Is this Hulk 340 a 9.8? 0

[evolpe79]

I got a Hulk 340 off eBay that I was hoping would grade 9.8.  When I receive the book, there is a tiny tick that appear to be color breaking.  I have been researching and most people say 1 color breaking tick and you're looking at a max 9.6.  Here is a photo for reference:

I tried to measure it.  To my naked eye is appears to be 3/32 of an inch long.  It's tiny.  Undetectable from far, but definitely visible up close.  The rest of the book is perfect.  Then I receive a 9.8 Web of Spiderman 31 in the mail from ebay that has these flaws and now I'm thinking it has a chance at 9.8.

Thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[joeypost]

I see at least two color breaks on the spine (from the picture). While over graded books do happen, I see this as a 9.6 at best, assuming it has no other defects. 

[PunisherPunisherPunisher]

Must have been graded on a Friday just before knock off time

[Artboy99]

38 minutes ago, joeypost said:

I see at leastt two color breaks on the spine (from the picture). While over graded books do happen, I see this as a 9.6 at best, assuming it has no other defects. 

I see 3. Post a scan of the entire book in the "please grade my" thread. This is likely at best a 9.4

[Myowncollector]

Wrong forum. This belongs in the spare a grade section!!! I don't care but some do. It takes them 3 days to approve your first comment but if you say something that doesn't agree with their views or in wrong forum they are on you in a heartbeat. 

Answer to your ? Who knows. 1. Most 9.8s shouldn't be imo. If I move book in light I can usually find 2 or 3 tiny tiny tics. I think a 9.8 should be special. 2. A lot of 9.6s will look better than 9.8s. 3. Who did you buy it from? No name needed but do they know what they are doing? Aka sell tons of slabs. If it was a 9.8 they would of had it graded.

[evolpe79]

6 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

I see 3. Post a scan of the entire book in the "please grade my" thread. This is likely at best a 9.4

Thanks for the advise.  I'm new here and new to the comic grading thing.  When you say scan the entire book, what do you mean?  Take a picture with my camera or throw it on my scanner/printer I have at home?

[evolpe79]

4 hours ago, Myowncollector said:

Wrong forum. This belongs in the spare a grade section!!! I don't care but some do. It takes them 3 days to approve your first comment but if you say something that doesn't agree with their views or in wrong forum they are on you in a heartbeat. 

Answer to your ? Who knows. 1. Most 9.8s shouldn't be imo. If I move book in light I can usually find 2 or 3 tiny tiny tics. I think a 9.8 should be special. 2. A lot of 9.6s will look better than 9.8s. 3. Who did you buy it from? No name needed but do they know what they are doing? Aka sell tons of slabs. If it was a 9.8 they would of had it graded.

My first post here and I don't know my way around yet.  I bought it off an ebay guy.  The reason I posted is because of the last statement you made.  If this was such a gem, why not grade it yourself and then sell the slab?  ugh.

[Myowncollector]

39 minutes ago, evolpe79 said:

My first post here and I don't know my way around yet.  I bought it off an ebay guy.  The reason I posted is because of the last statement you made.  If this was such a gem, why not grade it yourself and then sell the slab?  ugh.

It doesn't bother me, someone replied before me anyways, I was replying then dinner interrupted haha but some people don't care if you are new. Post in the appropriate area or off with your head! I have visited the forum before. Never had the time to converse until now. Never called the sports talk shows but have time now. 

It's just a ? to ask or a warning sign. I have sold 9.8s raw and bought them raw and they truly were a 9.8. And I sell slabs, people I bought from sell slabs. Not everyone slabs everything. But if the seller sells a lot of slabs then why did he take this price on the book when if it was a true 9.8 he could slab it and made 2 or 3 times more? Why does he only have 1 or 2 photos of this book and they are blurry photos? Why does he refuse to reply to my messages asking for additional pictures of the spine or bottom corner etc. I buy from people with lots of photos where I can grade the book myself. Will message the seller if I want a close up picture of something. And buy from the sellers who I had good experiences with. Even message them to see if they have what I am looking for. They usually have 10s if thousands of books not listed. All they can say is they don't have it or will track one done for me or just not reply.

[evolpe79]

3 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

It doesn't bother me, someone replied before me anyways, I was replying then dinner interrupted haha but some people don't care if you are new. Post in the appropriate area or off with your head! I have visited the forum before. Never had the time to converse until now. Never called the sports talk shows but have time now. 

It's just a ? to ask or a warning sign. I have sold 9.8s raw and bought them raw and they truly were a 9.8. And I sell slabs, people I bought from sell slabs. Not everyone slabs everything. But if the seller sells a lot of slabs then why did he take this price on the book when if it was a true 9.8 he could slab it and made 2 or 3 times more? Why does he only have 1 or 2 photos of this book and they are blurry photos? Why does he refuse to reply to my messages asking for additional pictures of the spine or bottom corner etc. I buy from people with lots of photos where I can grade the book myself. Will message the seller if I want a close up picture of something. And buy from the sellers who I had good experiences with. Even message them to see if they have what I am looking for. They usually have 10s if thousands of books not listed. All they can say is they don't have it or will track one done for me or just not reply.

