How do you feel about buying old slabs? 3 3

[Vixom]

I like the old slabs. Better odds to have been graded strict and not pressed. Seems to me I find more weak 9.8s from 2016 to 2019 ish. 2020 2021 9.8 criteria seems to have tighten up. Also I will see books that look to have a corner damaged during the slabbing. So a book that the graders said was a 9.8 is no longer a 9.8 as it sits in slab. I don't see this as often in older slabs. 

[Doctor Dositheus]

Just saw this old slab on CLink coming up next week.

https://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2FAUCTIONS%2FPREVIEW.ASP%3Fcode%3D2021sept%26session%3D2%26pg%3D11%23Item_1504086&id=1504086&itemType=0

One of these things is not like the others. Come on, can you tell which one?

[WolverineX]

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... 

So what years are highest likelihood to be unpressed? I just bought a spab from 2015 that looks unpressed so I'm thinking of cracking it if i resell 

[FFB]

On 9/27/2021 at 12:52 PM, lostboys said:

 

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?

 

The grading standards haven't changed since 2000.  What has changed is the personnel.  I think CGC has done a good job maintaining consistency since then, so the old label books I've seen in recent years look to be accurately graded with very few notable exceptions, and even then we're talking perhaps one grade level and it's still arguable on those rare occasions. And who among us hasn't said they would grade one of their books an 8.0 on one day and then they look at it a week later and sheepishly acknowledge that it's probably more like a 7.5.  

Steve did a great job setting the 10 point grading scale as the industry standard (no small feat to get everyone off of the old Overstreet 100 point standard that had been around for 10 years), and he, Paul, Mark H., Shawn, and everyone else at CGC has done a very good job at training all of the newcomers over the years and keeping things consistent as the company has grown.   

As others have noted, it is far less likely that an old label book has been pressed.  While it was being done back then, it was a drop in the bucket compared to what is being done now.  Now, everyone presses books.  Back in the 2000-2009 timeframe, it was a political hot potato and those who pressed did not discuss it publicly.  Now, everyone presses and CGC even offers it as an add-on service.  I cannot remember the last time I saw a CGC old label book that looked like it had been pressed (meaning it did not have pressable defects visible through the slab).  

But the flip side is, that book has been aging inside of a slab for 20 years and if it wasn't stored correctly, the Microchamber paper ain't gonna do  to save the book from browning.  In fact, I can say with certainty that Microchamber paper appears to be absolutely worthless from a storage perspective when it comes to preventing aging of paper.  It is far more important to keep the book sealed from outside air, especially if you live in an urban or suburban environment with any kind of air pollution.  

Edited October 3, 2021 by FFB

[FFB]

On 10/2/2021 at 6:32 PM, Wolverinex said:

So what years are highest likelihood to be unpressed? I just bought a spab from 2015 that looks unpressed so I'm thinking of cracking it if i resell 

Books graded this year (2021) are the most likely to be pressed.  Next year will be even more likely and the one after that will be even more likely.  The farther back you go, the less likely.  That is the simple truth.  

[lostboys]

On 10/3/2021 at 3:01 AM, FFB said:

The grading standards haven't changed since 2000.  What has changed is the personnel.  I think CGC has done a good job maintaining consistency since then, so the old label books I've seen in recent years look to be accurately graded with very few notable exceptions, and even then we're talking perhaps one grade level and it's still arguable on those rare occasions. And who among us hasn't said they would grade one of their books an 8.0 on one day and then they look at it a week later and sheepishly acknowledge that it's probably more like a 7.5.  

Steve did a great job setting the 10 point grading scale as the industry standard (no small feat to get everyone off of the old Overstreet 100 point standard that had been around for 10 years), and he, Paul, Mark H., Shawn, and everyone else at CGC has done a very good job at training all of the newcomers over the years and keeping things consistent as the company has grown.   

As others have noted, it is far less likely that an old label book has been pressed.  While it was being done back then, it was a drop in the bucket compared to what is being done now.  Now, everyone presses books.  Back in the 2000-2009 timeframe, it was a political hot potato and those who pressed did not discuss it publicly.  Now, everyone presses and CGC even offers it as an add-on service.  I cannot remember the last time I saw a CGC old label book that looked like it had been pressed (meaning it did not have pressable defects visible through the slab).  

But the flip side is, that book has been aging inside of a slab for 20 years and if it wasn't stored correctly, the Microchamber paper ain't gonna do  to save the book from browning.  In fact, I can say with certainty that Microchamber paper appears to be absolutely worthless from a storage perspective when it comes to preventing aging of paper.  It is far more important to keep the book sealed from outside air, especially if you live in an urban or suburban environment with any kind of air pollution.  

True, all books get pressed these days. I'm afraid to not have mine pressed. Could that be somewhat in response to CGC grading finger bends a bit more harshly than in years past? Some may even think it a strategy on CGCs part to almost leave us no choice but to use CCS. To pay a little extra and get our books pancaked before grading...or else. I'm not one of those people but I've heard it said.

Edited October 3, 2021 by lostboys