of 9.9s and such

[CBT]

So, I wanted to get a general sense from people, on their thoughts of pressing and 9.9s. (and its good to keep the modern forum active)

 

Here are my thoughts:

 

1.) most 9.9s I see come from people both skilled at subbing, and who tend to sub a lot of books

2.) most 9.8s are 9.8s because of things pressing cant fix.

3.) a 9.9 book with a pressable defect, was "already" a 9.9 book, it just needed the fixable damage removed. In this way pressing a book can "make" a 9.9, but these cases would be rare.

 

 

And here are my questions:

 

Do you think pressing a book that might be 9.9 naturally risks 9.8ing it? This question assumes you are using a veteran presser, not a n00b, but is asking more about how a pressed book presents to a grader.

 

If you answered no, do you press all your books?

 

If you answered yes, do you ever press books?

 

 

 

 

[nikocb]

Every book I've ever subbed has come back exactly what I thought it would be or higher. Than being said, I've never gotten a 9.9 nor do I know how the hell they happen.

 

I've subbed books that seemed flawless, gotten a 9.8, then looked at already slabbed 9.9s and discovered flaws.

 

In summation, I'm as clueless as you on this one.

[carter3175]

I have purposely sent a 9.8 to get pressed just to see if I can get a 9.9 and the answer was no. I have gotten a 9.8 pressed and I get 2 results, a 9.8 or a 9.6. I also believe 9.9s come from people who submit masses of the same book. I can tell you one thing. Depending on the title, if I ever got a 9.9 its good as sold.

[CBT]

I have purposely sent a 9.8 to get pressed just to see if I can get a 9.9 and the answer was no. I have gotten a 9.8 pressed and I get 2 results, a 9.8 or a 9.6. I also believe 9.9s come from people who submit masses of the same book. I can tell you one thing. Depending on the title, if I ever got a 9.9 its good as sold.

 

i've seen pressed books come out 9.9, but you cant press a 9.8s defects away, meaning, it would have 9.9'd on its own, or it was a 9.9 with a pressable defect, that got removed.

 

 

[ParamagicFF]

The 9.9 and 10 are both nonsense. As has been witness too many times to count, there are 10's with obvious defects, and 9.8 where there isn't one to be found. Without a published methodology for grading, this will always be exactly what we know it to be now, a crapshoot. But unless the market demands it (which it isn't), CGC will never publish it's grading guidelines. If they did that, anytime a book was found to be outside of them, they would have to deal with customer service issues. It would also leave room for people to refute their grades.

 

If they wanted to have a transparent business model like that, they would have to run an incredibly tight and efficient ship. They already struggle with efficiency, so I wouldn't hold your breath on transparency coming any time soon (read: ever).

[BeachBum]

The 9.9 and 10 are both nonsense. As has been witness too many times to count, there are 10's with obvious defects, and 9.8 where there isn't one to be found. Without a published methodology for grading, this will always be exactly what we know it to be now, a crapshoot. But unless the market demands it (which it isn't), CGC will never publish it's grading guidelines. If they did that, anytime a book was found to be outside of them, they would have to deal with customer service issues. It would also leave room for people to refute their grades.

 

If they wanted to have a transparent business model like that, they would have to run an incredibly tight and efficient ship. They already struggle with efficiency, so I wouldn't hold your breath on transparency coming any time soon (read: ever).

 

It's a not crapshoot, and it's not done by submitting bulk in attempts to pop a 9.9 or 10.0. Some people might use that process but the professionals don't. We examine each book and look for the characteristics.

 

If you know what 9.9 and 10.0 candidates look like then you'll be able to spot them. I routinely pop 9.9 & 10.0 on single book submissions of a title (Marvel/DC/Image/Independents).

 

 

[N/A]

How many did you prescreen to find that one book?

