Mr. Zipper

On 4/23/2024 at 3:16 PM, Cerebus3000 said:

The Official CGC Guide to Grading Comics does not mention foxing on the write up for 9.8.  The write up for 9.6 specifically says "the presence of one very small light stain, such as a spot of foxing" is allowed.  The table of defects also seems to have foxing top out at 9.6.

This is correct. Foxing tops out at 9.6 and "stain" tops out at 9.8. I conflated staining and foxing in my original post. 

On 4/23/2024 at 7:58 AM, CGC Mike said:

It's hard to choose which notes that I should include with the books.  My current rule is, if I can see the defect, I do not note it.  With that said, I suppose that there are exceptions to every rule.

Frankly, I would have graded it the same (9.0) whether it was foxing or some other sort of stain. I don't see this as a miss on your part, Mike.  

According to the CGC Grading Guide foxing is allowed up to 9.8, but I would have assumed that in higher grades that would mean a very small and light spot of foxing that is barely visible. I never would have thought that a large and moderately dark spot could go to 9.6. 

On 4/22/2024 at 8:26 PM, jcjames said:

That smudge on the back, the light fc lower spine wear/color loss (not the glare), and slightly soft spine corners... and 9.6!? Wow. 

I gave it 9.0

 

Same. I thought Showcase was structurally a 9.6 and deducted 3 increments for the stain landing at 9.0. Sheesh. Why don't my submissions EVER get it this easy? 

And the 9.4 Superman with spine corners frayed at the top and bottom? C'mon... 

It's probably 8.0 without the rust stain. It's tough to gauge how much that will knock it down, but likely 6.5/7.0

3.0/3.5

Frankly, the PGX slab adds zero value, and actually may detract. Many collectors see PGX and think, "over-graded and possibly unnoted restoration, missing pieces or trimming."

I would crack and it and keep it raw. Slabbing at that grade level doesn't add much. It's a reader. But, If you want it graded, send to CGC. 

On 4/14/2024 at 10:54 AM, BingBangBong said:

No way I'm giving Goldin my SSN number either 😄 Does any other site require this to sell with them? I know Ebay and MCS don't...

Is this the hill you wanna die on?  In all seriousness, this is common practice in almost all auctions houses for high-end collectibles. Goldin routinely sells six and seven figure items. And they have global bidding clientele. I assume the Social Security number is for tax purposes and also to prevent fraud.

It's likely a small amount of color touch can be removed without reducing a 2.5 grade. If I was mine, I would probably give it a go using a credible third party presser. There's not a lot of downside on trying with a PLOD 2.5. 

On 4/11/2024 at 7:25 AM, Paul Kosnik said:

Josh a word of caution--with the popularity of Blue LED photobleaching and H2O2 bleaching in recent years, CGC is working overtime in an attempt to make sure comic books are appropriately labeled so prospective buyers can reasonably expect that any work done to a book is disclosed to them prior to any purchase.  The problem is that there are not definitive non-destructive tests for detecting either of these methods.  So CGC uses a number of clues to infer if one of these procedures has been used and then grades the comic accordingly, which can include Universal, Conserved, and Restored labels.  This leaves room for interpretation which of course is subjective and sometimes incorrect.  They are doing an admirable job sorting out many books that have been bleached, but it's possible that comics with exceptionally white pages would be flagged for possible restoration.  

If you do decide to send it for cross-grading, good luck and please share the restyle with us!

This is all true, and an unsettling trend. However, I believe most of these peroxo-bleachers are doing the cover, not the internal pages. In fact, that is one of the ways CGC is flagging it... an unnaturally white cover paired with internal pages that are toned.

It can, especially on dark colors. Pressing a light break flat can make the break wider and slightly more prominent. It depends on the severity of the break. In this case, it appears the paper fiber is lightly broken (even if the color is not.) This may press flat, but there will always be a fine disruption to the surface of the paper. 

On 4/11/2024 at 8:10 AM, Paul Kosnik said:

Objectively it's better, yes, but this presser left a lot on the table.  The spine roll should be fixed, and the creasing can be improved further.

That said, i would not do all of the work this book needs for $15.  It takes a lot of time, care, and experience to do this properly, so i think you got what you paid for.

Right. For $15 you'll get a one and done and out of the press as soon as it cools. Probably no dry cleaning or spot ironing.

