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Sauce Dog

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Everything posted by Sauce Dog

  1. Yeah, I do agree with you 100% the business is fully responsible for the state it is in now, regardless of what has happened. I know he is no longer taking any new orders that are not pressing (so no restoration/conservation. Not sure of grading submissions though), but the extent of the pressing backlog is unknown to me (or if he has other people working on it). Communication is the biggest thing that needs to be addressed on his side, as most I'm sure would be understanding with the delays and situation if he just communicated expectations and timelines to everyone in a transparent (and timely) manner - doing otherwise only leads people to become more angry and makes the entire operation feel like a screw-job.
  2. Once again, I don't know the details of the AF15, I'm just conveying the experiences and going-ons that I do know of recently. He does have an obligation to return all property (obviously), but how long it takes and the legal recourse each person has depends on the contracts they agreed to when starting the project (If you sent him a major key I recommend you gather up everything you have in writing, specifically timelines and most importantly payment obligations). I'm aware of several major keys that are in process of restoration, and still need work done, so if he was to return them now they would be in an incomplete state (which some customers are demanding full refunds on, so I'm assuming both sides are fighting this - this isn't my experience personally but I totally get why this would become a frustration problem for everyone involved and ain't my fight, nor can I defend anything I have no knowledge on). When I submitted one of my first book he was clear it could take several years for restoration, so that expectation was already set for me on that project, though in the recent books case it is now exceeding the time frame we initially discussed and am having to keep on him to finish it.
  3. There is some truth here, and I will also add another 'possible' issue of cash flow: Not being paid in full at the start of a job, doing the work but it taking much longer than expected, and then the client NOT wanting to pay thousands of $$$ since it is late now and demanding the book back (either before completion or after fully complete, either way...work isn't paid for).
  4. Once again, I'm not at liberty to explain some of the reasons why packaging and mailing books out doesn't happen on schedule (but the reason for it to me is very valid, and I am personally very sympathetic in this specific case, this doesn't help anyone here but for me I get it and can look past it on my books and invoices). I'm just telling you all what I know (well, what I can share comfortably at least with strangers), your frustrations are all valid though and should keep pushing to get your items back as however best way you think works for you.
  5. I'm just sharing what I know, as maybe the only person here that has direct line and experience with his operations. What you "know" is from others being disappointed and posting online, which is fair & valid, but that ain't worth much either on the internet nor does it paint anything close to a complete story (which I'm trying to offer some info to all here to fill some holes) Him failing to get books out when he says so isn't necessarily lying, just horrible business practice and management. Still fair to be pissed at that, but I've seen no evidence of actual theft yet other than people saying things being super late counts as theft.
  6. Yeah I honestly think the solutions for many involved here, in order to feel secure in their property, will be different depending on the circumstance - so I am very hesitate to give out suggestions on what else to do beyond 'keep waiting' (which I know isn't much good to those already frustrated with the experience) but totally get that reaching out to insurance might be ones best option. I do recognize that my situation is very different from other paying customers though, as everything I have out with him is being done in exchange for past work rendered (so I technically don't have money invested at this point, only time, and one book he still has in his possession that I have received slow updates on and know it is being worked on when possible)
  7. Lots of stuff going on in this thread, lots of it outright bonkers wrong, so I'll try to shed some light on it. I've used Mike for restoration a few times, specifically as trade for my services as his web developer on a few projects. I've never met him in person, but have spoken with him over the phone regarding the business. He had MAJOR issues with the staff, including some of the senior staff that was causing billing issues and racking up massive hours for work they were doing while not finishing the work on time and to quality (my book was one of the ones impacted), and thus had to be let go leaving him without key roles that he now has to also juggle personally. This all came right after he was able to expand and open the new location, which caused a countless amount of issues - both financial and stressful, culminating in his heart attack that left him unable to work for weeks. This impacted many projects, mainly the long term major restoration projects (one of which is mine that has been with him since 2020), and as a result he is no longer taking on ANY restoration work - the only work being taken on is pressing which can use to keep the lights on while catching up on everything else. The brand new equipment all purchased for the new location was a huge investment, much of it custom built for it, and has to be liquidated just to keep afloat (I know this because he offered it to me, but unfortunately while I would have jumped at the chance I live out of the country and also in a smaller apartment that can't fit a massive suction/wash table of my dreams). Likewise, due to him having to take on so many key roles and financially strapped he is unable to train new people for the roles. Between a rock and a hard place. Oh, and he also got royally screwed over by his other web developer that was hired after I did initial work (and then I later came back to help salvage the damage done) He has already been threatened with lawsuits by at least one client wanting their book back, which I cannot get into, but will say yes it is justified to be angry but there is zero theft going on (I never hear of any other stuff like the AF15 in this thread before, maybe it was before my time?) - sure you can be pedantic and say not mailing things back in a timely manner is theft, but he is simply overwhelmed and cannot manage the planning of both pressing, packaging up / scheduling returns himself that well (there are other things impacting this which I once again do not feel I have the right to disclose - suffice to say though once I learned about them everything made sense why returns were not happening as easy as one would expect). It sucks lots of our books are super late and delayed, but he is actively trying to do right and get books done and back to clients. Nobody has lost their books or been ripped off, they are just stuck in bog of someones worst misfortune of their lives. He is trying to restructure the business in order to only pivot to pressing (this is where I come in, I have been helping Mike with web work for years now) but even that is a slow grind due to just trying to keep his head above water (he also has another surgery coming up which he has been prepping for and delaying things...so big major work has been pushed to be picked back up this fall) The dog eating chickens most likely is true, I know he raises chickens as well as a hobby...and my parents lost many a chicks as well to the family dog.
