Discuss comic grading and how to evaluate books
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Itosukai Posts: 25
12/16/2016
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I sent a beautiful looking Spider-man #300 to CGC. Packed it like they show you too, plus extra cardboard to prevent bending. There were a few light creases on the top right corner, the rest of the cover looked beautiful.
Grading done in good time but it came back a 7.0 ... Grading notes stated: light creasing and moderate bend on front cover.
First, there was no 'bend' in that comic when I sent it. It was packaged properly, had a 'Do Not Bend' sticker on it. Beautiful white pages, sharp corners, no spine roll, nothing missing, staples tight and rust free. 4 comic shop owners knowing a thing or 4 about grading, all guessed 9 or higher.
My questions are: Are light creases enough to drop a book's grade that much alone? Would a bend not need to crease the cover to be a problem?
I could never prove wether it was the USPS or Canada Post that bent my comic package that badly. Now that it's slabbed, I may not even see this "bend" CGC was talking about, or would I?
Thanks
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Defiant1 Posts: 720
1/15/2017
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As a quality inspector who inspects incoming material for a large electrical/electronics manufacturing company, I don't know if it's possible to "over do" protective packaging. I've pretty much quit buying comics online because so many people don't know how to protect them. For some reason, individuals who ship things are unaware that delivery companies literally throw their packages and let them impact hard surfaces like a concrete floor. They stack 70lb boxes on your package and are only concerned with getting their job done as quickly as possible. A "Fragile" label on the box means nothing to them.
Defiant1 - http://comics.vforums.co.uk/
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
1/9/2017
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They should but all the grading companies grade on a curve. There are many defects that are more common on older books that tend to not have as much weight attributed to them. For example, bindery corners on the thicker golden age books.
For the record, I don't believe in the practice but accept that it is an necessary evil. Printing has changed a lot over the years and now near perfect condition is common whereas in days gone by it was far different and perfect condition was sometimes not attained.
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adampasz Posts: 9
1/9/2017
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It also depends a lot whether the crease "breaks color". That is, at the location of the crease, is there ink missing? Any book with a color-breaking crease that is 3/4" or more will have probably not grade over 7.5.
Regarding whether the post office messed up your package.. this is always a risk. I wouldn't expect them to pay much attention to a Do Not Bend sticker. 
If your comics are worth a lot to you, package extremely carefully, with lots of cardboard support. Take pictures before you ship. Assume the worst!
Another thing, when I first started getting books graded -- sometimes I didn't notice obvious defects ahead of time. Now I feel more confident, and I'm also more careful about what I submit. You should treat your initial submissions as a learning experience.
edited by adampasz on 1/9/2017
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