F For Fake

Essentially, eBay realized there was some money that they didn't have their mitts on yet, so they parted ways with Paypal, and began their own payment system. You can still use Paypal to PAY for items, but you can no longer accept it as payment. When you get paid, the money goes into your eBay Managed Payments account (minus the selling fees, which they now deduct up front, instead of waiting until the end of a billing cycle). So, they get their cut off of the top, then they put the money in a "Pending" status, where it stays for about a day; then it changes to "Available", and then the following day it pays out to your bank account. At least that's how it's been since it launched at the beginning of last year. Now they are adopting the Paypal model where you can connect your account to your debit card, and pay a small fee to have your funds much faster. However, I haven't finished setting it up yet, so I can't speak to how successful it is. Anyway, yeah, it was a total pain, but if you want to sell on eBay, per usual, there wasn't much you could do about it. They continue to have the sellers over a barrel.

Interesting results. Definitely seem strong compared to how CLink finished up in the last week or so. I may move my fixed price books over to auction at some point.

Yes, it was handy. I'm assuming it still works the same way, though I haven't used it in a bit. You have to have the account connected to a debit card, and there is a fee (something like 1.5% or a minimum of 25 cents) but it's very handy indeed.

I had my account set to "Daily" payouts, but the delay came from their various stages. "Pending" took 24 hours, "Available" was another 24 hours, then they'd finally pay out but that STILL took another 24 hours to hit my checking account. Such a pain, compared to the days when Paypal was still connected to eBay, where I could have my cash a few minutes after the buyer paid. Oh well, I've gotten used to it, but I am definitely hoping this new instant pay option works out well. I guess we'll see!

Well, you can still use Paypal, you just can't use it for eBay sales. What's odd is that last night I noticed that eBay is now, finally, offering on-demand payments, like I used to be able to get when Paypal was my payment processor. As most of you know, with Paypal you could have your money sent directly to your debit card in a matter of seconds; but when eBay started Managed Payments, all of it sudden it would take DAYS to get your money. First your payment was "processing", then after a day or so it would move to "Available", then the next day it would "Pay Out", and on the fourth day (if you're lucky) your money would actually appear in your bank account. Really drives me nuts. Anyway, last night I was futzing around with the app, and noticed that they're now offering the ability to instantly dispatch funds to your debit card, for a small fee, like Paypal used to offer. This is a huge change, and hopefully a positive one. I'm still having to jump through hoops, as I had to get verified via having deposits made to my account, providing a bank statement, etc, but hopefully I'll be up and running shortly. I haven't really used Paypal since ebay went to Managed Payments. Once in a blue moon I may sell some digital codes on the Bluray.com forums or something like that, but otherwise haven't had any need for Paypal. If this new instant pay feature on eBay works out, I will actually stop complaining about their ditching Paypal.

Aw, what the heck, I'm in. I never do these things, because competition gives me anxiety, but we must face our fears!

I'd imagine it would depend on the title, and how rabid the fandom is. I'd think an original Moore or Gaiman -script would sell well, if you're talking about selling an original, one of a kind artifact from the comic production process. The issue would be authenticating that it's an original, and not a photocopy or reprint. And I'm not sure how you'd prove that, unless it came directly from the author themselves, or one of the artists. James Roberts, most well known for writing IDW Transformers comics, recently self-published a batch of his -script notes and "bible" for his Transformers run. They sold out pretty quickly, at least faster than I could get one, and that was for a reprint of a loose assembly of hand-written notes. I'd think a true, one of a kind -script from a big name would have some value for sure.

Yeah, five years ago around here, at estate sales and auctions, I could still get longs for even $25-$35. These days it has been more like $50-75, on the rare occasion I even have the chance to buy them. That's the worst part. I wouldn't mind paying more, I just have so much more competition. I'm hoping that the 1099ks and the general market "downturn" will scare off some of the fly by night folks, and I can start finding books again. Aside from collections I've bought from friends and acquaintances, I haven't bought a sizeable collection in the wild for over a year and a half. Just too many people out there that apparently have more money and time than I do!

My understanding has always been that the poly bagged version has the purple webs as well as the little bit of missing blue ink from the kneecap on the left. On the regular copies, that is filled in completely blue, but on the polybagged version there's a small piece that has been colored green like the background. Those are the two tells. CGC is particularly bad at correctly labeling this book. There's also a bagged newsstand version, but obviously that's easy to tell, as it has a horking big UPC code on the cover. As Geeks said, the Silver is easy to tell as the polybagged version has no price in the price-box, but the standard edition has the $1.75 in the box.

