VintageComics

No, but it is time consuming and a lot of work for very little return and a HUGE potential can of worms if something goes wrong. And then you have to deal with customers who don't like their grades. It's a nice service to offer but in the end I'd rather show a customer how to package their books and have them do it themselves.

Much like the Canadian exchange, Canadians just need to start factoring in shipping costs into their costs. It's just the simple cost of doing business. Either that or buy all your books already CGC graded in Canada.

Fair enough. I always fill out the commercial invoice and just figured it was part of the paperwork as the books are returned.

Over the last 14 years on this chat forum I didn't think the market could absorb each new collection as it came to market and it continues to do so. Back in the late 2000's and early teens, we had debates about this as several SA Pedigrees all showed up at the same time (Sucha news, Twin Cities and one other that escapes me) and they all got not only absorbed but set record prices. Ditto the Billy Wright, Jon Berk, Fantuccio and I don't know how many other collections. I don't make such bold statements anymore as everything that comes to market continues to get absorbed, year after year.

She not only does not look like Jean Grey but she doesn't look like an all powerful Phoenix.

So when you ship to Joey you don't fill out a commercial invoice declaring what they are?

Sure, but it's based on documentation that you sent with your commercial invoice. Do you not fill out a commercial invoice when you ship your books down?

Not necessarily. What's happened is that because prices continue to rise, nobody wants to leave anything on the table and so everyone is pricing at next year's prices. It's become difficult buying anywhere for the reason (for dealers). I do agree that there is a lot of material, and I do agree that it's priced aggressively but I don't agree that there would be a 50% downward price correction if you were to auction everything off. Auctions seem to still hold their own more or less, regardless of what you're selling. There is a huge influx of buyers of all sorts and so for now, demand seems to be outstripping supply.

It's not CGC's job to fill out the commercial invoice. It's yours. You get the commercial invoice from whomever you're shipping from. Fed Ex has a stand alone commercial invoice, CanadaPost uses the form that you fill out when shipping as a commercial invoice. You simply write something along the lines of 'being sent for evaluation' and then when CGC returns the shipment, they ship it back with the commercial invoice that accompanied the books on their way day. @Guardian Comics Jim, is this how you do it too?

Wizard offers bars at many of their shows.

You'd know the legalities better than myself but I agree that it should be clearly defined. To me, Mr. Casual Joe Public, having someone handle your product (ie a grading company or a framing company) it would seem reasonable to me that the company handling the item should be responsible for loss and damage. Fed Ex coverage is clearly outlined as covered as long as the item is shipped a specific way. This is one of the main reasons dealers purchase the coverage. I can't comment on hotels as I don't' know enough about the policy.

In a word, yes. Not only were sales better, but by 1965, people were actively speculating and putting away multiple copies. In 1966, a 100 copies bought wholesale cost $8.00. Storage was actually a bigger issue than cost. I remember a correspondence with a Canadian dealer( Max Seeley?) about how he had to move apartments every two or three years. I. The days before boxes, he stored his comics vertically. He had photos of stacks of books everywhere. Another major difference is production quality (specifically for Marvels). While some mid 60's books were extremely prone to chipping, the inks used compared to 1961 made later books much more durable. They smudged much easier pre 1963 (rough timeline - as during that period it actually varied issue to issue and month to month) than they did post 1963. This smudging alone prevented many copies making it through the years in high grade. This coupled with speculation and population as the years progressed are two of the biggest reasons early 1960's books are much less common, especially in grade.

Isn't understanding your policy just as important as having a policy? If their rules are outlined a head of time the policy owner needs to bear some responsibility. The main reason CIS doens't operate in Canada is because insurance regulations vary from province to province. Why would an insurer for the art owner be responsible for the negligence of someone who is framing your art? Wouldn't that be the responsibility of the person / company handling the art (in this case the framing company)? While I understand how everyone feels about insurance (it's great until you're NOT covered) and insurance policy is not a 'catch all' for everything that could possibly go wrong. They have a service they offer (which is generally clearly outlined) but they also have a responsibility to remain profitable. Insurance companies can't remain profitable by just covering 'everything'.

