lpersky

this is one of the first books I ever really wanted to buy... but I never did. Until yesterday. Back when I was in college, I had a pretty good job. Money was good for a kid my age and that was when I started to take collecting to the next level. Before then, my collecting consisted only of what my pops handed down or what comics I had managed to save since my childhood. My college years was when I began to hunt issues down and shape my collecting habits into more refined laws I still hold to this day. I remember being in college at a computer once, with ample money to burn, thinking, what book should I buy? I knew I wanted a high end book, but I couldn't decide. However, one book that caught my eye was Fantastic Four 48, the first silver surfer and galactus appearance. It was something about the cover that captivated me, maybe it's the impending doom that is off panel we can't see that sparks the imagination, but once I saw the book I knew I had to own it some day. That day was not then though. Back then, somehow, I convinced myself that a case of 03-04 UD Exquisite basketball cards was the better choice. Money wasted, and nothing to show for it in the long run. opportunity squandered. Years and many comic books later, one book, one book, has all these years never passed back my way. Not even a beater copy. But all that changed yesterday. What do they say about luck? That luck is when opportunity meets preparation/skill? Well as "luck" would have it, a buddy I do business fairly regularly with sold me the best looking FF 48 I have ever seen (in person) for pennies on the dollar. It comes from an original owner collection (of which most now belongs to me as well) but man, I'm stoked to have this one in particular in my possession because now after all these years I can cross it off the comic book bucket list. this one will definitely get the cgc treatment real soon. now it's on to the next one. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Ok, so officially it was called San Diego Comic-Con International... but might as well been called Walking Dead Con 2012. Everywhere you looked, there was something Walking Dead related, so it was only natural that my largest CGC submission of the year would be Walking Dead heavy. 2 submissions, all signature series, 33 books in all. Thankfully, both invoices have been graded and the grades appear online. Won't know when i'll actually have the books in my possession, but i'll be patient. So, was it worth it? 33 signature series books aren't cheap? But honestly, all year I have been to every major show on the west and have submitted hundreds of books, so now I don't have many surprises as to what the results are, because I keep my estimates conservative (some people and regular customers of mine think i'm the tightest grader around), so yeah, I think its worth it. And after I saw the results, I think it was the best $1000 I spent at the show. Of the 33 books, the grading break down went like this... 3 CGC 9.6s, 29 CGC 9.8s, and 1 CGC 9.9! Highlights included: Walking Dead 100 chrome signed by Kirkman CGC 9.9 Walking Dead 100 chrome signed by Kirkman CGC 9.8 x2 Walking Dead 100 SDCC variant signed by Kirkman and Adlard CGC 9.8 x3 Walking Dead 94 Image Expo MVP variant (limited to 200) signed by Kirkman and Adlard CGC 9.8 Walking Dead 94 Image Expo variant signed by Kirkman and Adlard CGC 9.8 x2 Walking Dead Weekly 1 Amazing AZ variant signed by Kirkman CGC 9.8 x2 Thief of Thieves 1 ComicsPro variant signed by Kirkman CGC 9.8 Blindside 1 Campbell variant (limited to 100) signed by Mychaels and Campbell CGC 9.8 x2 New Mutants 98 signed by Liefeld CGC 9.6 and I also got some Jim Lee Batmans signed and graded, and also some other things as well. Definately my best invoice to date and a reinforcement of my confidence in CGC. Can't wait to get these in my hands! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I buy a lot of books... As someone who buys and sells comics on the side and runs a small comic business, I have to keep buying in order to keep selling. As such, I come across a lot of books. Some you see all the time, others not so much. Because I am a huge Batman fan, my personal collection currently consist of Batman books (among other things and keys) and my personal goal is to eventually obtain every Batman book ever published. So far, I have every Batman book from 250 - current, save one. I had an opportunnity to purchase my missing book years ago, but at the time, $250 was too much for me and out of my budget, so I passed and never had another opportunity to get the book in high grade at a reasonable price, until yesterday. I was making my daily craigslist rounds when my "Batman" search lead me to a post from a seller looking to sell his lot of DC RRP variants. The lot included Superman 204 RRP, Superman/Batman 1 RRP, Identity Crisis 1 RRP, and my modern Holy Grail, Batman 608 RRP all for $500. I couldn't believe it. Here, on craigslist of all places, is someone who is willing to part with this key book for a price that falls well within my budget, not only for the Batman 608 RRP, BUT FOR ALL FOUR! Immediately I was skceptical, but after some quick communication with the seller, we arranged to meet up a few hours later. At the meeting, as he brought out the four books, I kept thinking, "please be the real deal Batman 608 RRP... no Euro or double feature variant please please please". Plus, the books were described as being in great condition. As the seller wasn't an avid collector, he didn't know how to accurately give a grade or description to the books, so I didn't know if they were beat up copies or what. Once he laid them out on the table, I immediately focused on the Batman 608 RRP, sure the others are great books and hold their own, but for me, nothing comes close to the Batman 608. Just to hold the book in my hands was worth the trip. I started my inspection on the book and it was beautiful. The edges maintained its deep solid black border and the corners were still sharp. I could tell this book was never opened or read. It laid completely flat with very little surface wear, minute stuff. The back cover was just as clean as the front save one small hairline spine stress. For a moment, as I looked at the back cover, I thought Tom Brady winked at me. This book was a solid Near Mint copy. Such a key book and notoriusly difficult book to find in high grade, and finally, after all these years, I have it, in my hands, and it is going to be MINE! I learned more back story about the seller and the book next. Turns out, the seller back in the day worked for DC and somehow received these copies over the years from DC. Pretty neat to have fringe benefits like that. Anyways, I settled up and carefully put the books in my bag and headed home (had to pick up the girlfriend first though, and she was just as excited about the book and buy as I was). When I got home, I gave the Batman 608 RRP one more look over before I placed it in its rightful place among the other Batman books in my collection. 250 - current now complete. Will the 608 get the CGC treatment, probably, but for now, I am content with just owning the book. Modern Holy Grail checked off the list. Next up, Bronze Age Holy Grail)....

