Chapter2099

Zoom in on the third pic and you see the questionable red rust-like focal area at the top of the staple. 

Tony,

Thanks for the reply. Surprisingly, I think I got some good pics! I can argue that I’m seeing some red-rust like areas at the base of some of the staples.

Mind you, these pics are from two different slabs that I recently purchased from two different sellers. 

One of the slabs was literally graded 4 weeks ago. 

I just find it hard to believe that if it were rust, this would slip by someone grading these. Not to mention, the odds that BOTH have it and got 9.8s?

And if it wasn’t like this before grading, I find it hard to believe that both would develop this in such a short period of time, especially the one graded a month ago and the other 8-10 months ago.

That’s why I’m wondering if this is something that’s acceptable during the grading process to allow a 9.8 or if I’m misdiagnosing altogether.

Am I being too particular??
 

Hello all!

Hopefully a straight forward question.

I’m newer to the collecting community and I’ve got two 9.8 graded slabs (both graded within the last 6 months.)

Long story short, to ME, there’s questionable rust on the staples. It’s not obvious and honestly, it may not even be rust.

There’s no grader notes commenting on it, etc.

Question:

Can a slab get a 9.8 grade with rust on the staples? Or is it not rust and are my newbie eyes/brain making this something more than it is?

I can try to take pics, but I don’t think I can even photograph it because it’s that subtle and it’s in a slab. 

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

You are all awesome.

Really appreciate all of your help. You all have been really great, helping me with newb questions.  

Is there a site you all recommend going to to help learn and grade comics myself? Ie. This is the criteria for a 9.8, this is the criteria for a 9.6, etc. 

Let me know if you need other pictures and what kind. It literally looks like it’s part of the page though. Not damage in the sense that someone spilled something, etc. 

I got a CGC slab from eBay, graded 9.8. Looked excellent in the photos. Looks excellent in person. After close inspection though in person, I noted a small stray ink blob on the edge of the cover. It’s appears to be a manufacturing “defect” from what I can tell. 

So the question: Does a random ink blob(?) disqualify it from a 9.8?

I think the answer is that the some aspects of grading are subjective and one could argue around and around all day. For those that say “are you happy with it?”, the answer is yes, assuming this isn’t some egregious over sight by CGC.

I’m still learning the whole “how to grade for yourself” concept so I’m looking for some advice. 

I’m freaking out over nothing. Just checked a slab I got back from CGC recently. Does the same thing....

Close thread. Lol

19 minutes ago, Myowncollector said:

Well at least you dont have the old case. I would have bet $ on that as there is a person a day that thinks they bought a fraud case. Scary thing is it took getting it home in person to notice a different case and label then the cgc case they know. 

Cases may squeak, inner wells may rattle around. Sounds normal to me. If you really try to pry it apart some more and see how easy or hard it is to switch the book out. I would bet you will damage the slab before you get the book out. Personally I wouldn't try that again. If the book is over a grand send some pics. If it's a 100 dollar book or something I wouldn't worry about someone who mastered this scam to waste their time doing it for a small payday. 

It was a relatively inexpensive issue. I paid about $250 - wasn’t a steal or “too good to be true” deal.  The seller has been around 15ish years and about 2000 feedbacks. So I’ve got that in my favor. 
 

I was more worried about someone trying to switch out of CGC label - not so much the comic.
 

The new labels have the “fold around” top that goes up and around the back of the case - which I believe is different than the older versions which was a just straight sheet of paper - no folds, etc. (if that makes sense.)

There’s no way that I can see that some could replace that (put a new one in and somehow refold it and curve it around the top), in this particular case, with the lack of evidence that I’m seeing.

BUT, figured I’d ask because I know many of you have seen or heard it all. 

Recently purchased a slab from eBay. I noticed the top of the slab “squeaks” like the two sides aren’t completely sealed. There’s no obvious gap unless I REALLY try to pry it apart, in which case, I can probably create a 1/16 inch (maybe slightly more) gap in the center (only) - not on the corners. The other three sides are “air tight”, so to speak.

Obviously, concerns of tampering come to mind, but I really struggle to see how they could do it, with no cracks, pry marks, breaks, glue marks, etc. 

I also don’t see how you could switch out the label, etc. AND replace it perfectly. (This is the most recent CGC slab version.)
 

Question: Have any of you experienced this with the most recent slab version? Or is my paranoia of a tampered slab justified? I REALLY think it’s a stretch but wanted input.

3 hours ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Hello Chapter2099 

My old records show that the last Spidey newsstand was Superior Spider-Man #20 which was cover / indicia dated December 2013:

I'm not sure about other publishers but I think this is when Marvel stopped producing them.

I'm not aware of any sites that list them all, but you can always check the GCD if you have a book in mind:

https://www.comics.org/issue/1155437/cover/4/

That will often list a newsstand, especially for popular characters, and you can see the barcode differences where they do - example screenshot below:

 

There are indeed dealers and collectors that pimp these books up for financial gain - Chuck at Mile High is a good example here, as he used to list later newsstand copies at silly prices using the faulty logic that newsstands, for example, were 100 times more scarce and therefore 100 times more valuable. It doesn't work that way of course, as books will find their own value if listed reasonably.

