Bomber-Bob

I'm not sure I understand your question on pressing for this situation. When you say 'press them out' it seems you are refering to the staples, you want to press the staples away from the cover. If so, that's crazy. I'm not a fan of pressing the spine on these. The staples hold the pages together but they are not attached to the cover, which is glued. Applying heat and pressure to the glue can turn ugly. Are there real pressable defects on the spine ? I think a book of this stature is worth submitting.

Agreed. It's really not worth getting this book slabbed.

I store most of my better books in numerous Bank Safety Deposit Boxes and a large gun safe at home. I also use the Eva Dry unit in my safe. I actually think the books preserve better in these metal units than they do in the cardboard CGC boxes, which probably has a lot of off gassing going on.

This story tops the Hulk 1 story. BTW, what happened to the Hulk 1 ?

Maybe, but IMO, at this moment, cash is king.

You win on this one. I no longer have a copy of this issue. For some reason, I rarely see this issue in high grade. I think you have a solid 9.2 here, maybe better. Looks like it may have White Page quality also, very fresh loooking. Great book, congrats !

I see what you mean, nice book. The bottom right crease would push it down to 7.5/8.0 territory but I don't see a 6.5 for that alone. I believe, on the bottom left of the back cover, I see a long diagonal fold/crease. I suspect that's the problem which took it down to 6.5 .

From a cursory glance, I concur with your observations about GPA prices on keys selling slightly higher. However, I believe demand was soft and sales were fewer. I remember shopping around a couple Bronze keys to dealers at the time and it was a tough sell. Unless you really needed the money, you hung on to your books. I just took a look at my ComicLink auction purchases from 2009 and many of my purchases were way under my max bids. Much easier to find bargains.

During the 2007-2008 period, as a collector, my first reaction was to put any new money into comics and stay away from the market. I think there was a slight delay between the market tanking and the effect on the comic marketplace. I think around 2009 prices, pretty much across the board, even keys, got soft. I soon realized comics were not the short term safe haven I thought they would be. If the current stock market crash takes down the economy and people start losing their jobs, trust me, comics will get hit. They may not tank, but they will very much soften. People that are currently paying top dollar, top GPA, for key books will get hit the hardest. It's time to be selective and go for valuation plays.

Wow, what a great looking copy !

For once, I can nudge out Straw on a cool comic !!

You have a point, though it looks 9.8 from the pic. I think a label error like this is pretty cool and would leave it as is. Not a big deal for me.

Bill, I understand, thanks for the reply. I don't think the CT itself knocks the grade down, that's taken care of by the Purple Label. However, if the CT is covering something up, and it usually is, that affects the grade. Note the grade of a Purple label is treated differently than a Green Label, where the flaw is ignored in the grade.

Look at the cert numbers on our two Sid's books, they were in the same submission !

Sid's Luncheonette Copy , anybody remember these ? Although it is 'only' an 8.0, the book was never pressed. Note the plump spine and the fact that the right edge pages do not fan out, they actually align with the cover.

Another good point ! In theory, on site pressing does not work. While the books may grade well because they are literally 'hot off the press' and shown to CGC, there is a good chance some may revert in the slab. Besides, since the onsite pressing was taking up all your time, you couldn't enjoy yourself at these cons.

Now on this point, I am in total agreement. Good post !

Bill, you are always looking for a simple answer to a complex question. I tried explaining this to you recently in the popped staple thread (which you never replied). As with all things CGC, 'it depends'. Some factors include how much CT, what is the CT trying to cover up, what other flaws does the book have, etc. In theory, the grade of a PLOD should include the flaw that the CT is covering up. Ex a coloring breaking spine tic, a tape pull, etc. With this book, I can't tell why it was touched up. The pics are so bad any grade would be a guess. I know you are trying to learn to grade but your questions are often too general, analagous to 'how much does lunch cost' or 'how much does a Bronze Age comic cost'.

Some really great looking books here but I have to comment. The front cover pics are cropped at the bottom and there are no Back cover pics. I may be picky but, as a buyer, I will not pursue a book if I cannot see the totality of what I am buying. As a seller, I believe you are hurting yourself, keeping picky buyers like me away.

Seriously ?

Richard, your collection never ceases to amaze. Incredible stuff being posted here !

Agreed, but right now it's down big time. The old saying, 'don't try and catch a falling knife' holds true here. Not a time to buy, hang on to your cash. If people start losing jobs, they will stop buying big ticket comic books. I haven't bought a significant comic in two months. I woud think there are others out there like me that are thinking twice before spending any real money.

Your comment is very relevant. The stock market is falling fast, the likes of which we have not seen since 2008. Soon, it will permeate into many aspects of our lives. Whether you own stock or not, it will affect you. It will affect the comic book marketplace, especially the high end market. While I don't suspect a major decline in valuation, I believe the days of speculation and rapid increases in valuation will soon be over.

If you didn't want to hear opinions, why did you post and ask for opinions ? If this book has sentimental value than leave it alone. It's not the same book you owned in your childhood if you have it restored. BTW, you are right about everyone answering from a monetary perspective. There are very few collectors anymore. Comics are no longer fun, they are an investment. Sad but true.