  8. Nah, do what you like. Go for it, just don't put some crazy expectation on when you will have it all collected by (perfectly fine to make this a lifelong hunt). I would offer you my absolute lowest and affordable, but great looking, BB#28 CGC 0.5...but the market for it is so low right now it doesn't make sense for me to do anything but sit on it until another movie or something pumps it back up (and I want to get rid of it, as I don't collect em). Feels wrong to sell a BB28 for $500-700.
  9. That would be twelve issues of non-stop cop killing.
  10. I agree, they did not have to loose both books once they arrived at their facilities - requiring the customer to stay on top of tracking the TAT, spending much time dealing with support calls over the course of several months, and also appeasing the client who owned one of those books.
  11. They lost two big Golden Age books I had submitted for over a year, they just got lost in the shuffle and only when I inquired about them (after already giving it a few extra months) did they realize what had happened and launched in inquiry. They eventually found them both though and credited my account a small amount to make up for it.
  12. Still the worst tagline ever. Here's hoping they kill off a few of em this time (might be good to have Lundgren go out in a giant blaze of glory considering his health)
  13. This is how to do a proper follow up to JW4. Let the movies explores other characters now, but milk the John Wick character via video games that can take place easily at any point in the timeline (and also not worry about lessening the impact of his arc and the events in JW4).
  14. This totally counts a pre-code purchase...I commissioned some new pinup art based on my favourite GA cover. By the amazing Kerry Callen ( @KerryCallen on twitter ) Can't get enough of my favourite gal!
  15. I only dabbled a little with CT as I was exploring restoration/conservation projects as I learned...I wasn't really into it and figured it best to leave that sort of thing to the pros. I did however 'invent' the most dumb bonkers non-restorative way to color touch a book...seriously! What I did was I took a piece of tape and only exposed a small part of the adhesive side (blocking the rest off with plastic cut to the desired shape) and then placing it over a junk book with the color I wanted...I would then lift the tape back off, lifting the color, and then I would place the tape on another book to line up the color/gloss over an area I wanted to color fill. It honestly looked great as it meant the era specific inks, dot patterns and paper gloss all matched very well and ended up looking invisible (other than now having tape, which CGC would ignore on lower grade books) Yes, this is the most bonkers joke way to CT a book and you should all to do it now to get those amazing universal labels
  16. Depending on the books (and amount) I could take a crack at em. https://www.instagram.com/p/CmMbkCNumKW/
  17. Honestly, I'm pretty sure this has always been a small issue, but only now gets much more attention due to the news of people trying to sell counterfeit books that have been resealed. At least I know I'm scrutinizing the slabs I get back far more closely as a result of this and the overall slump in QA I read about.
  18. Hmm, this might be why the last two slabs (recently graded) I've cracked open, the sealing felt very 'incomplete' and were VERY easy for me to open; I managed to do so without any cracks or damage (I could potentially reseal the slabs easily enough if I so desired and was a jerk)
  19. @ADAMANTIUM I'll PM you, as I think I have a VERY affordable ASM Annual #1 you might like and can still swing buying the WWBN too
  20. no, what he means is the photograph has More Fun #32 in it, which also features the Action #1 ad inside of it much like More Fun #31.
  21. 1-2 allowable defects for a 9.8 are the standard. They ain't perfect.
  22. So far this is gearing up to be the single upcoming comic book film that I'm most excited and hopeful for.
  23. Just to clarify, saying they are held on by glue might give the wrong impression of what adhesive was used (and glue makes its sound like an amateur job that isn't ideal). In this case it was most certainly either wheat starch paste, Klucel G, or methyl cellulose; all of which can be easily removed if so desired. I would wager this book would drop to 2.0 at minimum with the removal (as is the typical grade for a detached cover)
  24. One of the few books on my hunt list. I love collecting More Fun, specifically the Doctor Fate issues but this is one of the early issues I hope to find an absolute beater copy of this issue one day (ideally 0.5, even restored or incomplete is fine) - hopefully your questing will bring a few more to light I can get my grubby hands on