Randall Ries

On 2/22/2022 at 6:32 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

You keep that forever, ya hear?

Unless you sell it to me.

That's the plan. Although everything is 4 sale. The highlight with this one is the Peggy Fleming Supergirl. Not the Olivia Newton-John Supergirl.

On 2/21/2022 at 9:07 PM, PovertyRow said:

 

My first Prt-Scrn attempt. Good reflexes for being 71 years old!

Would the use of a replicator be like tearing the outer cover off a copy of a "Famous 1st Edition"?

On 2/21/2022 at 8:09 PM, grendelbo said:

Yes, but conserved.

Use of a replicator would get the PLOD.

"Enterprise. What we got back...didn't LIVE long. Fortunately."

On 2/21/2022 at 7:52 PM, kav said:

I'll stay right here thx.

Tourists are easy pickings. Here in VT, the big farms have sold out. Many, long ago. They simply couldn't afford to stay in business. There used to be cows everywhere. Something Vermont is famous for. I remember pulling off the road and they would stick their heads in my vehicle to give kisses. Now, they are mostly gone.

But tourists flock here by the thousands every summer. They don't see cows unless they go to a UVM extension program or drive way out into the sticks which they don't tend to do.

So, they buy cow related junk. Shirts. Buttons. Pennants. Stuffed plush toys. Mugs. Cozies. We HAD the real thing. Not so much now. But tourists will pay through the nose for the illusion. Cow fakery. They will buy a mediocre cd by a mediocre VT folk singer and look at their cute cow plush while drinking apple cider from their cow mug while driving their BMW's as slowly as they can.

I would probably do the same thing in France. Buy a 6 inch Eiffel Tower. Buy some carp cheese and drink some sub par wine and walk around saying "Wee-wee!!!!" and laughing self deprecatingly. Practicing my French: "The PEN of my UNCLE is on the DESK of my AUNT." Wee-wee!

On 2/21/2022 at 7:57 PM, jimbo_7071 said:

It's a great book, but I think that all Bronze is in a huge bubble. As many copies as there are in the census, there are many, many more raw copies out there.

Possibly. A leap from $115 to about $1,000 in this grade in 12 years is remarkable, IMO. It has held steady at an average of about $800-ish since before COVID. Only since inflation has dug our claws into us in the last 6 months or so has the book been pushing over $1,000. Sellers on EBay are asking over $2k and almost $4k in some cases. I could have bought 9 of these things in 2010 for what one is selling for today. I have to laugh when I remember I took carp from the little woman for spending the $115 back then.

I realize that people can ask whatever they want and may not get it. Recent history has shown us something else remarkable. We have seen some really foolish people spending foolish money on books that really aren't worth a damn in a sane world. Books that are far more heavily populated than this one is. It helps though to remember that the beginning of the Bronze age was essentially 51 years ago. A whole bunch of collectors weren't even alive then. To them, it is the same way I look at the Golden Age.

Same should be said about HOS 92. And IH 181. Are they too trapped in a bubble? The average collector seller seems to have thrown the OPG right out with the bath water and are setting their own prices and determining value for themselves without the guidelines or yesterday. Like population, 1st appearances, noteworthy events like a death or birth of a sustainable character.

I would LIKE to say EBay ISN'T setting the bar for values but it kinda is. Same with these auctions seeing record sales. What's missing seems to be common sense on both the buyer and sellers part.

I would LOVE to see raw copies of key bronze age books start to emerge from collections that haven't seen the light of day for years. Bought and then tucked into a box and done. And you know what? I bet 10,000 copies of 8.0-9.4 raw copies of Bat 251 (for example) hitting EBay wouldn't change the selling price one single bit.

On 2/21/2022 at 7:42 PM, kav said:

I saw a dateline where tourists would go to these cafes in france and be presented with an enormous bill.  like $300 for spaghetti-from a can.  the locals knew all abt the tourist cafes.

Oh sure. Tourists are suckers. Better know your stuff before you go. What is that thing in - where - Singapore? Something to do with bars. Drinks are hugely expensive. They don't give you the bill until you have had a whole bunch and are sauced. Then, it's like $50 per beer. Some Americans get their "Murica on and refuse to pay and walk out. BIG MISTAKE.

I can't remember the details. But they get the last part of their lower intestine pretty well humped when they try that. You pay or you lose body parts. Ignorance and tourism? BAD BEDFELLOWS.

Speaking of doing real good? I wish I had bought 20 of them back then.

Looks real to me. There are so many a real or fake? What's the diff? LOL!

On 2/21/2022 at 7:19 PM, kav said:

people say europe is awesome.  I'm not seeing it.  I've heard countless stories of predation in every country.  if I won a free trip to europe I'd say naw.

Maybe Switzerland is nice. Or Frawnce. You start getting into Western Europe and it gets dicier the closer to the Atlantic you get. And now the political theater in the Ukraine? They are going to pay big time. So are we. $7 per gallon for gas? On top of inflation? Remember when gas was worthless a year or two ago. Clawback time.

