justafan

you're probably right. I'm just too lazy to check. still, surprised if that was the one.

BIN all day if I find one of these. in the bathroom, in a meeting with the boss, cutting the grass, in the middle of intimacy with the woman, during takeoff when all portable electronic devices are supposed to be powered off, while defusing nuclear warheads, at the superbowl durine the comeback winning drive, or from a hospital before life saving surgery if I get an eBay alert for an underpriced htf book, I will stop whatever I'm doing and hit BIN after checking photos and description for condition.

didnt the AC#1 auctioned on ebay sold to metropolis have a 1/4-1/2"" tear on the lower back cover edge and was graded a 9.2?

only when trying to submit cgc 9.9 or 10.0s. as to why a cgc 9.x is so many multiples of a 6.x copy? because 2 or more rich guys really wanted it during each heritage or ebay auction.

To prevent this issue from surprising me I always use best offer but configure the auto-decline at a price I will begin considering offers and specify an automatically accept price at one that I would take in a heartbeat yet still below my ask. On the flip side: It can be difficult not to low ball sellers that have jacked up prices. I figure that if your offer is in line with the market price, even if lowball compared to the seller's ask, it really shouldn't be considered a lowball offer and you should feel confident in offering a FMV price even if it is less than 50% of the seller's ask. And you never know. I made an offer on an item priced around $100 for $40 and they accepted. The FMV for it on ebay was between $35 and $45. So in this case the seller could have listed it at $60 but still accepted it at $40. Perhaps they were fishing for someone to just buy it at $100 or make an offer closer to $100 but were perfectly willing to accept it at FMV. So I have no problem offering less than 50% of the ask if my offer is more in line with current FMV prices. Psychologically it may have helped them avoid real lowballers but that also means they get less bites. Even if they were asking $50 I probably still would have offered $40. Perhaps if I offered $30 I could have squeezed them down to 35 but I'm not trying to flip or waste time for $5 when I'm ok with $40. I don't fool myself either thinking I "saved" $60 on that purchase. That book's ask was inflated for a reason but we agreed at a FMV price.

Talk about a comic that appreciated in value over the last 15 years. A CGC 6.5 Cap #1 went from $16k in 2003 to $175k in 2018. Low to mid grade will tend to have higher appreciation because the higher end books are more scarce and so change hands less frequent, have a smaller market, but most importantly: they have most of their valuation already in the price. The lower and mid grades appeal to a larger market, have more turnover which can consistently grow GPA prices, and since they tend to be more affordable can be considered to be undervalued as higher grades move out of reach. J, ASM 667 is an anomaly. It isn't the rule, it is the exception and unfortunately there just aren't a whole lot of them floating around. If you could obtain 28 copies of 667 and release them once every 6 months you would still see appreciation in prices since the ASM completist market easily outnumbers the available quantity + 28 more. Now if we are truly going to compare apples to apples, let's say an equal number of ASM 667's entered the market as there are hulk 181's. There are 10,772 graded copies of IH 181 on the census (2800+ in 9.0 or better). If you brought 10,772 copies of ASM 667 to market slowly but all in one year, you would begin to see price declines. Why? because the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) quotient would decrease. Once folks realize another will be available soon, you'll see the prices begin to drop by at least 1-2k in the first few months. FOMO (never seeing being able to buy another copy) is what's behind collectors who own them not wanting to sell them in any grade and for those that do can justify super high prices. IH 181 isn't rare just like AF15's aren't rare. They just have a much larger market. AF15 market includes - All spidey collectors + investors + dealers IH 181 market includes - All Hulk collectors + All Wolverine Collectors + investors + dealers ASM 667 market includes - Spidey Completists (small fraction of Spidey collectors) + Dell'Otto Art collectors (small fraction of comic fans) + investors + dealers You can see where the market for AF15 or IH181 seriously outweighs the market for ASM667 collectors which is why those less scarce books do so well. Now I don't think we'll ever see 10k ASM 667 copies hit the market so that book is safe as a potential investment long term but only so long as spidey modern completists exceed the number of available copies just like AF15 and IH 181 books will continue to be great investments so long as the spidey, hulk, and wolverine fans continue to grow and exceed the number of available copies for sale. I do think that we are about to see what happened with the ASM 667 variant occur soon and that's what's propping up the variant market. FOMO. After ASM 797, 800, double-digit variants + multiple 1:1000 variants, many modern completists and variant spidey collectors are getting exhausted and we're seeing extreme saturation. I have an entire long box full of all the 796-800 variants. It's not just a financial issue but will soon be a space issue. At this rate, I'll need 1 long box for every 2-3 issues. If I keep going to ASM 1000 I'll need to rent a storage unit to house all my books. So it's possible one of the variants in the next several issues will be under-ordered due to variant saturation and that will become the next ASM 667 but it could take a while since comic shops like Unknown, ComicXposure, ComicMint, etc are flush with cash from the ASM and Venom variants. In effect, thosse comic shps are now the distributors. Marvel publishes the comic, Diamond takes the orders, and Comic Shops now pay hot artitsts to provide a limited number cover and they set the price. So what's my point: yeah, SA/BA comics are starting to look a lot more attractive even at their GPA climbing prices over multitudes of modern variants that are become too numerous to be considered rare even for those artificially limited to 600 copies which still exceed the total graded ASM 667 copies.

