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How can you tell if a slab has been opened

Started by Jmarch51,

18 posts in this topic

Jmarch51

Jmarch51

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Sorry if this is a dumb question but I am a newbie. I bought my first CGC comic a few month back on ebay a 9.8 Wolverine #1 Limited Series, I bought 1 or two other books since since then and I recently got some books graded at the Wizard World Convention in Chicago. I was looking at my newly graded book and compared them to the ones I had bought on EBAY. I noticed a few things about the book I bought a few months back.

 

1. There is no top label

2. The slab seems a little looser then the ones on the books I just got graded

3. The bottom of the slab looks possbily cracked toward the right corner, not sure if it cracked but it definetly looks different from the rest.

 

My question is are you definitely able to tell if a slab was opened and then a different comic was inserted in its place? Are the slabs resealable once they are opened?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Jeff

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Jeffreykli

Jeffreykli

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The top label, especially on some of the older slabs, peel off quite easily. I wouldn't worry about that missing. If you take a close look at the edges, you should be able to determine where the posts are. If at those posts, there is white marks in the clear plastic, the posts most likely have been broken.

 

Does the book look like a 9.8 to you? If you can post some pictures of the slab, it would help.

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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What kind of books are you talking about here?

 

If these are generic books, then it's probably nothing to worry about, but if it's key or valuable issues, then it sounds very, very fishy.

 

There have been many posts on this, and yes a comic can be removed and reinserted, as well as the most popular method of just switching labels or printing up new ones.

 

That "missing top label" makes me wonder if someone had been playing switcheroo with the main labels, and loosened it up that way.

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uclapeterg

uclapeterg

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When I say top label i mean the the label that is on the very top of the slab that you can view if they are in a box, the front label at the top of the slab is there. Sorry for the confusion.

 

The top label on my earlier slabs is starting to come off.

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Carterofmars

Carterofmars

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I have 3 slabbed books I bought off Ebay, and they aren't tightly sealed. I meanm to say there is some play and I could pull apart... one slab has what looks like cracks in the plastic... I can't tell if they were tampered with....

 

Question: are slabbed books sealed air tight or can they be easily pulled apart?

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trevorlsmith

trevorlsmith

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Cases crack pretty easily, and the top label has started to peel on a handfull of my slabs. I also received two books that were missing the top label altogether except some residue from the glue and paper. I also received a book where the bottom right peg had snapped, but I'm confident that the book was not tampered with. It was a mid-70s 9.8 and looks like a 9.8.

 

I don't think you have anything to worry about. Particularly given that it's not a very expensive book worth the hassle and risk of being caught.

 

The inner sleeve is not airtight, but it's tight enough that you need to cut it open to get the book out.

 

It would probably help if you could post a scan of the cracked area.

 

Hope that eased your concerns some. And welcome to the boards. If you are still worried, you can call cgc and discuss it with them.

 

When I first started buying slabs, my 3rd or so purchase was an x-men 266 cgc 9.8 (same type of book you are dealing with). I was concerned that it may have been trimmed b/c there were little pieces of paper scattered at the top of the inner well and the slab edges were significantly looser than the other slabs i compared it to. I don't think I was posting here at the time (this was probably 3 years ago or more), but I called cgc and spoke with Steve, he had me send it back to cgc b/c both Steve and I were concerned based on my description. It was returned to me in a new 9.8 case. Handled very professionally except that they didn't flip the bill for shipping although they said they would. Didn't bother following up on that though b/c i think it was just an oversight and I was satisfied that the book was not tampered with.

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Jmarch51

Jmarch51

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Thanks for the info Trevor, ironically before I just checked the boards I examined the slab further and upon rotating it around in my hand I saw a little peg inside the case at the bottom.So that can't be a good sign. I will try and take some photos when I get a chance but I got a feeling I am screwed. Too bad I didn't noticed this before the Wizard World Con, I could have brought it by the CGC booth and had them take a look. I will probably wait til next year and bring it in.

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