u/GoarCoar

This is related to a discussion I started earlier about CGC slab centering and cover centering affecting buying decisions:

Previous discussion thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ComicBookSpeculation/s/xYuFT3S8SS

The book I am referring to there — but did not include photos of — is Savage Sword of Conan #2.

As I mentioned in that thread, this is something I keep coming back to when evaluating these books.

This is also the main thing I am trying to understand here, and the reason I hesitate to spend money in situations like this: my concern about a possible grade drop during re-holdering.

At first I hesitated to post images or reference the listing directly, as I did not want to influence the seller’s sale or potential buyers. But I’ve seen others here openly reference eBay listings, sometimes even mentioning sellers, so since this auction ends tomorrow, I decided to just ask for opinions on this copy.

If I purchase this, would a re-holdering realistically risk a grade drop?

I know this may sound overly picky to some people, but for collectors who chase high-grade books — especially from eras where 9.9s and 10.0s are extremely unlikely — these things genuinely matter.

Speaking for myself as someone who mainly collects Conan titles (Conan the Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan, King Conan / Conan the King, annuals, giant-size issues, treasury editions, etc.), not every 9.8 White Pages copy is automatically “the one” for me.

For example, there is currently a 9.8 White Pages Savage Sword of Conan listed on eBay that started at $499, dropped to $449 within an hour or two, and then was quickly switched to an auction format. I didn’t even jump in or place a bid, purely because the book exhibits all of the issues I mentioned above.

Or on ComicLink, I often see multiple copies that would otherwise help me complete gaps in my collection, but I still pass on them because of these kinds of presentation and centering issues.

A book can technically be a 9.8 and still have distracting cover centering issues.

For example:
* If the front cover is shifted too far to the right, you may see an uneven white strip coming from the back cover along the spine side, while losing artwork that was supposed to appear on the right edge of the front cover.
* If the cover is shifted too far left, then elements on the opposite side can disappear instead.
* Sometimes a price box drifts into the spine.
* Sometimes part of the MARVEL logo gets swallowed by the spine wrap.
* Even though they are not original artwork themselves, artist signatures or design elements can also become partially obscured depending on the alignment.

And then there are copies where the cutting itself is slightly off, making the cover appear tilted to the left or right. Even before the book is slabbed, that kind of visual imbalance bothers me personally, regardless of how high the grade is.

That’s only the comic itself.

Then there’s the CGC slab presentation side of things:
misaligned labels, crooked inner wells, books sitting unevenly inside the holder, etc.

I’ve read that, “just tap the slab lightly from the sides and it’ll settle back into place.” I’ve also seen there’s actually a specific term for this kind of issue, and I remember reading that this was suggested as a way to address it, but I can’t quite recall the name of it right now. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And of course, the label alignment itself is permanent.

I fully realize this may sound irrational to some collectors. But collecting is an aesthetic hobby as much as it is a technical one. Some collectors are detail-oriented to an extreme degree. Some probably have a touch of OCD about presentation and symmetry. I honestly think that’s part of what makes this hobby interesting.

So I’m curious:

How much do CGC’s Slabs’ Centering and Comics’ Cover Centering affect your buying decisions when choosing between same-grade copies?

Would you pass on this 9.8 due to centering / presentation issues?

When choosing between copies of the exact same graded comic book, how much do CGC slab centering and cover centering affect your decision?