Jaydogrules

This guy's parody listing of this inane, shilled-up fake hype nonsense made my day: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SezChuan-sauce-Authentic-one-of-a-kind-Rick-and-Morty-approved/122738461863?_trkparms=aid%3D777003%26algo%3DDISCL.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D41376%26meid%3D46d290b04d694c2f8611326e4f5e4f87%26pid%3D100012%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D152734123389&_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985 This one is pretty classic too: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SZECHUAN-SAUCE-PERFECT-CONDITION-UNLIMITED-AND-NOT-RARE/142531659995?_trkparms=aid%3D888007%26algo%3DDISC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D41376%26meid%3D97d8018f3945417e94bd952669c8783c%26pid%3D100009%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26sd%3D122738461863&_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982 I suspect this suggests the end of this is nigh. -J.

I remember when SNL was funny and would make it a point of only having actual comedians hosting it.... -J.

A few more fake/shilled auctions for your perusal... http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=322813027593&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2565 http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=253196614155&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2565 http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=182814749976&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2565 -J.

Also being grossly and obviously shilled. Here are just a few of the low lights: http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=292284574415&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2565 http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=332405051364&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2565 http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=152733909305&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2565 And it's also already on its way to being a sub $40 item as the market has been absolutely flooded with these "rare" sauce packets: http://www.ebay.com/itm/RICK-AND-MORTY-McDonalds-Szechuan-Sauce-Packets-Limited-Posters-INFO-/122743469881?hash=item1c9414b739:g:3MgAAOSwA2hZ2VQ~ Still a lot but I suspect they will be sitting at $20 or lessby the end of the week. Any real sellers trying to cash in on this doing one week auctions is . But not as crazy as someone who might have believed the phony hype and actually paid $100 for one of these on the same day they came out. -J.

I see he did the Ezra Miller costume for this one. It works perfectly for Metal. -J.

I don't not like any book in particular. What I don't like is blatant, obvious market manipulation. Not surprisingly the books that I have pointed it out on have all subsequently gone on to decline, if not crater in value after the fact. -J.

That's a great copy, congrats on owning it. -J.

Yes I did see massive shilling for star wars 1, and also cited numerous examples of it being shilled a couple years back. And lookie lookie, it has plummeted from a supposed average of nearly $2000 back then to barely breaking $1000 now. A nearly 50% drop in value once the criminals moved on to the next "hot" thing (Rick and Morty anyone?). Mighty interesting how history repeats itself. -J.

This is all well and good, but the viability of the product remains highly suspect due to the rampant and relentless shilling of every single auction of the title over the last few months, including every single auction for the 1:50 that is ongoing now. Those shills on that sauce and poster auction are also stupid and even more obvious (not that that seemed possible). Real books with real demand don't need to be propped up by non-stop fraud and chicanery. -J.

Yes exactly my point. There's a blatant attempt to create a false perception of this property in the collectibles market. And when the one supposedly marquee and allegedly most expensive item in a line is corrupt to the core, it's naive to not think there is no trickle down effect. I already showed a few pages back questionable GPA activity for other issues of this title beyond the 1:50. Now we are seeing it with hot sauce and posters. -J.

Pardon the seeming *ahem* arrogance if quoting myself. But what the heck, it seemed like the perfect reply (again) : Fake auctions with fake prices on a TV property with a cult following created a buzz in the comic book community, even though the series itself does not sell particularly well. Then bandwagon picked up some steam which led to some legitimate sales that enshrined the earlier fake ones. I don't think there is a single legitimate auction of any issue of this book on eBay that has closed for over $500. Sure you have a couple convenient "buy-it-now's" on there but those are easier to fake than auctions. At some point though there will have to be enough real buyers to sustain these artificially inflated prices. That's when we'll find out how popular this property really is, or whether it was simply propped up by pump and dumpers. -J.

I do nothing but cite proof when I make a claim. I'm the one who originally proved Rick and Morty is a frauded up book. You're asking me to "prove" something dumb. Don't waste my time with nonsense. And what about that regular Rick and Morty cover? It has been shilled too. I have no faith in any real demand in that title. -J.

Do you need a survey to tell you that the X-Men are more popular than Rick and Morty? I would ask you for the survey that says that the handful of people who might actually be buying Rick and Morty books are buying the 1:50 Roliand, if I didn't already know that every "sale" of it the last several months have been fake. -J.

