MagicMan_2017

It's hard to see from your pictures. As a general response though, I've seen comics slabbed where the comic can shift inside. I've also had slabbing done where the comic is snug, but the mylar plastic inside is loose. But in either scenario, the comic should still be somewhat protected, as long as the seller shipped it with decent packaging, bubbles, cardboard backing, etc. Ultimately, if you feel the item isn't as described in the original ad (if it's off ebay), you can still request for a return/refund ... even if the seller states no return. It doesn't matter, you have Buyer's Protection. Good luck!

6 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I feel your pain! I got this GOLD sig, (NOT FROM THIS SIGNING) but you'd think that he'd have signed it similar to "other's"!~! I mean maybe since it was a "promo comic" the area around Spidey is smaller was the reason? I'm not sure, but I was disappointed with it for sure  

 

I'll quote myself from Page 7 below ... looks like it is true. Something to keep in mind for future signings. For this round, I marked "Gold Ink Please" for my Gold Spider-man ... but he ended up using a White marker??? Looks like white-out if you ask me.

"I've had books signed by McFarlane in the past (not through CGC) and from what I'm told by the facilitator, Todd is notorious for signing in whatever ink color he feels in the moment and doesn't really pay any attention to requests for ink color preference. I sent my books in with an ask for Silver, but was told that on the actual day, midway through signing, Todd decided to switch and started using a blue Sharpie! My heart sank, as I think blue kills the look. Anyways, when I finally got my books back, I was relieved that mine made it in the silver batch. Facilitator told me I got lucky, as in the end no one can tell Todd what to do "

3 hours ago, Rayzor13 said:

On Monday afternoon I saw that the ASM 1 Silver variant I sent in for the Todd signing received a 9.4.  Obviously I was disappointed as I was sure it would receive a 9.8 or at worst a 9.6 if the grader was having a bad day.   I also thought, ok, the grader’s are probably being pushed to pump through these as fast as possible, maybe they took their frustrations out on my one lone issue?

However, I reminded myself that I’m not a pro grader and I must have missed something OR since I didn’t window bag the book (don’t ask), maybe it was damaged somewhere in the process.  Well I received the book back today and still can’t see any defect(s) to warrant the grade it received.  Worse, there are no grader notes giving any explanation.  So, I am tempted to send the book back in for a re-grade just to see if it would somehow come back at a higher grade.  However, the rational part of me says let it go, sell it and buy a 9.8 off Ebay for $150’ish.  Either way, I lose money.   What do you all think?

I assume you are referring to Spider-Man 1 from 1990 and not Amazing Spider-Man. If so, did you send in the Silver regular edition or the Silver Poly-bagged version? Reason I ask is that the Poly-bagged version will leave an impression on the cover where the plastic is heat sealed. It's very subtle, but is enough to lower the grade. I had one myself that came back at a 8.5, but once I had it pressed it returned as a 9.8. Did you pay for a press? If it's none of the above, then you'll have to chalk it up to the experts. There are many factors both inside & cover of the book that plays into it. I doubt it has anything to do with a grader having a bad day. Would not spend the money to re-grade, as it will likely come back the same.

1 hour ago, catch21 said:

Im surprised you guys didnt noticed this. The video PZY just posted is day 2 and the 316 is signed T.Mcfarlane.

I'm more cringing that he had 316 propped up on the sharpie pen ... yikes! Thought for sure he was going to sign the 300 right on top of the 316 and bend them both! 

2 hours ago, Legion HQ said:

Doesn't CGC reserve the right to adjust the Declared Value if they feel that it has been declared too low, particularly after the grades come in? This is both so that they can be compensated with extra fees in the appropriate tiers, and so that the insured value of the books when shipped are more in line with GPA values in the event the package goes missing or damaged. In this instance, the fees for this signing are flat fees, so the adjustment would be made for the insurance reasons only. CGC is probably being conservatively high just to be safe (and excite their customers). Not knowing what books you actually submitted.

I believe the insurance is for holding the books at their facility ... not for shipping purposes. "The declared value is used to insure a collectible while it is at CGC’s facility. In addition, in the extremely rare event that a collectible is lost or damaged while at CGC’s facility, the submitter will be compensated based on the collectible’s current Fair Market Value" "CGC does not provide insurance for comic books shipped from its facility to you. The carrier you choose may provide limited coverage. Due to the fragile nature of comic books, CGC urges you to investigate and secure proper means of insuring your comic books against damage in transit."

