Buzzetta

Thank you for coming here to state this. I must ask though... what led you to this site and this specific discussion? Of all the gin joints in all the world... how did you find your way here?

Very nice catch Sal. Thank you!! It surely looks like the same book. So let's see. Whoever bought it back in 2009 from Heritage for $52,281.25 put it in a box with a couple of raw comics and then put the box in a storage unit. That is where all high dollar collectors keep their books you know. Then they quit paying the storage unit fees or maybe they died and their heirs didn't know about the storage unit. So now it shows up on ebay with a listing that was suspicious even before Sal here found the Heritage link. Will be interesting watching this one. I expect negative feedback left at some point. Maybe he had to hide it from his wife in the divorce settlement... Stranger things have happened...

What you are missing here is how Paypal really works. You can't send a payment bigger than 10K through Paypal in one day. That's because Paypal views large transactions as risky. To send more through Paypal you have to do an echeck which isn't guaranteed by Paypal. The only way you do a payment for 25k through paypal and have any protection is to break it into three parts paid over three days and fund it with your credit card. They you rely on your credit card company to back you if there is a problem. Most of us don't have a a 25K limit on our credit card, though I'm sure some do. Or have multiple cards. Anyone with any sense will only do this transaction -at a safe location - in person. And it doesn't appear the seller has responded to any inquiries as of yet. I am interested in another copy of AF15. If I take the plunge and buy a 5.0 or a 5.5 I will pay cash at NYCC, Metropolis, Heritage or CLink. I was tired and should have known better than to violate my own principles.

There's the mistake... ... I have been up for almost 24 hours at that point and am still up now... -a momentary lack of judgement if you will.

I bid... then retracted... then reported... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270981943440#ht_720wt_1110

Was looking to upgrade my Spidey 31 from a 6.0 to something higher. I tried the WTB section but did not get any bites so I snagged the 8.5 on eBay... With the bidding on CLink up to $666 on a 9.0 and the next increment leading to a $716 for that book. It did not make sense to me to spend an additional $300 for a .5 higher grade on the book which may go even higher while I could simply snag the 8.5 on eBay for $420 My latest acquisition... waiting for it to arrive...

Nice! Is this Tom Moores old copy? Thanks! Honestly do not know though... I was watching it on eBay + VERY rough day at work went into this purchase... I look forward to receiving it as this, 39, 68 and 70 are some of my favorite Romita covers.

Jesus... Umm... Got my comiclink order sent consisting of: Amazing Spiderman #11 - 7.5 Amazing Spiderman #26 - 8.5 Amazing Spiderman #68 - 8.5 Amazing Spiderman #75 - 8.5 Amazing Spiderman #76 - 8.5 Amazing Spiderman #103 - 9.2 Also bought the following: Amazing Spiderman #90 - 8.5 Amazing Spiderman #92 - 8.5 Magnus Robot Fighter (Valiant) #1 - 9.8 Magnus Robot Fighter (Valiant) #12 - 9.8 X-O Man-o-War (Valiant) #1 - 9.8 Solar Man of the Atom #11 - 9.8 Turok Dinosaur Hunter (Valiant) #1 - 9.8 Eternal Warrior #1 (Gold Embossed) #1 - 9.4 Archer and Armstrong #0 - 9.8 It was a busy two weeks. Yes I am going after Valiant first appearances. Check out my buying thread by the way... I am still looking for: ASM 13, 20 Eternal Warrior 4,5 Rai 0

Sparkle City is a pleasure to deal with.

I recently purchased Solar #10 in a 9.6 over the boards and I wanted the companion book. My favorite Valiant character was the Eternal Warrior and I wanted to quickly pick up his first appearances in case the Valiant books gain heat and they become a pain in the to track down. In my quest for a graded Amazing Spider-man set of AF15-ASM100... I picked up issues 92 and 86, both in 8.5. 24 books to go.

Just got my Avengers 4 Universal 6.0 and my Amazing Spider-man 41 Universal 8.0 back from CGC after being reslabbed. I tell you, people don't know how to ship anymore...

Nice book! Just wanted to publicly thank you and to let you know that I got the book today.

