Collectors Who Really Prefer Low Grade? 3 3

[Darwination]

I buy in all grades depending on the situation. For GA (my fave comics), an ideal grade is about a 6.0 where it presents well and I can also read it comfortably. Most of my books are less than ideal  

Beggars can't be choosers, and when you are talking about a books that are super scarce, I take what I can get or afford. Books with hundreds or thousands of copies in the census isn't my world, and I can see how you can be choosey with those if you have money and patience.

People that like books in boxes or are investment focused probably have very different ideas on all of this than us readers.

[marvelmaniac]

I am not necessarily a lover of low grade books but I do not hate them either, I do have about 300 books in my 2000 book collection that are graded (by me) at GD- 1.8 and lower including many PR 0.5 books and 10 remainder copies (only 1 coverless, Sad Sack 1,1949), of course I would rather have a book in the FN 6.0 range than a book in the FR 1.0 range, however, buying low grade books was basically done out of necessity due to budget constraints and wanting to complete runs, buy as many books as possible for as little $ as possible, also, my being a collector was basically founded on my love for comics as a kid in the 60's so grade was very seldom a consideration for me, in 1965/66/67 there was no such thing as a 9.8 and if there was and I found one, it was no longer a 9.8 after I folded it, put it in my back pocket and rode my bike home with my baseball cards were flapping against the wheel spokes. 

I also have no issues with Date/Store Stamps, Subscription Creases, Corner Box Cut Out, Remainder Copies, Missing MVS/Coupons, etc., I also do not mind when someone added their name to the cover or splash page (folks pay BIG$$$ these days for people to draw/scribble on their books), for me, those items add character and a bit of history to the book

Before the internet when I made my monthly rounds to the 4-5 LCS's that were in the area or went to a local, smaller show I bought what I could find when I found it, I had to decide right there, "do I buy it?", if not it might not be there when I go back, grade really did not matter, it was more of a...WOW, Look What I Found!!!      and nobody cared if it was a "Well Loved" copy or not, just the fact that you found a copy in the wild that you could afford was enough.

Once the internet came along for me in 02/03 and eBay had all of these books and I did not have to leave the house, well, OCD/Anxiety and a need to Buy/Complete runs took over, unfortunately the budget constraints were still in place, the self control not so much. The only way I could justify the purchases and satisfy my OCD was to buy the least expensive books I could find and that = lower grade books.

I stopped buying in 2010, the prices for the books I was looking for (early issues of JIM and ST, issues mainly in the 1-40 range) became more than I could afford or wanted to spend for a comic, even in very low grade.

Now that I am 68 and I look back, would I have done the same things over, absolutely not, I do not/did not need all of the books I bought, I love early Silver age, the Late Silver/Early Bronze stuff not so much, so why did/do my ASM, F.F. IH runs go to issue 200? why does my Thor run go to issue 260?, Avengers to 130. DD to 132??? 

To all of the folks that have no real issues with low grade books, here a few of the most "Well Loved" books in the collection.

 

[LadyDeath]

My lowest graded book. Sometimes low grade is all you can find when it comes to GA collecting.

Edited June 8 by LadyDeath

[auboy77]

On if I would take low grade restored grade if it was the only available copy, yea , I probably would bc it’s the ONLY available copy. Not sure why you would restore a book only enough to leave it low grade though. Others here would be better at answering that than I would. High grade resto makes the book look fake to me , ie. the Hulk 1 copy that’s on another thread . BTW , that Wonder Comics above is beautifully. Really nice example of good girl art and colors.

Edited June 8 by auboy77
Added response

[LadyDeath]

On 6/8/2024 at 5:55 PM, auboy77 said:

BTW , that Wonder Comics above is beautifully. Really nice example of good girl art and colors.

Thanks. Centerfold missing was the big blow. Main portion of the art is unmarred and that's most important to me.

[Happy Noodle Boy]

What I find interesting here is that so far, I don't think a single person actually prefers the aesthetic of low grade copies to higher grade copies; it's rather that they bought them out of economic necessity and they can tolerate them or perhaps feel a nostalgic twinge at the "well-loved" nature of them. Which is cool, but I think everyone who responded, if money wasn't an object, would upgrade to higher grade copies, is that correct? I think there must be someone out there who actually prefers the way low grade books look...but if I'm right, they're probably part of a very rare group. As an experiment I might start a collection of Very Good - Fine books. Nothing above a 6.0, and the only criteria is that the entire book is intact. No pages missing, no cutouts, no pieces of the covers missing. Creases, folds, and spine ticks of any number and severity would all be welcome. Certainly, I could put that collection together cheaply, and quickly too--I could just go to My Comic Shop and go crazy. (I'm mostly a collector of Bronze Age books; I'm not talking about AF 15 here.) Maybe I'll fill a short box with some of my favorite Bronze Age books in VG - Fine condition and live with it for awhile and see which collection I prefer, my boxes of 9.0+ books or the VG-Fine box. Oh, and the books in the low grade box won't get bags and boards either. It would be the kind of collection I had as a little kid, before I was a "comic collector" and I hadn't even heard of bags and boards yet and I just read the things without a care for how I treated them. Because with all the obsession in the hobby about condition and preservation, I kind of feel like I'm losing touch with why I liked comics in the first place.

