Inhuman Fiend

Didn't have any of course...I did have my son write a letter stating he witnessed me dropping it in (he was with me) but they didn't care

NOT a stupid question at all! I did speak to a supervisor about 2 weeks after mailing, he said don't worry it will show up but just in case, file a missing mail search request (I did). I've gone back a few times with the intention of having another conversation, but he's either unavailable or they are overwhelmed and I can't even get up to the counter. I need to try again, block off half a day to wait and be persistent...make them really look for it locally. Appreciate the reply!

Hello all...asking for the comic collecting community to be on the lookout for a missing Iron Man #55, graded CGC 9.0 with OW pages, Cert #4076324006. I sold this on eBay back in August, dropped it off at the Post Office (in a drop box) and then...nothing. It was sold to a buyer in California who never received it. Unfortunately the USPS never scanned the item (it was sent insured USPS Priority) so they denied my insurance claim. I refunded the buyer as it was the right thing to do, but dang this one hurt. I've been selling on eBay for 20 years and always use USPS Priority Mail. In all that time (thousands of books), they have lost only 2 packages, and one of them was eventually returned to me...battered but intact. Only one was truly lost and never showed up. Until now! I've exhausted all options with the Post Office, and long story short: basically I'm screwed because it was never scanned so they accept no responsibility because I can't prove I put it in the drop box. Obviously in hindsight I should have given it directly to a PO employee to scan and acknowledge acceptance, but again in over a thousand transactions (almost all put in their large collection bin) it was never an issue. But live and learn. Anyway...back then it was a $2K+ book and I just had to eat it. The book is somewhere, certainly it's possible the buyer did actually receive it...but I do believe him that they never got it. Maybe it's truly lost under the seat of a Post Office truck or something, or maybe a greedy PO worker snagged it. I just wanted to put out an alert in case it does resurface for sale somewhere, somehow. Obviously it's a longshot but you never know. Pictures below, thanks in advance! Greg

I'm not sure. I almost never receive any follow-up contact so I would guess they have zero intent on buying (unless it's like 75% off FMV) and are simply bored...

Sometimes I send them a direct offer a bit higher than I would probably accept, sometimes I just encourage them to make an offer. Never, ever has any of those people either accepted (or even tried to negotiate) the offer I send them...or made an outright offer. And ALL my items are priced at (or below) current GPA. So these are just complete waste of time cheapskates

Auto-reject eliminates all the low-balls, I highly recommend! What I do continue to get though, is people who don't make an offer...but instead message me asking "what's the lowest you would sell this for?"...I get that at least a few times each week.

As a few others have said, the vast majority of your collection is not worth grading unless they come back as 9.8's, which is highly unlikely. Much too expensive and risky for a novice. Start with your two most valuable books...the New Mutants 98...and the Secret Wars 8. Grade them strictly yourself (google CGC-graded copies in whatever grade you think they are and compare CRITICALLY to yours) and then see how you do when they come back from CGC. It's very likely you will end up with far lower grades than you expected but you'll at least be able to recoup your grading costs (remember to factor in insured shipping both ways and grading fees) and be a bit closer to understanding CGC standards. I recommend buying the new CGC grading guide (or the Overstreet Grading Guide) and really study and compare the photos to your books to help you become more familiar with grading. Good luck!

@BlowUpTheMoon Story please on this GA binder find?!

I recommend blocking uriesilv56 I accepted his offer for my Amazing Spider-Man #5 CGC 2.0, and never heard from him again despite a week of reminders. As much as I sell on eBay this happens to me fairly rarely, this is the first non-paying bidder for me this year. Hopefully the last!

I sell strictly on eBay...and while Summer is always slower, this one was an all-time snail. I expected a correction after unsustainable price skyrocketing in 2020-21 but this has been more dramatic than I anticipated. I only sell relatively affordable but popular keys (average $400 or so, typical highest are in the $2K range) and I put everything with a BIN at or near 90-day GPA, and accept offers. I also make sure my books are priced at or lower than all other copies on eBay in the same grade. I used to get multiple offers on consistently in-demand keys (for example, ASM Annual #1 or Iron Man #55) within 24 hours of listing and they would always sell within a week or 2 at most, but now just crickets for the most part with only a few comical lowball offers. I often have to make 3 or 4 price decreases even on books like that. Many times I'm content to wait and get my (fair) price...but geez. Have had to slow down my buying quite a bit since I strictly use the proceeds from the books I flip to buy more. Come on Fall and Winter!

Also if they are higher-grade modern tier (1975 and up), they almost never have grader's notes

@DC# Really interesting data, thanks for taking the time to compile...a lot of work I'm sure! I wonder if we'll see further correction or things will flatten and stabilize overall. Summer is typically slow for eBay sales, but I've seen a major downturn of activity in my eBay store activity unlike anything I've encountered in 20 years of selling on The Bay. I think inflation, interest rates and a hangover from 2021 all play a part in the softening.

Just stumbled across this...I'm not sure if the bleached books are more astonishing, or the prices! Is that store still in business? And if so, how?!?!

Zaniac looks like a character from an ultra low-budget 1970's horror movie

Thanks for sharing all these...such amazing copies. Tons of work I'm sure but wow it has to be the best part-time job ever (for a comic lover). Just curious, I don't remember you mentioning if you had any of the big books pressed?

What kind of a twisted deviant would do that to a comic?!

I'm very confused by this. Do they pop it in a VCR and watch the tape as part of the grading process to make sure it still works?

My all-time favorite artist, this sucks

It sure did @Senormac! Good memories...and then horror at the prices I let them go for!

What buffoon would apply CT to an already high-grade MH Superman #1?!

Haha I know, I laughed at that as well...don't remember writing that, teenage me was trying to be polite I guess. Probably should have just signed off with "Excelsior" or 'nuff said!

@oakman29 I'm in shock, that's so awesome you bought comics wayyyy back then from teenage-me and remember it! First of all...Thanks!! Secondly, any clue what you bought, or if you still have anything from back then?

Seriously?! Like from one of my two CBG ads (June '84 and June '85), or more recently off eBay?

It's so funny that DD 158 was selling for double what Hulk 181 was, and ASM 129 was completely irrelevant, a 25-cent bin book. Back then, the market was much more artist driven as far as hot books...especially popular new artists like Miller or Byrne.

It was. And I agree that SASE is probably unknown to anybody under 30, heck probably under 40