PovertyRow

On 2/21/2022 at 5:09 PM, grendelbo said:

Yes, but conserved.

Use of a replicator would get the PLOD.

My first Prt-Scrn attempt. Good reflexes for being 71 years old!

On 2/20/2022 at 9:15 PM, Mercury Man said:

I suggest you work in a print shop for a few years.  (I did).  It's not a variant. 

I didn't work in a print shop but in a pre-press shop where we created the CYMK negs for the printer to burn plates (this was in the 80s). But I DID go on press runs to okay the color, register etc. And yes, these are certainly not "variants".

One odd thing I noticed was at every print shop I hit there was a bar within walking distance.

On 2/18/2022 at 8:08 AM, Col. Chestbridge said:

I just got a few books graded by CGC and I'm not entirely thrilled with the condition after slabbing. I press and clean every book before submission and take plenty of before and after photos so I know the condition I'm submitting. The books have significantly more 'dents/dings' than before and I'd assume this would impact the grade. It looks like CGC groped my books or handled them with their knuckles. I know a few of my friends at the LCS have had similar experiences recently and wondered if this is becoming a common issue here?

Sorry to hear this and obviously I can relate. This sounds exactly like my experience on the books I got back this weekend. 

Well as I said could be press or could be mishandling at CGC. I do have a lot of faith in the pressing service I used. Just incredibly frustrating and it really does give me pause. 

On 2/20/2022 at 8:49 PM, buttock said:

I guess CCS only guarantees that they will press the book, not that it'll do any good.  My experience was that on 5% they popped the staple.  And it wasn't the case that these were staples in jeopardy of being popped.  

Hey Buttock! Appreciate the reply. I didn't have CCS press them. 

I have confidence in my decades of collecting, studying restoration and paper and even learning in a major restorer's studio.

I had books sent to be cleaned/pressed and then dropped off at CGC. Got 7 back so far from Modern - have to wonder what my older 3 tier Standard will be like. Now none of these are uber books by any means but I expect to get something within the realm of accuracy and clarity. Since these were all numbered sequentially probably the same handlers/graders got them? Not sure how they parcel out the work at CGC.

It is not worth the hassle and the ridiculous wait time to send these back for review. But this has convinced me to seriously re-think this "hobby". It is readily apparent that something is way off now.

Moon Knight #1
6.0 White (6.0???!!!)
Grader Notes
light foreign substance bottom of back cover - WTH kind of notation is "light foreign substance?" More importantly, there is absolutely nothing on the bottom back cover. 
multiple bend - I see them ("multiple bend"...singular???)  Classic finger type impressions/bends that do not break color. Easily could have been taken care of by pressing but they could just as easily been caused by mishandling at CGC
spine stress lines I agree. Maybe 4 very small and one larger one within a dent but nowhere near as harsh as to bring it down to a 6.0

Spider-Woman #1
9.2 WHITE
Grader Notes
multiple spine stress lines breaks color
small, very light stain left top of back cover - no sign of any stain, light or otherwise, anywhere on the top back cover.

X-Men #130
9.2 WHITE
Grader Notes
light finger bends - I see these. They could easily have been taken care of by pressing but they could just as easily been caused by mishandling at CGC
spine stress lines
very small crease left bottom of back cover - cannot see even a hint of this

Ms. Marvel #1
8.0 WHITE
Grader Notes
bottom staple popped from front cover - this book certainly did not start out with a popped staple, and no sign of one at any angle I can see through the case. Cover and staples were tight with WP. Something happened.
spine stress lines
very small, multiple crease front cover - These I see. Classic NCB creases. They could easily have been taken care of by pressing but they could just as easily been caused by mishandling at CGC

On 2/15/2022 at 6:27 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

Stay on topic.

On 2/14/2022 at 6:11 PM, Kerdese said:

So Joey dropped off 8 Modern Tier books and 2 Standard Tier books (no fast track) on 9/28/21. Today I got a Fedex email that the books are arriving this Friday, 2/18/22 which is 104 working days. Certainly faster than I was expecting. I am enjoying the suspense of waiting to see the grades.

On 2/7/2022 at 5:18 PM, HouseofComics.Com said:

Looked like Wondercon moved up to our traditional first weekend of April date so we are doing March 5. 

You have the Anaheim traitors running scared.

Regarding the Voldy ROIs, I was way overconfident in my ability to calculate historic ROIs. There is a real lack of sales data to properly calculate an ROI for Voldy. Nowhere near as many sales recorded to start creating an initial purchase point and calculating to a sufficiently later sales point. Yes, I readily admit that CGC books often go for more book for book, but just a single sales price is useless for calculating an ROI, since one can get less for a book but can yield higher ROI. For my own part my ROI on Voldy has been about 55% (annualized) over a 6 year period for a total 1233%. 

