New to the Grading world, need opinions PPSM #1 2 2

[aabruzzese]

Hi folks ,

I'm new to the comic book grading and pressing/cleaning world. I have a small Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man collection from my teenage days. 
I am thinking of submitting some of them to CGC for grading.  I am going to start with my PPSM #1 which I think it is FN/NM, but I am no expert in grading. 

I would appreciate any opinions of what grade I can reasonably expect. 
 

[scburdet]

Welcome. To give a short answer to your query, cleaning can take off surface grime–stuff that's not soaked into the paper or from paper degradation. I don't see much here, maybe a little dirt along the spine at the top, but this comic looks pretty darn clean. Pressing can flatten out bends, spine ticks & creases. If any of those defects break color (i.e. are visible in the ink), then there's limited benefit to pressing. At least in the photos at this resolution, I don't see any pressable defects. I do notice what might be some color-breaking defects. The BRFC below Spidey's foot appears to have a light crease through the two bottom bricks. There's also a line above the TM between the N of MAN & the edge. IDK exactly what that is, but it could be a crease or scratch. If those two defects are what they appear to be, you might be looking at a grade as low as 7.5 despite the book being quite attractive. Before submitting books, I'd encourage you to post them to get unofficial grades & then look at sale prices to determine if it's worth the investment. For example, a 9.0 of this book recently sold on ebay for $55 & the grading alone costs about half that (excluding pressing, shipping, etc.). I've seen enough inexperience folks submit books & then get upset b/c they feel like they were cheated b/c they're looking at breaking even or losing money when selling. If you're grading for personal/sentimental reasons, the calculus may be different, but still worth considering. It's a little like gambling.

[grendelbo]

7.5

Thanks for posting.

[aabruzzese]

On 6/18/2023 at 7:28 PM, scburdet said:

Welcome. To give a short answer to your query, cleaning can take off surface grime–stuff that's not soaked into the paper or from paper degradation. I don't see much here, maybe a little dirt along the spine at the top, but this comic looks pretty darn clean. Pressing can flatten out bends, spine ticks & creases. If any of those defects break color (i.e. are visible in the ink), then there's limited benefit to pressing. At least in the photos at this resolution, I don't see any pressable defects. I do notice what might be some color-breaking defects. The BRFC below Spidey's foot appears to have a light crease through the two bottom bricks. There's also a line above the TM between the N of MAN & the edge. IDK exactly what that is, but it could be a crease or scratch. If those two defects are what they appear to be, you might be looking at a grade as low as 7.5 despite the book being quite attractive. Before submitting books, I'd encourage you to post them to get unofficial grades & then look at sale prices to determine if it's worth the investment. For example, a 9.0 of this book recently sold on ebay for $55 & the grading alone costs about half that (excluding pressing, shipping, etc.). I've seen enough inexperience folks submit books & then get upset b/c they feel like they were cheated b/c they're looking at breaking even or losing money when selling. If you're grading for personal/sentimental reasons, the calculus may be different, but still worth considering. It's a little like gambling.

Hi, 

Thanks for the review, I double checked the book and found that using the scanner is not the best option. I took 

a picture with my IPhone and did not see any of the defects, the book is flat and there are no lines, although I did see one issue.  There is a small micro tear on the edge near Spiderman's right foot, it is hard to see due to the color scheme so I had not noticed it at first. 

[scburdet]

Maybe a grade or so better than the 7.5 estimate, but the chip is quite likely to keep this out of the NM grades

[Mars76]

Good looking book, but I don't see it grading higher than an 8.5. 7.5-8.0 as is.

[aabruzzese]

On 6/19/2023 at 8:36 AM, Mars76 said:

Good looking book, but I don't see it grading higher than an 8.5. 7.5-8.0 as is.

Thanks, and I totally agree, I messaged the seller on Ebay and am looking into it as the book + shipping came out to about 110$ Canadian. 

 

[Nschenks]

Looks like an 8.5 to me. Also something to note, due to the wrap of the book, there's a lot of white showing on the spine, which can hide spine ticks and spine creasing in photos. If there's no color there can't be color loss, but creasing is creasing. It's really hard to tell in photos, but it appears to me there are at least a few small creases along the front spine. Maybe they press out, maybe they don't. Also looks like maybe some light bends to the top of the book.

[aabruzzese]

On 6/19/2023 at 12:05 PM, Nsschenks said:

Looks like an 8.5 to me. Also something to note, due to the wrap of the book, there's a lot of white showing on the spine, which can hide spine ticks and spine creasing in photos. If there's no color there can't be color loss, but creasing is creasing. It's really hard to tell in photos, but it appears to me there are at least a few small creases along the front spine. Maybe they press out, maybe they don't. Also looks like maybe some light bends to the top of the book.

It's crazy how hard it is to see these things when using pictures and a scanner. The book lies flat and does not have any bends, the angle of the light and the holding the phone to take the picture makes it a little more complicated.  I am looking at it and comparing to a 9.2 GCG PPSM #23 that I purchased on EBAY and they are
pretty much in the same condition except for the chip mentioned.  I included a close up of the defect.  I will send it in for grading if I cannot reach an agreement with the seller on EBAY and see what comes of it.