comicginger1789

It's just a mix of Tim's coffee and back bacon....its not so bad!

Step 1: Grab an X-Men book! (the older the better) Step 2: Open it Step 3: Smell it Step 4: You have done what this thread hoped to inspire!

100% production related. Because it is noticeable and you can kinda see a miswrap starting as the back cover peeks around near that bottom staple, CGC gave it 9.6. My understanding is that very minor production flaws can still allow a book to 9.6. From there and depending on the severity, they start to lower this. Some people are picky and want that nicely centered book, which I get. This is why you gotta really look at slabs and not just buy the grade. If you are picky about the way it looks, take some time to look at it and don't just assume it is your version of a 9.6

I've seen 6.0 graded Silver Age books that are flawless except for a 1-2 inch tear along an edge on the back. Basing it off those and applying that to this book is why I think Fine range is an achievable grade. Really though we can debate for days and the only truth is to send that sucker in

In that it goes through the pages? It is hard to really see that if that is the case. And even so, this appears more production related. I would be stunned if they put this 3.0 and shocked at 4.0. I know the back cover DEFINITELY matters when grading but just from what I have seen on GA books, this sort of thing, when it is the only large flaw, tends to hit it but now down a full 4 grades from where it might be otherwise.

I do think it more likely than a 5.0 or lower. I would be surprised it they hit it that hard, especially a GA book.

Someone should just star this thread. Pretty much covers it all. That and ebay sales for raw/graded books to really see a good range.

First off, X-Men #139 Smells like teen spirit! Wouldn't you agree Wolvie?

Inspired by @ft88 and his recent sales thread (which my eyes misread initially as my topic thread, made me laugh and then made me laugh again at the error I had made), let's whip out some good ole X-Men goodness for a smell!

GA books get more passes I find Without the tear, hmm seems 8.5ish. With the tear, I think it drops down to Fine range personally. I would not be surprised at a 6.0-6.5

Oh and I removed the smudge from near the price box.

Wondering what everyone’s thoughts are? Had to try out my new phones camera Most interested in thoughts about how the pages appear wavy when viewed from the end. Have seen this often from this era of books, unsure of how it impacts the grade.

A great example! Average price would say $818.75 is what I should pay for that card. Based on 2 sales, averaging is a poor strategy. The problem arises because of outliers. You can see sales of a book that are as follows....$400, $425, $435, $415, $395, $420. Seems pretty consistent, but then you see that one "sale" of $700! All too often, uninformed sellers see that and try to price their books, not realizing that that "sale" never happened, was a shill sale or has some other sketchy reason for being there. In stats, we tend to ignore outliers and not let them contribute to our averages. Sadly, most people in comics don't and see that $700 price only. This is partially why so much of what is listed on ebay is overpriced.

If you look at the book in question, sure it hopes to average the last 20 sales or so BUT over what time period? If those 20 sales are within the last month, then averaging them is fine. If those 20 sales are spread over 3, 4,5 or more months, well that is trickier. Suppose at the start of the year the book was selling consistently for $500. But within the last month, sales have been much higher, closer to $800. Your average will still be lower but the most current trend for the book is that is sells for more. You might want to pay the "average" price but that is not a true value indicator at this point, especially with a book like TOD #10, one that is seeing flux due to movie news.

Yeah for me the timeline is not a problem. I am guessing the OP might have little understanding of CGC. Heck, I thought they had close to 100 graders when in reality it is like 20 maybe? Think about how many of us submitted books all throughout this quarantine. That's a lot. Now, maybe some people think that is dumb. Well if you have 20 graders that you know and trust and believe are upholding the grades that books should be assigned, and they get it "right" 98% of the time, that is fantastic (I always allow for 2% error because nobody is perfect every, hence why we see other errors come out of CGC). Now, suppose CGC upped their employees to 1000 graders....yowza. Imagine how fast you would have books back! Maybe within a week! But from a company perspective, do you know how hard it is to get 1000 people to follow the rules? You would get fast service, but you can be darn sure you would see a HUGE increase in grading discrepencies. Thus, the integrity of grading goes down the tubes. CGC has made the choice that speed is of their lowest concern. They will take their time to try to do it right. Doesn't mean there aren't areas they can still improve upon, it just explains part of the waiting for your books part.

For example, I look at my issues of Thor #337 which is part of my Simonson run, which I enjoy. I could sell it and the run and put that money towards a key ASM book I want. But the though of losing the Thor #337 saddens me, as does the prospect of having to shell out way more money than I originally paid for it in order to one day reacquire it. However, doing this may get me a book that right now is extremely expensive but down the road could become impossible. I sell stuff not, I pay up and maybe down the road I reacquire stuff but again, I live in the now and I like my now so it prevents me from selling off what I already have to upgrade to bigger books.

