Keys_Collector

17 hours ago, RayJr said:

It’s a maintenance issue. I get that message like once a month 

This, it happens often.

CGC should have a pop up on their site when they are doing maintenance or there's a problem to avoid users worrying about their submissions not showing.

24 minutes ago, MISTER EGGHEAD said:

Invest. I go see some of those books gaining traction.

I really like Spider-Man 2099. That was a pretty good read. 

I wouldn't say that they are good books to "invest" in but I do see potential with most of them as I could see more opportunities to include each of these character into the next Spiderverse movie or into the MCU eventually.

If you really like Spider-Man 2099 then go with that.  You can't go wrong if you collect what you love.

8 hours ago, Myowncollector said:

Best for what? Best to invest in or best to burn for warmth in a survival situation? 

Are you out here burning books that are selling for 100+?  (EOS2, Noir 1)

I've seen far worse and remember that there is a difference between how a book presents AND its actual technical grade.  That books presents pretty nicely IMO and its not a 9.8 so can have some defects which is why it is a 9.2.

30 minutes ago, littledoom said:

Invincible was first picked up for a live action movie then Amazon later this year is debuting an animated series.... so yes 2 separate things are possible simultaneously.. it's happened before

Good point

Super excited about that show, Invincible was such a great read.  Surprised to see no one mention (as far as I saw) Invincible books that have sold fairly well on eBay.

1 hour ago, F For Fake said:

In addition to that, there has been a culture shift on the boards over the years. It used to be fairly heavy with gatekeepers who would chase thin-skinned newbs away. This was the price of admission to one of the greatest repositories of comic book knowledge on the internet. If you stuck it out, you could learn SO MUCH. The general consensus seemed to be that it was best to spend a little time reading the room, learning the culture of the boards, before you started running your mouth. I myself lurked for a year or more before I even bothered registering and beginning to contribute (what little that I have. I've been here 11 years and still count myself as a newb.)

Over time, there has been an influx of new posters who had no compunction about coming in hot and flooding the board with posts. There seemed to be a feeling that our little world of dedicated and lifelong collectors and experts was being invaded by the types of folks who frequent Facebook groups.This shift seemed to have chased a few of the older folks away. Personally, it didn't bother me, because if I don't care for someone, it's easy enough to ignore them. I don't even use the block feature. Just scroll on past, it's easy enough to do. Life is too short to fret over conversations with strangers on a comic book forum.

The boards are very different from what they used to be. I'm not saying it's good or bad. I personally don't really care. For me it's a place to kill time during the work week, chat with some buds, share some cool stuff, and look at some cool stuff. And, I can see both sides. It definitely used to be much stuffier and it was easy to be discouraged by the old heads who didn't want to hear from new folks. On the other hand, I do sometimes roll my eyes by the newer folks who can't be bothered to do even a basic search before they start posting countless threads about topics that we beat to death several years ago. But, again, I'm not going to complain about it, because at the end of the day, who cares?

It's a message board, the stakes are very low. There's no right or wrong way to engage. But there are several reasons why traffic has slowed down, and I don't think it really has anything to do with the relative health of the hobby. These little communities pop up, thrive, and then die out. It's how it tends to go. I can't count how many forums I used to participate in that eventually faded to nothing. It's entropy. The CGC boards have trucked along longer than most, and I'm glad. Lots of great folks still kicking it here, and still lots of cool stuff to share.

Great post and there's a lot to unpack here with much of what I can relate to.  

Long time collector and lurker who created my account in 2018 so I am rather a newbie much more then you by board standards.  I held off on creating the account for so long because I did feel like there was an air of elitism for board members and you still see that from time to time with some of the guys that have high post counts.  Some people need to be reminded that a low post count doesn't mean that you lack knowledge or you just started collecting.

