Low Grade Trimmed...Less Stigma on GA Books? 5 5

[Dr. Balls]

Been eyeballing a low grade book that is trimmed on one side (CGC purple label) - it's actually very minimal, compared with a lot of untrimmed books - in terms of cover balance - it's visually hard to tell it's been trimmed.

Low grade as in a 1.5 (for sale at $1650). Two similar blue label sales are $2400 for a 1.8 on 12/2022 and $2040 for a 2.5 on 6/2023 (46 on census). The price is above what I would pay for a trimmed book based on previous sales. Normally, I stay away from trimmed books (resto is totally ok for me) - but is trimming less of a negative thing on GA books?

Edited October 7, 2023 by Dr. Balls

[Robot Man]

Depends on the book. The availability / rarity, the amount and of course the price.

I have a few very minimally trimmed books and for the right price might buy a few more.

[whomerjay]

Probably for most.

For me, the only trimmed book I would ever buy would be a very low grade GA book that I would really want and hard to come by, like a CDNP 24.

Even then I’d probably pay about half of what I’d pay if the resto was CT or small piece added, meaning several others would likely pay more. 

[Funnybooks]

can't do trimmed
I would rather own a book with pieces added $.02

[Dr. Balls]

On 10/7/2023 at 9:36 AM, Robot Man said:

Depends on the book. The availability / rarity, the amount and of course the price.

I have a few very minimally trimmed books and for the right price might buy a few more.

This is kind of where I'm at - for the right price, I could probably look past it. For the market price, I'm gonna have to think about it.

[Marty Mann]

Why trim?

[Robot Man]

Sometimes, trimming is a crime of opportunity…

[Yorick]

How much trimming?  My favorite GA books in my collection are trimmed.  Couldn't afford them otherwise (or, I wouldn't want to spend that kind of money just to have a BLUE label).

[Kevin.J]

Yep, a trimmed copy is the only affordable way for some of us and tbh, for me I would rather have something lovely and presentable, than something hanging to bits for the same price.

Each to their own though, its all good and whatever scratches the itch  

 

[Dr. Balls]

Thanks for all the viewpoints so far! I think the book is quite nice for the grade, and I'm in that boat where I wouldn't spend $2k on it for a similarly-graded blue label. For me, "in the slab" means it's more of a piece of artwork than it is to be part of a reading collection. And if it looks nice and presentable but at a cheaper price point - I'm all for it. I have a bunch of lower grade stuff that I love, because I try to go for those beaters that have covers where you can see all the artwork (as opposed to missing pieces or heavy damage).

[LadyDeath]

On 10/7/2023 at 2:38 PM, Dr. Balls said:

I have a bunch of lower grade stuff that I love, because I try to go for those beaters that have covers where you can see all the artwork (as opposed to missing pieces or heavy damage).

Smart man. I have a .5 of Wonder Comics 17 with a missing centerfold. The artwork is untarnished.

Why would I care if something affects the story if it's slabbed? I don't!

[Point Five]

On 10/7/2023 at 12:57 PM, Robot Man said:

Sometimes, trimming is a crime of opportunity…

I always strongly disliked trimming on SA comics. But to my surprise, I’ve become a big fan of formerly-bound GA comics, which usually had some degree of trimming as part of the process. Like the ones Robot Man shows here, these books can (tho don’t always) have an amazing degree of freshness, which far outweighs the other flaws in my book.

But in broader strokes, yeah, GA books are tougher and trimming doesn’t bug me that much, as long as it’s not so severe that it’s a distraction from the cover.

 

[Ryan.]

On 10/7/2023 at 3:00 PM, LadyDeath said:

Why would I care if something affects the story if it's slabbed? I don't!

Collecting is often an irrational pursuit. I agree with your logic however I can't deal with having certain defects in my keeper books, such as being incomplete, having brittle pages or trimming. 

[Professor K]

I don't consider trimming to be a form restoration at all. It's a category completely by itself. Because I didn't get to the Golden Age game until 2017 so I missed the boat on a lot of the books I surely would have acquired had I woken up from my Silver Age slumber years before. Because of that I have several books with no more than moderate resto and I love them, but I would not buy a trimmed book. The only way I would buy a trimmed book would be with the intent of selling it if I thought there was a worthwhile profit to be made. Even if it were an Action 1 or 7 or Tec 27,29, or 31, or a Cap 1 or others of that esteem. Maybe a trimmed Punch 12 I would keep. 

