I have one of those "If a book is flawless other than a..." questions. 4 4

[lostboys]

Im looking at buying a book thats been graded a cgc 9.8. Its a foil cover and there is a very small scratch on the foil...maybe a half inch long. My question is...shouldnt that disqualify it for 9.8? 

[theCapraAegagrus]

9.8s are not perfect.

[lostboys]

On 1/20/2022 at 12:49 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

9.8s are not perfect.

 

I know, I know ...and im trying SO HARD to accept that fact but I have so many 9.8s that are flawless to the naked eye. When I see one with a clear flaw, it makes my stomach hurt.

Theres a huge diff in value from a 9.8 to a 9.6. The stakes are high when youre looking to buy a book worth thousands.

 

Its one thing when a book you already own gets a gift grade...THATS GREAT!

Different ballgame when youre paying fmv for a gift graded 9.8.

Im curious if anyone here has a foil cover - comic with a scratch that got a 9.8.

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 1/20/2022 at 12:58 PM, lostboys said:

Theres a huge diff in value from a 9.8 to a 9.6. The stakes are high when youre looking to buy a book worth thousands.

I'm highlighting this for a reason. The price difference is massive compared to the difference in condition. On any day, if you get a 9.6 and 9.8 re-graded, the sticker number could be flip-flopped and one wouldn't notice.

Buy the book, not the label.

[lostboys]

On 1/20/2022 at 1:02 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

I'm highlighting this for a reason. The price difference is massive compared to the difference in condition. On any day, if you get a 9.6 and 9.8 re-graded, the sticker number could be flip-flopped and one wouldn't notice.

Buy the book, not the label.

That strategy is great if you can hold and inspect the slabbed book.

[The Lions Den]

On 1/20/2022 at 12:58 PM, lostboys said:

 

I know, I know ...and im trying SO HARD to accept that fact but I have so many 9.8s that are flawless to the naked eye. When I see one with a clear flaw, it makes my stomach hurt.

Theres a huge diff in value from a 9.8 to a 9.6. The stakes are high when youre looking to buy a book worth thousands.

 

Its one thing when a book you already own gets a gift grade...THATS GREAT!

Different ballgame when youre paying fmv for a gift graded 9.8.

Im curious if anyone here has a foil cover - comic with a scratch that got a 9.8.

It's also possible that the graders missed it   

or the book was scratched during encapsulation.

Any notes?  

[lostboys]

On 1/20/2022 at 4:32 PM, The Lions Den said:

It's also possible that the graders missed it   

or the book was scratched during encapsulation.

Any notes?  

No way they missed it but VERY possible it happened during encapsulation. I worry about the future of graded comics and I've got a nice chunk invested in my collection. 

I don't buy 9.8s to get rich though. I buy them because I CRAVE perfection.

And if a 9.8 isn't perfection then there should be more 9.9s and 10s out there.

 Especially for books that came out in the last decade. There are a lot of collectors out there that know how to grade comic books. They submit hundreds at a time but the best they can hope for is a 9.8. Something wrong there.

[The Lions Den]

On 1/20/2022 at 5:06 PM, lostboys said:

No way they missed it but VERY possible it happened during encapsulation. I worry about the future of graded comics and I've got a nice chunk invested in my collection. 

I don't buy 9.8s to get rich though. I buy them because I CRAVE perfection.

And if a 9.8 isn't perfection then there should be more 9.9s and 10s out there.

 Especially for books that came out in the last decade. There are a lot of collectors out there that know how to grade comic books. They submit hundreds at a time but the best they can hope for is a 9.8. Something wrong there.

Well, I hate to break it to you, but I have 9.8's that have grading notes that describe imperfections. They're very small and often difficult to see, but they're definitely imperfections. 

I do appreciate your desire for perfection, but I tend to look at the natural world for perfection, such as a "perfect day" or a "perfect sunset." I'm never disappointed by those things...  

[William-James88]

On 1/20/2022 at 12:44 PM, lostboys said:

Im looking at buying a book thats been graded a cgc 9.8. Its a foil cover and there is a very small scratch on the foil...maybe a half inch long. My question is...shouldnt that disqualify it for 9.8? 

