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SteppinRazor

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Posts posted by SteppinRazor

  1. 1 hour ago, 1950's war comics said:

    I agree and never could understand the logic of grading a modern comic or any other modern collectable

    Some people can't understand the logic of slabbing a comic at all.  There's room for everybody

    21 minutes ago, MadGenius said:

    While it stinks that this fan stiffed Jim Starlin, I'm not sure I see the rationale for his beef with CGC. He's upset that CGC would not help him locate this fan. Is CGC expected to keep tabs on each and every one of the hundreds of customers that use their service at a con? How would CGC go about finding this person once they dropped off their paperwork? If Starlin asked for the person's name, email, telephone number, etc. I can see why CGC might not want to divulge that information. Did Starlin look for this deadbeat himself or did he expect CGC to do all the leg work? He should absolutely be upset with the fan that promised to pay but didn't, but it seems he's more upset with CGC because he perceives they are making "big bucks" off of his signature.

     

    The most reasonable thing for CGC's rep to have done is ask what books they were, look them up, and call the guy if his phone number was provided on the submittal form.  It's a con, it's not like they've collected thousands of books and there's an overwhelming number of submissions.  While the rep could explain that he can't divulge information, he would see what he could do and attempt that probably would've resolved the situation.  It's all about how one handles the problem.

  2. 1 hour ago, SkyPinkBluLovesCBCS said:

    It wasn't like this before CGC and it wouldn't be like this if there was no CGC. The lowest common denominator is CGC.

    You are absolutely correct on the first two points, but CGC didn't make people care about what condition their comics were in, and it didn't make people accept the idea of grading.  People did that on their own.  That is the nature of collectibles. The lowest common denominator is if people want something, they will create tiers of exclusivity and rarity all by themselves.  CGC is an active participant no doubt but also a reflection of people creating a market.

    1 hour ago, ComicConnoisseur said:

    They get plenty of free publicity when they go to these cons. That should be their payment.

    It doesn't look right when a millionaire creator who got rich off these fans than double dips and charges these same fans for his autograph.

    Like I said most of these artists/writers are not having their doors knocked down for current work, and should appreciate that they still have some fans left that want to line up for hours to meet them.

    If artists/writers got together and said in unison that from now on we will give back to the fans with giving free autographs.

    The interest in them would go off the charts!

    It would be a good-will win situation for the fans and creators long-term.

     

     

    I would suggest that they got rich off of creating million dollar creations, not 'off fans'.  Fans found those creations compelling enough to spend their money on it, the creations made that happen.

    I don't think free signatures would generate demand in the comic market, but I'm no expert in that regard, so perhaps you are right.

    It probably isn't a popular position given whose board this is, but my personal opinion of what the comic collecting arena looks like now is that the market has gone too far in terms of authentications and grading.  Needing just short of a notary for a comic book creator signature is absurd, and I think a 100pt grading system is beyond the pale.  But as far as things that happen in this world that are absurd, those aren't high on the impact list for me. 

    And you are certainly correct that the baseball card market is a cautionary tale.  At least steroid use in comic creation isn't a big deal :)

  3. 11 minutes ago, TeamStarlin said:

    The root of all (this) evil is CGC.

    I don't think so.  The root of skating without paying is human nature.  The root of valuing a collectible, and detail/quality creep is human nature.

  4. 30 minutes ago, ComicConnoisseur said:

    It really wasn't aimed at Starlin, but the rest of the industry.

    When I see  comic artists/writers charging their loyal fans for thier autograph it doesn't seem right.

    They should give thier autographs for free to show thier appreacition to their loyal fans who appreciated them over the many years.

     

     

     

    It would be nice if they did, but I don't think anyone should give something for free.  It's up to them whether to be generous or not.

