Qualified 9.8 on a DFE signed Batman #608 - is it really a serious defect?

[patman-migration]

Hi! I just won on eBay a DFE Batman 608 signed by Jim Lee CGC 9.8 (eBay Iten #2228868566) for $99.99 + shipping. However, when I checked again, it was a qualified 9.8 and not a signature series 9.8 (was too excited to bid since it was ending in 30 minutes when I saw it).

 

Would the "serious defect" on the qualified 9.8 be attributed to the signature made for Dynamic Forces as the seller explained? Does that mean that it is actually a NM/NM+ comic except that Jim Lee signed on it but wasn't witnessed by CGC?

 

Hope you can email me back fast as I am worried about my $110 investment. Thought it was a great buy. Now, I am afraid if I was wrong.

[texasknight]

Exactly.. if they dont see it, it gets a Qualified grade

Just make sure you get the COA with the book and that the number on the book matches up with the certificate.

[FFB]

I think you spent way too much on that comic, but that's just me. The Green Label doesn't mean anything bad when you're talking about a Dynamic Forces autograph issue, because it'll come with a certificate of authenticity and it would be unusual for anyone to doubt the genuinity of those issues, except for people like Darthdiesel who hoard DF certificates and threaten to sell them with fake autographs. (Kidding Darth! )

 

Bottom line -- I don't think the comic is worth $100, but if you think the comic is worth $100 if signed by Jim Lee in CGC 9.8, then the Green Label shouldn't deter you as long as the book comes with the certificate of authenticity.

 

Hi! I just won on eBay a DFE Batman 608 signed by Jim Lee CGC 9.8 (eBay Iten #2228868566) for $99.99 + shipping. However, when I checked again, it was a qualified 9.8 and not a signature series 9.8 (was too excited to bid since it was ending in 30 minutes when I saw it).

 

Would the "serious defect" on the qualified 9.8 be attributed to the signature made for Dynamic Forces as the seller explained? Does that mean that it is actually a NM/NM+ comic except that Jim Lee signed on it but wasn't witnessed by CGC?

 

Hope you can email me back fast as I am worried about my $110 investment. Thought it was a great buy. Now, I am afraid if I was wrong.

[valiantman]

Forgetting CGC for a minute...

 

Signatures have never really increased the price of modern comic books.

In the back issue market, most signed books sell for the same or maybe $10 higher

than the unsigned counterpart... so the signature itself is not valuable...

Rarely will a signature significantly increase the price of a comic vs. unsigned.

 

If you feel like a CGC 9.8 Batman 608 is a good buy for $110 even without a signature,

then don't worry about the green Qualified label.

 

Modern signatures aren't "defects", especially when they are from Dynamic Forces,

or another reputable company, but they're not "major premiums" either.

 

Since modern signatures don't command much premium anyway,

there's little need to counterfeit them... meaning most of them are authentic,

and the yellow Signature Series label is probably unnecessary. (For moderns...)

[Lantern]

The V.V.S.S. books seem to command a fairly significant premium over their unsigned counterparts.

 

[patman-migration]

thanks for the fast replies, fantasyfootballbono and texasknight!

 

i actually thought it was a signature series 9.8 so it was relatively cheap when I checked wizard 150 ($150). that's why i panicked when i checked on it again in the page. oh well. i guess that's what a CGC newbie gets when not being careful in eBay.

 

next time, i will just buy direct (hopefully). thanks!

[valiantman]

The V.V.S.S. books seem to command a fairly significant premium over their unsigned counterparts.

Yep... those books were signed "at Valiant",

sold "by Valiant", have a certificate "from Valiant",

and include an embossed seal on the comic that "says Valiant".

Valiant collectors tend to treat them as official items,

and pay much more than the Dynamic Forces and other signed book prices.

 

If a signed Valiant is not a VVSS book, it might sell for $2 higher than unsigned.

