How does CGC grade comics that missed the staples during production? 1 1

[Drake Dragoon]

I have a couple TMNT comics from the 1st volume that missed the staples during production.

What I love about them is they look amazing! The spine is a perfect fold with no staples getting in the way. CRISP!

But the pages are loose so they like to slide out of the book a little, in the comic bag, when I pick it up. Gotta be gentle and tuck'em back in.

Would I get a qualified label or universal label?

And can it get a 9.8 if the rest of the comic is worthy?

Thanks for your reply folks!

[zzutak]

Your book(s) would be assigned a Qualified Grade and encapsulated with a Green Label that includes the notation "MANUFACTURED WITHOUT STAPLES" (in caps and placed directly below the publisher/date line).  There are scores of Qualified 9.8 books out there; hence, policy-wise, there's nothing that would prevent your book(s) from receiving that grade.  Just remember that the Qualified Grade ignores only the qualifying defect (in your case, the absence of staples); it does not ignore any blemishes/flaws that follow from the qualifying defect (such as interior pages with bent/creased corners and/or frayed edges). 

 

[Drake Dragoon]

Okay thanks for the response! Too bad it gets a green label though... I wish there was a special label for manufacturing errors/misprints for collectors who like those. But the green label is mostly bad because it also includes other detractors like unverified signatures.

I wonder why Venom #1 manufacturing errors get Universal Blue labels, and everything else can go 'kick rocks'?

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 2/20/2022 at 4:07 PM, Drake Dragoon said:

Okay thanks for the response! Too bad it gets a green label though... I wish there was a special label for manufacturing errors/misprints for collectors who like those. But the green label is mostly bad because it also includes other detractors like unverified signatures.

I wonder why Venom #1 manufacturing errors get Universal Blue labels, and everything else can go 'kick rocks'?

That's what the Qualified label is for. Why would you call the label "bad"? All it does is tell the consumer that the comic looks like X.X, but there's a significant error.

Comics that get Universal labels are only eligible if the error is common in MFG or distribution. It's a relatively "universal" problem.

[Drake Dragoon]

On 2/21/2022 at 5:37 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

That's what the Qualified label is for. Why would you call the label "bad"? All it does is tell the consumer that the comic looks like X.X, but there's a significant error.

Comics that get Universal labels are only eligible if the error is common in MFG or distribution. It's a relatively "universal" problem.

Okay, that makes sense. Missing the staples is a one-off mistake that gets missed from time to time, like a double cover gets stapled on from time to time, but it doesn't typically affect an entire batch.

That said, a double cover DOES get a universal blue label, and missing staples (apparently) do not - Despite a double cover potentially being a one-off as well (not universal). Maybe that's because missing staples are 'missing' from the book, so it's not technically complete, while double covers are complete, with an extra piece added (another cover). I'm still trying to make sense of the differences, but I hope I'm grasping it.

[Drake Dragoon]

...All you have to do to make a double cover comic 'universal' is to remove the outer cover. Therefore it wouldn't make sense to label it as 'qualified' when it's 'universal' under the 1st cover. This is tricky, but starting to make sense =P Thanks folks! I'm learning every day!

[The Lions Den]

On 2/24/2022 at 2:03 AM, Drake Dragoon said:

...All you have to do to make a double cover comic 'universal' is to remove the outer cover. Therefore it wouldn't make sense to label it as 'qualified' when it's 'universal' under the 1st cover. This is tricky, but starting to make sense =P Thanks folks! I'm learning every day!

The road to understanding CGC grading can be full of surprises. I hope you enjoy the ride...  

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 2/24/2022 at 1:57 AM, Drake Dragoon said:

That said, a double cover DOES get a universal blue label, and missing staples (apparently) do not - Despite a double cover potentially being a one-off as well (not universal). Maybe that's because missing staples are 'missing' from the book, so it's not technically complete, while double covers are complete, with an extra piece added (another cover). I'm still trying to make sense of the differences, but I hope I'm grasping it.

Double covers were Qualified when CGC first started. They should be Qualified. I'm not here to say that CGC is perfect.

[zzutak]

On 2/24/2022 at 3:48 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Double covers were Qualified when CGC first started.

My understanding of CGC's "policy" on double cover books is this: a double cover specimen would be awarded a Universal Grade (with grades for the exterior and interior covers each noted on the label) unless it also had a qualifying defect such as a detached wrap or married component (defects that also make single cover books eligible for a Qualified Grade), or if the exterior and interior covers had been switched.  These "exceptional" examples represent less than about 1% or 2% of the total.

The flow path thru CGC's grading rubric can sometimes be complicated.   I'm not saying you're wrong (some double cover books have always been eligible for a Qualified Grade).  I'm just saying my understanding differs from yours (and I won't mind seeing scans that show I'm off).   

 

         

[shadroch]

I've never seen a double cover that got a green label for being a DC. I have four DC s in green labels but most are missing an ad page or a pinup. 

[gadzukes]

On 2/20/2022 at 4:07 PM, Drake Dragoon said:

Okay thanks for the response! Too bad it gets a green label though... 

Because there are no holes (technically staple holes "damage" the spine).  So if your TMNT is really high grade I suppose it could get a 10.0 Green label which would be pretty cool.

Financially, Green's value is way less than Blue in the same grades, so I wonder if other collectors with your dilemma have ever been tempted to staple the comics themselves.

[Drake Dragoon]

On 2/24/2022 at 8:30 AM, gadzukes said:

Because there are no holes (technically staple holes "damage" the spine).  So if your TMNT is really high grade I suppose it could get a 10.0 Green label which would be pretty cool.

Financially, Green's value is way less than Blue in the same grades, so I wonder if other collectors with your dilemma have ever been tempted to staple the comics themselves.

I agree that green labels are worth less than blue labels. Yet sometimes a green label is a rare and desirable manufacturing error - and not an unverified signature, missing page, or other detractor that taints the green label category. That's why I think they should separate the manufacturing errors into their own category (label color) so collectors of error comics can more easily identify the differences and possibly avoid the slab getting undervalued.

[Drake Dragoon]

Luckily my How To Draw TMNT Error slab was graded before they knew it was an error (or someone missed it).

The census has a few qualified CGC 9.8's, but apparently there are more 'errors' of this comic that slipped into the 'universal' category.

I'll take the blue label all day.

[Drake Dragoon]

This is what it should look like (normal and error):