Any negative ramifications from a "smelly" submission? 0

[mostmonsters]

Just wondered if CGC takes into account any unusual smell of a comic or magazine that is submitted for grading, and would a submission with a musty odor reduce the grade, or are only visual characteristics taken into account when assigning a grade?  This question may have been answered somewhere in the past, but I can't recall hearing any discussion about it on the Registry.  Thank you to anyone who can provide any type of clarification on this question.

[KCOComics]

On 11/22/2022 at 1:20 PM, mostmonsters said:

Just wondered if CGC takes into account any unusual smell of a comic or magazine that is submitted for grading, and would a submission with a musty odor reduce the grade, or are only visual characteristics taken into account when assigning a grade?  This question may have been answered somewhere in the past, but I can't recall hearing any discussion about it on the Registry.  Thank you to anyone who can provide any type of clarification on this question.

@gadzukes

Didn't you buy / submit a collection affectionately known as "the cat pee collection"? 

Did CGC ding you for smell at all? 

[theCapraAegagrus]

If a book is stinky, it's likely to be dinged for whatever is causing the odor, rather than the smell itself. I can't imagine that there are smelly book out there in high grade.

[Qalyar]

On 11/22/2022 at 12:34 PM, theCapraAegagrus said:

If a book is stinky, it's likely to be dinged for whatever is causing the odor, rather than the smell itself. I can't imagine that there are smelly book out there in high grade.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are some high grade books that were stored with mothballs for long periods of time and have retained the characteristic naphthalene odor. That should generally be possible to deodorize, but in some cases may take quite awhile.

I don't honestly know if it would affect the technical grade in the meantime.

[The Lions Den]

There's no grade reduction for odor, but it may cause the graders to work faster...  

[The Lions Den]

On 11/22/2022 at 2:40 PM, Nutsy said:

Edgar Church books smell like cedar, right?

That does seem to be the case...  

[paqart]

I had an "Old Castle's Secret" (Four Color # 189) that had such a strong musty odor that my wife told me it wasn't allowed in the house. We compromised on the basement, provided I inserted dryer sheets between every page. After six months, it still smelled so bad that I traded it away. Now I won't touch a musty comic no matter what it looks like. If I get one sight unseen, like through eBay, I either throw it away, return it, or trade/sell it (with full disclosure). I got a GS Conan #1 that looked great, about an 8.0, but it smelled bad so I gave it away and bought another.

Based on those experiences, I think CGC should take smell into account whether they do now or not.

[1950's war comics]

On 11/22/2022 at 8:42 PM, paqart said:

I had an "Old Castle's Secret" (Four Color # 189) that had such a strong musty odor that my wife told me it wasn't allowed in the house. We compromised on the basement, provided I inserted dryer sheets between every page. After six months, it still smelled so bad that I traded it away. Now I won't touch a musty comic no matter what it looks like. If I get one sight unseen, like through eBay, I either throw it away, return it, or trade/sell it (with full disclosure). I got a GS Conan #1 that looked great, about an 8.0, but it smelled bad so I gave it away and bought another.

Based on those experiences, I think CGC should take smell into account whether they do now or not.

agree !!

[1950's war comics]

musty smell is a no no for me and i will also throw them away if i get them

[gadzukes]

On 11/22/2022 at 1:29 PM, KCOComics said:

@gadzukes

Didn't you buy / submit a collection affectionately known as "the cat pee collection"? 

Did CGC ding you for smell at all? 

As bad as the comics looked in the cat-scratched peeboxes..... None of the comics ended up smelling like cat pee.  The mylars did their job!!!!!

[LowGradeBronze]

I've always found strength and type of smell to be in direct proportion to the page quality. I can generally blind sniff test for white and tan pages. It's a trick I once used to impress a girl, so a skill well worth developing!