anyone else notice the subtle but significant change? went online today to see what ship date they were on and I noticed that there is now a new column in the services and fees section titled "Current Turnaround" right next to the "Estimated Turnaround" for each tier. Boy oh boy oh boy. Who comes up with these things? So you can estimate that your economy tier will be done in 40 days, but actually it'll take 100 days... at least they're being honest, right? you know, I like that they are at least trying to put as much notice about the turnaround time on the web as possible, but what they really need is a column that reads "Grading Books Received As Of" column... then you could replace both the current and estimate columns with one much simplier and more accurate. I no longer believe its an issue of just additional graders. This to me is a sign of something more problemattic. CGC it may be time to rethink your tier structure itself on top of adding staffing in order to meet your consumer base's demands.

why should I pay for this again? while I think that making the grader notes available is a good service to the consumer, as many of us are curious to why a book received a particular grade, I believe paying for the service is a little obsurd when I see the fees. First, as someone who pays the $109 membership fee every year, I think it should be FREE with paid memberships. Otherwise, where is the bang for my buck? Yeah I get four free submissions but what else? Shouldn't CGC be looking into more ways to make the membership fee more attractive? It's not like I have to be a member to submit to CGC anyways. Second, this used to be a free courtesy service. From time to time, you could have called the toll free number and received the grader notes over the phone (so long as you didn't abuse it). That was cool. I guess those days are now gone. Third, older books cost more for the notes? Why? What makes the notes different if it's a silver age book versus a modern book? I assume its the same process to retrieve the notes, so why are the associated cost different? It should be a flat fee for the notes regardless of the book's tier it was graded under. Forth, why should I really care about the notes anyway? Once the book is graded and receives a numerical value, that's all I really care about. A 9.8 is a 9.8 and a 9.8 again. I don't care if it has a micro tear on the 3rd page. It's still a 9.8. Besides, don't you use the CGC label to note significant issues on the book anyway? I guess I knida view this as one of those sucker bets in vegas. You know, the ones where the odds of winning are so heavily weighted in the houses favor that by the time you win it, you spent twice as much? Yeah CGC, this is that sucker bet. Thanks but no thanks. Unless it's free, I won't be using the grader notes service. Also, I sent you guys some books back in January, remember those? Can I get those back please... thanks.

received 3 of my 7 invoices back in the mail today yup, 3 invoices down and 4 more to go... 28 books in all (signature series and universal moderns)... lots of 9.8s, highest graded copies and OAKs... heres a small sample: Walking Dead 1 signed by Kirkman CGC SS 9.6 Walking Dead 19 signed by Kirkman (x2) CGC SS 9.8, CGC SS 9.8 Walking Dead 94 Image Expo MVP sketch variant signed by Kirkman CGC SS 9.8 Darkness 1 signed by Silvestri (x2) CGC SS 9.8, CGC SS 9.8 *these are the highest graded copies and the only two in CGC SS 9.8* Grendel: Devil's Vagary signed by Wagner (x2) CGC SS 9.6, CGC SS 9.4 *highest graded copies and the only two SS copies* Hack/Slash 1 (x3) 9.8, 9.8, 9.8 *these are the only universal 9.8s that exist and highest graded copies* Kick 1 (x3) 9.8, 9.8, 9.8 Batman: Harley Quinn (x2) 9.8, 9.6 plus a lot more goodies... only one 9.4 in the bunch, ALL OF THE REST WERE CGC 9.8s OR 9.6s!!! now only waiting on the other 4 invoices! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!! i finally had one of my CGC invoices mailed out on 03/05/12 and received the confirmation email from CGC with the invoice's tracking number. i checked the package's status today on USPS.com and to my horror, the status shows as "Missent" and the description that the package was misrouted. WTF!!! this is not at all what i wanted! so where is it? on a plane to kilamazoo? did the train it was on derail, thus incenerating the books? did space aliens come down and abuct my books? where they stolen? did they deliver the books to someone else? all you can tell me is missent? this is BS USPS.com!!! gimmie my books! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