For these types of bends, they are prime candidates for pressing. It should remove all of these creases so there's no impact to final grade. It's a shame to lose grades based on these minor imperfections ... especially when you can easily resolve it.

On 12/5/2019 at 1:20 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

Soooooo...this may not be the best place to ask this, but do we know definitively how to tell the bagged UPC green from the unbagged regular UPC green...?

I have a couple of bagged UPCs...but I don't want to unbag them and have them relegated to standard UPC copies.

Someone may have already answered this, but send the opened bag along with your submission so they know it came out of the bag. And only other advice I have for bagged submission, pressing is a non-negotiable. The comic may appear to be pristine, but where the poly bag seals together at the back will impress a vertical line in the back cover and drive your grading down. I sent one years ago that came back an 8.5 purely because of the seal impression. Later got it press and it returned a 9.8. Only caution I can offer. If you sent it in without pressing, I would try calling in on Monday and request CS to add that service in. Otherwise, you will be sorely disappointed.

23 minutes ago, Jasten said:

My card just got charged for the ccs pressing service. I suspect that means they are pressing before signing. Would make sense to try to keep the promised turnaround. I hope they are careful with the signings!

Ummm ... you may want to double check with them on this. The pressing should happen after Todd signs ... not before.

1 hour ago, revat said:

Well to be fair, most people who are willing to shell out the money for Todd's sig are in theory fans of his skills as an artist/creator.  Which likely means you to some extent appreciate his sense of aesthetics.  We means to MOST (certainly not all) that you trust him to sign HIS art in a way that will be aesthetically pleasing with HIS signature.  I do also admit that not all covers are equally easy to sign, and that this type of signing might work as a factory where efficiency is valued over pure aesthetics.  To that extent, maybe try to submit something with a lower degree of difficulty, no one is forcing any one person to send any specific book to get signed, there's probably at least 1000 books to choose from

Fully agreed that efficiency likely overrides aesthetics. It reminds me also of how they handle window bags. I sent some in past with windows specifically in areas where it is away from the face or away from the title ... only to have it come back with the signature in a different spot. Made me question whether they toss the window bags in some cases. From my own experience, it seems that Stan Lee had less of a sense or concern about aesthetics or placement, as I've had some where it's right on Spider-Man's face or right on the title! Todd seems to know where best to place signatures ... only thing is the ink color may be a bit of a shoot. Not sure if it will help, but where they recommend you write "Sign Here" on the painter's tape on the window bag ... you could also write "SIGN SILVER PEN" and cross your fingers?

On 11/21/2019 at 8:19 AM, ADAMANTIUM said:

I know someone asked that earlier on, but I don't think they were ever answered.... I'll check

 

I've had books signed by McFarlane in the past (not through CGC) and from what I'm told by the facilitator, Todd is notorious for signing in whatever ink color he feels in the moment and doesn't really pay any attention to requests for ink color preference. I sent my books in with an ask for Silver, but was told that on the actual day, midway through signing, Todd decided to switch and started using a blue Sharpie! My heart sank, as I think blue kills the look. Anyways, when I finally got my books back, I was relieved that mine made it in the silver batch. Facilitator told me I got lucky, as in the end no one can tell Todd what to do

If I may gather quick feedback. For those comics where there is a crack down the spine (picture attached), are these safe to put through pressing/cleaning? The cover itself has some light creases that could be pressed out easily, but not sure if that will further expose the cracked spine. I'm sure if I worked with someone that could tailor their pressing services to my needs, it would be a non-issue, but generally speaking ... will the comic be further damaged if put through standard pressing? Thank you!

On 3/13/2019 at 9:18 PM, MARK ARNEY said:

has anyone ever had a book damage while being graded and come back with a low grade? If so is there any recourse for this?

Yes. I submitted a Venom comic that was flawless and I knew it would grade at a 9.8. It came back with a grade of 9.6. After looking more closely, I noticed a spinal bend that was not there when I submitted. Fortunately, I had some pre-submission pictures as proof of the condition and CGC was kind enough to press out the bend at no charge. It came back at a 9.8.

