MAR1979

Totally Impossible to narrow down to 10 but to pick 1 is impossible! So I will choose a Bronze cover that had huge impact on me. The first time I came across this comic as a child the cover mesmerized me. It could very well been the first time I looked a comic cover as "art". It barely makes the Bronze Age cut-off. Big John Pencils and Milgrom inks, the incredible design was Cockrum. Thanks to the CAF member who posted that Cockrum pre-lim! Is is just me or does the Beast look like a Kane rendering?

Agreed. IMHO in the situation you described the only winner is Heritage. Most bidders factor the 20% + their high Heritage shipping costs into their bid. As for the buyer they get to wait 3-5 weeks for Heritage to ship the item and that's if they are lucky after calling multiple times.

Not a fan of custom labels personally. They distract my eyes from the comic, and seem "hokey". Not sure in most cases if they are selling point, especially on 4 figure books.. Although I will say 238 with the custom 238 label for me is an exception and one day next year I'm sure I'll get mine back from CGC... First book I ever submitted that I will have pressed. How many 194 at $3800-$4000k for them not to be outliers? Perhaps the shift to the next hot ASM already in progress?

Would so much more cool if stated "From Gaines' Stash" rather than Gaines File Copy File copies from most company's were likley often handled. Perhaps less if Gold Key where continuity was virtually non-existent

Are they a legit outfit? Or an inside joke? The only product they have is Rifleman 10

6? 6.5?

I was one of them until 7 weeks ago. Then I picked up a Plustek OpticPro A320E. I do not sell comics, at least up until this point in my life, but for inventory and insurance purposes it's great to have. Scanner runs around $500 but at least for me worth every cent. Please note not all slab scans will be perfect. Seems to be slab by slab basis but what I've realized is 1st Gen CGC and 3rd Gen CGC slabs usually result in excellent scans. 2nd Gen slabs some light splashing is common, still the resulting scanned images still look decent to my eyes. I've scanned 400 Comic and Magazine Slabs thus far, and only 2 images thus far that have been totally disappointing. BTW: It works great on Original Art that measures 12"x18" or less.

I'm inclined to agree however they are nowhere as bad as PSA. PSA has given their non-large customers a right good fisting. To the point it's not the condition of the card that determines the grades but the specific submitting client as well reserving the top grades only for large clients in order to maintain census population percentages aka quota system. The quota system artificially prevents a census influx of bulk 10's for modern cards and 8's and 9's for vintage thus percentages of cards at each grade level remains same without needing much increased demand to maintain price levels. The Price Levels their larger clients now want, did I mention PSA's parent company purchased an auction house earlier this year (Goldin) who of course submits cards to submits to PSA. Supreme Conflict of Interest. So say what u want about CGC they have a long way to fall down to get to PSA's level of shenanigans.

Last books I received back more than half the slabs had scuffing in nearly the same spot. On most I was able to buff them out using Meguiar's PlastX on the others was only able to remove about 75% of the scuffing. Those books utilized CGC's "new process". So while apparently (or allegedly) faster it appears applying damage to each slab is now officially part of the service.

As for me; When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody's Help in anyway...

Seriously where can I get my paws on this alleged "free money" ! One you know how the sausage is made you can't un-know

No Sun/Natural light even if overcast day, No CFC Bulbs, No Florescent lighting. Incandescent Bulbs do give off small amounts of UV and over enough time could be a possible issue. LED bulbs do not emit any measurable UV with one exception; Brilliant Blues LED's do emit an essentially negligible amount of UV. So go ahead and display your slabs without worry as long as the only light sources are LED bulbs!

5.0 / 5.5

This topic stinks

That "dirt" was on back of a raw book I sent in which received a 9.8. Rest of book pretty much flawless. Glad comics are not graded like stupid trading cards! Although since beginning of 2021 PSA card grading has more to do with whom submits as well maintaining quota percentages based on census rather than on the condition of the card itself...

7.0 maybe a 7.5 if pressed and a grader just had a great night before work.

Seeing color loss on the spine hit in the corner box. 8.5 or 9.0 possibly a 9.0 or 9.2 if pressed.

Like with most schemes a few slick operators make large bank the rest lose. Lot of folks already burned by NFT's since Jan. Yes Wild West applies and the real Wild West lasted a lot less time than people realize.

A correction is already in progress to large degree. Look at prices of books from April/May then Aug/Sept compared to now. For NON hot-book de jour and NON Blue chips it is already occurring especially high census POP. In fact even some keys are dropping when high POP's exist - example Star Wars 1. BTW it's same situation in Trading Cards Take ASM 300 9.8 (non newsstand as at moment newsstand is hot) how much less than just 2-3 months ago. ASM316 9.8 was 2k in April, it seems to now have stabilized at 1-1.2k but as much as it pains me to say as I just got mine back from CGC, not sure how long it will hold onto the 1.1/1.2K. Then ASM 361 was what like 1.2-1.4k earlier this year now struggling to hold on to the $600-$700 range. She-Hulk 1 was 1.8K for Direct Sale for a month or two this year now down to $900-1K . many other examples which is why I say only a rube will pay $5K for ASM 194. I would doubt that Blue Chips will fall anywhere near their pre-COVID levels, however no one can predict that. The only thing that can be said with certainty is the larger the bubble the larger the bubble's burst. When bulk of the "buy the number on the slab social media crowd" exits the hobby after getting fi$cally burned no one can predict the fallout. Its not if, but when and they have very short attention spans. IMHO Higher Pop post 1975 Sell Now, Buy Later. Of course since I do not do the former, I can only practice the later.

Since seemingly only Marvel counts to the bulk of fandom, the 1st true appearence is Scooby Doo #1 (1977) from Marvel

I've a submission received by CGG prior to yours that has been in GEI status since Mid Sept with zero movement

You nailed it. It pains me to give Heritage props but the scans they provide are second to none. The many short-comings of the Frank 2 book are clearly visable. No reason an informed choice could not have been made. IMHO quotes from PT Barnum or Forest Gump apply.

I've both seen and own nicer 9.6's and worse 9.8's, not just recently but the past 21 years. Normal deviations in effect. Buy the book not the number on the slab label IMHO

No one receives a credit for over estimating. That is your gift to CGC.

^Upcharge must only be for insurance. An upcharge for a level of service not provided is tantamount to fraud.