Manufactured Gold

[Mr. Zipper]

Paging Esquire.....

 

He's either a) not taking the bait, or b) testifying before a Senate subcommittee.

 

My money is on b).

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

I don't know why you are raising this question.

 

It's either Trimmer X or Trimmer Y according to Hammer.

 

Care to elaborate? I haven't been following Hammer's latest rants....

 

In past messageboard posts on STL and elsewhere, Hammer claimed there were various paper "mechanics" operating and he could identify them by their unique trimming signatures. He would reference the work of "Trimmer X, " Trimmer Y", etc. Very cloak and daggar type stuff.

 

Bob's post made me laugh.

 

Does Hammer claim to know who these 'mechanics' are...or just that he can identify each individuals work?

[drbanner]

I don't know why you are raising this question.

 

It's either Trimmer X or Trimmer Y according to Hammer.

 

Care to elaborate? I haven't been following Hammer's latest rants....

 

In past messageboard posts on STL and elsewhere, Hammer claimed there were various paper "mechanics" operating and he could identify them by their unique trimming signatures. He would reference the work of "Trimmer X, " Trimmer Y", etc. Very cloak and daggar type stuff.

 

Bob's post made me laugh.

 

Does Hammer claim to know who these 'mechanics' are...or just that he can identify each individuals work?

 

Maybe Trimmer X = Danny Dupcak, and Trimmer Y = Richard Koos?

 

Takes a thief to catch a thief and all that...

[Mr. Zipper]

... or just that he can identify each individuals work?

 

Yes, the latter.

[esquirecomics]

Hmmm, this argument could work if somebody had bought that Showcase #4 9.2 before you owned it? Who needs pressing when you can apply MZPP (Mark Zaid pricing plan) to the price of a book.

 

Do you want to pay that price difference, assuming you even care about this book of course , knowing that if you had just bought it the week before you could have saved tens of thousands of dollars, if not more?

 

Well, as usual, after unsuccessfully trying to spread past your sadonic wit, I am at a loss to understand what you are trying to say besides, apparently, taking a pot shot at insulting my prices. Well, ok, if that is all you can.

[drice6900]

[DeeDee-migration]

board love

[esquirecomics]

Way to start slinging insults Scott

 

Why is it that you feel the need to denigrate the NOD and all it's members? Does this organization make you feel threatened?

 

I just don't follow your logic on why you can't share an opinion without belittling those you are opining against.

 

Who says logic has anything to do with it?

 

And why did I belittle Zaid? Because he's belittleable. It's totally cool for Mark to jump into everyone's business, but it's not ok for people who don't like it to call him on it? WHAT-ever.

 

Scott....get a couple high-profile cases and I guarantee, you'll start feeling better about yourself.

 

You think I'm jealous of Mark's legal abilities? That is the ultimate joke of all, but you'd have to be a lawyer to understand how funny it is. I suppose his resume looks pretty important to someone who gauges legal skill by how often a lawyer appears on TV.

 

Suffice it to say that if I ever try to get John Wilkes Booth's body dug up out of a grave that is over 100 years old just to get my name in the paper, I hope someone shoots me.

 

Wow. You turn your back for a few minutes on the boards after participating in some very productive posts and all the little buggers come out from the dark to take more personal pot shots.

 

Fortunately Scott I don't need to respond to anything you have said because you do such a fine job of establishing for everyone just what kind of person and professional you are. Your posts and tone, out of the blue as some have noted, says it all. Clearly I (and I guess the NOD since you apply the same personal animus towards it) am doing something right.

 

By the way, my resume has always been publicly available for you to critique. I look forward to hearing how you want to interpret some of my other cases before everyone else's eyes. By all means, please do. I can use the laugh!

 

Mark S. Zaid, Esq.'s CV

[OldGuy]

Maybe Trimmer X = Danny Dupcak, and Trimmer Y = Richard Koos?

 

Takes a thief to catch a thief and all that...

 

[nik]

Why Cant We Be Friends, Why Cant We be Friends everyone sing along with me

 

 

In all seriousness, reading the last few pages of this thread, if I was an outsider looking to get into this hobby, that notion would come to a screaching halt real quick.

[PovertyRow]

Why Cant We Be Friends, Why Cant We be Friends everyone sing along with me

 

Because "life is a meaningless nightmare of suffering" and I suggest we all collect string.

[PovertyRow]

the other thoughtful collectors (ie Namisgr, Pov, etc.)

 

Thanks Purpl...errr....Red Hook! It is nice to be remembered and sometimnes read.

 

While it is true I am not collecting I am still interested in the restoration processes, debates, perceptions, ethics etc. Perhaps a bit more objectively since, as no longer being a collector, I have no personal stake in these things.

[Red Hook]

the other thoughtful collectors (ie Namisgr, Pov, etc.)

 

Thanks Purpl...errr....Red Hook! It is nice to be remembered and sometimnes read.

 

While it is true I am not collecting I am still interested in the restoration processes, debates, perceptions, ethics etc. Perhaps a bit more objectively since, as no longer being a collector, I have no personal stake in these things.

