Bronze Age CGC 9.2. Is it enough?

[the blob]

"have to disagree, the average 9.4 is nicer than the average 9.2."

 

i didn't say "on average", i said "often" -- often doesn't necessary mean "more often than not", but it means not seldom

 

so, are the top 20% of the 9.2s out there virtually indistinguishable from the bottom 20% of the 9.4s? probably.

[the blob]

"so your better off just buying a 9.6 copy for $30-$40"

 

maybe if you can get it for that price. isn't $40-80 more likely for a book that would be $20 in 9.4 or 9.2?

 

as for sunk slabbing costs, i've bought enough books for less than the slabbing cost to know this isn't how everyone is pricing them

[sterlingcomics]

I used to thumb my nose at 9.0-9.2 books, but after submitting some of my nice books and having the grades come back 9.0-9.2, I personally realize that there's a lot of money being made on just a .2 of a grade difference. Especially when budget is a concern, the LESSER of the 9.x grade range is a great bargain-it essentially allows you to collect CGC books without paying a CGC price.

[BassGMan]

Absolutely Sterling. I've also sent in some of what I considered to be beautiful books only to receive them back from CGC at a 9.0 or a 9.2. Does that all of a sudden mean they are not as beautiful as when I thought they would grade higher? No, not hardly, book hasn't changed, only the grade. Just goes to prove to me even further than a very large part of the money being spent on high grade books is for the grade on the label even moreso than the book inside the slab. I think the higher grades stroke the ego more, and that is important to some people. Nothing wrong with that at all as we can all do what we want with our own money. But I'd rather buy a beautiful 9.0 on the cheap than paying many times the price for a 9.4,9.6 or 9.8 missing those very small flaws seen on the 9.0s and 9.2s.

[jokersrevenge]

I don't see anything wrong with buying 9.2's, but I think there are plenty of 9.8 bronze age comics in the back issue bins just waiting for the savvy collector.

[BassGMan]

I don't see anything wrong with buying 9.2's, but I think there are plenty of 9.8 bronze age comics in the back issue bins just waiting for the savvy collector.

 

And believe me, concerning these horror issues, I'm lookin' as hard as I can.

[sterlingcomics]

I don't see anything wrong with buying 9.2's, but I think there are plenty of 9.8 bronze age comics in the back issue bins just waiting for the savvy collector.

 

And believe me, concerning these horror issues, I'm lookin' as hard as I can.

 

Personally, the jury is out as far as I'm concerned in regards to the generalization "All Bronze Age books are available in high grade in abundance." Maybe in a few years when the baby-boomers retire will we see if this is true.

 

Some titles have already proved this generalization to be true; but I think it is important to consider the target market for a given book. People love to keep superhero books in good shape, whereas some genres (war and horror) tend to be more tattered because people usually read them as opposed to collect the book. Perhaps the reality is somewhere in the middle.

[the blob]

"but I think there are plenty of 9.8 bronze age comics in the back issue bins just waiting for the savvy collector."

 

maybe on some of the speculated on late 70s (especially like PPSSM #1 and Star Wars 1) books in particular and definetely into the 80s, but not so much pre-76.

 

1983 is allegedly BA, but in terms of qualntity (that's a combo word of "quality" and "quantity") of product out there, it has very little to do with 1972.

[bronze johnny]

I agree with you. The CGC Census supports also this.

 

Some Early Bronze Age books are not that so common at 9.2s and 9.0s according to the CGC Census. Look at the census for these 3 books:

 

Ghosts #1

Weird War Tales #1

Creatures on the Loose #10

[Mr Ultra Pristine-migratio]

Okay, so I'm a Bronze Age fan who loves collecting the major and minor keys from this age. My first Bronze Age book was Marvel Two-In-One #1 cgc'ed 9.2. I bought it for such a great price that the grade just kinda stuck in my head and now I have a interesting collection of Bronze Age keys in 9.2's. The reason is (or so I convinced myself) because of pricing. For example, Daredevil #168 in 9.4 can set you back $200-250 bones whereas it's 9.2 counterpart will only cost you $100-135. Huge price difference.

 

Reading these boards it seems as if the members are saying that Bronze Age books are quite common in 9.4 conditions and anything less is really a waste of time and money. Therefore I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time and money tracking down and buying cheaper 9.2's? When this mythological "great crash" comes, will 9.2 Bronze Age keys be a worthless commodity?

 

(excuss the spelling)

 

It is an absolute waste of time buying anything below 10.0. Anything under 10.0 is garbage.

[DiceX]

I love 9.0s and 9.2s.

I tend to sell 9.6+ because the money is hard to turn down.

The slabs I buy are 8.5 to 9.4, depending on the book.

These are the best grades for the money, IMO.

There are very few books I would pay stupid multiples for a 9.6+ grade. Although...there *are* a few.

[nearmint]

8.5s don't bother me either...

 

[DiceX]

8.5s don't bother me either...

 

8.5's rule!

 

[BassGMan]

I agree, 8.5s are mostly shunned by the high grade collectors and Bronze books can often be found for just slightly over slabbing fees or even less (not including keys). I imagine that most 8.5s are the result of submitters hoping for 9.0s or 9.2s and then willing to let go of them for pretty cheap when they come back sub-par. They still look great to me though.

[the blob]

Both examples are books that would have been sold as NM or NM- by many dealers pre-CGC.

[sfilosa]

Both examples are books that would have been sold as NM or NM- by many dealers pre-CGC.

 

Let's clarify:

 

Sold as NM or NM- by SELLERS (before or after CGC).

 

 

Those books look great, but obviously have flaws that can't been seen. When most SELLERS see these flaws they IGNORE them.

[the blob]

I include regular dealers at shows and shops in my definition of "dealer", including some overstreet advisors. I don't include hacks like me who sell some books on ebay and do a show every 4 years as "dealers."

 

I have a cgc 9.4 ASM 300 and the darn thing certainly has its share of flaws though. I'd be hesitant to use that as my standard when calling raw books 9.4s -- generally speaking I call what appears to be a 9.4 a 9.2 or 9.0 just to avoid someone complaining if they get out the electron microscope and spot a flaw. Granted, I don't sell any expensive high grade (9.4 or better) raw books, so I'm not giving much away. Any book where I'd get upset undergrading it for the sake of an ebay auction is a book I keep in the permanent colelction.

[THE_BEYONDER]

What would you grade a book that had 8 color-breaking spine stresses ....but was otherwise flawless ?

 

 

[the blob]

i could only make out 4 spine stresses, maybe 5, on that book

 

it looks about as nice as my 9.4 ASM 300 (which I use as my liberal guide on what a 9.4 could be), but it's hard to spot tiny flaws on a scan unless it's one of those monster heritage jobs

 

so... reveal the grade... where I buying off that scan I'd probably say 8.5, but i wouldn't be surprised if CGC went higher

[THE_BEYONDER]