waiting... they have been scheduled for grading since Tuesday (3 days), fingers crossed that they get graded today. 17 signature series books with comissioned sketches, Liefeld, Kirkman, and Capullo signatures. i'll be waiting... would be nice to know the grades before Image Expo this weekend. thanks ***UPDATE*** I called in, and while status still Scheduled for Grading online, it appears they have already been graded (although not finalized). Here are the results: Walking Dead 2 (2nd print) signed by Robert Kirkman - 9.6 Walking Dead 3 signed by Robert Kirkman - 9.4 Walking Dead 61 signed by Robert Kirkman - 9.8 Walking Dead 80 Amazing AZ variant signed by Robert Kirkman - 9.6 Walking Dead 87 SDCC variant signed by Robert Kirkman - 9.8 Haunt 1 signed by Robert Kirkman & Greg Capullo (x2) - 9.8, 9.8 Haunt 2 variant signed by Robert Kirkman & Greg Capullo - 9.8 New Mutants 87 signed by Rob Liefeld - 9.8 New Mutants 98 signed by Rob Liefeld (x2) - 9.8, 9.8 Deadpool (2008) 1 Liefeld variant signed by Rob Liefeld - 9.8 Batman 1 signed by Greg Capullo (x2) - 9.8, 9.8 Incredible Hulk (2011) 1 signed, sketch & colored by Marat Mychaels (Hulk sketch) - 9.6 Avenging Spider-Man 1 signed & sketch by Marat Mychaels (Spider-Man sketch) - 9.8 Avenging Spider-Man 1 signed & sketch by Andy Carreon (Carnage sketch) - 9.8 All and all pretty happy with this bunch!

what to do what to do... while going through our massive warehouse buy, I came accross a significant amount issues of Hack/Slash #1 from the 2007 DDP series. they are all in really high, untouched grade, and I decided that I would seperate some out for CGC to grade and then try to sell some of the others since it seems to be a popular series. I've sold a handful and still have many more, but I finally got around to sending in a test run of 3 issues with my last invoice. I don't have the grades back on those, but, it got me thinking... what if they come back 9.8s? I looked on the CGC census and there are only 2 other copies of this book graded, one in 9.6 and the other is a SS 9.8. If mine come back a 9.8, could I be in a position to corner the market on this book and dictate its value? I started thinking about it for a few minutes and some funny stuff came to mind, like what if there was a simialr pile in a wherehouse but they were Action Comics #1? would I grade 5 or 6 for profit and burn the rest to ensure demand greater than supply, or flood the market thus creating a crash in the price? Of course this is all hypothetical but on the Hack/Slash book I have options... if the test 3 are 9.8s, I think more will get submitted and most likely be 9.8s, but how many end up getting submitted is the question and will that be detrimental to its value in the long run... it'll be fun to see how this plays out.

the wait is over, kinda... just recently got back my Long Beach Comic Con and Nuke the Fridge Stan Lee signing submissions back. 10 books in total, thought I would share: Stan Lee signed: Amazing Spider-Man #122 9.4 Amazing Spider-Man #194 9.2 New Mutants #98 9.4 Venom: Lethal Protector (Black Error cover) 9.4 Long Beach Comic Con: Flash #1 1:200 sketch variant signed by Brain Buccellato 9.8 Uncanny X-Force #1 Deadpool sketch by Marat Mycheals 9.8 Amazing Spider-Man #606 signed by J. Scott Campbell 9.6 Amazing Spider-Man #607 signed by J. Scott Campbell 9.8 Uncanny X-Force #1 variant signed by J. Scott Campbell 9.6 Wolverine #1 "Deadpool in Wolvie's Clothes" sketch by J. Scott Campbell 9.8 pretty happy about the grades and the books, they look really nice. I already put some of these books on eBay and the others will get locked away in my personal collection. Still have 3 invoices pending with CGC (1 from the Amazing Az Comic Con that is 17 signature series books and 2 invoices submitted from Yorba Linda show that include my really high grade JLA #9, 9.0 or better on that one please), plus I should be getting my Walking Dead #1 9.8 back this week (got that one re-slabbed because I bought it with a cracked in the case). So yeah, I've been submitting a lot lately and more to come, now it's back to work getting the next 3-4 invoices lined up.

