RockMyAmadeus

How do you not know who the Anti-Monitor is? He is one of the biggest villains in comic history who is responsible for one of the biggest events in comic history. Do people even read the comics or do they just collect them (not judging, just genuinely curious)? He was banned quite some time ago. But there are a lot of people in the hobby...speculators...who have no interest in comics, and neither know...nor care...a thing about them. I find that kinda sad, but what can ya do?

Batman #227 is wildly, vastly overrated and overvalued. It's a neato Adams homage cover. That's it.

if you come across a black one, instantly ping me. You will make some money. Ping!

Is that a zing? I can't tell if it's a zing. Read the statement out loud, then say 'Zing' at the end. see how it sounds. Oddly enough, that's what I did.

there's a few babies here that get that diaper in a bunch The mods don't (generally, if ever) remove sales threads without specific cause, some specific violation of the rules. Simply reporting a thread doesn't automatically get it removed, regardless of the motives of the person reporting. And people who abuse the reporting system have also been nailed for doing so. Regarding such reporting as "babies that get that diaper in a bunch", then, isn't really a fair or legitimate characterization of the situation. I don't visit the sales area often, and I've reported maybe 5 threads in the 13+ years I've been here, usually for "friends and family Paypal" offers. The rules may seem unwieldy, but lots of sellers manage to abide by them every day, so it can't be too difficult.

Is that a zing? I can't tell if it's a zing.

That's a dumb price, but in this insanity, the seller just may get it. Personally, I would put it in the $500 range as a fair price.

Some might disagree that the first result doesn't match...

I guess I'm really not understanding what part of "you use a service, you pay for that service" is not clear. It's the cost of doing business.

That explains it. I voted for you 100 times, too. We must have cancelled each other out.

I have no comment on the motivations of people who act as, as you put it, "self-appointed mods", but you're still misunderstanding the issue, as many people who don't want to pay Paypal to use their services do. Paypal provides a service. That service has a cost. There is no "workaround" in the manner you're attempting to use it. Here's the pertinent statement: "You may not use the “send money to a friend or family member” feature in your PayPal account when you are paying for goods and services." https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full (Sorry for the small size.) Paypal provides a service. They are not a charity. This board maintains a "Probation List" for people for infractions even as small as not completing a sale which, while admittedly frustrating and a theft of time, doesn't rise to the level of actually stealing money from Paypal by circumventing their fees. Shouldn't even be controversial, yet...here we are.

Paypal is a service. They charge for that service. Using the "send money to friends and family" option to buy merchandise is expressly prohibited in their terms of use. Paypal offers that option as a courtesy. They do not get paid when people use that option. Therefore, using that option to pay for merchandise is stealing. It is only fair we pay to use a service. I'll never understand why that is in the least bit controversial. We maintain a "Probation List" for people we think have done us wrong, but a substantial portion of us don't have any problem using Paypal "for free"...?

The collector pack program.

Drat! So close. Someday I'll get it!

No, definitely not. This hobby is filled with people happy to misinform and be misinformed, often at the same time, and resists and resents any correction of any kind as a personal attack against their character, integrity, intellect, experience, and their mother's honor. Not that I'm bitter or anything. That CGC label is incorrect.

