A vendor at the Columbus comic expo taught me to check a box's spine before buying, and it saved me $85

Sarah Bailey · 2026-10-09T04:25:03.429884+00:00

Last month at the convention in Columbus I was about to hand over $85 for a stack of 90s X-Men issues when the guy at the next booth waved me over. He showed me how to tilt each book toward the light and look for tiny cracks along the spine, which buyers like me always miss in a rush. Two of the issues I almost bought had hairline splits that would have turned into full tears in a year. Do you guys run any weird little checks like this, or am I the only one who had no clue?

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A vendor at the Columbus comic expo taught me to check a box's spine before buying, and it saved me $85 | Comic Book Fans - Librear