Edited June 9 by Happy Noodle Boy

[Darwination]

There's an aesthetic argument for lower grade books but I think it would vary.  Sometimes I see a high grade copy of a book with deep reds and blacks, and it will ruin my feels for midgrade copies.  Other times, I'll be admiring a mid-grade copy, go take a look at the book on the high end and prefer the middle.

Here's a Captain Midnight #48, graded VG per MCS on sale right now

VF+ raw per HA

Tied for top of census at 9.4

Mile High copy (not in plastic at the time anyways) at HA called 9.4

Is the bottom one with the crazy yellows, ultra bright whites and glowing greens the most aesthetically pleasing?  Not to me.  I'd be perfectly content with the top copy and it's likely a fifth (or less) of the price of the two on the bottom.

A lot of grading has to do with structure and physical flaws more than color, what about opposite cases where a book is a little ragged but with good color and grades at least a couple full grades down from a washed out copy?

Edited June 9 by Darwination

[Qalyar]

On 6/7/2024 at 10:32 AM, grendelbo said:

With key books from any era I too am of the thought that any grade is better than no grade. I would still prefer the book to be presentable but even that is not a deal breaker. Ever seen my copy of FF1?

  Hide contents

If it's Copper or newer I'd prefer my books to be VF or better. For Bronze or older books I actually think the FN range is the sweet spot. I enjoy handling and browsing and reading my books. In this grade range I can do so without any worry of damaging an issue. There's also something aesthetically pleasing for me for older books that are FN or lower. I expect old comics to have had a journey before they ended up in my collection. Love equals wear in many cases.

That's not remotely the worst-presenting FF1 I have ever seen.

I have no idea what it is about that book, but I swear I've seen just more utterly wrecked -- but still holding it together -- copies of it than any of the other books of its caliber. Or... than most any other book, actually.

[KCOComics]

On 6/8/2024 at 10:45 PM, Happy Noodle Boy said:

What I find interesting here is that so far, I don't think a single person actually prefers the aesthetic of low grade copies to higher grade copies; it's rather that they bought them out of economic necessity and they can tolerate them or perhaps feel a nostalgic twinge at the "well-loved" nature of them. Which is cool, but I think everyone who responded, if money wasn't an object, would upgrade to higher grade copies, is that correct? I think there must be someone out there who actually prefers the way low grade books look...but if I'm right, they're probably part of a very rare group. As an experiment I might start a collection of Very Good - Fine books. Nothing above a 6.0, and the only criteria is that the entire book is intact. No pages missing, no cutouts, no pieces of the covers missing. Creases, folds, and spine ticks of any number and severity would all be welcome. Certainly, I could put that collection together cheaply, and quickly too--I could just go to My Comic Shop and go crazy. (I'm mostly a collector of Bronze Age books; I'm not talking about AF 15 here.) Maybe I'll fill a short box with some of my favorite Bronze Age books in VG - Fine condition and live with it for awhile and see which collection I prefer, my boxes of 9.0+ books or the VG-Fine box. Oh, and the books in the low grade box won't get bags and boards either. It would be the kind of collection I had as a little kid, before I was a "comic collector" and I hadn't even heard of bags and boards yet and I just read the things without a care for how I treated them. Because with all the obsession in the hobby about condition and preservation, I kind of feel like I'm losing touch with why I liked comics in the first place.

That's a great point. 

I mentioned I'm buying a lot of 1950s books right now generally in lower grade.  G to VG. I buy them raw to hold them and occasionally read them. But I really love flipping through boxes of that old art work.  And I don't mind wear.  

That said, the truth is if $50 could get me a G copy vs a VF copy, I would buy the VF copy.  So I can't say I prefer the lower grade.  

[KirbyJack]

When I started collecting back issues in 1988 I actively avoided high grade books; knowing I could have 3 readers for the same price. 
And high grade meant “fine” back then. 

[Rip]

If its a book I really like, I'll get a slabbed 9.6 range copy and then a 8.0-9.2 range copy to read so I feel like I can enjoy the book. If its golden age then its more like vg so I can enjoy it and something higher graded. But I always try to find the most appealing copy I can find and afford.

Edited June 9 by Rip

[LowGradeBronze]

It's the whole thing about what makes a book low grade. No two 3.0s are going to be the same and one will usually have a better aesthetic than the other, and that's what's fun about it. I have some books I would grade at 3.0 due to certain flaws but they have lovely page quality and sharp page corners. I have some books that technically grade 6.0 or higher but the strike is not as nice or it's a bad wrap.