[nikocb]

The 9.9 and 10 are both nonsense. As has been witness too many times to count, there are 10's with obvious defects, and 9.8 where there isn't one to be found. Without a published methodology for grading, this will always be exactly what we know it to be now, a crapshoot. But unless the market demands it (which it isn't), CGC will never publish it's grading guidelines. If they did that, anytime a book was found to be outside of them, they would have to deal with customer service issues. It would also leave room for people to refute their grades.

 

If they wanted to have a transparent business model like that, they would have to run an incredibly tight and efficient ship. They already struggle with efficiency, so I wouldn't hold your breath on transparency coming any time soon (read: ever).

 

It's a not crapshoot, and it's not done by submitting bulk in attempts to pop a 9.9 or 10.0. Some people might use that process but the professionals don't. We examine each book and look for the characteristics.

 

If you know what 9.9 and 10.0 candidates look like then you'll be able to spot them. I routinely pop 9.9 & 10.0 on single book submissions of a title (Marvel/DC/Image/Independents).

 

 

Can you enlighten us as to what makes a 9.9 over a 9.8?

[N/A]

No, he can't. Nobody can. CGC themselves can't do it.

 

Keep in mind that any claims to be able to spot a 9.9/10.0 is making a false claim. Dre has a great eye and experience. The OP referred to bulk submissions. Anyone who is good at determining high grade books tends to have a large amount of experience. The "bulk" is not in the submissions but in the number of books they have examined, submitted and compared to others.

 

 

I always told Beachbum that I was a big fan of his line "I only sell the cleanest books". This implied he looks at multiple copies and chose the "best". I enjoy the conversation I have on this topic.

 

 

Nobody can claim to "know 9.9/10.0's" because CGC does not know. Pick a book and submit it multiple times. Compare the grades. (thumbs u

 

My most recent example was cracking a blue 9.8 for sigs. It cam back 9.6. Acceptable grade drop for the sigs. Same book cracked for 3 more sigs and came back 9.8.

 

To claim you can call a 9.9/10.0 is to claim you can predict that 3 graders at some future time will agree with your assessment. When was the last time 3 people agreed with you about anything?

 

 

[bffnut]

Being a subscriber of Beachbum's, I can attest the quality of his 9.8s and 9.9s.

 

As far as I am aware, CGC follows the guidelines of grading set out in The Official Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide (2nd Edition), where a 9.9 can have one minor flaw, and a 9.8 can have 1-2 minor flaws.

[BeachBum]

No, he can't. Nobody can. CGC themselves can't do it.

 

Keep in mind that any claims to be able to spot a 9.9/10.0 is making a false claim. Dre has a great eye and experience. The OP referred to bulk submissions. Anyone who is good at determining high grade books tends to have a large amount of experience. The "bulk" is not in the submissions but in the number of books they have examined, submitted and compared to others.

 

 

I always told Beachbum that I was a big fan of his line "I only sell the cleanest books". This implied he looks at multiple copies and chose the "best". I enjoy the conversation I have on this topic.

 

 

Nobody can claim to "know 9.9/10.0's" because CGC does not know. Pick a book and submit it multiple times. Compare the grades. (thumbs u

 

My most recent example was cracking a blue 9.8 for sigs. It cam back 9.6. Acceptable grade drop for the sigs. Same book cracked for 3 more sigs and came back 9.8.

 

To claim you can call a 9.9/10.0 is to claim you can predict that 3 graders at some future time will agree with your assessment. When was the last time 3 people agreed with you about anything?

 

 

 

I know what a 9.9 and 10.0 looks like and I make sure to pull them when I spot them.

 

I'm not surprised when a book comes back 9.9 or 10.0

 

I always pull the cleanest copies regardless. Some 9.8s present better than others.

[N/A]

Oh, my friend. I will respectfully and completely disagree. (thumbs u

[N/A]

Call 1-877-662-6642 and ask who is perfect with their 9.8 prescreens. Ask what the highest pass rate is. 9.9 is harder than 9.8.

