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TIME MACHINE! Sealed boxes from the distributor. Will I find a 9.9?
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Started by newshane,

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newshane

newshane

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UPDATE: Of the five books I submitted for pressing and grading, all five passed the 9.8 pre-screen over at Classics Incorporated. Early next week (I believe), the books will be sent to CGC modern fast track. I really believe that only one of the five has an honest shot. I'll let you know when they arrive.

 

:wishluck:

 

I also have another box of raw comics to peruse. Unfortunately, my career and graduate school are eating up a great deal of my spare time.

 

:(

 

Either way I guess I'll be able to update this thread at least a few more times before seeing it float away to the archives. Wish me luck!

 

- S

 

P.S. I know the decision to have the first batch pressed is somewhat controversial, but I wanted to give these books every possible chance. I know it would be a better scientific study to see how they would do without the pressing, but I'll save science for the next batch. It's time to add more mint slabs to the collection. :devil:

Edited by newshane
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MODOK

MODOK

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Does anyone still collect Spawn? I'm thinking you spent too much on kindling. (shrug)

 

laughing.gif

 

All kidding aside, this is an awesome thread. You took a gamble. I applaud you on that!

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ChrisInBaltimore

ChrisInBaltimore

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I've read through this thread, but maybe I missed it. How did you manage to fine the boxes from the distributor that had never been opened? I've seen long boxes filled of some of those early 90s comics people thought they'd get rich off of, but I've never seen boxes directly from the distributor unopened...

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newshane

newshane

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I've read through this thread, but maybe I missed it. How did you manage to fine the boxes from the distributor that had never been opened? I've seen long boxes filled of some of those early 90s comics people thought they'd get rich off of, but I've never seen boxes directly from the distributor unopened...

 

The short answer is that a local guy sold them to me. He bought out a local comic book store a few years ago and the boxes were surplus items. I'm sure plenty of stores (especially ones that went out of business) made the mistake of ordering too many of these books back in the day and it doesn't surprise me that a few boxes were left over. You can also say that I got lucky by remaining vigilant and checking my connections.

 

I made a chart a few months ago tracking sales of the Spawn title. As you can clearly see, Spawn suffered a severe drop in sales after the movie bombed back in the late 90s. This, of course, actually makes it very difficult for a collector to find exceptional copies of books past issue 150. None of them are Gerber 7s or 8s of course, but substantially rarer and more difficult to find than the earlier issues everyone loves overcharging for.

 

spawnsaleschart.jpg

 

 

Chris, my point is this - there were hundreds of thousands of these things floating around in the early to mid 90s. While I'm sure many of them made it to the landfills or ended up being fine reader copies, I'm sure many more of them are still sitting around in boxes somewhere.

 

Of course, poor storage conditions, such as the ones my books were subjected to, can make the proposition a heavy gamble. I even found a spider eggsac inside one of the boxes! The guy kept them in a "shed" supposedly. Some of the boxes kept very well, others were violated as the adhesive on the tape slowly wore off over the years. I also can't help but to think that some of the boxes were manhandled, based on the evidence gathered as I began to sort through them.

 

There were two major distributors of comics in North America during the early 90s if I recall correctly. One was Diamond, the other was a company based out of Montreal, Canada. My boxes were from Canada. Maybe the Diamond boxes fared better? By the way, if I'm wrong about this - I welcome corrections from any veteran comic dealers. Thanks guys!

 

-Shane

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newshane

newshane

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Went through the last box tonight and found a few additional candidates. I've called an end to my searching. All candidates have been pulled and packaged for future shipment.

 

I've found a total of 12 candidates from seven boxes. Of the dozen I pulled, I feel very strongly about three or four. Most of the boxes were sealed and contained around 200 comics a piece. Some of the boxes had already been opened and were missing copies.

 

As far as my experiment is concerned, I'd say there is a 0.3% chance of finding a mint book in a sealed box that has been moved around a few times in the last few decades.

 

Keep in mind, I've only sent off five candidates thus far and none of them have yet been graded. Those books have, however, passed the 9.8 pre-screen over at Classics Incorporated.

