Metropolis' Grading

[jimjum12]

I've purchased several books from them over the years,from good to VF+ and I only returned one,a Mystery in Space # 60 that was still the nicest copy of that issue that I've ever seen.No hassles at all.They pay fast too,if you have books to sell.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

p.s. the MIS 60 just happened to have a defect that bugged me but obviously didn't bother someone else,as it's long gone.

[Ivanko]

Hit and miss.

[Cloned-migration]

some of my experences

strange tales 118 NM came back cgc 9.2

fantastic four 87 NM+ came back cgc 9.0

amaz spidey 88 NM/MT came back cgc 9.2

tales suspense 68 NM arrived VF+

iron man 55 NM- around VF returned it

marvel team 2 NM+ around a NM-

tales to astonish 39 VF/NM arrived VF return

hulk 5 VF+ arrived VF

amazin spider 79 NM around NM+ no submit yet

[bigfiver69]

I've bought a few really nice war books from them - haven't had any problems. I bought a copy of G.I. Combat #127 that they had listed as a 9.0, and it's so nice it could easily snag 9.2 or better from CGC.

 

Shep

[TeddieMercede]

When youre talking about raw grading I really dont think you can do better then Metro. Ive bought quite a few books from people and Metro and Bob Storms are at the top of the list that Ive dealt with. Metro's grading is very tight in my experience and Ive had many instances where books have been undergraded in relation to CGC's grading scale. Obviously they ll make mistakes from time to time as does any dealer when selling raw books but their return policy is as easy as can be and its no questions asked. Just recently I sent 2 books that I bought from Metro to be graded as I was considering upgrading and was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

 

House of Secrets 92 Bought as VF/NM CGC 9.4 OffWhite/White

Marvel Premiere 15 Bought as NM- CGC 9.4 OffWhite/White

 

Hope that helps and honestly to me the most important part of buying raw books is #1 knowing that the people you are buying it from have a good knowledge of grading #2 have a good return policy when you dont agree with the books grading. Metro in my experience fills both these admirably.

[Psiknight]

When youre talking about raw grading I really dont think you can do better then Metro. Ive bought quite a few books from people and Metro and Bob Storms are at the top of the list that Ive dealt with. Metro's grading is very tight in my experience and Ive had many instances where books have been undergraded in relation to CGC's grading scale. Obviously they ll make mistakes from time to time as does any dealer when selling raw books but their return policy is as easy as can be and its no questions asked. Just recently I sent 2 books that I bought from Metro to be graded as I was considering upgrading and was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

 

House of Secrets 92 Bought as VF/NM CGC 9.4 OffWhite/White

Marvel Premiere 15 Bought as NM- CGC 9.4 OffWhite/White

 

Hope that helps and honestly to me the most important part of buying raw books is #1 knowing that the people you are buying it from have a good knowledge of grading #2 have a good return policy when you dont agree with the books grading. Metro in my experience fills both these admirably.

 

Wow, that's certainly not the norm. On average Metro overgrades by an entire grade in my experience.

 

Sure, they have a great return policy but does that excuse obvious overgrading? I don't buy the "grading is subjective thing" when they clearly will buy a slabbed book, crack it, and then call it a full grade higher.

 

Don't believe me? Check out the Four Color 178 on their site. They have it as a VF+ raw, but they bought it as a VF CGC slabbed book and cracked it. How am I sure they cracked it? Well, I know for a fact that they bought it from the Heritage auction in 1/06. To me that's very dishonest.

[uclapeterg]

Metro's grading is very tight in my experience and Ive had many instances where books have been undergraded in relation to CGC's grading scale.

 

You've been extremely lucky.

[benz]

When youre talking about raw grading I really dont think you can do better then Metro. Ive bought quite a few books from people and Metro and Bob Storms are at the top of the list that Ive dealt with. Metro's grading is very tight in my experience and Ive had many instances where books have been undergraded in relation to CGC's grading scale. Obviously they ll make mistakes from time to time as does any dealer when selling raw books but their return policy is as easy as can be and its no questions asked. Just recently I sent 2 books that I bought from Metro to be graded as I was considering upgrading and was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

 

House of Secrets 92 Bought as VF/NM CGC 9.4 OffWhite/White

Marvel Premiere 15 Bought as NM- CGC 9.4 OffWhite/White

 

Hope that helps and honestly to me the most important part of buying raw books is #1 knowing that the people you are buying it from have a good knowledge of grading #2 have a good return policy when you dont agree with the books grading. Metro in my experience fills both these admirably.

 

Wow, that's certainly not the norm. On average Metro overgrades by an entire grade in my experience.

 

Sure, they have a great return policy but does that excuse obvious overgrading? I don't buy the "grading is subjective thing" when they clearly will buy a slabbed book, crack it, and then call it a full grade higher.

 

Don't believe me? Check out the Four Color 178 on their site. They have it as a VF+ raw, but they bought it as a VF CGC slabbed book and cracked it. How am I sure they cracked it? Well, I know for a fact that they bought it from the Heritage auction in 1/06. To me that's very dishonest.

 

thanks for the heads up

[Nostalgic Attic]

I have bought many raw books from them, and I would say about half have been dead on CGC grade. I sent a few in for grading and they came back as advertised including an FF 53 9.0 and a Defenders 22 9.8 . The other half that weren't up to par, I sent back for a refund, no hassles. For that reason, I keep buying from them as I am assured of being pleased with my purchase.

