It's because of this episode that I went back and re-did all my bags with this tape procedure! That's a compliment. Really. even though it was a heck of a lot of work!
Hi Allen. It has worked for me so far, just an FYI, when you take a book out, be sure to still push the tape down so none of the sticky side of the tape is not exposed. Great to hear from you my friend!
they do not yellow as fast as regular polybags but they do eventually. If you need any suggestions on what type of mylar to get I made a video on it. Check it out!!
Excellent info you passed on. Your dead on I've been working off and on at LCBS until around 2000. I started learning all these tips around 1976. When I started working at a store. Learning about bagging/boarding and grading comics. I got so good at grading other competitor's would ask me to drop by. To give them a second opinion on the grade I'd give it. I always suggested giving books up for sale on eBay. A slightly lower grade so the buyer will always give you a great rating. And keep them as a new regular buyer too. Or they tell friends your grading is excellent.
What an extremely interesting video bro. It's amazing how so many people absolutely swear they know a lot about their comics and the condition they're in when in fact they know very little. You bring up a ton of great pointers. I have a somewhat decent sized collection and I've been collecting for about 30 yrs and you have taught me a lot. Thx so much. Huge fan. Cheers.
Great video with a lot of valuable information. I owned a few comics in my early teens but never cared about them much. Now I am in my early 30's and have decided to get serious about. I really appreciate the helpful videos people like yourself, captainstrangelife, and Ricks Ageek have posted.
It's been a few years since I've watched this video, but immediately following the viewing of it I started changing the way I put on tape! I'm still amazed at the number of auctions I see on eBay that advertises something as "Very Fine" and it clear is a "Good" at best! This was really good advice for all of us (Even well seasoned collectors like..uh..a friend of mine..who's 58..but it's not me of course....)
eBay is the same as always as far as grading goes, it's been that way forever and will probably never change. I have gotten some really nice raw books but the bad ones really have stopped me from buying anything except slabs. Glad this vid helped even just a little, that was the whole reason I did it. Just my opinions to mesh in with your own. 60 is just around the corner? It's not so bad........from what I can remember
Thanks for the comment! That's the beauty of this little comic book community here on RUclips, all kinds of ideas being exchanged. Check out "etanick1" if you want to see some great videos on grading.
Great informative video! I just started to try and migrate to buying silver and bronze age "raw" comics to help save money versus the CGC ones. I've still got a lot to learn about grading and I love watching other people's opinions, like you said. It seems that I can help distinguish VF/NM, 9.0 - 9.2 books, but it's hard for me to assign number grades for lower grade books; so that's what I'm trying to learn. Overstreet is really helping!
Excellent tip with the tape! I've worked for and owned my own comic book store and have been collecting comics for many years and this is the first time I saw this tape trick! Even though I never had a problem with a tape rip I will use your trick in the future! I grade pretty much the same way you do! Thanks for posting!
Thanks for all the info! This is the most comprehensive video about grading I have ever seen. I am much more confident about submitting to CGC now. Appreciate it!
I own a comic book store and I've been a collector for over 35 years. Your posts are great for beginers. Good job :) I would like to add that grading in itself is almost entirely personal opinion. We've been roped into using the decimal grades by speculators looking for an easier way to raise thier values. For the most part, decimal grading is more trouble than it's worth.And is quite often unrealistic in regards to natural factory defects on older comics...and CGC grades are a joke period.
This was an excellent video. Tons of great advice. I have been a collector for since I was a kid and I still learned from you. The tape idea is super. I will be doing that from now on!
I just started collecting comics over 2 years ago and by far this is a most helpful video on grading comics that I've ever seen....thank you very much for taking the time and effort in making this video possible.
Good video. About a year and half ago I decided I needed to start getting a better grasp on grading, mainly as you said, so that I could recognize, when buying online particularly, whether sellers are at least in the ballpark with the grades they've assigned, so I'm not getting ripped off and overpaying on books. I've researched enough in that time to at least be able to do that. I'm now going to try to further hone those skills by attempting for the first time to go through and grade my silver age collection. Should be fun! Anyway, one helpful thing I've learned along the way is that higher grade books 9.0 and above are much easier to grade in a fairly objective sense, than books that lie in the grade ranges below 9.0, where things start to get much more subjective. Grading higher grade books is simply a matter of counting up the defects (assuming these are all very minor) and then deducting a point for each. If for example you have a nearly perfect looking copy, but there are maybe 3 or 4 tiny dings along the spine, you're pretty safe in calling that a 9.6. If you count 8 tiny defects, you're looking at a 9.2, and so on. Keep in mind, that if any one of these defects is slightly greater in degree, for instance a stress line along the spine that slightly breaks color, that might count as maybe 2 or 3 points depending on severity. This is probably the case with the CGC'd 9.6 example you showed with the obvious small corner crease that affected some of the interior pages. That was just one defect, but they subtracted a couple points off.
I agree higher grade comics are easier to grade. I'm more comfortable grading an 8.0 than a 5.0. That one ASM book was way off in my opinion. That was a major impact dent that not only affected the cover but the entire book. That grade was a real head scratcher. It's nice to get a well thought out comment, so thanks!
Great Video! This is the 5th or 6th video I decided to watch and yours is very helpful compared to the others. wonderful tips. You have a down to earth way of speaking. Thanks for the info. I have started to go thru my collection to get them ready for sale. One dealer try to low ball the grading and offered maybe 25% of the value for what HE GRADED THEM. after your video I know I have a good foundation to grading and your video enforced and enhanced my OWN skills at grading. Thank You.
over 44,000 views and growing! Great video! Amazing how many conversations it has generated too. You know, I've been reading and collecting since the late 60's and I always keep one thing in mind: It's a hobby. I don't get angry if someone has a different opinion than my own. You present yourself very well in the comment section and handle snarky comments brilliantly! I look forward to future videos so much (I have a professional life by the way..) I ask people like etanick where is cougarcomics? LOL!
I'm still alive and kickin"! Thanks for the nice comments. You would be surprised at the comments that I get that are so off base that I just delete the comment and block the person. Sometimes I push back to a nasty comment but I usually don't. Guess it depends on what kind of day I'm having, haha.
Thanks. I really didn't buy graded books for that reason but it became obvious with all these graded books in front of me that i could just compare a book i was grading to books that were graded by the pros. Works for me!
yeah, the flap is between the bag itself and the board. it takes awhile to get it tucked completely flat, you have to be patient and get the vertical edges in there all flat. after that it will retuck again easily
Exactly! When I sell, I use up the whole 12 picture slots; cause I know that frustration of getting a raw deal (dont wanna do that to someone else). Man, the grading guide seems tough to come by! I'll have to hit up some of my shops when the snow clears! I'm really eager to get grading down.
Thanks for the comprehensive video. Very helpful.I just got into comic collecting/trading/selling last year and thought I was doing a pretty good job grading according to the CGC guidelines. Now I see why some people question my grades. I need to count the defects as well as evaluate them. I'll be getting the Overstreet guide ASAP! Thanks again.
