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PSA and Steve Borock?

Started by Neurosis138,

169 posts in this topic

FlyingDonut

FlyingDonut

Posted
Posted
The good news is that I am taking a position at a great gig :banana: and that is why I cannot sell on the boards anymore. I loved working for myself, but I had one of the offers, a couple of days ago, that I could not refuse and just finalized it today.

 

any chance this guy made the offer?]

 

MY HERO!

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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My guess is that Steve has some type of non-compete with CGC.

 

But it's got to be within current law, which would not preclude him working for another grading company out of state. He probably can't start a new one up or be a partner, but if someone started up a grading firm in California and wanted Steve as an employee, I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue.

 

Steve seems to be a pretty smart guy, and obviously wouldn't sign anything to allow CGC to have full control over his his future employment. At least I hope so.

 

I've signed these before and it's always been geographically limited and to me starting up a similar company - not forbidding me from taking an employment position in the same business.

 

Take one job in X field and never work ever be allow to work there again as long as you live? Do they even allow that down there?

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awe4one

awe4one

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Where is the former head grader part of your avatar Steve?? Possibly The CGC is opening up a restoration and pressing dept.?? It would make sense. Same general location, no need to move. Can't sell book's anymore per CGC rules.... Hmmmmmm Very interesting..

 

I'm thinking a resto service completely separate from CGC/CCG but close by...would explain the change in avatar title as well...

 

Jim

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HOTFLIPS

HOTFLIPS

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I usually skim through my PSA emails and I don't recall anything about it. I know that no one on the PSA or CU message boards is saying anything about it either. PSA/CU has been rumored to have been starting a comic book/magazine grading company for years and so far nothing. I know it took them forever to start grading sealed packs. They are pretty slow to jump into new stuff like that.

 

Yes. PSA has been talking for years about this and nothing ever came out of it. They do grade 8x10 photos now. I was just at the East Coast National last weekend and Jimmy Spence (JSA) was authenicating 8x10's and PSA was slabbing them.

 

Jeff

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rob_allan

rob_allan

Posted
Posted
I usually skim through my PSA emails and I don't recall anything about it. I know that no one on the PSA or CU message boards is saying anything about it either. PSA/CU has been rumored to have been starting a comic book/magazine grading company for years and so far nothing. I know it took them forever to start grading sealed packs. They are pretty slow to jump into new stuff like that.

 

Yes. PSA has been talking for years about this and nothing ever came out of it. They do grade 8x10 photos now. I was just at the East Coast National last weekend and Jimmy Spence (JSA) was authenicating 8x10's and PSA was slabbing them.

 

Jeff

 

Grading 8x10s? I have to ask-- why is there need for this? Are people collecting pictures and what good does authenticating them do?

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HOTFLIPS

HOTFLIPS

Posted
Posted
I usually skim through my PSA emails and I don't recall anything about it. I know that no one on the PSA or CU message boards is saying anything about it either. PSA/CU has been rumored to have been starting a comic book/magazine grading company for years and so far nothing. I know it took them forever to start grading sealed packs. They are pretty slow to jump into new stuff like that.

 

Yes. PSA has been talking for years about this and nothing ever came out of it. They do grade 8x10 photos now. I was just at the East Coast National last weekend and Jimmy Spence (JSA) was authenicating 8x10's and PSA was slabbing them.

 

Jeff

 

Grading 8x10s? I have to ask-- why is there need for this? Are people collecting pictures and what good does authenticating them do?

 

I think it is more to just have them encapsulated. Although PSA/DNA does grade signatures from 1-10 also. There are perfect signatures, faded signatures, thus the grading scale.

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awe4one

awe4one

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Grading 8x10s? I have to ask-- why is there need for this? Are people collecting pictures and what good does authenticating them do?

 

Apparently. Original photos of Madonna and Marilyn Monroe recently went at auction for 5 figures... :o

 

Jim

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Buck Biggins

Buck Biggins

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From the email...

 

Heritage Auction Galleries has added Steve Borock to its staff of comic experts, the Dallas-based firm announced today, Jan. 29 ,2009.