Creepy thing is I think I know where you're talking about. So is that how you ended up in LA? Not sure if those 2 statements of yours connect but dang. Sorry, I didn't grow up in VA back then but I've now spent most of my life in NOVA. I spoke to a few comic dealers in Fredricksburg, Woodbridge, and Fairfax and found out there's quite a lineage of VA comic shop owners that were former employees of previous comic shops in the area over the last 30 years. Many either worked for or partnered with or employed many of the current comic shop owners in NOVA. Not sure if they were former employees of any of the ones you mentioned. Wish I could've been around to visit those shops back in the day. it'd be cool to meet up with the NOVA folks on here. Do any of you guys attend the Tyson's Corner or Alexandria/Annandale mini cons put on by Shoff promotions?

there's a thread on here somewhere that lists a few examples from people's experience who had them and had to file a claim. from what I recall they seemed to be OK with paying out on claims but also tend to drop you afterwards if the claim was significant or too frequent. Not sure what those folks are doing about insurance now. kinda makes you want to hold off on filing small claims and wait for the time when you really need to file a big claim in case it ends up being a one and done situation. give them a call and ask what their policy is on claim frequency limits and grounds for dropping you.

Question: Is the ebay seller one of PGX's known seller handles or belong to one of the stores that is one of their main customers for slabbing. I've heard they often slab and sell their own books which is one of the other HUGE reasons to avoid them but I've also heard that some stores in the Northwest (I think) have a pretty good relationship with them and use them for slabbing. If so, you're fight is still likely with the seller/PGX. The lessons learned here: other than avoiding PGX graded books in general are: 1. If the price is at a huge discount to what other graded copies are going for, think twice and if you still decide to take the plunge, prepare for some butthurt and follow #2 below 2. Document the hell out of the purchase and take multiple clear photos of the book prior to cracking out or sending in to CGC. That way hopefully you can prove that the book in the PGX holder is the same one that you cracked out and had regraded. 3. Lastly, if you're still going to buy PGX books and have them sent in for regrading with CGC, ALWAYS send it to CCS first for restoration check with special instructions to call before cracking out of the slab. They will perform an initial review of the comic while still in the slab and if they can find something without cracking it out they will let you know before doing anything to the book. However, in this example where they wouldn't be able to tell without cracking out the book further, you will need to also request that they go ahead and crack it out and notify you if there are any issues with the book prior to sending on to CGC for grading. This way they would have caught the missing pages and you would have a 3rd party as a witness. From there you could have it shipped back to you only paying the restoration pre-screen fee and request a return. At this point you may be screwed unless you have good photos of it before and after. I would still try. Go though paypal, explain the situation and send photos. You may be able to get CGC to send you a statement proving they received this still in it's PGX case with cert # and did crack it out and found it missing pages to certify it is the same book. If the seller is a PGX reseller or affiliated with the company they should be able to get this resolved. If it's some poor unlucky schmuck that bought this 2nd hand he may have to eat it and learn not to sell PGX books but if ebay or paypal end up in a stalemate, perhaps you can negotiate a partial discount that amounts to what a Qualified CGC grade would go for. Good luck.

