ExNihilo

I posted in the PGM thread, but didn't get a response, so figured I would go directly to the source.  I have an ASM v2 #36 (below) which has what I can only describe as a printing error.  As you can see the black ink appears to have smeared/rubbed onto the white areas of the cover.  Does this have any impact on the grading of the book?  Thanks.

7 minutes ago, Gaard said:

My 2-book value submission...

Received - 6/9/17

Verified - 8/8/17

Scheduled For Grading - 8/14/17

Graded - 8/15/17

Grading/Quality Control - 8/16/17

Shipped/Safe - 8/17/17

that's pretty much spot on for the 50 business day provided on their site (at least from Received to Shipped)

Looking to gather sigs for this book and have it graded.  It looks pretty high grade with few issues.  However, when prepping the book, I noticed that there appears to be some "printer bleeding" on the lettering on the cover (see last photo).  Instead of crisp white lines, black ink appears to have carried over.  Do you reckon that will negatively impact the grade on the book?  Thanks for the opinions.

Loeb/Sale.

I don't know why there seems to be two different Jeph Loeb's.  There's the excellent work he's put out with Tim Sale.  And then there's everything else which is pretty much terrible (Batman: Hush and Superman/Batman excluded).

1.  Do you think the car will be totaled? 

2.  If you think the car will NOT be totaled, how much do you think total repairs will be to the car? If you DO think the car will be totaled, what will the salvage value be?

When the adult in you decides you can finally afford the books you've yearned for since you were a kid...

(apologies for the shiny/glary pics, I was too scared to remove the books from the bags.  )

Silver Surfer is/was/will always be my favorite character so I just had to grab the first issue.  Next up is to find a decently graded/priced FF48.

I think for anyone who grew up in the 90s, adding ASM300 to the collection is a no brainer.  Realizing now that a grail book should be something that's impossible to attain so I guess I'm gonna have to reset my grail bar a little higher.  New grail book...AF15.

This one I kinda stumbled upon.  Then kinda had it set in my head that I just had to have.  A dangerous combination for someone who's just getting into the realm of collecting as opposed to just buying books for reading.  But still, I love Rocket from both movies so it's kinda cool to say I now own a copy of his first appearance.  I guess as Bradley Cooper would say..."Oh yeah."

This is one of my favorite books I've read because of the emotional impact and message it conveys.  I sent my copy off to get signed and graded at SDCC so I was looking for a new reading copy.  Found someone selling multiple copies of the book "unread" and "fresh from the distributors package" for half of everything else on eBay.  Literally bought up the last 2 copies.  Since the original copy I sent off for signing wasn't the best graded copy I could get my hands on at the time, I'll probably send off the better of the two to get signed and graded as well.

10 minutes ago, Hey Kids, Comics! said:

The problem is if you go back and edit, then most people won't see your post as they hit the button to take them to the last post read.

I guess I was thinking since posts are listed chronologically, then you could refer back to the posts that are around the same time as when you submitted to see how your books are faring compared to others.  The point was to really consolidate people's responses and maintain all information together in a format that may be easier to read at quick glance and to eliminate follow up questions like "Did you do FastTrack?  Did you submit Modern or Value?  etc"  Perhaps this could be accomplished by quoting your prior post and updating new information?  I don't have much experience submitting my own books so any suggestions would be appreciated.

12 minutes ago, KingCthulhu said:

Hello - quick question. I have a book from 2011 in a pre-sealed poly-bag. I am interested in having it graded - should I remove the poly-bag before sending to CGC?

Thanks very much!

Per CGC, " Poly-bagged comics must be taken out of the poly-bag before being graded."

https://www.cgccomics.com/services/comics_we_grade.asp

7 hours ago, bronze paradise said:

Find Lawrence at Pdot's comics.  Definitely one of the best facilitators I've ever worked with. He will have a booth at palm springs.

Thanks for the rec.  I'll have to give them a call this afternoon.

3 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I hear you. Maybe submit enough to make it worth it, but idk maybe if there was someone who handled Stan with quick communication response time. I'm patiently waiting a response but it's been hours. I'm really not losing it yet.  It's closing in on 3 weeks, but I just now found out anything was amiss.

Unfortunately, I only see 2 upcoming signings on his schedule (Palm Springs and Dragon Con).  Since no one on these boards appears to be accepting subs for Dragon Con, I'm kinda forced to submit to whoever is accepting for Palm Springs.  I could drive down to the Con myself, but then that introduces new costs.  I'll probably just submit my books and keep my fingers crossed.  (I wonder if there's a way to insure my books under homeowners insurance or something).

