How is a near perfect 9.8 graded with a single spine tick and no other visible flaws? 1 1

[ninanina]

Because I'm rebagging and grading my collection, I'm having a real issue with grading my near perfect 9.8's with a single spine tick as a 9.4. Why?  Apparently in the overstreet grading guide, ticks are not allowed in a 9.6. To those of you who know and have experienced this with CGC, do I have a legitimate concern here or...would CGC grade an other wise near perfect 9.8 with a single spine tick as a 9.6? And the 2nd reason I don't like it....I have on occasion seen (like many of you have) CGC 9.8's with a spine tick. Any information would be most welcome as I'm worried, I may have been mis-grading some of my 9.4's/9.6's.

[grendelbo]

Depends if they break color. 1 or 2 slight ticks that don't I would consider a 9.8 were the book have no other manufacturing or handling defects. If they break color slightly (in length or severity), 1-2 ticks would put the book into the 9.4/9.6 range. IMO.

 

[ninanina]

Okay, so to be clear if the ticks are minor, it's possible for CGC to grade it a 9.6 and all is based on severity. Sure, I can live with that. If anyone else has anything further, I'd be very interested in hearing from you. 

[grendelbo]

On 9/12/2021 at 9:33 PM, ninanina said:

Okay, so to be clear if the ticks are minor, it's possible for CGC to grade it a 9.6

From examples I've seen, yes.

(And I'm hoping as much for my Walking Dead 1 which has the same).

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 9/12/2021 at 9:44 PM, ninanina said:

...would CGC grade an other wise near perfect 9.8 with a single spine tick as a 9.6?

They have before. It's really impossible to predict, though.

[OuterBanks]

On 9/13/2021 at 6:32 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

They have before. It's really impossible to predict, though.

I have a X-Men days of future past with a color breaking spine tick that is a 9.8.  I have 9.6's with no discernible flaws.  They're not perfect at grading but it's also hard to second guess and assume everything their doing is wrong.

So basically - nobody knows for sure.  Just press/clean the book and submit.

[The Lions Den]

On 9/12/2021 at 11:33 PM, ninanina said:

Okay, so to be clear if the ticks are minor, it's possible for CGC to grade it a 9.6 and all is based on severity. Sure, I can live with that. If anyone else has anything further, I'd be very interested in hearing from you. 

The rule of thumb used to be that a book couldn't be a 9.8 if it had a color breaking spine stress line, but I think they've eased up on that a bit. As a friend of mine put it: "There has to be some reason a 9.8 isn't a 9.9 or 10.0..." 

[shadroch]

Do not apply Overstreets standards to CGC.  They use their own criteria.

[Gaard]

I've had 9.8s with spine tics and 9.6s without.

[ninanina]

On 9/13/2021 at 12:25 PM, shadroch said:

Do not apply Overstreets standards to CGC.  They use their own criteria.

Well you know what they say...grading is subjective, and this thread proves it..no matter if it's the collector, the investor, the seller, the buyer, Overstreet or CGC. The only one that counts however, is what CGC says. Thanks everyone for chiming in. For some reason this was really bugging me. I feel better about giving these one - tick books a 9.6, with an outside chance at a 9.8. 

[shadroch]

On 9/13/2021 at 3:40 PM, ninanina said:

Well you know what they say...grading is subjective, and this thread proves it..no matter if it's the collector, the investor, the seller, the buyer, Overstreet or CGC. The only one that counts however, is what CGC says. Thanks everyone for chiming in. For some reason this was really bugging me. I feel better about giving these one - tick books a 9.6, with an outside chance at a 9.8. 

Not really.  Educated buyers won't pay 9.8 money for a book they feel is less than a 9.8.  CGC may grade two books both 9.4s, but that doesn't mean they are equally valuable. 

[djzombi]

Spine tick for me equals 9.4; color-breaking brings it down to a 9.2.  I've also had Overstreet pounded into my head.  
Having said that, I have CGC books with those flaws that have graded higher than that, especially 9.6.  

Edited September 14, 2021 by djzombi
typo

[ninanina]

On 9/13/2021 at 7:31 PM, shadroch said:

Not really.  Educated buyers won't pay 9.8 money for a book they feel is less than a 9.8.  CGC may grade two books both 9.4s, but that doesn't mean they are equally valuable. 

Agreed. However, any book that I thought could be a 9.8 I would most certainly get graded before I sold it if the price difference between a slightly lower grade (9.4/9.6) is significant. Although I wouldn't be confident in grading any raw book a 9.8, I wouldn't have a problem grading it with a chance at a 9.8. 

[shadroch]

On 9/14/2021 at 4:20 PM, ninanina said:

Agreed. However, any book that I thought could be a 9.8 I would most certainly get graded before I sold it if the price difference between a slightly lower grade (9.4/9.6) is significant. Although I wouldn't be confident in grading any raw book a 9.8, I wouldn't have a problem grading it with a chance at a 9.8. 

That is certainly an option.  I'd rather sell a raw book, reinvest the money into another book, sell that and reinvest, ect, ect.   If you pick up  a book for $20,  and decide it has a shot at a 9.8, how long will it be before you have the book back, and how much more have you invested in it?   I'm guessing six months and $60, at minimums.  A couple of wrong guesses would be costly. 

[ninanina]

Yeah, I know it's a huge hassle and that's a big reason all the books I've been purchasing the last 40 years...I still have.

Just too much trouble selling them properly. I was actually thinking more in terms of books which are worth hundreds of dollars that I purchased back in the '80's. X-Men 129, Moon Knight 1, Micronauts 1 (Variant), Machine Man 19...many of my copies have survived in perfect condition. Those I would definitely get graded if and when the time comes to sell. 

[Vixom]

Depends when it's graded and by who. I have seen plenty of 9.8s with 2 3 4 even 5 tiny not huge eyesore ticks with 0 or maybe just 1 breaking some color. Majority of 9.8s if I catch the right light angle I can find a tick or 2. I seen a few with 10 or a dozen ticks, mutiple breaking color, they had to be mistakes but buyers still paid the 9.8 price. Can't count on that but 1 tick should be a 9.6 with a decent enough chance to be a 9.8 With the price difference being 2 or 3 x more likely it could be worth the gamble. 

[ninanina]

I love that last post because it's exactly the way I feel about it. I needed to start this thread to see if anyone else felt the same way but was bothered when I read in overstreet's guide...ticks not allowed in a 9.6. 

[Vixom]

On 9/17/2021 at 12:17 AM, ninanina said:

I love that last post because it's exactly the way I feel about it. I needed to start this thread to see if anyone else felt the same way but was bothered when I read in overstreet's guide...ticks not allowed in a 9.6. 

What's a overstreet? 

 

They used to be the industry standard. Now using overstreet is like looking something up in an enceclpedia instead of going to yahoo. Overstreet is stricter and probably should be. I am closer to them. A 9.8 to me is a perfect book but not the perfect book. Hard to avoid bindery tears on non cardstock. A 9.6 could have a few spine dents, not color breaking ticks.

But only thing that matters is what CGC says. Sure some people say buy the book not the grade but that is small percentage. Even so if you buy online how often do you get good pics? Or a back cover pic? Spine shots? And even if you do it's still just a pic. From what I see, and not as much on here as in general. Most think if a book has a tick it isn't a 9.8. Not true according to grading companies.

[MetalPSI]

I have 2 Marvel Alien 1 variants with a single colour breaking spine tick that came back a 9.6