Mr. Zipper

The reputation is comparable to PSA. It’s like all hobby politics… People have their favorites. But JSA is undeniably in the top three with PSA and Beckett.

If you are asking if the Dynamic Forces Jack Kirbys will pass JSA authentication, the answer is “no.”

JSA and PSA both started with a primary focus in sports 20 years ago. Since then they have generalized and authenticate a wide range of fields now. The same with Beckett (BAS) who certifies for CBCS.

If we are thinking of the same situation, it was PGX that "authenticated" a bunch of fake Ditkos, Lees, Kirbys, etc. And you are correct, there are plenty of people who would fake a signature on any comic if it meant boosting the potential value thousands of dollars.

I believe this will be a two way street that fills a gap for each company: JSA will authenticate unwitnessed signatures for CGC submissions, and CGC will be able to encapsulate autograph submissions to JSA. Currently JSA is the only one of the big three autograph authenticators (JSA, PSA and Beckett) that does not offer slabbing. In full transparency, I am a consultant for JSA but have no inside knowledge into this matter.

I was under the impression that page color does not affect grade until you get to tan and 9.8 can be cream. However, given the chart posted above and doubled checked in the CGC Grading Guide, apparently 9.8 cannot be cream. I wonder if this has changed. I would have sworn I have seen 9.8 with cream pages.

It's a mistake to think that grading is a derived from a mathematical formula or there are flaws that absolutely limit grade, e.g., if it has a piece out over x size, it can't grade higher than y. Grading is a science AND an art, and overall eye appeal weighs heavily. Granted, the X-Men 1 CGC 4.5 is not a strong 4.5, but I also think it's not unrealistic. Overall eye appeal is decent, no significant creasing and it's fairly bright. And I do think major keys are sometimes graded on a slight curve.

You're wrong. I've been about 90% accurate on 9.6 vs 9.8 in my submissions. In the simplest terms, a 9.8 "looks" perfect at arms' length (even though it will have a subtle flaw on close exam). At arm's length, you can see a tiny flaw on a 9.6 such as a spine tick, a tiny touch to a corner, etc.

There does appear to be some light scuffing in bottom right, but I can't tell for sure if it's on comic or the plastic holder. Was this comic dry cleaned? Scuffing can be very light, almost imperceptible, lines in the ink that don't break color. Sometimes dry cleaning that is a little too heavy handed can do it.

I think this is a fair point. And the proof of the pudding is that dealers who are known to have really tight, CGC quality grading, often get close to slabbed prices for their raw books.

Of course it is. The reason the limit is what it is is because at one time, the government couldn't be bothered with chasing down taxes from people selling off odds and ends. It was a mulligan with no expectation or enforcement that Grandpa had to report his income from the old fishing rods he sold at a garage sale or unloading his stamp collection. Then the government gave away trillion$ of pandemic payments and needed a cash grab, hence the lowering of the limit from $20,000 to $600. (Sounds like a totally reasonable modification, right? ) So that is the objection. A draconian shift in the limits and then the expectation that casual sellers/collectors have to suddenly start behaving like a business at tax time with receipts, expenses, etc. etc. All with no paperwork to support decades worth of hobby purchases. There is always the sanctimonious finger wagging from the few who apparently document and report every nickel they made at a yard sale. I couldn't care less what they think -- the holier-than-thou are usually the biggest cheats and phonies.

Yet Mile High Chuck was wrong 66% of the time.

This is all true, but it overlooks a key contingent of the market: investors. Professional grading brought in specu-investors who will never know (or care) how to grade, detect restoration, etc. Going back to pre-CGC era likely means losing that segment of the market. It doesn't matter much to me if they all went away, but there would be hobby-wide consequences. I'm a firm believer in rising water floats all boats.

This. It's a ridiculous administrative headache for most collectors. As a collector who has bought comics and other collectibles for 40+ years and rarely sold, I don't have paperwork for 95% of what I've bought. I assume most collectors are the same. For big purchases in the past 20 years, I kept a spreadsheet. That's it. When it comes time to sell, I have no idea how I will be able to establish cost basis that would meet with the approval of the IRS. With any luck this 1099-K nonsense will be killed or kicked down the road indefinitely. That, or a find a dealer/collector who will pay cash when the times comes.

Right. The Flake / Cantina shill armchair detectives are doing far more to derail and obfuscate than anyone else. Just stop already. They are not Mike.

I don't get the people who see CGC as the primary bad actor in this drama as opposed to the actual scam artist criminals who hacked the system. YES... CGC should have been more diligent. YES... the system was flawed. YES, CGC needs to fix processes. YES, CGC should make victims whole. But blaming and lashing out at them more than the actual criminals is just It's like blaming a poorly trained bank guard for a heist rather then the perpetrators.

Right. Seal Press would be way more. TUSY press is fine, but assumed pros would use a commercial heavy duty equipment like Seal.

I believe this is being interpreted incorrectly. Under assets of the business, he lists $2,000 in comic books. That would not be customer books because they are not an asset of the business. He doesn't own them. He was probably including his personal books as an asset of the business. What's truly puzzling is that he does list assets of the business as: Hero Restorations, LLC Assets: Total $3063 Umpqua Business bank account $113 5 presses: $150 x 5 = $750 computer $200 comic books $2000 At the time (summer 2020), turnaround times for pressing were 6 - 8 months. Business was coming in faster than it could be handled, yet there is $113 in the bank? FIVE presses is all he had? In his personal checking account he had ONE dollar? None of this adds up or passes any smell test.

Fascinating.

It was and I don't fault him for that. However, given how he promoted HR and his videos continue to promote HR, you'd think he would drop a video on this topic to alert his viewers, many of whom may be victims. If he has done so, I'll stand corrected. (I would like to vilify him however for being so annoying. How can anyone sit through a 20-minute video of this guy? )

Comic Tom also tagged HR in many of his Instagram posts, which still exist. So much so that it makes me wonder if there was some sort of endorsement deal.

The guy who was running the NJ office was all over the Instagram, which is now deleted. I distinctly recall something on the HR site that indicated C&P books went to NJ and other work went to Mike in Oregon. Then, there was a some sort of dustup on some FB groups about books coming back to a client that appeared as if they were never cleaned and pressed. The guy from the NJ office disputed this and online drama ensued. I believe it was not too long after that the NJ office closed without explanation. I believe this was in 2022. In retrospect, I suspect that was a canary in the coal mine.

I would assume it was a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA), which would be invalid for criminal or tortious activity. They only are enforceable for trade secrets, client lists... stuff like that.

The 2020 bankruptcy is puzzling. At that time, pressing submissions were taking many months due to massive demand, prices went up and he opened a new office in NJ to handle C&P. If I recall, the Oregon office was focusing on restoration work. In short, money should have been pouring over the transom in mid-2020. Has anyone contacted former employees? I can't recall the name of the guy who ran the NJ pressing office, but he was active on social media. Is it possible there are books somewhere in NJ?

I believe this is likely the case. Folks have to bear in mind that the vast majority of HR business was run-of-the-mill clean and press. Many (including myself) used his C&P service with no problems. This is how he built a good reputation. For the complex restoration he was obviously in way over his head. That was the ticking time bomb.