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The Official 2013 Modern Age Speculation Challenge

Started by Reno McCoy,

322 posts in this topic

Reno McCoy

Reno McCoy

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Think you’re the Master of the Modern Age? Think your speculation skills are the best of the best? If so, it’s time to put up or shut up. It’s time for…

 

THE 2013 MODERN AGE SPECULATION CHALLENGE

 

 

GOAL

This is a modern age comic book speculation challenge. As such, the goal of this contest is to take $8 to buy modern age comics, flip 'em, and then invest your earnings to continually buy/flip more modern comics. The person with the most money from their initial $8 wins the pride of the forum (and a handy new signature image).

 

 

HOW TO SIGN UP

You can sign up to play at any time. To sign up for the contest:

1. Send a PM to Boozad and Reno McCoy. Include your email address in the PM.

2. One of the Challenge Moderators will send you a Challenge Spreadsheet.*

3. Update your Challenge Spreadsheet with every purchase and sale you make for the 2013 Speculation Challenge.

 

*IMPORTANT NOTE: The official spreadsheet might not be available until the first week of January.

 

 

HOW TO PLAY

1. Buy a comic.

2. Update your Challenge Spreadsheet with information on title, publication date, cost, and a link to the purchase (or other verifiable information).

3. Send the updated Challenge Spreadsheet, via email, to the Challenge Moderators.

4. Sell your comic(s).

5. Repeat steps 1-4 throughout the year.

 

 

DETAILED RULES

1. Contest starts January 1, 2013, and ends on December 31, 2013.

 

2. Contestants start with $8 for which to buy up to two new modern comics published after July 1, 2012.

     2a. You can buy the second comic at any time, as long as the total for your two initial comics does not exceed $8.

     2b. After you buy your initial comic(s), any remaining money from that initial $8 disappears. From here on out, you must sell your comics to fund your speculation project.

 

3. This is a Gentlemen’s Agreement (see below), however, sales need to be trackable and viewable online by the Challenge Moderators. This means they need to be sold via eBay, this forum's sales thread, or another site so that other contestants or the moderators can verify the purchase/sale.

     3a. If the sell/purchase is not trackable online, the contestant should provide other proof to the Challenge Moderators, such as the name of a board member who can vouch for the transaction.

     3b. Purchases made on current modern comics (any book published within the last 30 days) do not need to be trackable. However, these purchases must be entered at full cover price on your spreadsheet.

 

4. After your initial sale(s), you can use the money you earned on any book published after December 31, 1999.

 

5. Shipping costs, eBay fees, and taxes do not need to be accounted for in your Challenge Spreadsheet.

 

6. Grading fees must be accounted for in your Challenge Spreadsheet. We will use full price (no discounts) for grading fees. That way bulk buyers don't get a slight advantage simply because they have the means to grade in bulk. (NOTE: If you accumulate enough raw books in the contest to earn lower rate bulk fees with only those books, you can use your discounted fee in your calculations.)

 

7. At the end of the contest, only money you earned from selling those comics you purchased in the contest count in your final value. Unsold books do not count toward your speculation tally. (Money is king here. A stack of valuable modern books might look cool, but they won't earn you bragging rights here.)

 

8. If at any point your speculations bomb and you're out of money, or if you decide to start over for any reason, you must announce your decision in the official contest thread. From that day forward, contestants accrue a 15-day penalty, after which the contestant can restart with a new $8 entry.

 

9. Updates must be sent to the Challenge Moderators within 5 days of the most current purchase/sale/grading.

 

10. Contest ends December 31, 2013. All sales must be finalized prior to January 1, 2014, and the contestant's final value must be announced by January 6, 2014.

 

11. Challenge Moderator decisions are final.

 

 

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

You do not need to notify the general audience which books you purchased or sold. As long as the moderators can verify your purchases and sales, you can keep your progress a secret.

 

Every month, the moderators will provide a current ranking for all participants.

