W16227

At $5,000, it's not going to be worth their time to investigate you. But, it does put a fairly low cap on how big this can get without attracting the attention of the authorities. but issuing dividends without a 1099-DIV will get you noticed

At $5,000, it's not going to be worth their time to investigate you. But, it does put a fairly low cap on how big this can get without attracting the attention of the authorities. Law takes time to catch up with technology - which is why the regulation of the phantom currency exchanges is not in place. It may be self regulating here - as more bitcoin hacks will happen - and the severity of which will potentially kill ALL of the market. Napster was more of a direct legal infringement- yet they did not disappear overnight. The concept you have been pushing - will have a brick and mortar establishment in the united states where the books are stored/displayed. Not only does this place this business solidly within a greater set of jurisdiction and regulatory laws, you now have more individual exposure - not just the "government" coming after you. All it takes is ONE person that has a legitimate fraud claim or price fixing situation where they can prove mixed/manipulated/false valuations of comics used to entice your investors. Now you are in a world of hurt and ALL of the stores assets could be seized,. Even if the litigation was unsuccessful - does the owner of the store have the ability to stay in business with a temporary the loss of their stock (hint - lawsuits take TIME) ? good luck with the imaginary money grab

I wonder if the thread will make it to Friday.........

They can call this a coin or a cryptocurrency, but they're soliciting investors, investing in comics, issuing dividends, engaging in buybacks - it's an investment company as far as the SEC is concerned. I hope they have consulted a good securities lawyer because this looks flat-out illegal without complying with all the regulations in place. Oh, and any dividends are absolutely going to be taxable in the eyes of the IRS. this..... oh - and you should make sure to inform the comic shop that will be holding on to the books that they may be at significant risk. If the SEC, FTC, IRS or any of the regulatory agencies take a hard look at this - the store can/will get raided and ANY stock confiscated and potentially sold. Hope you guys formed an LLC as well - or bye bye to those personal assets. Cuz if that one guy from China shows up with 50% of the coins and demands to take half of the books and is refused....... you are now in the fraud playground.

They can call this a coin or a cryptocurrency, but they're soliciting investors, investing in comics, issuing dividends, engaging in buybacks - it's an investment company as far as the SEC is concerned. I hope you have consulted a good securities lawyer because this looks flat-out illegal without complying with all the regulations in place. Oh, and any dividends are absolutely going to be taxable in the eyes of the IRS. +1 Interesting concept. Can you please provide details of this investment fund with transferable units (the coins). I would like to see your fund manager licence, past performance, details of how the funds assets are segregated and that you have been in compliance with all rules when establishing this fund. Do you have a prospectus? How do you ensure that the coins are not sold to the public without the full regulatory exposure required? Also - who is the insurance carrier guaranteeing the integrity of the so called "wallet" - you know, those vaporware phantom entities that HACKERS EXPLOIT? (go and read how many bitcoin hacks there have been)..... -

Oh, I see what you are saying. Yes, that is a good point, but I just don't completely agree. And I never "admitted" that I based anything regarding "cost justifications" based on SS books. I just said that I apologized for too quickly looking up an EBay sale. I have been very busy and I just stopped on the first one I saw. But, that has nothing to do with what's on my website. Anyway, Avengers Annual #7 is irrelevant in that I wanted to pick some book to begin and that seemed like a fun, relatively easily obtainable comic. But, more importantly, the coin isn't even released yet, so its value means nothing. Had I known it was going to cause such an uproar (well, an uproar here), I would never have picked it. Look, I saw the auction that is being referred to an it was a "bad" one in that it was out of the norm. Now, maybe future sales will be closer to that price in the future, but I doubt it. GPA has flaws too. And, its biggest flaw is its volatility. When there are comics that are relatively rare (or at least in certain grades) one sale can change the "average" price dramatically. I realize that in your view (and most others here), that last sale is the most important data point -- and it can be!. But, a strong argument can be made that in rarer comics that may only have a few sales a year, the last data point is not that relevant to how much the next guy can get for his copy in the same grade. We all know that is true. It is the nature of the game including at auctions. Comics price guide can be off, but they do lower and raise prices to reflect current conditions. And furthermore, they are very close to GPA on most comics -- I know because I looked. Finally, and most importantly, we will change from Comics Price Guide if they prove to be too optimistic. No one is trying to fool anyone here. The comics are going to be listed as acquired and displayed at a comic book shop open to the public. Getting the most accurate prices is in the best interest of everyone including CBC. am I the only one who is confused? the book that sold on ebay - was a signature series book. You quoted this as fact - to justify the valuation that you listed on the web site - and as a reference for justifying CPG as a price reference. All the talk of backing this phantom security with assets - and paying dividends - again, might want to check with a lawyer. Seems like you are offering stock in a company and not filing with the SEC. Either that - or you are creating your own currently WITH ASSET BASED BACKING - that may or may not have real issues with the initial quoted values of said assets. You can use the whole "comic books pricing is volatile" excuse all you want- but when proven wrong quite directly about the valuation on on the initial "comic" ........... you have documented issues that may cause you legal issues. I suppose you will do ok here - as long as you promise not to decoupage.