I'm making some beginners mistakes.  The listing stated it was NM+.  I am now learning that is a 9.6, not a 9.8.  I bought it for $120, which is pretty much in line with what a slabbed 9.6 would go for, minus the grading fees.  So I don't think I made a poor purchase, but I think the book isn't as mint as I was hoping.

I also found the grading thread and made some scans of the book.  I'm going to let those guys tear the book apart.  Ha ha.

Thanks again!

[Myowncollector]

2 minutes ago, evolpe79 said:

I'm making some beginners mistakes.  The listing stated it was NM+.  I am now learning that is a 9.6, not a 9.8.  I bought it for $120, which is pretty much in line with what a slabbed 9.6 would go for, minus the grading fees.  So I don't think I made a poor purchase, but I think the book isn't as mint as I was hoping.

I also found the grading thread and made some scans of the book.  I'm going to let those guys tear the book apart.  Ha ha.

Thanks again!

Well some advice for a beginner is always remind yourself you are one. I have collected a long time and still make mistakes all the time. Just keep your mistakes at things like I sold the book to early, could of tripled my money instead of doubling it. Or should of bought this book years ago. Not I spent 20 grand on this book and I now discover its restored. $130 dollar mistake is nothing, and really only a $30 one or so. When the trailer 6 years from now shows that reflection you will double your money haha. I will give you a grade in that thread. 

[evolpe79]

1 minute ago, Myowncollector said:

Well some advice for a beginner is always remind yourself you are one. I have collected a long time and still make mistakes all the time. Just keep your mistakes at things like I sold the book to early, could of tripled my money instead of doubling it. Or should of bought this book years ago. Not I spent 20 grand on this book and I now discover its restored. $130 dollar mistake is nothing, and really only a $30 one or so. When the trailer 6 years from now shows that reflection you will double your money haha. I will give you a grade in that thread. 

I've been going the conservative route by buying the 9.8 slabs I want.  Most have been the low print Spawns.  This was the first raw book I bought off ebay for the purposes of grading myself.  Well, I did buy a raw Spawn "Thank you" book.  To me that looks 9.8 as well.  That's the next book I'm going to ask to have graded.  When buying the raw books, I tend to make offers in line with a GPA of 9.6 to make sure I'm getting a book that I can't get screwed too hard with.

[Myowncollector]

10 minutes ago, evolpe79 said:

I've been going the conservative route by buying the 9.8 slabs I want.  Most have been the low print Spawns.  This was the first raw book I bought off ebay for the purposes of grading myself.  Well, I did buy a raw Spawn "Thank you" book.  To me that looks 9.8 as well.  That's the next book I'm going to ask to have graded.  When buying the raw books, I tend to make offers in line with a GPA of 9.6 to make sure I'm getting a book that I can't get screwed too hard with.

Todd's best work imo. I only read spawn 1 through 3, all I could take story wise but art is great. You can collect for yourself or for profit or a little of both. If for yourself with no plans to resell you might want to consider 9.6s slabs. Most 9.8 slabs I have had, or seen have 2 or 3 or even 4 little spin tics, nothing severe. Some you have to search out they dont say here I am look at me. 9.6 are usually a little worse but one out of every five or seven or so look as good as or better than a weak 9.8. There are 9.8s and then there are 9.7s. The 9.7s can gi either way so rather buy the one labeled with the 9.6 on it and save money. You want the 9.7 not the 9.5

[evolpe79]

5 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

Todd's best work imo. I only read spawn 1 through 3, all I could take story wise but art is great. You can collect for yourself or for profit or a little of both. If for yourself with no plans to resell you might want to consider 9.6s slabs. Most 9.8 slabs I have had, or seen have 2 or 3 or even 4 little spin tics, nothing severe. Some you have to search out they dont say here I am look at me. 9.6 are usually a little worse but one out of every five or seven or so look as good as or better than a weak 9.8. There are 9.8s and then there are 9.7s. The 9.7s can gi either way so rather buy the one labeled with the 9.6 on it and save money. You want the 9.7 not the 9.5

These are more for a personal collection than for profit.  However, if a book does sky rocket, I certain would consider selling it to get other books I really want.

I agree, I'm re-reading the Spawns now and the story is so weak, but the art is great.  I want slabs on the wall and his stuff will look great.

Thanks again for your honest feedback and the advise.  I may put the Hulk 340 back on ebay and look to find a better copy.  This time I'll ask for scans and be better prepared.

[Myowncollector]

4 minutes ago, evolpe79 said:

These are more for a personal collection than for profit.  However, if a book does sky rocket, I certain would consider selling it to get other books I really want.

I agree, I'm re-reading the Spawns now and the story is so weak, but the art is great.  I want slabs on the wall and his stuff will look great.

