How do you grade? 4 4

[chrisco37]

9 hours ago, Bird said:

ta ta toothy!

sounds good boss!

Shouldn’t that be “boff”?  

[oakman29]

On 3/19/2021 at 7:08 PM, Bird said:

well, I've been here long enough to know threads do not always go the way the OP intended.

and on a friday too

I will try to get back on track for you.

I like to look at the book as a whole first. Then check the page count, and proceed to check corners,then spine and come to a  decision from that point. So if the over all book looks like a 9.0, corners are sharp, but has a small spine tick. I would determine the grade as an 8.0. I try to grade .5 lower than I actually think it is. 

[EastEnd1]

Every book starts as a 10.0.  I start at the top left corner and then work my way down the spine and then around all the edges and corners counter-clockwise.  I deduct from the 10.0 as I see defects... very small defects I mentally accumulate before deducting; larger defects get immediate deductions.  After the edges, I start at the left and work my way up and down the front cover (perhaps about three or four "columns-worth" to complete the cover), again deducting for defects as above.  Oh, and I always hold the book at an angle in raking light to make sure the defects pop out at me.  I then repeat the process on the back cover.  Lastly I page through the comic, with particular attention to the interior covers (especially for tanning) and also the centerfold.  On older more expensive books, I'll hold the edges up to eye level to check for trimming (I'm looking at the edge color and also the paper angles from binding)... I sometimes pinch the edges to help with detecting trimming.  Once all done, I step back and just give the book a higher level once over to make sure that the grade I've calculated makes sense.  And that's pretty much it. 

[Frances_]

When buying, I use a formula: grade claimed—4.

When selling, I grade using money.

[apollobuzz]

1. Count pages and ensure no cutouts
2. Inspect front cover with naked eye in good lighting noting defects
3. Inspect back cover with naked eye in good lighting noting defects
4. Inspect front cover with magnifying glass in good lighting noting defects
5. Inspect back cover with magnifying glass in good lighting noting defects
6. Scan front and back covers
7. Inspect scans of front and back noting defects
8. Based on experience, assign what grade I think CGC would grade it at and deduct 0.5 (or 0.2 in high grades)

Additionally,
9. Post in the Please Grade Me ("Hey buddy, can you spare a grade?") forum
10. Based on experience (i.e. my personal experience submitting my books that were reviewed in PGM), add 0.5 to 1.0 (or 0.2 to 0.4 in high grades) to @oakman29's assigned grade with 9.6 being highest possible (I trust and value his grading input)

Steps 1-8 and steps 9-10 usually yield the same result; and 90% of my submissions grade at this grade or higher following either method.  I've had at most only 5 books (out of well over 50 and probably closer to 100 submissions) come back lower (and only one PLOD with a "color dot").  Note that I collect/submit mostly high grade Bronze targeting 9.0+ so I have much less experience grading books lower than 8.0.  My next submission will have a mid-grade WWBN #32 though, so we will see how I do on that one.

[speedcake]

I grade my comics like I eat my steaks:

 

[CHASEnBLUE]

I noticed this thread tonight before signing off and decided to get one more response in. I'm glad you asked this question and the responses are no doubt both informative and entertaining!

As a collector since being a child, I was never into grading other than the old school days of going to the pharmacy, 7-Eleven, the LCS, etc. and picking comics without bends on the spine. Back then, or early on I should say, the comics in back of the swivel racks (remember those?) were in the best shape. Figuring out when these were stocked were also key to get there before everyone started bending them forward to get to the middle or back. In a way, that was part of how I graded early on!  

Fast forwarding many years  I buy to add to my pc and in the last decade or so took up the hobby of grading and selling. For the most part, I can spot a 9.6-9.8 with a quick pre-screen and bat about 700 to be honest. I've been spending time in the PGM thread to grade comics with more flaws using the more in-depth grading definitions as a guide. Many here are very experienced and spot on, so when they post I rarely will post a grade after they do because they are usually on the money.

Basically, my current method for any timeframe of comics is to look at corners, spine, and overall presentation of the cover to see what, if anything stands out. Next, believe it or not, having a large computer screen in front of me I can set a comic on a board and from the light of the computer can check rather accurately for spine ticks, waviness, dents, etc. When I set aside a pile that I think is 9.8 or higher, I stand at my patio door with the comic flat and study the fc and bc again with that lighting. Sometimes I will catch something I didn't see while using my computer screen and desk lamp lighting. I do not thumb through comics though to look inside, and this has not bitten me yet on a suspected grade for comics in my collection for the last 30-40 years or so, or moderns that I buy to keep in my pc and an extra select few for grading. If I buy more than a dozen of one issue (Star Wars HR #1 for instance at around 80-ish) I will separate them in my boxes as 9.8 potential, 9.6 potential, and C&P or no bueno potential using construction paper to separate the sections with writing denoting such.

This works for me and every now and then I get nailed with a low grade, but not too often. For example, one of my submissions just shipped and shows a 9.4 with graders notes. I was like, what? The comment is "large scratch on front cover". Well, I should have this delivery this next week and its making me nuts wondering about this since I'm pretty OCD about double and even triple checking my comics before sending them in to be graded. I don't want to jump the gun, but if there is an obvious scratch, there is no way in he## I missed it because I definitely have a rule to not drink and pre-screen comics! 