Europe is as corrupt as you can get. Romania is a sheet hole. Used to be a crown jewel. It's the European version of Uganda now.

On 2/21/2022 at 6:21 PM, Math Teacher said:

when I sent them in, they had been setting on my bookshelves for years, and I had not touched them for years. When I get them back, they will be stored on another set of bookshelves that I built to accommodate CGC slabs. If they had been setting on shelves before I submitted them, and they will be setting on shelves after they are returned, does it really make any difference where they are right now?

I think it does. You are assuming your books won't get lost, stolen or damaged at CGC while the stories are coming in from other submitters are about exactly those things. None of those things would happen if they were sitting on your bookshelves.

God. I read these reports and stories and believe them. I see the photographs. It isn't bad enough these things are being reported. The fact that CGC or any of the mods here EVER comment on them is almost worse. Never say "Yeah. We suck. We really DO need to do better and WILL do better" and actually do better. They never deny them, either. Just sit there in utter silence.

Their only purpose seems to be walking the yard and giving me suspensions to show how politically correct and moral they are. I never get the sense they are actually doing what they should be doing: Gathering data and reporting to their overlords: "Hey. We have a serious problem with just about EVERYTHING." When's the last time any mod actually got involved with forum members and acknowledged the CF that IS CGC? Since 2018 I have been reading these reports. From what I can gather, things have only become worse.

You have more faith and courage than I do. I had considered sending a few books in the past. It'd be a neat thing to have some raw books graded and retired. I like the concept. But I won't wait for a year on pins and needles. A YEAR? That's a ridiculous amount of time for so simple a process. It isn't rocket science. AFAIC, CGC is a joke and a terrible joke to play on customers. Talk about being gaslit. Slide you books in a toploader instead. Enjoy them. They'll sell that way too if that's your aim. Here's an industry secret: <drumroll>

Raw books get sold for good money every single day of the year.

On 2/21/2022 at 6:24 PM, kav said:

my elderly aunt got all her jewelry stolen by gypsies.  they did the scam where they see a dent in her car and say they can fix it, followed her home and started complimenting her about everything.  then one asked to use her bathroom-

cleaned her out.  she was broken up.

Oh dude. We went to Romania to do a spay and neuter clinic and saw gypsies up close and personal. They aren't the jolly accordion and mandolin playing gypsies traveling in a caravan we saw in "Pinocchio". No. THOSE effers hobble their own children to make them appear more sympathetic as they send them out to beg. You do not turn your back on them. The KIDS will stab you and take your money. If some kid tap dances in front of you while juggling oranges, look out. There's one right in back of you ready to harvest your liver. You mess with the adults, they will gang beat you.

It isn't because they are "dirty" or because they are a particular ethnic group. They are snakes. The country is poverty stricken and a lot of the citizens really don't have a lot to lose.

Your aunt is lucky she's still walking around, IMO.

On 2/21/2022 at 4:02 PM, kav said:

I have an elderly friend who fell for a you won $11,000 on facebook.  They hacked the **** out of her bank account, her facebook.  I told her no one wins anything on the internet ever.  If someone walks up to you on the street and holds a $100 bill and says want this 100?  RUN.

Aw that SUCKS. And that reminds me of last summer when I got burned. Bought a bunch of short sleeved shirts on FB. Neat shirts. I KNEW better and just didn't think it all the way through. I NEVER buy from vendors on FB. Not even Marketplace. But I bought $200 worth of shirts that day. I was lucky and PayPal made it right. I just don't know what got into me. Never again, though.

On 2/21/2022 at 4:03 PM, Buzzetta said:

Okay I have a solution since I have never before seen such animosity between buyer and seller in an auction.

If this is agreeable I will up the ante and not tell "someone" that I am using Disney money.  (I really want to go to back to Disney.  It's been 4 years... or the islands... which might be cheaper...)

Anywhoooooo

Cancel the sale if Randall agrees. 

I will take it for $50

$25 Friends and Family to Tiffany to cover the piece and shipping.

$25 direct donation to the Hero Initiative with proof of a screen cap of payment from Paypal.

This way this thread does not get locked or wiped.  I would want it whole, so I can display it and troll Suydum like a MF'r.  I am actually on the phone with Paul Heyman @jaybuck43 as I came up with this idea as we both laughed about how I would troll Suydum in the hopes of getting a cease and desist from his camp.  Jay's already salivating at doing the free legal work to write a response should that happen. 

So c'mon @Randall Ries let me know... let us all know.   This is a way that could make both parties happy.  More money to charity and at this point if the transaction is a headache it is a way for both parties to be relieved of the transaction in a method that both fulfills the original intent. 

Maybe this will cease hostilities all around and if it works, my next stop is to work on world peace or to at least mitigate arguments in the Water Cooler.  World Peace might be easier though.  

