garthgantu

I'm 40 now, but have been collecting GA books, off and on, for almost 30 years. Between practically growing up at Comics & Comix on Columbus Ave. in SF, and reading the DC 100-pagers with all those great reprints, GA was in my blood early on.

19 and counting

19 and you're just now learning to count? Dude, you will fit right in here - have a seat!!

Okay, excuse my crude drawing as I instruct you in this.

 

 

1. Fold side "A" inside box, ensure that it fits securely.

2. Fold sides "B" and "D" flat against side "C"

3. Fold sides "B", "C", and "D" up. This forms the bottom of the carton.

4. Place carton on flat surface.

5. Position side "B" up against the opposite carton wall.

6. Position side "D" up against the opposite carton wall.

7. Push side "A" downward against the bottom of the carton.

That is exactly how I constructed my opaque fishtank last weekend... I assume the fish are doing fine in there...

and a dude cutting the hand off of a corpse!

 

Doctor's thinking, "note to self: when the corpse's hand looks markedly healthier than your own flesh, it's time for some one-a-day vitamins and a check-up!"

Sfilosa: if CGC maintains its current policy, and people keep turning mid-grade books into high grade, slabbed books, you don't think that hurts the value of your existing collection at all? I don't see how that could be, unless a corresponding influx of new buyers materializes to shore up demand when supply increases...?

Go for it. Best of luck to you. Hope you don't get any books with "undisclosed pressing".

 

Brian

Murph, was your mirth feigned here? I think the question of whether people are pressing books with no intention of slabbing them is a fascinating one...

I'll own up to 'pressing' one book - an Uncle Scrooge in the teens (#15 ?) that was in decent shape (maybe a FN/FN+) except for a fairly massive spine roll. I placed it under ~30 lbs of oversized books for a month or so, and it looked a whole lot better at first, but started to "revert" slightly after just a couple of hours. How well it's holding up now I have no idea - this was a year ago.

My points being that I don't think many kinds of "amateur" pressing really work very well, and I don't think people are sending their books off to "professional" pressing services unless their intending to get them slabbed - partly so that if the pressing does revert, you've at least got it tightly sealed to prevent much of this and you've got a grade on the book no matter how far it might "revert," right?

Does anyone know anyone who has gotten books pressed and then simply placed them, raw, back in their collection? I'm talking in the past 4 years or so, since slabbing became an option...

As I have stated many times:

 

I only consider a book to be restored if some material has been added to or subtract from a book.

 

Since pressing doesn't do either one of these thing, then by my standards it's not restoration (and honestly no one will change my mind).

 

But Sfilosa: setting aside the question of whether this pressing that's happening is "restoration," in any sense of the word, what about the effect on the market of hundreds or thousands or eventually perhaps tens of thousands of books that weren't high grade at one point in their existence, and have now attained high grade again?

I for one am looking at almost all high grade books - with admittedly plenty of exceptions, especially among rare/scarce GA and Atom Age books - as having slightly less "luster," if you will... sure, there may only be two high grade copies in the census today, but suddenly that doesn't really guarantee there won't be six in the census next year, and twelve the year after that. Of course, the census is a pretty inaccurate gauge anyway....substitute "on the market" for "in the census" for a more appropriate description...

The important thing to my mind is whether the book's condition was improved as a result of some outside action.

 

I don't even care about that, let people improve their books all they want.

All I want to see is FULL DISCLOSURE of any process that has been carried out. Then let the potential buyer decide whether or not they can live with it.

How are you going to get full disclosure without full detection ? And when will we have that? (A: never) I like the idea of striving for full disclosure tho

The Bats 2 is nice as well, and if those scrapes along the spine are truly production flaws, CGC might not deduct as much for those as you would think...

That is a sweet Batman 1, and the Star Spangled 7 is excellent too. What do you think the Bats 1 grades at - VG+ ?

I'm guessing the seller was pleasantly surprised at the final bid price - one might even say they cleaned up!

Most interesting - I eagerly await some scans!

I collect Big Little Books (or rather, have a collection of 40 or so from many years ago; don't actively obtain more of them) as well as a few Platinum Age books (ditto). I also have a modest coin collection from childhood days. But comics are the primary focus for me.

I collect Bazooka Joe gum comics and was thrilled yesterday to find one I needed! That leaves 7 more to go.

 

Speaking of underground comics, do you have Gimmeabreak Comix? (see attachment)

Ghoul: that sounds like a massive undertaking....didn't they make thousands of those over the years? In order to have a 'complete set,' I assume you have to have one of each unique 'comic' dating back to the '50s or whenever?

Can you scan a sampling of 'em and post 'em here, just for kicks? I'd love to see the first one...

They always seem to sell when listed on eBay...what are the most valuable ones worth?

