VintageComics

Do they still hand out strikes if a book is overpriced?

I'm laughing so hard.

I don't know. I think it would turn out more like this.

I don't know, that's some serious finger wagging going on.

I don't. I've never seen the interior.

I don’t have the massive stick up my xxxx you do about CGC grading. To me their grades ARE the grade, and I’ve gotten expected grades, great grades and disappointing ones. Times have evolved from the days of everyone deciding their own books grades. If DA was in the mindset of pre CGC when he picked his keeper copies, he could be as surprised as we all have been on some submissions we bought or chose as the better copy. That’s all I’m saying. As we know, Dave owned all 3 of the best Superman 1s. So he’s probably okay. But —- None of us know the grade until we get them back. And “truly unrestored” is meaningless for these books. None of these books is truly unrestored. It’s a quaint point of view. There’s no way DA or family won’t discuss what needs to be done. Someone may know better, but from everything that's been written about Dave he doesn't seem to care what anyone else thinks about his books. If he did, he'd be grading them. He allegedly also has no plans to sell them so the value isn't at the forefront of his mind. He sounds like a 'true collector' that only wants 'the best of the best' to his eye. He trusts his own eye, isn't buying for the money and doesn't care what anyone else thinks. I thought the discussion about how the Church Superman #1 may have been perceived 20 years ago and today was a significant one. If the defects keeping the grade or desirability down 20 years ago are in fact being graded differently today that certainly changes the perspective of a bit, at least as far as the market is concerned.

Thanks! It's been a wild time in the markets and a fun ride.

It is. I sold it.

There is truth in these words. The area is a shadow of what it used to be.

I miss the old days when the line between good and evil was clear and you could challenge someone to a meeting at Phil's parking lot without a strike. I've been spending a lot of time in your old hood, BTW. VP + L , right?

Watching old school CGC forumites meme at each other reminds me of this.

And there are no tangible factors involved in pricing a comic book? There are plenty but they're not always out in the open. When you want something special that someone else owns, you basically need to pry it from the owner's hands by making an offer they can't refuse. How do you put a price on that? I'm trying to explain something that some may not understand and if that makes me in sufferable, so be it.

Apologies...but it's 'only' a 9.0 It's basic logic. Another thought crossed my mind. People have some mythical association with auctions as though FMV can only truly be found at auction. Like auction bidders tap into some power that magically determines FMV. In reality at least TWO people have to agree to what the end price is going to be, so that would be two people willing to pay prices that some might think is an outlier. Rest assured most people think long and hard what they're willing to bid at auction. Also, you never know if the high bidder would have been willing to pay far more than an auction realized price if the under bidder had bid higher. If the under bidder bids low, it's just as possible to under pay at auction as it is to overpay due to an overzealous bidder, compared to a private sale. Just ask Bob Storms. The reality is that only an actual bidder / buyer knows how they get to that number and whether it's an auction number or a direct sale, that is the FMB. Everything else is just speculation. Thank you!

That's proprietary information in this day and age. Let's just say it goes for MOAR!

Just because you can't envision something doesn't mean nobody can. You're basically saying a seller and buyer shouldn't be able to agree on a price. You couldn't price a skyscraper. But some people can. You can disagree all you want, but the buyer and seller disagree with you. You're stuck on the CGC grade. Some books don't exist in some grades. The Captain Marvel Adventures #1 in the GA forum is a great discussion point. That book doesn't exist above 5.0 due to brittle cover stock. CGC 5.0 is the known ceiling for that book. Is it comparable to a 9.6? We'll never know...because it doesn't' exist. So if you want the highest graded copy you have to settle for a 5.0 Motion Pictures Weekly #1, there are only 10 or so copies and DOES NOT exist without Brittle pages unless it's been restored. Should it compare to other books with White pages or unrestored copies? You don't have a choice. There are limitations to certain books and in this case, the Church is the best graded copy. For Superman #1, generally regarded as the 3rd best book in the hobby. It's the equivalent to a 9.6 AF #15 or a 9.2 Tec #27 or a Captain Marvel Adventures #1 CGC 5.0 Are you going to argue that because the Tec #27 is only a 9.2 it's not as desirable as a 9.6 or a 9.8 copy of a SA book? Probably not. The hierarchy is based on what's available, not absolute grades.

Everything has a relationship to something else, and every priced item has a relationship to how other things are priced. Markets are always based on how much people are willing to spend and while volume items make some people more comfortable spending money (flocks of a feather stick together) it's not impossible to value unique items. It just takes more effort. And as we were just discussing in the Water Cooler, chaos is just order that hasn't yet been understood. I don't know how to price out building a skyscraper or what one should sell for but you can bet someone does.

This makes no sense. 1000's of books sell every day for a privately determined and agreed to price. Millions of homes and cars sell every day this way. Watches, Groceries. Literally everything sells this way. Even in auctions, buyers determine how much they're willing to pay. Why is this any different?

You spelled my name wrong.

We might but would need to be an unread copy. Being a long time Captain Marvel lover though, I learned early how difficult that book was. I owned a low grade copy years ago and found the cover stock impossibly brittle. Because those books were read to death the covers almost always came apart.

Just to be clear, I brokered the deal, made it happen and nothing more. People read into things way too much and the internet loves a good soap opera but there isn't one here.

Why am I not surprised.

That logo was modified after auctions were added. Comiclink has been around since 96. Their auctions haven't. Their auctions have been around just over a decade.

The cover stock on that book is so prone to cracking at the spine that it's an impossible book in grade. I can't say for sure, but IIRC I think spine splits might be the limiting factor on those two 5.0 books.

It's relative. It sold for $3.2MIL and that was CRAZY money at the time. Just like $1000K for a comic was crazy money 50 years ago. It's all relative.

I don't get butthurt anymore. I'm too numb for that.