 

Good ol' Pov.....I could go on.....jbud....masterchief....nearmint....etc. etc. guys that I might not even agree with on every issue, but who have my respect for being able to hold a discussion without it turning into primal scream therapy. And for being able to tolerate an opinion that differs from theirs without reverting to a five-year-old in a peeing contest.

 

But hey.....here's a toast to the alpha dogs!

 

[FFB]

And you call me a master of misdirection! This has nothing to do with differences of opinion. This has everything to do with me being sick and tired of Mark acting like the self-appointed comic tribunal whose mantra is "Give me whatever information I want or I'll make snide comments, talk behind your back, and insinuate that you're not on the level." To watch a grandstanding newbie like him pull that krap on people whose hobby resumes are miles longer than his is infuriating.

 

You don't like it? Well, then have a nice day!

 

the other thoughtful collectors (ie Namisgr, Pov, etc.)

 

Thanks Purpl...errr....Red Hook! It is nice to be remembered and sometimnes read.

 

While it is true I am not collecting I am still interested in the restoration processes, debates, perceptions, ethics etc. Perhaps a bit more objectively since, as no longer being a collector, I have no personal stake in these things.

 

Good ol' Pov.....I could go on.....jbud....masterchief....nearmint....etc. etc. guys that I might not even agree with on every issue, but who have my respect for being able to hold a discussion without it turning into primal scream therapy. And for being able to tolerate an opinion that differs from theirs without reverting to a five-year-old in a peeing contest.

 

But hey.....here's a toast to the alpha dogs!

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

Why Cant We Be Friends, Why Cant We be Friends everyone sing along with me

 

 

In all seriousness, reading the last few pages of this thread, if I was an outsider looking to get into this hobby, that notion would come to a screaching halt real quick.

 

Given the current state of affairs.....I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

[garthgantu]

Because "life is a meaningless nightmare of suffering" and I suggest we all collect string.

 

I would, but then SGC ("String Guarantee Corporation") would start encapsulating string in small plastic vials...and then there goes the neighborhood...

[Aman619]

somebody get Richard back to the table so he wont feel "run off" by our usual verbal shenanigans here like poor Don Rosa. I d hate for the accusations to start flying how we scared off another professional ..... I suspect with all his experience, he has a lot more to add to our ongoing discusions....

[THE_BEYONDER]

somebody get Richard back to the table so he wont feel "run off" by our usual verbal shenanigans here like poor Don Rosa. I d hate for the accusations to start flying how we scared off another professional ..... I suspect with all his experience, he has a lot more to add to our ongoing discusions....

 

Can't stand the heat...get out of the kitchen.

[codfish]

Well this is a strange debate now. So let me just say that change in grades do not necessarily disturb me. Half point or less jumps are not necessarily something to raise a huge concern with me because grading is subjective. I would expect graders to ponder why a book may have gone up or down and be prepared to give their rationale but I don't think that a grade change is necessarily an indication of something fishy.

 

From Richard's anecdote what would concern me is the one book that jumped from a 6.5 to 7.5, if I remember correctly. That kind of jump would ring all sorts of alarm bells since there should be very distinct differences between those grades. If the nothing was truly done to the book then there is a problem with the grading. BUT, statistically speaking errors like that can occur even in standard qc systems so what would be interesting to know is just how often a jump like that happens in any given day. It should be rare but if it is not the system needs to be reviewed.

 

As cynical as people may think I am I can be logical and understanding too. I don't expect CGC to be perfect. I just expect them to be able to be consistent that is very hard to tell though and there are other disturbing problems as this thread points out.

 

A jump from 6.5 to 7.5 every once in a while does not surprise me. If it happened all of the time, it would be more cause for concern -- but if you've got a strong 6.5 that just didn't make the cut the first time, and then it gets graded as a weak 7.5 the second time a few years later, I can totally see that happening. When I graded my Spidey collection before selling it and then regraded it several months later, I had a few books here and there where the grades differed by two grade levels.

 

I would expect it every once in awhile too. With results in our lab you get spikes and while you are concerned about them where the actual problem comes in is if there becomes a trend in a noticable direction. So a one grade jump should be an alert flag worth checking out a bigger concern would be if it is happening with any sort of regularity, say 1 in every ten regrades (just a hypothetical figure btw).

 

The normal trend I would expect would be most books coming back the same the rest would be evenly distributed slightly above or below. Come to think of it tracking known resubmission data might be a good way to find people that might be trying to slide some mischief through.

[awe4one]

I think you just strengthened my cause.

 

No...you're just whining again about the NOD. First "panic and hysteria" and now "entitlement"...are there any other qualifiers you'd like to falsely interject?

 

Seriously, you were one of the proponents of people actually doing something, anything, concerning their issues in the hobby other than just posting on a Forum. People have actually taken action and now all you can do is slam them. Looks as if you're the one doing nothing but arguing on a Forum...

 

Jim