joe_collector

I'm not wishing for anything, just answering the question in a candid way. I asked a few people how they got their titles, and it was "If you're in with Arch, just send him a PM".

 

As I'm obviously no t"in" with the Forum Brass, why bother?

I aint "in with Arch" either...all I did was drop a quick PM asking..."Howzabout giving me a custom title"...an hour later ...viola ....

I rest my case.

Usually custom titles are given to board members that stand out in one way or another.

I've been standing the Forum Ledge for years.

No seriously, how did you get yours?

How's the saying go...."Be careful what you wish for....it may come true"...

I'm not wishing for anything, just answering the question in a candid way. I asked a few people how they got their titles, and it was "If you're in with Arch, just send him a PM".

As I'm obviously no t"in" with the Forum Brass, why bother?

Ian is no butt-kisser, that's for DANG sure!

He's a [!@#%^&^] cat, who can switch from nice to not-so-nice in an instant.

All he needed to do was catch Arch on the good day.

You have to be a BSD ....

Nah, just pucker up and shoot Arch a PM.

Oh yeah, and close your eyes.

A whole lot of butt-kissing.

Joe, you're completely out of your tree. You know this, don't you?

Where have you been for the past year? Living under a rock?

He doesn't press books, period.

Now are we supposed to read this as he doesn't physically press the books, or he doesn't get them pressed by others?

All I ask is you provide something to back up these claims and you come up with nothing. If you have nothing (or can't give anything), don't make them?

Trust me, you don't want to see the "Before and After" photos I have. I'd post them just to start a real war, but I'm simply not that evil.

Is it possible to pick out which of the 5 on the table are the pressed comics just by viewing them?

If this were a serious defect that raised its grade more than 0.2, then yes.

If it was something like a minute paper impression (9.4 to 9.6) then probably not.

The problem I have is that most of the press-work I've seen is from the first camp, to remove spine rolls, significant creases, not to mention the rampant "cleaning and pressing" of books with distributor ink.

That's where the profit is, from taking an 8.0 to 8.5 book with a slight roll and a big splash of distro ink, all the way up to a CGC 9.4-9.6 with a bone-white cover.

Anyone who's seen the "before and after" photos I have, would NEVER be a fan of pressing.

Who here actually cares about the implications of CGC not calling pressing restoration, resulting in the book that you want selling for more than you want to pay? That's the real issue,

In your world maybe, but that's usually the half-assed response a dealer will spout to you.

After all, it can't be collectors wanting a pristine book that hasn't had any "work" done to it, or investors wanting comics that won't be PLOD'ed 10 years from now, when the community decides pressing is resto, and detection techniques have improved substantially.

No, it's gotta be us cheapos not wanting to pay "market prices" and fork over Guide multiples to dealers playing the press/resto game. That's really what it comes down to, dealers are worried that their "press for cash" scam will be uncovered and collectors, specs and investors will say that the jig is up.

Personally, I don't see why anyone would choose a pro-pressed, pancaked POS CGC comic when pristine, unpressed and unrestored CGC comics sell for the same price.

Raw books move all the time, are these just as likely to be pressed as CGC ones? I think so. It's the same idea; maximize grade, maximize money.

I totally disagree with this statement, as it ignores the real reason why pressing is being so rampant: If you can get even a 0.2 CGC grade increase on a high-end book, that can potentially mean thousands of dollars in your pocket.

Now let's take the same scenario with a raw book. You originally grade it a NM 9.4 and then press it into what you feel is a NM+ 9.6. Now do you really believe that selling it raw on EBay will increase the value thousands of dollars? I don't think the end price would move at all, as a raw NM is a raw NM, assuming a legit dealer, and all that time, money and effort would be wasted on a raw comic. In fact, most buyers wouldn't trust the NM grade, let alone a NM+ raw designation.

Now contrast that with the spike in value from a AF 15 CGC 9.4 pressed to a CGC 9.6 resub and the financial windfall it presents. Pressing and other "non-detectable by CGC" restorative techniques follow the money, and those kinds of "press and win" returns are ONLY available on the CGC side of the equation.

Now I'm not saying that raw books do not get pressed, only to say they are "as likely" to get pressed as CGC books is ludicrous. There is little profit in pressing raw books, as opposed to using pressing to get even a slightly higher CGC grade.

I agree. I like my books CGC'd though, now I'm having second thoughts....

Nah, I'm keeping what I got, since I don't buy "non-essentials", but I am going to watch how the market progresses and see how far south prices run as "pressed high-grade" supply increases.

Yeh, cause the only people who press their books are the people who submit to CGC..

Yeah, well if I buy a set of VF/NM Bronze books for $2 a copy, then I'm not too worried about a few of them being "pressed".

It's the "high dollar CGC crowd" that's gonna take the bullet.

I agree. "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" rings true--for someone to gain, another must lose. It's all in a balanced equation. Market correction is inevitable...

"Patience is a virtue" rings true as well.

Go for it. Best of luck to you. Hope you don't get any books with "undisclosed pressing".

Like I said, I've taken myself out of the CGC market for at least the foreseeable future. If people are manufacturing CGC 9.4-9.8 copies on their book presses, I can't see me paying less now, than I will a year or two in the future.

By that time, there will be multiple copies for everyone.

An educated market will eventially correct this as the number of high grade copies go up and the novelty of the slab goes down...

Sure, and not to mention all the ticked off people who submitted their "bought off the newstand copy", received a CGC 9.6, and are now forced to watch their comic become "common" as more 9.0-9.4 copies are pressed to higher grades.

In many ways, this rampant pressing (and clean-and-pressing) has made a mockery of the CGC "high grade scarcity" business model.

I'd prefer to get a virgin uncompressed book, but how many virgins are out there?!? I thought so...

Don't make me take out my longbox.....

What is it you have a problem with--ironing (light pressure accompanied by heat and possibly humidity), extreme-force pressing, or both?

I have a problem with supporting a business model where pressing is considered an ethical way to make money.

I'm fine with a properly pressed book as well.

Glad to hear it, and I hope everyone goes "pressed or nothing" so I can snag books that actually have a spine.

i've got a thousand virgin SA books in terrific shape that i love. but, i still don't care if someone presses a book, and sells it to me in a higher grade than it was before. the book has been improved without adding or subtracting anything - and i'm happy with that......

Let me get this straight, you're HAPPY that someone pressed your books from a wrinkled 8.0 to a pristine 9.6, and you'd rather buy a pressed copy than a virgin, unnpressed and unrestored book?

That's some whacky tobacky you're smokin'.

Somethings you got to learn to live with!!!

Not necessarily. I haven't bought a CGC comic since I really started thinking about the long-term implications of pressing, and I'm definitely taking a "wait and see" approach to this rampant "pressing for dollars".

Instead I've been having some fun filling in my Bronze collection with various low-cost VF to NM raw copies. And yes (gasp), I actually get to read them before filing them away.

I don't believe that all pressing ca be determined.....

And I don't believe all forms of restoration can be determined.

I'm not all that familiar with the whole pressing thing but if I had a choice between, say a 8.0 unpressed book, or a 9.0 pressed book for the same price, then I'll take the pressed book anyday.

Ummm, and what strange universe does this occur in?

As you know, the problem is that a pancake-pressed CGC 9.0 sells for the same price as an unpressed/unrestored CGC 9.0.

Which of those would you choose?

Is this considered "pressing"?

If you sell it as VF+ or send it to CGC and get an 8.5 grade, then yes.

If you keep it forever and take it to your grave, then we could refer to it as "closet pressing".