"Pressed" versus "UnPressed" Huh?

magnusrobot12 · Post by **magnusrobot12** » Tue May 11, 2010 7:41 am

The person is selling harbinger 1 9.8 for $1,500. He claims his 9.8 is better than most because it was not pressed during the grading. Huh? Also, is the price accurate?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harbinger-1-9-8-CGC ... _500wt_956

Here is the description
First print, white pages, beautiful, tight copy, with coupon! You realize that many of the Valiants graded in late 2008 to 2009 are pressed copies. This one is not!

iggy101us · Post by **iggy101us** » Tue May 11, 2010 8:03 am

Price is way high. Average sold prices have been around $400 recently. You can see history of recent sales here:

viewtopic.php?t=27370

steverino · Post by **steverino** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:37 am

He could get more if he pressed it.

aggr1103 · Post by **aggr1103** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:53 am

Think he's trying to imply that recently graded harby 1's were pressed prior to grading to improve grade.

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:55 am

That guy put it up for sale a couple years too late, the market has really taken a nosedive on that book.

greg · Post by **greg** » Tue May 11, 2010 12:04 pm

aggr1103 wrote:Think he's trying to imply that recently graded harby 1's were pressed prior to grading to improve grade.

I doubt if Harbinger #1 has been pressed much. The Harbinger #1 cover paper would probably split at the spine very easily of you tried to press the book.

He's got a point about the most recently-graded copies of Harbinger #1, but I doubt if pressing has anything to do with it.
CGC decided to give 9.8s a little more often than they used to over the past couple of years.

The falling prices are a natural result if there's little reason to believe that the book is much better than an old CGC 9.6.
Would anyone pay $1,000+ for a book that is equal to books that sell for around $100?

magnusrobot12 · Post by **magnusrobot12** » Tue May 11, 2010 1:30 pm

this is the exact reason why i hate CGC, but i also understand it is a necessary evil due to the thiefs and liars that exaggerate their grades so to steal money from you. But at the same time, a 9.6 and 9.8 are so similar but yet the price differences are about 10-fold. Does not make sense.

OK, so from what i gather, a pressed version means that they sandwich the comic between weights of some sort to make it flat. That's so cheesy, like a grilled cheese sandwich.

greg · Post by **greg** » Tue May 11, 2010 3:11 pm

magnusrobot12 wrote:this is the exact reason why i hate CGC, but i also understand it is a necessary evil due to the thiefs and liars that exaggerate their grades so to steal money from you. But at the same time, a 9.6 and 9.8 are so similar but yet the price differences are about 10-fold. Does not make sense.

OK, so from what i gather, a pressed version means that they sandwich the comic between weights of some sort to make it flat. That's so cheesy, like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Yes, "professional pressing" is done by experts with a book press (used in the manufacturing process),
and may result in higher graded books if the defects are removed (wavy pages, non-colorbreaking creases)

http://www.classicsincorporated.com/ser ... essing.htm

"Amateur pressing" can damage the book and result in much lower grades.

Mike J · Post by **Mike J** » Tue May 11, 2010 3:15 pm

greg wrote:
magnusrobot12 wrote:this is the exact reason why i hate CGC, but i also understand it is a necessary evil due to the thiefs and liars that exaggerate their grades so to steal money from you. But at the same time, a 9.6 and 9.8 are so similar but yet the price differences are about 10-fold. Does not make sense.

OK, so from what i gather, a pressed version means that they sandwich the comic between weights of some sort to make it flat. That's so cheesy, like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Yes, "professional pressing" is done by experts with a book press (used in the manufacturing process),
and may result in higher graded books if the defects are removed (wavy pages, non-colorbreaking creases)

http://www.classicsincorporated.com/ser ... essing.htm

"Amateur pressing" can damage the book and result in much lower grades.

Personal experience here but professional pressing is very difficult to detect

400yrs · Post by **400yrs** » Tue May 11, 2010 3:17 pm

greg wrote: Yes, "professional pressing" is done by experts with a book press (used in the manufacturing process),
and may result in higher graded books if the defects are removed (wavy pages, non-colorbreaking creases)

http://www.classicsincorporated.com/ser ... essing.htm

"Amateur pressing" can damage the book and result in much lower grades.

Do you know anything about that company? Are they the one that most people use?

I've got a silver age Mile High II ASM that I need pressed. Damn thing was a 9.6 until I put it off center under a few other books.

greg · Post by **greg** » Tue May 11, 2010 5:13 pm

400yrs wrote:
greg wrote: Yes, "professional pressing" is done by experts with a book press (used in the manufacturing process),
and may result in higher graded books if the defects are removed (wavy pages, non-colorbreaking creases)

http://www.classicsincorporated.com/ser ... essing.htm

"Amateur pressing" can damage the book and result in much lower grades.
Do you know anything about that company? Are they the one that most people use?

I've got a silver age Mile High II ASM that I need pressed. Damn thing was a 9.6 until I put it off center under a few other books.

That company is Matt Nelson. If you need any work done on a book, I recommend him.
I don't have any experience with his company, but I've heard lots of good things from different people.

aggr1103 · Post by **aggr1103** » Tue May 11, 2010 6:00 pm

Will pressing do anything for a mailing crease/bump?

SnotDrip · Post by **SnotDrip** » Tue May 11, 2010 6:27 pm

aggr1103 wrote:Will pressing do anything for a mailing crease/bump?

Depends on the degree of crease "damage". If the crease does not break the colour then it may be able to be pressed out. Matt Nelson's site has a good online description of a "pressing candidate".

