Lightning55

1 hour ago, aszumilo said:

: 7 hours ago, rjpb said:    I'd ask for a scan of the slabbed book to compare to the book shipped before I'd agree to anything. 

1 hour ago, aszumilo said:

I'd also look up the cert number, of the book, to see when it was graded.  Maybe he is trying to get a partial refund or send you back a book he already had graded previously.

The seller (OP) has already determined it's the same book, as he has been able to compare the grader notes to his original eBay photographs.  He can see the CT's are where they are described to be, but he hadn't noticed them before.

46 minutes ago, ThothAmon said:

+1.  Insurance is for suckers.  Lol.

It can depend on the situation.  I self-insure under $100 on media mail, and Priority has a free $100 for commercial shippers.  Over that, I include it, but I'm only paying $.80 per $100 of coverage.  Cheap enough to add it.  I use PirateShip.com.  And the shipping fee I charge has a little room in it, so it's not even my money I'm using for the insurance.  That buys a lot of peace of mind.

48 minutes ago, loganparker said:

Thanks for all the feedback. Looking like registered mail is probably going to be the way I go just to be safe. 

I guess the fees for Registered Mail vary according to the face value of the item.  If it's a $1000 item, the cost is $16.95 for the added service of Registered Mail.  If it's a $20,000 item, the cost to add Registered Mail is $49.25.  I was surprised to see that it goes all the way to $50k, if needed.

3 hours ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Indeed. One, an ugly, horrible looking thing.

The other, a pence copy 

I see what you did there.

I have a policy with CIS (Collectibles Insurance Services) for $30,000, but had to get a "Signature Required Shipment Coverage" rider to be covered for comics shipped.  This is different from "Away from Scheduled Premises & Personal Travel Coverage", which would cover your inventory at a show, for instance.  The Shipping rider covers me for $3,000 (10% of the full inventory coverage), so I make sure the "finished grading value" of the submission will be under $3,000, not the raw value.  The Shipping coverage also has a $200 deductible.  The riders are separate from the typical policy, so even though you were "told" that you have coverage, I would advise that you are CERTAIN that you have coverage - see it in writing on your policy, know the limits, know the deductible, examine the fine print. 

Since I am covered by CIS, I ship by Priority Mail with Signature Confirmation and insure it for the $200 that would normally be the deductible.  So between the 2, I am fully covered.  For a shipment as large as you are sending, maybe Registered is a good idea anyway.

The return shipping by CGC through USPS seemed very high to me, so I opened my own FedEx account.  I filled out a CGC Shipping Form (CGC will provide this) that allows them to use my FedEx account, and each shipment is sent Signature Required to conform to the insurance performance standard.  It's a lot of money, so you have to watch for all the pitfalls.

1 hour ago, kav said:

Not true.  @Buzzetta  has demonstrated over and over that ebay/paypal can and will side with a seller who is in the right.

I'm sure there are cases where that happens, but many times the buyer is favored.  The whole game is rigged against the seller, as SOMEONE has cover the situation.  You know it won't be eBay or PayPal.  And they both love buyers, sellers are replaceable.

Here's a link to a recent situation, sounds very similar.  Buyer refunded plus interest from his credit card company: https://forum.cbcscomics.com/topic/11280/page/1/bad-deal-with-a-decent-outcome/#22

2 minutes ago, kav said:

why should he agree to recieve a book that has been damaged after he sold it tho?

He shouldn't have to, in a perfect world.  But I know from experience what he is potentially up against.  Being right will have no effect.  EBay, PayPal, and the credit card companies will expect the seller to cover all problems.  They just force you to.  They control the funds.  Once they charge you back, it's like moving a mountain. 

Better to do a little back-and-forth with the buyer to see if something can be worked out.  Before the piano lands on your head form the 10th floor window.

If you get to a point where he will agree to send it back for a refund plus his fees for grading, shipping, etc., do that.  Every other option (except that he just goes away) will cost you more.  Much more.

Agreed, now in a slab.  But the cc company won't care.  He may not even tell them that.  He is their customer, so they just go along.  Also, it's in a slab now, but that is easy to change.

