F For Fake

I was at 5.5 before reading the comments, due to the stain. Structurally looks very sound but those marks will ding it. Reading the rest of the opinions, I'm sticking at 5.5. Super cool book!

You're both wrong. All Scotch tastes like grandma's purse.

I'm ready to buy in on this, want to get in on the ground floor!

Also, returning to the previous conversation about transparency, I think the thing that has stuck in the craws of many submitters over the years is that CGC won't release their specific grading criteria. Sure, we've gotten a pretty good idea over the years of how much they're deducting for certain flaws, but there has never been any sort of release of their specific standards, and obviously those standards have changed back and forth over the years. We went through a "loose" period, now apparently we're in a "strict" period. If there was one standard being applied by all graders over the years, that would lead to a consistency that would be helpful for those that are subbing. This, of course, will never happen, because: 1. Grading is subjective, an art not a science, so you're never going to get all of the graders to agree on one standard, even if it seems like you SHOULD be able to get pretty darn close, right? and 2. Why would they? The guessing game can only increase subs. If I have a book I'm considering subbing, and a CGC grading standards guide that tells me precisely how CGC is going to grade it, I may not sub it if I don't think it'd be worth the time/cost to sub. By keeping the standards vague, they allow that glimmer of hope that my book may be better than I think it is. It's that hope that drives slabbing and CPR. Sure, I think this book is a 9.6, maybe even a 9.4, but if I have it pressed and slabbed, what COULD it be? Maybe I'll hit the jackpot! I think that CGC slabbing triggers the same reward centers in the brain related to gambling addictions. I'm not a doctor though. At least not according to the court orders I've received.

I think we've seen a boom in sellers who don't grade anything beyond the covers, and you're lucky if they looked at the back cover either. And as you said, I think we've seen a lot of buyers who do the same thing. I've missed things in books I've sold before. It happens. But the key is learning from your mistakes and improving your skills. Like 99% of the folks on the boards, I was very disappointed when I got my first batch of CGC books back, way back in the day. Then I realized I didn't know what the hell I was doing, so I got better at it. And I'm 100% positive I still have things to learn 20 years or so later. I keep hearing that CGC is too harsh in high grade right now, and that may be true. So, to that end, I probably undergrade a bit just to be "safe". I don't like for people to be disappointed.

It's very pretty, I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pick one up pretty soon.

I worked at my LCS for about 2 years in the late 90's. We had a lot of characters come in. I'm sure I've told some of these stories. The Magic card guys were the smelliest, though there was a one-legged guy in a wheelchair that only bought vintage Transformers (not that vintage at that time...he was smart to grab them back then) who emitted a stench that was truly eye-watering. And I think I've told the story about the "Furry Guy" who would call every day and ask if we had any furry titles, then would ask us to describe the covers of Shanda the Panda or whatever and would start breathing heavily on the phone. One time I happened to be wearing a leather vest for some reason, and I was putting out cd's for sale and this guy kept trailing me all around the store, like getting right up ON me. I went back behind the counter and he came up to the counter, in front of everyone, and said "So...are you into leather?" I wasn't and am still not into dudes, but even if I was, show a little tact, man! At least ask me my name before you start into the hardcore BDSM leather daddy talk!

I'm liking this new business model. And yeah, I'm probably over thinking it. But I don't sub very often, so, like @Get Marwood & I I'm figuring on being the guy who gets the cracked, jacked up slab. Oh well, like I said, i already re-upped my membership, so I guess I'll roll the dice here shortly.

Yeah, I brought the collection home back in October, but the holidays were busy and I had other stuff to deal with, and it just seemed like it was going to be such a big job sorting, cleaning, selling stuff, etc that I just put it off forever. Plus I bought a comic collection somewhere in there that I also had to deal with selling. So, the first weekend of March Madness, I knew I had nothing to do except watch basketball for four days, so I used that stretch to get the collection sorted, match up the weapons, start cleaning, etc. Then I started selling off the stuff that was broken or that I didn't want, and the once all of that wrapped, I've been slowly cleaning and completing stuff. Taking my time with it. And yeah, it takes a couple of weeks for the Toyhax stickers to get here from Canada, but I didn't mind, clearly I wasn't in a hurry at this point ha ha Anyway, the big reveal coming up very soon!

Yeah, I'm sure the number of folks getting books back in perfectly normal shape outweighs the horror stories here, but the fact that these issues continue to exist at all is enough to make me wary. Oh well, I already paid for the sub, I guess I'll jump in and hope for the best!

Can't wait to see it! I was done with TF by the time Micromasters came around, but as an adult collector I think they are pretty cool!

