justafan

When I first got back into collecting I decided to rebag and board all my comics ~1200. I researched different bags but unfortunately i didn't come across mylite2 and fullbacks until landing at this forum. What I did find was those self sealing bags on amazon. I thought they were the greatest thing: quality poly bag, resealable flaps, and NO TAPE to buy, tear, or worry about getting stuck to my comics. Just easy on easy off right? Ah the naivety of youth (still am). So there I was with my deteriorating long boxes I had begun replacing with BCW long boxes and drawer boxes. Hours of pealing that thin plastic strip off and struggling with the static cling to throw it away. By the 3rd hour I had just given up trying to throw each one in the trash and just let them be on my hands. By the time I was done I was covered in them. I had at least 20 clinging and hanging off each hand, they were on my arms, legs, my butt. I just got up walked over to my shop vac shedding strips as I walked and vacuumed all those little b*st*rds up. Later I learned of the dangers of the sticky strip. I've since switched over to mylite2 and fullbacks using the tape tab method where you fold half the piece of tape back onto itself to use as a pullback tab. Never suffered tape pull again. Another piece of advice: when unbagging your comics, always try to do it on an uncluttered area or table allowing for plenty of space to place your unbagged comics away from your bag and board pile to prevent these types of accidents.

I had a doozy of a time finding shelves that I liked that met the size, capacity, strength, and material requirements. I had to custom order them from someplace whose name I can't recall but will post if I find it. My requirements: Size: 84x60x30" HxWxD Max Shelf capacity: 950lb per shelf. Total unit capacity 5,000 lbs Narrow beam construction Rubber feet Black Less than $200 including shipping SIZE: I needed a rack that had 26-30" depth. Most rack shelves only come in 24 or 48 or 36" depths which are either too short or too deep for long boxes. Drawer boxes are about 26" so they will stick out 2 inches from the standard 24" shelves. Standard BCW long boxes are 28-30" deep so those will stick way out. Because I wanted to maximize height space by keeping them inside the lip of the shelves I needed the depth to be exact or slightly deeper. I found 2 shelving companies that offered depths of 26", 28", and 30". I went with the 30" just in case which is also great for storing CGC boxes. 2 CGC boxes back to back without their tops is 30" deep. Max Shelf Capacity: The next criteria I had is the weight capacity. DO NOT underestimate the weight loads of your comics. If you buy a wide rack with 4 or more shelves and plan to fill them up completely, do the math and make sure your total load bearing capacity for each shelf (not just the vertical beam) exceeds the total expected capacity. The shelves are the weakest link here. The wider the shelving unit, the weaker the load bearing weight in the middle. If you want shelves 48" wide or wider, make sure they come with a center shelf beam support or double check the max load per shelf for each. Call and ask before you order. I found some catalog data sheets were incorrect or mislabeled and found out for sure by calling the manufacturer or reseller. I chose the z-line or z-beam shelving beams. They are shaped like a Z at 2" with a recessed lip that allows a 5/8" or 1/2" thick shelving board to sit flush with the top of the Z-beam lip saving you an extra half inch in height. This was a huge must for me as it allowed me to save up to 2 inches in storage height allowing me to use a 5th shelf. The Z-beam with recessed shelf placement allows them to be thinner saving height space while increasing their load bearing capacity. If you opt for the regular heavy duty shelving beams they'll be 2-3" + the 1/2"-5/8" shelving board and eat up a ton of shelf height space after 3 or more shelves are used. If you don't care about maximizing height space and just want to be safe then go with the "heavy duty" 2-3" shelf beams as those are rated for 1000 lb+ loads. Before you decide on the weight capacity weigh your comic long boxes full of comics and any CGC or shortboxes you plan on loading. They multiply the weight by the total you plan to have per shelf and that's your per shelf max. If I recall the weights were something like 36 lbs and 50 lbs for long box and CGC box or vice versa. Shelving board (Decking Material): This is where you can save the most money. Shelf decking is not only expensive but expensive to ship. Half or more of the cost of custom ordering shelves is in the shipping of the unit because they require freight shipping and the decks are bulky. I recommend that you buy your own decking separately. You can use wood, composite, mdf, or plastic board with wood being the cheapest cost and have them cut to size at home depot or lowes for free if buying the boards there. Make sure you measure 3x and have accurate measurements. Most shelving units consume an additional 1/8-1/4" from the width and depth due to the shelving rivets holding the shelving beams to the vertical beams. DO NOT go too cheap on your decking. This is where your comics rest and the weakest part of the shelf. Weak boards will fail before the shelving beams. For 600lbs or more it is recommended you