LOL, this thread is like a support group for comic collectors. I agree with pretty much everything said here. The problem is its getting hard to even try to refocus since everything is being marked up or inflated whether that's because the dealers costs have gone up or it's becoming that tough for dealers to acquire the stock that their margins are cut. Even the Ford Focus (discontinued) or Toyota Camry's of comics are going up in price. It's starting to get expensive to even be a run collector let alone a completist (completionist) or key collector. Part of the thrill that got me back into comics was that I could finally afford all those comics I used to want but couldn't have when I had to rely on my parents to buy them for me. Sure I probably over indulged the first 2 years but my income could easily absorb the expenses. However, even as my income has grown by 5-7% each year there's been such a spike over the last 3-5 years where prices have begun to nearly double year over year that my comic budget is being stretched. I'm finding I have to make sacrifices that are costing me enjoyment of other things in life. When I took stock of all the things I gave up or forewent for the chase of comics and the time enjoyment of those comics vs the items I sacrificed, I began to realize that I was working and living mostly for the acquisition of comics. I've got a home theater I haven't finished because I cut the budget to buy some SA and BA 9.8's. I took on a very frugal lifestyle. I hadn't gone on a decent vacation in years because I put most of that money into traveling to cons and buying comics which is more stressful since you're basically hunting and negotiating for all 3-4 days. I cut back on coffee and video games (which was actually a good thing for my health) to save the extra $400-500 a month to buy comics. However, my time and investments in other areas were lagging and my savings was not growing as fast as it should be which is a big no-no for me. So instead of comics, I've started to rebalance my portfolio and put that money back into things I can get more enjoyment for the same price or less. I guess what I'm trying to say is that comics have reached the price point in my demand curve where enjoyment of buying and owning them is being exceeded by other things. Without buying comics for 2 months I realized how much wealth I actually have and how much more fun I'm having putting that money into other activities and investments. I may even buy a new car (maybe the R8 Audi or SUV), I'm probably still going to attend the last 2 shows of the year for me: Baltimore Comicon since it is so close by and always a great show and NYCC since it's my first time and I'm making a family trip out of it. But I'll probably be only looking for a good deal or HTF item that isn't on too many radars. So I probably won't end up buying anything either!

yep, I can relate to what the OP is saying and what many on here are starting to feel. it's gotten to be where everything being sold is either a key or being priced like a key. couldn't place it but that was what i was experiencing at heroes con (last con I attended). I brought a few k but only spent $900 the whole weekend and that's on heavily negotiated items in the last 3 hours of the show. just couldnt justify the prices for the grades on a lot of books, even long box diving. it just didn't feel fun any more. I could blow that on a lot of drek or lower grade stuff but that ties up money I could just roll over to the next auction or show. I decided it was time to take a break overall and just sat out the last few cons and auctions. my bank account has been so much happier. I used to justify the inflated comic prices at $1k-$2k as potential investments I could possibly recoup on resale but at $5k+ it's harder to justify enjoying owning and reading a comic. I'm seeing other opportunities as a better place to invest money and some that's more liquid than comics. for now I'm hunting for very specific under the radar type of items, value items or the 1 or 2 comics that are the absolute best copy for the price. one thing that helps is to ask yourself when trying to justify the purchase: if you ever had to sell but when the time came you couldnt recoup more than half of the cost on resale would you still pay the asking price? I dont know if prices will ever come back down but it's not my goal in life to try and keep up with them.

