RockMyAmadeus

I always find it interesting when someone BEGINS a rant with a passive/aggressive insult.... The issue isn't how much this slab is worth. Clearly, that slab is currently worth $12,250, as that was the last price it sold for. If you were to sell it again, would it be worth more or less? Nobody knows, until it's sold. The issue is about what value you obtained for your money. Nothing more. Nothing less. You don't know what the word "intrinsic" means, because you keep using it incorrectly. The intrinsic value of this book is that amount you can obtain for the material that makes up the item. That does not change even if the form of the item itself changes. In other words, what the book is worth as recycled pulp. What you're talking about is the personal value of an item because of the form it currently takes. Example: a 1933 US Double Eagle has an intrinsic value of about $1050. That is the current value of the gold that it contains. But the personal value of the item, because of the specific form it currently takes, is far, far greater than its intrinsic value, because of the history of the form that this gold and copper disc has taken. Personal value, when applied to a population, becomes "market value." By the way...no item, nothing that exists, is worth less than its intrinsic value, by definition. That value may be negligible, but it still exists. And what happens when another 9.8 comes up, as it invariably will....? And what is the estimated price difference between a 9.6 at $3,000, and a 9.8? Is it 61.25 times the 9.6 price? And yet, in this example, a 9.8 sells for only 3-5 times what a 9.6 does. For your rationale to carry, the 9.9 Hulk #181 would have to sell for $1,225,000...assuming an average of $20,000 for a 9.8....to be equivalent to the NM 9.9 sale. Anyone planning on paying $1,225,000 for the 9.9 Hulk #181....? Where can I find that sale recorded? And when did such sale occur? But taking it at face value, let's say 9.8s sold for an average of $150 when the sale took place. That's only 23 times the market rate for the 9.9 as the average 9.8. This sort of sarcastic silliness has no place in the discussion, if you intend to be taken seriously. You did not get the book for "$400 below FMV", because "FMV" for this book has been anywhere from $1225 to $2500.....or an average of about $1900. So, you actually paid more than the average for this book. Your entire "lesson" is predicated on the idea that there is a substantive, quantitative, consistent, identifiable difference between a 9.9 and a 9.8. There isn't one. If there was, I'd be right there with you, 100%. But there's not. Therefore, your entire argument rests on a foundation that simply doesn't exist. You paid for a label difference, not a quality difference. All moot, because of the above. Wrong. They are vital and central to the discussion. I need say nothing here. I will simply quote the verbage that appears on the back of the label of every single CGC graded book: "CGC guarantees this comic book to be genuine and inspected by a minimum of one pre-graded and two graders. The assigned grade represents our opinion, as grading is subjective." Don't believe CGC themselves? Amazing Spiderman #5. Lived in a 9.6 slab, was re-subbed, and got a 9.8. There are countless examples. If CGC was "perfectly objective", this wouldn't happen. There's that word again....and CGC wouldn't dare use such a word, because it would expose them to all SORTS of legal action....yet, you feel free to use it. Obviously, you have a vested interest in saying it. Not true. True. Anyone spending COVER price is spending more money than the average Kenyan earns in a day, but that's still not relevant. Where do I get my tuition refunded...?

Welcome to the boards. You are instantly my new favorite poster. (thumbs u You have terribly low standards....

But you are not having a discussion. You're arguing the same points over and over, which is changing neithers mind and has resulted in a tired, circlejerk. If no one is listening then dialogue is useless. Jim We are, in fact, having a very serious discussion. You think people haven't argued "the same points over and over again" throughout history? That's your opinion, and while you're certainly free to have it, no one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to read this "tired, circlejerk." It should also be clear that I do not share your opinion, and I imagine neither does Roy. I agree with you...if no one is listening, then dialogue is useless. But you have no clue...and neither do I, and neither does anyone...who is and who is not "listening" to the conversation, and who may gain something from it. What is a "circlejerk" to you may be very productive to others.

I'm going to feel dirty in the morning, but... Oh, but it's SUCH a delicious kind of dirty..... No it's not. It's a 'waking up with Rammstein playing in your head, your wallet empty and a lady-boy lying next to you' kind of dirty. Hey, whatever floats your whistle... I'm not here to judge.

Everybody has their own particular tastes and interests, and anyone pooh-poohing "the other side", like ol' Fly & Chewie up there, are just being...elitist snobs. Your example is apt. There are much cheaper ways to get drunk than a 25 year old bottle of Jameson.

Pedestrian. (This from a guy who spent $250 for an Identity Crisis #4 just cause the poster was still intact....)

problem is it probably tastes exactly like a 20 dollar bottle of wine Ehhhh...you'd be wrong about that. There really is a difference... Now, if we were talking a 2002 Opus One ( ) with, say, a 1982 Chateau Lafite...the former being $150, the latter being about $2000...then I'd say you'd be closer, although experience would probably out the Lafite.... But a $20 bottle of, say, Clos du Bois Cab? Oh yeah. You can tell the difference. I dont give a sheit,as long as it gives me a buzz,it's a good wine. Two Buck Chuck it is! I didn't know squat about wine before I started working as a waiter in a fine dining rest. that happened to have their own sommelier (wine steward)....part of their training was extensive experience with wine and wine pairing.... There really is an entire world out there beyond the alcohol..wine and liquor making is as much an artform as comics. But, hey, the buzz is important, too.

problem is it probably tastes exactly like a 20 dollar bottle of wine Ehhhh...you'd be wrong about that. There really is a difference... Now, if we were talking a 2002 Opus One ( ) with, say, a 1982 Chateau Lafite...the former being $150, the latter being about $2000...then I'd say you'd be closer, although experience would probably out the Lafite.... But a $20 bottle of, say, Clos du Bois Cab? Oh yeah. You can tell the difference.