use at least 1/2" ply wood. If paying more for the stronger sturdier composite, mdf, or plastic board you may be able to go thinner to 1/4"-3/8". Another reason to use composite or plastic decking is for their low VoC and minimal acidic decomposition. There's a long thread on here somewhere that talks about the risks of wood shelving. I went with the wood anyway as I found a way to apply a low or zero VoC sealant that should not harm nor offgass and seals in the wood. This was a PITA requiring a day of sanding and sealing with multiple coats on 6 pieces of 60"x30"x5/8" plywood. If you can afford it just do the composite or plastic. If you're on a budget, look for a penetrating low or zero VoC sealant that completely penetrates and coats the wood sealing it in complete but doesn't generate toxic or volatile off-gassing. Let the wood dry and sit for a few days as the sealant hardens and the minimal residual odors dissipate. The shelving beams took 6 weeks to make and ship. The frustrating part was specifying exactly which beams I wanted as it is not their standard build configuration. When I received the shipment, I found that the shelving beams had been manufactured backwards/inverted such that the shelving boards couldn't sit recessed in the Z-beams. I complained and they redid them and shipped a brand new set for free. No idea what to do with the random 20 pieces of extra useless beams. Rubber Feet: Ironically, the manufacturer didn't sell rubber feet to help distribute and soften the weight on the floor. I had just installed new durable but padded vinyl faux wood flooring and didn't want it scratched or pierced by the sharp vertical beam ends. I did manage to find rubber feet from Granger that were an exact fit for the L-shaped vertical beams for only $6. Building the shelving unit: Materials needed: a rubber mallet, a hacksaw, a sander or sand paper, a thick towel or blanket, a day where noise is not an issue in the house. The 2nd hardest part is hammering the horizontal shelf beam rivets into the vertical beams. To prevent damage to the paint job of the beams, prevent warping the beam, and destroying your mallet, use a thick towel or blanket over the surface of the beam you're hammering. Some beams will slide in easy. Others will require you to call upon the might of Mjolnir and go medieval on them with all your might. The hardest part is inserting the decking boards into the recessed Z-beams. Normal flat non-recessed L-shaped beams will be easier as you're just laying the board on top. The recessed beams are susceptible to the flexing/shifting of the vertical and horizontal beams turning your perfectly squared rectangle shelving unit into a rhombus or parallelogram. You may find that you may still have to shave off an extra 1/8" from one or more edges/corners of the shelving board (hello hacksaw/sander and more sealant). Start at the bottom shelf. Make sure you insert the boards after building each shelf and before building the next shelf above it or you will have a hard time getting a large shelving board into a lower shelf. Use the rubber mallet to coerce a stubborn edge or corner but watch for chipping the wood. It took me a full day to build doing it myself. With an extra hand it would have taken less than half the time. But now they are done and they fit and work perfectly allowing 16 long drawer boxes per shelf or14 CGC boxes per shelf. I get 2 drawer boxes stacked on top of each other secured behind and inside the lip of the Z-beam that provides extra leverage securing the outer drawer box shell when pulling the inner boxes most of the way out. More than but maybe that'll help some one or convince others just to live with the 2"-6" overhang of the 24" shelves.

I'm amazed at the price inelasticity of some of these comics long after their movie/tv show hype and fame have faded. Maybe it's just that a bunch of folks speculated on them and refuse to sell for big loss. Mine will never come down in price because the characters and 1st appearances in them are way too popular regardless of movie/tv show hype and were already high before the movies and TV shows.

Get ready to OWN IT! maybe it'll go for a super low price or someone else who really wants it will bid it up at the last minute and relieve you. I would call them right away and inform them you made a bid mistake and request a one-time bid retraction. Happened to me with another auction house. I was watching a live auction on my phone for the first time and wanted to zoom in on the front cover scan of a copy of a book I already own in similar grade to see if it was comparable to my copy and what it might go for. The page was taking for ever to load so I hit the back button and as I tried to use my 2 fingers to resize the image at just that moment the bid page loaded with the bid button right where my finger was and registered it as a tap. It was the final seconds of the auction and apparently I was now the highest bidder. I begged for someone to come in over the top but it ended with me as the winner of a book I was only curious about but not interested in owning for $750. I immediately called them and explained what had happened and apologized offering to pay a restocking fee. They offered me a one time courtesy bid retraction. I have never used my phone for viewing auctions since. Only computer and browser for me from now on.

