2014 March Madness Comic Grading Tournament - Round of 128

[universal soldier]

I'm so happy I had a bye this round. I graded them and PM'd myself as a sanity check. I had the Avengers as a 7.0.

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Round of 128 slab scans.

 

 

 

 

 

[marmat]

I really do not understand CGC policy about production defects.

The corner is missing, it does not matter if it was cutted of by the printer or by mishandling.

The only thing that matters is that the corner is not there.

 

That book (or any book with a MISSING CORNER) is not a 9.2 IMO

[timfinz]

I really do not understand CGC policy about production defects.

The corner is missing, it does not matter if it was cutted of by the printer or by mishandling.

The only thing that matters is that the corner is not there.

 

That book (or any book with a MISSING CORNER) is not a 9.2 IMO

Just like I have a beautiful 64 Mustang in pristine condition, 'cept it only has three wheels, the other one fell off! But it is still NM-

[bffnut]

I used the OVerstreet Grading guide for AVE, thinking it was a chunk of paper missing. According to the guide, that is only allowed at 4.5 or lower, so that is what I guessed.

 

I'm not surprised that PPSS got 9.8 - it is a very sharp looking book. I graded it lower because there seems to be sticker residue on the upper left front cover - like there was a price tag there that got mostly pulled.

 

Good luck to everyone moving forward!

 

AVE 4.5

B&B 1

PPSS 9.4

XMEN 7

 

 

[Jeffro.]

Having said that, I don't agree that it's a 9.2 either but again, you have to get inside of CGCs head.

 

No thanks, I grade by OS, which CGC states they do too.

 

If we're all playing Kreskin mind games, then it's no longer a grading contest, but a psychological transference exercise.

 

But the trick Avengers grade aside, it's still my fault I'm out, as I was away for Easter and rushed to get the grades in last night, and put 9.0 instead of 8.0 for the X-Men. What a maroon, as I sat there for a few minutes deciding between 7.5, 8.0 and 8.5...

 

And then I put 9.0.

 

[timfinz]

I used the OVerstreet Grading guide for AVE, thinking it was a chunk of paper missing. According to the guide, that is only allowed at 4.5 or lower, so that is what I guessed.

 

I'm not surprised that PPSS got 9.8 - it is a very sharp looking book. I graded it lower because there seems to be sticker residue on the upper left front cover - like there was a price tag there that got mostly pulled.

 

Good luck to everyone moving forward!

 

AVE 4.5

B&B 1

PPSS 9.4

XMEN 7

 

Just a quick note for future reference. In the Overstreet Grading Guide there is a note that states certain defects are permissible if other defects are not present in grades up to 8.5. In the case of Avengers it would not have been penalized as much as you did, just for future reference because there will be another grading contest sometime! (thumbs u

[timfinz]

Having said that, I don't agree that it's a 9.2 either but again, you have to get inside of CGCs head.

 

No thanks, I grade by OS, which CGC states they do too.

 

If we're all playing Kreskin mind games, then it's no longer a grading contest, but a psychological transference exercise.

 

But the trick Avengers grade aside, it's still my fault I'm out, as I was away for Easter and rushed to get the grades in last night, and put 9.0 instead of 8.0 for the X-Men. What a maroon, as I sat there for a few minutes deciding between 7.5, 8.0 and 8.5...

 

And then I put 9.0.

 

That's not the missing piece your looking for???

[stanley1883]

Seriously, somebody help me out. I have a book that looks like that X Men issue and it's a 9.2. How the hell did spine ticks demote it to an 8???

[joe_collector]

Seriously, somebody help me out. I have a book that looks like that X Men issue and it's a 9.2. How the hell did spine ticks demote it to an 8???

 

Is it a Modern?

 

Those are some HUGE spine creases on the X-Men (look at the big scan), and I was waffling between an 8 and an 8.5 for this book, with an outside chance at a 7.5 for undisclosed/hidden damage.

 

But that brings up the question of if that's an 8.0 wtf is the Avengers getting a 9.2 and the PPSSM at 9.8.

 

If I bought those two books sight-unseen in a forum BIN, I would give up CGC collecting for life.

[Jeffro.]

Seriously, somebody help me out. I have a book that looks like that X Men issue and it's a 9.2. How the hell did spine ticks demote it to an 8???

 

How the hell does a comic with that many spine tics get a 9.2?

Besides, there were other issues with that X-Men 266

[timfinz]

Seriously, somebody help me out. I have a book that looks like that X Men issue and it's a 9.2. How the hell did spine ticks demote it to an 8???

There are no less than 10 spine stresses, some that break colour.

On the front cover not one of the corners is sharp. They are all either rounded or blunted.

There are 18 visible spine stresses on the back cover.

Again none of the corners are sharp. There is a very minute impact on the LHS edge just down slightly from the word "IF".

