Turnando

Normally I'd say don't touch it, you haven't had any time for it to soak in that you finally reached an ultimate collecting goal of yours. After you have spent some time with your treasure you will realize you don't want to let it out of your sight. But... In this case I'm going to say it isn't really a grail. An ultimate, almost unattainable item in your collection. You said a reason to try to change the grade is to make it worth 4 figures instead of the couple hundred you spent on it. A grail is not for sale so who cares what it is worth? Think about it, is that book really your grail? Not really, so go ahead and yank it, crank it, smack it on a bing bong, and sell it for a profit.

You have put so much work into looking at every book that I don't think selling it all at once is your best move. Knowing exactly what you have probably won't get you much more money than if you had spent a week or so digging for keys to figure out approximately what you have... not if you are going to sell it as one lot. I'm going to guess that you like to focus on details or you wouldn't have catalogued it like you did. It would probably be just as fun to take on the job of selling them in small lots: here, there, everywhere. It's the same kind of meticulous detail work that you already did to catalogue it. You'd make a lot more money if that's any incentive.

Flip through them, read the cool ones. Then bag and board them and enjoy them for a while. Keep the ones you end up really liking, sell the others for a big profit. You have an instant collection of really cool comics.

That buyer is either a scammer who is setting you up or they are an imbecile. They are nothing but trouble. I'd block them without hesitation.

I don't think it would be a problem if you used a high quality automotive enamel paint and you let it cure so that it is completely off-gassed. Cure fully... which would take a long long time. I've done enough painting on my Jeep and motorcycle to know there is no way a DIY project will result in a perfect finish when you are painting smooth metal. It probably won't even look good unless you are awesome at it. The surface preparation has to be perfect and if you are using rattle cans (cans of spray paint) it is not possible to get a finish that doesn't look like a rattle can paint job. I wouldn't do it. There are lots of surplus file cabinets out there. If you want a common color, like black, you can find them. Businesses don't store much paper compared to the old days.

He is delusional, possibly mentally ill, or is just putting on the pressure in his own dishonest way to scam you into negotiating a partial refund. He's a menace to society. Get the comic back and block him.

I sometimes wonder the same thing... about why things like this are not frequent topics of discussion around here. I suspect that this crowd is focused on issues related directly to collecting like grading, rarity, etc. Though that is what I suspect, it still surprises me that there aren't very many threads here about reading some awesome comic. I guess I expect comic collectors to be more obsessed by the writing and art than they are. I like how Piskor and Rugg are interested in the art of making comics and not at all in the collectability of them but I don't think that resonates around here.

When this happens to books that I like to read and don't consider to be collectible or otherwise historically significant I fix them by regluing the separated part of the binding with contact cement. I use a tooth pick to apply it very carefully to the binding. I got a good deal on an old out of print motorcycle maintenance manual because the binding was coming unglued and it looked horrible. It looks great now and is totally useable after I took the contact cement to it.

You bought 5,000 comics to sell them and you don't know how to sell comics? Was it an impulse buy? Sounds like an interesting story, care to share it?

Maybe I'm a Puritan but that feels unethical to me. The seller probably did OK because there were 3 other bidders to keep it honest but rigging an auction is dishonest and this could have hurt the seller.

Another poster suggested you may be able to remove those stickers. If you go for it try Un-Du sticker and label remover https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TZQPTS/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_Nl90EbBH2C1D3 I collect vintage SW cardbacks and have had some success with it. You drip the solvent on top of the sticker, let it soak for 5 or 10 seconds, not too long or it will evaporate. Then gently take the sticker off: slide it off with a toothpick or if you can grab a piece with tweezers without touching the cardback that is best. Lessons learned: stickers that are in good condition or reasonably located should be left alone: not worth the risk and decent stickers are cool. Do NOT rub, touch the card back, etc. Some stickers come off super easy some don't. If it is not coming off easy then let the Un-Du evaporate and give up. If you have a similar cardback that is somewhat worthless practice on that to make sure the cardback color doesn't run. If it is a typical gloss cardback it is probably safe. Maybe start shopping for a cheap cardback to practice on... to be confident that the yellow color won't smear or run. With the practice I've had I'd go for it on those 2. I suspect those stickers will be easy because someone peeled the tops of the stickers off and the solvent will go straight to the glue. Because the stickers are torn you can grab onto fibers with very sharp tweezers without touching the cardback. Pull it straight off.