You know what I meant. If a company sets a criteria for what they certify then blaming them for certifying something is illogical. comicquant's comment seemed to be overly derogatory and unfair, especially in light of the fact that CGC would slab Stan Lee's 'booger'.

That's an odd thing to say. Certification companies are in business to certify items their customers send in. They're not there to decide what customers should or should not send in.

He was amazing and fun to talk to and his sense of humor was off the charts. I posted this on Al Stoltz' Facebook page: I was a newcomer being a full time dealer when I met John. John was one of those old school dealers who was legendary because of all the stories I'd heard about him. He was a pioneer at San Diego and of course had one of the best collections on the planet. So I was always surprised when from day one he treated me like I was a member of his family. I grew to get to know his entire family through meeting him at shows and I can honestly see he'll be sorely missed. Thanks for everything you've done for me John. I'll keep the family in my thoughts and prayers.

Meanwhile a 9.0 went off at auction for $95K a year ago. How times change.

My kids grew up around my comics. But because they never read them they just don't get it. They talk about condition and value but they don't understand the love I've had towards comics all these years. And again, it's because they did not grow up reading them. To give an example, I find the non-key books just as interesting as the keys. In fact, among the John Byrne X-men run some of my favorite issues are the less valuable non-key books because they had story arcs that I bonded to. A true non-collector won't understand that. The newer generations only see them as commodities (keys and not keys) and not a string of stories and only see disappointment when a book doesn't sell for more than the last one did. It's an impossible expectation and yet most noobs embrace it. And so when a really big book seems to diminish in price at auction there is disappointment in the over all market because these newest generations only want to see price increases year after year (that is the downfall of the entire corporate model in the West - if it's not growing it's dying) or it gets discarded. And as soon as one copy doesn't do well there is panic and a sell off begins. And yet, in being shortsighted they miss the fact that this particular book is still selling at 5-6 times what it was selling for a decade ago. The new wave of investors and speculators in all markets (not just comics) are the reason for the volatility. Unrealistic expectations and unrealistic price variations (up or down) create bubble markets and eventually that is not good for the market, whether it's a comic, a card or a car.

They are a bit of an unfair comparison. Hulk #180 and 181 are impressive because they are the hottest BA books on the planet have have been for over a decade. But that doesn't diminish GSX #1 or X-men #94 (With GSX #1 being the 3rd appearance of Wolverine IIRC)

It's unfortunate that in comics, a market is now decided by how well a movie does. It shows that it's a fickle market.

So what then would be his motive for putting it up for sale? Does he frequently act without caring about the consequences of his actions? My reply was in regards to people complaining about the price. The book was priced at a point where they are happy to sit on it if it doesn't sell.

Thats a LOT of money for a book. I am really happy that this book is getting the love it deserves. Again, it's worth noting that this is a copy with White pages, fresh looking and free of any visible defects. Don't know how the back cover looks.

Another copy that is exceptional for the grade and sets a price record.

Batman Adventures #12 CGC 9.8 White pages Asking $1650 (shipping included within North America)

Shipping: Certified books, shipping is included within North America, ROW we split it. Raw books, include $10 for shipping within North America. ROW I will split with interested parties. Who wins: Time stamp seals the deal as to who wins regardless of the form of communication (including PM, in the thread, text or phone conversation). A negotiation is not a deal until both sides have agreed on terms. If there is an unconditional posted (or communicated) it will trump all negotiations unless we have already both agreed to terms before the was posted. In that case, the will have been in vain. Except that it will give you street cred and look cool to passers by. No House Of Shame or Probationary members or any others of ill repute. Returns: I am considered a very good grader among my peers ( Here is a link to my kudos thread ) but since even CGC is inconsistent I will not guarantee a CGC grade. I will guarantee to be within one grade increment in either direction - so if I am calling the book a 9.4 it could go 9.2 or 9.6. If it falls outside of those parameters (and it does happen that they go in both directions), I will offer a refund. But I don't expect anyone to complain if I undergraded it. I will accept returns if item is otherwise not as described. Consider all books pressed. Payment: Paypal, bank wire, check or MO.