candygramformongo

Especially wondering how bad that back top left corner is. Would really really appreciate your opinions. Thank you!

(Sorry pictures are in an odd order, can't seem to rearrange them on mobile site)

I've got this at 8.0 as-is and maybe even 8.5 after a C/P

4.5

Great looking book, congrats!  That's a 9.0 for me and maybe even higher after a press.  Thanks for sharing!

I'm jealous you got your hands on one!  Front cover looks great but I think the missing bottom corner on the back dings it significantly.  I'd say 3.5/4.0

{Paging @Galen130 for your mic drop.... @Galen130 to the main stage please}

Props to @Grendelbo too!

6.0 for me and possibly same grade or 6.5 after C/P 

I agree that's a tough one - I always try to not be swayed by what others have said so I'll stick with my original grade of 4.5.  But if you hadn't listed those major flaws it would definitely have been higher.

That's a 4.5 to my eye

On 10/18/2021 at 2:29 PM, Zegeroth said:

I use gocollect.com and ebay past sales.      I looked a bit more on past sales and you are right. $1900 seems like where this book is.  It shot up in value (along with everything else) early this year and has remained stable at $1900 since July.  

Gocollect has been having issues lately, I’m about done with that site.  The new format is garbage and the values are off as you can see.

I’d caution you to be patient as this hobby is not completely liquid.  It is really good, but sales swing between 10-20%. Try comic conventions and haggle with them on the last day.  Buying there can save you 12% that the seller does not pay on ebay (your seller really accepted $1672 for this book).  Facebook marketplace is becoming an option too.  
 

I obviously agree with you that comic books are a great way to invest.  For me, the illiquidity prevents me from over trading and I get some really fun things while it appreciates.  I also clean and press books, which adds a bit of craftmanship to the hobby.  I pick up low quality keys at comic shops and flip them for 50-100% profit sometimes.
 

Bronze age should be solid.  Get you a nice star wars copy or first Thanos appearance.  For me, I think the silver age established icons are risk free.  An example is say Silver Surfer #4.  Finally, I believe 30 years from now, people will be drooling over the TMMT issues from the 80s.

I think a lot of this is very good advice.  I will also say, and reasonable people may disagree, that MyComicShop's listings on eBay are an excellent way for me to gauge the actual price for a book because they are - on every book I've kept an eye on over an extended period - priced 10-30% over the actual value. So my thesis would be if you're buying at a price that MyComicShop lists at then you are overpaying signficantly.  And, as others have suggested, I think that is easily borne out by searching recent SOLD eBay listings.

On 10/17/2021 at 10:15 AM, The Lions Den said:

Ah yes, random thoughts, I have a few...  

1)  Sell the book as is. At least potential buyers will know exactly what they're getting. 

2)  If you can't tell whether the book was manufactured with only one staple, look it over again---it should be pretty easy to tell. However, the "staple replaced" notation would lead me to believe that the original staple was actually replaced for a reason, usually some type of defect.

3) If you remove the staple and replace it with a vintage staple, you do run the risk of ending up with a Conserved label (or possibly even a green label again!)  

4) If you remove the staple and don't replace it with anything, you have a better chance of ending up with a blue label, even though the holes left by the missing staple may affect the overall grade. 

5) Bear in mind that sending the book back to CGC may not solve your problem---it could even complicate the situation.

I hope this helps, and good luck!  

I want you to know I wrote a long response to this post @The Lions Den and then I paused because I was trying to figure out where I could work a solid Queen reference into it...and then I got distracted and then closed the window and then lost the whole f#$@$ thing.  Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?

When you say sell as-is I think you mean as-is in the slab, right?  Or you mean take it out and sell "as is", disclosing the staple situation, obviously.  Perhaps I'm wrong but it sure seems like if the price of key book is $x then the green-label price of that book is 50% of $x BUT that sometimes the raw, graded-by-eye version of that same book is more like 80% of $x.  But, again, I could be totally off - no escape from reality! 

On 10/17/2021 at 3:10 AM, KCOComics said:

 

First off, I'm sorry this happened. There is nothing worse than a "label surprise" especially when it's something you could have caught. I've been there! 

If the book was manufactured without a staple,  I would imagine you could have the added staple removed and get a blue label with the note "manufactured with one staple"  I could be wrong and it might be best to call cgc and ask directly. 