The file extension .jpg appears 2X in the attachment filename, that image file has been through the wringer. Maybe start fresh with a new image file.

Can you please reconsider? The guy is a criminal. When someone gets busted for something this big they should suffer the consequences. People who pull off scams of this magnitude are not committing their first scam. This dude is dishonest to a shocking degree and has certainly shoplifted, scammed, lied, and cheated his way through life. Please get that guy out of here.

500 Bucks in Store Credit...10 Years Ago There. I fixed it. This thread is misleading.

The box is creased. I think it is clear enough. Even if the box were not visibly damaged this could be possible. I'm sure my mailman could figure out how to step on it without damaging the box.

The 2012 revival of Prophet is amazing, both the writing and the art. Fear Agent has surprised me big time. I heard it was good... It is... I love it when I find a comic that surprises me by how good it is. Right now I'm reading the whole thing. Manhattan Projects... One of my all time favorites. A rare combination of art and writing. The colors are unforgettable. God Hates Astronauts. OMG. I follow Ryan Browne now so I can get a piece of all of his Kick Starter projects. He is hilarious. It's the only comic that makes me laugh out loud. Ryan is crazy. TWD held my interest for quite a while. Peter Panzerfaust was cool. I like Saga. I'm slowly making my way through it. I think that Image is one of the best publishers out there. Oh yeah, Descender. That is some TOP quality sci fi. Injection... on my shelf ready to read. If you are into comics for the art and writing then you can't go wrong with Image, they are loaded with great titles.

You were clear. Reading comprehension is a rare skill, it's not your fault. Love the Super Special Blade Runner. I have that one for reading. Same for the Tag & Bink, my kid and I read those and love them.

She is a witch. She is riding a broom in Hades right now.

I think this one is a fair question. imo, a best price per piece includes the price of dealing with the sale: communications, order fulfillment, shipping, risk. For a combined sale, all of these costs go down, given the big assumption that the buyer is good. So... the decision they are asking you to make is do you trust the rep of the buyer enough to pass on some of the savings to them. If the buyer has no reputation that you can measure then the answer is 'Sorry, but no'.

You love it and you are stoked so you got a good deal. That is an amazing piece.

Nothing specific stands out but some of my best deals were for items that were misclassified and/or described in an odd manner. Those types of listings are from the flea-market, estate/garage sale, dumpster diving folks (bless their hearts) who have 500 odd vintage items listed. Most of them know how to move product quickly by pricing it low and they don't spend a lot of time getting every listing just right... So finding their stuff is like virtual dumpster diving. It's fun. I throw out some odd searches once in a while to fish for that stuff.

Ah yes. Sorry I was thinking US-centric. I spend time in Costa Rica and shipping there is an entirely different story. Amazon has spoiled us in the US. A few years ago Amazon started a big initiative for international shipping at the click of a button so I took advantage of that. I ordered several ceiling fans, clicked the button, and filled out the address of a spot along a dirt road in the jungle in Costa Rica. The order was accepted and when a pile of fans arrived at the main airport in Costa Rica I got a phone call. They don't ship to that part of the country. They got it to the jungle eventually but it was not easy. Given the scope of what Amazon is doing I think they are doing a pretty good job. They have changed the world. Some would argue that is not for the better but, OK, I think technological upheaval is a good thing. Amazon. Has. Changed. The. Way. The. World. Works. So... Yes, avoid Amazon outside of the US for ordering collector quality books.

Yes. It's annoying. Criminal, really. I guess the saving grace is that their returns are as easy as it gets.

@Lethal_Collector you might be able to cut a deal with one of the large Bricklink sellers. The pieces you need are probably common so you could probably negotiate a good price. Just say something like "I don't need it right now, could you start putting this together as you process incoming inventory?" Negotiate a down payment. The Bricklink sellers spend so much time processing little orders that one giant order would be worth it for them even with a huge discount. I don't know what would be fair but maybe 50% or less of the list price?

Wow, I didn't know that the publishers (or distributors or whoever) charge the shops for the "free" books. That's where I'd start. That's a crock of ****. Those books are ads for the publishers. The publisher should be paying me to read them. I can't believe they have been charging the shops to carry them. That changes my whole outlook on FCBD. I won't go anymore. I'd prefer to support my LCS more directly without them paying someone else for me to put my eyeballs on someone else's ads. Wow, FCBD is a scam.