SnotDrip · Post by **SnotDrip** » Tue May 11, 2010 6:39 pm

aggr1103 wrote:Think he's trying to imply that recently graded harby 1's were pressed prior to grading to improve grade.

I doubt this as well. I think he is trying to market/justify his overinflated price. Depending on one perceptive /outlook two schools of thought have solidified within the comic community if you will. Those that believe that pressing is restoration and those that do not. Since a good press is extremely difficult to detect even by CGC standards a return on investment/resell can be had if a comic is pressed to a higher grade (ie from 9.2 to 9.4). Some collectors actually want disclosure and some sellers do disclose if pressing has been performed. Some sellers actually do not collect pressed books (whether raw or slabbed) as they consider them restored. More info can be had over on the CGC board but for God sake's do a search first...DO NOT post a new topic on it...you'll be crucified (my 2c and IMHO FWIW). All the best and WTB

magnusrobot12 · Post by **magnusrobot12** » Tue May 11, 2010 8:44 pm

i had no idea about pressing. i'm shocked.

this is why i do not even collect CGC books. too many crooks. i go to shows, look at the condition, if i like it, i buy it, exchange it to mylar and acid-free board when i get home and store it in my acid-free box. all rituals that i have no idea if it matters or not. but the CGC is way too shabby. too much cheating going on.

greg · Post by **greg** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:00 pm

magnusrobot12 wrote:i had no idea about pressing. i'm shocked.

this is why i do not even collect CGC books. too many crooks. i go to shows, look at the condition, if i like it, i buy it, exchange it to mylar and acid-free board when i get home and store it in my acid-free box. all rituals that i have no idea if it matters or not. but the CGC is way too shabby. too much cheating going on.

Try buying a $1,000 comic book that hasn't been graded by CGC.
The question to ask would be "why isn't this book graded?"
and the answer would be "so that you don't find out what they would say."

magnusrobot12 · Post by **magnusrobot12** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:06 pm

yes that is a good point. also, there are auctions on ebay where they say stuff like: book is "CGC ready" as if to suggest it will get a good score. well, if its going to get a good score, why doesnt the dealer send it off to CGC and make more money on the sale. its a bad business model to sell an item cheap only to see the next person grade it and sell it more expensive. clearly, its CGC-ready for a score of crap.

greg · Post by **greg** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:57 pm

magnusrobot12 wrote:yes that is a good point. also, there are auctions on ebay where they say stuff like: book is "CGC ready" as if to suggest it will get a good score. well, if its going to get a good score, why doesnt the dealer send it off to CGC and make more money on the sale. its a bad business model to sell an item cheap only to see the next person grade it and sell it more expensive. clearly, its CGC-ready for a score of crap.

Good, grasshopper, good.

tmcneil82 · Post by **tmcneil82** » Wed May 12, 2010 5:54 am

Personally, I don't see why pressing bothers anyone. Its not really changing the book at all from its original state. I can see having an issue with replacing staples, touch up coloring, etc. But pressing? Seems like the most harmless of all things that could even remotely be called "restoration".

Also, there is no way i would buy a book worth more than 100 raw unless it was cgc'ed. But, I normally don't care too much about the grade. 9.2-9.8 is fine with me, and i would typically go after the 9.4 range to get something that looks good and isnt crazy expensive.

myron · Post by **myron** » Wed May 12, 2010 10:15 am

tmcneil82 wrote:Personally, I don't see why pressing bothers anyone. Its not really changing the book at all from its original state. I can see having an issue with replacing staples, touch up coloring, etc. But pressing? Seems like the most harmless of all things that could even remotely be called "restoration".

Also, there is no way i would buy a book worth more than 100 raw unless it was cgc'ed. But, I normally don't care too much about the grade. 9.2-9.8 is fine with me, and i would typically go after the 9.4 range to get something that looks good and isnt crazy expensive.

thought I read somewhere that pressed books at times will revert back to a form similar to their unpressed state...

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Wed May 12, 2010 9:32 pm

tmcneil82 wrote:Personally, I don't see why pressing bothers anyone. Its not really changing the book at all from its original state.

Really? You think so???

-slym (will only say he differs in opinion)

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Wed May 12, 2010 9:33 pm

There are people who would rather not have a pressed book, and might very well pay a small premium for that assurance.

This is not one of those cases, as the premium is not "small."

-slym

tmcneil82 · Post by **tmcneil82** » Wed May 12, 2010 10:09 pm

slym2none wrote:
tmcneil82 wrote:Personally, I don't see why pressing bothers anyone. Its not really changing the book at all from its original state.
Really? You think so???

-slym (will only say he differs in opinion)

As far as restorations go, I think this changes the least amount of the book. Its not adding or removing anything, just pressing out some dents.

Would you call pushing a tiny dent out of a car restoration? I mean the tiny kind that you could pop out with your hand.

tmcneil82 · Post by **tmcneil82** » Wed May 12, 2010 10:11 pm

slym2none wrote:There are people who would rather not have a pressed book, and might very well pay a small premium for that assurance.

This is not one of those cases, as the premium is not "small."

-slym

I can understand paying a little bit more if the pressing bothers you, but I think i would draw the line at around 5-10%. Then again, pressing doesn't bother me. I wouldn't bother paying for the service mind you.

slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Wed May 12, 2010 10:17 pm

tmcneil82 wrote:As far as restorations go, I think this changes the least amount of the book.

So, you agree that it changes the book from its current and natural state.

It's resto, and pressing is a hotbed of controversy. But, I will not turn this board into the CGC forums.

I will say this for pressing, same as any restoration - if you are going to sell the thing, disclose the pressing!!! It is unethical to not tell a potential buyer of any restoration that has occurred.

-slym