I'm finally catching this video! Awesome tape trick. I need to start adding grades to the back of my books like you do. I totally agree with you on that. You are right..It would save a lot of time if you were to sell them. Also if a loved one or family member ever needed to sell a collection if something happened they wouldnt be totally left in the dark on what you have! I've never seen that Overstreet book. Will be looking for it soon. Very helpful and awesome video!
I'm just starting to get back into comics (since about 15 years ago). I definitely appreciate all the info you provide, including the tape tip. Just subbed!
This guy's got his own gig and I completely understand because we all have our own thing.. having said that I must( in my own collection )keep it enjoyable and not too analytical even though I have cgc graded comics and appreciate a beautiful copy I have some that are beaters and I enjoy them as well... I could have drawn or read a comic in the time it takes for some to analyze just one.
Good comment! There are many different ways to collect and they are all ok. Some hoard as many as they can, some only collect slabs etc. It's all good as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for watching and commenting
Hi, glad you like it. Took me a long time to feel comfortable grading. It is a part of collecting that i really like cause it is open to a lot of opinion.
Hey dude...very informative video!!!! You really know what you are talking about. I will call you the GRADING GURU man!!! I especially liked the fact that you were very thorough. I love the tape-technique idea, I will have to use that one from now on!
Well from what i have read about the papers they are supposed to absorb gasses as they are released from the book, thus delaying the deterioration of the paper. If that is correct then the size isn't all that important. For some reason I thought they helped stop ink transfer for the cover to the page, or vice versa. Either way I think they are a good idea. Hopefully they do both and we get a two-fer!
Great learning video. Had to kinda figure out how to do this grading recently, so I could have a new release number 1 with the best chance of a high quality grade, for my own private collection, that I thought would be special to have. The Amazing Spider-Man with artist Ryan Ottley and Nick Spencer was the new series, that I went out to my local comic book shop for, and to my relief they still had them on the selves. They anticipated it being a hot issue and ordered plenty. Now, i'm going through them, very calmly and careful, checking for bends, creases, and dents. Ended up picking out 4 that I thought would have the best chance for one of em' to have a high grade, but I didn't leave outta there feeling like I did, almost every issue had a like a little rip off the book on the lower left side. Learned a lot from the video, to eliminate the over purchasing of comic book issues, and still knowing I can walk outta there with a high grade book.
I've been collecting comics since I was 11 years old (about 1989). I didn't get really strict with grading until CGC started around 2001. I sent in books I thought were certain grades, and they came back always a grade or two lower. After hundreds and hundreds of ebay transactions, I think I have a good grading ability with books over 6.0. With lower grade books, honestly I can't discern between a 3 and a 5, etc., simply because I don't deal with books in those grades. It's amazing how clueless many sellers on ebay are, listing their books as NM when you can tell from the picture that it would grade by CGC in the 8.5 range. One thing I noticed is that the older, bronze age and earlier, books get big time allowances for the flaws in grading. For example, your 8.0 and 8.5 THORs would be much lower if those flaws were on a modern book. A modern book would be a 7.5 with the upper corners missing color, etc. You really need to compare the similar ages, so the ASM 158 is not like the others there in the video. What have you noticed about the grading compared with books of different eras?
Hi, thanks for the comment.Opening CGC graded books was the first thing that made me realize my grading was off and then I got the Overstreet Grading guide and realized that the two of them graded differently. I always thought a nm should be the same no matter what era it was from but not too many will agree with that. My reasoning is if they call a golden age 8.0 a 9.0, what do they do when a true 9.0 comes along? Call it a 9.4? There are so many books in private collections that the CGC census, in my opinion, is somewhat inaccurate. I know a dealer who has many silver age keys in very high grade and he has no intention of ever grading them. I'm starting to ramble! haha
I so enjoyed this video. I was born in 1950 and learned to read through superheroes. My collection of 50-70s burned up in 2009. Many smoke damaged on outside with no damage at all inside. I have many 9.0s with wavy front covers, and many with light stains on inside from spilled coffee or such. I'm buying the book and learning more. Wish I had your email or phone number. I have couple thousand I need to get rid of. Most of them purchased, never read, put in mylar and board upon purchase. I can't afford to pay the $5 each charged by some to press covers, for an almost perfect book that may be only worth $4 if 9.0. Anyway. Really appreciate this.
Thanks for watching. Too bad about the damage to your old books. Keep in mind that the Overstreet Guide is , in my opinion, more strict than how CGC or CBCS grades (if you care about how they grade)
I grade comics 4 days out of the week. I'm new to the grading system but not new to collecting comics. Your video definitely gave me some helpful tips on grading and comparing. I thank you for the wisdom Jedi Master. May I be as gifted as you someday :)
I've really enjoyed watching your videos. Thanks for posting. I hope to have some of my own posted in the near future. I was lucky to get a Giant size X-men #1. I'd say a solid 5.0. One thing I don't know is how harsh to grade giant books from that age because the spine looks good but the printed spine is not aligned and looking at the cover you see some of the lettering from the spine. But it is put together well. I don't thing a printing error would cost it much. I'll post a video soon.
the other recommendation to learning via this method: keep the era of books similar. Don't compare 9.4 silver age books to 9.4's from 1990+. The reason is they were manufactured different and CGC tends to not hold manufacturing defects against the grade. Your Spiderman 274 that was in a CGC 9.6 holder may have attained the bend you show from what is called "shaken comic syndrome" where the comic moved inside the CGC inner well that is inside the case. If not then I too am extremely surprised to see that big a bend in a CGC 9.6. Your Tales of Suspense 39 could be a 4.0 and is a nice book to own. Again, thanks for posting the video. I would love to have more customers that know how to grade when they buy the books I am selling.
Such an awesome video, extremely helpful. Thankyou. Now I have to grade all of my tales to astonish! Hahaha too many. Wish I would have been so thorough earlier.
+pablo arellano You 've got to start somewhere! Start chipping away at them. You can only grade so many at once cause you start going a little crazy if you do too many without taking a break
I don't understand this mind set. These books are not in bad shape. They're not perfect, but way, way too many collectors make it sound like comic books that grade low or lower than they expected may as well be toilet paper. How on earth can anyone enjoy comic books when they're either (a.) picking apart every little defect or (b.) encasing it in a hard plastic shell for all eternity?? Where is the enjoyment in that?
Hi Rory, I think you misunderstand why I made this video. For two years people have commented on my videos saying they don't know how to grade or they have little interest in grading. My point is, if you buy older comic books and you do not know how to grade, you will overspend for those books. I just wanted to show collectors how I grade so they could learn from my experience
I mostly agree with this statement. However, let's not forget that the pricing guide is just that. With any collectable, the market value is only as high as your potential buyer is willing to spend. When I was a child in the 70's, I did not have resources available to me like Ebay and Conventions. My local comic store slapped whatever price they wanted on what was a tattered, well read book and either I bought it, I didn't or I just couldn't. I also agree with Rory to some extent in that professional grading is extreme. Personally, I believe professional grading to be just another scam designed to scare collectors into paying for their services. I've seen videos of people closely linked to CGC discrediting other companies, which isn't right. As soon as CGC were challanged by a competitor, they turned to slander.
