JayBees Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Question for the experts here.... So I was browsing Comic Connect today, and there is an X-Men #6 (1964) graded at a 9.2. It states that there is page missing but doesn't affect story. Looks good, but in my mind, why should it garner a Near Mint grading? Makes no sense to me. The comic is incomplete. That alone should knock that down several tiers. Seems crazy to me. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Qalyar Posted March 12, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 12, 2021 28 minutes ago, JayBees said: Question for the experts here.... So I was browsing Comic Connect today, and there is an X-Men #6 (1964) graded at a 9.2. It states that there is page missing but doesn't affect story. Looks good, but in my mind, why should it garner a Near Mint grading? Makes no sense to me. The comic is incomplete. That alone should knock that down several tiers. Seems crazy to me. Thoughts? That's why that book has a Qualified label. The book has a single significant flaw -- specifically, a missing non-story page -- but is otherwise a 9.2 book. Green label books are given the grade they would have without the qualifying flaw. The alternative here would be an 0.5 (Incomplete) Universal label, but obviously that would obfuscate the fact that the book is, in fact, visually very pretty. Randall Dowling, silverseeker, KCOComics and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayBees Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 No, I get that but it still seems off to me. Buyer beware, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning55 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 If it had a blue label, a 9.2 grade, and said it had a missing story page, that would be "off". It's exactly as it should be, given the grading options. In general, anyone purchasing anything should be fully aware of what they are buying, or they should take the time to investigate more about the item or service. If money is leaving your hand, you had best be sure. If something is correctly portrayed, and you think it's something else, that's on you. Galen130, The Lions Den and KCOComics 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William-James88 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 3 hours ago, JayBees said: No, I get that but it still seems off to me. Buyer beware, I suppose. Not really, the holder would tell you that you are buying a flawed comic. So much so that it's nicknamed the Green Holder of DEATH. If you could give a link to the listing, it would help. ThothAmon and The Lions Den 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaard Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 It's CGC's grading criteria and they set the rules for their grading. IMO, however, there should be no such thing as a 'qualified' grade. HuddyBee, theCapraAegagrus and Readcomix 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 3 hours ago, Gaard said: It's CGC's grading criteria and they set the rules for their grading. IMO, however, there should be no such thing as a 'qualified' grade. I somewhat agree. I think that certain MFG defects call for a "Qualified" label, only to make it crystal clear to the consumer that: "This was not intended to be produced this way." Stuff such as missing inks, missing staple, etc. I would not include incomplete books in this category. They would all be NG-0.5 IMO. Randall Dowling, The Lions Den and Readcomix 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaard Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 2 hours ago, Angel of Death said: I somewhat agree. I think that certain MFG defects call for a "Qualified" label, only to make it crystal clear to the consumer that: "This was not intended to be produced this way." Stuff such as missing inks, missing staple, etc. I would not include incomplete books in this category. They would all be NG-0.5 IMO. I can understand this line of thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 5 hours ago, BL4Z3D said: Even if they were a 9.8 except for a missing Marvel Value Stamp? Correct, IMO. Randall Dowling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayBees Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 Im not sure I could buy a qualified green label, only because I am a completist. A missing Marvel Stamp I might swing at the right price, but top dollar for a comic missing an entire page is disaster to me. In my 40 +years of collecting, I have some with a missing page or two, and when I come across one, it bugs me. I know thats my choice. You all make excellent arguments. I agree with Gaard however, its either this or that. It cant be “kinda this, sorta this, so we decide its this”. There has to be a static standard. I buy a comic, its in the condition that it is in, incomplete, intact, complete, or pristine. To me, there is no other option. Coverdeath 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning55 Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Of the 2 choices, qualified or incomplete, it doesn't matter. The important thing is to relate what is IN the slab to the observer, whether a collector or dealer, buyer or seller. The green label immediately alerts you that something is different about the comic. So even though you might be impressed by the visual appearance, you know something's up. The text on the label tells you what that is. Same as if it was labeled 0.5 Incomplete, with the caveat of what is missing. You might at first glance say "How can that beautiful book be a 0.5?" Then you read the text. Either way, you come to understand what is between the welded