Mr. Zipper

Serious question. Are there newsstand editions that are indistinguishable from direct editions? If not, what value does the notation on the CGC label add if it is stating the obvious? Are there collectors who will pay more for a slabbed "newsstand" copy because it has the label notation?

Does CGC have an arrangement that waives the FedEx $1,000 maximum on collectibles? FedEx will happily take your money for high insurance coverage, but if you file a claim, the maximum is $1,000 for "collectibles." FedEx Declared Value $1,000 Limitations Individual packages with the following items are limited to a maximum declared value of $1,000: Artwork, paintings, drawings, vases, limited-edition prints, fine art, statuary, sculpture, and collector’s items Any film, photographic images, negatives, chromes, and slides Any commodity inherently susceptible to damage or the market value is variable or difficult to ascertain Antiques, furniture, tableware, and glassware Plasma screens Jewelry or Furs Precious metals (gold, silver, or platinum) Stocks, bonds, cash letters, or cash equivalents (stamps, traveler’s checks, lottery tickets, money orders, gift cards) Collector’s items (coins, stamps, sports cards, souvenirs, and memorabilia)

This is what I've been waiting for over a year for? Cripes... these look like junk boards Chuckster from Mile High uses. Interestingly, BCW now claims to have the 3% calcium carbonate buffering in their boards, but they are only 24pt vs the thicker Fullbacks. May be worth experimenting with two in a bag. Bags Unlimited has an all white board that seems comparable to Fullbacks in archival quality and thickness, but the price is eye popping.

Thanks again to Jon for a fun contest.

I sense your idea of "exploitation" may be different than others. I worked crappy jobs with low pay and awful bosses. I didn't whine about being "exploited." I just got a new job that made me happier. You choose to be happy or not.

Everyone gripes about their job or boss from time to time. Who doesn't want to make more? But I truly believe most people enjoy the people they work with and feel some sense of accomplishment or appreciation at the end of the day. That is what makes or breaks a job. If you are miserable all the time and feel exploited, that is a YOU problem, not a societal problem. Time to get another job or work for yourself.

You must be a beacon of positive vibes around the water cooler.

What does living wage mean? The means to raise a family, buy a house, buy a car and save? If so, what is the incentive to work hard and excel if every low level non-skilled job was subsidized? At one time, jobs at the McDonalds drive through and Kwikee Mart were meant for high school kids scrapping for extra bucks for movie night. When did a McDonalds drive through worker become an appropriate job for a breadwinner of a family? What the hell happened to create this type of thinking?

Pure generalization, but here goes... Gen X here. We came out of college expecting to have to work a lousy low level jobs and slowly work you way up. It was called "paying your dues." I had my share of awful jobs with tyrannical bosses with low pay. I had to have apartment roommates to make ends meet. I had basic cable, a wall phone, a used car and a lot of pasta with Ragu sauce. But, I worked hard and eventually rose above and started landing decent jobs. Today, I work with and supervise millennials including college interns. Generally speaking we hire bright and ambitious people. I have learned from them and hopefully they have leaned a thing or two from me. That said, they do seem to have higher expectations coming out of college. They do not want to get their hands dirty and there is no such thing as "paying your dues." They expect to walk out of college and land a $100k+ job with an office. They want all the flashy toys pronto and Grubhub every night. In all fairness, the cost of college is absolutely ridiculous these days as I am learning with my teenage daughter. They need to find and fix the root of the problem: the cost of college and high interest loans. Why are we still buying hard copy textbooks for $1000 a semester? It's a racket. Gimmick giveaways don't fix anything, but just sets an expectation there will be another one down the road.

Great point. The Jungle....

I see a lot of 3.0s... Possible, but it does retain a good deal of eye appeal despite the accumulation of edgewear and light soiling. The center mass looks good. I would say 3.5, but I would not be shocked if this got a 4.0 from CGC these days.

1.0... 1.5 at best with large chunks of cover missing. You're wasting money with a clean and press. It will not improve grade or appearance and may further damage the fragile semi-split spine.

In my experience, the benefit of a top tier school is the networking, not the actual education. A few years out of "state college," I worked on Wall Street and most of my colleagues were Ivy League educated. They weren't any smarter than me and didn't do a better job than me. But they had connections and got promoted much faster. They spent Saturdays golfing in Connecticut with their Dad's friends: CEOs and judges. I spent Saturdays fishing with my dad. I've done ok and I wouldn't trade my younger days for anything... especially not a few dollars more. That said, the gap has become so wide between private and public schools, I doubt it's worth the difference. A state school education + strong work ethic + emotional intelligence and you will do just fine.

It seems to me that the eBay (and now Beckett) vaults were likely designed with slabbed cards in mind. You know, the endless modern "1 of 1" cards of rookies who have never played a minute in the bigs that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars these days? Frankly, to the people who trade in them, those cards are no different than precious metals, crypto or stocks. It's an asset to be traded. Not a sentimental collectible to be handled. Granted there are plenty of speculative elements to comic collecting, but we're still way behind the curve compared to these modern card "investors."

I was one grade under on all three books. At least I'm consistent.

I’m in if there’s a spot.

While it does have an accumulation of small to moderate flaws, it still presents very well and is structurally solid. I would give it a 4.0. I think anything below that is too low. But based on what I’ve seen in the latest grading contest, it’s entirely possible this could be a CGC 6.5.

Yes that’ll still work, but what I’m saying is because they shortened the characters in the search you typically don’t have the space to fine-tune anymore. You might get title and issue numbers but then run out of space before you can add other qualifiers.

The old ebay search was much more powerful. It was longer, which allowed the space for more fine tuning like excluding certain words, etc. A typical add on I used was "-(CGG, PGX)" I guess all those long automated searches were taking up too much horsepower at ebay.

Speaking of saved searches... How many have saved searches for years and the searches have an item that keeps coming up that has been unsold for many years? I have been tempted to buy it and destroy simply so I never had to see it again. I wish there was a way to click on a specific item and exclude it going forward.

5.0

A solid 8.5 due primarily to the color breaking spine stresses. Possibly a 9.0 on a good day. Unless there are dents not visible in the photos, a C&P will not raise the technical grade. The light dirt on BC is acceptable at this grade. I wouldn't waste my time or money on pressing it.

Grades submitted. I took the "gut reaction" approach this time. I looked at the books once... the only one that I looked at the supersized image was Supernatural Thriller. Oh yes, and I rounded up if in doubt.

A 5.0 with a corner missing (I gave it 4.0) ... and that 181 is about the weakest 6.5 I've ever seen. It looks like it has a poke hole in the upper right edge! (I gave it 5.5). On the Four Color, I thought the bottom right was a corner chip. I have it at 7.5. I am still undergrading even when I take the "round up" approach. The GI Combat looks way better than 4.0 relative to these other books. In a short contest, all it takes is one bad round and you're done. And I'm done.

Bear in mind there are several ways to clean a cover. The two primary ways are dry cleaning (eraser, cloth wipe, etc.), and wet cleaning (a solvent application or bath where the cover may be removed.) Wet cleaning should be noted because it is considered restoration by most collectors and CGC. Wet cleaning can often leave tell tale signs like altered cover texture, signs of cover removal, etc. Dry cleaning, if done properly, is not detectable. That said, aggressive and improper dry cleaning that leaves erasure marks and color loss will get the flaws noted in the grader notes and downgraded accordingly.