Bump for 5% off all listed prices. See page 1 for issue and price list.

Except for those street hustlers in New Orleans that ask "I bet you $20 I can tell you where you got your shoes" as soon as you give in and ask and no sooner do they respond with "you 'got' them on your feet!" do they bend down and start rubbing leather treatment on whatever you happen to have on your feet at the time which, in my case, was cloth and faux leather velcro sneakers and asking for $15 for the shoe shine. My sox were soaked in the stuff. I gave him a couple of bucks for the laugh it gave me. Though, true, they aren't most people.

Can't believe Psylocke slipped to page 2 but yeah, I love me some Psylocke. Beyond her looks and badass powers and outfit, something about that British Asian mix.

It's probably rhetorical but I'll bite. Because NM 87 and 98's are already well known to the market unless he can source them super cheap, he'd still only be making the difference between what he would have to pay for a copy and sell with his signature. This way he doesn't spend all the time hunting them down and money buying and selling them (not to mention grading/shipping fees). He just sits and let people pay him the difference for his signature. What surprises me is the fact that so many are not fans of his art but still want his signature on a copy of NM 87 and/or 98. I guess there's gotta be a market for it if he charges it and people are paying for it.

Artists, like some has-been athletes, have realized that their graded certified signature brings in $xxx and that many of those are simply being resold for $xxx. When they only charged $xx, they were leaving a lot of money on the table. So now they decided to charge a larger portion of $xxx. Autographs have been commoditized along with the comic issue. Not sure what transpired between him and cgc but it's probably affecting his ability to capitalize on his signatures. Not sure why this is such a big deal. Why don't less famous creators charge more, because they can barely give away their autograph. If you are famous and your signature is worth a lot, why not charge what you think it's worth and let the market decide. I don't like paying a lot for an autograph but if I really like the artist, shouldn't it be worth the cost? If there was no market for their autogtaph, prices would be lower.

Take all 3 for $65 Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows v2 #1 KRS-A Tyler Kirkham variant 1500 copies VF $20 Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows v2 #1 KRS-B Tyler Kirkham Sketch variant 1500 copies NM/NM+ $25 Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows v2 #1 KRS-C Tyler Kirkham Unmasked variant 1500 copies NM- $30

Superior Spider-Man #19 J.G. Jones 1:50 Variant NM/NM+ $25

Take both for $45 Superior Spider-Man #13 SDCC Color Variant NM/NM+ $22 Superior Spider-Man #13 SDCC Sketch Variant NM+ $30

Take both 2nd and 4th prints for $25 Superior Spider-Man #1 2nd Print NM/NM+ $10 Superior Spider-Man #1 4th Print (rare HTF in HG) VF+ $20

Amazing Spider-Man #29 Unknown Comics Venom Cover A Variant VF/NM $20

Amazing Spider-Man #25 ComicXposure Color Variant VF/NM $20

Amazing Spider-Man #17 Stan Lee Collectibles Ramos Sketch Variant NM- $19

Take both for $36 + shipping or individually as marked. Amazing Spider-Man v4 #16 ComicXposure Color Variant VF $18 Amazing Spider-Man v4 #16 ComicXposure Sketch Variant NM $24

Amazing Spider-Man v4 #1 Cosplay 1:15 variant NM/MT $10

Amazing Spider-Man v4 #1 Humberto Ramos 1:50 Variant NM/NM+ $16

Amazing Spider-Man v3 #1 2nd Print Garry Choo Variant NM+ $15 Amazing Spider-Man v3 #``3 Tim Sale 1:20 Variant NM+ $12

Amazing Spider-Man #700.5 In-Hyuk Lee Variant NM/MT $10

Amazing Spider-Man #700.4 Mirco Pierfederici Variant NM+ $5

Amazing Spider-Man #700.3 Joe Quinones Variant NM+ $5

Amazing Spider-Man #700.2 Klaus Janson Variant NM+ $5

Amazing Spider-Man #700.1 Klaus Janson Variant NM/MT $10