 

All books you purchase in your quest to be the All-Knowing God of the Modern Age must have been published after December 31, 1999. (The initial purchased books must be published after July 1, 2012.)

 

On Free Comic Book Day, all contestants can get one FCBD comic to add to their speculation collection.

 

The purchase of variants is allowed. However, as a Gentlemen’s Agreement (see below), please don’t use your connections to get a cheap variant knowing that others won’t be able to secure such a great deal. Please contact the Challenge Moderators if you’re concerned about any potential purchase.

 

Contestants can purchase collected volumes as part of the contest, as long as the collected volumes meet all other Challenge Criteria.

 

Those playing outside of the United States, please adjust this information to meet your needs. The initial $8/2-comic goal should work for you wherever you are. The key is purchasing two comics at cover price. If the best speculators at the end of the year are from different countries, we'll use % to determine the winner.

 

 

WHAT IS CHEATING?

1. Buying multiple copies of multiple issues in the hope that one of them gets hot, and then announcing which book you selected to buy next. (Be honest. Select the next purchase, and if it bombs, admit your busts and move on.)

 

2. Using your connections to get a deal no one else can get. (Please don't coerce others to pay more for a comic because they owe you a favor, and don't attempt to purchase a new variant at a huge discount because you have a buddy at the LCS.)

 

3. No switching your Speculation Challenge comics with your personal stash. You must maintain your challenge purchases away from your personal purchases. (That way, if you have two copies of book X in the contest and you have five additional copies in your personal collection, you can't grade them all and cherry pick the prime grades to use in the contest.)

 

 

PURE SPECULATION OF CURRENT MODERNS

The Challenge Moderators will keep tabs in the updated rankings for those who attempt to go through the entire contest purchasing only new moderns (no more than 30 days old). It’s possible the highest ranked contestant speculating only on current moderns will earn additional bragging rights.

 

 

GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT

We can't create rules for every contingency. So with that in mind, please consider this a gentlemen's challenge and stay within the heart of the rules. We're relying on the honor of all contestants to keep this thing on track.

 

Most of all, have fun and share your knowledge and love of the Modern Age comics, creators, and publishers.

 

 

Speculators! Mount up!

 

 

 

 

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Reno McCoy

Reno McCoy

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Please note that because of the recent poll, some of the rules have changed. If there are any questions or if you need clarification, please let us know.

 

Also, I'll be out on vacation through next Saturday and will have limited access to the interwebs. Gav can answer anything you need, and if there are mistakes in the rules or anything like that, I'll edit my post upon my return.

 

Good luck!

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jjoseph7772

jjoseph7772

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3. This is a Gentlemen’s Agreement (see below), however, sales need to be trackable and viewable online by the Challenge Moderators. This means they need to be sold via eBay, this forum's sales thread, or another site so that other contestants or the moderators can verify the purchase/sale.

3a. If the sell/purchase is not trackable online, the contestant should provide other proof to the Challenge Moderators, such as the name of a board member who can vouch for the transaction.

3b. Purchases made on current modern comics (any book published within the last 30 days) do not need to be trackable. However, these purchases must be entered at full cover price on your spreadsheet.

 

 

I use amazon. I assume a screenshot of a sale is sufficient?

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Boozad

Boozad

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So what is the flat rate for a modern CgC submission? Are we accounting for regular vs fast track? CGC's new pressing service?

 

We'll use exact amounts Jeff that are applicable at the time the service was purchased. If you purchase a FT plus press that's what will come out of your pot when it's billed. If prices change through the year then they'll be accounted at the new rate.

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Boozad

Boozad

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Not yet. I've actually been thinking it would be easier to post transactions in the thread (prices) with verification via PM. The spreadsheet I've created will be an ongoing thing, I can't really cover for the year as I don't know how many books people will buy and sell, and I don't want to create a monster that has hundreds of cells that aren't needed.

 

If people post their buys and sells in here with dates (and update the PM with info) James and I will keep on top of the spreadsheet and post monthly updates. Any objections to this?

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