I'm not sure I get it. So Goldin Auctions will continue to be branded Goldin, but they will use ebay as their auction platform?

On 4/10/2024 at 11:40 AM, Sigur Ros said:

Goldin is scum. 

What makes you say that?

On 4/9/2024 at 11:45 AM, RockMyAmadeus said:

 

If the point is that TPAs make mistakes, "fakeautographs" is using a misleading example.

The seller "fakeautographs" is referring to is a Chinese seller who offers fakes with COUNTERFEIT Beckett stickers. Beckett is not certifying the fakes. Chinese knockoff slabs and stickers are a problem, but usually easily identifiable especially when coming from a Chinese seller with hundreds of items at 1/10th typical FMV. 

The stain on the back cover is going to knock it down. Plus, it's evident from the back spine there are a lot of transverse creases that appear to break paper fiber. These may press flat, but the break will always be there. And there are fingerprints in the black that may or may not be able to be fully removed.

I'd be surprised if it went higher than 8.0.

Is the glue now fully pulled away? If it is no longer performing any function to hold the cover on, it may be possible it won't get PLOD. 

I'm in.

On 3/29/2024 at 1:26 PM, KCOComics said:

Comic book related topics I've admitted to being wrong on: 

1)  Hero Restoration has a great reputation, I would use them with confidence. 

2) Guys,  Dylan is just a kid. He'll grow out of this and prove to be a valuable member of our community. 

3) Circa 2011ish $1600 for a JIM83??? Its too common! Once the movie hype dies down the price will plummet!! 

4) Everyone settle down, I'm sure Mike is facing hard times and will be back on his feet and doing the right thing in no time! 

5) High School me...  Spawn 1 will be the next AF15! I'm going to buy 10 copies and start counting the money!! 

I'm guilty on #1 and #4. 

That said, I considered Mike a "internet friend" who I had known for 10+ years...  and what kind of person does not to give a friend the benefit of the doubt at the beginning?

Seeing conspiracies and scams lurking in every shadow isn't a good approach either, although it makes for better message board drama. They trick is finding the right balance... prudent skepticism vs the sky is always falling.  

On 3/28/2024 at 5:15 PM, shadroch said:

I had a hard time getting life insurance in my forties as I was very overweight, smoked, drank, with high blood pressure and had a bad family history. I heard an ad from a guy named Big Lou who claimed he could get insurance for people like us, and he did. I got a million-dollar policy and a second key-person policy for the business. 

He still advertises, but I dropped the insurance years ago. His rates were great when I used him.  If and when you pay off your mansion, 3X salary should be plenty if it is just your wife.

Haha. The Big Lou life insurance ads are the best!

”Smoke? Overweight? Got a touch of sugar diabetes? Call Big Lou… he’s on meds, too!”

On 3/27/2024 at 2:50 PM, Lazyboy said:

So it's totally legitimate and not at all suspicious to give out three different email addresses?

It's suspicious superficially until you understand that Flake is Randy and Cantina is his associate. So, one person has two email addresses and a second person has one. I probably should not admit I have four email addresses that sometimes I get mixed up and use interchangeably. 

But by all means, people should continue mindlessly posting dumb shill memes every time Flake posts... it's super entertaining and has been helpful in resolving the matter at hand. 

On 3/28/2024 at 3:02 PM, BrashL said:

You forgot option D: Bronze and Modern will be graded on a different scale going forward and this is just the start. If that's the case then yes, that's a sea change.

I think Option D is a giant leap and requires a lot of assumptions.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. 

Whether it was a "gift 9.9" for a high profile submitter, a PR stunt or an honest to goodness 9.9, does it have any affect on 99.99% of the collecting community? 

On 3/27/2024 at 9:45 AM, Neo "The One" said:

All off this Cloak and Dagger stuff started because of Mike and his behavior.  No one knew who to trust and if there were 'plants' on this board (as apparently there were on the older locked post).  What I'm starting to wonder is that everyone pointing at FLAKE has an ulterior motive.  What's the point of sewing mistrust here?  Doesn't do anything to move this forward.  

100%. At this point, intentionally or not, the shill drumbeat about flake/cantina is likely doing more harm than good -- that is, potentially disrupting certain efforts to organize victims.