bob jr Posted August 24, 2021 Author Share Posted August 24, 2021 (edited) Edited Edited August 24, 2021 by bob jr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qalyar Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 For books I don't intend to own forever, whatever is optimal for market value and liquidity. For my personal collection, I prefer slabbed books. I've got the room to keep them, so that's not a problem. I like how they look, both individually and in that they give the collection a unified appearance. Not all the books I collect are, strictly speaking, worth slabbing, but I'm not ever selling them, so that's an issue just between me and my purchase fund. SuperBird 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigLeagueCHEW Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 On 8/24/2021 at 8:03 AM, oakman29 said: Yes you can. I know you can, yo da man! oakman29 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boppy99 Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 I don't have any slabs, nor do I want them. I like books you can read every now and then.... grendelbo and oakman29 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spracknetch23 Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 Ideally, I prefer raw. In a slab, it’s like you just have a picture of the book. I’ve owned 3 copies of ASM 3, all slabbed.. so I’ve never actually looked through the book. I do like slabs for their protection and ease of resale. Basically if it’s worth over $1k I feel better with it in a slab (the recent price hike makes me think about slabbing some of my raws which have gone crazy..ASM 14, 50, DD1, etc.. especially with a kid/pets in the house). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D84 Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 I have bought slabs because in some cases, that's the only way to find some golden age books. Once they are in my home, it's cracked out and put in a mylar. There is something about the tactile experience of thumbing through an 80 year old comic that no reprint can replicate. And since I don't care about the value of a book after I've bought it, a slab is no better than a framed picture of the cover. oakman29, Larryw7, B2D327 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 Slabs for books over $500 djzombi and oakman29 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwaysbronze Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 for slabs i look for the old old labels or the old new labels. with ccs and the relative ease and affordability of pressing, i feel like most slabbed books these days in the new new labels have been pressed. oakman29 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jas1vans Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amazing Cider-Man Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 I do prefer slabs for Bronze and Modern books that have potential to rise in value unless they're already crazy priced. I'll buy the occasional Silver slab if I don't already have it and it presents well in a lower grade. BUT when it comes to the majority of Silver I prefer raw. I have a lot of F/VF Silver that looks great especially to the average person. I think it's human nature to look at a comic over 50 years old with very forgiving eyes, especially my friends and family who don't collect and think they're all mint because they're so old and not mangled. I also like not having the stigma of a grade possibly limiting my enjoyment because some company dissected every single nuance and found something under a microscope. Larryw7 and jimjum12 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kav Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 Slaw djzombi and grendelbo 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valiantman Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 On 8/24/2021 at 2:35 PM, boppy99 said: I don't have any slabs, nor do I want them. I like books you can read every now and then.... Slabbed copy, plus reader copy. Problem solved. Tony S and BigLeagueCHEW 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony S Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 On 8/24/2021 at 7:22 AM, BigLeagueCHEW said: Only thing with Raw is you can't tell if it is restored and page quality. On 8/24/2021 at 10:03 AM, oakman29 said: Yes you can. I do not believe "yes you can" applies to many collectors. I CPR a lot of books and apparently - based on the results - page quality is a guestimate by CGC that varies widely. As for restoration, small amounts of professional restoration is beyond the abilities of most of us to detect. I have a lot of experience in the hobby and detecting trimming is way beyond my skill set. I send in books I suspect trimming and all is good. I send in books that look fine only to learn the top edge of the cover has been trimmed. There is a reason that "I like my high dollar books to be professionally graded and encapsulated" is the most common answer. Most of us need a bit of help... djzombi, BigLeagueCHEW and valiantman 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...