Buzzetta

My takeaways: You are right You are old In a a little more than a few years I will be old too but still younger than you and I will still perceive you as "old" and me "young." I like my AF15s not because I want to get rich off of it but because I really hold Spider-man right up there with Mickey Mouse and Superman and to own a few copies of his first appearance means the world to me. And you know I am fooling around about most of them but I am dead serious about 1 and 2

Someone sent me a package with postage all over it like this. I want to personally say I am sorry to anyone from Punta Gorda Florida that had to wait on the line behind the seller as the cashier made sure the right amount of postage was affixed. Comic was very well packed though.

USPS gave me the full amount claimed on an item that they broke. Box arrived damaged and the slab was broken. I took a screen shot of the eBay listing and pictures of the book. They instantly cut me a check for the full amount the book sold for... AND I still have the book since the buyer returned it to me. What was strange was that I did not take insurance out on the book. I filed a claim under priority mail automatic coverage for the full amount knowing that the coverage only goes to $50. For some reason they cut me a check for the full amount. I cashed that check immediately. Toys for Tots got a lil extra sumptin sumptin that year. Just sold a book for $1200 though and I insured the whole thing since I looked up the address where I am sending it to and the house is in a very isolated area.

I am still shipping books this way. Funny that I saw this thread and someone messaged me on eBay last month saying that I would be able to keep the weight down and make it a little cheaper for my buyer. I will say it here plainly... I am not interested in keeping the cost down for the buyer if it means sacrificing the integrity of their package. If you buy from me I do my best to make sure you get your item in the condition you ordered it in. I would personally rather pay an extra $1 or three to make sure that my item gets to me in the condition I selected it in.

This is going to sound like such an amateur fix but it worked. When I was a kid I would eventually run into GI Joes that had loose knees or something. What I would do is take a brace rubber band and extend the leg and then wrap it around the knee joint. Eventually the brace rubber band would work its way into the joint and I would cut away the excess. It was like placing a washer into the joint to tighten it up. 12 year old me was Effing Brilliant !

Both Star Wars figures are DEFINITELY more durable than GI Joes. I have seen dealers that will overtly say that they will not replace the o-rings of 1982-1983 figures as they fear that just loosening the screw then putting that same screw back in might shatter the back chamber on the figure. Certain figures are far more prone than others to break it seems. 1982-1983 figures are VERY brittle in general 1983-1984 Duke's crotch seems to break off easily 1984 Recondo's right thumb Night Viper helmet shields TARGAT backpack hose attachment Crimson Guard Immortal Waist EVERY figure: Cracked elbows. Even figures on the card have shown this phenomenon. The pressure from the elbow rivets are having a negative impact on the surrounding plastic as the plastic continues to break down. Cracked elbows are becoming more and more prevalent as collectors are finding homes for perfect examples and remaining samples are still on sale. As time goes on even non-cracked elbows are turning into cracked elbows. Some figures that were molded in certain color plastics have demonstrated a tendency to break down more than others. In one FB discussion a member challenged others to find a Tiger Force Frostbite that did NOT exhibit cracked elbows. At that point there were a dozen or more available on eBay but not a single one had non-cracked elbows. 1984 Zartan - he is build differently than the others. Good luck if his o-ring snaps. I paid near $70 to get a complete one with swamp skier in decent condition. 1990's Ninja Force and ANY battle action figure. They are also constructed in a way that if that o-ring snaps... there is nothing you can do. This is what immediately came to mind btw.

Well that is an auction I will avoid... good luck at the race !

My storage techniques for the Joe collection I have been rebuilding has been the clamshells inside each of these bins. Each bin fits around 100 figures. They are stacked in closets with basically nothing on display. I have one original Snake Eyes in the cabinet because... well Snake Eyes... I also have a Hydrofoil up top on the book case and that is about all I have of GI Joe set up in the house. With that said... I am on borderline panic mode, not from what I am doing but from what I am seeing happening around me. Having purchased around 182 figures in the last few months I have noticed a more disturbing trend than I thought existed for GI Joes. After joining several Facebook groups and doing many deals there and on eBay, I noticed the following. GI Joe figures are even more brittle than I imagined now that we are almost 35 years removed from the golden years 1984-1986. Many collectors know this as they remark things like "I realize that one day I am going to have nothing but a tray of little plastic kibble" or something like that. There are some dealers that are so reluctant to change o-rings themselves that they send you an o ring for the buyer to do it themselves. Every figure that I have seen shows o-ring degradation so again, good luck with the MOC I have watched a live claim sale auction where the figure broke as the guy was showing it. I have seen quite a few facebook posts with figures suffering damage just from moving them as people are then looking for replacement parts So the issue then becomes that if I have spent what I have spent... what am I holding onto here? If simply moving the figures can cause a crotch to or t ring to break then that is a real issue if I want to hold onto these things for 20 years or so. I am also seeing some of the repro guys cast some VERY convincing repros that are almost too close and they are only getting better. On top of that, I have mistakenly bought a Funskool version of a figure where once contacting the seller upon realizing that something didn't "feel" right with the plastic, he said that I was right and said, keep it and issued a refund. I don't know if some action figures are really viable to keep and preserve. Thankfully the Star Wars figures are not as bad as what I am seeing here.