Rory, understanding grading is important because MOST sellers of raw books will routinely over grade & therefore over charge for their books. Collectors need to be aware, why should you pay too much?? As far as CGC books go it's really the only way if you are going to buy a key. I have a major key that could be worth anything from $12,000 to $45,000 DEPENDING on how it comes back from a professional grader. Is it a 5.5 with some unseen restoration or is it a Universal, unrestored 7.0 ?? How can you sell or buy it without knowing that ? If you are shopping around in the $5-10 area then all that does not really matter very much.
I think you just inadvertently proved Rory's point Steve. The majority of collectors, even lifetime collectors like myself don't have comics in the double digit price range. I don't know about you, but, I certainly don't have 12 to 45 thousand to spend on a comic. Professional grading makes sense in such instances. One shouldn't make such a serious investment without having the merchandise, whatever it may be, appraised by a professional. It's reached a point where the price guide needs to be revised; where they give a certified and uncertified grade price. It doesn't take an expert to determine eye appeal without a number grade. Professional grading has hurt the hobby in my opinion for the benefit of an elite few.
I would guess the stain that i could not get to show up is the reason they made JIM an 8.0. The Thor 131 compares to other cgc 8.5s I have. I should have spent more time on the 9.2/9.4/9.6s (next video?) There were 2 small spine dents on the 9.4 that i should have focused on but I knew the vid was running long. The F.F. 9.2 I think should be a 9.0 cause of the upper left corner crease/color loss,but thats what make grading so interesting! Was surprised at the 9.6 corner blunt!
Thanks,glad you like it! You'll have to hunt around for that book. Mine is the 2003 version. Try Barnes and Noble or Amazon. You can get it used, no need to pay big bucks for a new book. I've seen it from $35 to over $200!
Hey, this was real interesting. The one thing I would have appreciated would have been (especially on your examination of the 8.0 book) a rundown of just how much each flaw takes off from the top grade to bring down the final grade. I remember doing that with my baseball cards years ago. Do you ever check out the grader's notes for your CGC books? Also, how much weight do you think is given to flaws on interior pages? Sometimes a cover may be flawless, but an interior page has a crinkle, some dirt or weird ink blemish, or the smallest of tears along a staple. I'd be very glad to your thoughts.
Jonathan Daniels First, thanks! Best thing I can suggest is to check out"etanick" here on youtube. He has grading videos that will answer most of your questions as to how much certain defects determine the grade. I usually get the grader notes before I buy an expensive (over$300) book and have started getting them for any book I buy. Good question on the interior flaws but can only say I think it should matter just as much as the cover.
Thanks so much for this video. Its so hard to find a person who is honest about what they do or do not know and how they came to that point! Two thumbs up for that Sir. A few things. First can we get a convo going? I would really benefit from talking to you. For now ill just say Mrs Cougar should always work the camera :-) I dont care what you have to do to keep her happy and behind the lens, you should do that! Thanks again. Very helpful to me! Hope to hear from you. Thanks Mrs C!!!! Your aces with the cam!
Robert Price Hi, if you can, buy a copy of that grading book. Just search "gemstone publishing" They just put a new addition out. Don't be afraid to handle comic books, just learn to do it properly. Thanks for watching!
love this video it was very informative and interesting ! Also go with mylar instead of toploader they are cheaper $20 for a pack of 50 vs $60 for a pack of 50. also toploaders yellow over time like polybags.
this is a very nice video you made. about the tape, i found out when you use the other tape that you can see through it comes off the bag better and does not damage it. but your solution is even better. prevents comics sticking to the tape when you pull them out of the bag. also i have searched for that book before on ebay the over street grading guide but i cant find it. and it is also tough to find good mylar bags here in Europe. for a good price that is..
As a new buyer of comics(mostly late 80s stuff), I'm finding it really annoying buying stuff listed as "NM" and finding it's clearly not anywhere close. Most of the time the pages are yellowed. I may just have to take your approach and only buy the professionally graded ones
Thank you. The guide is great but keep in mind that the grading companies don't necessarily follow these guidelines. I have cracked out many graded books to help me learn how to grade books and the Overstreet guide is much stricter( in my opinion)
Wow, glad you liked it! Seeing how grading is very subjective I think its important to get as many opinions as you can from collectors, dealers etc. and incorporate these with your own ideas/experiences. Thanks for the nice comment
Nice vid, and interesting, and informative, and candid-but-casual, really good. More of this please. I know, i'm a bit late commenting, but you're unique, not many film the cover and details etc for grading, and not many break-open an already-graded comic lol. Cheers.
+cougarcomics FYI, for quite a while I've been planning to start my own grading business for those who don't want the expense and hassle of relying on CGC/PGX. Desperation is the mother of all inventions. I wanted my own modern (post 2010) comics graded, but because I'm in Australia, the cost would be prohibitive and excessive (insurance/postage/grading-fee etc) and I couldn't justify it, but I didn't see why that should preclude me from having my comics graded encapsulated and 'set-in-stone'. Why should we miss-out, I thought to myself, there has to be a way. Then the wisdom of yore kicked-in... "If you need something done, do it yourself!" Now because I've got my fair share of natural acumen, plus integrity and reliability and thoroughness, I realized I could just do it myself, since, like you, I already had a keen interest in it anyway, and i've already laid-down my own grading formula. Like you've shown in your vid, it's not that hard if we use common-sense and proper criteria. And many times, not even the big three CBCS/CGC/PGX give the same result anyway! I've seen wildly varying results come back on the very same comic from these three, so if they can't agree, then what makes them any better than us? Like you hinted at, a 9.8 is pretty damn obvious, and it's easy to differentiate a 9.6 from a 9.0 blah blah. I've already got in mind the Name of the business too. Since you seem as keen as me, would you like to be a partner with me? Forget the 'buts' and 'what ifs', no such thing, the key to being a viable alternative to the big three is to do the grading better, more consistently, cheaper and with no extended-delays.
Wow this is sooooo useful thank you for making this video. My comic book store owner said i shouldn’t waste time sending my comics to cgc, really he said i could but to worry to much if i dont send some of my comics. I wanted to buy the book you’re using to do the grading to see if i can do it on my owe so this helps a lot. Looking at your 7-9.6 majority of my comics look like yours so yea i am deftly going to start reading it and grade my owe. Also your tip on the tip is pure genius man thank you for that tip. I’m on RUclips as well always good to learn for other tubers
I just searched them on ebay. I think i only found one seller(can't remember the name) I bought a pack of 500 and they weren't too expensive. I think/hope they stop ink transfer from cover to page or vice versa. Kamandi again!!! I love Kirby, I really gotta pick some of them up!
Great question! I don't know if they do or not, but I think they should be graded the same. What if they go easy on the Timely and then a better one surfaces, and then another and another all better than the first? Then they have painted themselves into a corner having to constantly over grade. A 7.0 should be a 7.0 Books that are rare and a true 9.6 really should be worth big bucks then. And I knew one of us had to mention PGX..lol
I don't know if you buy CBCS graded books at all, but I am finding the free graders notes very helpful in learning how to grade books. Often I have looked at a slabbed book and it will look like a 9.8 but graded as a 9.4, and I figure the book must have some issues on the interior. But having the graders notes is so valuable, helping me see what I have missed, without cracking the case. Just a thought. Great video.