[Patriot6]

On 10/7/2023 at 3:01 PM, Ryan. said:

Collecting is often an irrational pursuit. I agree with your logic however I can't deal with having certain defects in my keeper books, such as being incomplete, having brittle pages or trimming. 

I like this take. Although I think I learned my lesson with the SB pgs. I was of the same thought process until, over the years, the bottom of the slab collects more and more bits of comic and the slab is only moved for dusting/rearrangement. Now SB pgs is out. Of course if the price was a have to buy it price, I could still accept it, but it would gnaw at me. Maybe I have a SB mind 

 

Different take. What if you had a book in your collection raw that you've had for many years and have always thought "this is a very nice book". You've loved and cherished it and decide one day to get it slabbed to either display or protect or any other number of reasons. Let's leave out the only slab to sell debate. The book comes back trimmed. How do you feel about it now? Still love? Ex wife material? Personally, I'd be upset because I'd had the book up on a pedestal for years and it was going behind my back the whole time. Now naturally it was flawed when we met, but who can tell one hundred percent of the time these days???

[Professor K]

On 10/7/2023 at 4:17 PM, Patriot6 said:

Different take. What if you had a book in your collection raw that you've had for many years and have always thought "this is a very nice book". You've loved and cherished it and decide one day to get it slabbed to either display or protect or any other number of reasons. Let's leave out the only slab to sell debate. The book comes back trimmed. How do you feel about it now? Still love? Ex wife material? Personally, I'd be upset because I'd had the book up on a pedestal for years and it was going behind my back the whole time. Now naturally it was flawed when we met, but who can tell one hundred percent of the time these days???

Good question. I would still love it as if it were my own child........then put it up for adoption immediately. 

Afterthought- I notice that most "restored: graded books that are trimmed do sell for less than ones in similar grade which are not trimmed. That is a fact. But many times I notice not much less. I think with most books for most people who can only afford or be willing to spend the money on are restored copies, waiting for a non trimmed restored example usually wouldn't cost much more. 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Professor K

[Patriot6]

On 10/7/2023 at 3:20 PM, Professor K said:

Good question. I would still love it as if it were my own child........then put it up for adoption immediately. 

I think many would have a hard time getting over the betrayal....

Now go one step further, because I love being the devil's advocate. Your twelve year old niece is staying the weekend while her parents are at a Dirty Dancing recreation weekend in North Carolina. As many twelve year old girls are very detail oriented she decides to even out the bottom of one of your beloved book. She does a bang up job, gold medal trimmer the niece is. Same book minus a few tiny scraps. Does your attitude towards it change? 

[Professor K]

On 10/7/2023 at 4:23 PM, Patriot6 said:

I think many would have a hard time getting over the betrayal....

Now go one step further, because I love being the devil's advocate. Your twelve year old niece is staying the weekend while her parents are at a Dirty Dancing recreation weekend in North Carolina. As many twelve year old girls are very detail oriented she decides to even out the bottom of one of your beloved book. She does a bang up job, gold medal trimmer the niece is. Same book minus a few tiny scraps. Does your attitude towards it change? 

Yes, yes it would. I would put her in the car, drive her to her parents Dirty Dancing recreation, and put her in the corner. Then go home and put the book for sale right here on the board with full disclosure of course. It's just me personally, I could not own a trimmed book no matter who did the trimming or what book it is. It's just something I feel should never be done to a comic. 

[Point Five]

Back on Dr. B’s book for a moment — since thousands (not hundreds) of dollars are potentially changing hands, and you may need to sell the book someday, this makes the equation a bit tougher IMO. The book should be fairly rare and pretty crazy desirable, and/or I’d want to see strong/consistent sales data, such that the floor to own *any* copy is at least in the ballpark of what you’re paying for the trimmed one.   

 

[LadyDeath]

On 10/7/2023 at 4:01 PM, Ryan. said:

Collecting is often an irrational pursuit. I agree with your logic however I can't deal with having certain defects in my keeper books, such as being incomplete, having brittle pages or trimming. 

I can see that. Some books are just hard to come by, so I'm cool with settling for what I can get. As long as it doesn't look like a dog ate the cover for breakfast.