What's killing it for me though is the constant number ones and storyline reboots. With every renumbering I feel as if that might be the opportunity for me to close out the ASM collection.

And believe it or not... I am okay with that. I actually see that argument. I still like Samuel Jackson Fury though.

I think all of you forget what keeps the characters viable... In order to keep the characters viable readers and especially kids have to believe that it could be anybody including themselves under the masks. I have said this before and I will say it again... The core concept of Captain America is that he is a man out of time using the values of days long past to deal with the issues of today. For now, Steve Rogers still resonates since WWII is still spoken about in media and Call of Duty games continue to focus on the subject. Will Steve Rogers be replaced? I really feel that this will eventually happen on a permanent basis in the way that they replaced Nick Fury. I think it will eventually happen with a veteran from any of the three fronts or conflicts in the Middle East. I even <gasp> believe that it is perfectly fine for a person of color to be the next PERMANENT Captain America so long as he is a man out of time. The core concept of Spider-man is that he is the everyday kid/teenager/college student / under 30 character that has a mess of a civilian life but a fantastic time as a superhero. Peter Parker is forever Spider-man but the core concept proved that there is just as much room for Miles Morales Iron Man? ANYONE can inherit the armor. I am fine with RiRi taking over one day or any other character. I honestly feel that the only character that is untouchable is the Hulk and not for reasons that you may all think. Core Concept of the Hulk is about a character trying to balance the monster vs the man. I agree that Bruce Banner needs to be the Hulk and only Bruce Banner as if there are additional characters it dilutes the monster and specialness of the monster in the Marvel Universe. However this is why She-Hulk works as well as she has to deal with the same dynamic. I don't want multiple Hulks running around because it dilutes the sheer horror of having a character with that much raw strength running around. The more Hulks you have dilutes the power of the Hulk. I don't even care much for the Hulk but you need to have as few people with that level power as possible. Many of you probably thought that Nick Fury was untouchable. However Samuel Jackson made him 'cool'. Now that there is a Sam Jackson lookalike running around the six one six... nobody really complains. It can be done. It will be done. At the end of the day, these characters need to evolve past the original creations of white males in order for the genre as a whole to appeal to future consumers.

Marvel Unlimited... I really don't need to turn a page when I can swipe. I think I am going to get a subscription again this year and catch up on the last two years.

Didn't consider that... but still at the end of the day it is a comic store. There are stores that have much cheaper rents out on Long Island of all places and they struggle to make it. I know that MIdtown definitely gets a deeper discount due to sheer volume but I would suspect that the increase in city rents eventually overtake that profit margin. This reminds me that I really should go get some golden age bags and boards as it is cheaper to get them there than to order them and pay the shipping.

Almost every store in that area has either disappeared or reshuffled its location. Disney jumped across the street, Toy R Us closed before closing was a thing for Toys R Us, Quicksilver is gone, Hard Rock to Bubba Gump to WWE Restaurant to whatever it is now... that location is usually not stable yet Midtown Comics sticks it out... impressive but nothing last forever.

Ohhhh there might be some flipping later. I am thinking of opening up the BBQ and grilling tonight because it will be a balmy 27 degrees... Then there will be some flipping.

I am disappointed I was outbid on all except for one book in the CLink auction. I would have liked to have taken a couple home that are appearing for double the price on eBay - not selling but double the price.

Seller wanted $195... Made a offer of $150... he countered at $160.... I said sure... I love these books. Was out to eat while the offer was made... came home to pay a half hour ago with a little more than 2hrs to go before the eBay bucks expired. Final cost including shipping .... $90.66

It's funny you mention that. I realized that those that are around the city... we kind of take it for granted. Once a year I make sure to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge as it is just as much a landmark as the Empire State Building but free. In this case, I took the ferry from North 5th Street to Brooklyn Bridge... Enjoy for those nowhere near NY... that's why when you come here there is plenty more to do that sift through overpriced newsprint.

- I stay clear of Nautical Mile unless a bunch of my friends that still live in Brooklyn or the City want to meet up at Braccos or the other place on the canal side. I used to go frequently when my friend had the boat. We would get on in Amityville or Massapequa and then take the boat and dock up there... travelling by boat in the summer was fun.

Once a year... when I am in the mood for some really good wings. Last time I was there was in 2017 though... It's one of the few places I know that make a decent traditional hot wing with some crisp to it and heat but without drying the whole thing out.

http://theultimatebootlegexperience7.blogspot.com/ shhhhhhh I love this site. Haven't been here in over a year but this seems to be the latest incarnation.

Bleeker Street Records? More than happy to see them go in order to get what we now had. Back then I spent $30-$40 on a bootleg album for a rare concert recording. Now I just have to search for the show and I can get it for free from trading on other message boards or I can rip the audio / video from youtube.

Still stuck...

Depends on the context. There are some artists that include so much stuff in an image you are captivated and investigate it further to see what is going on like Schomburg. His art was clear but it is so jam packed you miss a lot at first glance and have to look deeper to see what is really going on. That is one of the VERY few exceptions to what you said. I agree though, if you have to figure it out and we are not talking about artistry with symbolism anything like that... then you did not construct it very well. I should be able to figure out what everyday objects actually are. If it is a car, it should be easily discernible as a car.