RockMyAmadeus

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...??

I'm hoping for a pedigree designation when I die. Well, at least for the short period from 1989-1993 that I was actually buying books new... My New Mutants #98s would qualify!

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....

That was....well, that was just awful. My dog groaned when I read that....

You think of me ramming you....? Oh my.

Sure. Stop. (thumbs u (RAM...? )

Weren't you the guy that said you picked 3 10.0 raw books for submission and had them graded at 10.0 or did i misunderstand you? Didn't I "guess" and send in a comic that I thought had a shot at 9.9 and it came back CGC 9.9 while all the rest I had pegged at 9.8 and they graded CGC 9.8? Didn't we just discuss this on the copper forum a few weeks ago? How is that arbitrary? Heh...it's like I read your mind... De-slab the 9.9. De-slab, oh, 10 very strong looking 9.8s. Put them together. Don't identify which is which. Then have someone pick out the single 9.9. Possible? Sure. Likely? Oh, I don't think so.... In my example, I picked out the strongest books from a stack in my hand. But any one of them could easily have come back a 9.9 (and one of them probably should have.) And I said that at the time, too, because it's always true. But if I had 11 copies slabbed, and 4 of them came back 9.8, 4 of them came back 9.9, and three of them came back 10...then I de-slabbed them, and you had me pick which ones came back which grades with absolute certainty, I couldn't do it. No one can. And that's the major difference: picking out not-yet-graded books from a stack and arriving at a fairly good idea of their final CGC grade is NOT the same as picking out the one book from a stack of books that have already been graded and determining, with 100% accuracy, which was which....and, if they were re-subbed, I doubt they'd come back the same, either. But...that DOES give me an interesting idea for an experiment.... Maybe a panel at SD.....

Oh, thank God, somebody gets it. Sigh. Everybody gets it. We all get it. Speak for yourself, Chewbacca. "We" can speak for themselves. I'm quite certain many, many people don't get it, and think this is about "telling people how to spend your billions of dollars." I know that because they keep saying it. (thumbs u Except, of course, no on can.

And that is a major, major problem that will cause major problems down the line. (thumbs u

Oh, thank God, somebody gets it.

It wasn't particularly relevant, but I thought it was interesting in a voyeuristic sort of way. It is however an example of the sort of spending that many people consider offensive. They'll say things like "Ooh he could have had McDonalds and then bought some poor homeless person a house instead!", and they'll say "No way is any food or wine so superior that it's worth $50k! He completely wasted that money." ...Which is kind of similar to this thread Your logic fails. Truffle carpaccio is SUBSTANTIALLY higher quality food than a Big Mac.

It wasn't a glass, it was a bottle. Likely Evian or Perrier...

(thumbs u One of the few sensible responses. Consider this receipt for lunch picked up by Roman Abramovich: $47k for lunch, and that's all going down the toilet a couple hours later... Apparently he also tipped an additional $5k on top of the automatic 20%, so his total tip was more than the sale of NM98. If someone has the cash to burn, they don't mind paying way over the odds if it gets them what they want. Why show restraint? Sigh. It doesn't matter if the buyer has ten trillion dollars, and this amount is like a penny to them. That...is not...the issue...and it never has been. The receipt you showed had some very expensive items, no doubt. But the reality is, those items have an established market at those prices. They have value, and, in almost all cases, it's quantifiable value. There's a noticeable difference in quality between Cristal and Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante that even the most novice person in champagne can taste. There's a noticeable difference between truffle carpaccio and plain ol' beef carpaccio. When you put a $10,000 1 carat diamond against a $500 1 carat diamond, you can SEE a substantial difference, in clarity, in color, in (lack of) flaws...it's fairly obvious. But if you were to crack this book out and lay it side by side with 10 also-cracked strong 9.8s, who would be able to find the 9.9? Where's the $12,000 difference in quality? And here's the pièce de résistance...that book could go back through CGC and easily get a 9.8...or it could get a 10. So what has the buyer bought? What value for his money has he obtained? And please don't say "yeah, well, he could go spend $10,000,000 on a Honda Civic, so there!"...he COULD...and I doubt the lot owner would turn him down...but he wouldn't have to. Same example here. Prior to CGC, this never would have happened. If CGC didn't exist, this never would have happened. It is only because of what the label says....and not any actual, quantifiable difference in quality of the item inside the case....that garnered the difference. And should we really be encouraging the idea that it's the label that is important, and not the book inside....?

(thumbs u One of the few sensible responses. Consider this receipt for lunch picked up by Roman Abramovich: $47k for lunch, and that's all going down the toilet a couple hours later... Apparently he also tipped an additional $5k on top of the automatic 20%, so his total tip was more than the sale of NM98. If someone has the cash to burn, they don't mind paying way over the odds if it gets them what they want. Why show restraint? What, you've never had Cristal? Worth every penny. Mmm mmmm MMMM.