If I read dat right, the case isn't split. CGC cases are only sealed at each of da four corners, so the side seams of the outer cover aren't air or water tight.

 

Yup yup, I went back and looked at all my CGC cases, they are indeed not glued, this one just seemed to get bowed out very easily, more then the others .

 

I will now let the Prority box sit in the house for a few hours before opening, to bring it up to temp.

 

I'm thinking maybe it was wrapped tightly enough that the natural gap in the sides of the case sealed temporarily and when you unwrapped it the temp seal was broken. Maybe a case of packing being to good?

Great - so now we have to worry about people packing stuff too well? Frightening thought. "Dear seller: please don't pack the comic(s) too well, as I'm concerned about condensation buildup"

Throw in the Double Action 1 and see if he bites - literally

Obviously you have yet to realize that two hotties chasing you is better then one.

Sadly, very few of us have any real direct experience with the situation you describe... we'll take your word for it tho

It takes two in an auction; one in a private sale.

 

And yeah, I'm sure the hype around this books lately has spurred interest.

Well, here's an interesting comparison: this DA #2 in G/VG sold for 6x according to the buyer (Ian). That comes to $13,000 or so. There are less Pep 22's in the CGC census, yet somehow I doubt that a G/VG copy of Pep 22 has sold for $12,000 yet..?

all it takes is one deep-pocketed collector with a jones to bump the 'value' of a scarce book up by an order of magnitude.

 

No, it takes at least two. Sell a book on ebay and if you have one buyer, you get the minimum. If you have two, and they both want it badly, the price can keep going up.

 

Several people have spoken about other buyers for the book. There are at least three now, Ian, another guy, and a new other guy. Ian is simply the only guy who has talked about wanting it on this message board. This board is not the only game in town.

 

No, it takes one...If that one is someone like Ian, whose quest is a high priority for him and he has the $ to make it a reality. Then you'll see others coming out of the woodwork trying to cash in, as we've seen already. Some of the other 'buyers' are, in my opinion, partly viewing the value of this book in the light of Ian's interest. Yes, they may want the book themselves, or they may want it with an eye to trading with Ian or selling to him for a quick profit (especially if Metro won't sell it to him). But in any case, it's very possible that Ian's ability to pay 6-10x guide for the book is what's driving the 'market' for this issue, and this copy in particular. In other words, anyone else looking to buy it may be thinking "well, I WAS planning to pay no more than 2-4x guide for it, but if this Ian guy really wants one, and they're really as scarce as they seem to be, I can always sell it to him for more than I paid."

I don't. Let's see someone refute it. Better yet, let's see what Metro sells the copy in question for... if they disclose that info at this point. But if Buttock's post is accurate, you have to ask yourself why this book is so 'hot' all of a sudden... all it takes is one deep-pocketed collector with a jones to bump the 'value' of a scarce book up by an order of magnitude. Did anyone even TALK about this book before Ian mentioned it?

Further, there have been some posts refuting the notion that Ian wants this Double Action 2 more, or is willing to pay more for it, than anyone else. I still contend that, to the extent that this may be true, it's only true in the context of people knowing Ian wants it badly.

Yes, there are certainly other "DC completionists" in the world - but we don't know of any who are actively looking for this particular book. We DO know Ian is looking for it. He himself stated that his final offer was in the vicinity of 10x guide. I still refuse to believe that Metro paid that much or more for it, but if they did, you really, really have to ask yourself "why?" The only person willing to pay 10x for the book, other than (perhaps) Metro, is Ian. If Ian just made it clear that the CGC 3.0 copy of Double Action 2 was of no interest to him at more than 3x guide, Metro would be hard pressed to sell it for 4x guide.

If this conversation were the equivalent of a bar fight I would be by Vinny's side slugging it out with many of you. I cannot believe the amount of energy and idle speculation going on about this transaction. Again, Ian started this post and started this [!@#%^&^] all over again.

What other recourse does Ian have, if an 800 lb. gorilla from our hobby starts putting "the wheels in motion" ? Should he just resign himself to not completing his goal? One of the good (and bad) aspects of the Web is that information flows freely. If Ian believes that Metro specifically purchased the book in question to thwart his efforts, I don't see why he can't speculate as to this possibility. A lot of what occurs on these boards is just that - speculating. Yes, Ian might be wrong about Metro's motives - but he has some pretty damning evidence, including an email from Vinny, that seems to support his contention.

Vinny responded and the idle speculation on what is going on starts chiming in. I am continuously amazed at the amount of mental masturbation that goes on regarding people's reason for doing things. Why am I selling my collection, If I told the truth it would be bad for business. Vinny is buying this book strictly to F*** Ian. You should "ALL" take a step back and examine the need to comment when you have very little information to work on. And as I have stated quite frankly in many cases it's none of your business. You should be fortunate that any dealer (Myself Included) stays on this boards and listens to most of this dealer bull####. BlazingBob is mild compared to some of the flamethrowers on this board.