Great vid. Really hits on most of the key issues with grading. i`d like to hint on two important things that i didn't see referenced. The first is the color fade in the cover. And the second would be to use a high powered light to view the entire cover for finger prints and or anomalies etc. . Hope to see more videos. xD
donald landry Hi thanks for the comment. As far as color fade on covers were you refering to books in this vid or in general? Sunlight is the main culprit as far as fading. And I do have one book, X-men 98 that is NM except for a very noticable finger print on the top of the front cover :( Great points!
cougarcomics in general. oh and i had a question about polybags. i have a few comics such as the death of superman (black bag). i`ve heard a few different opinions about leaving it in the bag, and a few people say the bags actually destroying the book. What`s your opinion on this topic?? ingenuous tape technique btw. xD
I'm not 100% on the bag but i would guess it was not made for long term storage. If that is correct, the bag will do the comic no good. The tape trick is great but I learned that from a dealer
I learned my grading skills in a very similar way to yourself. Thanks for the post. One comment: the Amazing Spider-man 158 you purchased as a 9.6: The bottom corner is called an impact dent from it being dropped or banged. It has some other things you mentioned but the main defect is the color loss and the very dirty back cover. That much color loss that I see on the book I would have a hard time giving that book anything higher than a 6.0/ fine. Send it in, get it graded. That is the next step once you think you know how to grade is to test your grading skills and send books in to CGC to be graded. Try it, I bet that ASM 158 comes back a 5.5 maybe 6.0.
Thynqikan Hi. I know its an impact dent, sometimes when I do the vids my mind locks up! The color loss is way worse in person than in the video. That book sucked! Ebay refunded my money and I still wanted to send the book back. Not really into sending books to get graded but thats a good idea. Thanks for the comment!
I know how to hold 'em!!! Its in that book! lol I would start with your key books and work your way around. You can always go back and change the grade. You gotta start somewhere!
Possibly true. I had all my books in bags with no boards(they weren't invented yet)since the mid '70's. When I got back into collecting in 2001, I rebagged and boarded my entire collection. The tape was gummy and sticky but did not affect a single book so I guess it would take longer than 25 years.
The staples were not done during manufacturing. I'm gonna remove them. It will leave holes but it will irritate me. I don't know how it will affect the grade. It's a tough golden age book to get and its in nice shape otherwise. Thank you.
Man I've watched this video so many times, thanks for sharing it! You think of doing an updated version? I would love to know a solid difference between 9.0-9.2 and 9.4-9.6 and how many small dings equals a large ding lol. I just got a book that is basically flawless except for one large crease that doesn't fully break color - I couldn't even ballpark how much that crease effects the grade, it's almost as low as a 7.5 or as high as a 9.2. I find the higher the grade of the book the harder is it to tell where it sits in like a 3-4 grade range.
Chad / Kinesicz Wow, all valid questions. From what I can tell there are small differences between 9.0-9.4. The FF 65 in this video has the two corner issues and I have 9.0's that don't have that much wear. The 9.4 AMS I show is way better than the FF 9.2. Soooo...I think it matters how they are grading that day. As for a nice book with one larger defect, check out etanick's videos, he pretty much has that covered. Hope that helps?
Thank goodness I have my books tight and double boarded...my cat Peeves (yep that's his name), knocked over my Action Comics #53 (about a 4 foot drop). For some reason I had a small stack of books on top of my dresser.
That tape method is genius! I've been using double-sided tape so far but sometimes it just doesn't hold and the flap opens up. Might switch over to this.
Really interesting video. To my extremely untrained eyes, the two graded Thor comics by how you described them should be swapped grades, no? Little confused why one that seems to have more defects than the other is a higher grade. Same goes for the 9.2 and 9.4 books, looked like a big corner bend to me and it was a higher grade than the previous?
Nyder Thanks, hope it helps.Its very complicated cause there are many different kinds of defects that can happen because it is a paper product. Todays books are designed better than older books,better paper, inks etc
I never buy comics on eBay. I buy Silver and Bronze comics at either the Chelsea Flea-Market or Roger's Time Machine, both where I live in New York City. Anyways, I love your videos !
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Awesome, that tape tip blew my mind! So simple, yet so effective!
ShowerMan EightyEight Really...hope it helps!
It's because of this episode that I went back and re-did all my bags with this tape procedure! That's a compliment. Really. even though it was a heck of a lot of work!
Hi Allen. It has worked for me so far, just an FYI, when you take a book out, be sure to still push the tape down so none of the sticky side of the tape is not exposed. Great to hear from you my friend!
Your tip about the tape is simple and handy. Makes me wonder why I never thought of it.
they do not yellow as fast as regular polybags but they do eventually. If you need any suggestions on what type of mylar to get I made a video on it. Check it out!!
Excellent info you passed on. Your dead on I've been working off and on at LCBS until around 2000. I started learning all these tips around 1976. When I started working at a store. Learning about bagging/boarding and grading comics. I got so good at grading other competitor's would ask me to drop by. To give them a second opinion on the grade I'd give it. I always suggested giving books up for sale on eBay. A slightly lower grade so the buyer will always give you a great rating. And keep them as a new regular buyer too. Or they tell friends your grading is excellent.
Off topic but I really miss the old comic book print, pages and coloring; do not like the new comics with their shiny, glossy paper.
+CelestialWoodway I hear ya! Could probably get the cost of a new book back to $1.99
What an extremely interesting video bro. It's amazing how so many people absolutely swear they know a lot about their comics and the condition they're in when in fact they know very little. You bring up a ton of great pointers. I have a somewhat decent sized collection and I've been collecting for about 30 yrs and you have taught me a lot. Thx so much. Huge fan. Cheers.
Great video with a lot of valuable information. I owned a few comics in my early teens but never cared about them much. Now I am in my early 30's and have decided to get serious about. I really appreciate the helpful videos people like yourself, captainstrangelife, and Ricks Ageek have posted.
Thanks for watching!
Good take on the 9.2 that could be close to a 9.0 or a 9.4. Those grades are not separated by too much. Thanks for watching and commenting!
It's been a few years since I've watched this video, but immediately following the viewing of it I started changing the way I put on tape! I'm still amazed at the number of auctions I see on eBay that advertises something as "Very Fine" and it clear is a "Good" at best! This was really good advice for all of us (Even well seasoned collectors like..uh..a friend of mine..who's 58..but it's not me of course....)
eBay is the same as always as far as grading goes, it's been that way forever and will probably never change. I have gotten some really nice raw books but the bad ones really have stopped me from buying anything except slabs. Glad this vid helped even just a little, that was the whole reason I did it. Just my opinions to mesh in with your own. 60 is just around the corner? It's not so bad........from what I can remember
I know the grade makes a big difference in collecting, but I'll take a book at almost any condition, I only want to read it. I enjoy reading them.
This is a must see for all comic collectors, both experienced and not! Every time I watch this, i learn something else.
Once you cracked them open , their goes your grade...your back to raw again. But for information purchases I get it
😁
Thanks for the comment! That's the beauty of this little comic book community here on RUclips, all kinds of ideas being exchanged. Check out "etanick1" if you want to see some great videos on grading.
