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richard8158

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Journal Entries posted by richard8158

  1. richard8158
    Best Silver Age Set?
    I truly appreciate the award although I was totally blindsided by it. The set has so many holes and issues that need upgrading that I never even considered it a possibility. Not to mention that there are so many great sets on display. So often I look at other members books and am amazed at what they have put together. Maybe mine will be like theirs in another 5 years....
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=80699
    Thank you

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  3. richard8158

    Recently added

    By richard8158,

    1959 Grey tone
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=80699

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  4. richard8158

    Recently added

    By richard8158,

    1963
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=80699

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  5. richard8158
    253 out of 289!
    Nine months ago I wrote a journal after adding my 200th comic to my GI Combat set. I now have 253 graded and am closing in on 90% completion. I have 2 left to send in for grades and that will exhaust what I have at the house. Out of the 36 still missing from the set, I have 24 of them but they are mostly reader grade. I try to have a reader copy for each book in the set, however, some aren't worth the expense of purchasing just to read.
    The copper portion of the set is all 9.6 and 9.8 except for a single 9.4. The bronzes are 9.0 or better except for 6 in need of upgrades (3 are in for grading now). The silvers are coming along nicely with many new additions and upgrades this year. The golds are in the worst shape with many missing still. There are plenty of the Quality issues to be had but most are in horrible shape. I'll keep hunting, after all, that's the best part!
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/SetTypeDetail.aspx?SetTypeID=400

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  6. richard8158

    Just Back From CGC

    By richard8158,

    1952!!
    Just got this one back yesterday! Also coming back were 2 more of these Ziff Davis GI Joes, 2 Our Fighting Forces and 10 GI Combats.
    All of the books graded as I expected except for 3 of the GI Combats which achieved higher than I thought!

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  8. richard8158

    Recently added

    By richard8158,

    1968 Russ Heath cover
    Single Highest!
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=80699

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  9. richard8158

    Just Added!

    By richard8158,

    1961!
    Not the highest graded but a tough one to find in any sort of decent grade.
     
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=80699

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  10. richard8158

    Just Added!

    By richard8158,

    1962-1963
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=80699

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  11. richard8158

    Latest additions!

    By richard8158,

    All Kubert covers
    I picked up 9 9.8 upgrades the other day consisting of 5 Bronze and 4 Coppers, all GI Combats.
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=80699

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  13. richard8158
    My latest pressing experience
    Several months back I purchased a G.I. Combat #93 (1962) from a seller on eBay. He had advertised it as a NM with a fairly large price tag. We bargained for a bit and finally came to a suitable price. This deal came with the stipulation that if it did not grade at 9.0 or better, a portion of my purchase price would be refunded. When the book arrived, it appeared to be a solid 8.5, perhaps even a 9.0. With no significant flaws, only a couple of minor indents in the cover, I was thrilled! I thought that with a press it would easily achieve a 9.0. Even at 8.5 it would be the highest graded copy. Having heard so many great thing about Matt at CCS, I forwarded it to them as a fast track. After a month and a half of anxiously waiting for it to arrive at CGC, I called CCS. They had missed the fast track part. Okay, things happen. The lady was nice and said she would get it in with the other fast tracks and only charge me the standard price. In a matter of days it was at CGC. It was marked shipped the other day and of course I had to look at the grade. I felt crushed when I saw the 6.0. So I checked the graders notes. Only 2 notes were present: cover detached at top staple and cover detached at bottom staple. WHAT? It was tight and secure when I sent it in. I contacted CCS and asked what happened. After a day of investigation, they acknowledged it happened in their possession. At first they offered about half what I had invested in the book. I ended up with roughly 80% of what I put into the book. In the end I have a disappointing and overpriced 6.0, and I can't recover anything from the seller, after all it's not his fault CCS ruined the book. It's not about the money anyway, I treasure my comics.
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  14. richard8158

    When should I submit?

    By richard8158,

    GI Combat, Our Army At War
    I have been trying to find the best time to submit comics, so I decided to send some every month for 6 months. The first 3 groups were recieved on 10/26 (value tier), 11/13 (value tier) and 12/10 (modern). A total of 41 books. They ALL arrived here today 2/25. So maybe November - December is a good time. I did notice that the turnaround time on the moderns shortened after I send my group in. January and February comics have been recieved, verified and Jan's were marked scheduled today. Both are value tiers. March's will be sent soon and I will write when they arrive. I was happy with the grades, most ending where I expected, but a few were higher and a few lower.