I wonder if anyone else is still around in the hobby that passed up the calls from the church or mile high 2 collection finds? boy, if that were me I'd feel like the biggest insufficiently_thoughtful_person. I wonder what their reason for passing on it was. now with new finds so scarce I'd imagine the hint of such a find reoccurring would have every dealer and collector within a 500 mile radius scrambling for the chance.

oh OK good, they are spreading it around. and here I thought that kind of stuff or worse only happened down on the southern US border. use to be that I could come and go without even flashing my ID as long as I could say "yes sir" in perfect Anglo saxon 'mericanese when asked if I was a US citizen by the border patrol. we also used to be able to go buy and bring back 3 liters of alcohol per person. last time I tried that they kept 1/3 of the booze my friends and I tried to bring back and wouldn't let us go back to Mexico to return it. oh and, yes, running from them even as a joke with nothing to hide is still illegal and you can be detained for up to 24 hrs even with proper ID as a dumb friend once discovered.

I would also ask for photos of the back board's and mylar. corner bends like that due to shipping will be evident on the backing board corner as well. if those werent present when you shipped it means they likely happened during shipping. if comics are not secured well inside the Gemini mailer, they can suffer damage just from the jostling and bumping within the mailer despite the mailer appearing undamaged. caution with this info as it can both help and hurt your claim with usps. if the back boards show no blunting damage then there are 2 possibilities: 1. they were already like that before you received them and encountered the damage prior to them bagging and boarding them. I've received several retailer variants straight from retailers with similar or worse damage which leads me to question that practice and continuing purchases from them. You may be able to contact the retailer and get replacements or refund. 2. he did a switcharoo but since you didn't take front and back cover pics of them out of the bag, (which you should always do) ebay/PayPal will not b on your side and a USPS claim is your only out. (though you could try and get a refund/discount from the retailer.) hopefully you actually paid for the $100 insurance as opposed to the default $50 insurance usps gives you for priority mail. good luck

congratulations! I hear they are grading tough these days and that's a great copy to have. Thanks for following up.

no need to stress the details of what else you should do with a time machine because you can always go back and do those things anyway. since you're 50 years away from the inception of cgc you'd probably want to return to the present with those comics to have graded. if that's not an option you would need to carefully store those comics then travel fwd in time to retrieve them, get them graded, then sell. though over the years you would need to sell the ones that peak based on demand and popularity. of course you'd never be safe from someone else predating you with another time machine possibly erasing you from existence.

to answer the OP''s original question assuming they were immaculately preserved and the family knows that comics are valuable, I think it would be an all out slugfest between the Heritage, Clink, Metropolis, Pedigree, ebay, and amazon buying agents, other big-Time dealers, and celebs/billionaires. I could see Heritage offering 1% or less seller commissions + 50%off cgc grading fees to net those huge buyer premiums. I could see Metropolis coming in and just trying to buy them outright for a HUGE lump sum. Doug vs Vinnie in a death match for the Action. and when they did go to auction the Dentist, Nick Cage, and a Saudi Royal Prince would duke it out in a bidding war. I think Mile High would have folded up shop years ago without his this find.

I got tix for thurs, fri, & sun during presale after a 1.5 hr wait. I registered some friends with kids for the regular sale and managed to get all 4 days including an extra Saturday for me. what was really confusing is that they only offer a Sunday kids badge as opposed to a whole week kids badge or one for each day. so for kids 6-12 that don't need a fan verification profile created, how do you buy and assign badges if the kids 6-13 want to attend Thursday -Saturday? seems like they almost want to discourage kids from attending any other day but sunday. I guess one of them may have to give up their thurs-sat badge if their kid isn't allowed in with them without a badge. btw, is thurs the slowest day there? are all comic vendors fully set up on Thurs or is it better to come friday? I'm thinking of just doing Thursday and Sunday and giving up my Friday/ Saturday badge to one of the kids if Saturday is when the cosplay contest happens.

It sounds awesome and reminds me of those pure comic shows of the past. I'd like to hear from the dealers that attended how it was for them and if they plan on being back again next year.