Great informative video! I just started to try and migrate to buying silver and bronze age "raw" comics to help save money versus the CGC ones. I've still got a lot to learn about grading and I love watching other people's opinions, like you said. It seems that I can help distinguish VF/NM, 9.0 - 9.2 books, but it's hard for me to assign number grades for lower grade books; so that's what I'm trying to learn. Overstreet is really helping!
It is called "micro-chamber paper" It is supposed to help neutralize acids that are given off as the comic ages
Excellent tip with the tape! I've worked for and owned my own comic book store and have been collecting comics for many years and this is the first time I saw this tape trick! Even though I never had a problem with a tape rip I will use your trick in the future! I grade pretty much the same way you do! Thanks for posting!
The absolute best comic grading tutorial I’ve read. Ever.
Great! Hope it helps
I was telling everybody I learned the pull-tab tape technique from some guy on RUclips and here you are!
Hi, hope it helps!
cougarcomics oh it does! you da man! :)
Thanks for all the info! This is the most comprehensive video about
grading I have ever seen. I am much more confident about submitting to CGC now.
Appreciate it!
Glad it helped. I am far from an expert. Just a collector
As a new collector, this 7-year old guide is really helpful. Thank you
I own a comic book store and I've been a collector for over 35 years. Your posts are great for beginers. Good job :) I would like to add that grading in itself is almost entirely personal opinion. We've been roped into using the decimal grades by speculators looking for an easier way to raise thier values. For the most part, decimal grading is more trouble than it's worth.And is quite often unrealistic in regards to natural factory defects on older comics...and CGC grades are a joke period.
Really fantastic to have it explained so nicely though. Great to have an idea on how it's all done. Thanks!
This was an excellent video. Tons of great advice. I have been a collector for since I was a kid and I still learned from you. The tape idea is super. I will be doing that from now on!
I just started collecting comics over 2 years ago and by far this is a most helpful video on grading comics that I've ever seen....thank you very much for taking the time and effort in making this video possible.
Thanks so much! Glad to put my experience out there for other people to use
Good video. About a year and half ago I decided I needed to start getting a better grasp on grading, mainly as you said, so that I could recognize, when buying online particularly, whether sellers are at least in the ballpark with the grades they've assigned, so I'm not getting ripped off and overpaying on books. I've researched enough in that time to at least be able to do that. I'm now going to try to further hone those skills by attempting for the first time to go through and grade my silver age collection. Should be fun! Anyway, one helpful thing I've learned along the way is that higher grade books 9.0 and above are much easier to grade in a fairly objective sense, than books that lie in the grade ranges below 9.0, where things start to get much more subjective. Grading higher grade books is simply a matter of counting up the defects (assuming these are all very minor) and then deducting a point for each. If for example you have a nearly perfect looking copy, but there are maybe 3 or 4 tiny dings along the spine, you're pretty safe in calling that a 9.6. If you count 8 tiny defects, you're looking at a 9.2, and so on. Keep in mind, that if any one of these defects is slightly greater in degree, for instance a stress line along the spine that slightly breaks color, that might count as maybe 2 or 3 points depending on severity. This is probably the case with the CGC'd 9.6 example you showed with the obvious small corner crease that affected some of the interior pages. That was just one defect, but they subtracted a couple points off.
I agree higher grade comics are easier to grade. I'm more comfortable grading an 8.0 than a 5.0. That one ASM book was way off in my opinion. That was a major impact dent that not only affected the cover but the entire book. That grade was a real head scratcher. It's nice to get a well thought out comment, so thanks!
Great Video! This is the 5th or 6th video I decided to watch and yours is very helpful compared to the others. wonderful tips. You have a down to earth way of speaking. Thanks for the info. I have started to go thru my collection to get them ready for sale. One dealer try to low ball the grading and offered maybe 25% of the value for what HE GRADED THEM. after your video I know I have a good foundation to grading and your video enforced and enhanced my OWN skills at grading. Thank You.
Thanks, glad it helped. That is the main reason I took the time to make this video.
That's cool! We all collect for different reasons and as far as I'm concerned they are all good reasons! Enjoy your collection
over 44,000 views and growing! Great video! Amazing how many conversations it has generated too. You know, I've been reading and collecting since the late 60's and I always keep one thing in mind: It's a hobby. I don't get angry if someone has a different opinion than my own. You present yourself very well in the comment section and handle snarky comments brilliantly! I look forward to future videos so much (I have a professional life by the way..) I ask people like etanick where is cougarcomics? LOL!
I'm still alive and kickin"! Thanks for the nice comments. You would be surprised at the comments that I get that are so off base that I just delete the comment and block the person. Sometimes I push back to a nasty comment but I usually don't. Guess it depends on what kind of day I'm having, haha.
Thanks. I really didn't buy graded books for that reason but it became obvious with all these graded books in front of me that i could just compare a book i was grading to books that were graded by the pros. Works for me!
yeah, the flap is between the bag itself and the board. it takes awhile to get it tucked completely flat, you have to be patient and get the vertical edges in there all flat. after that it will retuck again easily
Exactly! When I sell, I use up the whole 12 picture slots; cause I know that frustration of getting a raw deal (dont wanna do that to someone else). Man, the grading guide seems tough to come by! I'll have to hit up some of my shops when the snow clears! I'm really eager to get grading down.
Thanks for the comprehensive video. Very helpful.I just got into comic collecting/trading/selling last year and thought I was doing a pretty good job grading according to the CGC guidelines. Now I see why some people question my grades. I need to count the defects as well as evaluate them. I'll be getting the Overstreet guide ASAP! Thanks again.
Thanks for watching. Hope it helps. Grading comic books is very tricky
Thanks for this sensible video on grading. I found it helpful. Anyone that sells or trades comics should view this.
Thanks. Just how I do it. People can take what they think makes sense to add to their own grading skills.
I'm finally catching this video! Awesome tape trick. I need to start adding grades to the back of my books like you do. I totally agree with you on that. You are right..It would save a lot of time if you were to sell them. Also if a loved one or family member ever needed to sell a collection if something happened they wouldnt be totally left in the dark on what you have! I've never seen that Overstreet book. Will be looking for it soon. Very helpful and awesome video!
That ASM 9.6 you showed had a really cool back cover as well, thanks for the information
Thanks for watching, hope it helps
I'm just starting to get back into comics (since about 15 years ago). I definitely appreciate all the info you provide, including the tape tip. Just subbed!
The Stoney ZoneThanks and welcome back! This RUclips community is awesome.
this is the best grade video i have ever seen great job long live cosmo!!!!!!!!!!
This guy's got his own gig and I completely understand because we all have our own thing.. having said that I must( in my own collection )keep it enjoyable and not too analytical even though I have cgc graded comics and appreciate a beautiful copy I have some that are beaters and I enjoy them as well... I could have drawn or read a comic in the time it takes for some to analyze just one.
Good comment! There are many different ways to collect and they are all ok. Some hoard as many as they can, some only collect slabs etc. It's all good as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for watching and commenting
OMG I love that TALES OF SUSPENSE 39. Your lucky dude ive always wanted that comic since I was a kid
Hi, glad you like it. Took me a long time to feel comfortable grading. It is a part of collecting that i really like cause it is open to a lot of opinion.
