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Why do I bother buy raw books?

Started by BleekerBob,

65 posts in this topic

Forbush-Man

Forbush-Man

Posted
Posted

A: Hope springs eternal.

 

So do dancing bananas!

 

yay.gif

 

 

1041434-zionist-animated-banana.gif

 

 

You think you can say anything just because you banana is bigger than mine............................................................................ sorry.gif

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greggy

greggy

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I would love to know whether the books came from your personal collection or you bought them raw at those grades recently.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

gossip.gif He recently bought a couple of 9.4 Bronze Age books from Metro that came back 9.2 tonofbricks.gifforeheadslap.gif

confused-smiley-013.gif
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jokersrevenge

jokersrevenge

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I want to buy a certain book from Metro. they advertise it as a 9.4 The book is almost 4,500 dollars....At that price I really want it to come back as the grade they are placing on it....so far I haven't gotten the balls to buy it. I have thought about it, and there isn't a good solution...if they send it off to get graded and it comes back 9.4 ( or above), they will raise the price. If I buy it and it comes back 9.2 (or lower) I just lost a lot of cash....

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arexcrooke

arexcrooke

Posted
Posted
I want to buy a certain book from Metro. they advertise it as a 9.4 The book is almost 4,500 dollars....At that price I really want it to come back as the grade they are placing on it....so far I haven't gotten the balls to buy it. I have thought about it, and there isn't a good solution...if they send it off to get graded and it comes back 9.4 ( or above), they will raise the price. If I buy it and it comes back 9.2 (or lower) I just lost a lot of cash....

They will send scans for that price. Maybe that could help you with your decision.

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namisgr

namisgr

Posted
Posted
I want to buy a certain book from Metro. they advertise it as a 9.4 The book is almost 4,500 dollars....At that price I really want it to come back as the grade they are placing on it....so far I haven't gotten the balls to buy it. I have thought about it, and there isn't a good solution...if they send it off to get graded and it comes back 9.4 ( or above), they will raise the price. If I buy it and it comes back 9.2 (or lower) I just lost a lot of cash....

 

You've only "lost cash" if you are buying the book to sell, rather than to hold in your collection. Raw book valuations for collections are most certainly in the eye of the beholder, and if you could see the book and decide whether you wanted it for the asking price, a decision could be reached without having to even think about the encapsulation quandary. Besides, nice books look sensational in mylars!

 

I know there can be a fine line between buying to hold and buying to sell - for those of us well into our middle ages, the thought is always looming of liquidating the collection sometime in the future in exchange for a chance to buy a second home, pay for college, or travel the globe. Since I also buy alot of raw books, I think of the books as treasured items to collect, regardless of their eventual resale value. I also take care not to overextend my comic buying so that it won't trigger a financial crisis, no matter how the comic market goes over the next decade.

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kahml

kahml

Posted
Posted
And before you send in a book expecting a certain grade do a full outside/inside check. Look at the front and back cover at several different angles to check for impressions, stress, dirt, soft corners, ect, ect. Check every single inside page for bends or chips

 

One thing I learned from calling CGC for the grader's notes on a Wolverine issue that suprised the [embarrassing lack of self control] out of me was this little tidbit:

 

Review your book while holding it upside down in your hand and angling it into a bright, natural, light.

 

Apparently when you look at a book as you normally would, you're going to be distracted by the text and the artwork. By inverting the image, you're going to pay more attention to the facets of the book's appearance. The natural light helps you to see where "hidden" imperfections exist.

 

My dining room faces west and gets great afternoon sun - I do most of my grading then. My SO hates coming home to find the table covered with books when I'm trying to figure out what to send to Florida. And, yes, I clear (and set) the table before dinner...

 

Happy Very Merry!

 

Larry

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tth2

tth2

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Review your book while holding it upside down in your hand and angling it into a bright, natural, light.

thumbsup2.gif

 

But I`m surprised this has to be said. Do most people not do that when they grade a book?!

