Steven Valdez

On 12/27/2023 at 7:52 AM, jsilverjanet said:

I haven't read all the posts (I apologize) but what I have read makes me believe that the credibility of books graded by CGC now will give people pause before buying (people will want to inspect the book and the grade to match the label) which is probably a good thing for buyers (they should already be doing that)

This will probably hurt the online seller far more that established dealers at shows

should be interesting to see how CGC repairs this temporary damage

in the long run

 

They should at least offer a free inspection of any potentially suspect book. I would insist that they not use Mr Scammy Insider Guy for this task, however.

On 12/27/2023 at 4:23 AM, skybolt said:

I also think this is the reason we haven't seen any restored books in blue labels yet (at least from this guy). He doesn't want to take the chance of a CGC employee or a buyer finding an obvious resto on the front and back cover. The missing inserts are easier to hide.

My former copy of Hulk #181 had a huge '10c' written on the logo in marker pen. It's out in the world somewhere. Let's see the perp try getting THAT one past the reholdering division,

On 12/27/2023 at 3:08 AM, comicwiz said:

My biggest concern with the cover of #181 is... why does the Hulk have no neck?!

On 12/27/2023 at 3:13 AM, MAR1979 said:

I've no idea of that but was able to obtain an image of the perp

 

He would have gotten away with it too... if it wasn't for all you meddling kids.

On 12/27/2023 at 1:05 AM, MAR1979 said:

Prediction for Today Dec 26, 2023:

NO Statement from CGC! No Actions by CGC Today!

Prediction for Remainder of week, Dec 27,28 and 29 2023:

NO Statement from CGC! No Actions by CGC!

 

CGC will continue to be sent and receive submissions unabated and those Benji's will keeps rollin' in. So why would they ever say anything...

Thus far all my predication's in this matter have been 100% correct

You might also predict there'll be fires and/or flooding in parts of Australia.

On 12/27/2023 at 1:16 AM, Pcaedus said:

That tick by Wolvie's right claw is a dead giveaway this was a swap. Sheesh it gets worse by the day. I am thinking of switching over to raws now that slabs clearly cannot be trusted. 

No doubt whatsoever it's the same book. I don't see how it could even have been a 6.0 (in the first place) with a piece of the story/art missing, on top of all the other defects.

On 12/27/2023 at 1:06 AM, sledgehammer said:

Bad press?

Yup, that's what I'm thinking. In fact the entire back page looks to be moisture affected on closer inspection. So it's actually in worse condition after the "upgrade" and switcheroo...??

On 12/27/2023 at 12:40 AM, comicwiz said:

The book looks like it's incurred bonus water damage at the bottom, in the transition from green to blue label.

On 12/26/2023 at 6:20 PM, Book Guy said:

A couple of questions:

Are there any logical explanations for the multiple sales on the SAME Book except that the sale was cancelled by the buyer/weent unpaid or that the 'sale' was an attempt to drive up the price of the Book, so that next time he sold it or sold another copy the price would be higher

That indicates shill bidding gone wrong -- where the shill pushes the price up beyond what the next highest bidder was willing to pay. Of course, the shill is only there to jack the price up on behalf of the seller (or he IS the seller), so is not going to pay if he "wins".

On 12/26/2023 at 5:49 PM, DougC said:

The posts themselves are broken and will always break unless the sonic weld was done improperly or the posts are removed by another sonic weld process (you would break/re-weld the remnants). Luckily superglue (I think all) will show up under a black light to show if posts have been glued back together, I use a black light when looking at higher dollar books and cases when buying at conventions and happily explain why if asked.

Also, how many collectors or even dealers are examining their cases with a blacklight?

Just wondering... I have an X-Men #312 which contains an 8-page Marvel Mart insert. Do people collect mundane ephemera like that, or it it only the Mark Jewelers and Toonz insert that are highly desirable?

On 12/26/2023 at 5:21 PM, agamoto said:

Man oh man, the tech available to make extremely clean cuts into thick polycarbonate with a simple hand-held ultrasonic cutter is pretty amazing. Don't get any ideas!

 

This is giving me ideas!!

On 12/26/2023 at 5:03 PM, skybolt said:

Perhaps they're waiting to meet with representatives from Blackstone first. I doubt we'll get anything until early January.

Isn't Blackstone a notorious street gang in Chicago? Maybe I'm thinking of a different Blackstone.

On 12/26/2023 at 4:42 PM, agamoto said:

A sonic welder AND the aluminum molds for the case to press the two halves together. The welder is pretty cheap, but the aluminum mold likely is not, but could be milled  by most anyone handy with making such molds  if they have the right gear. This could be part of the process... Inserting an inner well from a lower grade book into a new case, with old 9.8 label, welding in and then washing the laundry sending the case into CGC for a reholder. 

It's certainly all doable for an enterprising enough criminal in his home garage. But if it's an inside job, the perp has all the specialised gear and supplies he needs, for free.

I didn't realise how cheap and easy it would be to set up a comics grading/slabbing company until I deeply researched it 5 minutes ago. Might be worth a shot?

On 12/26/2023 at 2:28 PM, Mikey C said:

 

 whoops. Just need access to a sonic welder and they’re in business. 

They can be had for around US$300 each.

Brand spanking new CGC cases:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Leshiny-Acrylic-CGC-CBCS-PGX-Slab_1600663692391.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_image.64689fa5rgZ8rg

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Leshiny-factory-manufacturer-custom-wholesale-collectible_1600663562900.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_title.64689fa5rgZ

And this is just a couple of suppliers, there are many others. The genie has been out of the bottle for quite some time.

On 12/26/2023 at 2:13 PM, Mikey C said:

You can buy empty, brand-new PSA slabs from multiple overseas sellers. I’d 100% believe this guy had access to a foreign seller that was able to reproduce the CGC slab.

There are CGC-style cases available from China.

On 12/26/2023 at 3:19 AM, Donutsdad said:

If the submitter only requested a reholder, CGC might not be liable since they had no obligation to review the grade itself.  Civil liability might still be not warranted ...but I am not a judge...I just sound like one in person...lol

Presumably CGC stands by its grading. Grading is CGC's only job, it's even in the name. If a book is found to have a page missing without that being disclosed, then CGC is misrepresenting that product.

On 12/25/2023 at 4:17 PM, OJ Pimpson said:

“Can sum up the Cole Schave scam in a few sentences”

 

- responds with a link to a thread with 5,000 posts  LOL

 

 

What's funny is it's ALL THE SAME PEOPLE commenting there that are on this thread 10 years later.

On 12/25/2023 at 12:28 PM, Sigur Ros said:

It's a tad hard for me to believe the company that puts out 9.8's with pages missing, 9.8's with the cover missing, etc., etc., is organizing some big sting 

Tee hee!

On 12/25/2023 at 3:51 AM, JC25427N said:

this thread will still be here after the holidays don't worry 

UNLESS.....

On 12/25/2023 at 3:51 AM, agamoto said:

This is beyond ridiculous at this point. CGC MUST call the FBI and they need to do it NOW. The guy is going to be closing accounts, hiding evidence and he's going to get away with all this unless investigators get some warrants and get access to deleted/hidden posts, etc. 

Maybe there IS a massive sting operation going on right now. If so, CGC/FBI wouldn't want to reveal their tactics until the perp is apprehended.