Jesse-Lee

7 minutes ago, Randall Ries said:

That's a "sun shadow" on the book. A section of the book sticking out of a pile that was exposed to the sun.

I have bought some really sharp looking books that look like they deserve a better grade. Upshot is I paid 7.0 prices for 9.0 looking books. Down side is I will sell them the same way. But I buy to keep, so it isn't an issue.

You must be able to ask for the notes. You are the original owner who subbed for a grade.

Thanks, that's kind of what I thought it might be based on reading stuff online, but then I started reading about "dust shadows" too, and thought maybe it can be that? Not sure if it really makes a difference either way, and it's not completely clear how far it affects the overall grade based on the info I can find. Seems crazy that a smallish defect like that on the back can take it from potentially an 8.5-9.0 down to a 6.5, but I realize they grade the whole book, not just the cover.

I'm not the original owner; I bought it slabbed. I can still get the notes for $5, which I might do, but I might wait to do that if there ever comes a time that I'd consider selling it. For now, I just love having it and looking at it -  it's so pretty...

Just now, Randall Ries said:

When I did this game a couple years ago, members consistently graded high. I had some 7.0's that were getting 9.0 and 9.2.

 

I felt like I was cheating a little with this one - I've never seen a 6.5 that looks this good. It either has to be some inside issue like tvindy said, or it's that weird "tan line" on the back that's bringing it down (although I can't see how that drops it so far). If I ever end up getting the grading notes, I'll be sure to post them!

My insanity mostly lies in the craft beer world, where I would (on many occasions, but typically Black Friday) show up at a beer store at 1 a.m. for a 9 a.m. opening to be first in line for bottle allocations of rare bourbon-barrel-aged stouts. But as crazy as that is, it was a lot of fun too - usually everyone who showed up that early would bring rare beers to share, someone would bring breakfast sandwiches or do a breakfast run, and there'd be tons of stories as we all sat freezing in our camp chairs for 8 hours in the cold November weather.

For comics, I don't have many stories. I guess as a kid I'd beg my dad to take me to the nearest LCS which was an hour and a half away at the time, all so I could pick up about $10 worth of comics. But like the good dad he is, he indulged that quite a few times actually.

I did go to a local outdoor flea market a few weeks ago, and while they didn't end up having any comics, there was a huge crowd of people standing around two guys who were selling live chickens out of cages, presumably to take home and cook for dinner - they looked like roosters, not egg-laying hens. It was crazy, someone would point out the chicken they wanted, the sales guy would grab it and stuff it in a huge orange "onion sack," and the person would walk off lugging this live chicken. The same flea market also had the saddest looking camel I've ever seen that little kids could ride on for a fee. I know it sounds like a weird dream, but it's 100% real. They did have a few booths selling video games, but most stuff was either bootleg or way overpriced.

To use myself as an example: Almost all of the books I buy slabbed are books I want to own, not flip, so for my goals I want to get as good-looking a book as possible. So instead of looking solely at grades, I go for look most of the time. I also don't grade chase, but I usually do want to buy in a solid enough grade that if I ever do decide to sell, I'm not losing money (and hopefully I'm making a little bit back over time). I also don't like to pay over FMV, so I hunt a lot for the best book at the best circumstance. So far the only book I've paid above FMV for is ASM 300, and even that book, since I bought it only about 2 weeks ago, is now selling for above what I paid, and the FMV has been adjusted up above what I paid.

18 minutes ago, Frankielo said:

Both present well.GSxmen #1 so it's a "Big" book.choice #3 is a 8.0 WP that's considerable less.i guess it's part the thrill of the higher grade in addition to which will go up in value better as a %.                         

Short story Just so it's not about the money I have a 5.0 in my collection that I bought when it first came out(1975)! its my lowest graded book.in hindsight would have been better off keeping it raw and buy the 8.0

Is the price the same on the 9.2 and 9.0? It doesn't look like a huge gap on FMV, but still a couple hundred bucks it looks like - on that book, I'd definitely go the higher grade personally, but that's my . Or if it's for personal and the 8.0 looks great and is a huge amount less, maybe you want to go that route? A lot of it comes down to goals and personal preference.

3 hours ago, Frankielo said:

I think the title says it all,buying a big bronze grail book and trying to decide which is a better value 9.0 white pages or 9.2 off-white/white pages. I know there sre variables and each book stands at a own.this is a $ and cents question Are they close or is there a clear-cut difference ?what does everyone think?

