Bruce Eaton

The supply chain for bags, boards, and boxes has been disrupted by the pandemic. Many stores are out of stock. Many are buying stock where they can at higher prices and have to pass that cost on to the customer.

Hopefully the glut of books since late April (trying to beat the cost increase,) will slow down after the deadline Monday, June 28 and we may see turnaround times start to drop. Fingers crossed.

1 hour ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Woo hooH!! Sounds like a winner

Glad to hear they are still shipping out the door and there is movement!!

You've been the most patient of all of us. I hope yours moves soon and you get good news on your grades.

I just went to F/I/S today. Overall I am thrilled with the grades I received.

The recently release 'Black Jack Demon' by Literati Press is slightly larger than a standard comic. It's 6 7/8" x 10 5/8" rather than 6 3/4" x 10 1/4".

Would this book require magazine submission due to the height or will it fit in the comic holder? 

3 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

dang I may have a wait then, mine were received back from pressing on 5/12  

but congrats!!

I hope yours moves along soon. Your patience and optimism is heroic.

My status on my five magazines switched to 'Grading/Quality Control' today. 

I'm thrilled to see some movement as they've been received as of 4/26.

12 hours ago, Every Day A Story said:

Got email from customer service yesterday after asking for clarity on why we are having substantial delays with Eastman signing. This is what I got back...

Unfortunately, I don't 100% buy this rationale. I've submitted a number of magazine submissions over the years and never experienced delays like this (usually the magazines are encapsulated at most within a week of grading). I still suspect they are having issues with supplies; otherwise why else would these books by sitting in encapsulation for over 7 weeks now? I just wish they were honest with us especially as they originally quoted TATs of 3 weeks pressing and 3 weeks grading... 

Honesty goes a long way.

My gut is that magazine encapsulation uses a different apparatus than a standard comic and they have fewer of those and can only do so many in a day. A large number of mags means extended turnaround time. They should have been able to anticipate this and adjust TATs accordingly. 

Scheduled for grading as of 4/26/21....sigh.

Maxlites are the only bags I know of that have the longer flaps. Otherwise you would think they were mylar upon first glance. That's why I mention the length of the flap. You would not think they are poly bags based on the clarity.

Measure the flap that closes the bag.

If it's 2" you likely have a Maxlite Pro bag.

If it's 1.5" you likely have a mylar bag.

Mylar is the way to go if you can afford it. Maxlites are a great alternative for appearance but will not have the archival stability of mylar.

22 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Dang.

Still nothing on my end, did you guys pay for press?

Either way, still, congrats! Glad to hear it moving finally 

 

I paid for pressing. My books were signed as part of the initial signing. The signing was around March 7 so pressing took much longer than three weeks. 

My books just hit 'Scheduled for Grading' today. The first real glimpse of hope...

1 hour ago, Kchung said:

Tomorrow will be exactly 6 weeks since my book went to SFG. I will wait 1 more week before contacting customer service.

 

You've waited long enough. Contact them now.

I do not expect the market for significant Wolverine books to calm down much, if at all. Key character. Key books. 39 years since publication.

According to GPAnalysis: CGC 9.8s average price over the last year is $508. Average price over the last 90 days is $804. Five of the last 10 sales (14 days) are $1100 or more. High sale of $1365. Newsstand prices are about $500 higher than these prices which are for the direct edition.

5 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

If there at head quarters and not sent out, does that even mean they've been signed? To my knowledge the 2nd signing hasn't happened yet

I may not have been clear. According to CGC mine were part of the initial signing in early March, not part of any batch being sent to Eastman. But the pressing/grading is taking time.

I emailed for a specific update on my books: Received 1/28/21.

They say mine were signed at HQ (not sent out) I had pressing before grading so they expect I will see updates soon and receive the books in the next few weeks.

We'll see.

GPAnalysis is what I use. https://comics.gpanalysis.com/ It's a subscription service. If you don't want to pay a fee I'd be happy to look up the books for you.

I am still in received status of 1/28/21.

Mine are Eastman signature, clean/press magazines:

TMNT #1 2nd print, TMNT #2-4 first prints, Raphael First Print.

The value added by the signature will depend on the book and the grade. There aren't enough recent sales of signed vs. unsigned books to determine something more concrete. Plus with this popular of a signing there is about to be a rush to market of signed books. It's going to be fun to watch IMO.

I'd expect that the rarer/scarcer the book the greater impact. Important to note is how The Last Ronin is impacting Turtles books and their overall popularity right now. Unsigned books are seeing big, big increases. Examples:

TMNT #1 (1984) first print 8.0 unsigned averaged just under $10K during 2020. But the most recent sale in December 2020 was just under $17K.

TMNT #1 (1984) second print 8.0 unsigned averaged $1553 during 2020. The most recent sale this month was $3050.

TMNT #1 (1984) third print 8.0 unsigned averaged $445 during 2020. The most recent sale this month was $1050.

TMNT Adventures #1 Direct Edition (1988) 9.8 unsigned averaged $387 during 2020. The most recent 9.8 sale this month was $1300. A 9.6 averaged $178 during 2020. The most recent 9.6 sale this month was $380.

TMNT Adventures #1 Direct Edition (1989) 9.8 unsigned averaged $157 during 2020. The most recent 9.8 sale this month was $251. A 9.6 averaged $83 during 2020. The most recent 9.6 sale this month was $165.

Values are from GPAnalysis as of 3/30/21.

If you can keep the weight under two pounds you will save a little money using a Priority Mail 1092 box inside a Priority Mail 1095 box.  

I put in a question on the Ask CGC board to try to get more info/clarity. Jennifer has already provided an initial response.

2 hours ago, Jennifer F. said:

Good afternoon,

If you can provide your submission number, I can check the system for you. 

We certainly will take every precaution and all books will be insured both too and from the artist.  We understand your concerns and we take the safety of your books very seriously and will do everything in our power to make sure your books are shipped to and from as safely as possible. 

Thanks,

Thanks. Submission #3780233 received 1/28/2021.

I'm hoping someone from CGC can provide greater clarity on this. The thread in the Signature Room has gone quiet.

Some of the books sent in for Kevin Eastman's signing several weeks ago were left unsigned due to the volume of submissions. The unsigned books were to be taken to Kevin for signing and then returned for grading.

My submission is still showing as RECEIVED. I was also having CCS service done so the expectation was that books would be on their way within six weeks after the signing. Three weeks for cleaning/pressing and three weeks for grading.

Can CGC provide greater clarity about which submissions were being taken to Kevin and if it can be determined if a client's specific submissions were affected? What steps will be taken to expedite those submissions to try to reach the published turnaround times from the solicitation? 

I know I'm not alone in being  uncomfortable in high value books moving around unexpectedly like this. Can CGC provide details on the process of transportation and steps taken to ensure that the books are protected and insured during their travel? 

Thanks.

I have five books for this signing as well as clean/pressing then grading.

My status simply shows RECEIVED as of 1/28/21. Does anyone else who is waiting for books have a different status than RECEIVED?

I am a patient man, but would love greater clarity about the remaining turnaround time and whether steps will be taken to expedite any of the books that had to be taken to Kevin.

About 11,500 in mine. Emphasis on Bronze age and early copper age. Started buying modern books in 2016 so maybe 2500 are recent books. 38 CGC slabs with 135 being graded as I post this.