I've got no problem with pressing - I've been upfront about that for years, but the pattern is the same to me. The inability for CGC to detect pressing - when it was restoration according to Overstreet - led to its becoming accepted . I just don't want to see that happen with trimming. It's a destructive procedure pure and simple.
I don't think anyone here will argue the "trimming is ok" point Gary. If CGC decides someday trimming is ok I will march outside their office and throw eggs at Pauls window.
Night
A key issue is the market's perception of what a comic is if it has a blue label (assumed unrestored) or a purple label (restored).
The fact that:
1. CGC calls a blue labelled book "Universal" rather than "Unrestored"
2. Universal graded books can have some restoration (minor amounts of color touch and glue)
3. Disclaimer on back of label notes that they only note restoration that they have detected not all that may have been done to the book
should have highlighted the issue.
In fact a CGC graded book only really notes the amount of restoration that CGC has detected.
I view trimming and pressing to be a form of restoration but with differing levels of enhancement and when spending money on books I have to determine cost impacts of buying a book that is less valuable than my cost due to me making an uninformed purchase.
Why do I buy Universal graded books?
- CGC are better at detecting restoration than I am
- not all sellers of books disclose work that they know has been done on a book
Solution:
More education of the collecting public as a whole (including me).
Teach restoration detection to collectors (session I attended in Chicago 08 was too generic due to the amount of types covered)
Improve ways of identifying restoration. CGC or NOD or anyone else should reverse engineer how (micro) trimming is done and devise a method to check for it. If it can't be detected then you have to live with the risk that it has occured and someone with a more informed position won't pay the same amount on a book than you have spent on it.
It would be nice if an organization existed that could put on seminars to educate people on what to look for regarding potential restoration when purchasing a book.
If that were to happen it would create less havok in the hobby and help keep posts from members like fatcomicmafia to a minimum.
To assume that any organization is going to run at 100% efficiency is absurd. Even the aviation industry who is well above 99.9999999999999% has the ocassional failure. Does that mean I will never get on another plane?
Instead of complaining (you know who you are) do something about it.
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