ExNihilo

I don't think you followed my line of thought. If someone is trying to sell a NM copy for $1, what makes you think your F-VF copy will sell for $0.99? Why would someone buy a book from eBay for a $1, when they can go to their LCS and buy the same book (with a little hunting) for $0.25? I mean, the only people that would buy it are 1) people who DESPERATELY need a copy, 2) someone who's illinformed on comics/collecting.

I'd probably email and ask for a partial refund. The actual book looks worst than the photos. Otherwise, I'd probably keep it as a reader copy. People are so fixated on collecting and preserving that they overlook the reading part. Sometimes it's nice to have a mid grade copy of a book where you're not worried about ruining it.

A quick eBay search brings up exactly what I expected. A NM copy of this book is being sold for $1 or Best Offer (plus shipping). The most recent sale was two copies of the book selling for $1.99. The book is easily found in the $0.25 bin at LCS's. Your copy is in rough shape for a modern book with a lot of color breaking creases along the spine, worn on the bottom of the comic, another color breaking crease on the top back, plus whatever I can't identify on the cover. Needless to say, i wouldn't even waste my time posting that book on eBay, let alone attempt selling it anywhere. That books sole purpose in life at this point is to just be read and have some sort of nostalgic value. Any monetary value from it is long gone.

Most modern books are likely worth less than the retailer suggested amount on the cover, so no need to buy duplicates of everything. For the majority of books, one book treated with care is all you'll need. Regarding proper storage, the very basics begin with atmospheric conditions (temperature and humidity). Next comes proper bags/boards. Again, for most books, standard polypropylene bags and acid free boards will suffice. If you want to plan ahead and don't mind the cost, then you might be better off splurging now and buying Mylites2 and full back boards. Next is storage in a box (or shelf). When it comes to short/long boxes, the inside wall where you grip the box often has a cardboard insert that comes about halfway up a book. You'll want to place a thick piece of cardboard on either end of the box to prevent your books from resting against this half piece cardboard insert. This is to prevent your books from bending at the pressure point where the cardboard digs into the book. If your book rests against a full cardboard piece, the pressure on the book is applied evenly across the entire face of the book. Beyond that, I recommend alternating books so they rest front to front and then back to back. This guy discusses the alternating book method I prescribe to. Lastly, when filling a box, you'll obviously want to make sure all books are lined up for even weight distribution. You can easily achieve this just by having all your books pushed up against one wall of the box. As others have mentioned, also make sure you have something to prop the books so they're all upright (this can be a towel, extra backing boards, TPB's, etc). Lastly, when the box is almost full, make sure to not overstuff it. You don't want too much pressure on the books and spines. If you want to get into greater care, I handle all my books with gloves now to avoid getting fingerprints on my books. (I subbed a book once and the graders notes came back "Fingerprint on cover"). If you want to optimize protection, I recommend this link, in particular I double bag all my non-slabbed high value books in both Mylar2's and then a Mylar archival bag. There was a question once about long term usage of fullbacks and whether or not the ink would rub off on them over an extended amount of time. If you wish to avoid the potential for this, you can place your book in the Mylar2, then place 1 or 2 fullbacks in the archival bag (as opposed to within the Mylar2). This way the only thing your book touches is the Mylar2.

Twice now you've threatened to request a return/refund on a book due to your own lack of understanding. Such behavior is often frowned upon by and is usually enough to make boardies not want to deal with you should you ever seek to engage in any of the sales threads here. I imagine many users on these boards would like to know your eBay user handle so they can avoid dealing with you there as well. The images shown are clearly not mint. Despite what the seller posts, you need to make your own informed decisions based on all the information provided. And that doesn't just apply to comics. In real life situations, you should learn about a subject to formulate an opinion instead of blindly accepting someone's word as fact. This all comes from experience and just takes time. The PGM section of the board is probably a great resource for you to start with as people routinely post ungraded books, receive opinions from veteran boardies, and then even post the final results when they get it back from CGC. Submitting your own books and then seeing the score vs what you expected should quickly teach you what a 9.4 vs an 8.5 vs a 7.5 looks like. Albeit, an expensive lesson. A cheaper way would be to find hi-res photos online of books that have already been graded. Look at examples of CGC 7.0, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, etc to get an idea of the kind, number, and severity of defects on books across the grading range.