I tried to get a full set of ASM newsstands and nearly managed it. It was the over pricing of them that killed it for me and I ended up selling them all to a fellow boardie (although I wasn't a member here at the time). But not all collectors / enthusiasts are the mercenary money making machines that you will often see touted in threads like these. Comic variant enthusiasts are an odd breed for sure, and often will pay a premium to gather up comparatively scarce books. But they do so because they love them, and love the thrill of the hunt. Looking for newsstands is no different to looking for 30/35 cent variants, Mark Jewelers Inserts, Pence copies or Canadians. They're just another aspect of the hobby, another book to look for. 

You'll see estimates for newsstand numbers vs direct copies online but no one really knows the exact figures. But it is possible to identify that they become increasingly scarce as you get closer to 2013, when they ended (for Marvel). I recently gifted two copies to a collecting friend here on the boards - to prove that we're not all mercenary pimps - and you won't find another copy of them anywhere on eBay or online. It doesn't mean they are worth a bomb though, only that the collector who seeks them will find it really, really hard to find them.

If you love them, great, go look for them. If you are indifferent to them, and the newsstand vs direct debate, then just collect what you do love, can afford, and don't worry about whether CGC notate them correctly. 

Hope that helps

I really appreciate you posting this. 
 

This is all new to me, so I appreciate the input. I love hearing everyone’s opinions because I’m so new to grading and collecting, I really don’t know the do’s and dont’s. 
 

I can’t stress it enough but thank you for your post!! 

41 minutes ago, Lazyboy said:

Find better things to read. That is meaningless, made up garbage.

In response to your original question, I know of no definitive source that has information on all issues with Newsstand editions. The main reason for this is that nobody ever cared until the hucksters thought they would be good to hype with misinformation, faulty reasoning, and outright lies. There are some late Newsstands that at least appear to be relatively common because certain people who may (or may not ) be the same people hyping them as superultramegarare bought many copies and are trying to sell them.

The CGC Census will only show a Newsstand edition if one has actually been submitted to them and that submission took place after they arbitrarily decided to acknowledge it for that issue. CGC does not even recognize most Newsstand editions.

Lol. The internet is a dangerous place. I hear you though and appreciate the info, especially coming from a collector. I read all sorts of stuff, and honestly, have trouble discerning the importance of this from that, etc.

So bottom line:

Am I over hyping news stand editions?

Right now, I’m looking at purchasing Spider-Man 2099 #1. I love that run and don’t even have a graded #1. Checking on eBay, I can buy a CGC 9.8 Direct or a CGC 9.8 News Stand version. Legit there’s $300+ difference between the two. No disrespect to those selling news stand versions, but am I sucker for paying that much more for a news stand cover??

*ESPECIALLY, when you say that the CGC doesn’t even recognize most news stand editions.* 
 

I guess I’m really questioning what’s the point to purchasing a news stand version (at a significantly inflated cost) of a comic that you love if the CGC doesn’t recognize it as any different that the Direct?

33 minutes ago, silversufer27 said:

i dont believe so because I think they still planned to do it but they cancelled so they printed comics in 2014 with direct in it anyway an easy way to see for newer comics is if it doesnt say direct on it or for something like ultimate fallout 4 has something different in it like it says black panther in the barcode and if you are gonna try to find these good luck but its way too overpriced in my opinion.And theres no website 

Really appreciate the info! (And I apologize in advance for my wordiness. lol)
 

I was reading last night that basically anything after 2000, the *suspected* average direct to news stand cover ratio is 100:1 or less. Factor in the damage on news stands, etc, and basically what you said, good luck finding one for most of these newer issues runs (2000 and later). 

The Ultimate Fallout example is actually one of those I was looking at. News Stands versions are basically untouchable at this point. 

I bought a Buffy (Dark Horse) #1 direct cover graded the other day. (Yes, I’m a big Buffy fan. Lol) Didn’t even realize they made a news stand cover - happened to stumble upon a beat up cover on eBay.

You might have answered this but does the CGC have a registry that keeps tabs on both Direct AND News Stand graded comics so that I can see how many graded News Stand versions exist? 

Long story short, I’m trying to a find a site or source to tell me if a news stand cover of a comic exists? When I use the CGC Registry, I can see various variants that exist, but I don’t see if there’s a news stand version that exists.

Most of my knowledge just comes from searching eBay, but some comics are sold so infrequently that I can’t tell a news stand version even exists.

For example, I recently purchased a Thor (2014) #1. To my knowledge, Marvel news stand covers were discontinued in 2013, and yet this cover is still denoted with a “Direct Edition” label on the bar code. So does that mean a news stand version exists? Or is that an incorrect assumption? 

The whole point is that I realize news stand versions tend to be more sought after, so if I’m on the hunt for a graded comic, I’d prefer the news stand *IF* it exists. 

I’ve searched for hours and hours, but as a newb, I can’t figure out if I’m looking in the wrong place or if the resource just doesn’t exists.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks all! (And I apologize if this has already been posted.)