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Mr. Zipper
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Posts posted by Mr. Zipper
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Books that overall appear to be high grade, but have one prevailing defect like a stain are always the toughest to grade IMO. Does the grade drop to a certain level simply because it has a moderate stain, or do you start at the grade without the stain and deduct from there? I suspect it's the latter.
Assuming it's around 9.0-9.2 without the stain, I'd knock off a point or so and call it a 7.5/8.0.
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Whether it's an arrival date or unrelated writing, I don't think it will have any effect at this grade level. Nice book. 7.0/7.5
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Wow. Kudos to the presser. I would have thought there was a bit too much "touch" to the corners for a 9.8... they must have flattened up nicely.
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6.5 due to top edge overhang and the rounded bottom right corner.
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7.0. Nice looking book.
This issue is commonly miscut... the top is narrower than the bottom.
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On 1/18/2024 at 11:29 AM, seanlinc said:
Haha youtube of course where people learn how to do everything. Actually I'd always used card stock between the cover and teflon sheet but with some particularly bad creasing I'd upped the amount of steam and didn't use the card stock paper. It worked wonders on the creases but obviously increased the chances of this.
In my experience, the majority of YouTube video are examples of what not to do. Way too many yahoos crushing and toasting books and taking shortcuts. They show the finished products and they are wavy as hell.
You need to be able to discern the wheat from the chaff.
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It seems common sense to me that you can't use a textured sheet (teflon cloth) against the surface of a book being pressed -- of course the woven texture of the cloth is going to be pressed into the paper.
I'm curious where people are learning to press.
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On 1/17/2024 at 9:05 AM, jas1vans said:
The longer a story goes, the more likely that it's false. The truth takes but a few words.
Exactly. In my professional authentication I have learned that authenticity is often inversely proportional to the length of the story. Burying in BS is a common tactic to lend false veracity.
Mike could be selling books (intentionally or accidentally) and the story is 90% troll BS. Both of these things could be true at the same time.
- KCOComics, Steviehuv66, Sauce Dog and 1 other
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On 1/15/2024 at 7:55 PM, CAHokie said:
Obviously this is a huge bomb of a first post, so a few questions.
How did you know to come here and post this?
Do you have anything to confirm this information?
Can you let us see the dates and times that the messages were sent? Obviously with no numbers, dates, or times showing, the above screenshots could have been made this morning.
Sorry to be a skeptic but this type of thing would be tempting for some trying to rile things up.
I could be wrong, but I am skeptical. The story is so over the top and perfectly scripted to throw red meat at every previous speculation.
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I'm usually spot on on my estimations and I fully expected this would get a 6.5. It's really clean with great eye appeal and the reader's crease is light and blends in... but CGC did hammer it for the crease.
Gold star to @fast eddie for the first correct guess.
CGC 6.0. I can't complain.. I bought it 25 years ago for $100. 
- scburdet and fast eddie
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Received at CGC 12/26 and shipped today. Care to guess the grade?
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The FF 48 has been graded by CGC. Anyone care to guess the grade?
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On 12/30/2023 at 12:39 AM, L'Angelo Misterioso said:Also, as a young guy (20s) who's green in this hobby, I'm shocked at how charitable (and dare I say passive) some people here have been along the way, even in the formative stages when it was already evident the guy is a crook and had no intention of completing the restoration jobs and returning books and cash
There are also the people who have long-term perspective and know that Mike has been a part of this community for a long time, and ran his business for nearly a decade without any impropriety. Most people don’t turn into criminals at age 55.
Those people were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, thinking he made some bad decisions and had some health problems, but would turn things around.
When I was in my 20s, I was probably more of a “hang em at dawn mob” guy too. When you’re in your 50s, hopefully you have a little more empathy, wisdom and emotional intelligence.
i’m still hoping against hope that everyone gets their books back and this matter can be resolved sooner rather than later. I would be shocked if Mike was actually selling peoples books. If he was doing that, he wouldn’t be in the financial trouble that he’s in.
He needs to be held accountable, and people need their possessions back. After that, I hope he can recover and live a long healthy life. That said, I’m sure there are some who read this and interpret it as being weak and soft and making excuses for him. Whatever.
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On 12/29/2023 at 11:29 AM, shadroch said:
I picture him sitting on a beach in the Caymans, reading your post while sipping champagne. I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect this turd will never see the inside of a courtroom, let alone a jail cell.
Nah. That only happens in James Bond movies.
Most criminals are greedy losers who aren't that smart, blow all the money and live week to week. There is no Caribbean escape plan. He's crapping his pants in a dumpy apartment in Queens.