Not a fan of them... If you don't have the money for an item, why bid on it or submit an offer? You are wasting everyone's time, not to mention, that there is probably another person that would purchase the item and actually pay for it! What really sucks is that now FeeBay no longer penalizes buyers they way they used to for non-payment. In the good ol' days, you were actually able to leave negative feedback for non-payment, now you can't, and the buyer's rating is no longer affected. If you were a third party looking at the seller's and buyer's feedback, it's like it never happened, thus you would think the buyer is reputible. How could you tell that the buyer doesn't pay for items? In closing, stop wasting people's time. If you don't have the money or the means to pay then and there, you shouldn't commit to things you can't fulfill.

really? aw man... I called CGC today to get an update on where the graders are with modern submissions since I am still awaiting my signature series invoice from Long Beach Comic Con, and the last time the website was updated was on 11/07/11. Per Nicole, they are on 11/01/11, not the 10/18/11 that is posted on the site. So most likely Monday/Tuesday I'll at least know the grades. The bad news... that means the books will ship sometime next week and I used the office address, which will be closed 12/22/11 thru 01/03/12, which sometime inbetween is when central mail and documents will receive my package. I won't have these suckers in my possession until 2012! Great.... Happy Holidays everyone.

it's not just a price hike people.... Since this is the new popular thread, here's my input. I understand a revision to the grading fees: $1, $2, and such to the grading teirs. that's understandable since it's been a while since they revised it and they probably need the additional funds to support operating fees and to hire additional staff (per the careers section of cgc's site they are currently hiring). However, the handling fee makes no sense. that's a slap in the face. its a charge "simply because they can" fee, similar to what Bank of America tried to pull on their customers, and we all know how that went. as much as PGX would like to say that they are a competitor in the market, they are not and the people at cgc know this, thus the greedy are showing their greed and the consumer has to pay as a result. cgc is undermining its consumer base by assessing this fee, and many will jump ship believe it or not. if PGX was smart, they would capitalize on this moment and show that they can be a force and reliable company in this market. i guess the biggest reason why the handling fee makes no sense is because i already pay a $99 membership fee for direct submission privledges. shouldn't my handling be included in that? i'm already ticked that certain signature series opportuntities are barred to me for direct submission via exclusivity deals cgc has made (ah hem, ask them to witness a Stan Lee at a show and see what happens) thus costing me more and preventing me from tracking my books on the collectors society site, but now you're telling me you need your hand in my pocket even more? so what is my membership fee for anyways, can you explain that to me again? oh, 3 free submissions. lets look at that a little deeper too: you shortened the turnaround from 20 to 15 days (ok, thats kinda cool). but what's this, the value has dropped from $3000 to $1000 on the books i can submit? so the really expensive books i had been saving to get graded for 2012 i can no longer submit with my coupon... if i have to pay to get them graded anyways, please explain why i need to be a member and pay you my $99? i don't... i like to fast track for certain books i want back soon for various reasons. but you want $10 instead of $8 for that now too, please explain why? was $10 a rounder, more even number? honestly, i don't think people should be able to fast track (even though i use the system). I only use the service because its available, but in theory, its a disservice to everyone else in line. you are basically saying, "because these people can pay more we need to grade these books first". thats a horrible philosopy to have, teach, and practice. my books are no more important than the next guy's books, but because i am a little better off economically and can slide you a little something something you'll take care of me? if they did away with fast track, i wouldn't mind. honestly i wouldn't and i only use it cause i can. but cgc needs to be honest with EVERYONE and finally guarantee turnaround times. if you can grade my books in 10 days, you certainly can grade someone else's in 20. maybe you should start counting these show fridays or put in some overtime hours like everyone else in America when the going gets tough. its called a responsibility to your consumers, ask SoCal Edison workers who had to work 24/7 recently when half of Los Angeles lost power because of the recent storms in the area. did they want to work those hours, probably not, but they knew they had customers that depended on their services so the work and overtime was necessary until the job got done, which by the way, it still isn't. so cgc, or should i say, "fee g fee", to roll out a new fee structure without so much as an honest and detailed explaination is an insult. you will not be getting as much of my business in 2012 until you guys come clean with what's goin on in florida from top to bottom. there are other alternatives to cgc and you need me and the like more than i need you.

you know what would be cool... if the CGC Census was modified to allow users to search for other criteria other than just title and issue number. Wouldn't it be cool if you could search the census by artist or writer? Or search the comments for key words like "1st appearance" or "Death of..". I think this type of feature would allow collectors to be even more intuitive with their collecting habits and would probably be used with frequency. just a thought CGC... you can have that one for free.

