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Have We Become too Picky?6098

Collector D84 private msg quote post Address this user
I've been collecting comics off and on for almost 30 years, and I'm noticing a large of collectors (myself included) are turning their noses up at really pretty books because of a number in the corner or a couple small flaws.

Have we gotten too picky?

This is a question I ask myself often when it comes to books in my collection. Recently, I purchased an 8.5 for my collection and there is a part of me that thinks it's not nice enough to keep. The book is over 40 years old.

How did we get to this point? I remember when anything Very Fine or better was an outstanding copy, and now Very Fines are considered "mid grade."

I don't really know where I'm going with this, it's just something that's been going through my head recently.
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Collector jrs private msg quote post Address this user
Yes.
Post 2 IP   flag post
Suck it up, buttercup!! KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user
yes...yes..yes...

remember when 9 or 9.2 raw was considered NM/M and was more than good enough??

in some ways it's good - I can get 9-9.6 raw or graded books for less than the crazy 9.8!!
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Collector Hanginglimbs private msg quote post Address this user
It's ridiculous. Many of us grew up thinking that a 9.2 was as good as a 10.0.

It is.
Post 4 IP   flag post
Collector jrs private msg quote post Address this user
I'm still quite happy to buy 9.0 and lower books, especially in light of the price differential. I haven't gotten caught up in the 9.2, 9.4, 9.6, or 9.8 wars, at least not yet.
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The apple sauce and pudding were the best part... Bronte private msg quote post Address this user
I'm divided. I recognize that a 8.5 is an acceptable book, but damn I was a better copy of spiderman 14....

🙄
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Collector VCBE private msg quote post Address this user
YES< YES, YES... I think grading should be at arm's length because you can find flaws in anything once you use something to magnify what you looking at...
Post 7 IP   flag post
Collector doog private msg quote post Address this user
I buy low grade keys so I can afford more books. A 3.0 181 is my wheelhouse. Non keys I’m just after covers or stories anyway, but high grades are not much more expensive for those, so why not.
My brother was a grade snob all the way back in the mid 60’s. I am very jealous of his basement.
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Beaten by boat oars Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user
@D84 you ain't wrong.
Post 9 IP   flag post
I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life. kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user
No. I am not picky when scarcity is in question.
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Collector KingNampa private msg quote post Address this user
yes
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Forum Crier OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user
Okay, everyone is saying"YES, YES, YES!". I'll say, no. A lot of people on this forum are sellers. (I' not) But the bottom line is a majority of the books we want for our collection, we want the best. That's a 9.8. So no, we are not getting too picky.
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Suck it up, buttercup!! KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by OGJackster
Okay, everyone is saying"YES, YES, YES!". I'll say, no. A lot of people on this forum are sellers. (I' not) But the bottom line is a majority of the books we want for our collection, we want the best. That's a 9.8. So no, we are not getting too picky.


I think you may be proving the point....there was a time,in the olden days, at the dawn of the computer era and before grading and the internet, when yes we wanted the best for our collections then too but what would now be the 9.2-9.8 range was about as good as it got and was known to be variable/subjective and was just called Near Mint or Mint and you know that store A's mint was different from store B's and adjusted your expectations accordingly.

Even now people loose their s#!t when a book that was 9.8 gets re-graded and comes back a 9.6 and don't seem to understand how that happens - in the end it is a subjective grade assigned by humans (kind of like gymnastics in the Olympics - is a 9.4 really any less impressive than a 9.8 [take into account the Russian judges always give their contestants higher grades]).

If I can find a raw book in the 9.2-9.8 range I'm happy to pay much less than the graded 9.8 that could really be lower. Even happy to pay much less for graded books well below 9.8 knowing full well that they could pull a grade or two higher/or lower if re-submitted.

Maybe..eventually grading will be the end of comics. I can honestly say that I have read almost if not every one of my 7k books, aside from the purchased slabs - only 30 or so, and often I've bought a beater or trade to read that issue - after all that is what they were made for.

There is nothing wrong with wanting the best but at some point if all we are doing is buying books that went from the press to the slab - then what's it all really about??
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Collector Logan510 private msg quote post Address this user
I was always picky and I never mistook a 9.2 for a 9.8. Every single book I’ve subbed that I originally bought off the stands has come back a 9.8
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Forum Crier OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by KatKomics
then what's it all really about??


An investment.
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Suck it up, buttercup!! KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by OGJackster
Quote:
Originally Posted by KatKomics
then what's it all really about??


An investment.


if it is about investment (assuming to invest and hold) then really...no one should buy many/any modern books - save your cash.
First Red Goblin - buy the Green one instead, first girl wolverine - buy the guy instead. Go blue chip, the rest are basically penny stock. Maybe you might miss a few newbies but they can be had for a price once the hype dies down.

