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Would you rather?... FF 52 edition
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22 posts in this topic

Hey everyone, 

Obviously, this is subjective, but I'm curious as to what others would do in this situation.

Let's say you are on the market for a FF 52 and you have the 2 copies below that you've decided to choose from. Let's also say they are both graded and are the same grade (6.0) and similarly priced. 

Would you go with the copy with a bit of tanning on the cover and sharper corners and less spine ticks (first pic), or would you choose the one with more spine ticks, more rounded corners, but whiter whites on cover (second pic)? 

FF_52_6.0.JPG.89ba0392cbd729cd6c2c54f6647c32b3.JPG

244285241_FF_52-33.thumb.jpg.c2804a02cfc5f12d7a47c1975e1c0179.jpg

I do have grader notes on the first book:

Grader Notes

light cover tanning
light staining to cover
moderate bends to cover
moderate spine stress lines to cover

and it does have white pages.

Unfortunately, I don't currently have any additional info on the second book yet other than this not so great pic.

Edited by p-kay14
added more details
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Unfortunately, you did not treat the second book fairly using that lousy, distant pic of the book still in a bag!  So we must rely on your verbal assessment of the two books' relative cosmetic appeal.  But even using your description and just the close-up pic of the first book, that tear mid bot fc looks < 1/2 inch, which could still garner an 8.5 if that were all.  So there presumably are other issues (at least as significant as the tear) that brought the book down to a 6.0.  Back cover (stains, tears, creases, etc), water damage anywhere, foxing anywhere, rusty staples, weak staples or loose wraps, gloss loss, etc.  All things I would want clarity on before picking one book over the other, even assuming you're correct about overall presentation of just the front covers and especially if both books would get the same label grade.  

Edited by Pantodude
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On 6/9/2022 at 1:07 PM, Pantodude said:

Unfortunately, you did not treat the second book fairly using that lousy, distant pic of the book still in a bag!  So we must rely on your verbal assessment of the two books' relative cosmetic appeal.  But even using your description and just the close-up pic of the first book, that tear mid bot fc looks < 1/2 inch, which could still garner an 8.5 if that were all.  So there presumably are other issues (at least as significant as the tear) that brought the book down to a 6.0.  Back cover (stains, tears, creases, etc), water damage anywhere, foxing anywhere, rusty staples, weak staples or loose wraps, gloss loss, etc.  All things I would want clarity on before picking one book over the other, even assuming you're correct about overall presentation of just the front covers and especially if both books would get the same label grade.  

Thanks so much for the comments. Very good points. I updated the pic of the second book to a larger version. I tried originally making them the same dimensions for comparison, but they must be different picture quality as well causing the second one to show up smaller originally.

Unfortunately, that's the only pic I was given of the second book before it got sent off. I also don't have a pic of the back of the first book. I looked at the graders notes on the first book though:

Grader Notes

light cover tanning
light staining to cover
moderate bends to cover
moderate spine stress lines to cover

It actually doesn't mention a tear, so maybe it's not a tear after all? I haven't seen the book in person, so maybe what looks like a tear in the pic is actually part of the moderate bends to cover?

Not able to access any grader notes yet on the second book, but you can see the difference between the light cover tanning on first book and the white parts looking whiter on the second book. The first book does have white pages, while I don't have pq yet for the second book. 

Hope that helps a bit more for the comparison.

 

Edited by p-kay14
corrected copy/paste error
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On 6/9/2022 at 11:00 AM, p-kay14 said:

The funny thing is that I might end up going in this direction! :devil:

Look, they aren't cheap, but they also shouldn't be tremendously expensive.  Why risk a choice if the size of the "investment" isn't a deal-breaker for your budget and both books have something to recommend them?

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On 6/9/2022 at 1:32 PM, p-kay14 said:

It actually doesn't mention a tear, so maybe it's not a tear after all?

Interesting b/c it does look like a tear.  

On 6/9/2022 at 1:32 PM, p-kay14 said:

so maybe what looks like a tear in the pic is actually part of the moderate spine stress lines to cover?

CGC's use of "moderate spine stress lines to cover" would not encompass a crease/line that is not on the spine, e.g., at the bot mid front cover.  So maybe they just missed it?  Anyway, fun to have options.  

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On 6/9/2022 at 2:04 PM, Pantodude said:

Interesting b/c it does look like a tear.  

CGC's use of "moderate spine stress lines to cover" would not encompass a crease/line that is not on the spine, e.g., at the bot mid front cover.  So maybe they just missed it?  Anyway, fun to have options.  

Oops, sorry I copy and the pasted wrong part. I meant to say "maybe what looks like a tear in the pic is actually part of the moderate bends to cover" (I corrected it in my post as well).

I agree though. It does look like a tear in the pic, which was what I originally thought made the book a 6.0. But maybe they did end up missing noting it in graders notes.

I'll have to report back after seeing the book in person if it is in fact a tear. 

Edited by p-kay14
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On 6/9/2022 at 2:12 PM, p-kay14 said:

I agree though. It does look like a tear in the pic, which was what I originally thought made the book a 6.0. But maybe they did end up missing noting it in graders notes

They might not have mentioned it because the tear dosn't bring the grade down on the book any further than the other defects combined. 

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On 6/9/2022 at 11:12 AM, p-kay14 said:

Oops, sorry I copy and the pasted wrong part. I meant to say "maybe what looks like a tear in the pic is actually part of the moderate bends to cover" (I corrected it in my post as well).

I agree though. It does look like a tear in the pic, which was what I originally thought made the book a 6.0. But maybe they did end up missing noting it in graders notes.

I'll have to report back after seeing the book in person if it is in fact a tear. 

If it is indeed a bend and not a tear then book one appears to be the clear winner...

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On 6/9/2022 at 2:36 PM, Morganmi said:

They might not have mentioned it because the tear dosn't bring the grade down on the book any further than the other defects combined. 

Yeah, I'm not sure how the grader notes work (and they are probably different depending on the grader) but personally, if there is a tear, that would be the defect out of everything there that I would most want to see noted. I'm looking forward to seeing this book in person to find out if it is a tear or isn't. I will let you all know.

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I’m partial to the first copy, it present extremely well for the grade.  I’m not a fan of the very blunted corners and corner fold (lower right) of the second book.  Although if clearer pics of the second book become available, it would be worth taking another look.

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On 6/9/2022 at 8:38 PM, Tank the Dog said:

I’m partial to the first copy, it present extremely well for the grade.  I’m not a fan of the very blunted corners and corner fold (lower right) of the second book.  Although if clearer pics of the second book become available, it would be worth taking another look.

This was my take as well. I love the FF 52 cover and like you said, that first copy presents very nicely for the grade, so I found myself favoring this copy based on these pics. When I can get better pics of the second book sent to me I'll post them. I'm really curious to see how it will look in the slab.

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