I don't really see how this ties into your decision to sell your FFs, nor do I recall anyway slamming you for selling them..?

Ian posted his opinions/beliefs re: the situation at hand. Vinny responded with his own account. The natural progression on these boards is to dissect every aspect of the situation, and generally the board regulars end up debating the merits of "the case," sometimes heatedly. Does it remain "none of our business" once it's out there on the board for all to read? Would you still feel the same if everyone had rallied to Metro's/Vinny's defense?

Frankly, I don't know what you're so pissed about - I think dealers in general get a pretty fair shake on these boards. Some, like Church Rozanski (freudian slip sponsored by Mile High Comics - if you're high, we've got yer comics!) get slammed a lot more than others. You, for instance, are pretty universally respected on these boards, IMO. I can understand why you would feel defensive about a fellow dealer getting dragged through the mud - can you understand why I might side with a fellow collector who offered 10x for a book that no one else wants as badly, only to be thwarted by a BSD who from all appearances bought the book to set "the wheels in motion" ?

Here are the FACTS

 

 

3 - since the start of this thread Vincent has received a phone call from a very interested customer (in addition to the one that he had previously mentioned) about this book.

Let me guess: the new *very interested* customer's name is "Nai Enivel" ?

Couple of other things to consider:

1 - Joe C is a local comic store owner, this Double Action 2 is his lottery ticket. We all talk about finding an Action 1 at a garage sale or what not, and here Joe is and he gets a big break! So what would you do if you are him?

I'd hold off selling the book until Ian is one book - Double Action # 2 - away from completing his collection. Then I'd sell it to him for 10x guide, make a pile of money and get all the credit/publicity for helping him complete the run.

Thoughts:

-Ian is a "dead end" customer - once he fills his 40 books do you think he will ever give Joe any repeat business?

-Metropolis is the biggest buyer and seller of golden age comics. I would advise strongly to go with the 800 lbs gorrilla in this case for the next GA deal that Joe comes across

Well, if you don't go with the 800 lb. gorilla, they may just decide to step on you, so I can't argue with this point.

and then if you want to put in in dollars METRO PAID MORE.

If in fact this is true, it seems very plausible to me that this was due to the knowledge that Ian would pay almost anything for the book, and therefore some profit was assured regardless, if/when Metro decided to sell.

Look, once you say "the wheels are in motion and etc. etc.," you lose a lot of credibility in my eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if someone willing to make this threat in earnest was also willing to take a LOSS on a particular book, if such a transaction would indirectly fulfill some previous threat.

I wonder, If it were not for Ian how much interest would there really be in this particular copy. I think Ian's quest alone is driving up the price for this book.

Exactly. If I were Ian, I'd not only decline to buy this copy, I'd make that information as public as possible. If in fact there is another prospective buyer willing to pony up serious cash for the book, that other collector's offer would likely drop significantly if he/she learned that there was no longer serious competition for the book. Then let Metro try to make a profit on the book, and learn the hard way that "spite" and "profit margin" rarely fit into the same sentence in a way that leaves any party happy with the outcome.

Ian says he offered 10x guide for the book. It sounds as though Metro offered less, but offered some other form of 'compensation' in addition to $, to snag the book. Whether Metro knew that Ian had been contacted about this specific copy in advance of Metro, Metro had to know that getting this book would be a jab at Ian, and/or give Metro some new negotiating ground with Ian. Metro should have walked from this book in the first place, if they truly hold no grudge against Ian. Who the hell else is gonna pay 10x guide for it? No one. So Metro negotiated with the idea in mind that eventually, they'd sell the book to Ian after making him squirm, or they'd take a loss on the book in return for some "quality spite time."

As for the dealer who sold the book, they should have sold it to Ian for 10x guide in the first place - or even 5x guide if that's what Ian offered initially. Is it truly necessary to squeeze every last dime of profit out of every book? We'll never know what 5x or 10x guide would represent in terms of profit, but I gotta believe it would have been significant.

Ian, let this one go and move on. If I were you, I wouldn't want this particular copy at this point anyway - it's tainted.

What the hell was wrong with Archie anyway?

Well, if Archie didn't play coy, the chase would have ended in issue 2, and we'd be reading Cherry Poptart # 546 at this point...

Betty?? Was Betty even ON that cover?? mannnnn, could they get away with that leotard drawing back then? No wonder I read my Archies like a good boy every month...

Great call - Betty's a betty, but Veronica - vraa vraa vroom, yaknowhatimean?

Anyone know which Archie artist did that cover of B&V 40 ? Is this a Schwartz?