I see the decline in the boards from everything that you said in addition to newer people just not using this resource and rather spending their time on the 20 other different mass consumption social media avenues of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.  I think it'd help if the board could be used in some type of app structure.  The first question i've had from numerous collectors who i've told about the forum is "can I use it on an app?".  I'd also agree about some of the folks who are even newer then me on the boards do seem to post some questionable things about collecting that make you scratch your head and dominate the boards at time when they don't have much substance to contribute.

The boards are a small part of my life as well and its a great time waster when i'm on the clock at work.  The BST section is a great community of trust worthy people to do business with which is a big draw (although I would say that i've had a few surprising problems there).  There is a wealth of knowledge especially about more niche items like Golden Age, Pulp, PCH, OA, etc.  I'll continue to spend my time on here to contribute when I can because of the great forum members that I do get along with and the wealth of information that is present here.

I agree again on the board not being any sign on the health of the hobby.  The hobby is thriving in many avenues and 1 forum is not an indication of where it is headed.  The hobby is alive and well and will continue to be for years.  Any slope or downturn in the hobby has usually had a rebound effect.  My guess is that there will be peaks and valleys over the next 25 years but the hobby will continue to thrive 25 years from now.

8 minutes ago, kasharic said:

Hi.

Hope you don't mind, but I have a similar query - my UF4 came back today as an 8.0 - I wish I knew then about the polybag crease, since I would have definitely sent it for pressing - I can see the crease now clear as day. My question is, what would be a likely grade bump,having this polybag crease flattened out? Assuming no other flaws, which I really can't see, would a polybag crease be responsible for taking say a 9.6 or 9.8 all the way down to 8.0? lesson learnt, which was a price worth paying I guess

I would say start by looking at the grader notes to see what issues the book have.  My guess is theres more than that problem to go from an 8.0 to a 9.6.

10 hours ago, Myowncollector said:

That is crazy. I know his brother George can get a lil ruff with the books, but this is the first I have heard about Jorge doing this.

This is almost as bad as when I had Bran Lee sign my comics.

7 hours ago, 01TheDude said:

it is different - as you have real characters versus just made up names in Beanie Babies. Licensed products have more staying power imo.

I've never owned one but they are also a lot more interesting to me. They seem like they will always have a place in so many types of collections.

This

I've always been tempted to buy a few but then I know i'll go down that rabbit hole and have an entire room full of them.  My wife had the same thought and she loves them but is afraid of buying one and then start the never ending buying of them.  They have appeal to collectors and the non-collector alike as well as children.  I don't see the hype going away any time soon.

I understand the comparison but they have a much greater appeal then beanie babies.  They are another way to collect your favorite characters whether they are comic book characters or pop culture figures.  As 01TheDude stated, they are actual real characters with some type of likeness associated with them that draws wider interest then a simple stuffed animal.

I do get the comparison though.  Surprisingly there are still some Beanie Babies that sell for thousands of dollars. 

Some good back and forth here with great suggestions for what the OP should do.  Here's my take on it:

The buyer should have contacted the seller and told him what happened.  I doubt he'll accept the return but you never know.  There are lots of sellers out there that are understanding and genuine, kind people.  Maybe even he submitted and knew about it but forgot prior to selling.  Point is, you never know unless you ask!

The buyer should have contacted CGC to inform them as others have already said, they should know that this happened if it was their fault.  Get in touch with the right person at CGC and they might try to make it right monetarily.  If not at the very least, you have done what you can to let them know and they could potentially log this as occurring to see if there are trends in the quality control of their grading.

We see it too often on these boards where people come here to make a thread instead of going directly to the source whether its the seller or CGC.  Take that course of action first BEFORE posting on here about it.  Taking time to post a thread instead of trying to actually resolve the issue tends to delegitimize the situation a bit IMO.

On another note, i'm not sure why people are leaving a laughing comment on the first post.  There is no way to prove that the OP is either lying or telling the truth but its not like he has 1 post on the forum and came here as an anonymous person to rag on CGC or get his money back.  If the OP is actually being genuine then its surely a frustrating situation for any collector and not a laughing matter. 