(thumbs u Why is perspective so lacking in so many who collect comics? Et...$200K for a 9.6 X-Men #1, while high, is not out of the realm of reason within the context of what that book is. The difference here could be a 1/128th inch spine impression. That's what might seperate this 9.9 from a strong 9.8. Or, it could quite literally be nothing, and a number of 9.8s could actually be in better condition than this 9.9. Is nothing worth $12,000? Is a 1/128th inch spine impression...? I think etanick was just trying to say that a grown man or woman can spend their money on whatever floats their boat. That has been repeated over...and over...and over....and over again in this thread. YES, you can spend your money on anything you want. No one is disputing that. I have a Maxx #3 Black Ashcan. One of only 2 anyone has publicly seen. Is it worth $50,000? Perspective. That's all anyone is talking about. But if you slabbed it, and sold it on Pedigree because you got lucky if there were two bidders on it at $20K, or $50K, or whatever, would you hve the same feeling? YES. 100% Absolutely. Because it's just not WORTH that price at this time. Would I refuse the money? No, of course not. But I would certainly caution potential buyers beforehand...what if the other 48 showed up, in better shape than mine? That's the risk they take. If they want to, great...but they're going to KNOW that it's a risk. There has been no disrespect (other than the shill bid accusations) towards the bidder in this thread. No one is being ridiculed. Questioning the wisdom of a purchase and discussing the consequences of a market like this is a far cry from "you're a buffoon, why'd you waste your money like that?" And I certainly wouldn't have "destroyed" you for paying $250...I would have said "dude....you sure you know what you're doing?" if you'd paid $10,000 for it, though. And the BOOK isn't the issue, anyways....the "9.9" is. It's simply a matter of making sure perspective is discussed. It is only by keeping perspective that we won't have the chaos that nearly destroyed the coin market in the early 90's. It's about VALUE. Did the buyer get good VALUE for his money? No. For $12,000 less, he could have had a 9.8 that would likely be indistinguishable from this book. So it wasn't a good value, and as long as everyone understands that, and that there's substantial risk in such purchases (another one could very well show up), then have at. *I* would prefer that a person doesn't come along, and "hear" about the 9.9 sale at $12,250, and have some sheister offer them a 9.8 for "the bargain price of only $2,000!" And you know that scenario's been repeated over and over. Open eyes is all I'm looking for, here. Look, people can spend their money any way they want. But I can't sit by and say nothing, when I've already watched this happen once before. Do what you want with your money....and I'll sleep better at night knowing that I at least help people understand the risks involved and go into it with both eyes open. I understand that's contrary to some people around here who want uneducated buyers, and they know who they are, but I'm ok with that. Stability is a far better end result.

$3.50

C'mon now. If I had a billion dollars....I'd wipe my azz with 12K. Better make sure they're fresh bills. You wouldn't want what is on the others....

(thumbs u Why is perspective so lacking in so many who collect comics? Et...$200K for a 9.6 X-Men #1, while high, is not out of the realm of reason within the context of what that book is. The difference here could be a 1/128th inch spine impression. That's what might seperate this 9.9 from a strong 9.8. Or, it could quite literally be nothing, and a number of 9.8s could actually be in better condition than this 9.9. Is nothing worth $12,000? Is a 1/128th inch spine impression...? I think etanick was just trying to say that a grown man or woman can spend their money on whatever floats their boat. That has been repeated over...and over...and over....and over again in this thread. YES, you can spend your money on anything you want. No one is disputing that. I have a Maxx #3 Black Ashcan. One of only 2 anyone has publicly seen. Is it worth $50,000? Perspective. That's all anyone is talking about.

Something else to ponder...back in 2005, a scant four and a half years ago, this exact book sold for $510...and at the same time, 9.8s were selling for an average of $100. What happened in 4.5 years that made this book worth 24 times what it was "worth" in 2005, but saw an increase in 9.8s of only about $100-$150, on average, or 2 to 2.5 times? More 9.8s on the census? Sure, granted. Deadpool becoming much more popular? Granted. But show me any other book that was worth about $500 in 2005 that is worth $12,000+ now. It's label madness. And if I had a 9.9 and someone wanted to pay me $12,250 for it, I couldn't hand it over fast enough.

(thumbs u Why is perspective so lacking in so many who collect comics? Et...$200K for a 9.6 X-Men #1, while high, is not out of the realm of reason within the context of what that book is. The difference here could be a 1/128th inch spine impression. That's what might seperate this 9.9 from a strong 9.8. Or, it could quite literally be nothing, and a number of 9.8s could actually be in better condition than this 9.9. Is nothing worth $12,000? Is a 1/128th inch spine impression...?

What really stinks is that this sale isn't reported on GPA. Drat. I think that's a downright shame. It is, after all, the highest priced comic book sold until you get to 1972-ish.

I hope you enjoy it and never sell it, because you won't be as pleased You guys just can't stop, can you? Why do you have to assume that his pleasure from this comic will come with the resale value? Unless he takes the comic to his grave, he'll lose a substantial amount of money. I'm a realist and I know that someone buying a NM 98 9.9 isn't just looking for the satisfaction of ... well, throw that out as I'm not sure what someone paying 12K for this book is thinking Well....that, or the dollar will have become so devalued, you'll have 9.4s selling for $1,000,000US.

Andddd...right on cue, here comes Watson, stirring the pot. It's almost Pavlovian, ain't it...? I wasn't even talking to you or about you, for matter. However, I guess water finds its own level. I call BS on this. Sorry, call it as I see it. Yeah, it's pretty clear from the context who he was talking about...replying to Jive, who was replying to me.....otherwise, the post makes no sense, as no one else said anything remotely controversial in the same time frame... Only a fool would try to pretend otherwise... I mean, if you're going to take a jab at someone, man up when you get called on it.

My ears are burning. Better your ears than your when you pee. I got both. They don't cancel each other out, fyi. If you pissed on your ears, that would cancel one of the problems. You know, I might actually pay to see that.... Not much...but hey, a dollar's a dollar...

My ears are burning. Reported side effect of second-hand Valtrex exposure. Two STD jokes leveraged against me in less than a minute; my mother would be proud. Well, it got the focus going in a different direction, I suppose.....