SteppinRazor

Just now, joeypost said:

I agree. But if CGC had practiced what they preached about how artists should be handled, this would have never happened. 

As I stated earlier, unless someone steps up big time, any chance of future work with Mr. Starlin will to the way of the dodo. 

Yeah, definitely could;ve been handled better (though paying him would have been a very nice gesture, not required to resolve the situation.  Any attempt to help him, within stated parameters, would've done the job, unless as speculated this has something to do with something else).

12 minutes ago, LDarkseid1 said:

What are we supposed to be looking at on the edge of the spine? I don't see what issue you're talking about.

Sorry, I'll try a closer in shot with an arrow, but yes, on the very edge of the spine, right where front cover meets back cover.

(incidentally I guess it's a good sign you can't tell )

EDIT:  Here it is

The only downside is your just making people ask to fondle the merchandise, they can still jack it up once in their hands.  Maybe put out a sole copy, for people who can't take a little care and for those who browse with care to have a look before buying.

2 hours ago, 1Cool said:

I feel like there is way more meat on his calling CGC a bunch of scam artist and all of us a bunch of dupes then him not getting someone's name from CGC or stiffed out of a few bucks.  The more and more I look at it from various angles the worse he looks.

I have to agree.  This is definitely a disproportional response.  Though not uncommon these days

Awesome, thank you!

Added Paypal as payment option

5 hours ago, Lazyboy said:

That is a terrible suggestion in general, and especially if your runs are post-1980. Use a site like mycomicshop.com to do that, since they actually have an interest in properly pricing their books that are worth more than the surrounding issues.

Not to use for the price, just to ID the wheat from the chaff.  Maybe I'm just old, but I find running my finger down a list off all the numbers easier than searching on mycomicshop.  Pricing-wise, ebay makes the most sense

New pics out of the bag

I've been doing this for a little while now myself.  Mostly through ebay sold listings, but those can be tricky because running the same search different days or times sometimes delivers different results.  So I'll get an average sold price, then look up the book again, and I can't even find one of the sold listings I found the previous attempt.

The other thing to be wary of, is that the prices you'll find are entirely based on the condition of the book, and if you haven't scrutinized a comic before, you may be starting with an inflated number compared to your actual book.  If they aren't really old, then they need to be just about perfect.

FN-2199 had a good suggestion using the Overstreet price guide just to identify the one book out of a run of 100 that might be worth more than the rest.  That price probably won't be the going rate, but at least you'll know which ones to start checking.

1 minute ago, mschmidt said:

Nobody's claiming anything is invulnerable.

I am simply stating that with a SS label CGC has issued you a written guarantee that you're getting an authentic signature for the book in the slab, but with a COA nothing's guaranteed. Look at the wording on a Dynamic Forces COA, for instance - they very specifically do not guarantee any sort of authenticity because it would be impossible for them to do.

Granted, the COA books I have came from Marvel, but the COA specifically states unconditionally guaranteed authentic signatures.

Anyway, it is certain that SS is far more reliable than a COA because the methodology makes it not only harder but less worth forging.

Just now, mschmidt said:

Nonsense. The whole point of the SS label is that CGC guarantees it's an authentic signature by the person mentioned on the label.

I agree that's the point.  That's the point of a COA too.  That doesn't mean the witness is integrity inviolate.  There's a mention ITT of an ex-witness doing something shady and an allusion to shadier things.

The SS label is much more secure than a paper COA, but it isn't invulnerable, nothing is.

1 hour ago, Drbearsec said:

Yeah.  I have several books signed by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee from 27 years ago.... multiple books and all signed for free.  Times did change

Not for the better IMO, but no one asked me before changing them.

1 hour ago, mschmidt said:

There is zero upside to CGC suddenly verifying signatures after the fact; all it does is dilute the Signature Series brand and create uncertainty as to whether a book has a valid signature or not. With the SS program it's completely black & white - if it's in a yellow label slab, you're guaranteed it's an authentic signature.

The "verification" service the other company offers is a glorified COA where nothing is guaranteed - I wouldn't trust it any more than I trust a signature on a raw book.

You aren't guaranteed it's an authentic signature.  You're just believing the witness witnessed what he said he did.  It isn't different in that respect than a COA.  The only extra protection you have over a forged COA is that it's harder to forge a yellow label slab than photoshop a fake COA.  However, you really don't have any proof the witness didn't sign it him/her self.

I've got a few books with COAs that I got through ordering from Marvel.  Only I know that for sure, and that is a matter of trusting that the company or the creator did what they said.  The only way to know if it's an authentic signature is to witness it yourself.

Oh yeah?  Well a 9.8 Supreme 1 Silver Foil 9.8 sold on ebay for $70.... in march

7 hours ago, AGGIEZ said:

I get what you're saying here...but I disagree with some of this. As a buyer, I couldn't care less how much "legwork" you've put in or how many books you've sent in to get graded before you received that magic 9.8. I this example there are close to 200 on the census so it certainly isn't rare. Cost to slab is probably $25-30 all in (fee + shipping).

