acistaro

Discussed the issue with Customer Service through e-mail, and my 5 STANDARD books that were delivered on 5/5/23 were entered into the system as Received on 6/12/23. Quite the relief.

I had a registered mail (5 book - STANDARD) delivered on 5/5/23 I still get the message "Your package has been delivered and is securely stored in our facility. It will appear in the Submission Tracking tool once it has been opened" Any idea on how backed up CGC is with their mail openings these days?

The last tracking notice I had from my first order of 5 comics - USPS Registered Mail was that it was picked up from the facility on May 5th, 2023. The message I get from the Tracking tool is: Your package has been delivered and is securely stored in our facility. It will appear in the Submission Tracking tool once it has been opened Any idea on how backed up CGC is with their mail openings these days? I'd assume there may have been a rush to get things in before the price changes.

My first graded Copper Age comic found amongst my father's extended collection.

Found all 5!

Do they have these listed in CGC? I can't find a census record, or even a dropdown for submitting them for grading. I have Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Creature I'd like to submit... and I need to see if I left the Wolfman in the basement.

Found another one for a dime!

Found a bunch of Karloff comics, some old gold key Universal monsters, some Ripley's Believe it or not, and a few Twilight zone books ... Here's a couple shots of the Karloff books.

Here he comes to save the day! Looks like it just got pulled off the newsstand.

As someone new to selling books at shows on my own, and as someone who used to assist my Dad selling at shows in the 80s and 90s, I can attest that there is no difference in the morals of sellers, buyers, and random thieves between then and now. And based on the words of wisdom of my late Grandfather (who never sold a single comic book) - "Keep your wallet in your pocket.", I would assume crime has never been low enough to be flippant about it at any time period in history. Keeping the expensive stuff behind the table in plain view is Comic Show 101 - and I'm not going to debate whether this is victim blaming or not - just pointing out the obvious way to avoid being a victim. Hope the thief gets caught, but I also hope others learn to setup their stands to minimize their chances of having their stuff stolen.

It's got it's issues, but it's my Dad's, and I wouldn't sell it or even trade it for a higher grade.

This counts, right?

Trust me, as a fellow collector, and as someone who shared in the hobby with my Dad, it is very difficult to give this stuff up... I'm trying to thread the line between keeping my fathers favorite books (and my favorites), and selling the ones that make sense financially. If I'm selling Hulk 1-6, FF 1-4, X-Men 1-66, and JIM 83+-170, I can afford to keep Avengers 1 and 4, and a bunch of others.... Right now I'm still trying to justify keeping ASM 1-50... And that means debating on selling Daredevil 1-7. I could have taken it all and just given the house to my sister (she made the offer) but I had to explain to her how lopsided the deal would be in my favor, and I know it wouldn't be what my father would have wanted.

Another trio from the FF series I just can't part with...

I know I'm planning on selling most of the collection, and not sure what the 1 will grade at, and the 4 is pretty.... But these are so iconic, I feel like they're worth holding onto at any grade.

My Dad's earliest Strange Tales

Here's a couple from the House of Mouse...

He retired to be a full time babysitter to his grandkids, and searching his office, he still finds ways to surprise me. I found a box of newer comics he had set aside for them - including a run of Marvel Age Spider-Man books, so they can be introduced to all those great Spider-Man villains - without risking damage to his original collection. I love sharing this with my kids - and will be giving them a bunch to start reading after we make our rounds on Free Comic Book Day this Saturday!

Found this stack of 10 centers in my Dad's office... Didn't even know he collected DC.

Fin Fang Foom!

I appreciate all the concern - and yes, we've already discussed this with tax experts and have started looking into the big auction houses... he didn't just collect comics - he's got every Topps Baseball card complete set from 1957 to 1970... he has complete non-sports card sets that are highly sought after - Mars Attacks, Beatles, Three Stooges, Gilligans Island, Spook Stories, Outer Limits... sports autographs - the Miracle on Ice Team signed, Muhammad Ali signed gloves, Bobby Orr signed hockey stick, a picture of Mantle, DiMaggio, and Ted Williams that he had signed twice because the first time DiMaggio signed over Mantle!... oh and a wall of Bowen statues and busts... these are just the examples - I have a basement and office filled with collectibles and quite frankly it's overwhelming... not just because it's so many collectibles to go through - but my Dad was an awesome guy and included me in his hobbies. He was best man at my wedding because I considered him not just my Dad, but my best friend - at the very least, out of all of my friends - the one I could count on no matter what. So deciding what to keep and what to sell is a painful process. I love sharing his collection because he always wanted to set up his basement and office to display all his collectibles, and he just never got around to it. Unfortunately back to back flu infections took him from us when he was only 61 and other than being overweight (he called himself the Fatman), he was in otherwise good health. I'll continue to post pics of his collection as I go through it. I'm definitely pulling out Avengers Annual 2, Spider-Man Annual 1, and his Silver Surfer 4 (who doesn't love that cover)... and as I get stuff graded and decide to keep stuff, I'll post to share it.

It's a bit of a reader's copy... the important thing to my father was that it presented so nicely (he loved a sharp cover with no major creases)... It may or may not have a coupon cut out or a chunk of an inside page missing... I know it's not perfect, but I'm not about to take it out of the mylar to check it until I can afford to grade it. Basically - I'm investing in grading some mid-tier books that were outside of his main collection to hopefully sell and pay to grade the more significant stuff. His ASM 129 is gorgeous, and I found a Tomb of Dracula #10, a Green Lantern #87, Justice League of America #1, and a Gold Key Peanuts #1 that is damn near flawless. All my first submissions to CGC.

Ask and ye shall receive.

That pipe has looked like that since the 80s when we moved there - and the comics have remained there in acid-free mylars and backing boards in a temp-controlled finished basement with a battery back-up sump pump. That being said, the entire collection is being brought up from the basement soon, as most of it will likely be auctioned off. My Dad passed away about 4 years ago now and we're just starting to get the emotional fortitude to grade his collection and part with it. I'm trying to hold on to some comics - AF15 and ASM 1-50, maybe his early FF run (I don't think I could sell his FF5)... but Hulk 1-6/102-110, Tales 39-99, Journey 83 thru Thor 150+, X-men 1-66, Avengers 1-100, Daredevil 1-100, TtA 27-101, Strange Tales including 89 and 110, Sgt Fury 1-40... will hopefully grade well and find a good home.

Well, I might as well make my first post a good one. I submit my application to join the club, inherited from my father, the great collector, Armand Cistaro III. - Armand Cistaro IV