 

"Steve is one of the best-known and most respected figures in the vintage comic hobby, and we couldn't be more pleased to have him on board," said Ed Jaster, Vice-President of Heritage. "Steve's expertise is only going to further cement our status as the leading auctioneer of vintage comics and original comic art. Steve will help us with major collections and private clients, and will help us take our ComicMarket for third-party sellers at HA.com to the next level."

 

Borock was a key figure in introducing third-party certification to the comic book hobby. He was hired by Comics Guaranty Corporation as its Primary Grader when the firm started up in 1999 due to his knowledge of vintage comic books and, especially, the trust he enjoyed among both sellers and buyers. He was promoted to President of CGC soon thereafter, a post he held until late 2008.

 

During his tenure at CGC, he had the final word on every grade that CGC assigned, and his reputation for fairness, honesty and impartiality was a key component in CGC's gaining acceptance among the community of collectors and dealers. It was Borock, along with colleague Mark Haspel, who established the grading standards used by CGC and — these days — most of the collecting community as well. In the 36th edition of his annual Comic Book Price Guide, Bob Overstreet stated: ".... probably the most important event (in our hobby) to date was the arrival of comic book certification with CGC."

 

Prior to his time at CGC, Borock was a high-end collector who has owned, bought, or sold many of the most sought-after high grade and "pedigree" comic books in the hobby. He is known for taking new collectors "under his wing" and teaching them the subtleties of collecting to ensure a safer and friendlier hobby. Borock had also graded for Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses in the days before the founding of CGC, when auction firms would use panels of experts to determine accurate grades.

 

During his time at CGC, to ensure neutrality, he decided to withdraw from buying and selling vintage comics and began to collect original comic art, an area in which he's also extremely knowledgeable. As a lifelong comic fan, however, he never stopped buying the latest new comic books at his local comic shop, and he avidly reads and enjoys them to this day.

Borock takes particular pride in being on the board of the comic hobby's greatest charity, The Hero Initiative, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need.

 

"I believe that if we all enjoy comic books, we should help those in need that brought us such joy to our lives," he says.

 

Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays' comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work.

 

"I am really looking forward to my next journey in the comics field at Heritage," Borock says. "They've been innovators in our hobby for the last nine years, bringing live and Internet auctions to an entire new level while setting record prices. Not only that, but the transparency that Heritage offers to the collecting community, especially with their on-line archives, makes me feel secure in the fact that I am in the correct place to help our hobby grow in the right direction. Comic books and the friends I have made in this hobby are very important to me, and I have to be somewhere I know will be beneficial to all of us."

 

"Steve is a real 'comic book ambassador' who knows just about everyone in the hobby, and incidentally he's also one of the nicest guys in the hobby," said Heritage Co-Chairman of the Board Jim Halperin. "He was a major factor in CGC's success, and we expect him to have an equally strong impact at Heritage."

 

Steve Borock can be reached at SteveB@HA.com.

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sborock

sborock

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Congrats on the new job, Steve! I think it'll give Heritage a real boost, as I've read some people questioning their credibility lately. I've always liked their model - except the crazy 19.5% premiums...

 

THANKS! (thumbs u

 

You know.....I ( and many of my friends) never figured out why buyers worry about the buyers premium. Think about it, if you want to pay $100 for something, bid $80. If there was a 10% BP you would bid $90, a 30% BP you would be $70. Either way, if the book is worth $100, it will still sell for $100. You are not paying any extra..........

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Dick Pontoon

Dick Pontoon

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Congrats on the new job, Steve! I think it'll give Heritage a real boost, as I've read some people questioning their credibility lately. I've always liked their model - except the crazy 19.5% premiums...

 

THANKS! (thumbs u

 

You know.....I ( and many of my friends) never figured out why buyers worry about the buyers premium. Think about it, if you want to pay $100 for something, bid $80. If there was a 10% BP you would bid $90, a 30% BP you would be $70. Either way, if the book is worth $100, it will still sell for $100. You are not paying any extra..........

 

:makepoint: Yes, but if you know the book is worth $100, and will sell for $100, and you only have $100 to spend on the book, an $80 bid won't win you the book! You've got to come up with $130 with a 30% BP. (If I did my math right.)

 

And I forgot - congratulations!

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