  5. 9 minutes ago, Kevin76 said:

    SS is all about the resale, I don't see the point of autographs, and what's sad is that they aren't that valuable unless the person is dead. I just shake my head at these eBay buyers paying X amount of thousands of dollars to get some of these signed books

    To be fair, grading at all is all about the resale, even if it's by a grandkid or something.  I've never really seen the point of autographs either (the book already has their names in it), and I don't get wanting to see a movie star walk a red carpet or get their autograph either.  But some people who do like autographs probably find the idea of a Ferrari stupid.

  6. Quite possibly something happened to make it more than just pulling a Bartleby.

    I'm not saying he's not justified or doesn't have a point, the whole economy is full of monetizing stuff that some would believe absurd.

  7. Sometimes, a business exists because it's filling a vacuum, sometimes it exists to meet demand, and sometimes it creates new revenue streams by putting a price on something that didn't have a price before.  Creators signing books and being photographed with fans used to be free too.  Refusing to participate in something because you find it ridiculous is great, but it seems like something different to announce your refusal as opposed to just not doing it.

  8. Lot #9 - Miscellaneous X-Men - $15 NM/MT

    Rogue limited Series 1-4, Sabretooth Limited Series 1-4, Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix 1-4, X-Men v Fantastic 4 1-4, X-Men Unlimited 1-7, Generation X 1-3

    I don't know if it's worth grading or a dime piece is mostly theoretical, but I couldn't find a flaw in Gen- X #1

    GenerationX.jpg

    Rogue.jpg

    Sabretooth.jpg

    XMen v FF.jpg

    XMen Unlimited.jpg

  9. Lot #8 - Marvel v DC and Amalgam collection - $30 NM/MT

    Marvel v DC 1-4, Assassins 1, Amazon 1, Speed Demon 1, Super Soldier 1, JLX 1, X-Patrol 1, Bruce Wayne Agent of Shield 1, Magneto and the Magnetic Men 1, Spider-Boy 1, Legend of the Darkclaw 1, Bullets and Bracelets 1

     

    Amalgam.jpg

    Marvel v DC.jpg

  10. Lot #7 - Infinity Crusade and associated - $20 VF/NM/MT

    Infinity Crusade 1-6,  Warlock Chronicles 1-5, 7, Warlock and the Infinity Watch 18-22, Quasar 1, 40, 54-57, Starblast 1-4

    Lowest condition comic is the Quasar #1, pictured

     

    Infinity Crusade.jpg

    Quasar 1.jpg

  11. Lot #6 - Age of Apocalypse collection - $30 NM/MT

    Gambit & The X-Ternals 1- 4, Generation Next 1-4, Astonishing X-Men 1-4, Weapon X 1-4, Factor X 1-4, Amazing X-Men 1-4, X-Calibre 2, X-Man 2, X-Universe 1, 2, X-Men Chronicles 1,2, X-Men Collector's Preview, Age of Apocalypse:  The Chosen, X-Men Prime

    The X-ternals is average for the books, the Weapon X one is the lowest grade in the group

    Gambit Xternals.jpg

    WeaponX.jpg

  12. Lot #1 - Fatal Attractions - $65 NM/MT

    Limited 5,000 signatures on X-Factor 92 by Al Milgrom, X-Force 25 and X-Men 25 by Fabian Nicieza. 

    Also included are all crossover books unsigned (X-Factor 92, X-Force 25, Uncanny X-Men 304, Excalibur 71, X-Men 25, Wolverine 75 - NM/MT .  The UNcanny X-Men 304 is representative of the unsigned full crossover included

    MilgromCOA.jpg

    Milgrom front.jpg

    XForceCOA.jpg

    XForce 25 Nicieza.jpg

    XMenCOA.jpg

    XMen 25 Nicieza.jpg

    Uncanny Xmen 304.jpg

  13. 4 hours ago, vaillant said:

    Re-read his post and you will see that very likely he meant it in terms of foreign editions. Lazyboy replied accordingly in the second post.

    You're correct, I don't have all the lingo down yet, but it's a good evolution of the thread topic