I did my first trade with a CGC member whose anonymity I will respect giving up my issue 45 CGC graded 9.2 for issues 66 graded 9.2 and 76 graded 9.0. From a registry standpoint I definitely came out ahead. I don't think it was a total coup for me as I was quite fond of issue 45. It's an earlier issue with a higher registry point value than either of the other two and it has less graded copies but I would be lying if I said I didn't think I came out well.

I have a little bit of history with issue 66 as I lost it in an auction over a year ago. It is very rare that I lose an auction when I really want a CMA issue and this one would have been perfect in my collection as it was a highest grade. My opinion is the buyer probably got caught up in the moment and overpaid (BTW the person I traded with was NOT the person who beat me in the auction). The buyer then IMMEDIATELY put the comic up for sale on ComicConnect at an even more inflated price and I gave up any hope of acquiring it unless the price dropped significantly. When the comic didn't sell the buyer then posted it on EBAY at an even HIGHER price. The comic vexed me because highest grades are my bread and butter but I was not willing to pay the bloated price. I won't go into the how's and wherefores but a deal was made and everyone left happy and I now have issue 66 without overpaying. I loved issue 45 and although 45 and 66 are both 9.2's only issue 66 is a highest grade.

Issue 76 was something I've wanted for a while but only because I have a milestone obsession. It would have filled in a gap and produced the first continuous run of four issues in my CMA collection. I do realize it's a stupid goal which is why 76 was way down on my wish list. When I ranked the available comics on which I want first both 66 and 76 were low enough that I wouldn't have bought them for years (if they were still available) but it's still nice to have them.

The trade does several things to improve my collection. First, it adds one additional comic to my comic count and volume is the biggest weakness of my set. Second, it increases my total registry count by over 200 points. Third, it gets me one more highest grade comic. On the downside it reduces my registry point average and grade average. Also, I may never see another issue 45 at 9.2 and above whereas 66 and 76 were both available.

All in all it went well. It was also nice to improve my set without spending money, besides a small shipping fee, particularly since it's going to be a long time before I make another purchase. I won't be buying anything until September and it might be a lot longer than that depending on my next target. My new quantity over quality really slows down the growth of my set.

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