Aethnen

15 minutes ago, joeypost said:

Every presser is trusted and professional. 

That cannot possibly be true.

42 minutes ago, Pontoon said:

Letting folks know who the seller is has nothing to do with putting him on blast but with people looking out for one another. I'd like to know so that I don't wind up in a situation similar to yours. In the event he is a known malefactor, the information will only serve to help you and others.

 

If he’s a known malefactor then I don’t need to say his name.  Again, I don’t have reason to think he did anything wrong and he took the return so yeah, not conducting a witch hunt thanks.

34 minutes ago, Pontoon said:

My gut feeling is a bad press. Who is the seller and the other "trusted presser"? What gives the seller a great rep on ebay? There are plenty of folks on there with high positive feedback who overgrade, overprice, don't know proper pressing techniques from a hole in the ground and some who are out-and-out shady or dishonest as well.

Yeah the seller does sell lots of raw books and there’s always the possibility that he knows.  But without clear evidence or a bad attitude, not gonna put anyone on blast.

Trusted presser is someone very public in FB groups who gave his opinion publicly so I’m sure it’s fine.  He’s James McCormack.  I’ve personally never used him but he seems very reputable.  I thought it could be the press too and he did mention that at first as a potential issue, in the end he thought not though, which is why I came here for another opinion.

To be clear, James was not involved in any way, just nice enough to try to help me extensively.  Good guy.

Interesting.  Thanks all.

1 hour ago, wilbil said:

get the light out......

Yeah, that's super interesting.  I find the whole topic of detecting restoration interesting and think I want to get into pressing my own books.  Prepared to fail a lot but learn a lot too.

I would get the light out but as I said in another post, the book went back to the seller.  He was super nice about it and he has a great rep on eBay so there's no reason to suspect him of anything.  He took it back happily.  Bad news for him though is he's got a lot of other big books to worry about now if something is off.

Good news is, it wasn't like a great deal or anything.  I paid up a little cause he listed it as 9.0 and it was a solid price.  So if it just turns out I don't know my ink variations from the period, I won't feel like I missed out on a great deal or anything. 

Next to my Uncanny 92 though, it looked totally off.  Wish my 94 wasn't off at CGC.  Easier to trust my gut though overall.

8 minutes ago, wilbil said:

anyway, disclaimer: i am by no means knowledgeable in comics doctoring. at all.

having stated this, i look at this and the first thought i have is, it was wd 40 wiped.

when i collected scrip and old stock documents, wd 40 would be used to give that sheen new magazine look.

that is my story and i am sticking to it.

hold a high intensity flashlight at 45 degrees, or so. as you walk the light across, you will see a distinct "wave" appearance. it is sort of similar to the cartwheel effect on morgan dollars.

hope this helps.

You know, something like that honestly wouldn't surprise me.  

I mean, the book looks legit. It's just that everything about it is so clean (especially the staples) that I would have been suspcious anyway but the cover inks looking off like that makes me think that it was professionally cleaned or the press was just left on WAY too long.  I mean, it's literally the best example of a non-modern book I think I've ever seen and the cover doesn't look like it's a repro.  It looks like a legit cover that had restoration done to it.  I just didn't know exactly what kind would make inks look mat head on but metallic at an angle.  

Thanks!

1 minute ago, joeypost said:

You would be surprised what a bad press could do. 

Where was the warehouse? Big difference in a warehouse in Florida versus Montana. 

Yeah good question.  I don't know.

Just now, joeypost said:

Humidity. 

Gotcha man.  Thanks for the input!

Just now, Yes I Canada said:

I think he meant to say "moisture".

LOL.  Yeah I mean that seems possible but like a stretch.  I’d be more inclined to think improper press.

8 minutes ago, joeypost said:

I know if two issues that would create this effect on a book. 
 

Improper press or improper storage where midi tire got into the bag. 

So yeah, weirdly, another very trusted presser I talked with didn't think a press could do that.  I guess I could see it happening with the ink being heated.  If that was what did it, would it result in a purple label from CGC?

Second, don't know what "midi tire" is (even tried googling it), but he claims that this book was stored in a shoe box after being bought years ago, although he says it was stored in a warehouse.  So don't know if there was a bag and board that something could have gotten into.  What is it?

6 minutes ago, joeypost said:

As the seller if he cleaned and pressed it. 

As I said in my original post, he said it was pressed by his normal guy.

2 minutes ago, Yes I Canada said:

Is the bottom half of that book sun faded? 

It is not.  That's just how it looks when put under raking light.  The enitre cover looks almost as brand new as the top if you don't angle it.

It's not sitting on top of the paper, it literally reflects like it's metallic.  It went back to the seller so I can't make a video of it now but you can see it in the spots I stated in the picture in variance to the other colors.  It looks fine straight on but in raking light, the colors all turn metallic looking like that.

I agree that would be better spent on a better book, I stated as such.  It was part of a large collection with many key books and may have just been done to all the books to avoid suspicion is what I said.

 

Hey everyone:

Hoping to get an expert opinion here cause I'm just curious now.

I just bought an Uncanny #96 that was supposedly part of a large buy of MANY big key books and this book was in it.  I paid FMV for it as a 9.0 and when I got it, it just looks immaculate.  This seems like a stupid book to do something to but it may have been part of a larger deal where a bunch of books were restored to preserve appearances.  

It looks like a legit book overall but the cover inks look wrong.  This attached picture was the best I could do because it's plain as day in person.  In the picture, you can see how the blues in Nightcrawler's tail, Colossus' arm, and Wolverine's glove look metallic in raking light while the blacks stay mat.  All the colors look that way.  You can even see the red and gray doing it in the pic.  

It just doesn't look like anything else I have of the era.

Was there variance in the ink that makes colors look metallic in raking light like that?  Is this the result of being in a press too long?  (Buyer said it was pressed professionally before selling it to me.)  Is there a chemical cleaning process that makes colored ink look metallic in raking light?

Thanks in advance and happy holidays!

Hey guys, just a quick question.  If a square bound book with a cardboard stock cover has clearly been openend and has the crease, how much does it usually affect grade?  Is it like half to a full point depending on the severity of the crease?

Thanks in advance!

Ok, I'm new to the boards and going to sell a part of my collection on eBay.  Read a few related threads and didn't see exactly what I was wondering.

Just wondering what everyone thinks about listing specific grades for books nowadays?  I grade conservatively and want to be somewhat accurate to cut down on returns.  Do phrases like "I don't guarantee grade" in the description help if there's someone who wasn't happy with the purchase?  Or does eBay always side with the buyer no matter what you do?  Is it better to just not list a grade overall?

Thanks!

I tried searching everywhere and could't find the answer.

I am attempting my comics for the first time and saw that USPS is requiring a signature because of the insurance I want to purchase on the package.  Since this is a PO Box address, does someone sign for these?  Or should I attempt to use a different service that doesn't force me to require a signature.

Thanks in advance,

-Chris