alexanderjk

What @ADAMANTIUM said. Sounds like the seller is just being a good dude. I’d contact to thank for their generosity and leave positive feedback. 

2 hours ago, gadzukes said:

It's coming back as a 7.5.

Brutal. Looks like an 8.0, at worst. 

On 9/18/2019 at 3:31 PM, 01TheDude said:

how closely did you examine the photos for the item? I found the one in question and I could tell from them that those books were not in that great of shape-- nice but high grade is a meaningless term without parameters. No back pictures, mention of writing on the back, and the smell--- those things were a surprise for sure. Did you try taking them out of the old bags etc? I've noticed books kept in attics in bags do absorb those attic smells but much of that can be alleviated with new bags and boards. Regardless-- it is not your job to have to deal with that. So the negative is justified as an "Items not as described" situation. You can't just leave out strong smells like that and blame the books as being old. We all have plenty of books from that era that do not have intense smells. They have the pulp smell but not obnoxious across the room gross smell.

Fronts of the books looked fine. Lesson learned about trusting “VF” “grades” from 100% positive feedback sellers. And yeah, I took the books out of the yellowing bags. Was like a bomb of attic-must exploded in my kitchen. I’m guessing the seller is older and may have lost his sense of smell. 

26 minutes ago, Joe Ankenbauer said:

Does this mean CBCS has gone out of business? They're still soliciting on-site grading at the Dallas Fandays in mid-October.

 

Joe

I think he’s referring to the lack of action at the CBCS booth versus the jam-packed CGC booth.

1 hour ago, 01TheDude said:

What was that whole response going to accomplish?

Exactly! And over a $22 purchase, at that. 

8 hours ago, Tnexus said:

Hi guys,

Anyone know what's up with Joey at CFPComics? I sent my pressing order in a few months back. Today I was just checking my account to see if there's any update (since I know it takes a while) and discovered my account was gone. I tried emailing him and that bounced back as an invalid address. I also noticed his "currently processing" hasn't been updated in a month+ either. I know he's a long established presser for a lot of you, so I'm hoping one of you might have info. Hopefully it's just a website issue, but it does have me a little worried.

Was wondering same. Thanks for asking this. And @joeypost, thank you for addressing it. 

14 hours ago, kav said:

What a goofus.  CGC can knock ".1" grade point off a book-IF it's a 10.0 or 9.9-otherwise not.  .1%?  Nope.  An 8.0 does not become a 7.92-wth.  And I believe writing on back cover is a bit more off a knock-off than .1 grade point.  Did you say you smelled them from across the room because if you did that falls under a metaphor in my mind.  I disagree that 60 year old comics tend to have an 'old comic smell'.  I have plenty of 60 year old comics and they have no particular old smell.  Note to seller 7.0 are not considered 'high grade'.  Goofy.

I thanked him for the lecture on grading and the lesson on old things smelling bad. (I collected paperbacks from the ‘30s to ‘50s, so I know the difference between “old book smell” and rotting-in-the-attic-mustiness.) 

And I wasn’t even exaggerating about the smell. I have an open floor plan and could smell the books that were in the kitchen clear into my living room. Even my son asked what the smell was when he got in last night. Had even seeped into the cardboard mailer!

He offered to refund my money — $22! — if they came back at a grade less than 7.0. My eyes rolled clear into my head at that. 

Left him a negative (his first), and he blocked me. 

14 hours ago, mattn792 said:

Dig those high grade 7.0s!  I mean 6.993s, can’t forget the .1% deduction for the writing.  

I just hope he doesn’t go toolbox^2 and claim all the damage happened when you sent them back to him.  That’s only cool when Axel Foley does it.

Right? I replied that I had better things to do that write some random girls’ name on the backs of comics as a ruse to recoup $22.

Buy at your own risk. Shocked that he has 100% feedback. I won three issues of Harvey Casper comics advertised as "high grade." Free shipping, so I didn't mind Media Mail. I should have asked for pics of the backs because two of the books have someone's name written in ball point pen. But worse, they smell like an attic. Plus a half dozen other flaws, including some serious tanning to the interiors (weirdly, I didn't even mention the spine ticks). I contacted seller asking for a refund and also disputing his "high grade" claim. This is his reply: 

3 hours ago, I like pie said:

The most frustrating thing, for me, is that CGC has the ability to get these out without rings.

I submit multiple copies of the same book all the time. Two would come back Newton free but one will have them. 