- Point Five, Gator Guru and brute_nm
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There's a lot of speculation about legal process... civil vs. criminal... how the process will play out etc., etc. The reality is this:
If CGC uses their corporate resources to come after the perpetrator civilly, he won't stand a chance. It will cost him tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) in legal fees before it ever got to court. All this stuff about discovery, etc etc is just blather. Unless the defendant is wealthy, he won't have the resources to take it that far. He'll have to settle.
If CGC uses their private investigator to gather the evidence and it is turned over to authorities for criminal prosecution, the results will likely be the same... some sort of plea / settlement.
I take great comfort knowing that the turd that did this had a lousy Christmas and probably hasn't slept in weeks. Even if he doesn't spend a day in jail, his life has been turned upside down and the next few years will be a nightmare of uncertainty and financial ruin.
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On 12/28/2023 at 10:19 PM, agamoto said:
Actually, I take it back, it does look like the same book, just different lighting catching the top edge and washing out the white around the price. Note the nick in the spine to the immediate left of the girl's wrist. With the top edge wear and that abraded corner, how the eff did this score so high?
Yes, they are the same book. The two spine ticks are identical. Any difference is due to different lighting.
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On 12/28/2023 at 4:26 PM, agamoto said:
I mentioned this in another thread, but I'll add it here.
The CGC response does not cut it. There are federal crimes happening here, likely well into the 6 figures, and that's just ONE person. It is the FBI's job to investigate such crimes and I want to hear CGC tell us. CGC needs to be honest with us AND itself. The issue with their holder and their process means that MANY individuals may have been taking advantage of the loopholes and the fraud could be 10 or 100 times more.
CGC has no authority to ask eBay for sales data, user data, IP addresses, previous ID's... They can't get at instagram posts. They can't look at paypal records, facebook marketplace records, etc. Hiring a private investigator and outside counsel doesn't cut it.
You need to call in the FBI so they can investigate this fraud against CGC AND consumers fully. Only they can get at the full breadth of data that needs to be considered here. That includes examining CGC themselves for possible inside connections that helped this perp, or others to facilitate this fraud.
I believe your expectations are unrealistically high. The FBI doesn't drop everything and come charging in for consumer fraud cases. It would be many months for them to even look at it, and then many more months, if not years, investigating. IF... and that is a big IF... they opted to pursue it at all. I have knowledge of an auction house that perpetrated millions of dollars of fraud and a boatload of evidence was handed to the FBI on a silver platter. Two years later they decided NOT to pursue it. Frankly, I'd be shocked if they gave two turds about comic book cases being swapped out.
- carcrawfordfan, Iconic1s and MAR1979
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On 12/28/2023 at 12:25 PM, jsilverjanet said:
why is the word "expect" in bold
It was a copy and paste from a lawyer's redline and they didn't match the font color. Probably said "will" before.
- THE_BEYONDER and brute_nm
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On 12/28/2023 at 12:25 PM, Buzzetta said:
Is the Jordan rookie still the most counterfeited card? I remember being incredibly nervous when I had mine graded.
Jordan is probably near or at the top. I am not a card collector, but I watch the market. They are even faking the high tech refractor cards, uniform swatch cards, etc etc. and the fakes are so good they are getting past PSA on occasion.
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On 12/28/2023 at 12:12 PM, Buzzetta said:They have though. Sports market continues to grow.
Sports card holder tampering is a bit tougher to do by the way since to get in there you actually have to destroy the card slab. Cards are obviously smaller so there is not a lot of surface space to work with, without risking damage to the card. Only way I know to get a card out of a PSA slab is to physically break through it which immediately shatters the whole thing in chunks.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+break+open+a+psa+card
No one should use the card market as an exemplar of confidence, safety and lack of fraud. Sheesh... there are counterfeit Chinese PSA slabs on the market with counterfeit cards... trimmed and doctored cards are rampant... it goes on and on and makes this issue look like small potatoes in comparison.
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When there is money involved, criminals will always be seeking to hack the system. CGC will always need to build a better mousetrap, which according to their statement, they have. No system will EVER be foolproof. But you can place countermeasures to make the barriers to entry to fraud as high as possible.
I agree that the best solutions are often the simplest and likely "analog." Things like this would likely stop almost all potential swap-outs:
- Photos of slabbed books
- Matching serial number on inner well
- A dot of permanent adhesive in the corner posts
You need to be able to discern the wheat from the chaff.
CGC 4.5
PGM Daredevil 2
in Hey buddy, can you spare a grade?
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Looking at this a second time, the right open edge concerns me. On the expanded photo it looks a little rough/abraded and wavy. It could just be an optical illusion, but I hope it's not trimmed.