[FFB]

I agree with virtually everything you said, especially about the fact that autographs add very little or no value to a comic, but would like to point out one exception: The Overstreet Grading Guide at page 129 suggests that creator autographs and owner signatures should not be considered defects on books in 9.9 MT or below, but also suggests that no book can be a 10.0 Gem Mint with a signature or autograph. I realize that this doesn't matter to the vast majority of people out there, but if you do think you have a book that will grade at a 10.0 (fat chance, but whatever), don't have anyone autograph it if you want to keep it that way.

 

Forgetting CGC for a minute...

 

Signatures have never really increased the price of modern comic books.

In the back issue market, most signed books sell for the same or maybe $10 higher

than the unsigned counterpart... so the signature itself is not valuable...

Rarely will a signature significantly increase the price of a comic vs. unsigned.

 

If you feel like a CGC 9.8 Batman 608 is a good buy for $110 even without a signature,

then don't worry about the green Qualified label.

 

Modern signatures aren't "defects", especially when they are from Dynamic Forces,

or another reputable company, but they're not "major premiums" either.

 

Since modern signatures don't command much premium anyway,

there's little need to counterfeit them... meaning most of them are authentic,

and the yellow Signature Series label is probably unnecessary. (For moderns...)

[AlexH]

Forgetting CGC for a minute...

 

Signatures have never really increased the price of modern comic books.

In the back issue market, most signed books sell for the same or maybe $10 higher

than the unsigned counterpart... so the signature itself is not valuable...

Rarely will a signature significantly increase the price of a comic vs. unsigned.

 

If you feel like a CGC 9.8 Batman 608 is a good buy for $110 even without a signature,

then don't worry about the green Qualified label.

 

Modern signatures aren't "defects", especially when they are from Dynamic Forces,

or another reputable company, but they're not "major premiums" either.

 

Since modern signatures don't command much premium anyway,

there's little need to counterfeit them... meaning most of them are authentic,

and the yellow Signature Series label is probably unnecessary. (For moderns...)

 

OK, wait a second. You are saying:

 

"Since modern signatures don't command much premium anyway,

there's little need to counterfeit them... meaning most of them are authentic,

and the yellow Signature Series label is probably unnecessary."

 

Uhh, I disagree!!! The yellow label is very much needed to prove to people that autographs are legitimate. I think you are right in saying that "raw" autorgraphs rarely sell for much of a premium, and that's why the yellow label is needed. It gives the public much needed reassurance in an industry that sometimes likes to take shortcuts.

 

Here are some recent sales for modern yellow label books in the last month (according to ebay):

 

- Batman #608 $203.51

- Spiderman Manga #1 $49.99

- Batman #608 $138.49

- Batman #612 $102.50

- X-Men #146 $127.50

- Batman #608 $171.00

- Emma Frost #1 $66.00

- Born #1 $41.00

- Wolverine #1 $45.00

- Daredevil #2 $51.00

- Ultimate X-Men #35 $39.99

 

I could go on, but I think you get the picture that if these books didn't have the yellow label, they wouldn't have received the prices that they did.

[kuot-migration]

looked like Batman #608 is the most costly of them all!!

[mitol]

looked like Batman #608 is the most costly of them all!!

 

The Signature Series Batman #608 (9.8) is the current flavor of the month and over time, should decrease somewhat in value, but this year, a Signature Series Superman #204 in the same grade may beat that, especially considering Jim Lee's now living in Italy and is not currently scheduled to appear at any North American Cons.

[Darthdiesel]

... it would be unusual for anyone to doubt the genuinity of those issues, except for people like Darthdiesel who hoard DF certificates and threaten to sell them with fake autographs. (Kidding Darth! )

 

 

(as I quietly hide away the Jungle Fantasy 1 DF variant resketch COA I've been busy "converting" to an "Amazing Fantasy 15 DF variant resketch by Ditko, signed by Stan Lee COA)