Now if you email them to reholder that one, they will tell you, "Ok but we can't guarantee it will be any better!" 

 

 

Submitted two G.I. Joe #1s at the same time and one came back in a pristine holder, and the other looked like it was dipped in oil. Thankfully, CGC re-slabbed the book for “free” (less the outgoing shipping cost and I had to wait three weeks to get it back), but 100% agree that there’s no way these defective slabs should get to the customer. 

51 minutes ago, DavidTheDavid said:

It’s giving the moderators an excuse to can the thread imo, something Berkbridge has likely tried to have done already.

And for those of us that only check in maybe once or twice a day, it’s a drag having to wade through page after page of OT banter.

Looks even better than a book I got back that’s a 9.8. Those corners are razor sharp. 

4 hours ago, Karl Liebl said:

I think you should read them at least once.  I have a valuable book with a tare like that too.  How does it happen?  Yours removes some story so grading it will probably get zinged  not sure how much.  Good luck!

Seller is accepting a return, so I’m shipping it back tomorrow. 

20 hours ago, shiverbones said:

Looks like that crease does break color the whole way down 

You’re right! Still happy with it, and extra eager to get it into CGC now. 

9 hours ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

You should probably read them, too...

Ah, who am I kidding? People think comics are basically pieces of currency, and not art...

What a great idea! 

(You do realize that trades and digital editions exist so we don’t have to thumb through every book in our collections, right?)

3 hours ago, southern cross said:

Congrats that's a lovely 7.0 my old copy I sold years ago was no where as nice as your copy. I've yet to get another one back yet 

With a clean and press this should grade at 9.0+. Hoping for a 9.2 to match my MSE #15. (The glare on the Mylar is marring the look of the book. Aside from a long non-color breaking crease at bottom right of cover, it’s pretty solid overall.) 

On 9/4/2019 at 5:06 PM, Capn17 said:

Awesome grades.  I would like to get a nicely graded #21 as well one day.

There’s an CGC 8.5 on eBay right now. Seller made an offer for $155, and I’m guessing they might go even lower via OBO if there aren’t any takers. 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F163849074631

Just nabbed these two, in better condition than I expected. (Closing in on the DD #1-20 run!)

Stating the obvious, I know, but in the euphoria of collecting after a 30 year absence away from the hobby, and with books arriving almost daily in the mail, I’ve set a few purchases aside to re-bag and board in Mylars. 

Finally started the process of organizing my haul this morning, and while most of the books were as-advertised (and even better, in some cases), one — listed as “very high grade” — has a giant hole on pages 12-13. (In addition to having a cover that’s way more tan that the pic suggested, which leads me to think that he adjusted the contrast to create a brighter-looking book.) 

So, new collectors, open those books and look for flaws and cut-outs not mentioned in the listing! 

6.5 at best. 

11 hours ago, Sackolantern said:

I didnn't see the crease either, (before I submitted), until i titlted the book away from me, and took a flash picture. It doesn't break color at all.You can pick it up in the pic with the AYERS signature - it touches the line that shows where the arm starts / armpit on the left. 

Thanks for the responses guys. I figured 5-ish when I sent it off. Maybe 5.5 due to age etc.  But the reason I posted this...is the grade I got back: 3.0

 

I have a HUGE problem with that grade, and these notes, for the book above:  Oh, Tan to off-white pages.

Grader Notes:
heavy cover tanning to cover
heavy creasing to cover
moderate bends to cover
moderate spine stress lines to cover
moderate staining to cover
moderate tears to cover

Ouch. 

Guessing the grader had pulled an all-day shift of grading immaculate 9.8 modern dreck and then saw your book (a 4.5 at worst, IMO).

Which: Does CGC have experts for each era? As in, do they have a team of SA graders, a team of GA graders, etc? (Sorry for sabotaging your thread!)

2 hours ago, Hamlet said:

I just looked.  It didn’t actually do well in Asia.  It’s box office outside of the US was only $64 million.  

Valid point. But US rom-coms don’t draw international audiences like MCU movies do.

Will be interesting to see how Disney’s live-action Mulan fares. 

2 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

Please also look at the box office for "Crazy Rich Asians", which, while being a amusing movie, is a pretty basic love story.

And the huge success of Always Be My Maybe on Netflix. Asians and Asian Americans will throw a ton of support (and money) at an MCU movie featuring an Asian lead (even an “unknown,” like someone mentioned above...Cedric Bozeman wasn’t exactly a household name before BP, so...)