I was tempted, considering that a complete vintage Eternia set is going to run a couple/few thousand dollars. But this just looks sorta...flimsy, to me, for the price. Of course, the original playset was legendarily fragile, but this one just seems off somehow. Can't place why. I dunno. I'd probably be willing to pay about half that.

I'm just glad that I'm not the only one whose eyes immediately skipped over everything else in that image, just to land on this.

That's so bizarre. Luckily I'm not interested in any of these items, so I won't have to waste brain power figuring out what all of this means!

I was lucky enough to meet Kelley at two cons, and I made sure I was in his line early both times. The first time, I had to get Bats. The second time, it was a toss up between Deadman and Swamp Thing, and I'm glad I went with Swampie, because I LOVE this sketch. If I get lucky enough to run into him a third time, Deadman is definitely up next!

Do you have a date on that Amazing Heroes, by chance? The same image is used, in full color, in DC Who's Who #7, Sep of '85. If this came first, I'll need to track one down!

I think the Lady Death analysis is spot-on. Lady Death/Chaos/Coffin/Whatever fans seem to align more with horror fandom than strictly comic book fandom. And horror fans are fiercely devoted, and more than happy to pay $$$ for weird, random, cult-appeal items.

I'm trying to stay away from multiple modern lines, but those Indy figs may be too much to deny. Meanwhile, my quest to slowly finish off the Transformers Ultimates line at clearance prices continues as Ghost of Starscream showed up this weekend. This is the kind of odd stuff I like. I do worry about how long this translucent plastic will hold up, but as I don't plan to "play" with him often, he'll hopefully last. Never doubt his commitment to Sparkle Motion!

Those are great. I have the Batman gallery edition, but not the Deadman, at least not yet. I'm a huge Kelley Jones fan. He is still my favorite Batman artist. I doubt I'll ever own an original page, but here are a couple of sketches I've gotten from him at shows over the years. I never get tired of his work.

Cool! I have a lot of teen nostalgia for his Spidey run. I'm not a Venom guy at all, but that cover sure is striking in B&W. I may have to pick this one up eventually.

I'll say this; I don't know about the market overall, but I'm not getting many steals on CLink and ebay like I expected! There was a dip this summer when I was able to pick up a lot of drek on the cheap, but the last couple of sessions, where I expected to steal a few more, ended as strongly as ever. And I'm talking about really common junk that I'm chasing almost strictly due to nostalgia. Thought it would be a good time to stock up, but...not so much.

No problem! Keep us updated if you go that route. I doubt my wallet would measure up, but I'd be really interested to see how high it goes!

Wow, that's really something. Lots of people looking for that one. To give you an idea, there are currently 84 MCS users that have it on their want list, including me, and that's for a raw copy! eBay asking prices on raws begin in the $150 range and go up from there, so a 9.8 slab...no idea whatsoever on value, but I expect it would be significant! I'd run it through an auction house if I was going to sell, just because the sky could be the limit. Bruce Timm collectors are rabid, the price on this could get silly really fast. Good luck if you decide to let it go!

This is one that I buy anytime I find it in a dollar box. Love it. This is another one of which I have a couple of stacks. A little Bolland, a little Bat/Cat kink, what's not to love? (Not my pic, but you get the idea.)

For me, I guess the big difference is that the newsstands will finally be added to the registry. However, for the newsies I have that are currently sitting in direct slots (or which haven't been registered at all, as there's no spot for them), I won't be paying for a reholder.

It's curious. The streaming companies have all been doing some major cuts recently, such as HBO canning the Batgirl movie and several other shows that never saw the light of day. Netflix is notorious for canceling programs after a single season, but as they continue to hemorrhage subscribers, it seems like they're also ordering fewer shows to series. I guess it could be indicative of the overall quality, but it could also just be another sign of belt-tightening. The producers are now free the shop the show around to other studios, so hopefully we'll see it land somewhere.

Would love to see it! As for re-sticking the stickers, I'd say it's a matter of how far you want to go. I would hesitate to use any sort of super glue, gorilla glue, or anything that might permanently affect the plastic. They'll likely work, but I'd worry about what is happening to the plastic under that glue. Unfortunately, less caustic glues like Elmer's Glue or a glue stick usually won't work well with plastic. You may get it to stick for a while, but it likely won't last. Some folks use Mounting Film (probably find it at a scrapbooking place) or there are also adhesive sheets from 3M, which sort of act like double-sided tape, in sheet form. You could always cut those to fit, then mount. And if you really want to spend the time or money, you could do high-res scans of the originals and print them onto adhesive sheets. Cut and mount the new stickers, and store the originals.