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Some Guys Get All The Breaks - 8.5 to 9.2

Started by Mr. Zipper,

286 posts in this topic

Mr. Zipper

Mr. Zipper

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As reported on the STL Board, Mosconi sold this book to Jason Ewert last year on Ebay in a CGC 8.5 case with offwhite pages. The book has a 1/2 inch tear below the Beast's hand at the spine and also a small stain at the bottom right corner. The grader's notes when it was sold were 8.0, 8.5, and 8.5.

 

GSX-Men1.jpg

 

GS1.jpg

 

Now, the same book is on Ebay is a CGC 9.2 with offwhite to white pages.

 

GSX192.jpg

 

Certainly appears to be the same book with the same flaw (tear?) to the left and slightly below the Beast's hand.

 

confused-smiley-013.gif

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Mr. Zipper

Mr. Zipper

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My understanding is Mr Ewert ranks high on the chart for pressing books that he buys or owns. And CGC only sees the book as it comes in to them. So they grade it accordingly.

 

Rube

 

Well, he didn't press out that tear (or whatever) that you can still see. And he couldn't press the page color into a better quality.

 

893scratchchin-thumb.gif

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burntboy

burntboy

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My understanding is Mr Ewert ranks high on the chart for pressing books that he buys or owns. And CGC only sees the book as it comes in to them. So they grade it accordingly.

 

Rube

 

Well, he didn't press out that tear (or whatever) that you can still see. And he couldn't press the page color into a better quality.

 

893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

it looks like the same book to me, so assuming it is;

 

if this was a one grade bump with no change in page color, i'd be OK, as i do believe (especially after seeing the wild swings in grading in these contests from even the best of graders - albeit from scans) that the science/art of grading can't be perfect.

 

the 2 grade bump is troublesome as it either suggests a bit more variance in the grading criteria that i would like to see or that perhaps some other minor C&P work was done to enhance the grade. (i don't believe the mere presence of a tiny tear precludes a book from 9.2 status all other things being perfect..........).

 

the change in PQ is more troubling, however. is there an undetectable way of upgrading the page color??? confused.gif

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Foolkiller

Foolkiller

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I think CGC has gone through cycles of how tough they are on books. That's an old label, and could have been in one of their harsher periods. Even with the new label, I've seen some books graded unbelievably strictly, and then others that were pretty loose. Some of it has to be subjective on the day that the book gets graded. Who knows. Is it a little bit bothersome that a book get a different grade on a different day? I guess so, but on the other hand, if I gave you a stack of 100 books to grade today, do you think you grade them all the same 6 months from now? Probably not. It's just there is some level of subjectivity, and with all the books being graded, this is bound to happen.

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chrisco37

chrisco37

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the change in PQ is more troubling, however. is there an undetectable way of upgrading the page color???

 

Not that I'm aware of. I'm surprised that you think a one level bump in PQ is troubling.

 

OW to OW/W is the same as an 8.5 regraded to a 9.0 to me. Judgment call that day. confused-smiley-013.gif

 

Remember the "upgrade chart" Arty did on the Church books? Now those were crazy PQ jumps.

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BassGMan

BassGMan

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I think CGC has gone through cycles of how tough they are on books. That's an old label, and could have been in one of their harsher periods. Even with the new label, I've seen some books graded unbelievably strictly, and then others that were pretty loose. Some of it has to be subjective on the day that the book gets graded. Who knows. Is it a little bit bothersome that a book get a different grade on a different day? I guess so, but on the other hand, if I gave you a stack of 100 books to grade today, do you think you grade them all the same 6 months from now? Probably not. It's just there is some level of subjectivity, and with all the books being graded, this is bound to happen.

 

And THIS is exactly why I see price differentials on a 0.2 difference to be so crazy. I can understand a 25% bump up in value, but when you add 50% or more to the FMV because of 0.2, then I see buying the label as the primary objective.

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october

october

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I see buying the label as the primary objective.

 

27_laughing.gif27_laughing.gif27_laughing.gif

 

OF COURSE IT IS.

 

...and yet the vast majority of people who buy slabs claim they are "buying the book", including many people on these boards. I agree it is obvious they are interested in the label, but you won't find many people who will admit it. confused-smiley-013.gif

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Foolkiller

Foolkiller

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I don't know that I'd call Ewert unethical (we have a difference of opinion on the whole pressing issue) even with the pressing issue. He's playing by the rules currently established and generally accepted, so I don't see how that's unethical really. What I love is that Ewert and Brulato are joined at the hip at most cons, with Ewert being (and I can't take credit for this term) the "man-servant". Or as I have termed them, it's like watching Pancho Sanza follow Don Quixote. It's hilarious. But I will give Jason props on this much, the guy's got a great eye for seeing books, and he does the legwork so personally I give him all the credit in the world for being a guy who hustles.

 

My understanding is Mr Ewert ranks high on the chart for pressing books that he buys or owns.

 

Which is exactly why I will never buy a book from Mr. Ewert due to, IMHO, his unethical sales practices.

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Mr. Zipper

Mr. Zipper

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But I will give Jason props on this much, the guy's got a great eye for seeing books, and he does the legwork so personally I give him all the credit in the world for being a guy who hustles.

 

Of course, having other dealers reserve multiple long boxes of HG raw for Ewert's "right of first refusal" helps bolster the "he's got a great eye" mythology. (Per SD Con reports.)

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Foolkiller

Foolkiller

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zipper:

 

I can only go on what I've seen... I've been right behind him or right next to him while he's sorting through boxes, and no dealer has ever told me that they would absolutely reserve stuff for him alone.

 

However, I do remember that one dealer told me that he gave Jason first pick sometimes because he was buying at a clip of $10-$15k at a time from him. From that standpoint, I totally understand giving right of first refusal. I used to get that from a couple of the LCSs back in Jersey and I would get the first call on any new collection, come in and pick out the HG I wanted... so I've watched Jason do the digging myself, so I'm pretty sure it isn't just based on the reservation system.

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