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COMICLINK

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Posts posted by COMICLINK

  1. All-

    There was a pervasive outage starting around 8:54 or 8:55 Eastern and lasting for a few  minutes caused by a router problem at Level3, an Isp backbone in Virginia that our ISP relies on for service.
     
    This affected many web sites and obviously our site and users bidding and logged in around this time period got thrown for a loop.
     
    So to be fair we are going to reopen a small number of lots this evening. 
     
    Since the topic of discussion came up here on the boards including a few prospective bidders, I thought I'd give you all a heads up.
     
    Formal announcement to follow later this morning...
  2. I've just noticed the discussion here about the Complete Barry Windsor-Smith Conan #6 story in our auction.  There is absolutely no reserve on the lot, so no worries there.  I just wanted to clear up the speculation that Gene made in that regard.  Even though we've estimated the break value at $200K, there is a possibility that it can go for significantly less or significantly more in a no reserve auction -- that's part of the excitement of the no reserve auction!  Despite that cold calculation of monetary break value, I expect that there are some collectors out there who would love to keep the story together.  Eliminating the opportunity cost involved in finding separate pages from disparate collectors and putting this (or any) story together is no small thing.  This is really the only way to have such an item (referring to the story in it's complete form here) without giving up at some point out of frustration.   Anyway, good luck to anyone who wants to go for it.  And if anyone wants to go for it but needs a helping hand with time payments, feel free to reach out to me (by calling ComicLink, not by posting to the boards or sending me a  pm that I probably won't see until after the auction is over ) -Josh

  3. We've now got over 1,000 high-end comic book and related art lots posted to the upcoming Winter Featured Auction preview, and we're still accepting consignments. More will roll in over the next couple of weeks! To view already consigned auction lots, go to ComicLink.com Featured Auction Preview. If interesting in consigning, more information may be found on our Auction Schedule page

  4. After reviewing the information presented within this thread, and provided to me by Glen Gold privately (thanks Glen), the description has been modified further, to adjust sentence, which now reads as follows:

     

    "This issue is without question one of the most memorable Daredevil collaborations, with Frank Miller's conception of the layout enabling Klaus Jansen to execute the finished pencils and inking on this piece."

     

    I think it is sufficiently clear now.

     

    -Josh

  5. So, in order to nip this conspiracy theory in the bud...

     

    The DD 11 9.6 is/was actually from my personal collection. I thought it was a good time to sell it, because the Rocky Mountain DD's are also in the auction. I didn't know it was on that list. Now that I do, it will be going to CGC for a review (for trimming) prior to being sent to any buyer. The last thing I'd want is for one of our buyers to be affected if it is trimmed. If it turns out to be, obviously we will notify the buyer immediately and there will be no expectation of payment from the buyer. The only loss will be, in this case, mine.

     

    By the way -- when the whole scandal broke way back when about the trimming situation, I came on the boards and declared that if any CGC Graded books that were sold on ComicLink were found to be trimmed by the buyer, we'd return the buyer's money. Other companies then followed suit. So, there is no risk to a buyer (other than the time value of money) if a book on that list is bought on ComicLink and is subsequently resubmitted to CGC (still in the holder) by the buyer and CGC reviews it and finds it to be trimmed. I did this back then to reestablish confidence in the CGC market, at least for the CGC books on ComicLink. It also prevents us from having to review a list every time we post a book!

     

    -Josh

  6. George, To backtrack to the point you came in on - a board member asked why ComicLink doesn't report to GPA. In response, I said I offered to report select ComicLink sales data, not all data, and that it wasn't accepted. That is where it stands and I am ok with it.

     

    I'll be accused of nit-picking, but your exact comment was : "I actually recently offered to start supplying some realized prices (selected higher dollar sales) to GPA and they did not appear to be interested ." Not exactly how our email conversation went. But either way, I'm ok with your decision also, after all, you contacted me and I explained why I wouldn't take just selected sales. As I said, we are both set in the way we operate and that's fine thumbsup2.gif

     

    It is necessary in a pricing discussion relating to ComicLink ask prices (or ask prices elsewhere) as compared to GPA gathered data, to point out that a collector referring to GPA exclusively might misvalue scarce books because of incomplete sales data. This is important for buyers of expensive books to know in order to preclude a price ceiling on items that should be, and have always been, good investments. Thanks, Josh Nathanson www.comiclink.com

     

    People place a ceiling on what they will pay for a book for many reasons. One might be GPA. Before GPA there was information gathered by specific individuals that had the time. Either way, whatever the basis for a sell or buy decision, dealers/buyers/sellers negotiate one-on-one and can come to an agreement on the merit of their argument on why a price is fair.

     

    I'll clarify my statement for complete accuracy - "I actually recently offered to start supplying some realized prices (selected higher dollar sales) to GPA and they did not appear to be interested" ...in receiving select sales data from us. Agreed? Anyway, no attack launched here and no defense necessary. Good luck in 2007 with your business. -Josh Nathanson, www.comiclink.com

  7. Josh, we can continue going over this. You want to report some sales to us, we would rather you reported all sales. Other than the chart busters section on our home page, there is no identifier as to where the sale comes from. I can't force you to report to us, you can't force me to change my policy. Dealers are free to do what they want, buyers are free to do what they want.

     

    I stand by my service and don't believe it misleads in any way. If that is your opinion, well, that is your opinion. You ultimately deal directly with your customers and you are best placed to put your argument forward for whatever position you hold for any and all issues.

