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How do you feel about buying old slabs?
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46 posts in this topic

 

I feel like CGC is much tougher on the way they grade in 2021 compared to say 2005.

So is it smarter to buy newer slabs? I do know there wasn't too much pressing going on back then so that's a plus to buying older slabs. 

If you cracked and resubmitted a 9.8 slab from 2005, would it stand up to CGCs latest grading standards?

 

Edited by lostboys
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There was some pressing going on back then, but there weren't as many folks doing it, IMO. And I'm not sure why you feel the grading is tougher now, but the grading from 2005 should, if anything, be slightly tighter than the grading is in 2021.

So while buying old slabs shouldn't be a problem from a grading standpoint, keep in mind that a lot can happen to a slabbed book in 16 years...  

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On 9/27/2021 at 6:46 PM, The Lions Den said:

There was some pressing going on back then, but there weren't as many folks doing it, IMO. And I'm not sure why you feel the grading is tougher now, but the grading from 2005 should, if anything, be slightly tighter than the grading is in 2021.

So while buying old slabs shouldn't be a problem from a grading standpoint, keep in mind that a lot can happen to a slabbed book in 16 years...  

What are some. Of the things that could happen to a book that's been stabbed for that long?

 

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On 9/28/2021 at 3:52 AM, lostboys said:

What are some. Of the things that could happen to a book that's been stabbed for that long?

 

Damage from transport, moisture and mold, fire and heat, scuffs and scratches, damage from being mishandled or dropped, damage to the labels, warping or rippling, damage to the inner well...  :S

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On 9/28/2021 at 8:22 AM, The Lions Den said:
On 9/28/2021 at 3:52 AM, lostboys said:

What are some. Of the things that could happen to a book that's been stabbed for that long?

 

Damage from transport, moisture and mold, fire and heat, scuffs and scratches, damage from being mishandled or dropped, damage to the labels, warping or rippling, damage to the inner well...  :S

Fading would be another concern.  The best rule of thumb, is to buy the book not the slab.  

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On 9/28/2021 at 6:56 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

I love the look of the first label.

I like the current one, but don't dislike the appearance of the first label. My problem with the old slabs is that the labels are on the exterior of the slab. It's especially a problem for the thin label strip on the top of the case. Because it overlays the seam between the two halves if the clamshell, it's prone to coming loose or falling off entirely. I store my books spine-down, which means that strip is sort of important for letting me see what each book on my shelf actually is!

Someday, if TATs ever calm down, I'm probably going to pay to reholder a half dozen books just because they've lost or are losing that little strip and it vexes me.

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On 9/28/2021 at 8:33 AM, Qalyar said:

I like the current one, but don't dislike the appearance of the first label. My problem with the old slabs is that the labels are on the exterior of the slab. It's especially a problem for the thin label strip on the top of the case. Because it overlays the seam between the two halves if the clamshell, it's prone to coming loose or falling off entirely. I store my books spine-down, which means that strip is sort of important for letting me see what each book on my shelf actually is!

To clarify: Just the top sticker label.

That part's not a big deal to me, but I understand that it would be for others.

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I have always been of the understanding that it was not that the book was undergraded during that time period but that the book had not been pressed.  So for the most part, books that I have picked up in older labels have demonstrated a bump after a press. 

X-Men 1: 4.5 to a 5.5

Old school PGX Hulk 181 6.5 to a 9.0

Fantastic Four 48: 6.0 to a 5.5 (Can't win them all)

ASM 2: 3.0 to a 5.0

and a few others... 

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On 9/28/2021 at 8:22 AM, The Lions Den said:

Damage from transport, moisture and mold, fire and heat, scuffs and scratches, damage from being mishandled or dropped, damage to the labels, warping or rippling, damage to the inner well...  :S

So most of these I understand, people are clumsy... but moisture and mold?...warping and rippling?

What in the Sam Hill are those about? I always thought the slab was to protect the book from such damage.

