GM8

I have used printouts of GPA data, Overstreet photocopies, and CGC declared value on submission forms as "proof of value" for USPS insurance claims.

Did they work?

CGC declared value is the same as what you the customer put on the form. I don't know if the PO is privy to that but clearly not proof.

I'm curious if a seller claims he can't assign a grade how does that seller come up with a price? If a raw WD#1 sells for 2000 in NM do they sell it for 2000 regardless of the condition?

 

Obviously they dont. They assign a price depending on the grade which means they can grade a comic. Personally I would never purchase a comic through the mail without a grade assigned to it. I'm sure there are some honest sellers that do this but IMO most are not.

 

I have heard way to many horror stories of buyers getting duped.

 

 

 

just because a grade is assigned doesnt mean thats the grade and you can return it either way so I dont understand your policy on requiring a grade (guess).

+1 exactly. I'd rather have lots of good photos showing cover gloss, corners and a good description listing flaws. I don't care what someone thinks a comic's grade is, unless they sell thousands of comics a year and most sellers don't. If you need a grade that badly then maybe you should only buy slabbed books.

Proving value to the USPS is the key. Printouts from auction sites of the same comic & grade are good. The language USPS uses for proof of value is important. In your case with a lifelong collectible with no meaningful receipt, a "reputable dealer" is how they put it. I would take information on whatever expert you use, such as $X sold at auctions annually, years in business, and a contact there for them to verify information with.

I used to give grades. Nothing but headaches. No one agrees on grade, so why give one? I just use good pics and describe every single flaw. By describing minute flaws the buyer may have missed in the scan, I earn his trust. Haven't had any problems with this approach.

Grades = headaches

no grades = no problems

 

Your mileage my vary but I've never had someone try to make a return based on a given grade on Ebay. I've sold a decent amount over the years, too.

 

Not giving a grade to me is lazy and/or done by people who aren't confident in their grading. That's fine, but unless you're grading is terrible, you shouldn't be getting *lots* of headaches.

Or, you could look at it like grades are the lazy buyer's way of letting someone else decide how they see things.

There is no lazy way and one way isn't better. I've sold my share on ebay and find putting a grade on elicits more interest. When I have a book I'm not sure is near mint I'll just tell the buyer to look at all the beautiful pictures I've posted. Those usually take longer to sell though.

I also thought Rogue One was better than Force Awakens. FA was so bogged down by the legacy of Luke/Leia/Han. FA had to corkscrew into A New Hope but was a blank slate so it did really well for that.

Aliens is one of the best films on many levels in my opinion. The only thing lacking they fixed with the long "director's" cut which fixes a major gap in the story. The sentinel guns scenes are important and give pacing to the parts of them securing the command base and the aliens attacking overhead. (back in the day I even rented the laser discs to get the sentinel guns scenes onto tape....I know I'm a nerd).

Prometheus was actually a very ambitious and well done film in my opinion. The music in that one is so powerful. It uses trumpets to herald the same Engineers who so callously destroy us when we are in their way. It really shows the best and worst of humanity. Great film in my opinion.

Alien 3 I am really torn about. While I echo other's assessment about how it rips apart all that we hoped for from Aliens, I actually liked parts of it. The absolute bleakness is unmatched in film and Rock's speech is one of the best in a film IMHO. Then they lose it with all the overly-cockney cast and nonsensical chases into hot lead....blah blah blah.

Alien 4 I don't even remember it was so bad.

Can't wait to erase everything and get a true Aliens sequel.

Not everything is a conspiracy. Maybe they are privy to information and transactions you aren't?

Sadly I have to agree with you in certain areas especially Comics General. I think other areas are more receptive to new opinions. Really I try to hammer our older board members who are on here. I try to make them realize we wont grown without new members. Its just like with the general public some on here are just and there is nothing others can do about it. I just suggest you just put them on ignore your life will be better for it.

 

I think overall though you wont see it, but in certain areas. Really some they just need to ban from this site altogether. How many times do they need to strike you or give you a month off before they realize they need to go permanently. I get that it is difficult to keep a person off here permanently, but at least they could try.

 

I used to be on Ebay boards before I join CGC and I didn't like it at first. I thought some were very arrogant and tended to gang up on new members, but I also found when you share your hobby and your interests you will find others that share the same.

 

It seems much harder on board members who come here only looking to make a $1. Those are the new board members that seem to get the most grief. Because honestly its very tough to trust someone wanting you to buy a $1k book from them with no references. We have a huge list of Hall of Shame and Probation members for that reason.

 

Thanks for your reply and good to hear from a long-timer like yourself.

I'm not aware of the many who need to be banned but with the amount of people frequenting this site I'm not shocked. It's a numbers game really. There's always some bad eggs.