Interesting dilemma... As we move forward into the digital age some publishers have taken to including digital download codes into their comic books in case you want your comic to go wherever your portable media device goes. Now, this is in reality nothing new. After all, the funny books have included lots of freebies within their pages. Some books have offered 3D glasses, poster inserts, rub off tattoos and other inserts. They have even included cassette tapes of the Ramones singing the Spider-man theme song with certain comics. Except for the cassette tapes, CGC has noted the inclusion or absence of all of these within their grading notes. What if the absence or previous redemption of a digital code devalues a book? Does this sound outrageous? Consider this. An Amazing Spider-man 238 in a 9.6 seems to be worth less without the rub on tattoos in comparison to a 9.4 WITH the tattoos. Could a grader test to see if a download code works? If the code has already been redeemed then could the book be considered qualified or incomplete because there is an invalid code within it's pages? Do not simply scoff at this. Around 1983, no one assumed that little rub on tattoos were essential to the condition of a comic book either. Who knows what the impact of digital media or digital codes will be? Those unused digital download codes could be essential in determining whether your 9.8 white page copy of Avengers v X-Men #1 comes back in a Universal or Qualified grade. Me? I still want a copy of Detective Comics 27. At least that book didn't have any inserts that I have to be concerned with. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I had not seen those. I did see though: 7.5 universal went for $102 on C-Link in March 8.5 universal went for $170 on C-Link in Jan 8.5 universal went unsold for $150 on eBay I figured that the price of an 8.0 with the additional cost of two signing fees and two separate grading fees and return shipping fees, I saw the cost of that adding up and it did not seem worth the time and energy to try to put it together myself. (Especially with the CGC turnaround time) The next book I may look for is an 8.0 or higher dual signed Lee Romita copy of Amazing Spiderman 39. That will be an acquisition for another day. I bet a lot of people were looking at the average sale for an 8.0 (around $135) and the hammer price for the last Lee/Romita SS 7.0 that went for $99.

Just picked this up tonight in an eBay auction:

I won it... Let's see if I get it... For those that do not know... this is the "Face it Tiger, You Just Hit the Jackpot" issue. My reasoning as far as the value? An ASM 8.0 runs between $150-200. Getting Stan Lee to sign and then to submit to CGC can run another $100 Getting John Romita to sign and then submit to CGC can run another 100 I figure for $250 I got off cheap...

I may look for a higher grade but to me I really want a presentable grade over a higher grade. For example I went after a book in a recent auction where there were three copies listed. Copy one was a 8.5 with a date stamp Copy two was a 8.0 with a clean cover Copy three was a 5.0 I went after the 8.0 with a lot more dedication than the other two books. In fact I basically ignored the date stamp cover. To me there is not much difference between the grades so I have been trying to hunt for 8.5 and up in my ASM 1-100 run. If a better copy comes along at a later date then I may upgrade and sell the older ones but for now... I want to complete the set.

Last week's acquisitions and recent submits So, the wait begins again. I am not complaining about the time it takes for CGC to grade, slab and return my books. I am talking about the wait of anticipation. You know what I am talking about. It is that 'Christmas is only in four more days' type of wait. I went to show in NYC at the Penn Pavilion last weekend and had an interesting time walking around. I saw the reports on the message board and was amused that a fellow boardie was next to me taking pictures of Stan talking to Neal Adams. I almost threw a guy into a wall as he was about to sign a CGC submission sheet by placing his paper on the comics that I was submitting. (He realized what he was about to do before I realized it for him.) Neal Adams was a treat as I had never done the CGC SS thing before. He was a pleasure to talk to and I took to the knee so I could actually listen. Perhaps more on that in another journal entry. On a side note, I had sold all of my Batman books a few years ago to pay for college classes. It was nice to pick up a mid grade 227 to have him sign it. Felt like I was getting one of my old books back. I submitted the following: To Be Graded Amazing Spiderman 21 Expecting a 5.5 Amazing Spiderman 23 (Bought from Metropolis at the show at advertised 8.5. Let's see what happens.) Amazing Spiderman 24 Expecting a 6.0 Amazing Spiderman 43 Expecting a 8.0-8.5 Amazing Spiderman 53 Expecting a 6.0 Amazing Spiderman 101 Expecting a 7.5 - 8.0 Amazing Spiderman 119 Expecting a 9.4 Batman 227 Signed by Neal Adams - Expecting a 5.5-6.0 Reslabs Amazing Spiderman 41 8.0 (Needed it reslabbed due to poor shipping) Avengers 4 6.0 (Needed it reslabbed due to poor shipping) To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I do not understand how anything drawn by Liefeld deserves a 9.4 let alone a 9.9... And that was my snarky comment for the evening... back to studying... Goodnight...