What part of the print run the book comes from is as important to me as the technical grade. If you're lucky, the higher grade book happens to be from the sweet spot in the print run, but that's not always the case. It's what make it all so enjoyable. Finding a low grade book in the bargain bin and finding out it's got great strike and page quality....if you're lucky! And I'm happy to say, I've been lucky quite a lot 

[thehumantorch]

I was in a LCS in Vegas and the owner told me why he loved low grade comics.

He and a buddy were drinking and having a good time but he had to go to bed to go to work the next day.  His buddy was giving him a hard time and wanted to keep partying.  So he pulled out the first 50 issues of ASM in low grade and told his buddy to start reading those and to wake him up if he wasn't having a good time.  He slept all night.  That's why he loved low grade comics, he could give them to his drunk friend and didn't have to worry too much about them being damaged.

[thehumantorch]

On 6/8/2024 at 8:01 AM, Darwination said:

I buy in all grades depending on the situation. For GA (my fave comics), an ideal grade is about a 6.0 where it presents well and I can also read it comfortably. Most of my books are less than ideal  

Beggars can't be choosers, and when you are talking about a books that are super scarce, I take what I can get or afford. Books with hundreds or thousands of copies in the census isn't my world, and I can see how you can be choosey with those if you have money and patience.

People that like books in boxes or are investment focused probably have very different ideas on all of this than us readers.

Absolutely, a 6.0 GA book is usually a pretty nice looking copy.  It's that sweet spot where it looks nice but won't break the bank.

[KirbyJack]

On 6/11/2024 at 2:07 PM, thehumantorch said:

I was in a LCS in Vegas and the owner told me why he loved low grade comics.

He and a buddy were drinking and having a good time but he had to go to bed to go to work the next day.  His buddy was giving him a hard time and wanted to keep partying.  So he pulled out the first 50 issues of ASM in low grade and told his buddy to start reading those and to wake him up if he wasn't having a good time.  He slept all night.  That's why he loved low grade comics, he could give them to his drunk friend and didn't have to worry too much about them being damaged.

I was happy to loan out my runs of Strange Tales, JIM/Thor, TOS/Cap, etc. to a close friend who was recovering from a broken leg. I get no greater pleasure from our hobby than reading original comics.  

[Le Chat Noir]

"Low ball" collecting definitely a thing with coins. I can see the appeal of having a .5 on some books.

[ttfitz]

On 6/11/2024 at 3:09 PM, thehumantorch said:

Absolutely, a 6.0 GA book is usually a pretty nice looking copy.  It's that sweet spot where it looks nice but won't break the bank.

I used to explain grading to my wife as "If someone like you who doesn't know about grading comics looks at a book and says it's in Mint condition, then I point out the flaws and you say, 'oh yeah, I see that now', it's about a Fine. If you say, 'People really care about that?' then it's VF or better."

[Robot Man]

On 6/11/2024 at 11:56 AM, LowGradeBronze said:

It's the whole thing about what makes a book low grade. No two 3.0s are going to be the same and one will usually have a better aesthetic than the other, and that's what's fun about it. I have some books I would grade at 3.0 due to certain flaws but they have lovely page quality and sharp page corners. I have some books that technically grade 6.0 or higher but the strike is not as nice or it's a bad wrap.

What part of the print run the book comes from is as important to me as the technical grade. If you're lucky, the higher grade book happens to be from the sweet spot in the print run, but that's not always the case. It's what make it all so enjoyable. Finding a low grade book in the bargain bin and finding out it's got great strike and page quality....if you're lucky! And I'm happy to say, I've been lucky quite a lot 

Sounds like GA Fiction House books. Real spotty production and printing. Books from the first part of the run generally have bright, vibrant color on the covers. As the press continued to run, the ink was often “watered down” or minimally replenished giving the covers a faded appearance.

I have spent years collecting them constantly looking for the brightest covers. Not necessarily the highest technical grade. I have even down graded a bit for popping color. 

[Robot Man]

On 6/11/2024 at 12:09 PM, thehumantorch said:

Absolutely, a 6.0 GA book is usually a pretty nice looking copy.  It's that sweet spot where it looks nice but won't break the bank.

I have always loved solid 6.0 books for that exact reason. For a lot of stuff there are high grade chasers and low grade buyers that can’t afford the high grade stuff. Stuff in the middle often used to be overlooked. I buy the book not the grade. I have everything from coverless to Mile High copies. But my sweet spot is 5.0-7.0.

[thehumantorch]

On 6/8/2024 at 1:15 PM, LadyDeath said:

My lowest graded book. Sometimes low grade is all you can find when it comes to GA collecting.

I picked up this copy off skypink last month.  Wonderful run of Schomburg covers.  And it's in my sweet spot