If the prices are equal, I'd probably go with the 9.2, but I guess it depends on the book. For me personally, age plays a small part too - if a book is from before the early to mid-80s, I feel like I'm not as concerned about OW/W vs W. Probably a silly distinction, but just my preference.

It also depends on your goal - if you're looking to buy and sell, you probably want the higher grade - if it's for your personal collection and you're not worried about a "flip," then like @KCOComics said, I'd rather have the better presenting book regardless of grade.

Based on this item, people might want to be careful buying raw copies: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Spider-Man-300-Awesome-Reproduction-Cover-Marvel-1st-Full-Venom-App/114402165102?hash=item1aa2e6816e:g:87MAAOSw6rxfWqZV

Thanks for indulging me (and for helping confirm to myself that I’m not nuts). Here’s a full photo of the graded book:

Sorry, kind of a long story here:

I watched this auction and studied the photos for days. I’d been looking at other copies in a price range I was comfortable with, and I saw this one and couldn’t believe it. I’ve seen 7.5s up to 8.5s - and even a couple of 9.0s - that didn’t look as clean or present as well as this book. Most of the copies I found in those grades either had some kind of color rub, crease or some other defect that impacted the cover art in some way that I didn’t like, or they were severely mis-wrapped (this one is slightly mis-wrapped, but in a way that’s at least acceptable to me, where the white/black line down the spine is basically uniform).

The only thing I can note on this book now that I have it in hand is in this photo that I included above:

What looks like a shadow cast by the slab edges (on the side and bottom edge of the book) is actually a discoloration of some sort on the actual book. It’s not water damage, it’s way too uniform for that and doesn’t have that “water damage” look. What it looks like is if some papers or other books or something were sitting on this one for a long time in such a way that it made some lined discoloration. Not sure if this kind of discoloration warrants a grade bump down that far? Any insights?

At the end of the day, the auction was not misrepresented in any way – it was listed as a 6.5 CGC, and there was no mention of “under-grading” or any other gimmicks to try to get anyone to buy. There were photos of the front and the back (I thought that discoloration was a shadow myself). I was the lone bidder, and I paid 6.5 money for the book – dead-on the current GoCollect FMV for a 6.5 in fact.

This is probably my favorite cover of all time (and I love the story too), and I was thrilled to get such a great-looking copy at a huge discount compared to higher graded books that didn’t look as good in my opinion. This book is absolutely gorgeous in-hand, and the colors really pop.

I was just really surprised by the grade and I wondered if others were seeing what I saw – that it looks way better than a 6.5. I can’t see myself getting it regraded anytime soon since I don’t plan on selling it, but I guess it would be nice to know if people think it would grade higher even with that discoloration. Maybe if I ever go that route or get curious, I’ll spring for the grader’s notes and see if I can learn more. Thanks again!

Just now, The Lions Den said:

If this is a mistake I'm sure CGC would be happy to correct it. And if it's not a mistake, it's pretty cool. Either way, it's definitely interesting...  

I kinda like it myself, it's unique.

12 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I've noticed it before, seemingly I guess it's because of the whit pages. It even turns up on covers that are not so dark all over

I've never found it to be too too distracting, but can see what you mean on this one, where or when it doesnt show up anywhere else 

Still a nice nice looking copy though!

It's usually from a press, right? I just got a copy of X-Men 141, and it doesn't look pressed - you can't see the interior through the cover - but I noticed a lot on eBay where you could and I assumed it was from being flattened out (especially since that book is basically a big white circle in the middle of the cover). I'm guessing the books with lighter colors or color areas on the covers would show the print beneath if they were really pressed flat?

Just now, comicginger1789 said:

Aha!

So....maybe they clicked the wrong drop down as these colours would be in a drop down menu for whoever enters their data. That or maybe a batch of those books the OP posted were printed on blue paper. How they tell when the pages" are all glossy and covered with ink from edge to edge is beyond me. 

Yeah, that's a pretty "splashy" book with lots of full-page colors - it does seem to have a lot of blue tones in it I guess, maybe the OP got one with color bleed in the white areas or something, like a print defect? Or maybe it's just a mistake...

16 minutes ago, comicginger1789 said:

If these are errors they are hilarious. Assuming that when the grader or whoever enters info into the system, they either to it manually or else there is a drop down. Why the colours "pink" or "blue would even be options in such a drop down selection for PQ is beyond me.

