Regrade Secret Wars 8? 3 3

[Complex306]

Hey guys, just picked up this Secret Wars 8 Newsstand for a pretty decent price. It looked great in the pics and once I got my hands on it I just had a tough time seeing how it got an 8.5. I may end up buying the grader's notes, but wanted your opinions 1st on whether you think I should crack it, have it pressed, and resubmit for a grade bump? Or do you think 8.5 was right, and I need to have my vision checked? It doesn't appear to have been pressed previously from what I can tell. Thanks in advance!

 

[candygramformongo]

 

Really tough to tell much with pictures of it in the slab (I know you can't do anything about it, just saying).   A 9.0 wouldn't shock me. How much value would you put on it going from 8.5 to 9.0?  I think that's the real question.  You break the slab, get it C/P and it comes back a 9.0 instead, are you thrilled or just ok?  I would think there's an small chance it gets to a 9.2 or higher but at least a 50% chance it comes back still 8.5.  I'd personally figure out what the $ amount it was worth to me for the 8.5 to 9.0 bump, figure out cost to C/P and resubmit, and then how pissed would I be if it comes back 8.5 again.  And then add to that equation cost of grader notes, I'd personally want that info so I could zero in on those areas to re-look at them AND to make sure it's stuff a C/P might impact.  Make sense?

If you do resubmit PLEASE update, would love to know what happens!

[zzutak]

On 8/28/2021 at 11:09 AM, Complex306 said:

I may end up buying the grader's notes, but wanted your opinions 1st

Grader's notes first.  Opinions second. 

[grendelbo]

It could be potentially a 9.0 but resubmitting would be a roll of the dice.

[Dino-Mutt]

I see the upper left corner as an issue, and as mentioned above, cost vs reward. 

[Complex306]

On 8/28/2021 at 2:58 PM, candygramformongo said:

 

Really tough to tell much with pictures of it in the slab (I know you can't do anything about it, just saying).   A 9.0 wouldn't shock me. How much value would you put on it going from 8.5 to 9.0?  I think that's the real question.  You break the slab, get it C/P and it comes back a 9.0 instead, are you thrilled or just ok?  I would think there's an small chance it gets to a 9.2 or higher but at least a 50% chance it comes back still 8.5.  I'd personally figure out what the $ amount it was worth to me for the 8.5 to 9.0 bump, figure out cost to C/P and resubmit, and then how pissed would I be if it comes back 8.5 again.  And then add to that equation cost of grader notes, I'd personally want that info so I could zero in on those areas to re-look at them AND to make sure it's stuff a C/P might impact.  Make sense?

If you do resubmit PLEASE update, would love to know what happens!

That makes sense, really helpful advice actually. My total cost would be around $55 for the graders notes, a CP, and resubmit/ shipping. Based on what I paid for it, if I had spent that extra 55 I could've bought a 9.0 at FMV, so I'd be hoping for that or better. 9.2 would be great. If it came back 8.5 I'd be fine, its only 55 bucks, but I'd feel pretty stupid for throwing away good money. I'm probably going to buy the grader's notes next and message my CP guy to get his thoughts. I will definitely update if I go through with a resubmit!

[Complex306]

On 8/28/2021 at 3:07 PM, zzutak said:

Grader's notes first.  Opinions second. 

Lol, love the old man emoji. I wanted to get a feel for what people thought the bump might be, if any, first, as my grading ability is hit or miss. No sense in throwing away $5 if everyone who looked said "you're crazy, that's an 8.5 all day". On the other hand, if the general consensus was that there's a potential for a couple point bump I don't mind spending the $5 to see if the issues with the book could be improved by a clean/ press.

[LowGradeBronze]

Can't see what you'd be achieving here. You bought a certified 8.5. Don't forget that grading starts on the inside of the comic at the centrefold, and now the inside is invisible to you. I'd be satisfied I got what I paid for: An 8.5

[Complex306]

On 8/29/2021 at 1:23 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

Can't see what you'd be achieving here. You bought a certified 8.5. Don't forget that grading starts on the inside of the comic at the centrefold, and now the inside is invisible to you. I'd be satisfied I got what I paid for: An 8.5

Im not sure what's unclear about what I'd be trying to active. It looks like a particularly nice copy, and doesn't appear to have been pressed. The staples are tight, it's well centered, and has a white pages designation, none of which would lead me to beleive there's anything significantly deficient on the interior/ centerfold. Buying a raw copy of this particular book is asinine, as newsstands that are in significantly worse shape than this one routinely go for around what I paid for my 8.5. I'm not the first to buy an "undergraded" book to crack and resubmit for a higher grade. If I could pull a 9.2 out of it after a CP and resubmit then that would be a really good ROI based on what I paid/ would have put into it. To be clear, I am satisfied with the 8.5 that I bought, I was just curious if there was room here for a couple grade point bump of I decided to go down that road. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, or soliciting advice from others who have a better eye for grading than I do on whether this is a good candidate for that treatment. 

[Deadpoolica]

On 8/28/2021 at 3:07 PM, zzutak said:

Grader's notes first.  Opinions second. 

[Galen130]

I’d leave it be…IMO.

[Otter1775]

Ironically, I had the exact same book, which was slabbed a CGC 9.4 without a press. Decided to crack it for the recent Jim Shooter signing this past summer. After cracking it, I submitted it for the signature event and a press, which I did receive a bump to a 9.6. In the end, it all boils down to what you want for your collection. Good luck.

[rexinnih]

As noted it is a gamble. I also submitted my previously graded Secret Wars 8 8.5 for the Shooter signing along with a raw Secret Wars 1. Had both pressed. The raw Secret Wars 1 came back 9.2 but the previously graded Secret Wars 8 8.5 came back with a surprising bump to 9.6. I thought is was undergraded but not that much and not arguing. 

Edited September 4, 2021 by rexinnih

[Mars76]

I think you got a fair grade. I wouldn't risk it. And even if you got a 9.0 let's say, the price jump wouldn't be that significant. 

[Complex306]

Just in case anyone was wondering, I decided to lookup the graders notes since they became free recently. Slight dent bottom left corner, and slight spine stress. Nothing that screams 8.5 or lower to me, so I'm thinking (in the name of science, of course) that I'm going to crack, clean, try to press out the corner, and resubmit. I'll update whenever I get the thing back and see what happens!

[comicginger1789]

I think 9.0 is tops. There’s that crease at top of spine and then some ticks near the staples. The indent near the bottom mentioned in the notes might be fixable but I would be surprised if it went higher than 9.0

[Bo1983]

I thank it’s a fair grade.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Is there a stain/ foxing on the back cover?

[zzutak]

Collectors often assume that the blemishes/flaws called out in the Grader Notes (GN) are the only blemishes/flaws that exist.  While this is an understandable assumption, it's often incorrect.  Graders often miss things, and not every blemish is always called out in the GN.  Consider this real-life example involving two submissions of exactly the same book:

 

 

Hey!  Where did that "small, light stain at the bottom-right corner of the front cover" come from?  The fact is it was always there; it just was not called out in the first set of GN.  Kudos to CGC for consistency with respect to condition grade (which should be the case, since this was exactly the same book, with no intervening cleaning or pressing).    Personally, I'm not bothered by the different assessment of page color/quality.  It happens to me regularly.