chaosus
05-10-2006, 04:23 PM
I've noticed over the last few years, especially since the advent of 3rd party grading, an almost insane focus being placed on the EDGE / CORNER SHARPNESS of books when assigining a grade.
This is what has caused the recent trimming scandles.
The unrealistic quest for above NM 9.4 Bronze and prior books is resulting in the spoiling of many otherwise NM books.
When someone is crazy enough to think that ever so slight blunting/rounding on the corners of a comic is enough to make a difference on an otherwise perfect book is truly a sad thing.
I've been to more than a few shows where I see people grading comics like baseball cards. Meaning they scrutinize the edges of the book and ignore things like page quality, bright reflective covers, perfectly centered covers.
They can spot the stress line, the ever so slightly blunted corner (this is still the funniest description of a defect I have read) but they will completely overlook the 1/8 inch cover mis-wrap.
What's most sad about this is that besides RUINING otherwise NM books, the people that are getting burned are the investors/speculators who are dumping huge amounts of cash into the hobby. I'm not using the term investor/speculator in a negative sense either. The hobby needs these people to stay alive.
What do you think?
Gary
This is what has caused the recent trimming scandles.
The unrealistic quest for above NM 9.4 Bronze and prior books is resulting in the spoiling of many otherwise NM books.
When someone is crazy enough to think that ever so slight blunting/rounding on the corners of a comic is enough to make a difference on an otherwise perfect book is truly a sad thing.
I've been to more than a few shows where I see people grading comics like baseball cards. Meaning they scrutinize the edges of the book and ignore things like page quality, bright reflective covers, perfectly centered covers.
They can spot the stress line, the ever so slightly blunted corner (this is still the funniest description of a defect I have read) but they will completely overlook the 1/8 inch cover mis-wrap.
What's most sad about this is that besides RUINING otherwise NM books, the people that are getting burned are the investors/speculators who are dumping huge amounts of cash into the hobby. I'm not using the term investor/speculator in a negative sense either. The hobby needs these people to stay alive.
What do you think?
Gary