For the record, the 2 "tears" at the bottom on the rock and by Carnage's knee have actually popped up on a few books. I think there was a thread on it at some point on these boards, but a quick search hasn't brought up anything. Maybe someone with better sleuthing skills can dredge it up. If I remember correctly, the leading theory was something having to do with a print defect whereby the printer itself was somehow responsible for the tears as they run in the same spot throughout most pages in the book. How CGC grades that though, i'm not sure.

Honestly, that book is not in mint condition. There appears to be a color breaking spine tick near the staple. The top of the book looks rough. And honestly, the bag in which it's currently stored in looks terrible which makes me really question the amount of care that has been given to it. I have 8.0's that look better than that. As someone who learned the hard way and ended up getting books back with disappointing results, I would absolutely not send that in to be graded. It'd just be a waste of money between shipping and grading fees. Between the $15 shipping fees for you to get it to CGC, $20 in grading fees, the $30 in return shipping, and the $5 form fee, PLUS the $80 you spent on the book, you'd end up spending $150 on a book worth much MUCH less than that. Even if we were being generous with the grading (VERY generous) and give that book a 9.0, the books value would be <$100 based on completed eBay sales. Based on your series of posts today, you have a lot to learn. I would suggest quietly browsing the various threads and read up on the comic collecting hobby as a whole before you make any further purchases. Figure out what are the do's and don't's, forum etiquette, the minimum standards for storage, and establish what type of collection you want to have for yourself. It'll save you a boatload of money in the long term.

Yeah, it feels like a troll job. But it also seems like more effort than it's worth, especially since the eBay transaction checks out.

Check this thread out. I mean, technically he meant that the sellers are claiming that the book is 9.4+. Bold statements by the sellers if i'm being honest.

2 sigs for the price of 1!

Well, in that situation, I think they'd be ineligible for a yellow label since the chain of witnesses would have been broken. But yes, I think this is why unsigned copies sell out so quickly.

The genesis of the discussion began here, way back on page 181. In short, all books at SDCC were pre-signed, but there is a $30 "CGC signing fee" if you choose to submit the book for grading. So if two customers buy the same book pre-signed, customer A will get it for $50 if they just want a raw copy, whereas customer B will have to pay $80 simply because they wish to have it slabbed by a 3rd party. The argument is that the product is the same and that JSC shouldn't care or have a say as to what the customer wishes to do with the product after the sale. Additionally, there is the potential scenario where a book is sold unsigned/signed via his online store. Typically, the signed book will cost $20 more than the unsigned book. Let's say someone buys an unsigned book online for $20. Let's also say they take it to the next con to get signed. They pay the $30 CGC fee and end up paying $50 for a signed book to have it slabbed. Let's also say that JSC has signed copies of the same book at his booth, but it's $40 (as all pre-signed books have a premium over their unsigned counterparts). If someone were to buy the pre-signed book at the convention and wished to have it slabbed, then they would end up paying the $30 CGC signing fee on top of it ending up with a $70 book. Both books are the same, but the poor sap who bought the pre-signed book at the convention ends up paying an extra $20. All in all, I had the option to pass on the books, but in the moment decided to press forward for two reasons. One, I like the covers and I wanted the virgin copies. Two, I had a facilitator helping me who was likely very busy and I didn't feel like wasting their time while I mulled it over, especially since I expected the books to sell pretty quickly. The whole experience just didn't sit well with me and since then I've decided my money is better spent elsewhere. I have ordered two sets since (unsigned copies of the X-Men set and the Captain Marvel set), but I really don't care about JSC exclusives as much as I did pre-SDCC. And I definitely won't be getting any signed books from him in the future.