[Psiknight]

I have bought many raw books from them, and I would say about half have been dead on CGC grade. I sent a few in for grading and they came back as advertised including an FF 53 9.0 and a Defenders 22 9.8 . The other half that weren't up to par, I sent back for a refund, no hassles. For that reason, I keep buying from them as I am assured of being pleased with my purchase.

 

I'd still say that's lucky. I'll still buy from them, but when I do buy from them I do it knowing that the books will be overgraded. They have great customer service and a wonderful stock.

[Pirate]

I have bought many raw books from them, and I would say about half have been dead on CGC grade. I sent a few in for grading and they came back as advertised including an FF 53 9.0 and a Defenders 22 9.8 . The other half that weren't up to par, I sent back for a refund, no hassles. For that reason, I keep buying from them as I am assured of being pleased with my purchase.

 

Or they could grade spot on and you keep them all instead of trying to slip stuff by people. We hear all this talk about contacting vince to confirm a grade before the book is sent out. Why can't he do that to begin with?

[sterlingcomics]

We hear all this talk about contacting vince to confirm a grade before the book is sent out. Why can't he do that to begin with?

 

I'm not condoning the process; it's obvious that something is broke. I'm simply stating if you want to minimize hassle with grading discrepencies, then this "fix" of contacting Vincent is recommended. The alternative, which is not to purchase from them, is another unfortunate option.

[thedarkknight]

Okay, two quick questions:

 

1. What is more important, the grade or the book?

2. If they have a no hassle return policy, what is the problem?

 

This is starting to just sound like whining. They are very reputible dealer with a better inventory than you can find outside of Heritage Auctions. Sometimes better than Heritage.

 

If you are that picky about grading, maybe you should go into somthing not as fragile as comic books.

[Scrooge]

Okay, two quick questions:

 

1. What is more important, the grade or the book?

2. If they have a no hassle return policy, what is the problem?

 

This is starting to just sound like whining. They are very reputible dealer with a better inventory than you can find outside of Heritage Auctions. Sometimes better than Heritage.

 

If you are that picky about grading, maybe you should go into somthing not as fragile as comic books.

 

I believe it's a case where, since Metro's prices are aggressive on most of their material, we tend to hold them up to an accurate grade more than we would another dealer. If their pricing was different, I don't think we would hear as many "complaints" about the grading. Sure the book is important but considering the added cost, the grade'd better be there as well.

[Pirate]

How many people have had to return books to doug sulipa because the grade was off and he prices guide and higher?

[skinny_white_boy]

I've never returned a book to Doug.

[uclapeterg]

How many people have had to return books to doug sulipa because the grade was off and he prices guide and higher?

 

See your PM.

[sterlingcomics]

How many people have had to return books to doug sulipa because the grade was off and he prices guide and higher?

 

This thread is about Metro grading...but if I had to choose which ones grades better and more consistently, it's Sulipa hands down. They both have great inventory, but Metro's has more depth.

[Pirate]

How many people have had to return books to doug sulipa because the grade was off and he prices guide and higher?

 

This thread is about Metro grading...but if I had to choose which ones grades better and more consistently, it's Sulipa hands down. They both have great inventory, but Metro's has more depth.

 

I was making a point that some BSD's can in fact grade and need to be spot on to charge guide prices.

[FFB]

When youre talking about raw grading I really dont think you can do better then Metro. Ive bought quite a few books from people and Metro and Bob Storms are at the top of the list that Ive dealt with. Metro's grading is very tight in my experience and Ive had many instances where books have been undergraded in relation to CGC's grading scale. Obviously they ll make mistakes from time to time as does any dealer when selling raw books but their return policy is as easy as can be and its no questions asked. Just recently I sent 2 books that I bought from Metro to be graded as I was considering upgrading and was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

 

House of Secrets 92 Bought as VF/NM CGC 9.4 OffWhite/White

Marvel Premiere 15 Bought as NM- CGC 9.4 OffWhite/White

 

Hope that helps and honestly to me the most important part of buying raw books is #1 knowing that the people you are buying it from have a good knowledge of grading #2 have a good return policy when you dont agree with the books grading. Metro in my experience fills both these admirably.

 

I disagree. Metro's grading is pretty good, but I've had my share of disappointments. Nothing hugely important, but some definite disagreements, the most recent of which was an early silver age DC book that I purchased as a "VF 8.0" but showed up as a FN 6.0 with a book-length, non-color-breaking bend, a subtle, one-inch-diameter water spot on the front cover, and a speck of fly caca on the spine. Several of the books I've purchased from Metro were overgraded by about one level, sometimes even two levels. That said, I don't think I've ever returned a book to Metro because the hassle and dollar amount involved wasn't worth it and because they really are better overall than most mail-order dealers.

 

For raw grading, you cannot do better than Doug Sulipa. Particularly for books at NM- 9.2 or better (where pin-point accuracy *really* counts), Doug has never let me down. The one book I have ever had to return to him was an Amazing Spider-Man #52 that he graded 9.0. It was a 9.0 structurally, but it had interior tanning that I thought brought the grade down to 8.0, so I returned it with an explanation. Doug cheerfully accepted the return, looked the book over again, agreed with my grade, and apologized for missing the tanning. No attitude, no "I've been grading longer than you've been alive" ego speech, nothing but a cheerful acceptance of the return, a prompt refund, and a genuine apology. The other dozens of books I've purchased from Doug have either been dead-on accurate or even undergraded by one or two levels (as borne out by subsequent CGC grading). Doug Sulipa is the best -- and he has a killer inventory, to boot!