  15. richard8158

    New CGC holder

    By richard8158,

    Update on my 1st new holder
    My first new holder came back with a very wavy book inside. I contacted Brittany McManus and was told to return the comic to her. It was written in as a mechanical problem. The comic returned today looking fine! No waves whatsoever, also no newton rings! If any of you still have books that are wavy, send them back. You can contact Brittany at: bmcmanus@cgccomics.com
    She also offered a direct refund to my credit card or an account credit, whichever you choose.
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  16. richard8158
    I'd really like to hear how others feel about this.
    Yesterday I was going from one auction site to another, just looking to see if there was anything I was interested in. My comic collecting is confined to only a couple titles so it's pretty easy to know what I've already looked at before. Anyway I saw a comic that recently sold on one site, appear on another, for sale again. The difference was it was more than 7 times higher in price this time. I went and checked the numbers on both sites. Yep, same book. I felt like this major dealer was taking advantage of collectors. I also wondered if the items I bought from them before had the same markup. I have also seen this from another seller (same comic issue) but he only marked his up a bit over 5 times. I know, I know, they haven't broken any laws. And it is their right to charge whatever they feel. But they remind me of the folks who sell hammers and toilet seats to the government. I approve of reasonable profits. At what point does profiting end and gouging begins? I don't feel good about it, but am curious how others feel.
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  17. richard8158
    Maybe My Last New Holder
    I was on the chat boards the other evening, something I rarely do, and a nearly 800 page chat was going on about the new holders. So I read for several hours.
    Well I received my first comic today in the new holder. Pretty much everything that I read was true. The edges of the book look like they were dipped in diesel fuel and the top of the book has some waviness. There are those who suggested that the bowing of the book along the top was due to a bad pressing. This one was pressed by CCS, but I don't think that is the case. You can easily see the warp in the top center, but it travels down as well through the entire cover. I have a hard time believing that it left CCS that way, since it was flat when I mailed it in.
    I really didn't dislike the new label, but the last labels weren't bad either. I did like that the top sticker is inside. Very clear too, which I also appreciated.
    I would like to see what CGC plans to do about this. I know I will no longer be sending in any books until this is resolved. Has CGC even acknowledged there is a problem?

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  18. richard8158
    What did it prove?
    Okay, just what we all needed, another comparison of grading companies. I had four previously graded books that I wanted to convert to CGC. Plus I wanted to find out for myself how they all compare.
    The first book was GI Combat #29 PGX 7.5 WP
    The second was GI Combat #35 PGX 8.0 OWW
    The third was GI Combat #118 CBCS 9.0 WP
    The fourth was GI Combat #119 CBCS 8.5 OWW
    Three were sent in one group and the #35 with another group.
    I skewed the test by having all four comics pressed before grading. I thought that the other companies could use the help since we all have seen other tests.
    The results from the group with the three came back with nice grades. The 7.5 PGX held the same grade after a press and page quality remained the same. The 8.5 CBCS 119 came back with a 9.0 and also kept it's white pages. The 9.0 CBCS returned with a nice 9.2 although page quality went from OWW to just OW.
    The #35 did not fare as well. The PGX 8.0 went to a 6.0 CGC with OWW pages. I must say that many in the last group seemed to receive some very harsh grades. I might be getting old and my eyes aren't the best, but that comic is way better than any 6.0. I'm not convinced that it rated the 8.0 either but 6.0? No way. It is a very clean nice book. I was going to convert all of my other companies to CGC but not as sure as I was. I always felt that CGC graded very strictly, even undergrading (which I appreciate - to a point), but to drop four grades? I'm not sure what to think....
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  19. richard8158
    Did I read it right?
    I thought I got a mail in the last day or two from CGC stating they have drastically reduced the turn around time. Did I read it right? If it's true, why are my January comics still only marked as graded after more than 40 days?
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  20. richard8158

    Pressing

    By richard8158,

    Is it good or bad?
    I have never had a comic pressed before so I decided to conduct an experiment. I took 4 comics that in my opinion were no higher than 4.0-5.5 (and ones that I didn't particularly care about either), had them pressed and graded. They all came back as 7.0s. I know that this is a sensitive subject for some collectors, but I don't really see a downside when it comes to pressing. I have had books stored for years in boxes and looked as though they had been pressed. I don't know much about the process but apparently if it is done right, you can't even tell that it was done. It seems to be gaining acceptance as well. The pictured comic was mailed to me in a soft mailer with no cardboard or support of any kind. It was bent all over but not creased and looked horrible. Thoughts?

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  21. richard8158

    G.I. Combat

    By richard8158,

    200 out of 289
    I feel like I crossed some sort of milestone yesterday, now having 200 issues in the set graded. My goal was to have from #100 and up at 9.0 or better. Although there are more than a dozen that need to be up graded and still some missing to achieve the goal, I feel like I'm closing in. Below #100 is a different story, where I think the grades will be mostly mid grades. The Quality comics are hard to find even in mid grade.
    http://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=80699

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  22. richard8158
    Where does "high grade" begin?
    I was looking on ebay yesterday and saw 6.0 and 6.5 copies of GI Combat advertised as high grade. I never thought of anything below 7.5 or 8.0 as high grade. I'd be curious to know how others see this designation as well.
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  23. richard8158
    1st DC GI Combat & Grey tone #44
    I purchased this off ebay a few months ago, and will be sending it off to CGC next week with a couple of others. I haven't even mailed it yet and am already anxious.

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  25. richard8158

    Grandenetti Art

    By richard8158,

    Grey tone cover Our Army At War #60
    As a young boy reading war comics, I didn't really appreciate the Grandenetti covers, Kubert was my favorite. Over the years though his art has grown on me. This one came back yesterday.