BCR

I actually disagree. I think re-holdered books will be scrutinized more aggressively by buyers. I think buyers will finally be more discerning when it comes to buying a book based just on grade. Actually look at the book you’re buying, ya know? Have your OWN grading system that you can apply to the book. of course books with tattoos, coupons, etc, I think those will require an investigation if they’re in the new label. Also, this won’t have any impact whatsoever on modern books tbh. This is more of an issue for bronze, silver and golden age. And further? I think we’ll see a policy change at CGC where re-hollering is now a new grading (which is what it should have always been). Last, I genuinely could see CBCS getting a bit of a boost because of this.

I’m actually SHOCKED CBCS hasn’t come forward to tell us all why this could never have happened under their watch. Every single CGC that has ever been re-holdered is now potentially a counterfeit on some level. Lesser grade, a literal counterfeit… We can never buy another CGC book as collectors if that book has been re-holdered. Especially if that book is in the thousands of dollars.

The glaring thing to me, and correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it literal the policy of CGC that if we send in a book for re-hollering, that that book will be subjected to re-grading? Like, think about how preposterous it would be if you could send in ANY book that’s currently within a holder and you automatically receive the same grade. That’s not just non-sensical, it’s absurd, hence — to my understanding — there is a mandatory re-grading with every re-holder. On the particulars, this person might’ve done this with the same newly submitted book over and over and over and over again. On our end, we would only see the two books (the submission and the re-holder), but he then still has that original book. He then resubmits it and it all starts all over again. He could’ve done this 50 times with the same book. Always buying a cheap version (say, green label) version, and going through this process. This could be hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud. Again, it’s imperative that we find out who has purchased these books so that they can file this fraud with the FBI. Each one of these cases are punishable by up to 20 years in prison. This person needs to be removed from civilized society. And CGC needs to help do it if they want any chance of coming back from this.

Oh, yeah. I doubt they’re doing all fraud books. This is probably one or two fraud book per submission. So one or two fraud re-holder/custom label and the rest just submissions.

Basically you type in the very number (say, ending in 4), and then type the next cert number down 3, 2, 1 etc. When we do that, we see books that the person has/had on their site for sale — and the types of books they typically sell. It’s not perfect and irrefutable, but likely. Again, though, CGC knows exactly who this account belongs to with regards to the books that we know are fraudulent re-holders.

It appears to be the same account judging by the cert number comparisons. One of the videos started numbering down from known fraudulent certs and the books appear to be books that the seller has on their eBay store. So it is one person doing this. And CGC knows (objectively) who it is.

How has CGC not yet released the list of all cert numbers this customer has submitted. We need to find the actual people who own these books so that they can submit their complaint to the FBI, perhaps collectively. Every single one of these cases of wire fraud are punishable by up to 20 years in prison. CGC should aid in finding the owners of these books if possible, and work with them and the FBI. This is tens of thousands of dollars (at minimum) in fraud. We can’t stop until we find out who committed this fraud, who was defrauded, and they’re brought to justice.

So, I only looked at the first two on the slip so that I could be surprised when the books arrived. Plot twist —

Woo HOO! The money, the submissions, the wait, the emails and calls - all feels worth it. So happy CGC took the time they didn’t have to take to make sure they got it right and made the change.

90s 10%, 00’s 5% and 10’s 1-3% is the rule of thumb. No reason to break your brain too much beyond that.

Videos are kinda cringe on the part of the Youtuber.

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll 100% do that. I also planned on maybe making a video afterwards just to inform Overwatch fans of the differences, etc. The good thing is that the first printing “Convention Edition has it written in the top right corner (though it’s very small), and so it’s just issues #1 and #7 that really require scrutiny, as there’s only 1 printing of #6, #8, #13 and the free comic book day Zarya first appearance.

Oh — sidebar. The customer service lady I talked to today was a big Overwatch fan (especially of their animated shorts), so I think it was good that she at least sorta understood what the comics even are. Haha

That’s exactly right. The one on the right (the toy pack version) is also a normal cover stock, while the first printing on the left has a card stock cover. Issue #7 has a similar exchange, going from card stock on the first printing to regular paper on the reprint. Overwatch is a massive video game obviously, but if it ever becomes “mainstream” like other properties, this would have caused a huge issue for passive buyers (especially for issues #1 and #7, which are both substantial key books). The dad picking up a graded #1 for his kid’s birthday or the girlfriend grabbing a slabbed book for her boyfriend likely isn’t going to know the difference by eyeballing it. So I’m just extremely grateful if CGC can get the census to accurately reflect things. At the very least it will give the grader a moment’s pause to investigate what they’re looking at.

So what’s interesting about Overwatch/Blizzard is that they first released their comics digitally. After that, they printed a small amount of convention editions for #1 (McCree first appearance) #2 (Rheindhart first appearance) #7 (Ana and Pharah first appearance, and #13 (Doomfist first appearance). Years later, they reprinted issues 1, 2 and 7 to go with the backpack hanger toys. But they ALSO did FIRST printings of issue #6 (first appearance of Torbjorn) and #8 (not sure if it has significance off the top of my head). So, for instance, the #8 that’s on the census today is JUST the toy comic, as there is no other version of the book. As to why someone would get the toy comics of 1, 2 and 7 graded? #2 first print has gone for some pretty high prices graded. But really it’s like everything else in pop culture, it all depends on broader outcome and appeal. Overwatch is a massive property, but those gamers are still young, and we haven’t seen life action adaptations of it yet. Personally, I could see issue #1 and #7 falling into a kind of “Whitman” category, as they were specifically printed for the toy AND are of a lesser cover stock, potentially making them more difficult in high grade. HOWEVER, they’re entirely ubiquitous and the print run is likely in the tens of thousands, unlike the first edition card stock covers. So — who knows? Haha