3 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Does Stan really sign so much that this would be an issue? Kind of crazy really

From what I've read, his handlers move pretty quick and try to get as many sigs through as they can.  Probably because they're taking a commission on each signature as well.  But if anyone has to wait 6 months for books, I would imagine there was a delay in shipping somewhere in the process.  Who knows, all we can do is hope for the best.

1 hour ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I had forgot about reading this thread, sigh, every time I read a thread like this it isn't the facilitator that I use or really anybody but the 3rd-party people.

BUT now I see

I guess I'll just wait in line with everybody else..... and try to keep an update  

Which REALLY surprises me because the first book of SS from SDCC is at CGC but the Stan one isn't

WHICH REALLY surprises me because early June 2016 I dropped off at Fan Expo Dallas, of course Stan was in attendance, but I ended up getting my books back at the end of JUNE  

That's why I felt bad of all these thread's about Stan's 3rd-party people.... I used the same facilitator as last time  and was  the whole way, I guess I dream big

This thread really worries me because I want to submit books to get signed at Palm Springs Comic Con, but my options are basically Excelsior Collectables (Stan's handlers) or Vegas Comics whom I don't see much mention of on the threads.  I just don't want to have to worry about trust issues with $1000+ in books over a 3-6+ month period. 

1 hour ago, Rhymenoceros said:

This thread got me looking for deals on bubble wrap now. Ebay has some good stuff with free shipping for huge rolls if you look hard enough.  Also like 30 gallons of packing peanuts for $12 shipped. 

If you buy bubble wrap on eBay, does it come wrapped in bubble wrap? 

Wow, starting off strong with the ASM300 and then moving on to bigger keys/grails.  Amazing collection.  Good luck with the sale.

I love the data points provided by everyone here, but I wonder if it would be more informative if we established a standardized format that was easier to follow along with.  And then users could go back and edit their prior posts when new submission data is provided.  For example:

Tier (also list FastTrack where applicable): Modern

Number of books: 2

Event/Signing date (optional for SS only): SDCC

Shipped to CGC: 7/25

Received (by CGC): 8/3

Verified: TBD

Graded: TBD

Encapsulated: TBD

Received (by owner): TBD

(NOTE: Example dates.  Not actual submission data point.)  

On ‎6‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 2:09 PM, Rich_Henn said:

Batman #24 SDCC exclusive, silver foil variant  s/s King & Finch- $155

Limiting 10 spots.  Price is all inclusive of creator signature fees, grading, any pressing, etc.

1) mbatko_8

2) mamatsch

3) MDR123

4) Robert_L

5) CKinTO

6)

7)

8)

kinda regret missing the boat on this one.  

Just got back from my LCS and was shocked to find they had about 30 on their shelf (all cover A).  Admittedly all books were probably in the 9.2-9.4 range as well.

5 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

'Unwatchable' sounds like it is meant to grab headline attention.

You're probably right, but you still can't deny DC's track record doesn't at least make this a slight possibility.  Whereas Marvel movies have a track record of at least being decent, DC movies like BvS and Suicide Squad have been so horrid that (in my opinion) they are 'unwatchable' and as such news like this only adds to my fears that Justice League might bad.  But, here's to hoping i'm wrong.  

26 minutes ago, Couchy81 said:

Copies are selling for $10-20 on eBay because it's sold out at many places. 

I see some that are being sold by an LCS that are "Straight out of the Diamonds Distributors box."  Each LCS might have different circumstances, but I find it a little sleazy to be selling books less than 2 days old on eBay.  If my LCS happened to not have any on shelves and then I saw the book marked up on eBay, i'd definitely be upset.

59 minutes ago, elektra101 said:

THE RESULTS are final  

MODERN SLOW - Books dropped off at CGC on 6/30 Verified that same day. 100 books total all modern.

 8/4   3 sets of 25 books each are Scheduled For Grading now.

8/7 - 3 set that were on Scheduled for grading now show GRADED.

8/10 3 sets are SHIPPED safe. 1  set should be shipped safe tomorrow.

I thought it was pretty quick overall for this set.   If I count correctly I count 29 business days total.

if you just count ALL days I think its 41 days total.  Counting all weekends,etc.

Time for a trip to CGC  soon!

E.

 

 

 

Not bad considering the posted TAT is 35 business days.  Thanks for the datapoint.

I'm trying to estimate the total cost of getting books signed and slabbed.  I get the sense that books aren't necessarily graded as a group and can get split up.  So if I send off a group of books that include Modern, Economy, and Standard, how does CGC determine shipping?  Will the books be sent back when the entire invoice is complete (ie one shipment)?  Or will my books ship when each type is completed (ie Standard complete first and ships, Economy completes 2 weeks later and is shipped, Modern ships 2 months after)?