If you're talking about UXM 510 and Black panther 1, yes to the former, because it's in the UXM run, and the latter is not relevant because it has never broken $1k raw (and is rapidly fading anyway). As to the "popularity" of the Rick and Morty comic book series- that's dubious at best. -J.

Hey man , sorry to see your old account to make the change over. Yes I remember when you got your 9.8, 181. That's a $20k book now, well done! -J.

All I know is that the actually rare variants that have broken $1k raw are mainline titles with marquee characters that very, very rarely come up for sale raw (if ever). Currently there are three copies of that 1:50 Rick and Morty 1, and all three, like Every other auction of the book, are being shilled. It's impossible to know what the real demand and FMV for the book is, but based on bidding activity of other bidders who do not look like shills, I would put the value of it raw at $300-$500 on a good day. But at this point the title looks toxic and basically every bidder looks fake in all of these fake auctions. -J.

I agree with this. I think prices on even the most raggedy copies of 181 will see big gains before people start defaulting to 180 at all. I don't think anybody who targets keys and isn't a completionist would be "really" happy owning a 180 and not a 181, whereas I think most people who have a 181 would be perfectly fine never owning a 180. -J.

RRP = Retailer Round table Program. A DC program. -J.

If you're asking if this is the "RRP" of the third printing of #1, the answer is actually "no". After doing a little more research, turns out,"RRP" ("Retailer Round table Programs") were hosted directly by the publisher DC, and DC was the one that called them "RRP's". I don't know if the term is proprietary, but the only actual "RRP" books are DC books. Image has never hosted anything like an RRP as far as I can see, and if they did, is wasn't called that. This reprint of Saga 1 is a "DRS" ("Diamond Retailer Summit") book. It was commissioned by Diamond much in the same way a con or a retailer will commission an exclusive variant cover from the publisher. This particular Diamond summit was conducted by Diamond prior to the C2E2 of that year. Other Image DRS books commissioned by Diamond include a Saga 19 and a Walking Dead 127. -J.

Except the 608 wasn't printed later because it has the same indicia. But yes, it is apples and oranges. The saga was an announced reprint and everyone knew in advance they would eventually be getting one if they attended the summit, and it actually does have a later publishing date (you can see that right on the slabs or the CGC census), and the 608 is not (although it was released a little later at the summit for which it was always intended as a surprise "thank you" to retailers). -J.

It's all six of one/half dozen of the other and it's all saying the same thing. Image still uses the same identifiers on its UPC's even now. Seven to Eternity #1 first print (last 5 on UPC "00111", meaning issue 1, cover 1, printing 1): http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seven-to-Eternity-1-Image-2016-CGC-9-8-1st-print-Opena-Hot-Free-S-H-/332348162979?epid=236467001&hash=item4d617e83a3:g:UKUAAOSwvVlZllvj Seven to Eternity #1 second print (last 5 on UPC "00112, meaning issue 1, cover 1, printing 2): http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seven-to-Eternity-1-CGC-9-8-Jerome-Opena-2nd-Printing-Cover-/182764943761?hash=item2a8da3b991:g:5z0AAOSwJx1ZuqNW -J.

As I've said, apart from the people who put the book out and the UPC on the book calling it a third printing, it also has a later publishing date from the first prints- 3/12 (first printing), 4/12 (third pritnings). -J.

Thing is, the dates Harvey posted for the 608 were release dates, not printing or publishing dates. Both covers for the 608 were intended as first printings, the RRP was just distributed later as a surprise "thank you" at the actual summit (physically handed out directly to retailers then, I guess they stopped doing that at some point). Unlike the Saga which does have different official publishing date, a prior announcement calling it a third printing, as well as an uncertain release date since they were mailed out to all the retailers at some point after the summit. -J.

My mistake you're right, that was another boardie. -J.

No it isn't. Same indicia as the first print (but no UPC, because the book was never intended to be sold. It says so right on the book). Also, unlike the Saga, it was never specifically called a reprint by the people who put it out. And you're splitting hairs. It is not just "one thing" that says Saga 1 is a reprint, it is everything. If anything, a more apt comparison would be trying to call the actual second printing of the 608 (which also a had a different cover), a "variant" of the first printing. When the UPC on that book also specifically indicates that it is a reprint. I originally also believed that the Saga RRP was like the 608, both intended as first printings, but held back for release until the summit. I said so in the modern variant thread. Again, it was you who originally corrected on that, referred me to the advertisement for the book announcing it as a third printing with a special cover for the summit, and taught me how to read those UPC's. It is what it is. -J.