comicginger1789

I wanted to upgrade my copy of ASM 122 so I did. I swear I never noticed it when I bid on the book as it is verrrrrrh tiny but I am oh so pleased with the April 10 date stamp. It’s almost as if the universe knows I like these

Yeah the history behind the insert is somewhat unclear. I’ve heard people say they were only from overseas, that they were only on bases in the US, that both of these were the case. But I’ve never seen definitive proof. And gets it’s possible comics were sold on a base with stamps that did not have inserts too I suppose.

Well I am part of it.....and I like to think that when I am 45-50, there will be 20-25 year old collectors targeting the BA/SA stuff, provided it doesnt price itself out of reach by then.

That's good to hear! I look for whatever I can afford really. If it is a key, great! If it is a run, also great! Captain Mar-Vel, Nova, Spider-Woman and Spider-Man are some of my current runs I am always seeking (the latter being a likely lifelong chase!)

I love how your issue 19 has the little star stamp. I’ve used that spot potential books with inserts...usually stands to be the case if you see it.

Good idea! im 32 this year. When I was 12-25 I bought only Silver and Bronze Age. Once I graduated and got a job, I expanded and have dabbled in some golden age buys. Maybe there actually are more like me!

The problem is there are enough Youtubers with enough clout that if they relay info or even pose their own speculation (from whatever "sources" they have), they can create a market frenzy. They can manipulate the market, whether intentional or not.

You know, that Machine Man 7 was hitting what, $20-30 during its height? Am I a fool for not selling and waiting until now to just buy back a copy for $2 (recent ebay sale)? At the time, I just did not want to break up my Machine Man run lol. And yes, I have a Machine Man run...

Right? Like who, after seeing White Vision in Wandavision, was like "OH MY GOD THAT CHARACTER IS THE BEST THING EVER!!!!! WHATS IT COST TO OWN, $50, $100, $500 in a 9.8!?!! I DON'T CARE I WANT ITTTTTT!!!" The buyers of that book had to buy when they did with the intent on selling. And when they sold, the buyers then were buyers who thought they too could eventually upsell. And the buyers when THEY sold....you see the trend here right? That cannot sustain. And like you said, no way there are that many white vision fans who care an iota more about that character now. Similarly, there are probably some buyers who are like "oh wait what that book is valuable? Well I want to be cool and on trend, I will buy it!" with no real attachment to the character other than the fact they did not want to be left out.

LOL Random youtuber in 2020: "Hey guys there is a rumour that Mephisto is coming!" ....causes mass market hysteria Random youtuber in 2045 upon an announcement of Mephisto as the villain in the 10th Avengers flick (and when Youtube has become obsolete and people are using a platform called "Hologrammer": "See I told all of you he was coming!"

As a Spidey fan, I would have to do the following: ASM 4-8- $15 ASM 14- $1.50 ASM 50- $0.75 FF 48, 49, 50, 52 - $2 Avengers 57- $0.50 And I would take my quarter remaining and buy lunch!

Yeah this is not a misprint just the inks are weaker. You see it often with reds and other bright covers. There are variations where on some copies, they are bright while others they appear dull. It does not appear to be sun fade because that would affect all colours of a book and on your copies, it appears the colours for the rest of the book look the same. Thus, a printing flaw where the inks are weaker. I personally would not call it a misprint but rather a printing defect that should not affect the grade (but may affect the price). For example, I have seen copies of ASM 300 where the reds in the background are deep and some are more orangey. If someone is super picky, they may seek out a "deeper red" CGC 9.6 or think they should pay less for a slightly more orangey CGC 9.6 even though both books are the same grade.

Agreed with press. Spine wrinkles/ticks and the slight tanning halo on the back cover edges will get dinged. Actually, I am going to go with 6.5-7.0 with the latter being possible with a press.

Yeah solidly in 4.0-4.5 for me.

Kinda blurry but that fraying is quote common and I doubt it would hit that hard because of it... More concerning to me is the white mark near "blockbuster first issue" blurb...if it is some sort of scrape resulting in colour loss, that will hurt. Same if it is some foreign substance. If it is a production flaw where ink just did not get applied, it will not get hit as hard. I shall assume the worst and in doing so, I also reach a 8.0-8.5 verdict.

Yeah 5.0-5.5

Def a 6.0. Cleaning it might brighten up the whites a bit and get a 6.5

6.0-6.5 from me. Spine has lots of ticks, top right edge has some small crease/edge marks and back cover has some dirtied edges.

Yeah 9.4 especially if those are scratches, could even be lower. If they are scratches, I doubt a press does anything. Might help the fine but not those.

To me, red looks like an ink scuff... As it is, with some of the soft corners, noticeable spine ticks and if that is a scuff of some kind, 8.5-9.0 from me.

The problem is, with social media and all, the bad moments and mistakes are glorified and seem to be more prevalent. But realistically, that's because (if one chooses) you can see and find a lot of CGCs mistakes. There is no shortage of people on Youtube blasting them about whatever, there is no shortage of people on Instagram doing the same. Are all of these complaints valid? Maybe...but at the end of the day, when compared to the successes, these failures CGC has are in line with failure rates that are normal for every company. If they were actually bad graders, if they were actually making these mistakes at a rate that was unacceptable, there would be a lot fewer people sending in their books to them. That has not happened and I doubt it will. Now this is not to say CGC is not at risk of losing their status as the "gold standard" for grading. They could definitely stand to improve in some areas in the wake of the last year. It seems they are trying but I still question some of their choices right now (adding signings when they are as behind as they are on grading for example).

My measuring stick is how well does CGC handle errors? Do they make it right? If they legitimately do try to fix it and in the end, correct a mistake as best they can, then I am fine with that. It is when they don't do this, blame the customer, ignore the customer, etc. that a company will lose my business.

Couple reasons how it could be missed... 1) The grader enters this info into a computer presumably. They forget to click it properly from the dropdown. It is a mistake but one that I am sure happens. 2) The grader does not check the interior. Which is a terrible omission but you can bet it has happened (grading last book of the day maybe) and they just look front and back, yup its a VF, let me enter this in and be on my way home.

I would be more willing to donate to a go fund me campaign preventing Amanda and Jimmy from doing this event rather than pay to have them sign a book for me if it meant my other books actually got graded....

I mean would it be that hard to hold off on new things (and maybe even hold off on ANY new submissions for like a month) while you get caught up to a semi reasonable timeframe?