what have I created? When I started down the path of getting books graded by CGC, I initially had decided that I would get books graded for resale (obviously) but that I would also try to build runs for my own personal collections. I have held true to form on the first part but it is the second that I now realize I haven't been doing as much as I should. As I was cleaning house preparing for this season's thanksgiving get-together at my house, I started realizing that I have a lot of books in short boxes that I have been setting aside to one day get graded. When I started on the society, my first goal was to collect X Men books in 9.8... so I started a short box for that. Then I started also building a Deadpool run of the 97 series... so I started a short box for that. Then I found some sweet looking Amazing Spiderman books from the eightes... so there's a box of those. Then I came across a wherehouse find of the whole Harley Quinn series, so there's also a short box of those. There's also boxes of misc books that would grade out in 9.6/9.8, and the newest box, of Uncanny X-Force books... sessh. I took a step back and looked at all these boxes and thought, "what the hell am I doing?" and "When am I going to get all of these graded?". To be truthful to myself, I have no clue how long it would take me to get these thousand or so books graded eventually. I do know it would take me a ton of cash. I did a dummy invoice of 100 books just for giggles and it was just under 2 large!!! A pre-screen would help, but I know how to grade as well and I haven't been far off on any of my submissions, so I'm confident in how I do my own pre-screen... so it'll likely cost me 2 large per each 100 sent it. sessh... Therefore it might be time to abandon some of these goals. I would like to build the Harely Quinn set since it seems NOBODY has yet to build a significant one and per the census, there are multiple issues with only one or no issues in 9.8 at all. I think I would easily have the best set there and probably for some time to come. Also the Uncanny X-Force I am going to continue to build since it is new and would be easy to maintain and stay on top of. The Deadpool 97 series I think I will also continue because of its realitive size and I already have most of the key issues in 9.8, so the rest should be a peice of cake. That leaves me with Amazing Spiderman, X-Men, and the misc books. The misc books there's no rush on, and I can trim that down to focus on post graded value. If it's not worth it, then it's not worth it. So which gets the ax, spidey or the mutants? I guess I have to chop the X-Men because the Spidey books tend to have more post graded value. But who knows, maybe I'll eventually get them all graded at some point in the future. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I finally own one... After 3 years of submitting countless books and never receiving that seemingly unattainable grade, opportunity arose and I took advantage. I finally went out and purchased a book in cgc 9.9 that I felt was worth it. It was also the only Uncanny X-Force #1 J. Scott Campbell variant in 9.9 condition according to the cgc census. So why this book? For starters, I happen to like the new Uncanny X-Force series. I think it is pretty well written and the cast of characters blend well enough to create intriguing stories for years to come. Secondly, rarity... this varaint was only available in limited qauntites to comic shops thus this version of the variant is highly sought after (plus it's JSC who has his own following of collectors in his own right). Also this is the only one graded in cgc 9.9!!! The deep solid red background makes any imperfections along the corners and spine standout and would be immediately visable... thus attaining this high grade is a feat that may rarely be duplicated. But lastly, its price... I think the seller undervalued the book slightly therefore, if in the future, I wanted to resell the book I could gain a small profit (or a large profit if enough demand is present). But for now its gonna go into the collection and join the rest of the slabs in its new home, and maybe, it won't be long before its joined by another 9.9. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I took the 50/50 route... I submitted 2 invoices at the Long Beach Comic Con and knowing fully the delayed turnaround times on grading, I decided that I would scale my modern invoice down and fast track the two modern books, while the other invoice, the 6 signature series sketches and autos, I could wait on. So, both the invoices showed as received on 11/02/11 and today, the status on my two fast tracked modern books changed to "shipped/safe" while the other signature series invoice is still in a "verified" status. The two fast tracked modern books were an Action Comics #1 1:200 sketch cover (9.8) and an Justice League #1 RRP sketch cover (9.4). In and out within 7 business days. The extra money was worth it and it definetly was worth the piece of mind to put these two in my hands quicker (so I can filp 'em quicker). This wasn't the first time that I have fast tracked an invoice and from my experience, it seems to work well for me when the invoice is 5 or less books with solid market value. I don't think I would fast track an invoice of say 20-30 books because at that level and cost, I would rather wait and get the extra books graded as opposed to getting fewer books quicker. I symphatize with those who are waiting on books, esp for months on end, and I too would probably be impatient and frustrated with the process. But I measure things in terms of opportunity cost so if the extra $8 on a few books means faster service, then it might be worth the while. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