Hey dude...very informative video!!!! You really know what you are talking about. I will call you the GRADING GURU man!!! I especially liked the fact that you were very thorough. I love the tape-technique idea, I will have to use that one from now on!
Thanks, glad you liked it, hope it helps. Check out "etanick1" he has excellent videos called "grading tutorials"
Well from what i have read about the papers they are supposed to absorb gasses as they are released from the book, thus delaying the deterioration of the paper. If that is correct then the size isn't all that important. For some reason I thought they helped stop ink transfer for the cover to the page, or vice versa. Either way I think they are a good idea. Hopefully they do both and we get a two-fer!
Great learning video. Had to kinda figure out how to do this grading recently, so I could have a new release number 1 with the best chance of a high quality grade, for my own private collection, that I thought would be special to have. The Amazing Spider-Man with artist Ryan Ottley and Nick Spencer was the new series, that I went out to my local comic book shop for, and to my relief they still had them on the selves. They anticipated it being a hot issue and ordered plenty. Now, i'm going through them, very calmly and careful, checking for bends, creases, and dents. Ended up picking out 4 that I thought would have the best chance for one of em' to have a high grade, but I didn't leave outta there feeling like I did, almost every issue had a like a little rip off the book on the lower left side. Learned a lot from the video, to eliminate the over purchasing of comic book issues, and still knowing I can walk outta there with a high grade book.
I've been collecting comics since I was 11 years old (about 1989). I didn't get really strict with grading until CGC started around 2001. I sent in books I thought were certain grades, and they came back always a grade or two lower. After hundreds and hundreds of ebay transactions, I think I have a good grading ability with books over 6.0. With lower grade books, honestly I can't discern between a 3 and a 5, etc., simply because I don't deal with books in those grades. It's amazing how clueless many sellers on ebay are, listing their books as NM when you can tell from the picture that it would grade by CGC in the 8.5 range. One thing I noticed is that the older, bronze age and earlier, books get big time allowances for the flaws in grading. For example, your 8.0 and 8.5 THORs would be much lower if those flaws were on a modern book. A modern book would be a 7.5 with the upper corners missing color, etc. You really need to compare the similar ages, so the ASM 158 is not like the others there in the video. What have you noticed about the grading compared with books of different eras?
Hi, thanks for the comment.Opening CGC graded books was the first thing that made me realize my grading was off and then I got the Overstreet Grading guide and realized that the two of them graded differently. I always thought a nm should be the same no matter what era it was from but not too many will agree with that. My reasoning is if they call a golden age 8.0 a 9.0, what do they do when a true 9.0 comes along? Call it a 9.4? There are so many books in private collections that the CGC census, in my opinion, is somewhat inaccurate. I know a dealer who has many silver age keys in very high grade and he has no intention of ever grading them. I'm starting to ramble! haha
I so enjoyed this video. I was born in 1950 and learned to read through superheroes. My collection of 50-70s burned up in 2009. Many smoke damaged on outside with no damage at all inside. I have many 9.0s with wavy front covers, and many with light stains on inside from spilled coffee or such. I'm buying the book and learning more. Wish I had your email or phone number. I have couple thousand I need to get rid of. Most of them purchased, never read, put in mylar and board upon purchase. I can't afford to pay the $5 each charged by some to press covers, for an almost perfect book that may be only worth $4 if 9.0. Anyway. Really appreciate this.
Thanks for watching. Too bad about the damage to your old books. Keep in mind that the Overstreet Guide is , in my opinion, more strict than how CGC or CBCS grades (if you care about how they grade)
Great video and love the close up camera with explanation of the defects.
Thanks. Hope it helps!
This was an awesome video. So many great tips. I'm definitely going to pick up that book and read it cover to cover.
really found this to be informative, really enjoyed seeing how you grade.
Mind blown in first minute lol
That tape top is awesome! I always try to remove the tape by slowly taking the top part of the bag off! Thanks!
I grade comics 4 days out of the week. I'm new to the grading system but not new to collecting comics. Your video definitely gave me some helpful tips on grading and comparing. I thank you for the wisdom Jedi Master. May I be as gifted as you someday :)
Haha, thanks! Like I said in the video, I like to get as many opinions as possible and mush them all together
I've really enjoyed watching your videos. Thanks for posting. I hope to have some of my own posted in the near future. I was lucky to get a Giant size X-men #1. I'd say a solid 5.0. One thing I don't know is how harsh to grade giant books from that age because the spine looks good but the printed spine is not aligned and looking at the cover you see some of the lettering from the spine. But it is put together well. I don't thing a printing error would cost it much. I'll post a video soon.
the other recommendation to learning via this method: keep the era of books similar. Don't compare 9.4 silver age books to 9.4's from 1990+. The reason is they were manufactured different and CGC tends to not hold manufacturing defects against the grade. Your Spiderman 274 that was in a CGC 9.6 holder may have attained the bend you show from what is called "shaken comic syndrome" where the comic moved inside the CGC inner well that is inside the case. If not then I too am extremely surprised to see that big a bend in a CGC 9.6. Your Tales of Suspense 39 could be a 4.0 and is a nice book to own. Again, thanks for posting the video. I would love to have more customers that know how to grade when they buy the books I am selling.
Thynqikan Thanks again! I have heard of "scs" but was never sure if I was looking at an example of it. Good point on the era of the books
Such an awesome video, extremely helpful. Thankyou. Now I have to grade all of my tales to astonish! Hahaha too many. Wish I would have been so thorough earlier.
+pablo arellano You 've got to start somewhere! Start chipping away at them. You can only grade so many at once cause you start going a little crazy if you do too many without taking a break
I don't understand this mind set. These books are not in bad shape. They're not perfect, but way, way too many collectors make it sound like comic books that grade low or lower than they expected may as well be toilet paper. How on earth can anyone enjoy comic books when they're either (a.) picking apart every little defect or (b.) encasing it in a hard plastic shell for all eternity?? Where is the enjoyment in that?
Rory Ryan
Well, do *you* have any interest in grading your comics either yourself or have them CGC'd?
Hi Rory, I think you misunderstand why I made this video. For two years people have commented on my videos saying they don't know how to grade or they have little interest in grading. My point is, if you buy older comic books and you do not know how to grade, you will overspend for those books. I just wanted to show collectors how I grade so they could learn from my experience
I mostly agree with this statement. However, let's not forget that the pricing guide is just that. With any collectable, the market value is only as high as your potential buyer is willing to spend. When I was a child in the 70's, I did not have resources available to me like Ebay and Conventions. My local comic store slapped whatever price they wanted on what was a tattered, well read book and either I bought it, I didn't or I just couldn't. I also agree with Rory to some extent in that professional grading is extreme. Personally, I believe professional grading to be just another scam designed to scare collectors into paying for their services. I've seen videos of people closely linked to CGC discrediting other companies, which isn't right. As soon as CGC were challanged by a competitor, they turned to slander.