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BleekerBob

BleekerBob

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  • Author
Posted
I want to buy a certain book from Metro. they advertise it as a 9.4 The book is almost 4,500 dollars....At that price I really want it to come back as the grade they are placing on it....so far I haven't gotten the balls to buy it. I have thought about it, and there isn't a good solution...if they send it off to get graded and it comes back 9.4 ( or above), they will raise the price. If I buy it and it comes back 9.2 (or lower) I just lost a lot of cash....

 

If you buy it and it comes back 9.4 I will give you $100! I have found every dealer over grades their raw stuff thats why i will never buy an expensive book raw or buy one sight unseen.

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namisgr

namisgr

Posted
Posted
Review your book while holding it upside down in your hand and angling it into a bright, natural, light.

thumbsup2.gif

 

But I`m surprised this has to be said. Do most people not do that when they grade a book?!

 

And to think this whole time I've been standing on my head while keeping the book upright! 893whatthe.gif That may explain some of my grading disappointments...

 

Seriously, while always angling books under a lamp to find those devilish non-color breaking indents, surface impressions and smudges, I've never bothered to turn books upside down. Think I'll give it a go!

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MK Ultra

MK Ultra

Posted
Posted

Review your book while holding it upside down in your hand and angling it into a bright, natural, light.

 

Apparently when you look at a book as you normally would, you're going to be distracted by the text and the artwork. By inverting the image, you're going to pay more attention to the facets of the book's appearance. The natural light helps you to see where "hidden" imperfections exist.

Larry

 

 

They do the same thing at banks verifying signatures. They teach you to look at it upside down so that you see more of the features, rather than what it normally looks like.

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awe4one

awe4one

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So I just got 2 books back from CGC that I purchased raw and they did'nt get the grade I thought I was paying for.

 

Maybe you need to look at why you're buying. If you are buying comics in hand, then the CGC slight is on you. If you're buying on-line and looking at grades with a .2 differential, then it's a crapshoot. If you didn't grade accurately pre-submit...it's on you again.

 

Buying raw is fine...if your grading skills aren't keen enough to approximate CGC returned grades, and lord knows it seems to change often, then the problem isn't buying raw but rather your grading skills prior to submitting... 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

Jim

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BassGMan

BassGMan

Posted
Posted
I want to buy a certain book from Metro. they advertise it as a 9.4 The book is almost 4,500 dollars....At that price I really want it to come back as the grade they are placing on it....so far I haven't gotten the balls to buy it. I have thought about it, and there isn't a good solution...if they send it off to get graded and it comes back 9.4 ( or above), they will raise the price. If I buy it and it comes back 9.2 (or lower) I just lost a lot of cash....

 

I say it is a good thing that you have small balls in this instance. From what you say, it is way too risky to make the purchase. $4,500 is alot to spend on a comic, especially one that you have not even seen in person. The only way that I would buy an expensive book these days is if I knew for 100% certain that I was getting EXACTLY what I paid for, either that, or just a deal so good that if the raw "9.4" came back in CGC 9.0 that you would still be happy. I say pass. If you REALLY want this specific book, try to make a deal with the seller where you would either receive a refund or a discount if the book came back from CGC in less than 9.4.

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FFB

FFB

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Call Vincent and have him look over the book for you to confirm that Metro thinks the 9.4 is accurate. Then tell him you will be sending the book to CGC via walkthru tier and that you may be returning the book if it doesn't grade out at 9.4.

 

I want to buy a certain book from Metro. they advertise it as a 9.4 The book is almost 4,500 dollars....At that price I really want it to come back as the grade they are placing on it....so far I haven't gotten the balls to buy it. I have thought about it, and there isn't a good solution...if they send it off to get graded and it comes back 9.4 ( or above), they will raise the price. If I buy it and it comes back 9.2 (or lower) I just lost a lot of cash....
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Comicdey

Comicdey

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Buy the book for the price if you think it's worth it. Look at it in hand before purchase and pay one of the top restorers to check it out and "then don't slab it." Just keep the beauty in your collection.

 

If you get it slabbed and it meets your expectations....is the next move just to sell it and be done, or are you looking to keep it for quite a while?

 

I guess this is all predicated on what book you're talking about and the relative rarity also.

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