Ugh, I hate this. I haven't subbed anything since they switched to the new holders, as we saw the rise of creep engine (resolved now, I understand), newton rings, SCS, and a bunch of other terms that we had to invent in order to explain why these protective cases are actively destroying comics. I just renewed my sub a couple of weeks ago because I have a stack of stuff I'd like to finally get slabbed, and now I see that SCS is still an issue. I mean, it's always been a potential issue, but the anecdotal evidence suggests that the new holders are increasing the instances of this occurring. I know I can get my books to CGC safely. Can they get them back to me safely as well? I never used to worry about this stuff. What a downer.

Some of you may recall that I picked up a large G1 Transformers collection back around October. It sat neglected in my office throughout much of fall and winter. Finally, during the first weekend of March Madness, I started sorting and cleaning the collection. I'm still a week or two away from being 100% ready to share everything that I kept, but I thought these might be a nice teaser. Most of the pieces had decent labels, but with these three, I went the Toyhax route. New labels arrived yesterday, so I stripped the old labels, cleaned them up, and here they are now with their new stickers, looking pretty sharp if I say so myself! Lots more coming up soon, hope you all don't get tired of looking at pics, because I kinda love 'em!

Eh, not a Gold Key guy, personally.

Thanks for verifying! I assumed that was the case, but I'd never seen one before, so I wasn't sure. Couldn't think of any other reason for it!

I am susceptible to peer pressure. Pretty sure you guys could make me buy it!

Yes, that's kind of why I'm hesitating buying it at all. I already have two non-spinner racks that display books nicely. I honestly don't know what I'd DO with this rack if I bought it. Hang action figures on it? I just don't know. It may be cool for the relative rarity (if it even is rare) but aside from sitting in a corner somewhere, I'm not sure what I'd be able to use it for. My other racks have a function. This one would just be an art piece, more or less. As you said, I'd really just be buying the sign, and $250-$300 is more than I'd really want to spend on just a sign. So...I'm still thinking this one over. If someone ends up buying it before I make up my mind, that would be helpful ha

Oh man, I've met SO many awesome people at DragonCon over the years. I started going a little over 20 years ago, back when you could still get into the place without waiting in any lines. I haven't been in a few years, it just got to be too big for me. But yes, for sure, for many years it was THE best place to meet pros, because comics were just one tiny fraction of what that show is all about. I can't count how many legends I was able to walk right up to without waiting in any sort of line...Dave Stevens, Mignola, Wrightson, Steranko, Infantino, Adam Hughes, and on and on. Terrific show for actually meeting and talking to your comic faves, because it's a big show that can attract big names, but the vast majority of the people at the show don't care about comics at all.

That's awesome, Mark is an A+ dude as well as a great artist, glad you had the chance to talk him up. Bill is a lot of fun as well!

If it's still hanging around this weekend, I may go give it a look!

No worries Doc, I don't mind sharing. She's asking $300. If it was a "full" rack with the pockets, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat, but since I've never seen one with just the hangers like this, I wasn't sure what I was looking at exactly. I was concerned it may have even been a custom job of some sort. I've never seen one like this one before, which COULD mean it's rare, or it could also mean it's some wacky one-off that someone's cousin welded together, or something. Looks like it needs some TLC as well. $300 felt a little high. $200...I'd feel a lot better.

A friend of mine who knows I like comic racks sent me some pics of one for sale locally. Have you all seen one like this? There are no "pockets" for holding the books, so I can only assume that this was used for displaying books that were sold in hanger packs? TO ME, MY BOARDIES, I call upon your collective spinner rack knowledge! She's asking what I would think to be an exorbitant amount, but I may be interested if I can figure out what the heck I'd do with it, and could get the price down. I like the topper, at least. If you have any ideas on ballpark price range, what I should offer, I'd appreciate it. I've not seen one like this locally. Thanks!

Thanks man! Yeah, I was off today, we've actually been out of town since Friday, went down to the lake, where we have no internet or cell reception, which is very relaxing. We usually run over to Owensboro for BBQ during these trips, which this time included a trip to a new strip mall development, lots of discount stores like Ross, Tuesday Morning, Gabes, etc. I'd never heard of 2nd & Charles before, but I was stoked because they had tons of comics. I spent an hour or so digging, but 99% of it was drek, unfortunately. Still, enjoyed the digging!

Stopped by a new 2nd & Charles store that just opened up in Owensboro. We don't have them here in Louisville (yet?) but they appear similar to HPB. Nothing notable comic wise, but dug a few keepers out of the dollar box, including a dollar Dave book and a few 50 cent AH covers. The big win was the two copies of the Hickman Avengers Omni. $45 each. These sell for $250-$300, so I was pretty surprised.