RockMyAmadeus

There are people who are actively withholding their books from being graded because of their various issues with CGC.........

What I have seen or know about: 5-7 #1 blacks 13 #2 blacks 4 #3 blacks 4 #3 Yellows 2 #2 Yellows 4-5 #1 Yellows The rest are much more common. I would even remove the Number 1 yellow, it seems to be more common than a few others (Red #2). And with a total list of 150 (plus any aps), it's somewhat manageable to track each book. Just to be clear, these are tracked sales, not a census, correct? Neither. It's the absolute number of copies that I have seen with my own two peepers, or know for sure exists. I have tracked these on eBay since they first came up with the e-mail alert program, what, 12 years ago? The only ones I missed were the international ones that they don't report on.

What I have seen or know about: 5-7 #1 blacks 13 #2 blacks 4 #3 blacks 4 #3 Yellows 2 #2 Yellows 4-5 #1 Yellows The rest are much more common.

I had a black #2 as well. Sent it in for grading and I believe it was an 8.0. Sold it a while back to Lebowski here on the boards. Do you remember where you got it? I didn't think to write down the "oftimespast" copy # down, and I should have been more diligent about that. But thanks for adding that info, C-dawg! Every little piece helps. I won it with an old account on ebay and don't remember the seller. I'll PM TJ and have him post an image. I think he has one on the registry.

10 years from now $1k will only be worth $788 Well don't you mean the opposite with Ben Bernanke and his inflationary economic wisdom. Soon a bag of chips will cost us $9.99. It was a joke you trolling tool-bag. via Imgflip Meme Maker

you were right the first time...

10 years from now $1k will only be worth $788 Well don't you mean the opposite with Ben Bernanke and his inflationary economic wisdom. Soon a bag of chips will cost us $9.99.

I bought my Turtles #1 for $66 shipped...about a 9.2...in 1999, 15 years after it was printed, in a typical eBay auction that ran full course, 7 days. My max bid was $125.

I had a black #2 as well. Sent it in for grading and I believe it was an 8.0. Sold it a while back to Lebowski here on the boards. Do you remember where you got it? I didn't think to write down the "oftimespast" copy # down, and I should have been more diligent about that. But thanks for adding that info, C-dawg! Every little piece helps.

I think my viewpoint on the whole thing is skewed by the facts. He ended a listing while it was active and had bids, because he got an "offer he couldn't refuse." This is not illegal, but it's incredibly classless, because it says to all the bidders and potential bidders that they were too stupid to circumvent eBay and make a side offer themselves. It wasn't a fair outcome. I don't care that I "missed out" because I had already been priced out, so I'm not speaking from sour grapes. I wouldn't have paid the CURRENT high bid when he ended it, much less whatever he was offered. But we were all robbed of an actual market price for the book, which I consider the most valuable part. And...I SERIOUSLY doubt he paid eBay the FVF he should rightfully have paid, which means he is probably also a thief. These are facts, despite how nice he may have been.

