romanheart

Yes, but it won't be 9.8 Anything key-worthy seems to be spiking. I'm not sure most books can stay below $100 for much longer.

Hmm, maybe ASM 361 in NM or MOS 17 9.8

For what it's worth that looks like shipping really did a number on it I can't see CGC sending out like that.

Bought a NM Great Grape Ape 1 book from him. Book was great and arrived safely!

Glad you won the books anyway.

Unreasonable shipping prices and more competition between big money buyers have already soured many.

I'm suggesting they should change their software. Big $ books can cause big $ lawsuits.

The part I don't really like is indicating he won but then saying he didn't. That would bother any buyer and put them on an unsafe legal footing. Better to halt all possibles responses, explain the extended bidding, and then send out winning emails when there can be no harm.

For what purpose? If for investment purposes, then you have to be good at deciding what to order. You need to pick the best titles to go in on, what retailer incentives you want and how many copies you want to take get them. Even some big shops say no to the number of book orders to get that incentive. Drek piles up fast and space becomes an issue. If you're a collector who has that kind of money and spends it anyway, well I can't argue there.

I don't know. Outage or no, I wouldn't extend bidding if you get a message saying you "won". I don't care if the message is automated or not. That to me says it's over.

I am sensing another Marvel ASM reboot with the sales on that title around 54k in August.

Unrelated to other current posts but interesting to point out... the other day I bought a Halloween accessory on eBay. I searched for only those items from North America. Shipping seemed reasonable and the item location on the listing led me to believe the item was in the USA. However at checkout time the item origin indicated Hong Kong/China/Taiwan next to the shipping price. What gives with the misdirection?

I prefer raw books personally. Some books that you really want to be sure of the grade you can get slabbed. However if you buy from a reputable dealer at their stated grade, it should be good enough.

True enough. I talked to their representative at Stan Lee's desk back in Fan Expo 2016 and he started off by telling it was going to be "at least $xx amount of money to have it graded", and you had to do this and that to get it done. He seemed like he was doing anything to keep from doing any kind of paperwork to make his life easier. I chanced upon the competitor grading company at the show and they told me exactly the costs, what I had to do, how long it would take, and whether I wanted pressing done. A totally easy transaction by comparison. CGC should have a good talk with them as it clearly cost them business in my case. fyi - I know AC is or was a member on the boards.

They are only a go between cgc/cbcs and their customers , so I dealt with the grading company directly and the tracking invoice given. They knew where the book was and how long it took. The wait time for me was pressing + grading + however long it took for them to hand it the graders. Around 6 months for me. My only interaction with the representative in person left much to be desired. I’m 100% sure you’ll get your books back.

They are notoriously slow and can stand some improvement in their customer service. I eventually got my comic back.

Great Grape Ape 1 NM -- $13

Love con reports. Glad you had a good time. I actually have not been to one all year. It's probably the reason I have a little more spending money

I just got a response from the Sparkle City owner that I posted damaging comments about his store, etc.... Anyway the original thread has been recovered so you can read for yourself how/why he got banned and if it was deserved. I mentioned to him I wasn't the only other person thinking the grades on the scans were off and that he can state his case on here if thinks otherwise. Frankly, I don't want to get in any tit-for-tat since my only purchase from them was actually a decent one. I do like how we share our experiences with sellers on these boards as it helps a lot.

I'm not sure I will ever make this club

I was trying to dig up the old thread on Sparkle City Comics but google and the forum search doesn't bring up anything. I usually find these threads but this time it's like it's been purged. Back in the day, Sparkle City had the greatest slabbed offerings which ran every week. Then their offerings have become mainly raw. I asked the same question at the time about their raw books and was very puzzled at their stated grades. They weren't always as off as they are now. I have bought a raw book from them and have been satisfied before the grading downturn. I do recall one board member complaining about a book he bought that had resto (colour touch or some such thing inside) and asked for a return. This led to him being subsequently being banned from bidding further with them. For slabbed books, you can't go wrong. For raw books, you need to bid according to what you think the stated grade is. If resto is an issue for you, well you take your chances.

It's like being blinded by a powerful light.

I recall a seller asking me to buy an item for a set price outside of eBay, for an item I inquired about. So, I'm certain it happens a lot.

I think you can always find titles where the art is decent or very good, but the writing.... oh... the people!