500Club

Some people don't seem to get that the use of the English language is fluid, has nuances, and changes over time. Terms are often co-opted, and diverge from their literal use. In other words, you're not my brother, bro.

So, you can get a copy to share? You're right. It was all a scheme to get comic book collectors into Hot Topic to buy skinny jeans and pony sweaters. Is there something wrong with actually wanting proof of what you are saying? You sound awfully defensive right now. I told people to buy the hot topic variant when it was selling for $30 - long before the recall. If you go to a hot topic and take a picture of yourself in front of there computer with ANY e-mail on the computer I'll give you $100 US. Jim's right about all this, I called around in my area, and got the same song and dance. 'Jim' is actually Al.

Am I the only one who thinks Stan's parkingson's scribble all-over-the-cover devalue the book? I can't believe people pay that crazy premium... Depends on sig placement. That one is pretty badly placed.

Yup. Please avoid ebay name mik-salis. He's the one the bought one from me, paid, and even asked me to ship same day. Hours later he asked to cancel transaction saying he had bought on mistake. I'm not sure if mik-salis is a member or not but please avoid him. I will be submitting a request to the ebay thread block list here on forums. I don't care about the money but when I close a deal (win or lose), I keep my word. Now he even opened a paypal case stating "item not received". Opened case same day as paying for item. As I said, I don't care about the money, but be a man about it. I've lost some and won some. If he opened the case already, make sure you emphasize this to eBay if you contest the case. It illustrates pretty clearly the guy had no intention of being honest.

Context: I'm a comic book collector. I collect comic books. My collecting habits are defined by characters and stories. My love of these characters and this medium is inextricably defined by the stories. As such, promotional materials, ads, pamphlets, Previews magazine... none of these have any emotional pull for me.

Think of it more as outlining the guy's business practice for future buyers. That is the purpose of feedback. I'd hate to be the buyer of the next hot item, have the guy pull the same trick, and then find out that he'd done it before but no one had spoken up about it.

We'll see how it evolves. I think the idea of a standardized set of terms is a pipe dream, though. Hell, we as a hobby call JO 134 a first appearance, but label some significant first appearances as cameos.

You know he's referring to you, right? The bottom line is, nobody gives a rat's azz if Hulk 180 is called a cameo, a brief first appearance, a first appearance, a one panel appearance, an intro, or whatever the hell term is being used. The book will be bought and sold based on its intrinsic value to a collector, no matter the verbiage used. Stop tilting at windmills. Been down this road before with this conversation. I just simply disagree with this statement. It might not matter to many of us here. It might not matter to seasoned collectors. Points taken. I'm perhaps being a bit narrow in my response, and considering the CGC board audience in isolation. For us here on the boards, though, I'll stand by my and RMAs comments. You're dead on with your note about the influx of new collectors, though. We'll see if this new blood, many of whom seem to be old card collectors, will change the buy/sell patterns.

You know he's referring to you, right? The bottom line is, nobody gives a rat's azz if Hulk 180 is called a cameo, a brief first appearance, a first appearance, a one panel appearance, an intro, or whatever the hell term is being used. The book will be bought and sold based on its intrinsic value to a collector, no matter the verbiage used. Stop tilting at windmills.

Reading. Hold on, young Padawan. Calvary's coming. Cavalry! I just assumed he was preparing to crucify someone...

The hobby has spent 30 years or so bastardizing the terms, to the consternation of some literalists. Give me a meaningful second appearance anytime!

I remember Dragon Lady Comics! And I remember Lange's! That Livonia collection was sweet! And these guys could grade. I'd bet more than one of us bought their '9.2' s and got 9.8s. And, yeah, your broad brush stroke thesis that copper was cheap from 1996 to the early 2000's (and, in many cases, beyond) is dead on. (thumbs u We can debate whether book X sold for $10 or $15 in 2000, but the underlying statement that copper books were cheap is dead on. I just wish I'd bought a Turtles 1 like you did.

