Lightning55

As above, it should say whatever the publisher put in the Indicia on the publication page. It would help if you knew exactly what it says there - maybe someone can fill in that missing factoid.

They did designate the Special Edition, which helps to be more specific. 

If you are not happy with the way it was produced, you could contact Customer Service, state your case, and get their take on it.

They won't acknowledge that it is signed. It will get a green Qualified label with a notation that says "Writing on the Cover".

On 3/14/2024 at 11:35 AM, Dr. Balls said:

They look very legit to me.

CGC only does Signature Series, which are comics that they personally witness being signed.

On 3/13/2024 at 6:30 PM, Chip Cataldo said:

It is absolutely true. Yes, the buyers have to request the return...that's what I meant. I didn't mean you just send it back without anyone knowing about it.

You can return it for ANY reason at all once you request the return. Once tracking shows it's been delivered back to the seller they have to refund within a certain number of days or eBay automatically takes it out of your account. Now, if they return it for a reason that's not the seller's fault the seller isn't obligated to refund shipping charges, but they're definitely on the hook for the price of the item.

eBay sides with the buyer 99.99999% of the time if they request a return.

On 3/13/2024 at 5:42 PM, Chip Cataldo said:

you can always return an item you weren't happy with for whatever reason.

I'll say it again, it's not true.

I can tell you are not speaking from the experience of an informed seller, because you would not make such an absolute statement. 

Unless the Seller approves the return, there is a good chance there will be no return.  If the seller accepts returns, well, he has no option but to accept the return.

I have had people try to return things that they "changed their mind about", "found it cheaper", etc.  I don't approve those returns.  About a third of the time it is forced by the credit card company, and eBay reimburses the buyer, but they don't take my funds.  The other 2/3 of the time, the purchase stands.

So please don't give people the wrong impression that anything they buy on eBay can be returned.  It's false.

On 3/13/2024 at 5:42 PM, Chip Cataldo said:

No matter what any seller states in their listings, you can always return an item you weren't happy with for whatever reason.

This is not true.

If a seller's return policy is Returns Not Accepted, you have to request a Return. If you have a legit reason, such as Significantly Not As Described, arrived damaged, arrived with parts missing, wrong item, etc., the seller should accept your request. If he doesn’t, eBay will force the Return.

If you are returning for no legit reason, like Buyer's Remorse, the seller is not obligated to accept the Return. And eBay will side with the Seller.

You may be able to get your credit card company to force the return, which shouldn't happen, but frequently does. Because they can. Right or wrong doesn't matter to them.

On 3/13/2024 at 4:52 PM, shadroch said:

Who gave a private business the right to certify anything, especially a company that isn't exactly standing by its certifications?  Is it fraud against CGC or fraud against the buyer- who was given a chance to look over the book before he bought it?  I think it is sleazy, but I also believe any decent lawyer would have a strong defense.

I believe a person was already found to be guilty of fraud when he substituted lower grade coins into higher grade  certified cases. It's as close to a match in precedent as you can get.

It's certainly a fraud to remove the expensive inner workings of a Rolex, substitute a knock-off into the case, and sell it as authentic. Same thing.

If you intentionally "trick" someone out of their money,  it's a form of theft called fraud. Seems pretty clear.

On 3/13/2024 at 11:50 AM, shadroch said:

Is it really fraud? 

I have two X-men 94s. One is in a mylar with an NM label and a $4,000 price tag. The other is in a mylar with a VF label and a $2,000 price tag. While doing my monthly check for rusty staples, I accidentally switched mylars. Someone buys the VF book in the NM label and pays $4,000 for it. Where is the fraud?

CGC goes to great pains to say their grade is an opinion only , and provides no guarantees that it is accurate. 

It's a scummy thing to do, and anyone who suspects a switched slab should avoid doing business, with the seller but I'm not convinced it is a crime. I think the lack of any real punishments in these cases is going to encourage an awful lot of imitators and open the door to more scams.

Definitely a fraud to switch out a 3rd party graded, authenticated comic of lower grade into a case of a higher grade.

The buyer is relying on the authority of the grading company as being an accurate assessment of the grade and authenticity of the comic, as well as it being the exact copy that was graded. To tamper with a certified anything is misrepresentation. 

For you, as the seller, accidentally swapping out comics, the buyer is not relying on a 3rd party opinion. He has his own opinion, and can also take your opinion into consideration. If he is comfortable with the comic and what he is paying for it, that's a legit situation.

Two completely unrelated scenarios.

I think if it's obvious it was made that way, it will probably be ignored. 

On 3/9/2024 at 8:45 PM, Nick Furious said:

Did the seller note restoration on the Ebay listings?

This

On 3/9/2024 at 2:20 AM, Tnexus said:

They may have their uses. Obviously it depends on how you pack, but my 1095 packed slabs frequently come out almost exactly 2lbs on the dot. Some lighter, some heavier. However, even 2.01lbs puts me in the 3lb cost range. That price difference can be upwards of $4-5 depending on the zone it is shipped to. If the Geminis can be reliably shipped under 2lbs, then it may be cheaper to use those in certain instances. Also keep in mind that Priority is more expensive than the new Ground Advantage tier. It's very possible that "free" box is costing you more to ship now.

I'm not sure how you are packing, but I can double box with a 1097 inside the 1095 and not exceed 2 lbs.

