The beauty of CGC (and a grading quiz)

[drbanner]

Without a doubt, the success of CGC has been based on the extreme multiples that graded 9.2+ books have been bringing. If 9.4/9.6/9.8's were selling at guide/2x/3x guide, their business wouldn't be nearly as successful as it is with the books bringing 5/10/15x guide, it just wouldn't be worth it for the majority of the books. This is especially true for bronze and newer books.

 

That said, CGC's services have great value for any $500+ book, of any grade, as exemplified below. The restoration check and accurate grading (the former moreso than the latter) are worth the grading fee, regardless of any "CGC premium" the book brings. Prior to CGC, the only "restoration check" available would be to send the suspect book to one of the restorers, and at that point you would have spent probably close to $100 for a single opinion. For this reason, I think it's beneficial to get any $500+ book graded, regardless of premium (assuming you're looking to sell, or if you're looking to buy a valuable book).

 

The last 2 copies of this book offered on ebay were restored, and like Spidey 28, and black-covered book is a prime target for ye olde magic marker, ballpoint pen, or even good old-fashioned paint! As this isn't a high grade book, I won't go into excruciating details on the defects as they're pretty much apparent in the scan - light spine wear, reading crease along the spine, 1/8" tear at the top of the spine, 1/8" tear right edge, rounded corners. Pages are off-white, and the back cover is nicer than the front with only a light date stamp and a 1/4" corner crease top left.

 

IMHO, this is one of the few "classic" Cole books that is priced accurately in the guide...or is it? I picked this beauty up for below guide!! Without further adieu, I present Suspense Comics #8 with a classic LB Cole Spider cover. What's the grade folks (the colors are actually slightly brighter than the scan, my CGC scans always appear a little dark for some reason)?

 

[ArAich]

Skull cover....Spider web cover....Bondage cover.....

It doesn't get much better than that....

[collectorscavern-migration]

Nice old book and great cover!

 

I'd say based on the scan and your description, VG to maybe F range as far as grade? (CGC can be a little unpredictable at times as far as judging eye appeal factors, which this does have some).

[originalisbest]

Dr, I'll say... F-.

 

And, I quite agree with you on the value CGC offers for grading this type of book!

 

 

P.S. - I didn't cheat on this guess the grade by looking into the census - can't imagine a TON of these have been graded, so it might be easy to deduce which one this is. Or, is it a fresh slab that's not made it into the census yet?

[Crowzilla]

Always loved that cover, I'll say VG/F

 

But I do want to point out that Metropolis has offered a free appraisal service and restoration check for several years now, so even before CGC you could have someone double check for restoration.

 

[drbanner]

Metropolis has offered a free appraisal service and restoration check

 

So they do! That's a nice service for them to offer for free, especially for those living in or near Gotham. I guess they're not just about the butter after all!!

[Bonds25]

Very sweet book - I'll guess a VG/FN 5.0?

[drbanner]

And the answer is...4.5 VG+. Great looking book for the grade, and the beauty of it is, it's UNRESTORED!

[wolfling40-migration]

drbanner,

Did CGC pay you to post this?

[drbanner]

No, I wanted to point out that you don't have to pay multiples of guide to get a CGC-graded book, complete with accurate grading and a restoration check. You get the same benefits from buying 9.4+ books...but you pay!