Alas, this is something I ponder often. At the end of the day, I could sell of a lot of what I have for something like you are suggesting. But then I would not have many of what I feel are "cool things". I like looking at, sharing and reading multiple cool comics, pieces of art, toys, etc. If I sold all of it for 3-5 mega pieces, great but that does not make me as happy. So I know my answer lies in keeping what I have and hoping I find an AF 15 in the wall of a house someday....ya gotta dream right?

My question to the OP would be whether you took time to review the help areas and instructions areas on the site before submitting? If yes, then CGC could probably do a better job explaining their submission process. If your answer is you just signed up, clicked around and tried to do it with little or no understanding, well I don't have much sympathy. If I want to fix a leaky pipe, I am not going to dive in headfirst without at least consulting a few videos, maybe talking to some people (dads and uncles and such...the seasoned vets, you know?). Otherwise I would get an expert (aka a dealer) to do it. Technically, anyone can submit to CGC. Just like technically, anyone can replace a leaky pipe. Like most things, it comes with some experience and reading first. So if mailing and online navigation of a website, reading instructions and doing a bit of research is not your strong suit well, maybe that is something that needs practice.

Some things I notice from a lot of the complaints that do come up about CGC is from "newer" submitters. Maybe the submission process is not clear and maybe there should be more done from CGC's end on this. As far as I know, they seem to be trying but I am sure they would like feedback on the process. It would also be interesting to hear their side of the story. As for the delays, no it is not normally half a year to wait for books BUT you sent books in during a time where EVERYONE was sending books in. They weren't prepared to handle that volume, whether they admit that or not.

If you have a magnifying glass, you could be able to tell if a scratch. The cover would appear like something cut into that spot. You might be able to feel a slight indentation even, as it is large. You could also check other copies. If it is a manufacturing issue, it will be seen on other people's books in all liklihood. If scratch, 9.0-9.2. if not, it appears to be in 9.4-9.6 range but more close ups on corners and spine would help confirm if 9.8 is possible.

For comparison, a pence copy of issue #90 recently sold for $95USD in what the seller called VF condition You can get a VF condition of this book in the US version for roughly the same amount. A copy of ASM #94 with the same pricing as yours in VG condition, sold for around $40. A regular US copy can be had for around $30-35. So you can see that there is some demand for these price variants. They don't come up often and you can usually find someone looking for them. Might take some time to sell, especially if you price it out of the market. The guy collecting them might be fine paying $10-20 or so more (again, depending on the issue) to have a pence copy. But are they willing to spend double a US version or triple? That I do not know. Personally (and I know the book is essentially the same except for that price on the cover), if someone said I could have your copy for $X or a US copy for X$, I take the US. And to be honest, I don't even look at the pence copy, even if discounted. Just doesn't fit what I collect. This is one guy's opinion and an opinion that seems to be evolving as more collectors seek out price variants. It is a weird market with ups and downs. When in doubt, price a little higher and be open to offers. You can't go wrong selling with that mentality. And if no one bites for a long while, you are priced too high OR nobody is really looking for what you are selling.

It is a copy from the UK. The 1/- symbol is similar to seeing a small "p" or "d" next to number for the price. Now, I am farrr from a currency expert to know what these symbols actually mean monetarily, but most often they are all lumped together and referred to in the hobby as "pence" copies, which basically means they were the US versions that were distributed overseas. In terms of value, depends on who you ask. I have no doubt they are rarer but majority of collectors want the 15c there, not the UK pricing. So in terms of value, a lot of the time these are worth less than their US copies. Now, that doesn't mean there isn't a UK collector (or US one) who wants one and will shell out a bit more for it but the condition on this copy looks low (staining, foxing) which means it will probably fetch lower than what a raw copy in the 4.0-4.5 range would sell for.

With dry cleaning, I probably cleaned 30 books or so before I felt comfortable cleaning one from my PC that had value (my white She Hulk 1).

Yes sorry I wasn’t clear. If I did take the time to learn how to press I was wondering how long it takes to become competent enough to start pressing any book? 100 books? 500? I was curious as to the learning curve.

An 8.0 sold for $18.50. Yours might be an 8.0, could be a bit higher. Not enough pictures to tell. Either way, I don't see the costs of shipping, grading, etc being worthwhile to make any money here at all if that is the intention. If enjoyment of a comic you love is the intent, then send away!