On 2/10/2022 at 9:17 PM, William-James88 said:

Dude! It's Nicholas Cage!

Shhhhh!

On 2/10/2022 at 9:08 PM, Lord Gemini said:

Then less chitty-chat and more proof.

I SAID this weekend. 

On 2/10/2022 at 8:57 PM, Lord Gemini said:

I really don't care who you are.

Why would you even reply if you don't care?

When I say "who I am" I do not mean my professional status, social status, status in the comic book world etc. Those who know me here get it. It means I can be relentless when challenged, do not quit an argument, take pains tp prove my points, if I say I will do something then I will do it, and can  in general be a pain the the tukkus. 

On 2/10/2022 at 8:51 PM, Lord Gemini said:

Doubtful.

Doubtful? You have no idea who I am. (dang newbies!)

On 2/10/2022 at 8:40 PM, Lord Gemini said:

So you say…without documentation yourself. They certainly look extreme to me, and they look extreme enough to others to keep the competition in CGC’s shadow.

Most compelling. You just damned your own argument. I will post some results this weekend.

On 2/10/2022 at 6:32 PM, All-Star Squadman said:

In 2019 I cracked out 9 Silver-Age CBCS graded 9.2 - 9.6 that I paid basically raw prices on and submitted them CGC. 

Problem is cracking out, packing, mailing to and unpacking and putting it in the channel by another TPG can easily impact the condition of a book.These are factors that you have not seemed to even consider. Sadly there is absolutely no way to guaranty any book hitting TPG graders in the same condition they were originally sent in. It would also be much more informative to know what the grade differences were. Are we talking 9.4 to 8.0 or more like 9.4 to 9.2?

On 2/10/2022 at 7:32 PM, Lord Gemini said:

I've seen the ROI's with the competition. They're not viable.

Yet another undocumented WOM anecdote.  I can cite higher and lower returns. The differences are by NO means extreme. Returns on both reflect excellent ROI.

On 2/3/2022 at 8:28 AM, MAR1979 said:

This is what happens when you have no true viable competition. We can thank Borack's flipper mentality for that as with a proper business model instead fast cash grab his new outfit could have been at same level as CGC at this juncture.

First, if you are going to try to look like some knowledgeable insider, at least learn to spell Steve's name correctly. To say they are not viable competition is totally without basis and totally with prejudice.

Second, if you are going to try to look like some knowledgeable insider, at least be cognizant that there are a ton of CGC "loyalists" who just follow, without any questioning, knowledgeable insiders as to the TPG of choice. Or many with a long history with CGC who do not want that boat rocked.

The level of disinformation and, even worse, the level of insinuation, with absolutely no factual backup, is almost as disgusting  as reading the words "After signername signs the submitted books, CGC will grade and encapsulate them with an estimated turnaround time of six weeks. If CCS pressing is also requested, the turnaround time is estimated at eight weeks. After grading and encapsulation, the collectibles will be shipped back to their owners." on the many emails I got about yet another signing. While my and many others' books lay ignored.

On 2/7/2022 at 12:16 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

That's definitely colour touch I'm afraid, Dockpig. CGC remove colour touch by scraping the affected part of the book away I believe. In this case, the cover would fall off so there's not much scope for anything other than a restored label, if you go ahead and slabulate it. 

Indeed. That bleedthrough to the other side is immediately telling and will yield an Amateur notation. But on that particular book the color touch is so bad that confirming it via the bleedthrough is hardly necessary. As Marwood says, it is so extensive that removal would result in a nearly complete or completely detached cover. Looks like they also hit the bottom as indicated by the inside cover shot, so removing that may give a trimmed label. I have to wonder if there is even more color touch we cannot see. A full size pic of the inside and outside front cover would be really helpful in determining the true extent.

On 2/5/2022 at 8:16 AM, Pontoon said:

I'm pretty proud of our Pontoon Palace pizza. I make the sauce, Mrs. P. handles the dough and cooking. Just had one last night as a matter of fact.

That is a most attractive pizza! 

On 2/1/2022 at 5:05 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

This is not close to NM.

I was thinking the exact thing. And yes, that book is WAY too opened for that 2nd shot! 

On 2/4/2022 at 4:12 PM, Jeffro. said:

I like thin crust pizza but I can't always get it. How much time and pressure should I use with a t-shirt press in order to flatten out deep dish? Also, is pepperoni detrimental to the process?

Before even THINKING about time and pressure you have to first micro-trim that deep dish crust!