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A note about Magazine grading.
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23 posts in this topic

Just be aware they are extremely tough on magazines as of late, I had some graded recently and all came back lower than expected. Granted I took a few years off from grading until this year, but now wish I had remained that way. The worst one is this Savage Tales #2, the book is structurally a 9.6/9.8 with a tiny bindery tear at the top of the spine. I was somewhat surprised when it came back a 9.0 due to lite fading on the front cover. Lite fading? Do we have millennials grading these? Pretty sure it was spelled light when I went to school. Anyway, check the scans, it may be lite, but I know it was in a box for years and never exposed to the sun, maybe it was early or late in the production and the ink was low, who knows. All I know is the blacks look black in hand, and all the other colors look right too.

Also note, the only fading is from the case glare and my scanner, actual book is very clean. (first photo)

 

Savage2.jpg

Savage2.jpg

notes.jpg

Edited by Makmorn
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On 11/18/2021 at 6:29 AM, ThothAmon said:

I feel your pain. I’ve had many similar experiences recently and given the cost to grade mags it’s a fool’s errand to send them to Florida. Maybe you should have Heritage submit them for you. I PROMISE you’ll like the results. 

You mean there IS that "favoritism " that I've heard about that I would never believe impartiality of grading could possibly occur?

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On 11/18/2021 at 9:29 AM, ThothAmon said:

I feel your pain. I’ve had many similar experiences recently and given the cost to grade mags it’s a fool’s errand to send them to Florida. Maybe you should have Heritage submit them for you. I PROMISE you’ll like the results. 

Say it ain't so....it does seem odd that Haspel is at WATA games now, and Heritage has sold some of those games for record amounts.....but surely there is no connection. :wink:

I saw a game sell for over 400k (not Heritage) but graded by WATA with a damaged seal, says A seal, I guess that's correct, it does have "a seal."

sonic1b.jpg

sonic.jpg

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On 11/18/2021 at 7:44 AM, Makmorn said:

Say it ain't so....it does seem odd that Haspel is at WATA games now, and Heritage has sold some of those games for record amounts.....but surely there is no connection. :wink:

I saw a game sell for over 400k (not Heritage) but graded by WATA with a damaged seal, says A seal, I guess that's correct, it does have "a seal."

sonic1b.jpg

sonic.jpg

If I could ever have thought that the Sonic game I gave my daughter back then would fetch that I would have bought a hundred of them.

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Man that looks like robbery. I know they grade colour rubs, fading and the like harshly. Would help for them to identify where on the book. Also that cover is tricky...its wispy and such with its colouring and I could totally see a new grader thinking a spot was faded. Doesnt excuse it but perhaps this is the answer to why a 9.6-9.8 was not achieved?!?!?!

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On 11/18/2021 at 6:21 AM, Makmorn said:

Just be aware they are extremely tough on magazines as of late, I had some graded recently and all came back lower than expected. Granted I took a few years off from grading until this year, but now wish I had remained that way. The worst one is this Savage Tales #2, the book is structurally a 9.6/9.8 with a tiny bindery tear at the top of the spine. I was somewhat surprised when it came back a 9.0 due to lite fading on the front cover. Lite fading? Do we have millennials grading these? Pretty sure it was spelled light when I went to school. Anyway, check the scans, it may be lite, but I know it was in a box for years and never exposed to the sun, maybe it was early or late in the production and the ink was low, who knows. All I know is the blacks look black in hand, and all the other colors look right too.

Also note, the only fading is from the case glare and my scanner, actual book is very clean. (first photo)

 

Savage2.jpg

Savage2.jpg

notes.jpg

Judging by the reds, yellows and blacks, this book doesn't appear to have a significant fading issue due to any environmental issues. Perhaps the overall appearance of the artwork is a bit faded, but as you stated, this may have been caused by a slight deviation during the printing process. This wouldn't usually warrant such a significant grade reduction, but CGC does employ many different graders now. This could be a book that deserves another look, but I'm not sure I'd take that gamble...  :juggle:

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On 11/18/2021 at 9:18 AM, oakman29 said:

I would crack that biotch out. I am getting more and more disillusioned with CGC every day. 

 

 

 

Lite........? C'mon man😂🤣

You may find this funny (or just plain ridiculous) but the use of the term "lite" in the grading notes has been common for at least 20 years or so. From what I remember, anything that could save time or space was always strongly encouraged...  :gossip: 

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On 11/18/2021 at 11:21 AM, Makmorn said:

Just be aware they are extremely tough on magazines as of late, I had some graded recently and all came back lower than expected. Granted I took a few years off from grading until this year, but now wish I had remained that way. The worst one is this Savage Tales #2, the book is structurally a 9.6/9.8 with a tiny bindery tear at the top of the spine. I was somewhat surprised when it came back a 9.0 due to lite fading on the front cover. Lite fading? Do we have millennials grading these? Pretty sure it was spelled light when I went to school. Anyway, check the scans, it may be lite, but I know it was in a box for years and never exposed to the sun, maybe it was early or late in the production and the ink was low, who knows. All I know is the blacks look black in hand, and all the other colors look right too.

Also note, the only fading is from the case glare and my scanner, actual book is very clean. (first photo)

 

Savage2.jpg

Savage2.jpg

 

Looks every bit  as good as my 9.6 . 

50001860096000000099266002.jpg

Edited by batmiesta
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On 11/18/2021 at 1:12 PM, The Lions Den said:

You may find this funny (or just plain ridiculous) but the use of the term "lite" in the grading notes has been common for at least 20 years or so. From what I remember, anything that could save time or space was always strongly encouraged...  :gossip: 

I understand saving the space and time, but does it help that much using 4 letters over 5? I bet a grader misspelled it 20 years ago, and they just continue using it rather than admit it was wrong..:grin:

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On 11/18/2021 at 1:33 PM, Makmorn said:

I understand saving the space and time, but does it help that much using 4 letters over 5? I bet a grader misspelled it 20 years ago, and they just continue using it rather than admit it was wrong..:grin:

Well, you may be right Will. And it could've been me...  (shrug)

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