RockMyAmadeus

Some of you are gross. And there's no way that DC and/or Dark Horse and/or Hero only printed 25 copies of Batman/Grendel silver ashcan.

The partiality by moderation that kav enjoys here will not last forever. Just keep reporting his posts...someday, it'll have an effect.

The measure of how offended someone is, is how often they bring up the offense, and for how long. That does not measure, however, the actual offensiveness of the supposed offense. Often, the more offended the reaction, the more likely its veracity.

No it's true-I had sworn to never post again. Then RMA wouldnt stop posting things about me. The last straw was him saying I did free drawings for people just to get credit and make people like me so I returned. So thank him for that. Plenty of people remember that. Ask @1950's war comics-he begged me to come back the entire time. You have a faulty memory, an unhealthy obsession, and a very loose acquaintance with reality.

Are you suggesting that Gwen Stacy burns books??

Not only that, but we want it for nothing, compared to the effort it takes. $12 to press a book with a 1/4" bend in the corner? Sure. $12 to press a book that started out as a deslabbed 6.5, and you want to get it into the 9+ range, without adding additional damage....? Not so quick.

I've never coughed up any kind of experience, myself.

Excellent post. I've said it a million times: protecting "secrets" is meaningless. Pressing is an art as much as a science. Anyone can buy a press and smash books into submission. It takes a certain temperament to do it properly. And by "properly", I mean "you can't tell if the book has been pressed", the vast majority of the time, and the flaws you got out don't come back. I share my process all the time. I've made mistakes, as everyone has. And I've paid for those mistakes, in more ways than one. But I also have a solid body of work behind me that I'm pleased with, and I think my clients are, as well. The people who want instant results, and the people who care more about the label than the book, and the people who want wonderful results for a ridiculously low price, will all get what they paid for.

The greatest thing that third party grading did...faults and all...was strike a deathblow to the mass delusion that existed in the comics industry. No longer would buyers have to deal with sellers suffering from the delusion that their books were "MINT CONDITION!!!" Of course, that also applied to submitters who likewise had their "MINT CONDITION!!!" books come back 6.5. It was very good for the entire industry, because, through free market forces alone (the only way it works), it made everyone tighten up. Even receiving dud books is a lesson. Anyone who tells you that third party grading as a concept is bad and not to be trusted...? That person is lying to you, and almost certainly to themselves. Remember: the goal is always to be able to agree with, rather than blindly accept, the number in the upper left hand corner. When you can do that, nobody can take advantage of you, and you can make smart, informed decisions in relation to your collectibles.

This sounds very odd. I don't recall DC being in the habit of sending anyone money. Usually, if they sent anything, they'd send out free comics, often in the form of subscriptions. Don't forget to check World's Finest.

They were all in on it.

Two words that serve me well: "Latex free."

I think a LOT of people were stunned with unexpected PLOD's from CGC in the early days. A great deal of the resistance to CGC and slabbing in general in the early days (2000-2005) was precisely because of those dealers who had flooded the market with fiddled books, and were angry that there was a service out there which was exposing their "work" for what it was. So, they just downplayed CGC and said it was a con job to dissuade buyers. And there are still dealers and retailers who think and say this. I've said this a million times before: if you weren't around in the bad old days, you can't really appreciate just how bad they were. The greater and greater sums being spent on comics in the 90s were simply too tempting for these people to pass up the opportunity to "improve" their books. If you paid top dollar for an AF #15 that turned out to be color touched, you are JUST NOW starting to be able to get back what you paid...forget the tremendous gains you should have had. If you paid $25,000 for a "Near Mint" AF #15 in 1997...and it came back from CGC a 7.5 with color touch....you might...MIGHT...get back today what you spent in 1997, and considering inflation, you still lose. Forget the $300,000-$750,000 you should have gotten for your purchase. It was awful.

I only destroy wontons in soup...

Huh. I had something almost exactly like this happen in 2005. I wonder if it's the same person. Same exact MO.

So you condone insider trading? There is nothing wrong with insider trading. The fact that it is illegal in certain markets is merely a reflection of the "it's not fair!!" cadre and the lawyers and politicians who benefit from keeping it illegal.

NOW you can close it.

Fixed. Seriously. Yes. While there is some information in that video, there is much that is wrong, and will result in either damage to the book, or flaws coming back over time.

via Imgflip Meme Generator

I'm RICH!!!

You're right. I must have completely misunderstood what you were asking. My fault entirely. Next time I'll pay more attention to the question and answer more precisely, with additional facts, examples, and clarity. I'm glad we could come to a resolution. You're quite welcome.

Net loss? You're doing it wrong, unless the satisfaction you get from selling that one or two wins is the price you're willing to pay for all the losses.

One of the most ridiculous claims of the speculators...from any era...is to say "look at all the money I made!"....while never, ever sharing their failures. Hindsight is 20/20; foresight is blind, deaf, and dumb. I've said it before: if you're into variants, don't waste your money spending $50, $100, $200 or more on the latest hot one. Just wait. For every ASM #667 1:100, there are hundreds of failures that you can buy for $1 or $2, and then spend the $XXXX on the ASM #667....you'll still come out ahead.

No, incorrect. I see you are not understanding me properly, as you're omitting the context of the situation. Here, we're talking specifically about books that Campbell sells DIRECTLY, as you stated "I won't be supporting him directly". Then you have misunderstood what I said. Problem solved. Glad we could clear that up!

You've just described the Donut Business Model...our slogan the Flying Donut Trading Company, making an incremental twelve bucks per transaction since 1997! Of course. We've known each other for a long time, after all. But one has to contend with all sorts of factors, like leverage (or its lack), repeatability, access, capital...all things which differ from person to person, and region to region.