Yes, I would press without hesitation. Some of my earlier submissions came back with lower grading that could have been avoided, as it was due to regular minor wear. If you want to maximize grading, especially on your childhood keepsake, I would 100%.

The waves and the crinkle in the back should be ironed out fairly nicely. But do note that QuickPress and Pre-Screening requires a minimum # of books. You can't just submit one book.

4 hours ago, dfx1 said:

More detail on this would be cool. How does it move within the case? All around? Side to side, up to down, forward to back? 

Yes, I would say my worst case has almost a millimeter give on all sides. So as soon as you pick up the case, the inner well will slide around freely inside the case. The others ones aren't as bad, but it also slides on all sides ... not snug like the previous versions. The fact I've received multiple loose wells from multiple submissions leads me to believe it's by design ... but can't really say. Seems like many defects slip by QC.

2 hours ago, joeypost said:

It can be done. 

 

Was this done through CCS? or did you use someone else for this? 

I couldn't find a recent thread on this, so sorry if it's a duplicate. The last 4 submissions I got back in the new cases look great, with no newton ring effect. However, I noticed all of them (from different submission times), have loose inner wells. It literally rattles inside the casing. The comic itself is secure inside the well, but the well moves within the case. Some move more than others. When I compare to the older cases, the comics & well don't move at all. Is this a mechanical error/defect? or is this by design and we are to accept this? Thanks!

I have a comic with a nice clean date stamp on it, but the comic itself could use a quick press to iron out the small finger creases. My question is whether there is a risk of the pressing impacting the date stamp itself. My fear is that it will bleed or smudge on the cover. If this is the case, then I will not press the book and likely keep it in it's raw state. Anyone with experience on this? Much appreciated!

Moderator, can you kindly delete my post? I found my answer, people are using stock images to sell the true believer edition. So borderline fraud. Sorry for the wasted post. I'm a noob. 

This question is so elementary, that I felt it is most appropriate in the noob forum. But for the life of me I can't seem to tell the difference. Can someone share with me how you would know this ASM is a reprint? The cover looks identical to the original. People are selling these online and I don't know which ones are real or not.

So after sending in through about 6 different batches over the past year and a half, my own personal wild theory is that it has to do with the hot summer weather once it leaves for transport after slabbing. What am I basing this on? I had a batch of 10 ship back in Dec ... all perfect, crystal clear. Another batch of 10 in early Spring come back perfectly clear, no signs of rings on any of them. Then my next three batches in the July, August months came back horrible! Littered with rings that you could hardly see the cover through all the puddling. Then I had another batch of 15 come back in Sept and all perfect, no signs of any rings at all. From what I can tell, all the cases from last Dec to now are all the same width and size, so difference in larger cases being used. I know this is not a scientific conclusion, but it's enough to sway me to only submit during times when I know I will get the books back in the Fall through to Spring. I will avoid the summer months completely. Who knows what happens to these mylars while it cooks in the hot courier planes and trucks.

3 hours ago, androolx said:

What was date of grading?  Did/are you contacting CGC or requesting re-holder?

It was graded this past summer. It was actually re-holdered already by CGC due to Newton Rings, so I was more pre-occupied by the results of the rings and somehow just accepted the scratches as is. I ended up giving it away as a gift.

11 hours ago, androolx said:

I just got five books which were graded by CGC on 08/03/2018.  All five have alot of scratches which appear to be on the inner holder, but definitely are not on the outside of the outer holder.  Has anyone else experienced this?  Thx

Oh yes. I don't have a picture to show, but I had a Venom Lethal Protector where the cover is Foil/Holo, so scratches on a foil cover is normally quite common to see for those type of books. But the one I had was perfect with no scratches on it. Once it got slabbed you can see hairline scratch marks throughout, with one very large one across ... almost as if someone took a key to it. But the scratches were all from the inner well, but gave the illusion it was on the comic cover itself. It was disheartening to see.

Thanks, Ditch. That makes total sense ... and now that I compare what they sent back to me ... the cases are in fact thicker. Which is a bit of a bummer for me, as I was hoping they could re-holder with better results in the same size case. I didn't necessarily want them sending me back thicker ones ... just getting bulkier. Especially if the rest of my collection is one size. And the more I look at it, the wedge is just as much of a distraction for me ... not a clean view. This is making me so sad ...