Y Yes, that would work as a means of irrefutable data, for the sake of proving one's points. I would do that, but my memory of that time period is pretty good and I remember what I sold my books for back then.My sales were not on the high end of the bell curve, either.I didn't price gouge hot books.At least not excessive, anyway as I knew it would come back and bite me hard, in the long run. At the very least, I've got the ball rolling and I'm always interested in participating in thoughtful discussion on our hobby and the shifting marketplace......I think it's fun. I've laid down what I sold the books for so I'm throwing the gauntlet down for someone else to challenge with Overstreet reports or their own anecdotes, as long as they back them with more than one line assertions that everything could be had for $5. Overstreet had ceased publication of anything except the annual book with regards to "modern" (there was no such thing as "Copper" during this time period) back in 1995-ish. In the 1999 OPG, New Mutants #98 is listed for $4. In the 2000 OPG, New Mutants #98 was merged back IN with the rest of the books from #93-100, all listed for $4. And the OPG had effectively ceased to be a reliable price guide by the early 90's. Very, very few books sold for "guide price" during this time period. $25-$50 for VF to NM copies....? Yeah, that's completely ridiculous. I could see a small bump in 1997/8 because of Deadpool's ongoing series, but I bought a NM NM 86-100 set from a LCS sometime around 2000-2002 (not sure exactly when, it was shortly before I started to keep better track of my purchases) for $20. Not to mention more copies of NM 98 for $1-5 each until 2008. There was a seller out of Toronto, 'Dragon Lady Comics', or some such thing, that listed an NM 97-100 lot weekly in the early 2000s. I bought multiple lots for $10-$15.

I think the significance of AT 25 is the introduction of the character concept, much as MSH 18 is for Guardians and Legends 3 is for the Suicide Squad. It is fair to say the concepts and characters involved have travelled a fair ways from these roots, though.

Truer words have not been spoken. Wow; editing quotes for childish potshots now. All I was saying is that your sale is above and beyond anything else on eBay -- sold or unsold. You sold a raw NM+ for $92 while another raw NM/NM+ went unsold for $41. Count your money, but I'd call that buyer a sucker, not a trendsetter. There's a raw NM/M out there right now for $9 auction or $30 BIN; why not purchase that and flip it for a good profit? That's what divad does - lists outlier sales under the guise of a book categorically heating up. Use any divad listed sales as a single data point, likely at the top end of the bell curve.

'Not Overstreet' is the important part of that story. Both Wizard and the flimsy monthly newsprint guide (I forget the name) had prices that were in no way connected to reality. Overstreet was the opposite. They often took years to change prices to reflect market transactions. Comics Values Monthly. NM #98 at $22 meant that #99 was $20, $100 was $25, and #87 was $125. That's right! I used to love looking at that guide, until the little voice in my head told me that nowhere in the world would I realize that value.

'Not Overstreet' is the important part of that story. Both Wizard and the flimsy monthly newsprint guide (I forget the name) had prices that were in no way connected to reality. Overstreet was the opposite. They often took years to change prices to reflect market transactions.

NM98 was a 6-8$ book into its first few years mainly because of Domino speculation That died quickly. The book then settled into being part of the run, but was tougher to find than the surrounding issues, as many collectors snapped it up if they saw it in the bins. I used to find them for $3-$5 regularly in the 90s, but many were the times it was issues 96,97,99,100 in the bin. Avengers 196 was a similar book, where the 'guide price' for years didn't reflect the fact people saw potential in the character, and it was quietly being siphoned into collections. NTT 2 was the same.

+1 This board has a long history of making and keeping people aware of questionable practices, from PGX/Ryan Elliott and Comics America, to Jason Ewert. Comics America? I am not familiar with their transgressions. I bought a couple copies of Peter Panzerfaust 1 when that was only a 30-40 dollar book and they came in in great shape...what'd they do wrong? There is a thread, over in modern, I think. Joe Krolik, the proprietor, does have a way of pi**ing people off. He managed to upset Marvel enough that a petty thief in Spectacular Spider-Man 112 was named after him.

Comic Supply could easily be subbed into that sentence. (thumbs u

Why? Do they contain out-of-context, non story related previews of new characters? They actually have original stories. I'm not sure if any characters are introduced, though. I'm also not sure how much potential these have to catch on.

+1 This board has a long history of making and keeping people aware of questionable practices, from PGX/Ryan Elliott and Comics America, to Jason Ewert.

Paging divad.

Prepare to book more action than Las Vegas on Super Bowl weekend.

See my above comment - historical importance vs current popularity.