This as long as great comic movies are in theaters. I do blame the loss of mainstream venues and high cover prices for the lack of new readers. Kids have better things to spend $5-$10 on. Most kids are also not going to find themselves at a comic book shop as often as they are a grocery store, a walmart/Target, or even a gas station. I know because I'm living proof of this. I didnt get into comics because I watched the incredible Hulk growing up or Spider-man and his super friends on Saturday mornings. I got into it trying not to die of boredom while my mom shopped for an hour at the Kroger, HEB, Kingmart, Walmart , or shopping mall with Waldenbooks. I happened upon a ripped opened Whitman pack with spider and x-men comics. I read through slowly absorbing the story of each one to the point where I actually (but secretly) looked forward to going back to the supermarket with my parents to see if any other issues were available until I convinced my parent's to start buying me comics instead of star wars action figures. but now that I think of it I understand why this same experience wouldn't work today. kids are just watching vids or games on their mom's phone or tablet while mom shops. more groceries are being delivered or ordered online for pickup. No, if the goal is to get kids in front of comics they can actually touch and read, it has to be at a place where the kids won't have any other entertainment alternatives, the prices are less than a popular iPhone app, and where no one will get angry that the comics are being mishandled by careless but eager kids hands. solve that riddle and you'll increasee your young comic readership.

I forgot to mention: never mention what nmonic you use to remember anyone's name ever. lol.

just learned this: when meeting someone new: clear your mind or slow down whatever thoughts are racing through your head, after hearing their name try to repeat their name back 2-3x: once as confirmation and again informing that it's nice to meet them and try to work it into whatever small talk or conversation a third time. but most importantly, while you are hearing their name immediately take a mental picture of their face and come up with an image of something related to their name and picture it somehow attached to their face or smashing into their face: example: Mike: picture a microphone coming out of their nose or ear. John: picture a toilet on their head. Paul: phonetically similar to Ball, picture a ball hitting them in the head. the more absurd the better and always use the same image for the same name. it takes a little practice but the next time you meet another John you will associate that new persons face with a toilet which will allow you to automatically recall the nmonic associated with their face. for long foreign complicated names, it helps to break it up phonetically and picture things that sound similar.

RIP Mr. Ditko. wish you would have given fans a chance to know you better. alas, we still have your masterpieces from which to glimpse your genius.

Was the OP talking about the ASM 800 1:1000 sketch variant? He ordered 10 of those! Well i can understand why he's a bit upset if he presold them as NM or better on ebay. his customers will probably want refunds or he may have a hard time making a profit selling his copies discounted. However, thats no justification for the threats and beligerant behavior when seeking resolution. I guess I'm lucky they sold out and I had to wait to find my 1 NM+ copy at a decent price on the open market. I will be receiving a long awaited package from Unknown comics ordered back in April/May that includes a bundle that had to wait until the 801 copy before shipping last week. I'll let you know what I find. I've done at least 5 orders or more from them in the past and all books were 9.6/9.8 which is what I expect newly released books to be from an online comic store where I don't have the choice in cherry picking a copy. However, I have received notices from them and other online sellers (JSC, 7ate9) where they informed when a shipment arrived damaged and was being reordered causing a delay or where a common defect is present on most of the run. they gave me the option of cancelling the order and refund. Neither of the LCS in my area ever gave me that option and my request for a reorder was never fulfilled for times when the entire shipment had damage. I can attest to them resolving one comic arriving in VF- with great customer service and rapid replacement in NM/MT grade. of course I sent them a bunch of photos as I do with any unsatisfied transaction and they accepted the return without further issues. I suspect this huge ASM red goblin pre-order event and 800 variant cheap paper stock issue may have overwhelmed them as my shipment was already delayed 1 week. Judging by the OP and 1 other upset customer, I may be in store for some dissapointment with my order. at least that's what I'm bracing for. Regardless, my judgement of their service is going to be based on their character and how they handle a polite and civil request for resolution for any issues with my order.

I really try not to think about it because it reminds me of all the more practical things I should have done with the money.