19 hours ago, PickleRick1216 said:

I don't plan on sending them back because I don't have a high degree of confidence they will come back without defects.

This is exactly what I was alluding to before and quite honestly, I don't blame you.  It would be nice if a CGC rep would see threads like this and comment on what they are planning to do about the issue or what they are proactively working on.

@Brittany M.

Even if it was hundreds of thousands, that doesnt change the demand and future demand for the book. Again, look at sustained pricing on ASM300 considered by many a modern or copper grail. 

On 6/16/2020 at 10:43 PM, divad said:

I guess one thread wasn't enough??? 

In all fairness, that should be a thread about moderns heating up, not just about UF4 being considered a potential grail.

All signs point to yes for it being a modern grail.  People keep talking about the 75K print run but as I've said before, 75K isn't a whole lot when you compare it to ASM300, NM98 and the amount of people who will be wanting this book in the future.  His character will be an A-lister with the amount of push it'll get from a marketing standpoint.  Miles has already been in an Oscar Winning animated film with another film in production and a PS5 game about to showcase his character further.  Lots of growth potential here and that's not even talking about a potential future role in a live action movie.  His character has tons of appeal for many different reasons.

4 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Priced at $175, a piece

I got these for $143 a piece after I think a 31% discount

The savage tales was raw and the TMNT# 3 was a 9.4 1st print slab

Anyway I just wanted to join in the fun!

That is not an adventure in the dollar bin 

Nice copy!  I've got it at a 5.0.

Yep, i've noticed this on the older cases AND some of my recent submissions.  I think too many of us are tired of dealing with contacting CGC through email or phone and then shipping the books back out again for a recasing.  Dealing with emailing/calling, shipping back and then waiting again is a hassle. That's the reason why I have so many books on my wall and in my PC that still have Newton Rings and haven't done anything about it.  The thread about Newton Rings was pretty hot here on this forum and then seemed to kinda disappear as some were getting a majority of their shipments back without them.  I still have a good portion that come back with some amount of newton rings even if it isnt as bad as before.  We should be doing the right thing to make sure that CGC is putting out the product they are supposed to but many of us are just shrugging it off so things just move along as is.  I'm guilty as anyone else as I continue to send books to CGC and don't bother contacting them when faults are found from Newton Rings to a loose inner case or a corner fold.  I've had all of these happen and even if I'd contacted CGC for a resolution, more times then not, I don't even send the book back to them.  I guess we all need to be a little more vigilant when we receive books back and push CGC to put out the best product possible as paying customers.

seanfingh is correct.  The book is being removed from its case after its already been graded and the book will be further handled by the person doing the signing.  What if they damage the book or crease it while signing it?  Hence the reason for the regrade.

16 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

how are you guys finding ASM 361's and UXM 266's in a quarter/dollar bin?!? 

There are still books to be found out there especially in less residential areas.  The skeptical side of my brain does wonder how often some people just say they found something when in reality they've had it for years or paid close to FMV for it....especially when someone has 1 post on this forum and they say "I found a Xmen 266 for a dollar" but it is possible he/she had a good find.

Great story and a thread that should be resurrected for others to read into 2020 and beyond.

Fantastic  thread and IMO the epitome of what really makes these boards special.

I don't know enough about the Stranger Things comics but this might be a good starting point for your search for information:

https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=46817641

https://www.comicburst.com/blog/stranger-things-mini-series-complete-cover-list/

X-Force 1....with the Deadpool card of course

On 6/11/2020 at 7:12 PM, Heavy-ish Metal said:

What really bothers me is when a seller lists a book I want but they're asking for like $10 shipping. Unless they're protecting it in a plexiglass briefcase wrapped in titanium it should never cost that much to mail one book!

I would guess that people saying this haven't dealt with shipping costs before.  You aren't supposed to be shipping media mail as already mentioned and a properly packed book with cardboard protection could go above first class weight.  Priority mail at that rate costs $8-10 bucks not even factoring in any materials used to package the item; a new Gemini mailer, bubble wrap, tape, etc.