If I hit a 9.8 on first try, that doesn't mean my book is worth less than someone that hit it after 30+ rejects. The difference in the value may have a 'TV speculation' premium attached to it, because I certainly don't feel like Flash #1 (2007) is worth the $70 delta, but it certainly doesn't have a 'legwork/reject' premium associated with it.

I think what he means is that out of the $100 the book goes for, $X goes to cover the time spent to pay back the OO for the legwork, so the value of the book itself isn't $100, it just goes for that in order to cover costs.  I don't really think his distinction has merit because recouping costs is factored into every slabbed book's cost, whether it's Flash 1 or Avengers 1.  it only makes a difference percentage-wise

Very nice

8 minutes ago, Artboy99 said:

Yeah I agree. I sent my customer this sketch layout to see what he thinks.

 

Very cool.  If you don't mind a little critique, I agree with kav on making SS bigger (creates more distance between foreground and background, putting him right in our faces).  Also just a suggestion, turn the board a little so we see the underside and put the surfer in a bit of perspective, so he seems like he's about to surf right off the page. 

Great design and composition!

6 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

original piece

I would pick the one that fits best in composition, and time you allotted/charged for drawing.

First appearances are the comic equivalent of rookie baseball cards.  If that ceases to be of value, then that would mean all comics would be worth the same, except for limited runs, wouldn't it?

Shipping CONUS

1 hour ago, mschmidt said:

Because larger comic book shows have 100s of creators present.

If CGC knows that a specific creator will garner lots of CGC submissions, they'll usually station at witness by their booth during signing times - Rob Liefeld, for instance, has had a CGC witness next to his booth for the last couple of shows I've seen him at.

Good to know.  I didn't mean a witness for each creator, more like just hang around creator alley or whatnot

2 hours ago, illinfinite said:

I was there at the convention.

First time going to one, first time dealing with CGC, and first time seeking out signatures.

The two ladies at the booth were awesome, looked like they were slammed and they did their best to get the line moving.  However, they only had one witness there.  You were lucky to even talk to him about witnessing a signature, let alone having him wait in line with you.  Is a three person booth usually how CGC sets up shop at a convention?  I don't blame the people there, they seemed severely understaffed, even for a small convention like this one.  When working high stress like that, there's bound to be something missed and now we have an upset artist on top of the people who couldn't the witness and were basically told they wouldn't qualify for the signature series.

For me, I basically had 4 hours to get my signatures, submit to cgc, and get to work. 

At first I was worried the artists would hate me for bringing a CGC witness by, but seeing how things were, I was worried I wouldn't get anything witnessed.  So I just submitted what I was originally wanting to submit, and if I couldn't get any signatures witnessed.. hey at least I got them signed. =)

Luckily I got the witness to come by for one artist.  But getting Starlin's was gonna be tough, he took a break, and I lost the witness for the time being.  When Starlin came back (nice guy btw!), I couldn't find the witness and with time running out I just decided to get my books signed by Starlin.  Even more lucky that the guy behind me had a CGC witness (who wasn't working the booth) and he verified the signing for me.

With the amount we pay, I wish the promoters, CGC, and the artists could work something out so everybody benefits.  Saw too many people come up to the CGC booth after getting their books signed asking if they would still qualify for SS.  

I wonder why the witnesses don't post up by the creators all day, wearing a cgc t-shirt.

Sorry, right, 2nd X-Men work.

I don't really understand the shipping rates either, other than, because they can.  Properly packaged, 15 can fit in a USPS medium flat rate box to get there, for $8-14.  $50-something to get them back seems precious.

1 hour ago, Dark Prime 0 said:

and you know this how......the problem is when cgc goes to cons they do in fact take in i'd say at min 1k books, at philly last yr wasn't it like 2-3k books or more?

also your assuming that the book/s signed didn't have meny other copies signed that day so to know excatly who to contact could be a problem as well

The amount of books matters for that day up to that time.  I doubt or would hope they don't leave books at the convention hall all three days.  Shouldn't be too difficult to look through the forms from that day up to that point to find a particular combination of books.  I could be wrong though.  The biggest assumption I made is Starling having the identity of the books.  In whatever case, the best thing to do IMO, is offer whatever assistance you can within the confines of internal and legal obligations.  A polite explanation as to what the rules you have are, and why you can't break them, with an offer to do what you can is how that situation could be handled.  Assuming (oops I did it again ) he's not totally unreasonable, he should understand why they can't go around divulging customer contact information, and what CGC's limited role is in the whole process - ie what they have control over and what they don't.  An I'll help within these parameters but can't promise anything would have gone a long way.