from the suppliers point of view... I could care less what people collect on their own dollar. If people, for whatever reason, want to collect issues of Youngblood #1, it's my duty to supply it. If you wanted to collect rocks, then I would have a bag full waiting for you. The key is how much are you willing to spend. The reason why there are so many issues of Amazing Spider-Man #252 and #300 graded is because the people have decided that they are willing to spend real money on those issues. There are those who want the book already graded in the desired condition they are looking for, and therefore are willing to pay a liitle more for the CGC encapsulated book. CGC has taken the guess work out of the grading on that book, so you are paying for piece of mind. And there will be other people who will hunt for raw copys and enjoy the trill of searching for high grade books at reduced prices. Unfortunately, "comic book" shops have turned in to graphic novel shops and do not have ample back issues anymore of key books. So it's becoming harder and harder to find key issues raw at affordable prices in the actual grade you are looking for. Most people view shopping online as a gamble and it is, too many people get burned and unless the seller has high feedback ratings on description (I have 5.0/5.0), then can you really trust the item as being what it is supposed to be? Also, as a dealer, i'm driven by profit margin. If I know an Amazing Spider-Man #300 in CGC 9.8 sells for $600-750, why am I going to sell a raw copy in similar grade for $200-300? Why not invest $17 more bucks to make potentially $433 more? If that is what people are willing to spend and the MARKET dictates those prices, then that's what i'm going to do. The truth behind it is yeah, you might have 5000+ already graded, but how many at the top tier? ASM#300 in CGC 9.8 is not easy to come by (about 5.68% of all universal grades are 9.8 or higher), and the MARKET knows this. So the MARKET has decided that this book in this grade = X amount of dollars. How ever the MARKET decides which books to chase, wheter it be because of popularity of character, artist, rarity, or the art, I don't care. Its my duty to supply the MARKET what the MARKET wants if the demand is great enough. In addition, everyone who has a registry set is a completist. If they could, they would like to have every issue in that series or run. The year the book came out has nothing to do with how many should be graded. If enough people wanted to collect full sets or series of issues, then you would see more numbers of graded books overall. One person I read referred to this as a niche industry, and I agree. The common person would only get key appearances or significant books graded, not a whole run. So yeah, you are not gonna see large numbers of "filler" books graded, but just because there are lower numbers of bronze or copper age books doesn't mean it's harder to come by or should be more expensive. It just means not many people have bothered to get the book graded. If more people demanded All-Star Western books, would you still feel the same way? If i decided to flood the market with All Star Western and tomorrow, you saw there were 5000+ graded copies of your favorite ASW book, would you still think it is more important or deserving of encapsulation than Ultimate Spider-Man books? Or would you think, now my book is worth because there are 5000+ graded? Honestly I don't think you would care. Because you decided at some point in time that ASW was special to you and you wanted to collect ASW. Same applys to the people who collect Ulitmate Spider-Man, New Mutants, Archie, Youngblood, Gen 13, and the pleathora of other titles. For whatever reason, its what they decided to collect and they don't care what you have to say about it. It's their money and they are going to spend it as they see fit. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

just a small pebble in the pool, but at least i'm now in the water haha... my collector's society coupon invoice today appeared as shipped which meant i can now add the books to my registry sets. this time around, i went with the expensive books and tried to maximize the coupon's value to the fullest (I made a rookie mistake 3 years ago, and did better last year with my choices, see past journals for more on what was submitted in years prior). this year, i used my coupon to submit another copy of Hulk #181 I had laying around, plus my copies of X-Men #1 and X-Men #94. I figured the X-Men #1 was a 4.0 to 4.5, the X-Men #94 was a 9.2, and the Hulk #181 an 8.0. Well, the X-Men #1 graded at 3.0 (? because i've seen worse with higher grades), the X-Men #94 graded at 9.0, and the Hulk #181 is an 8.5. I already have a Hulk #181 in the registry so I can't "double up" on this one, but after adding the new points for the other 2 books, i'm now over 10K in regisrty points... plus i still have more books to get graded so this number is only going to climb in the future. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