 

Those were my notes on this book. I think spine stresses and corners that are not sharp (or missing) are my biggest issues when it comes to high grade books, and this one just didn't make the cut IMHO!

[Silver]

Thought for sure I would be out as a 15 seed, I have been under grading everything.

[timfinz]

Thought for sure I would be out as a 15 seed, I have been under grading everything.

Don't count yourself out until you are! I'm out!

[Comicdey]

I went all incense and mind altering music when grading this round.

 

Avengers was a pristine book with a production flaw. I'd buy it all day long as a 4.5-6.0. But I felt I was being generous grading it a 9.0. I knew from my experience that CGC would be kind to it but I'd never buy a CGC 9.2 with a corner missing. I tried going CGC on the Xmen and was overly generous. I had a hulk 1 with similar defects so figured 1.5 on the B&B but I groot I take into account the key factor and I think the B&B was just an uglier book. Great read though PPSSM was a generous 9.8, I pegged it 9.6 but on the iPhone waffled at 9.8.

 

All comics look prettier on an iPhone ::

[Comicdey]

I pretty much only graded the front covers on the moderns ::

[AnhDepTrai]

My life on my first tournament is short but enjoyable, will participate again next year for sure.

 

Agreed with all the comments regarding the PPSSM and the X-men, very generous for such grade.

 

Too many creases that visible on the X-men for an 8.0, I had it at 7.0. For the PPSSM, I counted 2 break color creases on front cover and a ink rub? at the top left front cover corner, 9.8 seem very generous, had it at 9.4. A good lesson on the Avengers, "production defect"!

 

Congratz to my opponent and everyone advance! Good luck on next round.

[rjpb]

I used the OVerstreet Grading guide for AVE, thinking it was a chunk of paper missing. According to the guide, that is only allowed at 4.5 or lower, so that is what I guessed.

 

I'm not surprised that PPSS got 9.8 - it is a very sharp looking book. I graded it lower because there seems to be sticker residue on the upper left front cover - like there was a price tag there that got mostly pulled.

 

Good luck to everyone moving forward!

 

AVE 4.5

B&B 1

PPSS 9.4

XMEN 7

 

Just a quick note for future reference. In the Overstreet Grading Guide there is a note that states certain defects are permissible if other defects are not present in grades up to 8.5. In the case of Avengers it would not have been penalized as much as you did, just for future reference because there will be another grading contest sometime! (thumbs u

 

Agreed, there are plenty or 4.5s out there where a missing piece that size is just one of a number of notable defects. The Overstreet Grading Guide, like CGC just gives an opinion, and I don't care what sort criteria anyone uses for grading, they are going to be flexible - clearly this is the case for CGC - there are no absolute rules for grading, just guidelines. The collecting community and the marketplace ultimately decide if they agree with any particular interpretation of those guidelines.

 

CGC and the OGG may carry more weight than most other sources when opining on grades, but neither is gospel, and believing either source to be such will only lead to frustration.

[timfinz]

I used the OVerstreet Grading guide for AVE, thinking it was a chunk of paper missing. According to the guide, that is only allowed at 4.5 or lower, so that is what I guessed.

 

I'm not surprised that PPSS got 9.8 - it is a very sharp looking book. I graded it lower because there seems to be sticker residue on the upper left front cover - like there was a price tag there that got mostly pulled.

 

Good luck to everyone moving forward!

 

AVE 4.5

B&B 1

PPSS 9.4

XMEN 7

 

Just a quick note for future reference. In the Overstreet Grading Guide there is a note that states certain defects are permissible if other defects are not present in grades up to 8.5. In the case of Avengers it would not have been penalized as much as you did, just for future reference because there will be another grading contest sometime! (thumbs u [/quote

 

Agreed, there are plenty or 4.5s out there where a missing piece that size is just one of a number of notable defects. The Overstreet Grading Guide, like CGC just gives an opinion, and I don't care what sort criteria anyone uses for grading, they are going to be flexible - clearly this is the case for CGC - there are no absolute rules for grading, just guidelines. The collecting community and the marketplace ultimately decide if they agree with any particular interpretation of those guidelines.

 

CGC and the OGG may carry more weight than most other sources when opining on grades, but neither is gospel, and believing either source to be such will only lead to frustration.

 

Well said and I agree with you rjpb! I personally would never consider that copy of Avengers a 9.2 but that is my opinion and to me that is what is most important. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, doesn't mean that everyone has to agree with it!

[rjpb]

 

Well said and I agree with you rjpb! I personally would never consider that copy of Avengers a 9.2 but that is my opinion and to me that is what is most important. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, doesn't mean that everyone has to agree with it!

 

I've noticed that your opinion frequently matches mine in the grading forum, and did so on all four of these books, so clearly you know how to grade.