     

    George, To backtrack to the point you came in on - a board member asked why ComicLink doesn't report to GPA. In response, I said I offered to report select ComicLink sales data, not all data, and that it wasn't accepted. That is where it stands and I am ok with it.

     

    It is necessary in a pricing discussion relating to ComicLink ask prices (or ask prices elsewhere) as compared to GPA gathered data, to point out that a collector referring to GPA exclusively might misvalue scarce books because of incomplete sales data. This is important for buyers of expensive books to know in order to preclude a price ceiling on items that should be, and have always been, good investments. Thanks, Josh Nathanson www.comiclink.com

  8. I just noticed this thread, which is a coincidence because we have the earliest knownDennis the Menace Sunday page in our auction staring January 25.  I never knew itexisted until it was consigned to auction, so I thought you Dennis fans might like to seeit, if not bid on it.  http://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2Fauctions%2Fpreview%2Easp%3Fcode%3D2007jan25%26itemtype%3D1%23Item%5F661969&id=661969">Clickhere to see the image

    Josh Nathanson, President

    www.comiclink.com.

     

     

     

  9. "Actually, that discussion is a sideshow too. This whole thread came about because one member seemed to think that sellers have an obligation to base their selling prices on GPA"

     

    Thank you Tim, I thought I had communicated that more than a few times

     

    Wow, a lot of activity in this thread that I started. Being sick and missing out stinks! sorry.gif

     

    My original post in this thread was never intended to say that sellers have any obiligation to base their prices on GPA and quite honestly I don't think I ever implied that either. The reason why I posted to begin with was that I just thought it a little screwy.gif that a book like this ONE has an asking price almost 5 times the 12 month average on GPA, 10 times Overstreet, and even 5 times what Chucks wanting for the book raw. Now mind you, Vampirella's are not often slabbed because they are not really valuable enough to warrant doing so with the exception of certain issues of course.. I happen to be one of the people slabbing them. With that in mind, there are 7 of THESE in this grade of 9.6. confused-smiley-013.gif

     

    I'm not talking about books like Hulk 1 or whatever was mentioned here... those books SHOULD break records every sale if they are high grade. Everyone expects that and it has been the case for 30 years on books like that. I doubt many people have taken a loss on a 'tec 27 or Marvel #1

     

    I guess I look at this the same way as if someone were trying to sell a Spawn #1 in a 9.6 for 5 times guide, or heck, even double guide, people would think they were crazy and would probably be turned off of looking for anything else from that seller WHICH brings me personally exactly where I am at right now. I know a lot of you buy/sell on Comiclink and I've heard great things about it which is why I checked it out, but I was quickly turned off by the exorbitant prices that I probably won't bother looking on there for much of anything now.

     

    No one wants to turn off a buyer do they? confused-smiley-013.gif

     

    I guess the defending attitude is the same feeling that one gets if they walk into Neimans wearing a ratty t-shirt and jeans. The reaction that some of the sales clerks have is usually not a polite one.

     

    On a side note, I will pay over guide for things, but within reason. Case in point, I bought a Fantastic Four #12 yesterday that isn't in the best of shape and has a coupon cut from the last page (non-story page) and I paid the full Overstreet price for a "Good" on it.

     

    There are 10,000 CGC Graded books on ComicLink. As in any marketplace, some items are overpriced and some are good deals. Some sellers could care less about turning off buyers (and some are prevented from selling for that reason). Others want to show only reasonable prices. As evidenced by our sales volume, enough items are priced competitively to lead to frequent sales. There is as much variation to pricing on ComicLink as there are sellers. It is up to you to be selective wherever you buy, ComicLink included. GPA may be the tool you use in order to be selective. If it is the only tool used, the information is limited. From your comments about the FF #12 and the Spawn #1 it appears you understand the difference between a rip off and a reasonably priced book and if so, you can feel as confident buying from ComicLink as anywhere else.

  10. Well, we are in agreement on some major points here and you make a solid argument for "partial data reporting" as it applies to the health and accuracy of a specific segment of the market. In this case, the very top end of the market.

     

    We all want a healthy market but clearly GPA's position has to be indifferent in that regard. Its obligation to its subscribers and the hobby is to present its data in an honest manner whether the information indicates health or not in the marketplace.

     

    Its easy to see where it can be complicated for GPA to determine the most effective and fair data reporting policies to ensure that the most complete and accurate representation of the market is being put forth… and not one potentially manipulated and compromised by selective reporting. Knowing George's character, I know he would never allow it to be any other way… so I personally trust his judgement in developing those policies. If that means all or nothing, I can see why he adheres to that position.

     

    Its 3am in Australia, so George won't be able to join the discussion again for a little while I'm guessing.

     

    I agree with all points here, except the notion that price manipulation would be caused by selective reporting. If select higher sales numbers are incorporated into GPA's database which for this discussion is assumed as having lower realized prices the items in question, reporting higher realized prices (assuming they are real sales) can only lead to more accurate GPA data. Of course it is also not the case that in every instance, sales would be significantly higher. The only sales that can cause manipulation (I am taking the word manipulation to mean inaccuracy) are trade sales, which would not be reported by ComicLink, and are not even marked as pending sales, on ComicLink for fear of misleading our client base. As a side note, there are other web sites reporting trade sales as actual sales, and that is definately misleading to the clients of those sites. If those trade sales are reported to GPA, that has a lot of potential for inaccurate representation of the market (for the most part, artificially inflating it). I am for accurate support of the market and not artificial support.