3rd Party Grading: Too Lenient vs. Too Tough2202

Originally Posted by Jerkfro
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Originally Posted by GAC
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Originally Posted by ThreeSeas
It’s too bad that there is not a published standard that everyone should use (or is there?)

Maybe a guide starting out with the perfect 10.0 book and then how many defects until it is 9.9, 9.8 and so forth. Maybe something that states “spine damage to this extent can never get over a x.x grade”, “a color breaking crease can never get more than an x.x grade” “a missing piece of either the front or back covers (of a size qualified) cannot ever get more than an x.x grade”.

I mean is it really that difficult to put together a panel of graders and come up with some kind of standard? Maybe some main poll where people can vote/decide on what they think a true 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, up to what a 10.0 comic should be. The old Good, Very Good, Fine, etc grades do not cut it any more.

Count the flaws on a book… 1 -5 puts it in this x.x grade, 6 to 10 puts it in this x.x grade, etc. where every little flaw is accounted for, whether a ding, crease, or whatever. The grader, whether professional or amateur, could state “I counted this many flaws on this book”. I mean the flaws are either there or not there.

A high res scan - put it up on a computer screen and then circle or note the flaws. This to me would be a good thing to have for grader’s notes – a nice photocopy with notes.

I think when some books are graded too lenient maybe the flaws are seen up close, but the book must look better when held at arm’s length. Maybe the grader thinks “according to my findings, this should be a 6.0, but it sure looks like a 7.0 or better so I will give it a 6.5”. I can only speculate as I do not know.

Some kind of standard would help this hobby I think.

My disclaimer: I’m a hobbyist who has never sold a comic, nor do I own a slabbed book so if some of what I said above appears to be silly, it is because I do not have the same knowledge as most of you in regards to our fun hobby.

A Standard would be ideal and I believe its coming. It has to. The collectors want it. Technology will have to be there to allow for a standard. The human element will have to be removed from the equation for there to be a true Standard. It'll happen eventually.

The human element will never be removed. We're not talking robots who can build cars. How would comics be graded and slabbed without humans involved?

Originally Posted by GAC
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Originally Posted by ThreeSeas
It’s too bad that there is not a published standard that everyone should use (or is there?)

Maybe a guide starting out with the perfect 10.0 book and then how many defects until it is 9.9, 9.8 and so forth. Maybe something that states “spine damage to this extent can never get over a x.x grade”, “a color breaking crease can never get more than an x.x grade” “a missing piece of either the front or back covers (of a size qualified) cannot ever get more than an x.x grade”.

I mean is it really that difficult to put together a panel of graders and come up with some kind of standard? Maybe some main poll where people can vote/decide on what they think a true 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, up to what a 10.0 comic should be. The old Good, Very Good, Fine, etc grades do not cut it any more.

Count the flaws on a book… 1 -5 puts it in this x.x grade, 6 to 10 puts it in this x.x grade, etc. where every little flaw is accounted for, whether a ding, crease, or whatever. The grader, whether professional or amateur, could state “I counted this many flaws on this book”. I mean the flaws are either there or not there.

A high res scan - put it up on a computer screen and then circle or note the flaws. This to me would be a good thing to have for grader’s notes – a nice photocopy with notes.

I think when some books are graded too lenient maybe the flaws are seen up close, but the book must look better when held at arm’s length. Maybe the grader thinks “according to my findings, this should be a 6.0, but it sure looks like a 7.0 or better so I will give it a 6.5”. I can only speculate as I do not know.

Some kind of standard would help this hobby I think.

My disclaimer: I’m a hobbyist who has never sold a comic, nor do I own a slabbed book so if some of what I said above appears to be silly, it is because I do not have the same knowledge as most of you in regards to our fun hobby.

A Standard would be ideal and I believe its coming. It has to. The collectors want it. Technology will have to be there to allow for a standard. The human element will have to be removed from the equation for there to be a true Standard. It'll happen eventually.

Originally Posted by Oxbladder
I have plenty of issues with grading, third party or otherwise right now. The goal should be maintaining the grading system integrity and not moving the goalposts all the time.

Originally Posted by DarthLego
I can see it, 30 years from now folks will be complaining that the CGC grading AI isn't as picky as the CBCS grading AI.

Originally Posted by OrbitCityComics
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Originally Posted by GAC
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Originally Posted by Oxbladder
I have plenty of issues with grading, third party or otherwise right now. The goal should be maintaining the grading system integrity and not moving the goalposts all the time.

Precisely why we need a standard and exactly why we'll eventually get one.

No we won't. If there was a rigid standard, then we would only ever need one company, since there would be nothing to differentiate them.

What WILL happen is if one company comes up with such a technology, then both companies will come up with different grading scales.

Right now, both companies work on a ten point scale. If both companies grades to the EXACT same standard because they found a computer to do it and detect every flaw, then one of the companies will change the grading scale, possibly to a 100 point scale, as way to set themselves apart.

Think of it this way, McDonald's and Burger King both serve burgers, but there's a difference between a Big Mac and a Whopper.

Originally Posted by GAC
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Originally Posted by OrbitCityComics
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Originally Posted by GAC
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Originally Posted by Oxbladder
I have plenty of issues with grading, third party or otherwise right now. The goal should be maintaining the grading system integrity and not moving the goalposts all the time.

Precisely why we need a standard and exactly why we'll eventually get one.

No we won't. If there was a rigid standard, then we would only ever need one company, since there would be nothing to differentiate them.

What WILL happen is if one company comes up with such a technology, then both companies will come up with different grading scales.

Right now, both companies work on a ten point scale. If both companies grades to the EXACT same standard because they found a computer to do it and detect every flaw, then one of the companies will change the grading scale, possibly to a 100 point scale, as way to set themselves apart.

Think of it this way, McDonald's and Burger King both serve burgers, but there's a difference between a Big Mac and a Whopper.

There's multiple lawyers offices and auto repair shops. Why would there be a need for only 1 grader? They each offer services outside of only grading.

Or if you insist there can only be 1 grader then a merger occurs.

Originally Posted by ThreeSeas
More ramblings from this comics collector.

To compare us to another hobby, coins and slabbed coins. Aren't there like five major coin grading companies? and don't they seem to agree on grades with each other? And after only being around for 30 or so years there are still quite a few grading companies there. But that may be due to there being more coin collectors than comic collectors.

I guess I am just wishing for some consistency like the coin graders have, or at least that is how it seems to be to me. Maybe that is not the right way to say it. I wish that there was more openness on how grades are determined. I mean do the comic graders use a check sheet with various boxes that that are checked for each flaw? Maybe with a few columns noting the flaws. Or do they just look at a book and say, oh that is a 7.0?