Holy shiznit... I just took the A train uptown. I am used to the homeless riding the NYC subways by now and am used to the drunks and crackheads. However, this guy had a body odor smell that was so bad I had to cover press my nose with my thumb as I covered my mouth with my hand to breathe through the fingers. It was the kind of smell that makes you want to strip and bathe the minute you enter the door when you get home. There is no excuse for poor personal hygiene. Ladies and gentlemen... please for the love of God... clean every crevice. And yes... I do throw elbows on the subway to the transplant hipsters that refuse to move or do not understand the concept of walking to your right.

We all have our own personal set of guidelines that we act within at shows. I just read a story of an individual (this is not a hate thread) that was apparently involved in accidentally knocking down a dealer's display after asking and being allowed access to behind the table. What do you do at shows? Me? I am personally of the idea that until I pay cash for it I am not touching it. I came to that conclusion after a dealer laid a book out in front of a prospective customer that was next to me. Someone bumped into the guy as the dealer allowed the buyer to turn the page... All it took was a bump and a jostle and you had a rip in the page. Wrong place wrong time. When looking at books I usually have my loot in a hard case folder keeper in my messenger bag. When looking at expensive books, the bag swings in front of me so I know where my stuff is and I only go where I am allowed to go. The last thing I want to do is be responsible should anything happen. Everything and anything as far as I am concerned is off limits unless I ask. If the dealer says I am free to touch then even then I go by comfort level and ask the dealer for assistance telling him it is not mine unless I hand you the cash. Usually the dealer does not mind. The last thing I ever want to do is be in the situation at one of these crowded shows where I damaged some guys property from being bumped by the crowd. Any words...?

I am probably about to make a nice bump in the registry... From Auction Sites Amazing Spiderman 22 - Universal 8.5 Off White to White Amazing Spiderman 45 - Universal 8.5 Off White to White Amazing Spiderman 56 - Universal 9.0 White Pages Amazing Spiderman 91 - Universal 9.0 Off White to White From CGC Amazing Spiderman 4 - Universal 5.0 White Amazing Spiderman 7 - Universal 4.0 Off White Amazing Spiderman 12 - Universal 3.0 Cream to Off White Amazing Spiderman 12 - Universal 4.5 Cream to Off White Amazing Spiderman 14 - Apparent Slight (A) 3.0 - Color Touch and small spot of glue - Off White Amazing Spiderman 25 - Universal 7.5 Cream to Off White Amazing Spiderman 46 - Universal 6.0 Off White to White (I don't know why I submitted this either) Amazing Spiderman 59 - Universal 9.0 Off White to White Amazing Spiderman 87 - Universal 5.5 Off White to White (Or this...) Amazing Spiderman 100 - Universal 6.0 Off White to White I reported last week that my other order came in Amazing 129, AF 15 and Amazing 1

Oooookay... The next ten books just came back from CGC... I will slab any Spiderman I have from 1-25 just to see what I have, keep some for my collection and sell off a couple to buy more. I have mixed feelings on the ASM 4 and since that is part of my keeper collection and I felt it could have gone a little bit higher. I understand the 100 getting a 6.0 due to the printer bleed but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. The 59 in a 9.0 was a nice surprise on the other end of the collection. Here we go. Amazing Spiderman 4 - Universal 5.0 White Amazing Spiderman 7 - Universal 4.0 Off White Amazing Spiderman 12 - Universal 3.0 Cream to Off White Amazing Spiderman 12 - Universal 4.5 Cream to Off White Amazing Spiderman 14 - Apparent Slight (A) 3.0 - Color Touch and small spot of glue - Off White Amazing Spiderman 25 - Universal 7.5 Cream to Off White Amazing Spiderman 46 - Universal 6.0 Off White to White (I don't know why I submitted this either) Amazing Spiderman 59 - Universal 9.0 Off White to White Amazing Spiderman 87 - Universal 5.5 Off White to White (Or this...) Amazing Spiderman 100 - Universal 6.0 Off White to White

Was VERY disappointed that I had unwittingly purchased a restored copy a number of years ago when I was completing my collection. When it arrived back from CGC last summer this issue became a priority to upgrade to something universal and something higher up... perhaps in the VF area. It is a tough cover with those deep blues and I notice that others have been buying up sharp looking available copies in the last few months. This just showed up today... I will add it to the registry along with others once my CGC order comes back from Florida.