Simone Costantini

19 minutes ago, apoptosis said:

Not that simple of a question.  During certain time periods newstands were rarer, and during others it doesn't matter.     The 90's is the time period most are looking for newstands, there were 10,000 comic book stores with lots of inventory (direct).  Very few were in 7 elevens or grocery stores (newstand).  90's image had very few newstands. Honestly I think this newstands craze is a bit wacky.  I find it hard to believe that there is a 2k difference between Spawn #1 direct vs newstand.

Okay, so you are telling me that, for example, when I'm buying a CGC of a 90's issue, maybe it would be more convenient (from an "investor" point of view) to buy the newsstand version, right ? Because it will be more valuable on the market, right ?

I have to admit that I agree with  you, seems a little bit wacky, in the end they are literally the same book....

The title sums it up: is it better to buy the standard or newsstands versions ? Which is going to value more n the market ?

21 hours ago, Jeffro. said:

I'm not picking on you but the truly disturbing thing is how so many people assume, in their inexperience, that something is wrong, that something is counterfeit, that someone is trying to pull the wool over their eyes, that someone cheated them, etc. I'm not sure where this level of panic and insecurity comes from.

Man I can see your point of view, but in my position it wasn't easy: first ever CGC book I've ever hold in my hand, I'm a student and I don't have "big bucks" in my wallet, so for me even 60€ is a considerable amount of money.

Anyway you ask where this level of panic come from: very simple, from the web. I've seen on YT a lot of videos of people claiming to have received fake CGCs from Ebay, even for 30$ books (search and you'll easily find them)....

18 minutes ago, Bird said:

air has moisture, you do not want to create a sealed chamber where condensation may occur due to temperature/pressure changes

the properties of paper are also relevant I believe but beyond my pay grade here

Ahn ok ok, you're right ! Didn't think about the moisture thing 

3 minutes ago, JollyComics said:

Welcome to the board.

Stay calm and take a deep breath

.

 

Ahahaha i'll do it man, now that I know how a CGC case is made, I'll do it I swear

19 minutes ago, SamPool said:

Did you not post something similar about counterfeit/tampered CGC the other day..

Was that information not enough?  I do not think people will go about tampering with a low value book (below $500).

Yeah yeah it was me, I understood what you meant about the effort for tampering a low value book, but you know, I have never hold a CGC in my hand before today, so when I've seen that little crack I was worried XD

34 minutes ago, Testinadicalicious said:

You don't want the cases to be air-tight 

Why man ? I thought that air can damage the book inside... Jesus I am really inexperienced XD

4 minutes ago, Galen130 said:

Yeah, everything about the case looks normal...even the sticker on the top.  The case itself may have suffered from shipping/storage wear and tear.  I looked up the number...it was graded in 2015 so it matches what the CGC labels would have looked like back then. 

 

Really appreciate your help man ! Thought that CGC did their cases better XD

6 minutes ago, Lazyboy said:

No, those slabs were never sealed on the sides. It's completely normal.

Oh, thank you very much man ! Really didn't know about this and I was worried

1 minute ago, Lazyboy said:

That looks like a completely normal case of the type that CGC used for the first ~75% of their existence. 

So do you think I shouldn't worry about right little opening/crack on the right side ?

Seems strange to me, shouldn't it be completely and well sealed ?

Hi guys, I'm an Italian comic enthusiast new to the game of CGCs, and today my first one has arrived me at home, bought from another Italian guy on Ebay.

It's a Daredevil 183 9.4, beautiful classic book and amazing cover BUT... I have noticed some suspect details....

1) the most triggering one: as you can see in the picture, on the right side of the slabs there's a thin slit, as the case has been opened from that side. If I pull i can really open it and I thin it shouldn't be like this !

2) the 9.4 is really shady, like grey colored, absolutely not black. Don't know if its normal, maybe some "older" generation slabs/labels were like this.

3) as you can see in the picture the litte label on the top of the slab it's like a sticker, it doesn't come from the inside big label (sorry if my explanation is bad, my english is far from perfect, anyway you should be able to understand what I mean from the pics)

4)one of the corner has some minor flaws, like very little damages. I admit that this may be had been caused by a fall, but I don't know...

In the end do you thin I've been scammed ? Seems strange to me that the Italian guy has tried to fool me, doesn't seemed like an expert in the field, maybe he has bought it from Ebay already counterfeited (anyway I'm sure he noticed that the case was a little bit "open").

55 minutes ago, KCOComics said:

 They look to be legit. 

Check to make sure he has a return policy. That way if you get the book and it's clearly been tampered with,  you can return it. 

But  from the pictures,  nothing raises any red flags and they aren't expensive enough for someone to put the effort into manipulating. 

thank you very much. I see what you mean about the return policy, but buying on ebay and with Paypal shouldn't I be protected in case of damages/non conformities of the product ?

44 minutes ago, pemart1966 said:

1.  If you have any questions about smearing etc - ask the seller.

2.  Check and read the seller's feedback.

3.  If you receive something that is not what you ordered you can file a claim with eBay/Paypal and quite likely get your $ back.

4.  Check to see if the seller ships to Italy - a lot will not for various reasons.

Thank you for the advices, I always check feedbacks and the possibility of international shipping. I was about to ask if in case of problems it would be possible to get the money back also if the seller doesn't accept returns: I always pay with Paypal online, so there shouldn't be problems right ?

12 minutes ago, Angel of Death said:

Look up the certification numbers.

Yeah I've checked them here on CGC site, but on Youtube I've seen that scammers can open the cases and insert a different book (obviously in worse conditions). 

7 minutes ago, revat said:

They are in the range

no one would counterfeit these books

Can you tell me why ? They are too common ?

Do you think that the prices asked are adequate ?

Do you have other general advices on how to verify the legitimacy of CGCs before buying ?

Hi guys, I'm an Italian collector new to the game of CGCs books, so I would like to ask your help before buying some books on ebay that I'm interested in. I'm worried of scammers and I don't want to buy a counterfeit book. The books I'm interested in are Batman Year One (9.4), Daredevil 227 (9.6).

As you an see in the zoomed pictures, on the right inferior corner of the DD there's a little smearing, can't tell if it's the plastic wrap or the book itself. Do you think it's compatible with the 9.6 grade ? Also the back of the book seems non aligned, like it has been placed in the case in a strange position (I have posted a detail in the picture).

Also on the inferior limit of Year One  there are some signs, in this case I really can't tell if its the plastic or the cover of the book. In any case, 9.4 in your opinion can be an adequate grade ?

I have to admit that the general appearance of both books is really really good, apart from that 2 microscopic details.

About the price, do you think that 59$ for the Batman, and 45$ for the DD are honest prices

I would really love to have this books in my collection, I have read them and adored them and I also really love the covers of them, but obviously I don't want to give my money to a crook.

Thank you in advance to everyone that will answer me.