Also agree with the general consensus.  But a lot depends on how he paid for it.  If he puts in a claim, eBay or PayPal could side with you, but even that is a high hurdle.  The usually favor the buyer, unless he has done something egregious.  If decided in your favor, then the buyer appeals to his credit card company, if that's how he paid.  Almost 100% of the time, they will side with the card holder, reverse the ENTIRE purchase.  Won't even bother to look at the circumstances, length of time, movement of the comic back and forth for grading, etc.  Then YOU have to try to get that corrected with very little help, ball in your court.  It's a mess. 

Best to try to negotiate something you both could live with.  When selling on eBay, you almost have to budget in stuff like this, because it's not matter of if it will happen, but WHEN.

And it works both ways, up and down.  I had a comic submitted recently that in my mind was an 8.5, would struggle to get a 9.0.  Came back 9.6.  Another I had figured at a high 9, came back 9.0, no explanation.  Would love to know why.  A third I figured 9.2, came back 9.8. 

The consistency is not there, in my opinion.  I'm no expert, but I have been collecting and grading comics since the late 70's.  When someone asks if they can get a 9.8 with some minor non-colorbreaking stress lines, I say sure, it's possible.  Because I have had much, much worse come back 9.8.

6 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

But as trivial as it sounds, those extra seconds add up over the course of a day...and the emphasis is always on getting books out the door.   

I can see that, but it is always a balance of quality vs. quantity (or speed).  Grocery baggers could go faster if they throw all your stuff in haphazardly, but your bread is crushed.  We all appreciate it when the car mechanic takes a moment to explain why he had to replace the rotors and calipers in addition to just the pads (ouch).  The newspaper gets delivered on time, but thrown in the bushes.  We have to wait a long time to get our books back, and no way to vet the grade given.  I guess it's a matter of what we will accept, before seeking out alternatives.

I think a comic as you describe, if no other grading considerations, should still have a decent chance to get a 9.8.  I have had comics come back 9.8 that had visible stress lines, not color breaking, maybe 1-3 lines.  The ones you describe seem less obtrusive than those commonly found on the front a comic, easily seen. 

Even if it comes back less than 9.8, you still can't positively attribute it to the stress lines, unless there are grader notes that state that explicitly.  And I have never gotten a comic back over 9.4 that had grader notes.  I am guessing, but it may be even lower than that.  You get the comic back, 9.6, 9.8, dare I say 9.9, and have no specific idea why it isn't a 10.0.  I don't mean it should be a 10.0, but why don't we know WHY it isn't?  It's like they want to explain why it's a 6.5, but not tell you why it's not a 10.0.  There must be SOMETHING wrong with it - they graded it 9.6.  But what is it??? 

Doesn't seem like it would be hard to add notes.  Maybe take another 60 seconds.  Or they could have auto-text that if you hit F6 it adds "spine stress lines break color".  There you go, 1.8 seconds to do it.  Mystery solved.  But no, the secrets are sealed forever in the slab and the grader takes them to his/her grave.

Spine stress lines, by definition, are indicators that the spine has been stressed.  Meaning that the spine has been caused to bend in a way that is contra to its natural fold.  It is like a ballistic mark.  If it doesn't break color, that is better than one that does.  If it is small, that is better than one that is large.  If it draws your attention, that is worse than one that is discreet.  I would think that you have to evaluate ALL spine stress lines that are presented.  Some will be weighed more than others, and left up to the judgement of the grader.  I don't think there is a set formula such as 3 front stress lines = 5 back stress lines = 8 tiny ticks along the fold.  It's a sum of the defects situation.

24 minutes ago, evilskip said:

I have read the PPP loan "guidelines" that the government is giving out to banks. It really is only for payroll, rent, mortgage etc, but it does have this:

What can I use these loans for? You should use the proceeds from these loans on your:

Payroll costs, including benefits;

Interest on mortgage obligations, incurred before February 15, 2020;

Rent, under lease agreements in force before February 15, 2020; and

Utilities, for which service began before February 15, 2020.

What counts as payroll costs? Payroll costs include:

Salary, wages, commissions, or tips (capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee);

Employee benefits including costs for vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave; allowance for separation or dismissal; payments required for the provisions of group health care benefits including insurance premiums; and payment of any retirement benefit;

State and local taxes assessed on compensation; and

For a sole proprietor or independent contractor: wages, commissions, income, or net earnings from self-employment, capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee.