Not if CGC deemed it a defect done during the manufacturing process.

[William-James88]

On 1/20/2022 at 5:06 PM, lostboys said:

 

And if a 9.8 isn't perfection then there should be more 9.9s and 10s out there.

Why? Comics are multipage folios made cheap and thus are rarely perfect. Hence why 9.9 and 10s are rare. A collection of 9.8s is a collection of comics with manufacturing flaws, far from perfection.

If you need perfection, then you are better off collecting cards.

[lostboys]

On 1/20/2022 at 5:37 PM, The Lions Den said:

Well, I hate to break it to you, but I have 9.8's that have grading notes that describe imperfections. They're very small and often difficult to see, but they're definitely imperfections. 

I do appreciate your desire for perfection, but I tend to look at the natural world for perfection, such as a "perfect day" or a "perfect sunset." I'm never disappointed by those things...  

And I admire your ability to accept less than perfection.  

In my case, I have 13 cgc 9.8s and they all LOOK perfect. 

To each his own

 

 

 

 

 

[lostboys]

On 1/20/2022 at 7:00 PM, William-James88 said:

Why? Comics are multipage folios made cheap and thus are rarely perfect. Hence why 9.9 and 10s are rare. A collection of 9.8s is a collection of comics with manufacturing flaws, far from perfection.

If you need perfection, then you are better off collecting cards.

A 9.8 with no visible defects to the front cover is perfection in my eyes

It doesn't bothers if there's color rub on the back cover or a crease on page 7

 

 

[William-James88]

On 1/21/2022 at 1:17 PM, lostboys said:

A 9.8 with no visible defects to the front cover is perfection in my eyes

It doesn't bothers if there's color rub on the back cover or a crease on page 7

 

 

That's fair. But many 9.8s have visible defects, that is what I was referring to.

Like this book below. You can look on the lower left corner. And it has writing on the cover. Both those elements would not be allowed on a higher grade.

http://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_ii/1200/2803046.jpg

And this 9.8 here is not wrapped properly

Tons of noticeable defects are allowed on the covers of 9.8s. 

[The Lions Den]

On 1/21/2022 at 1:32 PM, William-James88 said:

That's fair. But many 9.8s have visible defects, that is what I was referring to.

Like this book below. You can look on the lower left corner. And it has writing on the cover. Both those elements would not be allowed on a higher grade.

http://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_ii/1200/2803046.jpg

And this 9.8 here is not wrapped properly

Tons of noticeable defects are allowed on the covers of 9.8s. 

Apparently perfection is in the eye of the beholder...      

[grendelbo]

On 1/21/2022 at 11:32 AM, William-James88 said:

http://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_ii/1200/2803046.jpg

[grendelbo]

I have only one slabbed 9.8.

It has a noticeable stacking crease near the upper spine.

I'm still wondering if it was an allowable defect in 9.8 or an acceptable manufacturing defect. 

[The Troll King]

Ive submitted many books and magazines that have come back as 9.8's. I have two that I subbed that came back 9.9 and one is a Sig series. This is the wrong hobby if you're wanting gem mint perfection. 

[Math Teacher]

On 1/20/2022 at 12:02 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Buy the book, not the label.

As mentioned earlier, what keeps a book at 9.2 instead of a 9.8 might be on the inside. If there are no grader notes, you would have to have X-Ray vision to see the difference.

[djzombi]

On 1/21/2022 at 4:03 PM, grendelbo said:

I have only one slabbed 9.8.

It has a noticeable stacking crease near the upper spine.

I'm still wondering if it was an allowable defect in 9.8 or an acceptable manufacturing defect. 

I'm wondering this as well.  I just pulled a CGC candidate from my collection that looks immaculate except for the stacking bend near the spine.  

[jokiing]

I even sent this one back to CGC and according to their graders this is a common bindery defect that doesn't lower a 9.8 book. Mind you, rest of comic book is pretty, pretty sharp.