Wolverine #1 - Is this a NM Copy 2 2

[LudaToke]

I recently purchased this copy off Ebay and it was advertised as NM.  When I got the book and had a closer look, there were at least 8 spine dings/bends and a not so sharp corner.  As a result, my feeling is this isn't a NM copy (9.4).  I messaged the seller and they responded:

'I don't think any of those would reduce it below a 9.2, in fact some of that is pressable. I would still grade this book at worst its a 9.4 - 9.6, just my opinion. we could work something else out? I just want you to be happy! grading is subjective after all"

I am curious to hear what the community thinks?  Do these defects still have this book sitting at 9.4 or not?  I'm curious as to what grade people would think this book is at.  I had a look at the rest of the page and back and everything looks OK.  I would appreciate some input.

 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by LudaToke

[scburdet]

full front & back photos are necessary per pinned thread guidelines

[Homeboy32]

A press would very likely give this a 9.4 but a very good chance at 9.6.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Homeboy32

[LudaToke]

On 9/2/2023 at 9:07 PM, Homeboy32 said:

A press would very likely give this a 9.4 but a very good chance at 9.6.

Without a press, as the comic is, what would your guess at the grade be?

[Homeboy32]

Without a press, very likely a 9.2 with a shot at 9.4.

[shadroch]

9.2 or better.  Certainly an ebay 9.4.

[scburdet]

I am fine with this as a VF/NM grade from an as-is online purchase perspective. Maybe a 9.2. I always price in overgrading when buying online these days.

I'm mostly concerned with the apparent slight darkness along the bottom edge of the BC. From a CGC perspective, you should account for the fact that there are >25K copies and, anecdotally, the more copies graders see, the more likely they are to nitpick the smallest defects. For reasons it's not worth elaborating on, I have 4 copies of this book in slabs: 2×9.2, a 9.4 and a 9.8. The latter were graded recently, and I believe looked better before pressing than this copy (they were then pressed). It would be hard to tell which was which pre-grading in photos (they are somewhere in this forum if you want to go digging). The 9.2s are both 1st gen slabs and one is clearly a lesser copy, and there are no noticeable spine indentions in the better copy. The standards may have drifted in the last 22ish years but the 9.2s also were unlikely to have been pressed. You could get a 9.6 pressed, 9.4 is more probable & I doubt it would get to 9.8, but you never know.

[Mars76]

I think this would top out at a 9.2.

[Artboy99]

as it sits I am at 9.2 and I don't think it gets to a 9.4 but it might depending on how well it presses.

What did you pay for it?  I would think you got decent value for the purchase if you spent around $100 or less. 

Have a link to the auction? I am curious what quality of pictures were shown.

 

[CHASEnBLUE]

In my experiences, even exceptional pressers (there are some great ones on the boards) cannot guarantee a non-color breaking crease/tick will flatten out when they are near the spine. Definitely worth a shot though.

[grendelbo]

No. 8.0/8.5.

Tops after a C&P 9.0/9.2.

Thanks for posting.

[Eric C M]

By EBay standards I would say that this seller did not do you wrong. Most sellers seem to use NM on eBay to describe books from about 7.5 and up. I agree that outside of the minor corner issue everything else appears that it should be pressable with the right presser. I’d guess 9.2 after that but a 9.4 would be possible. Regardless of the number you should go with your gut, if this is not the quality book you wanted, return it (if possible).

[redgar-red]

"NM" -- is a subjective term.  When I list a book on eBay that has NOT been graded I NEVER use numeric grading; it is too subjective and gives a false sense of precision that is just not realistic.  I would have probably listed the book as "VF++ - NM-"., but that is just me.  The last thing I want to do with any buyer that has bought a book from me is to dicker 9.0 vs. 9.2 vs. 9.4.

That said, this is a nice book.  Get it into the hands of an experienced presser, apply a little humidity, press it once or twice, and most of those spine ticks will be mitigated or eliminated.  This is the kind of book I love -- I press my own books -- this one should come out nicely.

Hope you get it pressed and send back the photos.

[redgar-red]

On 9/2/2023 at 8:55 PM, LudaToke said:

Without a press, as the comic is, what would your guess at the grade be?

Without a press (to me -- the way I grade myself), this book is a 9.0 / 9.2.  With a good press I would expect a 9.4 and would not be too suprised on a 9.6.  And, I wish I could tell you what spine ticks would and would not come out, but that doesn't happen all the time.

Hope that helps.

[southern cross]

I'm at a 8.0 due to dings and most importantly this stain.

That's just my opinion.

[scburdet]

On 9/4/2023 at 4:20 PM, southern cross said:

stain

I can't unsee this now. If it is a stain, 8.0 would be lucky

[LudaToke]

On 9/4/2023 at 3:20 PM, southern cross said:

I'm at a 8.0 due to dings and most importantly this stain.

That's just my opinion.

Damn I didn't notice that until you pointed it out.  I took the book out again and you can feel the stain.  It's textured.

[Mars76]

On 9/4/2023 at 12:20 PM, southern cross said:

I'm at a 8.0 due to dings and most importantly this stain.

Good catch👍

[Nschenks]

On 9/4/2023 at 4:36 PM, LudaToke said:

Damn I didn't notice that until you pointed it out.  I took the book out again and you can feel the stain.  It's textured.

If it has texture (like it's popped out), it may actually be a piece of dirt or some other particle that got stuck to/partially embedded in the cover. Not advising this necessarily, but might be worth running a fingernail lightly against it to see if it pops loose IF it is a piece of dirt or something. I've had books with this kind of crud that came off easily and left no mark. But you'd know better than anyone if it's a stain or not. If it is a stain though, yeah, that knocks it well below NM.

[LudaToke]

On 9/5/2023 at 5:26 PM, Nsschenks said:

If it has texture (like it's popped out), it may actually be a piece of dirt or some other particle that got stuck to/partially embedded in the cover. Not advising this necessarily, but might be worth running a fingernail lightly against it to see if it pops loose IF it is a piece of dirt or something. I've had books with this kind of crud that came off easily and left no mark. But you'd know better than anyone if it's a stain or not. If it is a stain though, yeah, that knocks it well below NM.

If felt a bit sticky when I ran my finger across it so I didn't try and remove it.  At this point, this book isn't NM so I sent it back to the seller.

Thank you to everyone who chimed in with their opinions and eagle eyes.  The help is greatly appreciated.