VegasJeff

That's exactly what I do. No tape near my bags. Just tuck the flaps in! I heard someone else on here make a suggestion that they use color coded post-it notes instead of tape. I might try that idea and see how that works out.

I also noticed in the upper left corner there is a spot where some green color is missing. We would need someone to chime in that has more experience with the problems that older Marvels can have.

Back in the day, when I had a N.I.C.E. subscription with Mile High, every month I would get about a dozen raw comics in a very similar mailer but it was probably a different brand. Highly recommend this kind of mailer for comics. Never got any comics with any damage in this kind of mailer. I should note that they would place all the raw comics inside a clear poly bag. Perhaps to protect the raw comics from dust or maybe moisture. So I would recommend that extra step if you can do it.

This is a good post as I was thinking of posting something similar. I would have to double check my numbers but I'm pretty sure I exceeded your $6000 through Paypal. I know for certain I did not exceed $20,000. I'm curious did you have more than 200 transactions? I only had several dozen for hundreds of dollars each.

I'd be ticked if I got a slab in the mail with Newton Rings/Prism/Oil Effect. Not cool!

I saw that. It's like 16% off. *Yawn*

How much did it sell for? I don't have an account on that site...

I found the cover I was referring to in the previous post. It is from Conan Saga#14. I like it better than the original since it has less text covering up the artwork.

I like that cover artwork on Savage Tales#2. I remember it well because it is the same artwork that was on one of the first issues of Savage Sword of Conan I bought off the newstand. Don't remember the exact issue number but I think it was around 1988. I remember buying that issue and it's kind of funny because I was probably 10 at the time and I remember this cashier who was an older lady giving me a hard time about it since I was so young. After looking at the cover she said to me "Aren't you a little young to be buying this?" With my quick rabbit thinking I told her back "oh no that's artwork". She sold it to me and I quickly left. I didn't think she could of stopped me from buying it as it wasn't in the black polybags like the Playboys were on the newstand at that time.

CBCS must be desperate for business to offer this ...

How many of these defective slabs are out there?

I must say AndyFish's advice above is very good stuff. I can also add some input to this discussion. I've setup and designed many Retail POS system setups. As a retailer, a POS system is an absolute must these days. A standard POS system with all the bells and whistles will run you about $1,000 per lane (register). Since you will be just a one store operation that $60/month POS listed earlier in this thread will probably be your best deal if it does everything you need it to do. You will need to track inventory, charge credit cards, find out what your cost is on an item at a second's notice, setup reorder points. You will be able to run reports to determine what is selling and how to better allocate your funds on future orders. Your vision of a comic shop may not match the wants or needs of the customers in your area. This will help you adjust to their needs and order what they want and pay money for. You should also do a complete inventory count every quarter to make sure what you have on hand is what your computer system says. This is how you will determine how much shrinkage you have (i.e. theft, etc.). Industry standard is roughly 2% for that number. This will help you figure out if employees or customers are robbing you blind. Then you can make adjustments to compensate for that. POS systems can also tie into accounting systems and help automate a lot of the paperwork. If you don't have a POS system you are just 'amatuer' and your days as a retailer are numbered. I'm sorry if this sounds rough but business is war. I heard a number that 80% of new businesses go under in the first three years. If the largest comic book chain in the country (who is that?) were to open a shop across the street from yours how would you compete with them? Something to think about. If you don't have management experience in retail. I would suggest getting some first. Go manage a Walgreens or CVS or a Convenience Store for a year. The experience you get will be invaluable down the road if you decide to do this. I encourage you to do so with the proper setup you could be very successful.

To the OP, where are you located? I did sell some comics in bulk to Chuck back in the 90's. He was paying 10 cents a comic back then for titles he was looking for (Captain America for example). Stuff he doesn't care about he might pay 5 cents a comic. One more thing, to get those prices you had to get the comics to him. It's been a long time. Under normal circumstances, I would never agree to those prices, but I sold them along with some higher value stuff as I was hurting for money at the time. Overall, I think I did ok on the whole deal.

I don't like translucent covers. If I had the choice, I would take a lower grade if it did not have a translucent cover.

My collection is worthless. What am I gonna do with all these Defiant Comics?