Rory, understanding grading is important because MOST sellers of raw books will routinely over grade & therefore over charge for their books. Collectors need to be aware, why should you pay too much??
As far as CGC books go it's really the only way if you are going to buy a key. I have a major key that could be worth anything from $12,000 to $45,000 DEPENDING on how it comes back from a professional grader. Is it a 5.5 with some unseen restoration or is it a Universal, unrestored 7.0 ?? How can you sell or buy it without knowing that ?
If you are shopping around in the $5-10 area then all that does not really matter very much.
I think you just inadvertently proved Rory's point Steve. The majority of collectors, even lifetime collectors like myself don't have comics in the double digit price range. I don't know about you, but, I certainly don't have 12 to 45 thousand to spend on a comic. Professional grading makes sense in such instances. One shouldn't make such a serious investment without having the merchandise, whatever it may be, appraised by a professional. It's reached a point where the price guide needs to be revised; where they give a certified and uncertified grade price. It doesn't take an expert to determine eye appeal without a number grade. Professional grading has hurt the hobby in my opinion for the benefit of an elite few.
Thanks for the response. Nice to be able to pass on some tips to all the great comic collecting youtubers out there!
Thanks. I use it constantly, always referring back to it for more info on the different grades
I would guess the stain that i could not get to show up is the reason they made JIM an 8.0. The Thor 131 compares to other cgc 8.5s I have. I should have spent more time on the 9.2/9.4/9.6s (next video?) There were 2 small spine dents on the 9.4 that i should have focused on but I knew the vid was running long. The F.F. 9.2 I think should be a 9.0 cause of the upper left corner crease/color loss,but thats what make grading so interesting! Was surprised at the 9.6 corner blunt!
Thanks,glad you like it! You'll have to hunt around for that book. Mine is the 2003 version. Try Barnes and Noble or Amazon. You can get it used, no need to pay big bucks for a new book. I've seen it from $35 to over $200!
Hey, this was real interesting. The one thing I would have appreciated would have been (especially on your examination of the 8.0 book) a rundown of just how much each flaw takes off from the top grade to bring down the final grade. I remember doing that with my baseball cards years ago. Do you ever check out the grader's notes for your CGC books? Also, how much weight do you think is given to flaws on interior pages? Sometimes a cover may be flawless, but an interior page has a crinkle, some dirt or weird ink blemish, or the smallest of tears along a staple. I'd be very glad to your thoughts.
Jonathan Daniels First, thanks! Best thing I can suggest is to check out"etanick" here on youtube. He has grading videos that will answer most of your questions as to how much certain defects determine the grade. I usually get the grader notes before I buy an expensive (over$300) book and have started getting them for any book I buy. Good question on the interior flaws but can only say I think it should matter just as much as the cover.
Thanks so much for this video. Its so hard to find a person who is honest about what they do or do not know and how they came to that point! Two thumbs up for that Sir.
A few things.
First can we get a convo going? I would really benefit from talking to you.
For now ill just say Mrs Cougar should always work the camera :-)
I dont care what you have to do to keep her happy and behind the lens, you should do that! Thanks again. Very helpful to me! Hope to hear from you. Thanks Mrs C!!!! Your aces with the cam!
Thanks for the comment. PM me anytime
Great video, but I was nervous at all the handling going on. Very Informative, thank you. I just started collecting and I look forward to more.
Robert Price Hi, if you can, buy a copy of that grading book. Just search "gemstone publishing" They just put a new addition out. Don't be afraid to handle comic books, just learn to do it properly. Thanks for watching!
love this video it was very informative and interesting ! Also go with mylar instead of toploader they are cheaper $20 for a pack of 50 vs $60 for a pack of 50. also toploaders yellow over time like polybags.
this is a very nice video you made. about the tape, i found out when you use the other tape that you can see through it comes off the bag better and does not damage it. but your solution is even better. prevents comics sticking to the tape when you pull them out of the bag. also i have searched for that book before on ebay the over street grading guide but i cant find it. and it is also tough to find good mylar bags here in Europe. for a good price that is..
As a new buyer of comics(mostly late 80s stuff), I'm finding it really annoying buying stuff listed as "NM" and finding it's clearly not anywhere close. Most of the time the pages are yellowed. I may just have to take your approach and only buy the professionally graded ones
kevin jones I have found dealers I can trust but it is still dicey buying on line. My way works for me but it is more expensive.
cougarcomics
Is there a site that can give pricing for graded items? I have no idea how much more I should be paying for something graded
Google: GPAnalysis. Only one I know of but I do not use it
your welcome and it def should as for my older stuff i dont have them graded yet but i shall
Great video, I learned a lot and ordered the Overstreet grading guide today. Thanks!
Thank you. The guide is great but keep in mind that the grading companies don't necessarily follow these guidelines. I have cracked out many graded books to help me learn how to grade books and the Overstreet guide is much stricter( in my opinion)
YOUR CHANNEL IS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC !!!!! I JUST SUBSCRIBED !!!!!
Wow, thanks!
Wow, glad you liked it! Seeing how grading is very subjective I think its important to get as many opinions as you can from collectors, dealers etc. and incorporate these with your own ideas/experiences. Thanks for the nice comment
Thanks, take what sounds right to you, add it to what you already know, and be more confident in your grading!
Hi HH, the silver will be too big for bronze and newer books. I would just trim them but you know how i like to play with scissors!
Great! As Hippyscollectables says "collect what you like and like what you collect"
Nice vid, and interesting, and informative, and candid-but-casual, really good. More of this please. I know, i'm a bit late commenting, but you're unique, not many film the cover and details etc for grading, and not many break-open an already-graded comic lol. Cheers.
Thanks. Just giving my opinions on grading so others can see how I do it and maybe get a few ideas. Thanks for commenting!
+cougarcomics FYI, for quite a while I've been planning to start my own grading business for those who don't want the expense and hassle of relying on CGC/PGX. Desperation is the mother of all inventions. I wanted my own modern (post 2010) comics graded, but because I'm in Australia, the cost would be prohibitive and excessive (insurance/postage/grading-fee etc) and I couldn't justify it, but I didn't see why that should preclude me from having my comics graded encapsulated and 'set-in-stone'. Why should we miss-out, I thought to myself, there has to be a way. Then the wisdom of yore kicked-in... "If you need something done, do it yourself!" Now because I've got my fair share of natural acumen, plus integrity and reliability and thoroughness, I realized I could just do it myself, since, like you, I already had a keen interest in it anyway, and i've already laid-down my own grading formula. Like you've shown in your vid, it's not that hard if we use common-sense and proper criteria. And many times, not even the big three CBCS/CGC/PGX give the same result anyway! I've seen wildly varying results come back on the very same comic from these three, so if they can't agree, then what makes them any better than us? Like you hinted at, a 9.8 is pretty damn obvious, and it's easy to differentiate a 9.6 from a 9.0 blah blah. I've already got in mind the Name of the business too. Since you seem as keen as me, would you like to be a partner with me? Forget the 'buts' and 'what ifs', no such thing, the key to being a viable alternative to the big three is to do the grading better, more consistently, cheaper and with no extended-delays.