The books you actually want are 360-363. I believe Cletus Kasady/Carnage makes a cameo appearance at the end of 360. 361-363 are the first appearance of Carnage as well as the full 1st arc with the character. This is considered very poor form and will oftentimes get you listed in the eBay blocked user thread here. It may additionally deter buyers/sellers here from wanting to deal with you as well.

From a practical standpoint, that's because most real life fights of hand to hand combat wind up on the ground so it makes sense to develop a sound ground defense strategy. I have more respect for UFC fighters as "true" athletes than NBA players because of the relevance of what they know to potential real world situations. That said, the NBA is far more enjoyable to watch because I actually understand who's ahead, who's behind, and what's at stake with a simple glance at the scoreboard.

Stop it. Is this for real?! I like to play chess, it's a great game of mental planning and strategy, but it is NOT an athletic sport worthy of the Olympics. Archery is way more of a sport simply based on the practicality of it in ancient times. (Same with the marathon.)

WRC > F1 > NASCAR. Err...isn't that just UFC.

I dunno, 2016 Warriors losing 3 straight Finals clinching games was pretty bad.

Ok, so I guess that Jerry West who is 1-8 in the finals is above Jordan as well. My bad. Boards talk about Layton, I don't care. Boards talk about Jordan, I'm all in. I always cringe when people mention Championships. Robert Horry has 7 rings, does that make him one of the best. The only time rings makes sense is when mentioning Bill Russell (11 rings in 13 seasons). With that out of the way, what metrics do you use to measure Jordan vs Lebron? A lot of what gets overlooked are intangibles. The era in which Jordan played featured suffocating defenses. If Lebron played then, his offensive numbers would certainly be down. Jordan elevated the play of those around him. Lebron doesn't. Jordan and Pippen spent hours before and after practices going one on one. Pippen has said going up against the best made him better. Lebron never elevated anyone. D.Wade was already a champion and highly regarded guard. Kevin Love and Chris Bosh by and large remained the same above average players they were before. And it's the same story with Kobe. Hell, Kobe gets bashed for not being a great teammate on the practice floor. If you weren't at his level, then you were just some scrub. League rules changed BECAUSE of Jordan. Jordan played against the all time greats at a time when there was more parity in the league. He was part of a team in which the core was built from within. Sure, guys like Rodman were brought in during free agency, but it's nothing as egregious as Lebron did in Miami and Cleveland building his "Big3" in each city. Jordan's greatest asset was his fire and will. No other player has played with that level of grit or intensity. Lebron wilts in the big moments. Jordan elevated. I get it, Lebron's a freak of nature. One of the greatest of all time. But there's only one GOAT and it ain't him. But apologies...back to Bob Layton, co-creator of Iron Man, Batman, The Smurfs, and the Ninja Turtles (among others).

The thing is I really only wanted the MJ and Gwen's signed. I was hoping to get the others raw/unsigned. But then I was told that all books were pre-signed and I hate getting books signed but not yellow labeled. So due to being very precise about how I like books presented, I ended up subbing all 9 books. All in all, the experience left me soured on buying s/s at his booth, much like yourself.

Answer: They won't (do all the variants). https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/12/20/dc-comics-retailer-exclusive-covers-detective-comics-1000/

Amazing amount of heart considering the book is about an android. With Mister Miracle now wrapped up, I'm about to dive into that one. Hoping it's as good as Vision.

My best guess is that CGC recognizes it as a print defect.

ASM800's from SDCC came back, a little Christmas present to me, from me. I think time has dulled the sting of the "CGC Tax", and the grades don't hurt either (four 9.6's and five 9.8's). I'm not as bothered by the 9.6's as some other collectors might be simply because I was expecting 9.4's because the issue was so thick that the cover stock was so poor on a lot of the regular copies found on store shelves. Still, these are likely the last (and only) JSC books I'll buy signed and subbed to CGC. That said, I do love his MJ and Gwen. Say what you will about how his female faces all look the same, these two particular covers capture the differences between the two main loves in Peter's life so well. MJ the fashionable and playful one. Gwen always the more book warmish one.

Just in time for Christmas.