I was just thinking the same thing if it's some sort of tape residue but too hard to tell for sure. To the OP, considering how ugly the spine is on this book I would just leave it alone in regards to the specific area your looking at. As for buying it, the only advice I can give is that price trumps all.

Based on my intermediate knowledge and research, I'm not aware of any way to remove black marker from paper. There could be the possibility of coloring over it but not sure how well that would work considering how intricate the artwork is in that area. Would need someone who is an expert in this area to chime in. Maybe better to just take the hit as it currently is and sell the book in its current state.

I made it too! Woohoo! P.S. Where did my avatar go? (Edit: I re-uploaded my avatar.)

So back in the 70's, was stamp collecting popular and do you think Marvel came up with the Marvel Value Stamps to compete against that hobby? Or do you think it was just some marketing ploy to try to sell more books?

Pressing may fix that. One of the verterans on the board will have to add their opinion.

Dave, Did Torpedo go out of business? I have not purchased from them in about 6 months. What I found strange was the two books I purchased from them (as a gift for someone) about 6 months ago are still listed for sale (by them) on eBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEIRD-WESTERN-TALES-23-CGC-9-8-HIGHEST-GRADED-/122150902639?hash=item1c70c2db6f:g:5r8AAOSwI-BWOpRJ http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEIRD-WESTERN-TALES-25-CGC-9-8-ONLY-2-GRADED-AT-9-8-/122150902606?hash=item1c70c2db4e:g:WegAAOSwwbdWOpRQ I knew John was going through some reorganization of his shop. That was the only big store in Vegas I could think of. I'm in Vegas and I can tell you I went to Torpedo Comics within the last few weeks for the first time and they do not appear to be going out of business. It was a cool experience going there. I met Jim Lee in person and had him sign a few comics and talked to him for a bit. I heard the owner mention they would never sell any of that magic card game . I thought that was cool. A strictly comic book store. I also liked the way they had all their older and more valuable comics sectioned off from the main floor in a smaller room with see through glass walls. I had never been to Torpedo Comics before but to me this seemed like it was a new location for them. It was kind of a weird location to be honest. It was off in this complex with a bunch of small subdivided warehouses. Not like in a typical retail center where most comic shops are. However, I understand the small warehouse thing they had going on which seemed cool as it was certainly bigger than your average sized comic shop and would be good if you are trying to run a larger sized internet mail order operation. Torpedo is owned by John Dolmayan the drummer of System of a Down. In the back of the store, in the warehouse part he had a drum set with custom artwork all over it. Super cool. Will have to check if I have a picture of it on my phone.

Dave, Did Torpedo go out of business? I have not purchased from them in about 6 months. What I found strange was the two books I purchased from them (as a gift for someone) about 6 months ago are still listed for sale (by them) on eBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEIRD-WESTERN-TALES-23-CGC-9-8-HIGHEST-GRADED-/122150902639?hash=item1c70c2db6f:g:5r8AAOSwI-BWOpRJ http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEIRD-WESTERN-TALES-25-CGC-9-8-ONLY-2-GRADED-AT-9-8-/122150902606?hash=item1c70c2db4e:g:WegAAOSwwbdWOpRQ I knew John was going through some reorganization of his shop. That was the only big store in Vegas I could think of. I'm in Vegas and I can tell you I went to Torpedo Comics within the last few weeks for the first time and they do not appear to be going out of business. It was a cool experience going there. I met Jim Lee in person and had him sign a few comics and talked to him for a bit. I heard the owner mention they would never sell any of that magic card game . I thought that was cool. A strictly comic book store. I also liked the way they had all their older and more valuable comics sectioned off from the main floor in a smaller room with see through glass walls. I had never been to Torpedo Comics before but to me this seemed like it was a new location for them. It was kind of a weird location to be honest. It was off in this complex with a bunch of small subdivided warehouses. Not like in a typical retail center where most comic shops are. However, I understand the small warehouse thing they had going on which seemed cool as it was certainly bigger than your average sized comic shop and would be good if you are trying to run a larger sized internet mail order operation.

Details please. At least the cliff notes on this situation.

My goal for 2017 is to get my collection organized and catalog everything into a spreadsheet or something so I know what I have and figure out the values. Then I want to figure out if I'm gonna go further down the rabbit hole and start picking up silver age comics or if I'm gonna go the other way and sell everything and kick this hobby for good.