That last sentence seems to be the "magic words".  Just claim as self-employed.  I presume, if you also have a regular job, nothing is stopping you from being self-employed in addition to that.  Many people have 2 jobs.  And that's just the Payroll Protection Program.  There is another fund out there, and maybe more will sprout up.

You would probably need an actual CGC grader to answer that.  For some things, like the color of the pages, max grades are set.  Just as an example, according to CGC's Page Quality Scale, comics that have pages that are Light Tan to Off-white cannot exceed a grade of 8.5, no matter how nice the appearance. https://www.cgccomics.com/comic-grading/grading-scale/

I have no idea if other attributes have set limits or not.  We all TRY to ignore defects that are not wear factors, but it gets harder to accept them at high grades.  Certainly it's no collector's fault if an ink blotch exists, a comic is severely mis-wrapped, somewhat miscut, or it has an arrival date on it.  But many buyers would have resistance in some cases.  It's certainly an easy choice to make between 2 equally graded comics at the same price, one with an ignored defect and one with no defect.  Most will pick the latter, I would think.  If such a choice is so obvious, how can they be the same grade, same price?

People will be applying for aid for money lost on work they usually do, but couldn't, such as employees, contractors, professional services, retailers, etc.  If you can show your life was adversely affected in a similar way through loss of payments you regularly receive, it's worth a shot to submit it. 

It has been pointed out that you still have the merchandise, but so does the retailer.  People would like to get paid for work they didn't do because they couldn't, so you might as well get paid for merchandise you didn't sell because you couldn't.  In either case, the ability to cover one's bills is severely impacted.

Looks like rogue ink from the printing process.  I've seen it before, but not to that degree.  It would most likely be considered a manufacturing defect.  In lower grades, it can be ignored as such, but it does come into play in VF or higher grades.  That is similar to how an arrival date is treated.  Just my opinion, from limited experience in that area.

If you are operating as a business, and you have a Business Interruption Insurance clause in your policy, it might be possible to put in a claim.  You would have to check your policy and consult with your agent. 

I had a comic store in a mall.  A local contractor broke through a main service line, and the mall was down for the whole weekend.  We lost $5,000 in sales.  I put in a claim for Business Interruption and got paid a portion.  There were deductibles, many variables, supporting data to show the profits lost on those potential sales, etc.  Certainly SOMETHING happened to cause me to lose money I counted on as a regular course of business, which was not of my own doing.  I still had to pay the rent, the utilities, buy products.  I am not guaranteed to sell at a particular rate, but if you can show a track history of sales, and then that disruption by a certain, specific cause, you have a basis for a claim to funds that your policy provides.

Despite the examples people are giving above about still having your inventory to sell, if you have PAID into the premium for that specific coverage, THAT'S what it's for.  So it's time to collect if the unfortunate happens.  That's the whole idea of insurance, spreading the risk among those who might be affected.  Many paid in and received nothing.  Of course, they could call this an act of God, and you're back at square one.

You will get credit.  It takes the system some time to update, like a week.  It's been an ongoing situation, confuses most people, understandably.  If you are using a check, just deduct the $150 from your check total.  If less than $150 in grading fees, don't send any payment - it'll get straightened out.  Just a note maybe.  In any situation, provide payment info and it will work out.  There should be something right on the page where you sign up that this will occur, but it's one of life's impossibilities, I guess.

Very cool.  This could keep me occupied for hours.

I nominate "Dark Age".  Pollution will cut off the light from the Sun.

CGC will not authenticate a signature they don't personally witness.  You can only get signature series at a convention or private signing.  You bring the comic, a witness accompanies you to the artist, it's signed, and then immediately submitted.

I remember looking at comics that seemed "gradable" years ago, filing them away.  Now I take them out and look them over and see minor defects right away that are certain to push them into the low 9's or below.  That's ok for an expensive book, and BARELY ok at that, but for most modern comics it can be of  questionable wisdom to invest more money in them.  But if you do, at least they are preserved.  I think I must have been wearing rose-colored glasses back in the day.