It's finally over... and even though it was a lot of work, it was well worth it and I had a good time doing it. Day three started just like the day before, with restocking and set up. We had decided to try and "blow out" our dollar books by dropping the price to 50 cents. That move was greeted with welcoming buyers trying to stock up on last day deals and bargins. I noticed that other dealers were also doing last day sales as well, but more on that in a minute. Also since it was the last day, I figured I would try and get a few other things signed, however not for a CGC Signature Series submission this time. I didn't think any of these books were 9.8 quality plus it was for my own and girlfriend's personal collection, so I didn't care to spend the extra bread. I rummaged through my long boxes and found two copies of Deadpool #1 from the 2008 series. This time I sent my girlfriend over to Mr. Liefeld's booth to get them signed and so she could meet him (she's a big Deadpool fan). Needless to say, but she returned with the biggest smile on her face when I told her that one of the books was for her A few minutes later, I found 2 copies of Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #1, so I decided to head over to Mr. Suydam's booth to get them signed. As I approached his table, he appeared to be working on something on his laptop, I for a moment I thought not to bother him at that time (maybe it was the next cool Zombie cover?). However, he noticed me approach so we began to engage in conversation. I asked if autos were free, which they were, with the purchase of a print. I had a little money in my pocket and the prints were really cool and reasonably priced, so it was worth it for me (2 autos for $20 bucks and a signed print, not bad at all!). As I was deciding on which print would look best in my office, a woman looked over at the table and noticed all the prints and Mr. Suydam sitting down, anf then in the loudest voice yells, "hey, your the Marvel Zombie guy! Hey hun, its the Marvel Zombie guy!! Come quick!" Mr. Suydam looked at me, and just kinda shrugged his shoulders like, yup, I'm that guy haha... classic. Anyways, I finally decided on a print of the Zombie-fied version of Incredible Hulk 340, got my autos, and carried on with my business. I once again visited the CGC booth to submit even more books... so now I have 4 invoices pending review. This was a submission of more modern books I had laying around waiting to get graded. They should all be 9.6/9.8 caliber, no suprises here hopefully. Sales were pretty good but I must admit Saturday was the best day. I think because foot traffic was greater on Saturday it resulted in higher numbers, but the people who came on Sunday were there to shop. One family came back to our booth several times and ended up buy nearly all of my Barbie comics. Another guy wanted Sgt Rock and he ended up buying more than a handfull to complete his run. All it all Sunday's business added to Friday's and Saturday's totals definately made the show worth it. Maybe we'll be back again next year? As the show started to wind down and as other dealers started to break down their booths, I figured I would start to shop around for last minute deals. I already have tons of books, so I knew I had to be really picky and try to buy books I know I could flip or buy books for my own personal collection. I didn't see much that sparked my interest at that point to be honest, but I did purchase another copy of Wolverine #1 Campbell Deadpool variant cover for kicks and giggles (the price for the condition it was in made it worth it, even though I got death stares from my girlfriend). There was one book I really wanted though but the price was a little too high for me at the moment. I know the guy so maybe I will be able to pick it up from him in a month or less time. Sorry, but I don't want to disclose which book it actually is for fear that someone might actively pressure him to sell it to them (outta sight, outta mind, right?). Hopefully, it will be the next major addition to my collection . All and all I enjoyed the show and made a little money in the process. I was able to also get a few cool autos and items as well, which was just icing on the cake. Because this was such a positive experience, I know i'll be doing more larger shows in the future. Hope to see you there! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Today I had a list of things to do... When I got to the show today, I knew there were a few things on my to do list. First and foremost, I had to get my booth set up before the show opened. This took considerably less time than the day before thankfully because I already knew how it was to be set up. It was mostly restocking the shelves and what not, time consuming, but not too difficult. Once I was done with that, it was on to my next agenda item, which was to pay a visit to Mr. Liefeld. I saw him arrive around 9:30 and after he got a little setteld in, I figured I would go over and ask him my few questions. I asked about the cost for a sketch on one of the blank variant covers I have, which was reasonable, and also for signing the raw New Mutants 98. We agreed on the price for the two books and he was pretty nice and professional the whole time. I left my books with him for when I would return later with a CGC rep. Task #1 completed. Some time passed and the show got under way, and right out of the gate I noticed a big change between Friday and today, the amount of people in attendance. Easily there were 3-4 times the amount of traffic in the show. While this made the isles and booth a littled crowded at times, I wasn't going to complain because crowded meant more sales Lots of interesting characters walking around as well... those people are a lot bolder and confident than I would be wearing some of the things I saw people wearing ... Anyways, it was now time to get task #2 underway which was to make the rounds and deliveries to a few dealers/artists whom requested particular books from the day before. I'm not going to disclose my clientle, but for those whom I was able to met there request, they were pretty happy and satisfied. Nothing beats someone being able to deliver a book you want straight to you for a price that's better than reasonable. I headed back to the booth to now start on task #3, which was to submit my Collector's Society Coupon books to CGC, but before I could head back out, I was approached by someone who wanted to sell me one of their books. He presented me with a CGC 9.6 Daredevil 158 (first Miller on run). Nice book, and I was kinda interested, but he let me know of an offer he had received elsewhere, so knowing that the offer he had was better than what I wanted to offer him, I passed without disclosing my offer (the other guy offered cash and trade, I wanted to offer cash at slightly less than what the other guy put on the table. I believe in offering an honest an fair price, but what he told me was just too much for me for that book). Now back to task #3... I decided to use my coupon on my copy of X-Men #1, X-Men #94, and another one of my Incredible Hulk #181s. A few people were impressed with the books when I presented them and I am hoping to do well with this submission. We'll see in a few weeks how thy fare... Task #4 was now to go pick up my books from the Liefeld booth. As I headed back to his booth, I noticed how busy the artisit get at these shows. There were more then a few people waiting for him, which I expected. Unfortunately my books were not ready at that time, which was ok, given the amount of people at the show and the demand for his signature and sketches these days. I decided that I would use this added wait time to check out other parts of the show I had not already seen, which was good because I was able to get a small break for the madness waiting for me in my booth. After about 30 mins, I returned with a CGC rep again and this time the books were reday. Liefeld was actually putting the finsihing touches on my sketch, and it looks awesome! Completely happy with it and I really don't care what grade CGC assigns it. Its a one of a kind peice and it's goona make a nice addition to my collection! He signed the New Mutants 98 as well, AND he was able to sign one of my Wolverine 1 deadpool variant books on the fly as well... thanks again to Mr. Liefeld! Once I got my signature series submission settled it was all about the booth after that and planning for tomorrow. I'm still trying to plot out my day and i hope that most of the artist and celeb's still decide to attend the show. well since i have to get up in about 6 hours, i'm gonna wrap this up. Here's to a successful and happy day 2 in the books, and I am looking forward to day 3 and what it brings! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