If you remove the staple and replace it with an original era staple from a less expensive book,  I believe it would get a Conserved label. I know people replace rusty staples with original era staples in an effort to "conserve" the book. 

@The Lions Den any thoughts? Am I on right track? 

 

Thanks so much for saying that, @KCOComics - I know it sounds silly but I really appreciate it.  And I know it's a great problem to have but you're right it just took the wind out of my sails to get the "surprise" label...and then on top of that to realize it's something I 100% could and SHOULD have caught.  Though I take some solace that my situation wouldn't have been ALL that different if I'd caught it up front.

Yeah, that was my thought that if it was manufactured without a staple then it could still be blue-labeled.  I have no familiarity with the Conserved label and/or pricing, would love anyone to weigh in on that.  I'm not sure it would be worth the risk to me of cracking it open, sending it off to someone (eek!!), hoping they do a good enough job (double eek!) and then sending it back knowing that 1) I might get green label again anyway; or  2) might get a Conserved label and the market value is only 5% more than it would have been with the green label (I'm making that up, I have NO idea what that number would be, I'd love any insight anyone has on it).

Also, for what it's worth, if the price difference for blue vs. green was 5-10% I wouldn't even bother with this.  But it seems like it's more like 25-50% difference.  I guess that's my other lingering question - is THIS particular reason for a green label (replaced staple) "better" than others like a missing page, etc.  If so, am I overreacting to think it's going to ding the price so much because I'm comparing it to books that are green label with a missing page or cut out MVS stamp, etc.?  Thank you again so very much for your input!

On 10/17/2021 at 4:53 PM, William-James88 said:

Hey Candy Mofongo, what is the grade of your book right now from CGC and which book is it? That would help give the best advice.

I appreciate it but I'm reluctant to say...maybe that's silly but I'm just nervous about providing too much info on it.  Let's say it's a Fantastic Four 52 and it was graded 5.0.  It's a similar title to FF, similar timeframe, and similar "key-ness" of the book.

On 10/17/2021 at 1:08 PM, Qalyar said:

Just by way of clarification: does this book have 1 factory staple plus one added one, or is the interloper the only staple at all?

Regardless, I'm with a lot of others; I don't think there's a good path to a blue label here. Personally, I'd probably leave the book slabbed and sell it as it stands; weird situations like this are tough sells on raw books, because buyers rightly wonder whether any other funny business is going undisclosed or undetected.

Thanks so much for the input.  It definitely has one factory staple that looks perfectly fine.  I would have thought the additional staple was added because the cover was loose or something like that BUT when I'm looking at it (albeit through the slab) I can't see where there was another staple.  No holes, no little "space" where it looks like it went.  But I think there's a solid chance I'm wrong about that.  I also wouldn't be shocked if this staple was added by someone who knew nothing about collecting comics and, rather, was a kid with a missing staple on his book or something like that.

It's a great question and I've wondered the same so appreciate you asking it!

I will say - and I have no interest in a Nova #1 so you're safe there  - that based on the pics that are uploaded to that listing I think 9.0 is what I'd PGM it at.  That said someone else mentioned writing on the cover which I did NOT see and that would have a negative impact.

Is that the second FF 19 on this board in the last 24 hours?!  In any case this is a beauty - I'd say 7.0/7.5.  Congrats!  Great comic!

Nice looking book!  I'd say 6.5/7.0

A couple of those back cover pics are a little fuzzy but that looks like a 9.4 to me.  Could also see 9.2 or 9.6 depending upon the state of the spine

I'd say that *could* be a 6.0 or 6.5 after a C/P but more like a 5.5 now

Is that spine rolled?  I'm thinking 5.0

2.0

I was torn between 7.5 and 8.0

6.5    Nice looking book - thanks for sharing!  

Nice looking book, especially the back cover!  Beautiful.  I'm solidly in the 9s but for that bottom right corner.  Sadly I think that takes me all the way down to an 8.5.

I wouldn't think you get graded down for the manufacturing defect but I'd be interested to hear what others think on that.  This book looks like an 8.5/9.0 to me.  That said, is the fact that it's aesthetically less-pleasing a negative for a buyer?  I'd think a little but not a lot.  I've bought this book recently and if yours had been available at 5-10% below market I'd have grabbed it.  Just one opinion though...