Danny seriously, you have no idea what you are talking about. I'm not trying to wannabe anybody. I'm also not here just to make friends, and if I have to lie to myself or try to act like somebody to make friends, well I don't want them as friends. I will vehemently defend to the death what I believe to be true. I said this to you before personally Roy...to what end and for what purpose? You've said yourself that you don't have a stake in this horse and I'm pretty sure the buyer didn't hire you to be his Spokesman, so why continue on? If 99% of the boards feels it wasn't the smartest purchase in the world, it probably wasn't, so why continue fighting? Jim Because it's an important discussion worth hashing out, regardless of where one stands. The particular details of this sale serve merely as the springboard for a much more important discussion. We could be discussing the Spidey #5, it's the same topic. That's why. He feels it's important; who is anyone else to try and peer pressure him into silence?

Which is the utter stupidity of it all. Name one other product where the wrapping is more important than the goods? That's nonsense - the buyer is paying for both an appraisal of the condition of a physical comic book from a company that's considered the standard within our industry & the physical comic book itself; he's not paying $12k for just an empty plastic shell with "9.9" written in the top-left corner. He might as well, because the book inside...outside of the $200 or so that a typical 9.8 is worth....is meaningless. Bad analogy. 9.4s don't sell for a whopping 61 times 9.2s. Perspective.

Which is the utter stupidity of it all. Name one other product where the wrapping is more important than the goods?

I'm going to feel dirty in the morning, but... Oh, but it's SUCH a delicious kind of dirty.....

Isn't that what JC predicts pretty much every year? Maybe we're seeing it now with the soft market? I'm not sure who JC is though, maybe I'm familiar with him...and don't realize it. Jesus Christ Amen.

Catch ya later!

There have been some really sweet, sweet burns in this thread.... Calling me a fatass is not a burn, Tupenny, Jr. Is that 'cause it's true, or because it's just weaksauce? It's like calling me a pompous windbag... Well, DUH. But see, you are smart enough to understand the subtle difference between referring to a "Pompous Windbag" Pedigree and actually saying "RMA is a pompous windbag." Delivery. A joke must be wielded, not like a club, but as delicate spun glass, for it to achieve its true destiny. Let us pray....

Nobody has ridiculed the buyer with personal insults. On the contrary, people have gone out of their way to state that, if it makes the buyer happy, that's really all that matters. There is, however, EXTREME value in discussing these issues, of which this latest sale is only one tiny brick in the wall... Didn't say that. Nor portray it. What it IS, however, is SUBJECTIVE...and the same grader, with the same book, on a totally different day could grade a book a 9.8....or a 9.9. Even you. Even me. No dartboard. Just natural subjectivity when you're dealing with the impact of "1/64th inch indentations" on the final grade. I need only point to the Amazing Spiderman #5 to prove that. And I thought you were done with this discussion...?

Boozad will be taking a 15 minute break. Wishful thinking. 30 seconds was more like it. Wow. I don't know as I've EVER cranked one out in 30 seconds... Try adding a fist. Sounds painful. Can I choose the fist...?

There have been some really sweet, sweet burns in this thread.... Calling me a fatass is not a burn, Tupenny, Jr. Is that 'cause it's true, or because it's just weaksauce? It's like calling me a pompous windbag... Well, DUH.

Boozad will be taking a 15 minute break. Wishful thinking. 30 seconds was more like it. Wow. I don't know as I've EVER cranked one out in 30 seconds... ...well, there was that one time, in college.....

There have been some really sweet, sweet burns in this thread....

Ultimate Ninja Fatass....? Why would you want that on your labels...? ...oh, wait, Badass... Nevermind.

Sharon does the hugs. I do the insults. Want one of those? Sure! Do you know any funny ones...?

There. Now don't make me do that again. It hurts me more than it hurts you. Now how's about a hug?

I would love to score some sweet "Pompous Windbag" copies when they hit the market! Can we somehow make that happen sooner rather than later? Evil. You people are pure evil. Pompous Windbag...mutter, grumble...I'll show YOU pompous windbag! Just for that, I'm not going to post ANYTHING for FIVE...MINUTES. See how much you miss me THEN, huh...? Yeah, that's right....

There is a lot of wisdom in Kung Fu Panda Well, sure, I would expect that in a cliché-ridden, yet delightful cartoon romp by Dreamworks.... But sans the animated turtle, it loses some of its....flavor.... I am even more wise and charming than an animated kung fu expert tortoise. Yes...but can you do....the Wuxi Finger Hold...??