I think the CGC boards are very useful as there is no other board that rivals in participation. The sheer numbers of people who post here everyday makes for a good place to come to know about what's going on with comics.

CBSI is great for different reasons. The Top 10 is always high on my list of things to check out. The Google + group has lots of discussion in short bursts with photos which I like.

I'm a noob here but there is a sense that if you aren't in agreement with the long-timers of the board then you are squelched. Have a contrarian opinion? You'll find a lot of resistance here. Just my $0.02.

This is almost as good as threads about packing etiquette, selling off ebay, and pressing.

All 2nd prints are "HTF", and were historically worthless. People have inverted logic these days where supply has become an inherent point of "value".

 

Demand is what drives value, supply is what demand is applied to, and value comes out of the relative supply availability to meet the demand.

 

When demand is created by the supply, or lack there of, "HTF 2nd prints, cBSi articles, only 500 printed, etc.", you are in tulip mania

 

Sound familiar? Limited edition color variants to boot

 

The market is always right. So when a 2nd print sells consistently for more than the 1st, then the market has decided it is worth more. Demand and supply are concepts we apply to explain the ultimate truth that is the market.

But this board, which has many, many more members, is perfectly fine.

 

This board has all types of problems, but it is policed albeit some think too much and other think too little. Its a work in progress.

 

We regulate sellers, we out con artists, we have kudos threads, we do great work for board members when they have traumatic life events.(Death, cancer, fires, floods, etc....) I've been fortunate to be a part of several.

 

We share ideas, we send an action figure around all over the country, we help to raise money for events and so on...

 

We had writers on here, artists and publishers. A large amount of money changes hands on this board weekly and for the most part most transactions go well.

 

Love it or hate it its the model for most boards in the comic hobby.(Whether they admit it or not.)

 

 

That's the first thing they tell you before you know its a scam.

Sell all your comics now people.

That sucks, sorry to hear it. I hope you are able to get something from them.

My experience with FedEx is terrible. They had a package of mine that was opened and contents taken out and resealed. Then their claims process was a farce.

It's not perfect and is slow at times but USPS Registered is the best way to ship expensive items. Best is having those items and the box well documented and appraisals of whats inside.

That is pretty messed up and there is no excuse for the abuse.

That said, I can't tell if there were empty spaces or if it was completely filled with packing peanuts. If there were open areas then that was an error in packing.

Its a shame the book was damaged. Hopefully it was insured for FMV and the seller gets any loss back.

I checked periodically with anticipation... then now its listed... I'm happy I made a sale... just don't understand the pretense...

Looks like he ended the listing.

It's the same individual I was asking references for a few pages back; the person vouching for him was like, "He's not going to resell it".... It was 6k cash in hand... Anyhow he said he had a baby due the same day and it was a treasured gift he would pass down to her... It was a solid cash transaction but why all the fluff?!?

He sold you the story, whether or not he needed it to get the comic. His listing on the bay has a different story - buying a new house.

Just saw the buyer of my copy decided to list it on eBay... Told me he was saving it for his newborn daughter... That lasted a month...

Kids! They grow up so fast!

Seriously though, its listed at $7950 right? What did you sell it for if you don't mind disclosing?

Darth Vader #3, 1st app of Aprha looks hot right now. She has her own series coming out in Dec.

 

Agreed, that should be in the Modern thread though. Check here for chatter about Aphra:

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=17&Number=9596409&Searchpage=2&Main=238508&Words=aphra&topic=0&Search=true#Post9596409

Oh yeah, my bad.

Darth Vader #3, 1st app of Aprha looks hot right now. She has her own series coming out in Dec.

Can anyone login to see their workorders? The link hasn't worked for me for a week or more.

yeah but his customer service though....

Officially out of the club...

details...details...

 

Anyone know what the 4th and 5th prints are doing these days?

The 5th prints have come down quite a bit. I would say 1/3 to 1/2 off their highs. Raw 5th prints were going for 70-80 before the film, now they are 30-40.

MoS Doomsday issues are way down since the movie. They have come down by 1/2 in some cases, especially #18 which is known to have a higher print run than #17. We might have already seen the all-time-highs for these issues.

how did you sub this? I've been reluctent

 

You have to do a magazine size comic and walk-through service submission (anything high value), which is super fast but runs about $120 depending on the value of the book. I recommend USPS Registered mail with insurance of what you think the book would sell on the market today. Your shipping cost/insurance of getting it to them can run $20-100 depending on insurance. Also, make sure you give a value to CGC that reflects the same market value because that's what they insure it on for the return mail.

 

Who did you use to sign it?!? In assuming you did this yourself then?!? No facilitator? Unless you are one?!?

 

Also did you ccs it Express also?!?

I'm not the person who posted the photo of the book, I was just giving you general info on submitting to CGC. No idea about the signatures etc. you're asking about.

With CCS, they have walk-through service also.