Should books be re-slabbed every so many years like bags and boards?

 

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On 9/28/2021 at 8:38 AM, Buzzetta said:

I have always been of the understanding that it was not that the book was undergraded during that time period but that the book had not been pressed.  So for the most part, books that I have picked up in older labels have demonstrated a bump after a press. 

X-Men 1: 4.5 to a 5.5

Old school PGX Hulk 181 6.5 to a 9.0

Fantastic Four 48: 6.0 to a 5.5 (Can't win them all)

ASM 2: 3.0 to a 5.0

and a few others... 

Do you think these books would have at least held their grades without a press? I mean, you pressed a 6.0 and it came back lower? Thats scary.

Edited by lostboys
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On 9/28/2021 at 1:33 PM, Qalyar said:

I like the current one, but don't dislike the appearance of the first label. My problem with the old slabs is that the labels are on the exterior of the slab. It's especially a problem for the thin label strip on the top of the case. Because it overlays the seam between the two halves if the clamshell, it's prone to coming loose or falling off entirely. I store my books spine-down, which means that strip is sort of important for letting me see what each book on my shelf actually is!

I had an old label DD#1 that was missing the top strip. It was amazing how much that seemed to devalue the book in the eyes of not only the seller I purchased it from, but the person who subsequently bought it from me when I sold it some years later. It was like handling damaged goods! Another book that I should have kept, and got reholdered. 

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On 9/28/2021 at 7:57 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

I had an old label DD#1 that was missing the top strip. It was amazing how much that seemed to devalue the book in the eyes of not only the seller I purchased it from, but the person who subsequently bought it from me when I sold it some years later. It was like handling damaged goods! Another book that I should have kept, and got reholdered. 

I'll admit that one of my strip-less books, I actually bought that way. It's no great rarity, and certainly nothing like a DD #1, but it probably has a legitimate FMV of 150-175ish. I paid 50 bucks for it because of that missing top strip; I figured that since I have other books that need reholdering eventually (to mitigate shipping costs somewhat), I'll still finish way ahead even after reholdering costs, haha!

...doesn't mean it doesn't bug me a little in the meantime, though.

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On 9/28/2021 at 2:06 PM, Qalyar said:

I'll admit that one of my strip-less books, I actually bought that way. It's no great rarity, and certainly nothing like a DD #1, but it probably has a legitimate FMV of 150-175ish. I paid 50 bucks for it because of that missing top strip; I figured that since I have other books that need reholdering eventually (to mitigate shipping costs somewhat), I'll still finish way ahead even after reholdering costs, haha!

...doesn't mean it doesn't bug me a little in the meantime, though.

Weird isn't it, how you can 'have the hump' with a DD#1 just because it's missing a thin strip of paper from the top of its tomb. Still, that same bug insists all your slabs have the same grade though, doesn't it....

20160702_134216.jpg.946d64e05f4e36ec124d4093968d12e5.jpg

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On 9/28/2021 at 9:11 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Weird isn't it, how you can 'have the hump' with a DD#1 just because it's missing a thin strip of paper from the top of its tomb. Still, that same bug insists all your slabs have the same grade though, doesn't it....

20160702_134216.jpg.946d64e05f4e36ec124d4093968d12e5.jpg

I knew you collected dreck!

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On 9/28/2021 at 2:20 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

I knew you collected dreck!

I know! :grin:

It's painful, looking back through the files. I managed ASM #101-200 in 9.4WP and the plan was 8.5 for 50-100 and then maybe 7.0's for below. Alas, I never got to complete it and they're all long since sold. 

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On 9/28/2021 at 9:26 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

I know! :grin:

It's painful, looking back through the files. I managed ASM #101-200 in 9.4WP and the plan was 8.5 for 50-100 and then maybe 7.0's for below. Alas, I never got to complete it and they're all long since sold. 

I love the commitment to a consistent grade, though. It appeals to my OCD.

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