OK, I am clearly not communicating properly. -- We can and do subscribe to GPA. The point is transparency. For those that own the coin and do not want or have even the faintest interest in subscribing to any comics price guide, they can still check the prices online to see that we are using actual numbers. I am unsure why everyone is so concerned with this aspect of the coin. I have not gotten one question at all about this anywhere else. As I stated many times, we will switch it over if the disparity is as great as everyone here seems to feel. Again, anyone can use any method they choose to evaluate the value of the collections. -- Many people will buy the coin. I know that many, if not most of you don't believe that, but it is true. In fact, some people are quite enthused about it. Still, if it is only purchased by me, my mother and one guy in Estonia, it will be quite easy to run the coin from that point as well. We will either keep expanding or just sell the collection, issue a dividend to the three coin holders and wrap things up. The structure can almost be compared to a closed-end fund in that way. Probably more accurately, to a foundation that tends to artwork. Either way, the structure is simple enough and flexible enough to work no matter the initial demand. I hope that I have responded to your concerns. I understand some of your reactions, but time will tell as they say. 99% of crypto are nothing but empty blockchains. This will have assets, so right there it has a step up. but if you do not show actual asset value - then ? GPA= based on actual sales. CPG = based on something that they do not disclose and are very cryptic about describing - and from a CGC standpoint - are totally invalidated by the actual sales. Hint - if you get a bunch of people to buy in based on the stated asset value listed on your website - which you have admitted here has an incorrect value after people pointed out one of your cost justifications was based on a SIGNATURE SERIES books....... just hope you looked into the legal issues - I would actyally REALLY question any comics book store trying to say book a is worth XXX based on CPG.,,,, not even as part of a call for people to invest......

You are right -- my apologies. With the coin only a couple of days away from its debut, I have been very busy on many forums, Twitter, emails etc.I didn't take enough time when checking. No excuse though, I was wrong. As you know, I am not a regular here and I really just came in to defend Tonic's Comics. They are carrying the comics and he mentioned it. I am not sure if he knew it was going to generate 5 pages of...interesting comments. (I haven't spoken to him about it yet). Yeah, it could be it is a bit overpriced on the guide, but it happens. Two data points aren't enough. I know that I was looking at another Bronze age the other day (I think it may have been Batman #251, but I am not sure) where the guide said one price and all of the actual sales prices were way, way above that number. So, no it is not perfect. As I said, we are open to using other metrics if the prices are too far out of whack. We'll take a look as the collection grows. For now, its just one medium priced comic book, but we'll take a look. Thanks. um - so 2 of the data sets were blown out of the water - and by your own admission you found error with a third.............. You might want to NOT use a site that is notoriously incorrect with respect to CGC graded slabs.

Actually the last real world sale was $410 for one grade below the one we own just a couple of weeks ago on EBay. We have confidence in Comics Price Guide, but they do lag sometimes in particular hot and cold books. But, that is not the reason we chose them. We want the average person to be able to follow along. Comics Price Guide is open to all and is free. Yes, they do underprice and overprice some issues, but overall, they are excellent. Now, I completely understand that you guys want GPA or Overstreet or any other edge to make your judgments. But, those cost money. The coin is meant to appeal to everyone, not just hard-core collectors. I think that serious collectors will find this fun too, particularly if they follow the crypto world as well. But, we want the casual collector or even people who just like the movies but are interested in comics to have fun too. As stated on the website, if we feel that the Comics Price Guide is just way off the mark on a particular comic book, we will change the value to reflect that. As a 9.6 Avengers Annual #7 just traded recently for $410, we just don't think that Comics Price Guide's value for a 9.8 is that far off. And, of course, auctions and other sales can fluctuate wildly as you guys know. But, we will be on the lookout for any big disparities. Plus, I am sure people will tell us loud and clear! um,,,,,,,, may want to revisit that whole CPG pricing scheme - there was a 9.6 that sold for around 400 recently - was a SIGNATURE SERIES last CERTIFIED 9.8 sold for 281 (CPG = 460) last CERTIFIED 9.6 sold for 150 (CPG = 360) (note - CGC certs only) If you are going for the "average" person that has no math skills and no clue how to search ebay..... well then it might work -

fixed that for ya.....

