A group of us came up with this idea a while ago, and it's an exercise to help improve grading skills. It's good for the beginner, or veterans alike. This should actually be fun, as well as informative.

One of the problems with grading is that you always hear people saying things like: "Grading is all subjective." And, while yes, there are certain aspects that are, there are also rules, and a number of very objective points as well. So, how do we combine all these into a sytem that works well, and enables us to convey the condition of a book, to another collector, in a language we can all understand? That's the real question.

Another problem with grading is consistency. I've been buying comics for many years, and from hundreds of different sellers, and the condition and grades you get, are often very different from one seller to the next. So, when we originally came up with this "Grading Exercise" idea, we hoped would could bring more consistency to our grading, and thus to the industry as well.

So, the way it works:

1) Form a group of 3 – 6 people (could be more, but this is probably ideal)

2) Grader A selects 3 comics, grades them, and takes *“graders notes.”

3) Grader A then sends books to Grader B, who then Grades and takes notes.

4) Grader B sends the same three books to grader C, etc.

5) Each graders notes, and assigned grades, are kept private, so each subsequent grader has to grade all the books “blind.” (they do not have the benefit the other graders opinions... yet)

6) Once all the books have made their way to all the graders, we then compare notes, talk about differences in grades, and try to come to an agreement on all grades.

7) Books used should be of relatively low value.

8) Cost: shipping one way – so, generally, would be First Class, or Media Mail, so about $3. Any International members who want to join in, please contact me so we can work out shipping

9) It’s a Democracy – the collective intelligence rules. There is no one “Master Grader,” we all have an equal say in determining the final grade.

10) If Round One goes well, we can continue if interest remains, with each member being the one to select 3 books, grade them, and send them off to Grader B, etc.

*(for this I have come up with a format that separates the subjective from the objective, and it really helps to see the differences - would be happy to share it, or you are welcome to use your own method)


Groups of 5 are ideal, so if there's enough interest we could have two groups, or one slightly larger group.

Feel free to pm me with any questions, or post here. Those interested can just sign up in this thread, and we'll get things going.

1) bovard
2)

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I'm in.

NEXTLVL, is the problem submitting more than 1 or 2 books, or the time to grade them? If it's submitting, don't worry about it, only one person has to submit the first round and I'd be willing to volunteer. I've got enough books here that I won't miss 3.

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Visit The Pack Rat's Barn ... scans/pictures provided for all listings


The Static Shockers

I've worked at buried under comics for 20 years in manchester, CT.
I'm in.

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THE MANCHESTER MAULERS

count me in :)

im in NJ now... perfect timing so i wont have to pay international shipping to send the books back to you guys. cant contribute books though... my books are in manila. also should be getting my overstreet grading guide tomorrow.

hopefully we can start this before i leave the US. guess cutoff for me actually grading books would be the last week of november just so i could send it to the next guy before i leave (december 6)

1) bovard
2) LadyJay
3) theimmortalironfist
4) antikryst

I'm quite the amature grader but would like to get some experience. If all is well with everyone else, I'd be more than happy to join in. I would also be willing to put in three books. I'd like to put in one off the top of my head just as a zinger.

1) bovard
2) LadyJay
3) theimmortalironfist
4) antikryst
5) Philli ?

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What if everyone put their grades in a sealed envelope along with the books and the originator could post them when they got the books back? Kind of like a keepsake for contributing.

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Gotcha. I think I just misread what you had writen. I understand what you mean now.

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That sounds good. You can either pm me with the shipping addresses, or we can pm each participant with our mailing address prior to shipping.

Sending the graders notes to the the originator sounds good too, if everyone agrees.

So here are the participants for Round One:

1) bovard
2) LadyJay
3) theimmortalironfist
4) antikryst
5) Philli ?
6) yourfriendandy

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Cool, sounds good. Originally I was thinking groups of 3-6 people, with 5 being ideal. Soo... should we have a group of 7, or start another group. One of the reasons for not having to large of a group, is the grading/shipping time. With a large group, the last few participants won't even get involved for at least a few weeks, (or months - depending on turnaround, etc.)

1) bovard
2) LadyJay
3) theimmortalironfist
4) antikryst
5) Philli ?
6) yourfriendandy
7) NEXTLVL

If we had one more person, we could have two groups of four, although four is a little small. Or, if we had three more people we could have two groups of five. What does everyone think?

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well philli needs to be in my group because he lives about 20 minutes away and I can hand him the books to be graded, when Im selling him his ghostrider issues. Thats right I'm the reason he's this big of a dork! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH wheeze wheeze MUHAHAHA Cough cough forget it . Gawd im getting old!

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THE MANCHESTER MAULERS