Here ya go chief! (*Note, my comments quickly turn inflammatory after his second email about 'getting what I deserve', but this dialogue should be good for a few laughs). Why was this auction ended early? I got a "buy it now offer" way above my expectations. I had bascially 3 bidders, two seemed serious. One of them made the offer. Why didn't you make a bid? If I bring out another one would you make a "buy it now" offer? I only use snipe bids on ebay auctions. Are you talking about bringing out a different one than you just ended? I'm confused, do you have more than the three copies? Guess you answered your own question. If you cannot come forward and make a proper offer and choose to bid at the end of an auction, then you got what you deserve. I guess snipes are beyond your comprehension, it is a bid. And thank you for confirming what I already suspected; you're clearly dishonest. You blatantly circumvent the rules of eBay, and out-an-out lie regarding condition. If you truly believe this book is an 8.5-9+, you're either very uninformed, or very crooked. I guess you took a break from running the carnival games at the local fair, to rip people off online. You're ignorance is beyond reproach. My wife is currently in the hospital and I cannot continue to babysit auctions and whiners like yourself. I took a price from the highest bidder. I understand what snipe bids are, I understand they are legal on eBay. I find them to be dishonest, just as you find myself to be dishonest. I am sorry you didn't get a chance to bid or took the time to contact me for an offer. Good day to you. How are snipes dishonest? It's a bid, the time placed has no relevance. You should learn some basic understanding of markets and how they work. I really find it amusing how you manipulate ebay to gain exposure of this book, and then go off ebay to avoid paying all fees the website generated, meanwhile the buyer assumes all risk involved in the transaction. Well done, Barnum! Clearly you have no financial integrity. One final thought of discourse; my girlfriend is in her final year of residency in psychiatry, if you'd like I can negotiate a structured-deal for your mental conditions. Think of the royalty streams if you become part of a case study? I have no need to explain myself to you or anyone else. Most crooks plead the fifth, I understand. Putting the words "buy it now" and "offer" together is really dischordant to me. and I was content to think: he's an old guy... never used ebay before... doesn't understand how it works... not really surprised. maybe he legitimately thought that offers made in a private message on ebay are valid bids and that he could end the auction at any time by accepting one of these offers. but when he acknowledges snipe bids as bidding "at the end of an auction" really strikes a nerve... like maybe he really does know enough about how ebay works that he purposefully circumvented the system. Unless the term "snipe bid" is also used in conventional auctions. ... or maybe he just knows how to use google. what a disappointing end to that... even if i didn't have any hope of purchasing these books for what they were going for. garage/attic finds are exciting to me and the messages with the seller y'all shared has really soured this one. The whole experience has been tainted for sure. Instead of a celebration similar to RMA's find, or Jen's collection, we're left with a seller that manipulated a few die-hards fans as best as he could. Really, I'm glad to have been in the right place at the right time. Yes, I got 10 Black #2s at one time...because I knew what they were, and what they represented. I could very easily have only bought one for myself, and the rest could very easily have been thrown out, because Jay Co. routinely threw out massive amounts of that just didn't sell. Important facts to consider: 1. Other than my black #2s, there have only been TWO other documented #2 blacks "out there"...the one that was put up on eBay around 2008-2009 by "oftimespast", and quickly pulled, and ibeforej's. That's it. If I hadn't found the other 10, that would have meant that #2 would have been rarer than #3 (of which there are 3 known in private hands besides mine.) 2. With the "appearances" of #3 Yellow, all 12 books have now made an appearance on eBay. The #2 Yellow was being sold in that lot with the Black #1 that grails bought last May. The #3 Yellow was the last one to be offered for public sale, and now all of them have, so anyone who wanted the whole set has now had the opportunity to purchase one (this does NOT include the pulled #3 Yellow, but the one that had the BIN which was hit.) 3. Despite public discussion for years, and immense prices seen on these books over the last 5-6 years, vast swaths of them have NOT turned up on the marketplace. With sales of $600+ for a Black #1, $500+ for a Black #2, mine and Mike's Rack's #3 offered for a couple of thousand dollars each, consistent sales of #1 Blues (clearly the most common by far) in the $20-$60 range, and consistent sales of #1 Red in the $60-$100 range, along with handfuls of others in the $100-$300 range...unbelievable prices for non-slabbed, non-ultra high grade comics...in fact, grade for grade, probably the most expensive 90's books ever...examples simply have not flooded into the market. This lends a lot of credence to the thought that most of these were simply tossed in the late 90's. Could they still be out there, sitting in someone's storage? Of course, anything's possible. Are they sitting in amounts anywhere nearing the original print runs....? Probably not. That I realized an immense cash return on my investment is only the icing on the case. If these really WERE the last surviving copies....and a 15 year search leads me to think they might be...then at least they were saved from the mulch pile, so that others could own them, too. That pleases me far more than the money ever could.

It's good the book arrived, because you took tremendous risk going outside ebay. But how is that book a 9.0+? No idea, I haven't gone in depth with the grading process. To me I would say its around a 8.5. But I will not or cannot say anything for sure. I am not good at that kind of thing. Do I think it's worth the price I paid....well, depends on how rare these actually turn out to be. If these 3 plus the other few I know of turn out to be the only ones, well its totally worth it. If all the other 99 show up...then no, I want a better copy You tell me With migrating rust and all the damage you can see, that is a 6.0-6.5 There you have it...not great, but what can you do :shrug: Return it because the guy couldn't be bothered to state that it had rust, which any non-comic person, even my mom, could figure out is not a good thing....? It's not worth what you paid for it with rusty staples, regardless of how rare. Rust is destructive; once it starts, it is difficult to stop, and impossible to reverse.

eBay/Paypal are a nasty, nasty, vicious set of corporations that hide behind an army of lawyers and contradictory "policy." I long for the day when they go down in flames. Nasty places. Sadly, because of that army of lawyers, they've eliminated pretty much all competition. Sigh.

