drotto

I do no think so. Every piece of food has an expiration date stamped on the package, and chips still cost like $2. So I do not see how printing something on the inner well would be that expensive. Yes the initial machine purchase is going to be expensive, but it is a one time thing. Second, they already have a hologram sticker on the hard case, or even think of all the interesting packaging we have on all types of products. I am sure they can afford to do something like this.

If I have the right one, they also seem to advertise comic book improvement services. Also have at least one photo online associated with store images with that shows the owner?

Made it!! What a rousing endorsement.

I see two shops basically right at that metro station. A third is kinda close.

Love the handy trimming board also.

Or the guy is just trolling us at this point. Knows you can use the heat gun to open slabs. Knows the controversy. Has been reading everything said here. Knows they are under suspicion. So just said screw it, posts this picture to toy with everyone. Or is so confident that CGC will either not be able to prove it, or does not think they really mean to pursue it.

I think Filoni, Kennedy, and Disney just need to leave Favreau alone to do his thing, with limited interference. When the Mandolarian went down hill in S3 is when the show no longer felt like Favreau product, and was ruined by corporate interference. Ashoka was supposed to be Filoni's big thing, and for me it was bland at best, and a complete bastardization of the Zahn trilogy at worse. I was a big Filoni fan after the Clone Wars, but I think his talents have not translated to live action well. Yes, I think part of this is as they are trying to write Rey, they have found the pieces they need are not all in place. This is needed to fill the gaps. Then again the MCU has just proven that starting something as a streaming idea and then attempting to move it to a movie presents it's own issues.

Still think one of the best solutions requires no redesign, just and extra step in the holdering process. Print or etch all the book's information on the inner sleave, and incorporate some fashion of watermarking or UV light printing onto the inner well plastic. So all inner wells would have the book name, issue number, grade, issue notation (like no MVS, MJI, restoration info like C1, etc), and certificate number on that well. The outer well is therefor needed for physical protection only, and the inner well protects again fraud.

My GA Batman books are the only ones that have continued to go up in value and did not get the COVID bump and crash. A few have gone up 3 to 4 times and do not seem to be slowing down.

Let's hope not. I do not even know where they intend to take this film. I am sure Favreau has some good ideas, but S3 had sort of reached an endpoint.

Rey gets kick to the curb at least temporarily. Does this have a reactionary feel to it?

Rey movie looks like it is being pushed back, and may have lost its expected release date in December 2025. A John Favreau directed and produced Mandolorian and Grogu movies has just been announced and pushed to the forefront, as the next Star Wars movie. Reaction to the bad press last week?

The key here is the tampering only has to look like damage and not intentional tampering. So CGC will just reholder it as a damaged slab, and not inspect it further. So the case manipulation does not need to be perfect.

Sure let's finish making the scammer the Al Capone of comic fraud. The IRS will take him down for tax evasion. Honestly, that might be the easiest route.

And what do we tell all the women who have already helped to shape Star Wars?

Radical idea!! It is OK to have movies and IPs that are made for a specific groups or demographics. Star Wars and the MCU were primarily targeted at men and men loved them. Some women loved them as a plus. Barbie was made for women, and they loved it, even some men liked it. See how that works? Make a good movie and it makes money. Even those typically outside the target group, may still like it. Stop trying to twist and change existing IP's from who they were developed to appeal too. It does not work in most cases.

He needs the inner well if the books was bought raw.

I would tell the person, but I would follow up to see if they did it, and if I got any funny vibe i would report it to CGC through one of the various channels they have provided. That is a tough call. Yes, this person is likely very knowledgeable about comics and CGC. They know exactly what books this would work with and which would have a good ROI. They have also displayed good knowledge of how CGC works, and even a disturbing level of knowledge about where the internal weaknesses are. They are 100% aware of this thread, and I would not be surprised to find they have posted in it. I am not sure this is an inside job (I do not think it is in the technical sense), but rather a dealer that has a good long standing relationship with CGC (my theory, I have no proof). I have seen first hand how certain creators and dealers get preferential treatment at CGC. You think when artists or dealers that do those signed variant cover slabs, they bring a CGC witness in to verify the signatures every time? I doubt it. Or when people have slabs available the day an issue releases, or very soon after, no average submitter would be able to do that, or do that in a cost effective manor. They have a good relationship and CGC just excepts their submissions based on that trusted relationship, and sometimes helps things along. It is just the way of the world.

