There are different views on this, so I won’t pretend to know THE answer, but a bunch of people would suggest that CGC/CBCS pressing is just fine for very small and simple imperfections. I actually had a Secret Wars #8 that had significant water ‘rippling’ and CGC pressed it to a 9.8, with absolutely no sign of the previous problems.
Experienced/skilled pressers will tell you that they take greater time and effort to work on trickier problems and will press multiple times if necessary. They also have a range of other tools they use.
So I suppose that if I were you I’d look at the level of potential defects and make a decision based on that. If you do use an independent presser, check that they have insurance and send via a tracked postal service. The good news is that there are a lot of independent pressers with a great reputation and who really care about what they do.
If you were being serious about having OCD (which can be a very distressing condition) then try to reframe this situation. You have had a wonderful surprise - discovering that you have some potentially valuable items. That is just great.
Sending your items directly to CGC/CBCS is very unlikely to be anything but a good thing. Despite the recent negative feedback from some (including me) the vast majority of the work of these companies is fine. If you choose an independent presser with a good track record that is also very likely to end well too.
CGC has a good video about packing books, and I tend to use that approach. Last year I sent twelve books in the way they suggest and landed twelve x 9.8s. Doesn’t always go that well in terms of grades, but pack them well, send via a tracked service, insure the books and you should be fine.
Thanks for your considerate response. That packaging video was very helpful.
I think I am going to split up my comics into two small orders and send them each to two different pressers and then have them send the comics to CGC. I’ll keep it simple for now.
Can comic books with foil covers be pressed? When I say foil covers, I’m referring to those covers that are completely foil, such as the SIKTC #1 LCSD foil cover.
They can but the LCSD covers for SIKTC are card stock and if those get messed up they are usually permanently messed up because it’s more than just a pressable crease.
Hey guys I got a question, hope you guys can help. Hope this is the appropriate thread.I got a little sticker that my shop put on my comic. What’s the best way to get this little sticker off without damaging the book? The sticker is right below the price on the right hand side, pictures below. Thanks
Extremely easy. It’s called a spine roll. Open the book face down and flatten the book first with a press (use humidity). Use a magazine board in the center of the book and roll the comic to where the new spine will be. Press down to align it and then press it again with your press. Leave it under a cold press until it’s fixed.
If it is miscut there isn’t much to worry about. The thing about comics is they aren’t graded as harshly as baseball cards when it comes to cover alignment/centering. If the comic is a lower/mid to higher mid-grade the grade may not lowered at all if sent in. A miscut like that would only affect it in the much higher grades and not by a whole lot from what I have seen with the grading companies.
I’ve seen books with this miscut still get 9.8s so I wouldn’t worry about it. Some buyers will be more picky and want to buy a book that’s perfectly aligned but not everyone.
1: apply heat to the sticker, use hair dryer or heat it up with tack iron on top of a silicone sheet.
2: once it’s loose use a scottie peeler (can find on amazon) to remove the sticker. This is the same method you can use to remove price stickers on books.
3: never use your fingers to remove the sticker. You can damage your book and have the cover peeled off.
4: i didn’t use this but you can also soak the sticker in an adhesive remover solution like goo gone. Use the scottie peeler to remove the sticker and any adhesive residue.