Wow this is sooooo useful thank you for making this video. My comic book store owner said i shouldn’t waste time sending my comics to cgc, really he said i could but to worry to much if i dont send some of my comics. I wanted to buy the book you’re using to do the grading to see if i can do it on my owe so this helps a lot. Looking at your 7-9.6 majority of my comics look like yours so yea i am deftly going to start reading it and grade my owe. Also your tip on the tip is pure genius man thank you for that tip. I’m on RUclips as well always good to learn for other tubers
Glad it helped. The Overstreet grading guide , in my opinion, grades a lot stricter than CGC
ok thanks I'll look for that one
Hey homie, great video. Watched it more than once; awesome insights.
Robert ChuThanks man. Hope it helps!
I just searched them on ebay. I think i only found one seller(can't remember the name) I bought a pack of 500 and they weren't too expensive. I think/hope they stop ink transfer from cover to page or vice versa. Kamandi again!!! I love Kirby, I really gotta pick some of them up!
Great question! I don't know if they do or not, but I think they should be graded the same. What if they go easy on the Timely and then a better one surfaces, and then another and another all better than the first? Then they have painted themselves into a corner having to constantly over grade. A 7.0 should be a 7.0 Books that are rare and a true 9.6 really should be worth big bucks then. And I knew one of us had to mention PGX..lol
I don't know if you buy CBCS graded books at all, but I am finding the free graders notes very helpful in learning how to grade books. Often I have looked at a slabbed book and it will look like a 9.8 but graded as a 9.4, and I figure the book must have some issues on the interior. But having the graders notes is so valuable, helping me see what I have missed, without cracking the case. Just a thought. Great video.
Windy City Comic Books Love the free grader notes. To me, CBCS is just as good as CGC
Thanks for the video. A great explanation of grades so easy yet really effective. 👍👍👍
Thanks lee. Take from this what makes sense to you and add it to your own grading knowledge. Thanks for watching!
Great vid. Really hits on most of the key issues with grading. i`d like to hint on two important things that i didn't see referenced. The first is the color fade in the cover. And the second would be to use a high powered light to view the entire cover for finger prints and or anomalies etc. . Hope to see more videos. xD
donald landry Hi thanks for the comment. As far as color fade on covers were you refering to books in this vid or in general? Sunlight is the main culprit as far as fading. And I do have one book, X-men 98 that is NM except for a very noticable finger print on the top of the front cover :( Great points!
cougarcomics in general. oh and i had a question about polybags. i have a few comics such as the death of superman (black bag). i`ve heard a few different opinions about leaving it in the bag, and a few people say the bags actually destroying the book. What`s your opinion on this topic?? ingenuous tape technique btw. xD
I'm not 100% on the bag but i would guess it was not made for long term storage. If that is correct, the bag will do the comic no good. The tape trick is great but I learned that from a dealer
I already saw it! I actually had the same luck as you. My uncle had a big box of comic books.
Very good grading video. has helped me alot.. Thanks
Not sure, I'm very busy in summertime, winter is usually when I pump a few out
I learned my grading skills in a very similar way to yourself. Thanks for the post. One comment: the Amazing Spider-man 158 you purchased as a 9.6: The bottom corner is called an impact dent from it being dropped or banged. It has some other things you mentioned but the main defect is the color loss and the very dirty back cover. That much color loss that I see on the book I would have a hard time giving that book anything higher than a 6.0/ fine. Send it in, get it graded. That is the next step once you think you know how to grade is to test your grading skills and send books in to CGC to be graded. Try it, I bet that ASM 158 comes back a 5.5 maybe 6.0.
Thynqikan Hi. I know its an impact dent, sometimes when I do the vids my mind locks up! The color loss is way worse in person than in the video. That book sucked! Ebay refunded my money and I still wanted to send the book back. Not really into sending books to get graded but thats a good idea. Thanks for the comment!
I know how to hold 'em!!! Its in that book! lol I would start with your key books and work your way around. You can always go back and change the grade. You gotta start somewhere!
I was told that as tape deteriorates over time it causes discoloration of the books even if it's outside of the bag.
Possibly true. I had all my books in bags with no boards(they weren't invented yet)since the mid '70's. When I got back into collecting in 2001, I rebagged and boarded my entire collection. The tape was gummy and sticky but did not affect a single book so I guess it would take longer than 25 years.
Awesome plug for our book! I loved your video very informative!
Thanks for watching! Now, what book would that be?
cougarcomics My guess is, you just got a compliment from Mr. Overstreet or Mr. Blumberg
The staples were not done during manufacturing. I'm gonna remove them. It will leave holes but it will irritate me. I don't know how it will affect the grade. It's a tough golden age book to get and its in nice shape otherwise. Thank you.
herohunter81 No problem. If you haven't removed them yet why not give Nick a shout. I'm sure he will have an idea or two
Really enjoyed this and found it very helpful. Thanks.
Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
Man I've watched this video so many times, thanks for sharing it! You think of doing an updated version? I would love to know a solid difference between 9.0-9.2 and 9.4-9.6 and how many small dings equals a large ding lol. I just got a book that is basically flawless except for one large crease that doesn't fully break color - I couldn't even ballpark how much that crease effects the grade, it's almost as low as a 7.5 or as high as a 9.2. I find the higher the grade of the book the harder is it to tell where it sits in like a 3-4 grade range.
Chad / Kinesicz Wow, all valid questions. From what I can tell there are small differences between 9.0-9.4. The FF 65 in this video has the two corner issues and I have 9.0's that don't have that much wear. The 9.4 AMS I show is way better than the FF 9.2. Soooo...I think it matters how they are grading that day. As for a nice book with one larger defect, check out etanick's videos, he pretty much has that covered. Hope that helps?
I totally forgot that Nick did those videos last year, I wasn't as into grading back then, but they are great to me now! Thanks for the heads up buddy
That was very educational great video
Thank goodness I have my books tight and double boarded...my cat Peeves (yep that's his name), knocked over my Action Comics #53 (about a 4 foot drop). For some reason I had a small stack of books on top of my dresser.
That tape method is genius! I've been using double-sided tape so far but sometimes it just doesn't hold and the flap opens up. Might switch over to this.
gnarwhalz Great, hope it works for you, haven't ruined a book since I started doing this
Really interesting video. To my extremely untrained eyes, the two graded Thor comics by how you described them should be swapped grades, no? Little confused why one that seems to have more defects than the other is a higher grade. Same goes for the 9.2 and 9.4 books, looked like a big corner bend to me and it was a higher grade than the previous?
wow somy things to remember. I'm new to this so this very helpful. subbed:)
Just found your channel and I am extremely happy that I did 🤘🤘🤘
Thanks. Love this hobby. Just passing on how I do things. Hope it helps!
Great video, ended up with some comics and was baffled by all this grading business.
Nyder Thanks, hope it helps.Its very complicated cause there are many different kinds of defects that can happen because it is a paper product. Todays books are designed better than older books,better paper, inks etc
I never buy comics on eBay. I buy Silver and Bronze comics at either the Chelsea Flea-Market or Roger's Time Machine, both where I live in New York City. Anyways, I love your videos !
thanks so much so this video I just recently got into comic books and this will really help me out
Great, welcome to collecting!