the pressing process. For my collection, I prefer unpressed examples whenever they can be obtained and will pay less for books that have been clearly pressed.

 

Finally, I would say that your 3 book experience is too small to have a sense of how pressing impacts CGC grading and the potential for commercial gain of the process.

 

1) While pressing has certainly provided some additional high grade copies of individual books, I think many on the board here give it far more credit than it is due for increased back issue supply. HIGH PRICES are bringing out high grade silver and bronze. The collectors on these boards tend to forget that we represent a very tiny portion of the hobby. A well informed, enthusiastic bunch. But tiny. There are three comic shops just here in Evansville and I doubt there are three slabbed books between them. I know hundreds of collectors with nice, large SA and BA collections where everything is raw.

 

As the vastly larger world of raw collectors hear about the big money high grade books are bringing, more and more of those books come out of long boxes and end up at CGC.

 

3) I won't dispute that these things you mention happen (crushed spines and the like). I will maintain such books were not properly pressed. Or in the case of creasing overhangs - were not suitable pressing candidates to begin with. Pressing is intended to remove defects, not create them. BTW, why would one press a book that has a fresh, new, off-the-rack appearance? The purpose of cleaning and pressing a book is to try to get one that no longer has that appearance closer to that original state.

 

 

[mintcollector]

Number one, a lot of individuals think that 'pressing' has become something that is 'killing the back issue market simply by creating a much greater supply of books overall.'

Number three, sometimes this forum and others act like 'pressing' is something inherently evil that must be stopped.

 

Kind Regards,

 

'mint'

 

1. I see it contributing to damaging the back issue market for SA and BA. High grade supply on SA and BA has increased dramatically, in no small part owing to the unprecedented prevalence of pressing.

 

3. This is an overstatement. Some see pressed comics as manufactured collectibles. Some see them as artificially manipulated, or restored in the broad sense of the word. I see pressing as contributing to an increasing number of comics that have lost their fresh, new, off-the-rack appearance, with compressed spines, indented staples, horizontal crease lines along the overhangs, and fuzzy paper at the staples created as the cover has moved perceptibly relative to the staples during the pressing process. For my collection, I prefer unpressed examples whenever they can be obtained and will pay less for books that have been clearly pressed.

 

Finally, I would say that your 3 book experience is too small to have a sense of how pressing impacts CGC grading and the potential for commercial gain of the process.

 

 

"Finally, I would say that your 3 book experience is too small to have a sense of how pressing impacts CGC grading and the potential for commercial gain of the process."

 

I agree with this statement and have said it numerous times throughout my posts. Other than that, the rest is debatable in my opinion...

 

Keep in mind that I am highly active in all aspects of the antiques and collectibles field. I am a dealer. I have seen a LOT worse. If you would like examples let me know. 'Pressing' in my opinion, does not hold a candle to what goes on in other areas of the antiques and collectibles market.

 

Respectfully yours,

 

'mint'

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

Number one, a lot of individuals think that 'pressing' has become something that is 'killing the back issue market simply by creating a much greater supply of books overall.'

Number three, sometimes this forum and others act like 'pressing' is something inherently evil that must be stopped.

 

Kind Regards,

 

'mint'

 

1. I see it contributing to damaging the back issue market for SA and BA. High grade supply on SA and BA has increased dramatically, in no small part owing to the unprecedented prevalence of pressing.

 

3. This is an overstatement. Some see pressed comics as manufactured collectibles. Some see them as artificially manipulated, or restored in the broad sense of the word. I see pressing as contributing to an increasing number of comics that have lost their fresh, new, off-the-rack appearance, with compressed spines, indented staples, horizontal crease lines along the overhangs, and fuzzy paper at the staples created as the cover has moved perceptibly relative to the staples during the pressing process. For my collection, I prefer unpressed examples whenever they can be obtained and will pay less for books that have been clearly pressed.

 

Finally, I would say that your 3 book experience is too small to have a sense of how pressing impacts CGC grading and the potential for commercial gain of the process.

 

 

"Finally, I would say that your 3 book experience is too small to have a sense of how pressing impacts CGC grading and the potential for commercial gain of the process."

 

I agree with this statement and have said it numerous times throughout my posts. Other than that, the rest is debatable in my opinion...

 

Keep in mind that I am highly active in all aspects of the antiques and collectibles field. I am a dealer. I have seen a LOT worse. If you would like examples let me know. 'Pressing' in my opinion, does not hold a candle to what goes on in other areas of the antiques and collectibles market.

Respectfully yours,

 

'mint'

+ 1

[mintcollector]

Due to the recent announcement of the agreement between the Certified Collectibles Group and Classics Incorporated; I am 'bumping' this thread.