Thanks again for your honest feedback and the advise.  I may put the Hulk 340 back on ebay and look to find a better copy.  This time I'll ask for scans and be better prepared.

I sold all my wolverine books when disney got the rights or I would give you a fair price on one. If I come upon more I will keep you in mind but with virus it might be awhile and I am sure I will find them in future doesn't mean they will be a 9.8 so good luck on ebay. Be a good book to find that 9.7 in the 9.6 slab. 

[evolpe79]

8 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

I sold all my wolverine books when disney got the rights or I would give you a fair price on one. If I come upon more I will keep you in mind but with virus it might be awhile and I am sure I will find them in future doesn't mean they will be a 9.8 so good luck on ebay. Be a good book to find that 9.7 in the 9.6 slab. 

Did the Disney acquisition have anything to do with you selling?  I would think having him in the MCU would boost the book value.  Unless the idea is buy the rumor and sell the news.  I suppose the Wolverine books could have gained value as rumors about the deal were ongoing, but once the deal is done, the hype goes away and so does the demand.

[Myowncollector]

14 minutes ago, evolpe79 said:

Did the Disney acquisition have anything to do with you selling?  I would think having him in the MCU would boost the book value.  Unless the idea is buy the rumor and sell the news.  I suppose the Wolverine books could have gained value as rumors about the deal were ongoing, but once the deal is done, the hype goes away and so does the demand.

Had everything to do with me selling. Hulk 180 181 340 love them all. Price went up with rumor. Think it even went more up when it was confirmed. Prices have come down now I believe but not sure how much. Haven't came across any of those books since. If I did I would sell. Dont see another bump but who knows, those books just keep rising. I usually sell on the rumor because lots of times it doesn't happen. I collect everything but mainly golden age and silver. I like wolverine but maybe one day collecting will not be as popular and the cost goes down. Will keep one then. If not I can always just buy one at market value. You can always sell something you used to like for something you like now.

[evolpe79]

2 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

Had everything to do with me selling. Hulk 180 181 340 love them all. Price went up with rumor. Think it even went more up when it was confirmed. Prices have come down now I believe but not sure how much. Haven't came across any of those books since. If I did I would sell. Dont see another bump but who knows, those books just keep rising. I usually sell on the rumor because lots of times it doesn't happen. I collect everything but mainly golden age and silver. I like wolverine but maybe one day collecting will not be as popular and the cost goes down. Will keep one then. If not I can always just buy one at market value. You can always sell something you used to like for something you like now.

BTW, thanks for your grades on my two books.  Not a good start to trying to get 9.8 books.  I'm also starting to learn what deducts points from a grade and I thought the stress lines in the Spawn wouldn't affect the grade too harshly since they don't break color.  But then again, the book is white...  There is no color.

Do you think a pressing will help get rid of the stress lines?

[Artboy99]

advice:

If you want a 9.8 copy of Hulk 340 I say you just buy one. The book is difficult to find in that grade as a raw due to the dark color of the book.

[1-9-8-0]

15 hours ago, Myowncollector said:

Well some advice for a beginner is always remind yourself you are one. I have collected a long time and still make mistakes all the time. Just keep your mistakes at things like I sold the book to early, could of tripled my money instead of doubling it. Or should of bought this book years ago. Not I spent 20 grand on this book and I now discover its restored. $130 dollar mistake is nothing, and really only a $30 one or so. When the trailer 6 years from now shows that reflection you will double your money haha. I will give you a grade in that thread. 

Wow, way to not show constructive criticism in ANY of your replies to the original poster, especially being that they are new, maybe you didn't intend to come off like an arrogant white knight of the forums, whether it's not having a super keen eye for spotting discrepancies in a comic or posting in the wrong forum (the mods themselves can do that, hence the reason they're mods). I thought it was an honest question, and as for the slab, it does happen where someone will open one up and swap the 9.8 out, put a lower grade in that looks almost 9.8-ish, make it look like it was never opened, then put the ebay listing up and sell it as the 9.8, meanwhile sending the real 9.8 back in and getting it slabbed as a 9.8 to either keep for themselves or sell. People should be more welcoming to new collectors. 

[Myowncollector]

On 4/21/2020 at 5:32 PM, 1-9-8-0 said:

Wow, way to not show constructive criticism in ANY of your replies to the original poster, especially being that they are new, maybe you didn't intend to come off like an arrogant white knight of the forums, whether it's not having a super keen eye for spotting discrepancies in a comic or posting in the wrong forum (the mods themselves can do that, hence the reason they're mods). I thought it was an honest question, and as for the slab, it does happen where someone will open one up and swap the 9.8 out, put a lower grade in that looks almost 9.8-ish, make it look like it was never opened, then put the ebay listing up and sell it as the 9.8, meanwhile sending the real 9.8 back in and getting it slabbed as a 9.8 to either keep for themselves or sell. People should be more welcoming to new collectors. 

I am sorry I triggered you. Go up stairs, have a mountain dew, hug mommy and daddy, it will be ok.