My only concern is this: in the future, people will not recognize that the bullet and Zero Hour issues are exactly the same as the DCUs, produced in the same way, for the same intent, distributed the same way, packaged the same way, identical in every single way except the cosmetic symbols. They are part of the program, and I'm concerned that others won't make that connection. To go with your analogy, it's like completing the left 2 inches of a puzzle, top to bottom, then neatly cutting off that section and putting it somewhere else. Someone coming along afterwards might never even know there was anything missing. I understand your point: you're only concerned about these: ...but there's a whole segment of that series that is getting lost in the shuffle, because they don't have that logo. And that has, as feared, led to others not acknowledging, or outright dismissing, the bullet and Zero Hour logos. Here's an example: https://comicbookinvest.com/2017/08/25/dc-universe-upc/ Along with a host of other errors (such as all DCUs being REPRINTS...they are NOT, at least, not necessarily) in the body of the post, no mention of the ZH or bullets, and in the video linked, the speaker dismisses the ZH issue he has as "close, but no cigar." Not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. Yes, I realize there are a billion more important matters in the world. But since we're discussing it in this thread, I think it would be bad scholarship to not at least acknowledge and include the ZH and bullet issues, since they are the exact same program as the DCUs. PS. It appears to me, and I could be wrong, that the list that these "CBSI" people put on their post is merely a repetition of the list here, yet the article "author", someone named "Topher", says that certain people did a "ton" of work assembling said list. I don't doubt that other people are perfectly capable of research, but when you google "DC Universe logo", this thread...which predates the "CBSI" blog post by nearly three years...is the first result to come up. Is it possible the latter-day list as assembled completely independently of this thread...? Of course. Is it likely...? Doubtful. If this thread was consulted, credit ought to be acknowledged to Revat, Mysterio, Kirk, et al. EDIT TO ADD: looks like someone linked this thread in the comments thread, and they then acknowledge that. Good.

First and foremost, I mean no disrespect to anyone on this thread, but I have been around the comic hobby long enough to know why people don't want a "rare" tag placed on a comic - until they find it for themselves. It's like you didn't even read my post. So I'll simply repeat what I already said: not everyone views things in the cynical manner which you present here. There are...as unbelievable as it may seem...actually people in the world who value transparency over personal gain. I do not dispute in the slightest that there are many people who fit your description above. But not everyone. I'll give you some examples: Maxx Black Ashcan #1. I have never owned one. It is, in the real sense of the word, prohibitively rare. There are perhaps 10 copies accounted for in the last 20 years. The print run was limited to 50 or so copies total. I do not own one. I have never owned one. I would like to own one. Here's another example: Cry For Dawn Horrorcon #3. It is also fairly rare, much rarer than the DCUs being discussed here, with some possible exceptions. I do not own one. I have never owned one. I would like to own one. There are two available on eBay right now, but they are priced higher than I currently wish to pay. However, there have been many years between appearances. Here's another example: Vampirella #0 Blue. It was limited to 100 copies. An example comes up for sale on eBay about once every 5 years. I own one, but for many, many years, I did not. During that time, I had no problem discussing how rare it is. Here's another example: Action Comics #686 2nd print. It's one of the DCUs. It's one of the most difficult to find. I do not own one. I would like to own one. Here's another example: Amethyst #1 and #2 35 cent "test" variants. I do not own either. I have never owned either. All of these examples, and many more like them, are rare or "rare" in relative terms. I have no problem calling them that "before I find it for myself." And I am not alone. I think you place more stock in the "rare tag" than perhaps is warranted. Calling something "rare", especially in the day where everything is "RARE, HTF!!!!!!", really doesn't generate as much attention as you suggest. And do not forget that there's value in transparency that can, and sometimes does, outweigh the "I want to get this for a really low price!" mentality. I do not have access to the collections of anyone who doesn't offer them for public sale. Therefore, if someone happens to have a rare item in their collection, of which they are unaware, calling attention to its rarity could cause, and has caused, those items to appear when they wouldn't ever have in the normal course of things. Some things for you to consider. PS. How did you "discover" the Miracleman Blue & Golds, when they were very publicly offered at the 1985 San Diego Comicon...? It's not like they were ever a secret.

I'll posit this, then: the DC Whitmans have different symbols. Most are part of the logo in the DC bullet, some are in a circle, some are black, some are blue. Lots of variations...but they're all Whitmans. Not quite a perfect analogy, but close enough. Would you consider the later black circle "non-DC bullet" issues to be not part of the set, since cosmetically they're a little different...? I'm not dismissing the cosmetic issue with collectors. Lord knows everyone has their OCD about it.

