Comic grades

[Edged Out]

I hope this is a correct place to post this. I notice that some of the comics I recieve have what looks to be rough spine edges on the outside of the book, with possible minor tears in only a few of my books in this spinal area. Some also have what looks to be spine wear, yet the books have never been read. I only really notice this when I look for it. Does that drastically bring down the value if I were to ever resell? I do recieve most of my comics from an online shop via mail, who bag and board them for me and ship them VERY securely. I understand ever book that comes in can't be perfect, but thoughts on this and the below paragraph would be helpful.

Do you collect comics and care about every little detail like this? I do keep mine bagged and boarded, but I still recieve about 1 out of every 30 comics that has this wear that I tried to mention. Should I even worry about it? Or should I just care about the story?

I apologize if this is the wrong area for such question and discussion and if this is a topic that comes frequently.

[drwho]

I've sold comics online before and have bought them. So if I sell something I tend to base it on my experiences from buying from retailers like Mile High and other comic stores. Those stores are what really determine condition standards and not some price guide. What can be really annoying is when someone bought a damaged not perfect book knowing it was in the condition it was in and they try to argue with you about getting ripped off. A lot of people buy online in hopes of getting a good deal and when they discover surprised that they bought it and they got what they paid for they get upset. Typically if the books are say from the past 20 years and you were told they were in perfect condition i'd be slightly upset. A lot of times I have seen books with a cover crease being claimed as near mint. I've received books from mile high they claimed were near mint that looked totally torn up from the 70s. I stopped buying form Mile High because a lot of the books i received were in my opinion not close to near mint like they claimed.

[MichikoS]

I hope this is a correct place to post this. I notice that some of the comics I recieve have what looks to be rough spine edges on the outside of the book, with possible minor tears in only a few of my books in this spinal area. Some also have what looks to be spine wear, yet the books have never been read. I only really notice this when I look for it. Does that drastically bring down the value if I were to ever resell? I do recieve most of my comics from an online shop via mail, who bag and board them for me and ship them VERY securely. I understand ever book that comes in can't be perfect, but thoughts on this and the below paragraph would be helpful.

Do you collect comics and care about every little detail like this? I do keep mine bagged and boarded, but I still recieve about 1 out of every 30 comics that has this wear that I tried to mention. Should I even worry about it? Or should I just care about the story?

I apologize if this is the wrong area for such question and discussion and if this is a topic that comes frequently.Hey, Edged Out. You pose a tough but valid question. Opinions vary on grading issues, but I'll offer mine, as a collector of some 30 years' standing, and as a conservative grader when it comes to buying and selling.

First of all, I want to be sure I understand your issue. It sounds as though you are asking about roughness along the spine (folded, staple-side) of new (not vintage) comics. If so, you can expect some roughness from the folding process that bends the paper cover over the inside pages of the book. Coated paper stock tends to crack or break from this folding process, more so than uncoated stock, and therefore may show more "roughness" as the inked layer under the varnish breaks to reveal the white paper fibers underneath. The cutting, binding, trimming and stitching process for comics is completely automated, and quality control is not particularly high, so you will often see significant variations from the ideal in a given new comic. There may be dimples, wrinkles or creases in the cover due to miscalibrated machinery, defective paper stock or mishandling after press, not to mention inside page problems.

You mention "possible minor tears...in the spinal area." I'm not clear on what you mean by this, but any tears along the spine would definitely affect the book's grade, in my opinion. Of course, it depends on how you define "tear." Tiny cracks (not tears) due to the cover folding process would not be significant in terms of grading, but stresses or paper/printing imperfections would.

In my estimation, only about 1 in 25 brand new comics are actually perfect. The rest have minor defects in paper quality (inside or cover), corner bends, trimming errors, scuffs, color variation, or stitching. Then there's all the handling damage, as comics are packed into boxes, repacked for distribution, and unpacked for display by the retailer.

So, to answer your question, whether or not to worry about minor flaws in brand new books is really a personal question. If you are an ultra-fanatic about condition, be sure you only sell to people who share your discrimination and are willing to pay for it. There are ultra-high-grade collectors out there, but frankly, the few I've met or corresponded with are a little freaky. Just my opinion.

Most collectors are not so meticulous about condition. A "Near Mint" book just means one that can pass a cursory examination as new.

My friend, most of the people here on the Classics board are readers. I was surprised to find that the majority of regulars here don't even bag or board their comics. I do, but I still take them out to read fairly often. A condition fanatic wouldn't do that.

There is plenty of room in the hobby for all kinds of collectors. If you enjoy poring over spines and corners with a magnifying glass, as one condition-freak I know does regularly, then more power to ya. If you just read 'em, and throw 'em in a stack, that's just fine, too. Different strokes.

Hope that helps.

Michi