Priority costs more than GA 100% of the time, no misconception there. But if you set your shipping for $10, which is a median shipping amount, some will be cheaper, some more, averages out. Same if you are doing Free Shipping, price with a shipping budget of $10 on average.

If you are lucky enough to be shipping from the middle of the country (not me), you'll never hit those long distance rates, a big advantage.

You can certainly do it cheaper than Priority, but not much. The buyer will appreciate the difference in the speed and quality of the shipment. It's worth the difference in the impression you make.

If I got a mailer like that, knowing it contains a fragile slab, I would be wondering if it is broken as I am opening it. And even if it wasn't, I wouldn't be ordering from that Seller again.

No, but I would rather use free Priority boxes and put the money saved from having to purchase boxes or mailers toward the shipping cost.  Get there faster, better protected, about the same total price.

They are solving a problem that doesn't exist (currently).

I guess you would save a bit on a long distance shipment.  But those are the ones you need the best protection, so still a bad choice.

Let's say a slab gets damaged in one of those, and you put in a claim. Then they want you to bring the cracked slab and the packaging to the post office as part of the claim process.  I don't want to be standing there with a piece of cardboard as the only protection. 

Probably disallow your claim due to insufficient packaging. Basically, it didn't stand a chance of not breaking. I would want to show how I added several layers of protection, and they still broke it.

I would grade those grade placements 5.0, maybe a 6.0.

I wonder how many went out like that?  I doubt they would catch it right away.

Yes, could be marks on the inside of the outer case.

Email CS and get their take on it.

On 3/7/2024 at 8:19 AM, F For Fake said:

I've caught them pulling up to the house, opening the door, then pulling away, updating the status to "No one at home to sign" rather than get out of the car and deliver it.

They did that to me a few weeks ago, parked in the driveway and left without delivering. I think the driver opened the back of the truck, couldn't find the box right away, gave up and left. I didn't hear the truck until it was pulling away. The box is HUGE, how can you miss it, but maybe under a mountain of stuff. This was on a Friday, and later that day the Expected Delivery Date changed to Monday.

Even though I have been told several times by the staff at the FedEx terminal, that Ground deliveries will NEVER be made on the weekend, the box came Saturday. Good thing I was home.

Yes, you just enter the dimensions and weight, any added services, and see the best rate available. The cubic rate is based on the dimensions. You can click on the suggested rate to see the full range of rates from each carrier.

You can create your own presets so you don't have to keep entering the specs over and over. Or use your closest saved preset and make small modifications. 

If they feel it's a production flaw common to a specific issue, they will ignore it.

Shortly after they came out, I bought 100 each of Thor 337,338, and 339 for $300 total. A couple of years ago I had about 80 of each graded. A lot of the 337's and 338's had chips out of the corners, and still graded well. But out of all those 337's, I only got three 9.8's, none that were chipped.

Like they say, buy the book, not the label. I wouldn't want a chipped 9.8. A better one will come along.

On 3/5/2024 at 10:57 AM, andrew parker said:

CGC has something set in their shipments where the packages can't be rerouted to be picked up at a FedEx hub or at a local business like Staples, Walgreens, or Office Depot.

I have always been able to pick it up at the terminal. I believe they all operate the same way.

You don't have it "rerouted" to a hub. It goes to the hub (terminal) on its own, the last stop before they load it on a truck for delivery. You just arrange to have them hold it, and you go pick it up.

Not convenient, but very secure.

CGC just doesn't let you alter the destination. But to my knowledge and experience, you can always intercept it at the terminal. You show your ID and sign for it.

It's resto, so a purple label.

Qualified is for missing stuff like coupons or inserts, unwitnessed signatures, married pages/covers, etc.

This will become a finger pointing situation.

CGC is saying damage in transit, not covered under their insurance. The delivery company will say it arrived intact, so not their responsibility. The packaging is probably in the dumpster already, so no forensics. Submitter is left holding a pile of...

Yeah, it's not really a forum function, since it's not primarily a sales platform. 

You could do a general search for your comic within the site pages, and save the search as a favorite/bookmark in your browser. Rerun as often as you can.

The best method I have found is this:

Order boxes 1095 and 1097 from usps.com. They're free. Get packs of 10 or 25.

Wrap slab in a layer or two of bubble wrap. Put it in a 1097 with some padding, usually more bubble wrap, or crumpled newspaper. Put that into a 1095 box with a bit more padding. 

Ship with whoever gives you Cubic Priority rates for lowest cost. I use PirateShip.com, no fixed cost to use, just pay discounted shipping rate. A local slab will cost as little as $7, opposite coast will be more like $13.

Insurance is only 80 cents per $100, if you need it. If you only need to cover $100 or less, that's included free with Priority or Ground Advantage. 

FedEx left 5 boxes of 25 slabs each in my driveway, in the rain. About $25k worth, and I have a covered front porch. Signed my name for them.

A year ago, they dropped off a box of 2 comics worth $100 each at the wrong address, signed my name. I reported it to CGC, and it was never located. I checked in from time to time regarding the claim. They're "getting to it soon", has been the response.

They figure you will give up eventually, since you have no leverage. 

On 3/3/2024 at 8:13 AM, JollyComics said:

I remembered you mentioned about the best offers that were not shown on eBay.  What tool was that can show the best offers were made?

https://130point.com/sales/

You used to be able to search by item number, but they changed that a while ago.  You have to use the title, as exact as possible to narrow down the results.