So you say. Can you make a case? Who are the "suspect accounts"? Who are the three that "jaydogrules" is referring to? Where's the link to the bidding history? Where's a screenshot of the suspect bidding history? What are the particulars of the suspect accounts? When eBay "removes accounts" they don't wipe all trace. Where is a screen shot of the cancelled bids? And again...if you're tempted to say "look it up for yourself; I'm not going to do your work for you", then you've not even attempted to make your case, and you're not doing the work that is rightfully yours. If you're going to accuse people of potentially illegal activity, which accusations are public, and could have a deleterious effect on the outcomes of these listings, make the case. Proof of shill bidding...as I've said elsewhere...is very difficult, because you're getting into questions of motive, and you're acting on partial information. To answer your last question: what does "owning one of these and will bid this one up" have to do with shill bidding? Again: "bidding things up" IS NOT shill bidding UNLESS the bidder has ZERO intention of actually purchasing the item if they win it. Merely bidding items up is not shill bidding. I "bid things up" all the time for items that I own multiple copies already. I have a perfect legal, ethical, and moral right to do so, provided I intend to buy the item if I end up being the winner. That's not shill bidding. I am not excusing or endorsing shill bidding in any way. I am saying, however, that the casual accusations of shill bidding...especially on active listings...has gotten far too cavalier here.

I think we’d all agree with your point, they were all distributed via collector packs. They’ve been listed and discussed here. I’d wager that they’re just discussed quite a bit less for a few reasons. 1) the symbols are different, so they’re not DCUs in the technical (perhaps pedantic) sense, 2) these other series of variants were a lot smaller and had more specific distribution (like the Zero Hour issues), and 3) those other series are better understood and more completely documented than the DCUs. New DCU variants are still occasionally popping up, while it would be pretty newsworthy to find a new Bullet or Zero Hour variant at this point. I'll have to find myself in rare disagreement with you about this, for the reasons stated above. I don't see any difference between these in: 1. Intent 2. Method of distribution They are, other than the actual symbols used in the UPC box, for all intents the same things, produced the same way, for the same reasons, distributed the same way, and in all ways except cosmetic, identical in scope and process. For example: the Zero Hour issues are found both in collector's packs and the 20 pack Zero Hour "Costco brick"...same as the others. The DC bullet was the one month precursor to the DCU symbol, and Zero Hour was for that particular month as well. Otherwise...the same. But...can't find the tide.

Funny you just gloss right over my comment where I said eBay has proven shill bidding by removing an account. 1. I was replying to jaydogrules...not you. 2. You're going to have to work a little harder than merely saying "eBay has proven shill bidding by removing an account." Which account? How do you know? Can you make a case, or are you just speculating? And before you're tempted to do so, saying "look it up for yourself" is not making a case. 3. Provided you prove your claim, that's one...and the other two? 4. The implications you consistently make about other people's motives are inflammatory. Before you accuse people of "glossing over" anything, you might want to inquire before making such assumptions.

What was the print run...?

If you're going to make a specific accusation like "There are three unique shills bidding in both auctions", then basic decency DEMANDS that you at least make an attempt to prove your accusations. People read this board and these comments do not occur in a vacuum. It isn't fair to a seller who might be behaving honorably to have people disrupt their listings by accusations like the above, without a single stitch of proof. That IS auction manipulation, whether the accusers want to admit it or not. I have seen multiple sales scuttled because people irresponsibly screamed "SHILL BIDDING!!!", but never bothered to actually explain why they thought that. That is just as irresponsible and unethical as actual shill bidding itself. Honor demands an attempt to prove an accusation which could have a real effect on the outcome of any listing. ...and I shouldn't even have to say this.

You have never proved any of your accusations, ever, in the entire time you have been on this board. So, not only do you not need to, you won't. I'm making mention of that fact so that everyone knows where everyone else is coming from, and judges accordingly.

That all said, I still think not including the DC bullet and Zero Hour issues is a mistake, since they are the same exact thing: the only difference is the type of logo in the UPC box. "DCU", the bullet, the zero hour symbol...all mean the exact same thing.