Thanks for reading if you made it this far...

[kimik]

I grade strictly, which works out fine for buyers at shows, and for me as well since they keep coming back. 

[zosocane]

Excellent lighting brings the truth out in grading.

[sfcityduck]

How do I grade?

Well ... I used to be 8.5/9.0 (white), but now the colors are fading, more creases, and I've got thinning up top.  I'd say I'm down to a 6.0.

[evilskip]

Harshly. But I grade my own books that way too. I tend to follow MCS grading.

[the blob]

I try to use CGC slabs I own as exemplars. 

[F For Fake]

Mentally, I've never been able to make the full switch to the number system from the good ol' letter grades. I still think GD, FN, VF, NM, and the gradations in between. For super high grade stuff I do make a distinction (and think I have a good eye for) the different in 9.8, 9.6, 9.4, but the mid grades are still letters to me. I usually do a cursory look at the book, then open it up and make sure everything is there and in place, then go back over the covers again. Then I give it a grade. If it's a book I'm selling, I'll usually knock a 1/2 grade off, just to keep it conservative. I'd rather a buyer be surprised that a book was nicer than expected, than have a return because I wasn't tight enough. If it's a book I'm keeping, I don't worry about grading it. It is what it is, I bought it because it looked good enough to me (And I'm a fan of low grade for the personal collection.)

If it's a real "money" book ,I send it to the pros and get it slabbed, because I don't want to get into a financial disagreement with someone over something subjective as grading. While it's true that as a buyer I buy the book, not the label, the fact is that most folks (especially in today's insane market) are buying the number on the label, so if it's worth some money, its worth having graded.

[porcupine48]

On 3/19/2021 at 9:13 PM, Ken Aldred said:

Thinking about it, I did break my arm and had a screw put in it, and later removed, of course, so that counts as restoration.

As with comics, pristine condition becomes rare with time. Few of us are blue labels.

Did you keep the screw?I keep all items that can be kept that have been inside me

[JWKyle]

Good Lighting that was said above and now that I've gotten a little older a good set of "readers" and I evaluate the book as a whole. With my closes estimate what it would come back from CGC. 

I also count the pages and check centerfolds and page quality. I enjoy the process. 

[piper]

On 3/19/2021 at 3:28 PM, Bird said:

1. I look in the guide and at the comic and count up defects to determine the grade
2. I scrutinize the book like DeNiro, give it the once over real good and go "looks to me like we got an X here"

I collected comic art before I really collected comics (collecting instead of accumulating what I bought). So I was not used to grading comics when I started buying them seriously and even selling them. (I love me some big pictures when I sell! But not everything gets a grade, but I digress!) So after a few years I am fairly comfortable in my grading of older comics that I didn't buy off the rack. But I just kind of look at it and say a number off my first impression and then look for more evidence to either support or change my initial impression. Last  year I was going to one of those "nothing priced, bring it up to the register and we'll price it there" shops and he would pull out the guide and say "well, a 2 inch tear is permitted on blah blah blah but not on a blah blah blah"  and although I knew that information existed I was surprised that he basically counted up the flaws and looked it up when he was in doubt. Stunning. Evidence based conclusions!!!!

So how do you grade?

Very carefully

[zosocane]

Smelling the comic is maybe the best part of grading.  

[thunsicker]

My tendency is to get an overall feel for the comic first.  Then to look for any disqualifying issues.  So the first thing is to assign a Good/Fine/NearMint grade.  This overview can kind of give an "accumulation of defects" wide eye view to give an idea about where it will grade.  After I get my gut feeling for the comic I will look carefully over the comic to look for defects I missed in the birds eye view and to determine if it's a vg/f or a f+ etc.

[Rip]

Move the book around in good lighting and get a reflective shine on the book.

Get some 2X reading glasses.

Have 2 backing boards ready so you touch the book as little as possible.

Check staples carefully

Page count 

Check inside front cover and back inside cover

Check centerfolds

Be careful about using CGC slabbed books as the ultimate guide to grading, especially with mid grade (6.5 range especially), Marvel chipping and page quality.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by Rip

[ttfitz]

On 3/19/2021 at 10:08 PM, Bird said:

well, I've been here long enough to know threads do not always go the way the OP intended.

and on a friday too

Yeah, lots of fun and games going on.

As for a serious answer, I've put together a system that works pretty well for me, a person who looks for stuff in the middle grades. After the obvious (but not always done, in my experience) things like counting the pages and making sure the staples are holding everything together, I apply the Non-Comic Person Test (used to be the Wife Test, but she's learned a thing or two over the years).

The way it works is, I consider if I showed the book to a person who knew nothing of grading comics. If that person says, "It's in mint condition" and I then point out the defects and they say, "Oh, yeah, I see that" then it is about a FN. If they say "People really care about that stuff?" it's a VF or better. If it's "it's nice, but a bit worn, right?" that's in the VG range, and "it's kinda beat up" it's working into GD territory.

Works pretty well for me, anyway, as I'm generally not looking at anything over 6.5.