If it's about flipping then yes - buy, grade, sell for as much as someone is willing to pay. But then we get reboot after reboot or like the 90's tens of spin offs and even more "Collectible issue #1's" to buy, or variant after variant after variant - seems a lot like pogs to me. But that only lasts so long before people stop buying the books all together - anyone want an Outcast #1?? How about Panzerfaust - can get a 9.8 now for hundreds less now that the hype has past - will it's value hold? only time will tell.
Post 16 IP   flag post
I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
@D84 Grade has become more important than scarcity in many cases. If the market prices books this way we need to be picky.
Post 17 IP   flag post
Collector CopperAgeKids private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logan510
I was always picky and I never mistook a 9.2 for a 9.8. Every single book I’ve subbed that I originally bought off the stands has come back a 9.8


Are you being serious or joking here?

If you're being serious, how far back are you referring to with "originally"?
Post 18 IP   flag post
Suck it up, buttercup!! KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user
@drchaos

We need desirability too.

I just picked up (don't judge me) an Archie Giant Christmas Special #31 and 2 other Archie X-Mas Giants from the 60's as part of a 3 book lot for $11. Guide says worth about $100 to $250 in the condition they are in (will know more when they arrive - photos were ok but not great)

Scarce - check, High grade - likely not - maybe 8.0-9.2, desirable??? maybe???
Post 19 IP   flag post
I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life. kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by KatKomics
First Red Goblin - buy the Green one instead, first girl wolverine - buy the guy instead. Go blue chip, the rest are basically penny stock. Maybe you might miss a few newbies but they can be had for a price once the hype dies down.


Bingo. I been turning my new money into old money this year so far...
Post 20 IP   flag post
Collector Logan510 private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by CopperAgeKids
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logan510
I was always picky and I never mistook a 9.2 for a 9.8. Every single book I’ve subbed that I originally bought off the stands has come back a 9.8


Are you being serious or joking here?

If you're being serious, how far back are you referring to with "originally"?


100% serious. Late 70’s to the 90’s is the range of books I’ve pulled from my boxes. I always selected the nicest copy off the stand and they were all read at least once, sometimes more. I was just one of those kids.
Post 21 IP   flag post
Collector X51 private msg quote post Address this user
People are definitely too picky.

When professional grading kicked in, they migrated grading criteria from the trading card collecting hobby. Things like square corners on a comic were never part of the grading criteria. It was introduced as a reason to knock a comic down a grade,


Grading criteria has increasingly gotten more strict over the past 5 decades. It's really just all about making money. If you can find one little thing about your comic that makes it better than the one next to it, you can charge more. It's all about buying low and selling high. If you can justify the higher grade, you can start to justify the higher selling price.
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Collector Wraith private msg quote post Address this user
We are simply better educated now.. Ignorance is bliss as they say
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COLLECTOR Foghorn_Sam private msg quote post Address this user
Yes, this hobby really fits right in with my OCD.
Post 24 IP   flag post
Collector BrianGreensnips private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foghorn_Sam
Yes, this hobby really fits right in with my OCD.
+1
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Collector Tony private msg quote post Address this user
I think the sadist thing that has not yet been spoken here, is that grade or no grade ! This form of the love of comics that we all grew up with, is now lost to the kids of today !!! what's really happened....a bunch of man wanting better then what the next one has.. 9.8 or 9.0 it's still just a comic, and we are all still a bunch of kids 🤔🤔🤔
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Collector michaelekrupp private msg quote post Address this user
I think the over focus on grade has created a situation where people either want the highest possible grade or the most affordable grade, so they can own more books. This has created a situation where there are actually some deals to be had on nice, non key mid grade copies if you are willing to take these. As a collector/investor, I always buy the highest grade I can afford because I know that when the time comes to sell (which may be never), things will go much easier. However, a deal is a deal, and there are many attractive mid grade copies out there for very reasonable prices.
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Collector infinityG private msg quote post Address this user
#numberchasers
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Collector 00slim private msg quote post Address this user
There are so many good points here, it’s tough to pick a starting point.

Yes, we’re getting more picky, I’m not sure if it has crossed into too picky.

Grading has changed the game for sure, but while some complain about the grading trend (the “comics are meant to be read” crowd) it has also revitalized the hobby. To be clear, I agree books should be read, I just prefer trades for reading moderns.

One downside that adds weight to the “too picky” argument, though? So many books hit the stands at 9.6 and below simply from damage in transit from Diamond, the owner of my LCS can’t sell them.
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Collector D84 private msg quote post Address this user
It's weird for me. With Golden Age (don't really collect Silver Age), I'll take any copy I can get, but with anything 1970 or later, I am definitely becoming more and more picky about grade.

Now that I've admitted it, maybe I figure out a way to let it go and just enjoy the books again.
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