A NEAR MINT grade is for an excellent copy with great eye appeal. NEAR MINT can also indicate a spine with very small stress lines that break color and minor creasing. It can also have minimal surface wear on the cover. Grading comics can be very subjective. I try to be as accurate as possible, but I am not perfect nor am I a professionally certified comic grader. So think of a grade as a range. If you see a 9.2, it may actually be a 9.0-9.4. This comic does show some very small stress marks along the spine as well as a surface mark with an upward line on Spidey's chest plus two more dings to the right of his chest. The corners are generally crisp and sharp with some very small stress marks on the right corners of the back cover as well as the upper right edge near the corner. I generally do not accept returns on this particular issue, but if your partner is throwing you out because you just spent the rent on a comic, we can talk. Just keep in mind that the value of this comic is likely to increase in time and, whereas I am shipping this item for free ($25 shipping savings), the return will be at your expense. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see additional pictures. THIS COMIC WILL BE SHIPPED DOUBLE BOARDED AND BAGGED INSIDE STURDY PACKAGING DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR COMIC BOOKS.