 

I now have another seven to send off.

 

I will be thrilled if I get just one.

 

I found two books just now that are absolutely gorgeous! The binding is perfect and spine-wear is almost non-existent. The staples, however, aren't exactly parallel and that gives me slight cause for concern.

 

My strategy is simple - pick about a dozen or so from each box and then compare them to one another as things are "narrowed" down by increasing scrutiny. I check the coners first, then all the edges. I check the staples to make sure they are tight, well placed, and free of rust or gum. I look down the spine for signs of rubbing. I shine a tiny, intense flashlight on the cover. I hold at different angles to look for dimples, dirt, or other flaws. The process is rather disheartening - one tends to run across a number of books that are perfect in everyway, only to uncover some flaw - a spot left by the printer, a bowed staple, the tiniest crease along the far-edge. These liltte flaws make all the difference in the world!

 

As I await grades from my first batch, I thought I'd post one more picture.

 

Each box had a packing slip like the one in the picture.

 

"These products have been carefully produced, examined, and packed by..."

 

lol

 

comicslip.jpg

Edited by newshane
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r100comics

r100comics

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This has been a really interesting thread, and you definitely deserve some 9.9's after all the effort you've put in.

 

Your quest would make more sense to me if I knew what you'd paid for the 7 boxes ? Does the value of a 9.9, cover this cost ? I understand you might not want to say it here but feel free to PM me as I'd love to know.

 

Hearing that some of the boxes were previously opened is a slight concern, as the best copies could already have been cherry-picked from those.

 

It's worth bearing in mind that 9.8's (and even a 9.9) are allowed one or two very minor flaws so I wouldn't be surprised if you have more 9.8's than you thought across all the boxes.

 

Good luck ! (thumbs u

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newshane

newshane

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Hearing that some of the boxes were previously opened is a slight concern, as the best copies could already have been cherry-picked from those.

 

It doesn't LOOK like someone rummaged through the box for the best copy. It looks like someone opened up the box and simply removed the top few dozen copies. I think you'd be surprised to know that some of my best examples came from a box that had already been opened, so if someone did rummage through the box in search of the best copy...I think they failed.

 

Keep in mind that this is left-over stock from a comic store.

 

It's also interesting to note that I found the best copies near the middle of each box. Copies packed on the top and bottom appeared to be more succeptable to damage in transit or storage. The best books were also protected, in many instances, by the overlap caused when some of the books shifted around.

 

The worst copies were near the top. These copies suffered from severe (relatively speaking) spine rub.

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newshane

newshane

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Your quest would make more sense to me if I knew what you'd paid for the 7 boxes ? Does the value of a 9.9, cover this cost ? I understand you might not want to say it here but feel free to PM me as I'd love to know.

 

Thanks for your interest! I do think it's best if I didn't throw around an exact number. Please rest assured, however, that the figure is low enough to make the quest worthwhile. If I get multiple 9.9s from the same issue (I don't think this will happen) then it could even be profitable. I know a few collectors who would probably be extrememly interested in those particular issues and if I do get multiples from the same issue, they will be going on the market.

 

If I do get 9.9s back, some of them will be unique in their position on the census and I will own some "monopolies" on grades for certain issues.

 

However, profit and economy did not come into play in this decision. I don't collect Spawn for profit and I'm not seeking to flip these books. I am simply maniacal in my search for books of the highest quality.

 

As a result, I'm willing to pay stupid money.

 

Good thing I didn't have to...in this case. :whee:

 

To answer your question - yes the value of a single 9.9 would cover the cost.

 

 

 

Edited by newshane
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dillndill

dillndill

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Great thread!! Can't wait to see your results. (thumbs u

 

As far as the boxes. Image was being printed up in Canada back then and these are probably the boxes shipped from the printer to either Diamond or Capital City.

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Hado

Hado

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This thread and Matt and Kenny's before and after thread. Also the antique/ flea market finds oh and the full restoration thread and don't forget this week back from cgc and the sales thread.... Hang on a minute this entire forum is AWESOME.
+ lots (thumbs u
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