MAY1979

Almost like a Mylar w/proper Board should be inside the encapsulation. As long as there is no viable competition it sadly won't get better folks. The sole way to show CGC you truly mean business is to purchase only raw books or CB*S slabs and only submit to C*CS. Which ain't ever going to happen - right?

I see it hit the 0 day wire since end of March. So it's already out there for any "in the know" or with Google , likely as a result of this thread;

Was not here then but those who remember that Golden 1991-1992 era (ALL IMHO) even in the hobby are not seeking them. I did pick up this at NYCC for $40. Significantly lower price now in CGC 9.8 compared to raw 28-30 years back

Scammer is as scammer does

Note who owns 6.45% of Fedex Corp. File Date Form Investor Prev Shares Latest Shares Δ Shares (Percent) Ownership (Percent) Δ Ownership (Percent) 2023-02-14 13G/A DODGE & COX 16,674,920 17,331,895 3.94 6.90 9.52 2023-02-09 13G/A VANGUARD GROUP INC 18,390,509 19,050,450 3.59 7.55 8.79 2023-02-09 13G/A PRIMECAP MANAGEMENT CO/CA/ 13,195,532 13,921,967 5.51 5.52 10.84 2023-02-07 13G/A BlackRock Inc. 16,526,633 16,691,254 1.00 6.60 6.45 2023-02-06 13G/A SMITH FREDERICK W 20,783,462 20,658,394 -0.60 8.20 3.80

P.S. The whole Groo animation exploration rights nonsense as I stated from the get-go was and is a Nothing Burger. Oh where oh where are the folks who scoffed at that 12-28 months ago I laugh at this pandemic bubble era comment earlier in this thread regarding Destroyer Duck 1 9.8 One for $660 before that. That book is sooooo under valued. Be patient. It's percolating... Wrong! and the poster likley knew that as well at the time. BTW I know who purchased the recent $338 copy on eBay. Guy has another 9.8 copy with a wrap that is nice but not perfect so he upgraded. In effect he had a buy-order in at $350 even though he knew it might still dip below $300. DD#1 9.6's are they even worth the CGC grade-slab fees anymore ?

DD did have alledged sales $1850 range. To be clear anyone who purchased DD1 in 9.8 at $1000 was a fool at $1500+ a mendicant's mendicant... those who heeded advice from myself and others like jick in this thread can now pick up one at FMV of ~340. Where my guess is in the range it will stagnate for the long haul. I for one am glad Groo prices are now within reach of True Groo fans and not mendicant flippers and speculators. Seems of the Early Groo #1's, Groo Special is by far the most rare in 9.8. Oddly it's also the least expensive. Although in Overstreet from 1987 to at least 2008 it had the higher valuation. While it is the least submitted as I recall it by far had the lowest print run, due to the last minute change in publishers due to Pacific going belly up and that Eclipse knew going into the deal it was a one-shot only and Groo was going to Epic/Marvel Books CGC Label CGC Total Avg. Grade 10 9.9 9.8 9.6 9.4 9.2 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.8 1.5 1.0 0.5 1. Destroyer Duck 1 (2/82, Eclipse) Jack Kirby & Neal Adams cover. 1st appearance of Groo the Wanderer. Origin & 1st appearance Dest Universal 961 9.23 157 245 210 131 77 63 36 16 11 3 3 5 1 1 2 Books CGC Label CGC Total Avg. Grade 10 9.9 9.8 9.6 9.4 9.2 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.8 1.5 1.0 0.5 1. Groo the Wanderer 1 (12/82, Pacific Comics) 1st appearance of The Sage & Taranto. Sergio Aragones biography. Universal 556 9.32 193 126 84 46 37 22 19 10 7 4 3 2 3 2. Groo Special 1 (10/84, Eclipse) Universal 132 9.52 61 29 21 10 2 3 5 1 3. Groo the Wanderer 1 (3/85, Marvel/Epic Comics) Universal 442 9.31 3 151 109 56 34 24 27 11 14 2 4 4 2 1

When a parcel is colic-y, the USPS takes it for ride.

eBay has records of how much each seller made for the year. I thought that is what is sought and who is affected

That seems to be similar to the old Casino trope of "Playing with the House's Money". A trope that is only good for the casino. A trope that is also wrong. Once you win money playing Blackjack, Craps, or whatever, that money is yours not theirs. Professional gamblers understand that and thusly are able to make a living. Regardless if the funds from the purchaser were made from Crypto, or working as an Architect, or Driving a Race Car, or selling home knit scarfs on Etsy or any other revenue stream - If they forked over their funds for the NFTs and the NFTs have depreciated so that selling them means doing so at a price lower than they paid, with or without fees, then plain and simple they have "lost" money. Bottom line it was their money to lose and they lost it. Unless of course it's was someone else money they were purchasing NFT's on their behalf, then their Investor/Client has lost money. P.S. Whether someone cares or not if they lost money, does not change the fact that they have.