On 8/4/2017 at 8:16 PM, uscmex said:

Hello

 

need some books signed by ramos and land but I can't make it out there  

who are some facilitators that I can contact? I read that vegas comics was going but they haven't responded to my emails  

 

any help is much appreciated  

 

Vegas Comics is indeed going (i just received a response from them today).  If you don't get a response by email, try messaging them on their FB group.

That being said, there's no set price on Stan Lee sigs yet, only an estimated $175.  When I got books signed by Stan at SDCC, it was $130/sig.  Do creator fees fluctuate from one con to the next?  $175 seems like a lot (unless it's like $130 + $45 for CGC/grading/shipping, then it makes more sense).

2 hours ago, FineCollector said:

I don't think you speak for the majority.

For lack of a copper age example, let's look at silver age Aquamans.  The first appearances of Black Manta was mentioned by Overstreet, but was never broken out in price from the surrounding issues.  I have a 2012-2013 guide nearby, and even then, issue 35 cost the same as the other issues around it.  Black Manta has consistently been Aquaman's archvillain since the 1960's, and the character is widely known because of the Super Friends and Justice League cartoons.  Is it your opinion that the first appearance of Black Manta only became a key in 2014 when the movie speculators drove the prices up?

From a pure character history perspective, value is irrelevant, and thus the book can be perceived as a key book on the merit of it being a first appearance (or a death, or a wedding, or a kiss, or some other major event).  The problem I have with this is that as character histories continue to grow, so too do key appearances/events.  Black Manta and Jigsaw are big time villains so their inclusion makes sense.  But what happens when you get to characters like Scream (Venom: Lethal Protector #4)?  Or how about books where a character dies?  How about when they die a second or third time?

At a certain point, key loses its meaning.  As a casual collector, I feel I have to limit what I perceive as key to merely books that I wish I had in my collection because cost is a limiting factor.  I guess to answer your question, Black Manta (and Jigsaw's) first appearances were key prior to any surge in value on the basis of their historical relevance to their respective protagonists.  But for myself at least, they don't make the cut for what I believe to be key to any collection.

(EDIT: I should add that I realize now that a lot of boardies here are big time collectors and can understand how my personal definition of key can be very different from the majority of people here.)

4 hours ago, Jayman said:

The answer to this would would be what caliber of friends you choose to have. Just saying...

Haha.  I tease, my friends would never take my stuff.  They'd be more interested in my wine and booze than my books.

4 hours ago, Spikenector said:

All my friends have walked thru the comic room and think it's some kind of museum haha, always asking if they can be in my will

That reminds me...can I be in your will? 

4 hours ago, FineCollector said:

The question, then, is how many people have to like a character before it's a key?  A character like Maxima has little significance in the DCU.  In your opinion, does her first appearance become a key if:

A) she appears in a DC movie?

B) she appears in Supergirl?

C) she gets her own solo comic series?

D) Frank Cho popularizes her by placing her in suggestive sketches?

I don't imagine she has a great number of fans, but I would still recommend we count that as a key, albeit a minor one.  It's not valuable, but it is an issue of significance.  Some people will recognize this, and buy it anyway.  Others will wait until the price goes up, and suddenly decide this book they've ignored for years is now worthy of being in their collections, which makes me physically ill.

Key is definitely subjective and I'll agree that books can be subdivided as major/minor keys.  For the purposes of the original post, I was looking for major keys.  To that end, I think value plays a role into what the majority consider "key" (hereby referring to major keys).  To that extent, if demand surpasses supply to the point that the value of a book is increased to a point that is no longer reasonable to a large number of readers, then the book is most certainly key.  (Additional rule: the contents of a book should be noteworthy in some way, first appearance, first book by legendary creator(s), etc).

An example of a book that has a noteworthy event but isn't necessarily key might be Green Lantern #0 (first appearance of Simon Baz as Green Lantern).  It ticks the content box, but there aren't a whole lot of buyers clamoring to read about Simon's origin.  Now, when a movie comes out, interest automatically ticks up.  For example, I recently found myself bidding on a Nova #1 simply because I speculate that Nova will be introduced into the MCU at some point (just purely off the fact that Nova Corp was in GotG).  20 years ago, that book never would have been on my radar.

But to answer your question, if Maxima appears in a quality DCEU movie in a meaningful way, then yeah, her first appearance would qualify as key.  Appearances in Supergirl, solo comic series, and popularization due to suggestive sketches don't really make a book key in my opinion.  But again, it's all subjective.  Someone might be a huge Maxima fan and to them it's key.  And really I think that's the great thing about comics as a medium, it's really about what enjoyment you derive from it.

@Spikenector: I'm not sure I could ever have friends over for fear of them ruining or taking something valuable with them.