[N/A]

If 9.9/10.0 were clearly defined then perhaps I would agree. You may know what a 9.9/10.0 looks like Dre but that does not mean 3 graders are going to agree with you. You may not be surprised when you get a 9.9/10.0 but how often are you surprised a book came back 9.8 instead of a 9.9/10.0? We've had that discussion many times.

[BeachBum]

"Having" a chance at 9.9 is completely different than saying that's a 9.9 or 10.0 - I pulled a book from stacks on a table two years ago at Boston and said "hello puppet" - showed it to a couple of people and declared it was gonna be a "10.0"

 

You know what - it came back 10.0

 

Graders are not going to agree with you all the time but I can spot them - When I do a pre-screen of anything I look for the 9.9s and 10.0s candidates first, then settle for the 9.8s.

 

BTW It is very rare for me to have 9.6 SS on any submission, even the big cons (all NYCC sig subs 9.8 or higher). When it happens I know it's borderline or the artist was a little rough while signing and I'm aware of it as well.

[BeachBum]

BTW 9.9 & 10.0 is pretty clearly defined IMO

[nikocb]

"Having" a chance at 9.9 is completely different than saying that's a 9.9 or 10.0 - I pulled a book from stacks on a table two years ago at Boston and said "hello puppet" - showed it to a couple of people and declared it was gonna be a "10.0"

 

You know what - it came back 10.0

 

Graders are not going to agree with you all the time but I can spot them - When I do a pre-screen of anything I look for the 9.9s and 10.0s candidates first, then settle for the 9.8s.

 

BTW It is very rare for me to have 9.6 SS on any submission, even the big cons (all NYCC sig subs 9.8 or higher). When it happens I know it's borderline or the artist was a little rough while signing and I'm aware of it as well.

 

So tell us what it is you see different on a 9.9/10 vs a 9.8. Enlighten us, oh great one!

[BeachBum]

"Having" a chance at 9.9 is completely different than saying that's a 9.9 or 10.0 - I pulled a book from stacks on a table two years ago at Boston and said "hello puppet" - showed it to a couple of people and declared it was gonna be a "10.0"

 

You know what - it came back 10.0

 

Graders are not going to agree with you all the time but I can spot them - When I do a pre-screen of anything I look for the 9.9s and 10.0s candidates first, then settle for the 9.8s.

 

BTW It is very rare for me to have 9.6 SS on any submission, even the big cons (all NYCC sig subs 9.8 or higher). When it happens I know it's borderline or the artist was a little rough while signing and I'm aware of it as well.

 

So tell us what it is you see different on a 9.9/10 vs a 9.8. Enlighten us, oh great one!

 

[N/A]

"Having" a chance at 9.9 is completely different than saying that's a 9.9 or 10.0 - I pulled a book from stacks on a table two years ago at Boston and said "hello puppet" - showed it to a couple of people and declared it was gonna be a "10.0"

 

You know what - it came back 10.0

 

Graders are not going to agree with you all the time but I can spot them - When I do a pre-screen of anything I look for the 9.9s and 10.0s candidates first, then settle for the 9.8s.

 

 

I understand Dre but how many times have you said that it will be 9.9/10.0 and wasn't? I am always confused as to why you are so reluctant to credit your hard work but enthusiastically credit some grading skill.

 

Graders not agreeing by definition means you can't spot a CGC 9.9/10.0. You may be able to spot a Mint book according to your criteria but there are no guarantees the graders will agree which makes it a CGC 9.9/10.0.

 

[N/A]

BTW 9.9 & 10.0 is pretty clearly defined IMO

 

Then why are there more grade changes on submits than there are 9.9/10.0's? Why have 3 graders look at each book? Because grading is subjective. By definition there is no definition but only guidelines.

 

 

This is not CGC bashing in anyway. It is the nature of the beast. Grading is subjective and as with anything subjective it is open to human perception. We can debate if that includes the emotional state of the grader at the time.