If they are actually talking about the pages in some way, I would like to know what was meant by it.....

From the Page Quality section of https://www.cgccomics.com/grading/grading-scale/:

35 minutes ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

It’s already at $3.7K, with 35 mins to go in the auction 

Looks like a sniper got it at $3,800 with no time to spare!

1 minute ago, BishopT said:

Mark Bagley. I’m sure it doesn’t help the desirability of the book much, but hey, it was cheap.

Ah, I can see it now, thanks!

1 minute ago, BishopT said:

My two 365 newsstands from yesterday’s show...

 

It's cool that you got the one signed by "Mouse Bong..." Just messing with you, nice grabs. But whose signature is that for real?

Ok, so I have an already-CGC-graded Batman 244, but I was curious and thought it might be interesting to see how closely you all can guess/match the grade? (If this isn't allowed for some reason I can remove it).

I'll post a full photo with grade tomorrow around this same time.

14 hours ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

It should be noted the one for $3250 is slabbed by CBCS, not CGC

That $5,500 CGC 9.8 W Direct sold for a best offer of $4,900 today... That's nearly double the current FMV of $2,600 on GoCollect.

On 9/25/2020 at 9:59 AM, radd76 said:

Hi!- I have dealt with DANZ.  I had two orders (April 2020) and finally just told him refund them which he did PROMPTLY.  My friend also ordered from him (and was going to cancel but I said man he refunded prompt so I’m thinking just be patient) and within a few weeks received his order (which included Ultimate Fallout 4 for cheap)!!  I also had that book ordered but wasn’t patient.  I have since reordered with him again in July and still nothing - my advice is be patient- I think you have 6 months or more to file with your credit card / bank so if they are books you really want I feel like he will deliver (eventually)-

 

he is also on Amazon with great reviews so I think he services them first (because they are very strict)- and this is statues.  I think his comic book side of the business is neglected.

 

be patient.

Hey, your post is finally approved, welcome to the board! Thanks again for the DM.

Just to update this thread in case anyone else is interested, I did end up reaching out to him, and I (very politely, but with clear communication on timing) said I was going to file a chargeback. He got back to me within an hour, also with a very polite message which basically said "Please don't do a chargeback, if you want to cancel I'll refund you right away." He said he was sorry, but was really understaffed and swamped. He gave me the option of a refund now or that if I could wait a little longer he'd sent the order. I told him I'd wait for now if he could guarantee he still has the books to fill my order and he said he did, so for now I'm just waiting...

It's been about 6 weeks since my initial order (and none of the books were pre-order books) - I'm going to wait a couple/few more weeks and see how it goes. From talking to him, I really did get the sense that he's just really, really understaffed and is having a really hard time keeping up. I didn't get a "shady" vibe, just more of an "overwhelmed" one.

1 minute ago, 500Club said:

Yes, from Alberta.

I think it’s the combination of stores being careful with order numbers in COVID times, and the general current spec mentality.  That’s not to mention the fact Marvel and DC appear to be wise to the idea that new characters and first apps sell books.

Just look at the recent Batman run - Punchline, Clown Hunter and Ghost Maker all within 11-13 issues. Wolverine 6 has a new first appearance. Venom has had a few. It's pretty crazy...

On 9/26/2020 at 12:36 PM, Ducky13 said:

I also was looking for the Venom 25 walmart 3 pack and after my 3rd attempt I was able to get one. To my surprise in the 3 pack was King Thor #1 2nd print.

Anybody else find one or hear of King Thor being in the 3 packs or did I just get lucky?

Wow, just looked that book up and it's really selling! Maybe I should just open mine and get them in bags/boards...

1 minute ago, jjonahjameson11 said:

It should be noted the one for $3250 is slabbed by CBCS, not CGC

Yeah, thanks - I said Voldy (meaning they who should not be named), but sometimes the shorthand doesn't translate well. If that one sells, it'll be interesting in the long run to see what the difference is between a CGC and non-CGC sale. Also watching to see what happens with that CGC $5,500 - I'm sure it'll be a best offer, but I wonder where? I couldn't afford a 9.8 (even the missed opportunities listed above), but as the new owner of an 8.5, I figure a rising tide lifts all ships, and this is actually really fun to watch and track!

Couple new 9.8's just hit the 'Bay, one for $5,500 OBO and another (voldy) for $3,250 starting bid, no BIN...

I heard ASM 365 newsstands are selling pretty well...