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Could this X-Men 8 be VF/NM???

Started by Apotheosis,

34 posts in this topic

Apotheosis

Apotheosis

Posted
Posted

Somehow I'm not thinking that this quite makes the VF/NM grade that the person that sold it to me claimed that it must be. I'm thinking that it's closer to a 5.0... What do you all think?

 

x8.jpg

 

x8b.jpg

 

As he put it in the auction:

 

"'The X-Men #8'- November 1964 issue. EXCELLENT condition, looks amazing. Minimal wear on top left corner of cover, very minimal and barely noticeable wear on bottom edge of cover. Spine looks amazing, comic has no ink, discolorations, rips, tears, etc. Intact and vibrant, has been kept in great condition for a long time, and will be a good addition to your X-Men collection. Wizard 2004 Price Guide lists this at $400.00. Stan Lee & Jack Kirby introduce Unus the untouchable in this issue. Has to be NM/VF, just a terrific issue. " foreheadslap.gif

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ninanina

ninanina

Posted
Posted

There is some serious damage to the spine on this one. Lucky for the comic, it's got a white cover. Doubt it's much better than a VG - even if it doesn't have any serious creasing. Just too much of an accumulation of defects to get any better.

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Zanarkand

Zanarkand

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Posted

Front cover looks to have defects consistent with 7.0. But there's a light 1" crease in the bottom right corner, so there goes that. Also, the back of the spine seems to reveal some of those spine stresses as little spine tears. That plus the discoloration, significant reduction of reflectivity, and the small stain is going to get you 4.5 I'm afraid.

 

Man, that's bad overgrading, even for Ebay. Was it Ebay?

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Apotheosis

Apotheosis

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Man, that's bad overgrading, even for Ebay. Was it Ebay?

 

Indeed it was. After going back and looking at the original listing I noticed as well that the picture of the comic is not the one that arrived. On mine there is a bad miscut that is rather apparent on the top edge that cuts through part of Angels wings and through the comic code seal. The picture in the listing shows a solid square cut with plenty of room on the top. I've asked the seller if maybe he sent me the wrong copy, but have not heard back from him yet (to be fair... he hasn't even had a whole day to reply). We'll see.

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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Ah, the old switcheroo.

 

Was this auction by any chance, below market value? I've seen sellers list one book, and then if the price is too high, substitute it with a lower-grade copy that is equivalent to the OS value of your bid.

 

Send that book back ASAP, and don't let them scammers get away with it.

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Apotheosis

Apotheosis

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Yeah the final price was well below what VF/NM would be. Granted... the condition that arrived is well below what I paid for it. When I was bidding I even allowed for some overgrading due to the small picture, but I was thinking VF not VG/F. I already have a VG- copy so I wasn't looking for that small of an upgrade. It was also a rather large let down after the build up of anticipation since it took more than three weeks to arrive. frown.gif

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sfilosa

sfilosa

Posted
Posted

I'm starting to feel CGC is the only way to go when it comes to eBay. And I'm not a strong CGC supporter, but it really eliminates this kind of situation. However, without risk, there can be no profit.

 

 

 

It is my opinion only, but I really see very little UPSIDE to buying raw books on eBay today.

 

1) Most books are seriously overgraded (as has been the case with comic book collecting for the past 30 years).

 

2) CGC has been around long enough for most collectors to have a better understanding of what books should and shouldn't be graded. In other words there is less and less chance ever day that you will buy a NM book off of eBay that is truly NM, and that you bought at guide price (when a slabbed copy is worth three times that).

 

3) The premium for a true NM CGC book and a NM- can be 3:1.

 

Example:

1) Seller list book in NM. Guide price is $100.

2) If slabbed, this book will sell for $300 in NM.

3) Nice scan shows that the book appears to have a chance at NM.

4) You bid and end up paying $120 for said NM book.

5) You have it slabbed and pay $30.

6) Book comes back as a NM-, which is not a significant overgrade.

7) Slabbed copy is worth $100 in NM- and you just spent $150.

 

Repeat and lose money. : mad.gif

 

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garthgantu

garthgantu

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I would agree the book is in the FN range. On a good day, it might net a FN+ 6.5, but that's on a good day. In addition to the misleading image, this statement from the original listing is very misleading: "Spine looks amazing" ...maybe in the image posted the spine looked amazing, but the spine on the copy you received is far from amazing.

 

Be prepared to neg the seller if this whole thing goes south, and even if you get a refund I would seriously consider a neutral for deceptive scan and deceptive description.

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Zanarkand

Zanarkand

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It is my opinion only, but I really see very little UPSIDE to buying raw books on eBay today.

 

Au contraire, the upside is that people are so paranoid about overgrading that raw auctions get lowballed. wink.gif

 

I average 40% of guide paid for raw books, and that's in my grade, not theirs. I haven't talked anyone into 60% off in person yet.

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Apotheosis

Apotheosis

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Can anyone post a link to the auction?

 

Here's the link

 

Ok... the guy just got back to me and has offered a full refund or said that he will send me more silver age books so that I feel that I got my money's worth. I'll be sending the book back. It was nice that he got back to me in less than 24 hours. Still wish it would have been at least close to the stated grade. Most of his customers seem to be happy with the grade on the comics he sells. Strange that this one was so far off.

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Fan4Fan

Fan4Fan

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Since I've been the recipient of too many books that were off their suggested grade from sellers who have been otherwise deemed flawless by their other customers, I am thinking that either:

 

a) I'm too harsh on grading

b) Those other buyers wouldn't know a spine crease from a butt crease

or

c) all of the above

 

Thanks,

Fan4Fan

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Fan4Fan

Fan4Fan

Posted
Posted
d) they're just looking to fill collections, and if the books aren't ratty, they don't care.

 

Well, then they shouldn't be saying that the grading is on the money.

 

Thanks,

Fan4Fan

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