ExNihilo

This is the point people seem not to understand anytime there's a discussion about In n Out vs Shake Shack vs Five Guys. I know we as Californians sometimes hype it up as the greatest burger (it's not), when really what we mean is it's a great burger at that price. A double double animal style is cheaper than a McDonald's Big Mac, but it's probably about 10 times better in terms of taste. Just skip the fries (or ask for them crispy). When you get to the Shake Shack/Five Guys price, you're better off going to a more specialized burger joint like The Counter. Anyways, glad you appreciated and enjoyed In n Out for what it is.

Great, you've made me hungry. Din Tai Fung is Xiao Long Bao. They are pretty much the standard by which other XLB places are measured. There's a location in Santa Clara/SJ at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall.

Yeah, I get that. And I made my position clear in that C2E2 thread that Mike has done a good job being a voice for the board (as it relates to the QC issues) and I don't envy the position that management has put him in by being a middle man to take the punches under these circumstances. But given that @mnelsonCGC probably doesn't frequent the boards, Mike is the only one I can b**ch to who can relay the feelings of the board to those who are making the decisions. Really, it's just a boiling over of frustrations and I apologize to OP for taking their post off track, but the silence in the face of everything is not a good look, especially when things look like they should be clear cut given Marvel's response to retailers. I don't know if Mike is still reading that other thread, but I just felt he needed to know that it's not something some of us will let go of lightly.

I think the good thing is the 10 second add-on that prevents sniping. But I think that's a setting that the seller has to turn on.

I've used WhatNot once and to me it has good foundations as a platform for live auctions. It's certainly a step up from the live Facebook or Instagram auctions because sellers can pre-enter the books they're selling, buyers can go in and purchase any "buy now" books, and there's a built in timer that keeps auctions moving at an even pace. When conducting FB auctions, all of this was done by the seller which was just more work and unless they had done a few, made for more disorganized sales. My one issue (given the limited times I've used it) is that the "max offer" function doesn't work the way it would with any other auction site. Instead of bumping the next highest bid by the minimum increment, it bumps the price to your max bid. So if I'm willing to pay $500 for something, but the next highest bidder is only willing to go to $200, then I've just overpaid by nearly $300. The ONLY time that's a good thing is if it's a hot item and you want to weed out buyers who would potentially get into a bidding war. Otherwise, it's probably gonna be bad for the buyer most of the time. That all said, these live auctions aren't intended to supplant sales at cons or stores, but really is just a way for sellers to increase sales between these in-person events and to reach larger target audiences.

Man, the response times here are quick. I sure wish the C2E2 thread would get that level of service. I suppose I expect too much.

Is it bad that while I don't like that it's offered, but if I ever wanted to get anything signed by Jim, I'd probably consider the variety of offerings? I guess it's a good thing I've gotten plenty of books signed by him already that I probably don't need anymore, but that's besides the point.

I don't get /r/roastme. It's just a bunch of attention whores. /r/toastme is where you go to have your faith in humanity restored.

That's yours? Holy crap. I remember when Brett Booth posted that on social somewhere. I thought it was so badass. Man, glad that piece was finally completed for you.

To the best of my knowledge, CGC has a limited window in which books can be sent back for any issues. It would also need to be sent back by the original submitter. Given the book was put to auction, I have to imagine that neither is valid in your case. If you re-submitted the book, you would have to pay full grading fees. I'm curious how the auction house is questioning it if the only way to know is by looking at the inside cover.

Seriously, CGC's turnaround times are so bad, why do I want to give them interest free loans with my money.

I've found it depends on the sub you're in. Gaming subs are just filled with hatred toward the game developers. So many basic comments get downvoted. /r/personalfinance is a zero-tolerance no-BS kinda place. /r/asknyc is like a NYC experience on the internet. You ask a question, you get an equal number of answers, but also snarky replies. /r/comicbookcollecting is largely full of supportive people just sharing pictures. But man, every now and then you get some "raw doggers" who just $#!t over the hobby.

I love Jim Lee, but I hope he doesn't start doing the same signature menu as Clayton Crain. Keep it simple, just offer two signatures: 1) standard, 2) artist sig. Jim Lee (@jimlee) • Instagram photos and videos

I just logged in and saw there was nothing. Went back and realized it was EST, not PST. womp womp.

Oh wow, completely forgot about that guy. I guess that happens when you block them.

You joke, but I actually assumed this was the actual way of trimming the acetate to get it to line up perfectly with the actual comic cover.

You'd think that. Did people question the addition of CCS at the time? Surely it must have been seen as a little weird that an impartial grading company was now offering a service to potentially improve the grade?

Infinite Black Publishing > Marvel

@CGC Mike so can we expect CGC to issue a statement walking back their position on the matter. You literally have Marvel telling retailers that such actions are not permitted. Seriously, I don't mind when people do something wrong, but I do mind when they double down on their idiocy in the face of mounting support disproving them. How f'in hard is it for a company to swallow its pride and do the ethical thing? (And before anyone responds, it was a rhetorical question. I have every expectation that CGC will bury their head in the sand.)

That Wolverine sketch went on to great fame and is now featured in the traveling Marvel exhibit?

The most popular one is CLZ (CollectorZ), but there's a subscription fee. I personally have been using League of Comic Geeks (which has a desktop and mobile app that sync) and it fits the bill perfectly which to catalog your books. It's also free.

Much like CGC, Liefeld doesn't strike me as the type to admit when they're wrong. I wouldn't expect a response or follow up. Like CGC, I would expect Liefeld to promote an exclusive or artist signing.

"Each new video I watch from you" Man, why are you still supporting them by watching their videos then?

I will say, the intent of my post wasn't to convince everyone to drop CGC. I realize that's an impossible reality given the number of books they have sent to them and the breadth of the customer base (ie most of them probably aren't on these boards). What I did hope was that maybe enough stories similar to mine (of dropping their service) might make them realize that their updated policy of what qualifies for a universal label, as well as the biased/paid grades of 30 books will in fact cost them more than whatever Black Flag paid them for said books.