What? I'M not being hostile. I thought I was helping out by bidding on the thing. Now I want it. I didn't even get a "thank you". Doesn't matter what I do now. She isn't going to be happy no matter what. She knows everything already so why should I back up and explain what I was talking about? Tiffany won't understand what I'm saying and won't care anyway. When people become petulant, I'm out. I said "Thank you. I'll take good care of it" and that's the end of my part in this. Who isn't "getting over themselves" now?

I felt bad about the back story, know what it's like to get hosed as a kid by an adult and related. I talk the way I talk. I can't help it if people love their drama so much they have to try to read in bad intent from an observation. Believe me, I could be a lot worse. A LOT. A lot of you would pass out if you saw my FB page. I couldn't care less about what the majority of you think about me. Frankly? I'm not wild about most of you, either. But let the record show I stopped responding when I was asked to.

I want that piece. I won it. If someone wants it after I receive it and I give her positive feedback for being a good seller, they can contact me and we can work something out. Tell you what: I collect raw Batman Adams covers. I want an 8.0 or better Bats 235. That's next on my list. Someone sends me that and I approve it? I'll send the sketch. I'm as honest as the day is long. I don't rob people or rip them off.

I want it. Send it. I paid for it immediately because I'm a good EBayer and it belongs to me now. I will work something out with @Buzzetta and he can go forward with what he wants to do.

I WOULD like to point out that the plan being outlined is pretty negative and petty. A lot of work just to troll a narcissist who - for all we know - has Aspergers. To what end? There seems to be enough negativity attached to the sketch already. Do you WANT a poltergeist to inhabit the drawing? Because that's where it's heading. LOL!

Think it over. I got beeyatched out for being "condescending" and now a plan is being hatched to go to the Nth degree over a 15 year old sketch Sudyam won't even remember doing? What are you guys even thinking?

If it was such a traumatizing experience to receive a half baked Punisher sketch after paying $20 which probably came from parents, it should have been destroyed as soon as it was torn from the sketch pad. It wasn't. It was kept for 14 years as some sort of weird talisman designed to keep the hate alive. And now, the plan is to use it as a weapon? And a lawyer is involved? That's nuts. You are all adults, aren't you? And you think I'M a whack-job? Come on.

On 2/21/2022 at 3:43 PM, B2D327 said:

Just to add, hobbies are (supposed to be) an escape from the reality of shady individuals waiting to take advantage at every turn. You’d think collecting what most consider “kid stuff” would afford one the opportunity to let their guard down and enjoy something without greed poking it’s head in and sour someone’s faith in humanity. Is nothing pure anymore? 

No. NOTHING is pure. I agree 100% with you. Put another way: Scammers target the elderly who are not technical geniuses. I tried teaching an elderly client how to use a track pad on her laptop and it was like Sisyphus rolling a rock uphill. They are easy targets. They don't stand a chance.

If people make a living distributing child porn, then people who collect comics are nothing to them. You have to be a complete sociopath to do that. Void of any conscience.

I really dot eyes and cross tees even when buying from dealers. ALWAYS look at the actual WEB address I am supposedly dealing with.

 

On 2/21/2022 at 3:32 PM, grendelbo said:

I don't disagree.

I've listened to many, many JRAD shows on Nugs but I've yet to see them live. Great band.

Even (especially) on the boards, Weir everywhere.

Messaged you. We are everywhere. LOVE music more than comics. Giganto music collection. AND. I don't have to send the tunes to CGC for grading.

On 2/21/2022 at 3:09 PM, grendelbo said:

Deadhead 4 life.

They are soooooooo......sloowwwwwww.....

I watched a JRAD show and Weir guested for SMAGS. They - in fact - are NOT slow. He kept doing his "slow down" signal and they STEAMROLLED him. At the end he went "WHEW!"

Try to keep up, Bob.

On 2/21/2022 at 2:33 PM, grendelbo said:

Am I off-base assuming you're married.

Nope. Spot on. My favorite part is when I am presented with a course of action, I veto it citing that doesn't work that way because of experience, my veto is vetoed, the plan is proceeded with, fails as expected, then I am asked "Well NOW what are we gonna do?"

"WE"? Uh-uh. "WE" is now "YOU" and "YOU" are hosed. LOL!

On 2/11/2022 at 9:04 PM, B2D327 said:

Carp happens. I think some people might be too embarrassed to admit it but there’s always gonna be those looking to take advantage of someone who may not be as well versed in what to look out for.

This all night long. Everyone has their 1st time. Most won't admit they have been had before so everyone ELSE is the dupe. But never them. Certainly not them.

On 2/20/2022 at 2:33 PM, AhsokaTano Jedi Apprentice said:

 It's pretty nice ...I want to say like a 6.0   but I'm sure I'm wrong.

I feel you. I'm wrong ALL the time. ESPECIALLY when I'm right.

6.0-6.5

I'd go 6.0-6.5

4.0 all day.

On 2/21/2022 at 12:35 PM, Bronty said:

Is that you in your profile picture?

It's your mother.

On 2/21/2022 at 10:33 AM, Funnybooks said:

Isn't she great?

https://www.facebook.com/ema.buggy/posts/3230354417248113