I really didn't know what to expect... it is my first time as an exhibitor at Anaheim, let alone a major show such as this. Don't get me wrong, i've done shows before, but none this large or heavily promoted. So I didn't know what to expect. Were my goals going to be too ambitious? What if it's a bust? Or, what if I didn't bring enough stuff? As it would soon play out, most of my questions were about to be answered. We got to the venue around noon and it took us well past the doors opening at 5pm for us to get set up because we brought more than what our little 10x10 could contain. But with a few adjustments, we were able to fit it all in. Sales came quick and just before 5, when dealers were stalking the grounds looking to beat the opening rush. The graphic novels were popular and i've already sold all 15 copies of Superman: Secret Identity I had on hand (time to refresh the booth). I'm glad I spent the last 2 days mixing and matching these books so that I was able to compile a nice variety, enough to fill 15 longboxes. Also discounting them from the original retail price was a good move that paid dividends. Everyone loved my "attention grabbers" on display (Incredible Hulk 181, X-Men 1, and a few other silver age keys and CGC books). The draw of these books got people into the booth and once there, they shopped. Too bad i'll be taking these to the CGC booth soon Speaking of visiting other booths, Rob Liefeld and Athur Suydam have signing stations litterally 20 ft from my booth. Rest assured that as I type this I am also going through my boxes for books worth the CGC Signature Series designation. I also have a few "blank cover variants" that I am considering geting sketched if the price is right, cause I don't want to spend all the money I make this weekend . This is all positive news and makes me excited for the next two days. I guess I should get some sleep now, cause its day 2 tomorrow! To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

UPDATE: my 2 books submitted on the fast track have been graded. FYI, I submitted two copies of Wolverine (vol 4) #1 Campbell "Deadpool" variant... one is a 9.6 and the other a 9.8... overall I guess the fast track isn't so bad after all if it takes 10-11 days for the grades... still beats the 20 day expectancy under normal situations... the consumer in me still would like to see guarantees in the future though as a reassurance for my money spent... now hopefully the US Government comes to some agreements on the budget to avoid the shutdown, I would hate for my books to get stuck in some sort of USPS limbo ... thanks everyone for their comments, suggestions, and notes...

Is it really worth it? Recently I sent in two books under the Modern Fast Track teir hoping that the extra $8 per book would get my books graded and returned to me sooner. The published turnaround time on this level of service is 10 business days, excluding show Fridays. Well CGC, today is the 10th business day and my books still show as "Recieved" and there is no comic line data for my books... What's the hold up? I would at least expect to see some progression over the 10 business days like I typically would other levels of service, or is this just how it's done with MFT and on the 10th day the grades appear? I wonder if CGC doesn't get my books graded relative to the turnaround time if I can get a refund or credit on future submissions, since I paid extra? Just a thought. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

ok, I admit, I haven't been on top of my CGC game lately... first, I let my premium membership expire (in October) and have yet to renew it... second, I haven't submitted any new submissions since my last batch in August... third, I haven't purchased any new slabbed books in over 2 months... and four, I can't even remember when the last time was that I contributed a journal to the society... I admit, I have been a bad example of a memember haha... but, not all was done in vain... in that time I have reached the 60% point of sorting (if only seperating the junk from the "better stuff" counts as sorting) of the 300,000+ comics we purchsed... reached 25% back on that investment as well and barely made a dent on the remaining inventory... and I also purchased a handfull of sweet bronze age marvels/DCs to submit as soon as I renew my membership, including copies of X-Men 94 and Incredible Hulk 181 that should grade in the 9.0s... so I haven't been completely wasting my time and sitting on my hands... just been working extremely hard... so hard that next time I decide to submit, i'll have over 1000 books to choose from, all of which are strong 9.4/9.6/9.8 canidates (not looking forward to that invoice)... by the way, anyone going to Wizard World Anehiem? I'm considering purchasing a dealer booth for the show? I have never been to WWA so I am curious to see if it is worth it? Does it get the foot traffic? Or is it just a bunch of looky loos and everyone waits until San Diego Comic Con to break bread?