I'm guessing you can buy for less than 1000 Show them the cash, they've got to take it With the 450 TPBs (assuming the are actually 120+ page Marvel/DC/Image/Vertigo books) you should be able to make a lot of the money back very quickly. I would say the issue would be the long term commitment to the buy. Earlier in the thread - I posted about picking up ~ 30 short boxes from a closing store for a song. Some decent - some dreck - but if I sold at an average of 50c apiece, a good profit margin. Really should do better - as a lot But the buy was small enough to fit in the truck - and my office, so I did not have to worry about any additional transportation and storage. Then - I look over the books and duplicates - and the concern becomes how in the world do I get rid of 3000 books quickly..... - the CL deal is way more volume. (stay tuned for the VCC blowout sale, )

Anyone interested in donating comics would be well advised to speak to their accountant; barring that, at least read IRS Publication 526, which has the rules for charitable donations. The short explanation: You value it at "fair market value", which means writing off your quarter books at cover price isn't going to cut it if you get audited. If you donate more than $500 to one organization in a year, you need to document where you got the goods, what you paid for them, and how you arrived at your donation value. If you donate $5000 or more, the donation needs to be professionally appraised. Also, generally, donation recipients are loathe to put a value on what you donated. They prefer to simply acknowledge your donation and let you value it. This way they don't get involved in a contest over numbers. -- the key there is fair market value - Just because you paid a quarter for the books in bulk - does not mean that they are individually valued at that number. If the books are in decent shape - one could easily use the OPG for value as it is a published standard (which for 90s drek is around cover price). Unless you go over that 5K number and would need appraisals - the IRS is not going to nit pick. I have been writing off some level of donations for 15 years. Never an issue with estimated values and the typical salvation army/goodwill receipts.

You must be in the US then...I think CRA is much stricter because it seems the charities here only offer receipts for brand new items. You guys are lucky! Yea. - a U.S. thing - we can write off just about any donation for a "reasonable" amount- but over a certain limit u need more documentation. Our family donates a lot of stuff each year - the tax write off is a nice benefit.

sweeet!!! now since you are new - you need to know the rules - anytime you post a find - you need to send the first response 25% of the loot!!!

Can that be real? That's $1 book in tax savings at 25%!! - they might be talking about the other kind of book..... I have heard that they actually make books with only words in them. Nonsense, I know...... --- do they actually give you a receipt with that value? --- in my area we have a salvation army that takes pretty much everything and you fill in your own receipt. If you have an "inventory" - youy might be able to git away with using OPG value for a book- but I would use the cover price myself. Since the insurance companies value books at this without "appraisals" - it would seem a safe value bet for a donation. The more recent the drek - the higher the donation value per book.

you can pretty much post anything you like!!! I would not post what you paid (few of us do ) - as you sometimes run into those who think you took advantage of a granny if you paid $100 for a group and ended up with a 10K value book.

yea - somewhere in the 3k range - probably to discourage dumping a lot of junk at salvation army (or whatever) - and taking a real high deduction. If this is more recent drek - think like $2 cover price average - you could probably donate 5 longboxes for $500 each.

SAVAGE DRAGON !

and honestly - this is not a bad idea - I snagged a ton of books from a closing LCS - some of the books will likely be donated. With something of this size - it would be a LONG process - You can effectively write them off at face value (if in good condition) - but then you can only do this up to a certain value point. I cannot remember the specific number - but there is a ceiling of how much in "goods" you can write off before you need an appraisal.

I don't sleep. Joey, I think you misunderstand.... we want to know EXACTLY how you do what you do........

I would bet it is a mis-label as well. The IM was shipped after they had used the Marks Inserts (only for a 2 month spell) - so somewhat feasible (some have posted double covers with covers from a different book - so an error around those lines). The ASM - was before the MJ inserts were ever produced. Might even be one of the first books ever made with any of the armed forces inserts. The 15c cover price books had the most limited run with the inserts.

If the book were to be graded, CGC would be able to catch that quite easily. (thumbs u -J. -- especially since it would really only be worth it for a high value key - and I would imagine that they are put under the restoration microscope more than a fast track modern...

That probably wouldn't be that difficult to do although they would have to ensure the new book was one of those originally released with a Mark Jewelers insert. probably just as "difficult" as marrying a cover or other wrap - But they also only had specific inserts in specific books as well. http://www.awe4one.com/index1.html has lists of what was used at what time - Now - most people may not even notice it - but the ones that specifically collect these variants (which would be the ones who would pay a premium) would probably question something about clubbers book - supposedly the marks inserts were not being used during the production run of the IM55s. They were in place 11-12 1972 briefly - but not in full production until July 73. Now - does not mean his copy is hokey. Cold be a couple different things going on - could be an error in the CGC label (could be a ND insert, just mis marked) - could also be one of the nov/dec 72 inserts being used for whatever reason - maybe the found a sheet or 2 at the production facility to use up. But for me it would raise that question before shelling out the significant $$$ for the book. If an early insert - would be easy to identify - as they had codes identifying them printed on the inserts themselves. Obviously - would have to crack the slab to see this - but once you are in the IM 55 hi grade double cover/insert variant mode - the price would be high enough for me to want to open up and verify then resubmit (if I really wanted the book slabbed long term).

Mine does not have a star stamp!! - Jay - can you post a pic of your IM 55? - his has the star.

I have a 9.2, IM 55 with the insert and the star stamp. -J. J and I have discussed the IM 55s earlier - but I never posted my copy - Was the top book in a collection I purchased with around 200+ insert books.