This could be explained by the scammer still has some of the books, and risks exposure if they try and clear them.

I also think the AF15 ss is the most likely to be legitimate on the list. The only reason it is on the list was the reholder for the costum label. To me the question is was that done for the scammer's PC and enjoyment and/or to cover their tracks. Hey CGC I do not only reholder ASM 300's.

We are not going to see that AF15 unless law enforcement takes it.

Another reason just dawned on me why the custom labels? It is because he needs to turn around those multiple submission 9.8. It may raise a red flag, if they were reporting all books in a submission were damaged and need reholdering. With the costume label, the scammer can justify it by saying, so sorry, I forgot about the costum label, can I send the submission, I just got back in to get that label. Then the reholdering would not raise a red flags.

That run a 4 consecutive ASM 300 is what makes me think he has at least 4 real 9.8's, certainly enough to really keep this rolling. Still astounds me that one person submitting that many high grades from two or three issues would not raise any red flags. Who has that kinda supply of ultra high grades. I have heard of people hoarding copies of key books, but never of that consistent quality level.

Possibly, but the sequential certificate numbers confuse things. The only way you get sequential numbers is if all those books are from the same original grading submission, and originate from the same person. Since reholders keep their number, all the numbers would be random in theory. Unless, the scammer is submitting multiple copies of legitimate 9.8 comics at one time. Getting those back, swapping the books, and then personally sending in those swapped books for reholder. Then the sequential numbering would be retained. If this is the case, it means he has multiple legitimate 9.8 copies, and when you see runs of sequential 9.8's, this is him rolling those legit books for repeated submission. Current books within those sequential certificate numbers are therefor the most likely to be fraudulent. So yes, out of those 80 or so 9.8 ASM 300's, likely 75 are not real 9.8's. The 9.6's are likely just bad luck that on that run through, where his good 9.8 either received a lower score (we know things are subjective), or possible had minor damage in the process at some point. Again so much of this depended on hiding in the numbers, so the real reason those ASM books were targeted. The Hulk 181's are a bit less obvious, because of the need for the qualified books, and the expense of obtaining Ultra high grade legitimate books. Maybe seeing 4 x 9.8's at one time was seen as too obvious or was just too expensive. He does not own multiple 9.8 or even 9.6 Hulk 181's. But the price bump from green to blue is still there. Where the real price bump on something like ASM 300 really requires that 9.8.

I agree 100%, when you finally get around to saying it. The likely realities of the current CGC and comic book market 1. There may be a short term hit on values of comic books related to this. Especially with the seemingly highly manipulated books. But, the market will correct and recover at some point. 2. Grading in collectables is a modern day reality. It is in comics, coins, video game, cards, money, stamps, even Funco Pops. It is not going away since the collecting comminutes as a whole has deemed the service valuable. Like it or not. 3. CGC graded books, may get a short term hit in value, but will continue to sell for more then raw comics. There are too many dealers that pin their lively hood on selling slabbed books, and there are too many auction houses that depend on it. This is especially true for high value key books. While most books are still raw overall, the majority of high value books have been slabbed. How many raw AF15's do you see any more. Raw X-Men #1. You get my point. They are out there, but getting ever harder to find. 4. No matter how much people complain about the slabs, raise your hand if you think there is a new mass cracking of books going on, because of this scandal. I just do not see it happening. Most people will not crack their books out, if they were not the collectors that were doing this before the scandal. When those books are eventually sold, they will therefor still be in slabs. 5. This is unlikely to be the end of CGC. Weakened in the short term. In need of getting consumer confidence back, but this will pass. There is also no strong competitor waiting to pounce. 6. Most comic collectors are either not aware this is going on or only somewhat aware. Those of us posting here, obsessing over the details, and acting like the sky is falling, are the minority. Now, it is great we are here, because those same obsessive people are the ones that actual protect the hobby. If this upsets some people, I am sorry. I am trying to be a realist with all of this.