plastic panels, since you can't flip through it. What is still curious is that sometimes it comes back 0.5, other times green label 9.X. Who decides? I am told by some you can direct (request?) the 0.5 in lieu of the green, or vice versa. But I have seen people complain here that it was ignored. Maybe someone knows the truth. The Lions Den and Readcomix 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qalyar Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, Lightning55 said: Of the 2 choices, qualified or incomplete, it doesn't matter. The important thing is to relate what is IN the slab to the observer, whether a collector or dealer, buyer or seller. The green label immediately alerts you that something is different about the comic. So even though you might be impressed by the visual appearance, you know something's up. The text on the label tells you what that is. Same as if it was labeled 0.5 Incomplete, with the caveat of what is missing. You might at first glance say "How can that beautiful book be a 0.5?" Then you read the text. Either way, you come to understand what is between the welded plastic panels, since you can't flip through it. What is still curious is that sometimes it comes back 0.5, other times green label 9.X. Who decides? I am told by some you can direct (request?) the 0.5 in lieu of the green, or vice versa. But I have seen people complain here that it was ignored. Maybe someone knows the truth. So, green labels mean the books would receive the printed grade except for one (usually nonstandard) flaw. Low grade stuff rarely gets green labeled, because there's rarely one significant flaw marring an otherwise nice book. Qualified labels are sort of the exception to "grades are technical, not an appraisal of the book's visual appeal"; no one really wants a 2.0Q, but the green label exists to allow a 9.6-appearing 0.5U book to stand out from the copies in truly terrible overall condition. You can request universal labels from CGC where all flaws are considered. Most often, this is done for books that only exist as signed copies because some people prefer a 9.0U to a 9.6/9.8Q. Your mileage may vary, and such requests are at the graders' discretion. I don't think they regularly honor requests in the other direction. Edited March 14, 2021 by Qalyar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning55 Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 2 hours ago, Qalyar said: some people prefer a 9.0Q to a 9.6/9.8U. Is this inadvertently backwards, and was supposed to read "prefer a 9.0U to a 9.7/9.8Q"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qalyar Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 1 hour ago, Lightning55 said: Is this inadvertently backwards, and was supposed to read "prefer a 9.0U to a 9.7/9.8Q"? Yep, lol! Fixing that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lazyboy Posted March 14, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 14, 2021 On 3/12/2021 at 6:50 AM, Angel of Death said: I would not include incomplete books in this category. They would all be NG-0.5 IMO. They are. But if you have an incomplete copy that is otherwise a 9.8 and an incomplete copy that is otherwise a 1.8, the qualified grade is much more informative than simply calling both 0.5. 10centcomics, BL4Z3D, Randall Dowling and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10centcomics Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 On 3/13/2021 at 9:28 PM, JayBees said: Im not sure I could buy a qualified green label, only because I am a completist. A missing Marvel Stamp I might swing at the right price, but top dollar for a comic missing an entire page is disaster to me. In my 40 +years of collecting, I have some with a missing page or two, and when I come across one, it bugs me. I know thats my choice. You all make excellent arguments. I agree with Gaard however, its either this or that. It cant be “kinda this, sorta this, so we decide its this”. There has to be a static standard. I buy a comic, its in the condition that it is in, incomplete, intact, complete, or pristine. To me, there is no other option. I like that there is nuance to grading in our hobby. I don't think the Qualified label introduces any ambiguity; after all, it is a completely different color and gives more information to an interested buyer. I'm happy that there is an option for that 9.2 X-Men you're talking about--that's the sort of information that lets me make an informed buying decision. The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 12 hours ago, Lazyboy said: They are. But if you have an incomplete copy that is otherwise a 9.8 and an incomplete copy that is otherwise a 1.8, the qualified grade is much more informative than simply calling both 0.5. IMO there should not be an "otherwise". Incomplete is incomplete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 On 3/11/2021 at 9:13 PM, JayBees said: No, I get that but it still seems off to me. Buyer beware, I suppose. That's exactly what the Qualified label is for----to keep people from getting Lightning55 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callaway29 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Green labels cause so much confusion for people new to CGC. It's a hard concept to initially grasp. There's part of me that wishes they didn't exist either, but there are a few cases where I'm glad they do. Case in point, gold/silver turtlemanias... The Lions Den 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 1 hour ago, Angel of Death said: IMO there should not be an "otherwise". Incomplete is incomplete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...