 

While my experience is NOT scientific in natural; nor should it be taken to suggest anything to that regard, 'pressing' is not this wonderful process that turns every book into a high grade masterpiece. That is the only reason I have chosen to show my results in this thread.

 

By the way, I have chosen not to identify the 'presser' of my books at this time.

 

Respectfully,

 

'mint'

[thespazz]

This was an excellent thread to read! It was a real account of what transpired between the pressing company and the customer. You can never argue with the details of a transaction because they are what they are. I think you went about this thread the right way. You listed all the facts and simply told of the results. You never came across as being bias one way or the other. I considered getting a key book pressed a while back and almost went thru with it. I'm happy I didn't go thru with it especially after reading this thread. I believe my expectations would have been way higher than what was going to realistically happen after the process. Great thread! A+

[VintageComics]

Due to the recent announcement of the agreement between the Certified Collectibles Group and Classics Incorporated; I am 'bumping' this thread.

 

While my experience is NOT scientific in natural; nor should it be taken to suggest anything to that regard, 'pressing' is not this wonderful process that turns every book into a high grade masterpiece. That is the only reason I have chosen to show my results in this thread.

 

By the way, I have chosen not to identify the 'presser' of my books at this time.

 

Respectfully,

 

'mint'

 

Absolutely correct. I'm not going to paint it as a lost cause but I have repeatedly stated that it's not a win-win situation 100% of the time and quite honestly, if you don't like risk I'd think about it before doing it.

 

Here are a few things that can happen:

 

Book is handled multiple times so more exposure to possible damage from handling.

Book is shipped multiple times to more exposure to possible shipping loss and damage.

Some pressing procedures introduce moisture and you can have moisture damage or water spots

Heat and pressure is involved and damage can happen to books (spine splits, wrinkles, staple pulls, foreign materials imbedding into books, materials on the books like colour or glue reacting to press and moisture, etc).

CGC missing resto or trim the first time around and finding it the second time around - book goes from blue to another coloured label.

Book staying the same grade even though pressable defects are removed.

Book goes down in grade even though pressable defects are removed and no damage is introduced - CGC just feels differently about the book 2nd time around

 

How do I know these things happen? Each and every one of them has happened to me or someone I know.

 

[mintcollector]

Due to the recent announcement of the agreement between the Certified Collectibles Group and Classics Incorporated; I am 'bumping' this thread.

 

While my experience is NOT scientific in natural; nor should it be taken to suggest anything to that regard, 'pressing' is not this wonderful process that turns every book into a high grade masterpiece. That is the only reason I have chosen to show my results in this thread.

 

By the way, I have chosen not to identify the 'presser' of my books at this time.

 

Respectfully,

 

'mint'

 

Absolutely correct. I'm not going to paint it as a lost cause but I have repeatedly stated that it's not a win-win situation 100% of the time and quite honestly, if you don't like risk I'd think about it before doing it.

 

Here are a few things that can happen:

 

Book is handled multiple times so more exposure to possible damage from handling.

Book is shipped multiple times to more exposure to possible shipping loss and damage.

Some pressing procedures introduce moisture and you can have moisture damage or water spots

Heat and pressure is involved and damage can happen to books (spine splits, wrinkles, staple pulls, foreign materials imbedding into books, materials on the books like colour or glue reacting to press and moisture, etc).

CGC missing resto or trim the first time around and finding it the second time around - book goes from blue to another coloured label.

Book staying the same grade even though pressable defects are removed.

Book goes down in grade even though pressable defects are removed and no damage is introduced - CGC just feels differently about the book 2nd time around

 

How do I know these things happen? Each and every one of them has happened to me or someone I know.

 

I would agree with everything you are saying. I personally do NOT consider 'pressing' restoration (in my opinion). I consider it, if anything 'light conservation.' That being said, in order to prove I am not a hypocrite on the matter, I wanted to experience 'pressing' first hand. These are the results of that ONE experience. I also buy 'pressed' books and applaud dealers who disclose they were 'pressed' to begin with. That being said, I pay the same amount I would for a 'pressed' book as I would for a non-pressed book. I sincerely fail to see the issue in this regard.

 

While I no longer wonder why; I have been asked. Maybe it is because I am too active in other collecting fields? Maybe it is because I am both a collector, investor, and dealer of many different types of antiques and collectibles. I also see what goes on in other collecting fields as well. Or maybe it is because it truly does not matter? I would venture to say that my last statement could be somewhat controversial, though. If it truly didn't matter, this conversation, as well as many others; would fail to exist.

 

Just my opinion and less than scientific analysis.

 

Kind Regards,

 

'mint'