Aphotic Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Hey all, Fairly new to the world of graded comics, but picking up some of my personal favorites from a while back. I recently picked up a Secret Wars #8, and am seeing some corner issues though it's graded 9.8. I wanted to check whether or not this is expected or a known issue and it is a true 9.8. Any insight and assist would be appreciated, thanks folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grendelbo Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 That upper left corner looks impacted. I'd say it's not acceptable for a 9.8. Damage post-encapsulation? djzombi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning55 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Not working for me as a 9.8, however it happened. You always have to be careful when buying comics, graded or otherwise. If you just bought that, say on eBay or another marketplace, I would be working on getting that returned, if possible. There are better 9.8's to own. MAR1979 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aphotic Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 I assumed this as well, it's rather unfortunate. Thank you for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHASEnBLUE Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 On 8/17/2022 at 10:03 PM, Aphotic said: I assumed this as well, it's rather unfortunate. Thank you for the advice! All statements true here, however if you go to the CGC site and verify CGC certification, then it is a 9.8 as far as that goes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyTown Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 On 8/17/2022 at 4:43 PM, Aphotic said: I wanted to check whether or not this is expected or a known issue and it is a true 9.8. Hi Aphotic, welcome to the ridiculous world of slabbed comic books. I'll be the party pooper on this one. When it comes to CGC grading, there's no such thing as a "true" grade, only the number shown on the slab. Your contemplation of this copy's eligibility as a 9.8 is taking place too late; you were supposed to be satisfied with the comic book's appearance before you bought it. The shorthand for this philosophy is "buy the book, not the slab", and if you'd prefer that your 9.8 slabs be free of comics with pressed-out corner jams, then you must verify that absence prior to purchase. If this comic is secure in its holder, and if the holder is in the condition advertised, then you are unfortunately without recourse to the seller on the point of this comic's appearance. You purchased the advertised item and you did receive it. It's important to remember that 9.8 grades are assigned to comics that have handling defects. 9.8 is the third-highest grade on CGC's 25-point scale and does not represent a comic in mint condition. Sorry for this bummer reply, but thanks for hearing me out 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) I'd have to see it in-hand to disagree. It could be a negligible handling defect at arm's length, or a result of SCS. Edited August 18, 2022 by theCapraAegagrus Engr62 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djzombi Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 On 8/18/2022 at 7:16 AM, theCapraAegagrus said: I'd have to see it in-hand to disagree. It could be a negligible handling defect at arm's length, or a result of SCS. Possible SCS was my 1st thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning55 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) On 8/18/2022 at 6:27 AM, KirbyTown said: If this comic is secure in its holder, and if the holder is in the condition advertised, then you are unfortunately without recourse to the seller on the point of this comic's appearance. You purchased the advertised item and you did receive it. If it was sold on eBay by a seller who has 30 Day Free Returns, you can send it back for any reason. You don't even have to have a reason. Edited August 19, 2022 by Lightning55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engr62 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 On 8/18/2022 at 7:16 AM, theCapraAegagrus said: I'd have to see it in-hand to disagree. It could be a negligible handling defect at arm's length, or a result of SCS. My first thought as well. I recently got back a Fantastic Four 176 CGC 9.8 that is able to move within the inner well (that's after having it reslabbed due to a floating piece of plastic between the inner well and slab). Luckily, the book was not damaged in shipment, but I'd be afraid to ship it again due to the law of averages catching up with me--having the book incur damage due to rough handling during shipment. Even with inconsistent grading, I'd be willing to bet this damage occurred post-slabbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyTown Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 (edited) On 8/18/2022 at 7:51 PM, Engr62 said: I'd be willing to bet this damage occurred post-slabbing I'll take the other side! Here's my monopoly money 💰 and here's my argument for... On 8/18/2022 at 5:27 AM, KirbyTown said: pressed-out corner jam OP can't tell us if a book he bought was pressed, but the appearance of that spine corner betrays it. Why? Because the color break doesn't have a corresponding crease. Apart from the little tear at the top, the spine integrity seems fine. You can't have a color-breaking crease without a crease, and a pressed comic book will still show color breaks even after the creases that cause them have been removed. If you've ever seen a flat comic with white lines on the cover, then the comic once had severe creases and that's where they were. The white lines on the above Spotlight betray that this paper was originally crumpled hard enough and for long enough to break color in myriad ways. The paper has since been flattened, in this case without professional assistance, but the breaks remain and betray the paper's original damaged state. If this damage were fresh, the comic would appear bent-up like recently crumpled paper. The circumstances necessary to perform the 9.8's corner impact after the fact would have likely destroyed the case. Fresh breaks, even in forty year-old paper, require origami-style creasing. The corner would then have needed to somehow self-expand back into a flat and solid spine. As to "the damage had to occur afterwards because this couldn't have received a 9.8." If you remove the mental image of a comic being damaged and consider only what you're seeing, then you're facing a purely aesthetic consideration: a white line on a cover like any other line we've seen on any other 9.8. Pressing serves the above-mentioned purpose of removing damage so that only aesthetic grading considerations remain. The fact that pressing can't solve everything illustrates an important truth about the process: comic wounds can be healed, but their scars are forever! ::dramatic musical crescendos, etc:: (eager to hear other perspectives; I would love for this comic to actually be loose and slamming around just to shut this grandiosity down 🥳) Edited August 19, 2022 by KirbyTown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aphotic Posted August 19, 2022 Author Share Posted August 19, 2022 I am not sure if the book was pressed, I don't have that information or know enough about it. The book does not appear to be loose in the case and the case itself does not seem to have any damage. KirbyTown 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning55 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Send it back, if you can. And if you can complete the refund, that sigh of relief you hear will be due to dodging a bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hanes Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 well, this proves it.....Not all 9.8's are equal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyTown Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 (edited) On 8/19/2022 at 2:10 PM, Aphotic said: The book does not appear to be loose in the case and the case itself does not seem to have any damage. Thanks for the information. I will always agree with @Lightning55 in that if you want to return something then you should try to return something! I found your comic in the Bay solds and it seems like the seller wants to keep their feedback at 100% and encourages you to contact them. The listing says "no returns", but lots of sellers put that even though it's to their detriment. Contact the seller with your explanation and see what they say. State your case that the item is not as advertised. If the item WERE as advertised, then you'd be a happy customer and wouldn't be returning it; this is not a case of buyer's remorse. Then explain why it's not as advertised. These are crops of the listing images. I can understand why you wouldn't have seen a corner break or tear if it's on the turn of the spine, though it does appear that the corner has some kind of problem: Ultimately, you can always return things to Bay through their money-back guarantee program, but they encourage contacting the seller first. It is in the seller's best interest to let you return the item, even if they don't agree with your reasoning. If they feel you're abusing the system then they can always report you, but that doesn't seem to do much unless you're some kind of serial false returner. If you take this route please let us know how it goes. Good luck! Edited August 20, 2022 by KirbyTown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