It was a question, not a suggestive comment. Telling someone you don't know to "calm down" and to not get "over excited", especially when you have no way of knowing their emotional state, is quite a bit further down the rude path than asking a question. No one here is "upset." Using such words and phrases around grown men is apt to make them annoyed; thus the explanation. And regardless of who it is, if anyone makes a comment that implies or states that eBay/Paypal...or anyone...deserves to be cheated of their rightfully earned money, for whatever reason, I will say something about it. This board will not maintain merely a veneer of integrity if I can help it at all. That said, apology accepted.

I just bought a large collection of bronze and copper ( no major keys) but some of it is dealer backstock and I thought hmmm, how could I start a speculator craze for Doctor Strange #18? Nova 19 works too though because I have a lot of those also

On the other hand, telling people that you can neither see nor hear, and therefore have no way of actually knowing their emotional state, to "calm down" could easily be construed as rude, n'est-ce pas...? As far as what is, and what is not, a "waste of time", and therefore acceptable to post...I wasn't aware there was a rulebook for posting. Can you share your copy? And that doesn't even address who responded to whom, with the multiple exclamation points.... So, let's try and leave out the personal comments about other people's presumed emotional states and just stick to the topic being discussed, huh?

Does taking a stand bother you...?

It doesn't matter whether or not you think eBay and Paypal's terms are fair. If you cannot abide by them, don't use them. And no, eBay will not "take in listing fees for the auction." Everyone gets 50 free listings a month, in most categories. You judge by the appearance. You have no right to judge whether or not "eBay is hurting", any more than I have the right to steal from you simply because I judge you to "not be hurting." And...I shouldn't have to say this, and I invariably do, because mankind is dishonest....but I despise eBay and Paypal, and fervently wish there was a legitimate competitor. And I shouldn't have to say that to qualify why it's wrong to steal from ANYONE.

I guarantee you....GUARANTEE...that you will NEVER have a book pulled out from under you by me (or pretty much anyone else of any integrity around here) once a deal has been struck, simply because someone else saw it and came up with a higher offer. EVER. The answer to that is " sorry, but I already have a deal with someone else. If only you'd come by sooner!" That's essentially what an auction is: you run it and if it gets a bid, it is "in play" until the final second. You don't yank it, especially right near the end. Can you IMAGINE if there was a rare coin or painting being auctioned, and halfway through, the auctioneer has someone whisper in his ear and say "sorry ladies and gentlemen, the item has been removed from the auction, as someone privately made the owner an offer he couldn't refuse, and he's taken it." Can you IMAGINE?? I'd like to believe that, but the fact is, this HAS happened to me, countless times. I have waited patiently on eBay for auctions to end, then being sniped out at the last second. It happens all the time, everywhere. Uh, no. This isn't about being sniped. This has nothing whatsoever to do with being sniped. (Aside: if you are angry about being sniped, you either didn't bid the MOST you were willing to pay, or you just didn't get the item for the price you wanted. In either case, you bear the responsibility, not the sniper.) In that case, I'd like to introduce you to the CGC boards, where *most* people would not take a better offer AFTER a deal had already been made with someone else. There is nothing wrong with profit. This has nothing to do with profit. This is about circumventing the system, thereby cheating all sorts of entities out of a fair shot. There's nothing wrong with taking the best offer...but you can't have it both ways. Either list for the price you want, and consider offers (in which everyone who sees it has a shot), or list as an auction, and let it run, and add a Buy It Now price (in which everyone who sees it has shot.) Now you're on to something.....

Did I read this right? Someone cheated eBay!! Oh the horror!!! So, stealing is ok, so long as it's a nameless, faceless corporation being stolen from...? Noted.

I guarantee you....GUARANTEE...that you will NEVER have a book pulled out from under you by me (or pretty much anyone else of any integrity around here) once a deal has been struck, simply because someone else saw it and came up with a higher offer. EVER. The answer to that is " sorry, but I already have a deal with someone else. If only you'd come by sooner!" That's essentially what an auction is: you run it and if it gets a bid, it is "in play" until the final second. You don't yank it, especially right near the end. Can you IMAGINE if there was a rare coin or painting being auctioned, and halfway through, the auctioneer has someone whisper in his ear and say "sorry ladies and gentlemen, the item has been removed from the auction, as someone privately made the owner an offer he couldn't refuse, and he's taken it." Can you IMAGINE??