The Shop I used from 1982-1995 had them from their start. Guess I thought that was normal. I think they added Mylites in 1983. I still have books in the original Mylites from my childhood On anything decent though I changed boards in the 1990's and then again 12 years back and then for some again during start of the pandemic to keep myself occupied.

Yep everyone kept the issue and in high grade. Wolverine 1 (1982) was a huge production run for its time in which pretty much everyone bagged/mylar'd and boarded from the get go. I was just a small kid then and I did that. As I understand it many shop owners and collectors also gobbled them up from their local newsstands as they all thought the book was gold. ASM252 and Thor 337 are other prime examples of that. I would bet those who have lost $ with NFT far outweighs those who have received nominal gains. Buy nothing, get nothing applies Like any "scheme" those who get in and out early are the ones who make bank

I'd expect another 10% drop soon especially as year end nears. Impossible to predict a bottom of any market of course, but for comics the underlying causes have not changed all year. In Sept I pulled the trigger on some minor Bronze/Copper keys (not ASM but one 1979 X-Men) only to see they have already dropped more than 10% in FMV, falling to near 2019 levels.

That is now 1/3 or more than 194 and 238 command in 9.8. I do feel especially sorry for the suckers who purchased either at 4K, 5k or even higher while some here during the bubble continually mention "unlimited upwards trajectory" or similar self-serving sales bile, while those with actual Comic, Economic and Financial acumen were scoffed at. Item Title: Amazing Spider-man # 194 cgc 9.8 1 st Black Cat Stan Lee Direct 300 Sale Price: 2,226.00 USD Auction → Number of Bids: 31 Sale Date: Oct 3 2023 Item Title: Amazing Spider-man # 194 cgc 9.8 1 st Black Cat Stan Lee Direct 300 Sale Price: 2,400.00 USD Auction → Number of Bids: 44 Sale Date: Sep 19 2023 Item Title: Amazing Spider-man # 238 cgc 9.8 1st App of Hobgoblin Stan Lee Newsstand Romita Sale Price: 2,583.88 USD Auction → Number of Bids: 49 Sale Date: Oct 17 2023 Item Title: Amazing Spider-Man #238 CGC 9.8 White Absolutely Stunning! 1st App of Hobgoblin Sale Price: 1,608.00 USD Auction → Number of Bids: 44 Sale Date: Oct 3 2023 At one point each in 9.4 was going for over $1000. Those who paid those amounts for 9.4's are no longer "good" as was mentioned early in the main #194 thread.

A bit less than 3 years ago the TP would have had higher value for a time than micro-chamber.

MY non-standard con report, I have family in the region so I try to visit every year. 2020 of course is only year I missed in last 10 but so did everyone... Thursday this year was as busy as past Friday's from my vantage point. You can not pay me to attend the madhouse that is Saturday! I take that day for culinary adventures in Manhattan. This year I went to Washington Heights for some amazing Dominican Cuisine - had never had that type of food before but saw the places featured on the PBS Food Show "Road Trip" and figured why not. Last year I did Stone Street area way downtown including the Francois Tavern, 2018 Chinatown, 2017 Little Korea/Koreatown, Next year going to do Italian Style Deli's in and around Little Italy I've been to many medium and big cities and I have found Manhattan to be far less intimidating and a bit more welcoming than Little Rock and even Dallas. I'd rank NY in top quarter of Major US cities although with recent homeless increases I may need to re-consider that ranking next year, and for wondrous variety of Foods top 2 and perhaps #1

A NYCC pick-up. This Aparo Two-Face cover had been on my list for awhile. (attempt 2 posting pic)

removed

Not sure if making the assumption that CGC still actually has QC people is correct. Based on reports if they still do then they are simply not competant in their skills or severely lack proper staffing. If the later then CGC who brags about their record breaking profits need to hire people!

and unless the artist or the images on the artwork are in demand the artist will not sell much if overpriced.

The OCA Cabal is real! Like any Syndicate some members hold greater power than others.

I never alluded to the bold-ed part. Merely trying to determine risk vs rewards of cracking out. Agreed on Low and Mid Grade.

^ what is your SWAG guess of the percentage of cracked out books that sustain some damage in the process? 1-5%, 6-8% higher? No matter how careful or how many the person potential for risk is plausible. Even .5% of 1000 is 5 books damaged.

Its great to picked slabbed book at auction one want for less than the price of the slabbing and other costs. However there are usually reasons for that! Occam's razor dictates it's simply because no one else was willing to even pay the amount you did. ah yes, the ol' lock up a 16 dollar item in a Safe

Given lack of deodorant usage plus the preponderance of excremental level halitosis from a decent amount of Comic Buying attendees, and some artists, at cons, I only wish I had started to wear a True N95 or N99 mask decades ago. It's now and forever my modus operandi for all cons.