Tomorrow's Treasures slabs now?

[Sqeggs]

I had a very civil conversation with Ritchie at Chicago Wizard. He was courteous and went out of his way to be helpful when I inquired about a book for a boardie who wasn't able to make the show. Personally, I like the guy even though I still have mixed feelings about his approach to indulging in amateur repairs on raw books labeled as conservation.

 

In criticizing his earlier policy ...that stood in vehement opposition to third party grading... I felt it disingenuous to repair raw books while dismissing grading services (as it appeared to be a self-serving policy designed solely to bolster his eBay listings). But in fairness to Ritchie, the repair work he's done has been stated up front in his listings. The biggest arguments against Ritchie these days appear to be over-grading discrepencies.

 

Fast forward to the new Ritchie Muchin (meet the new boss, same as the old boss). He's still the same guy, but he's evolved in such a way that it makes third party grading services appear to have come around to his POV. Purely from a tactical perspective, Ritchie's change of heart is a win/win. It allows him to take the high ground, claiming victory for changing the rules of the game, while joining the established grading community. I'm all in favor of that; kudos to RM's cleverness.

 

Bottom line, I congratulate Ritchie and wish him all the best. How often in the real world or our collecting community does the hen house come around to the fox's POV?

 

Interesting perspective on him . . .

 

Pragmatism has it's virtues (the CGC's grading service evolved providing Ritchie a golden opportunity to shift gears).

 

Richie uses the other grading company.

 

Yep, that irony is self-apparent. Of course, the other company's label doesn't differentiate conserved from unrestored by label color which may be his rationale for going that route. That said, the CGC's Conserved label provides tacit vindication of his POV (i.e. cover), allowing him another option should he choose to submit repaired books that fall under the Conserved label's guidelines.

 

In short, both labels are probably a win/win from Ritchie's perspective.

 

Actually, it all boiled down to dollars and sense. His expensive books just sat around too long without selling. Certification has changed that somewhat for him.

 

He finally had the sense to start making more dollars.

[mrmyst]

Bingo!

[Cat-Man_America]

I had a very civil conversation with Ritchie at Chicago Wizard. He was courteous and went out of his way to be helpful when I inquired about a book for a boardie who wasn't able to make the show. Personally, I like the guy even though I still have mixed feelings about his approach to indulging in amateur repairs on raw books labeled as conservation.

 

In criticizing his earlier policy ...that stood in vehement opposition to third party grading... I felt it disingenuous to repair raw books while dismissing grading services (as it appeared to be a self-serving policy designed solely to bolster his eBay listings). But in fairness to Ritchie, the repair work he's done has been stated up front in his listings. The biggest arguments against Ritchie these days appear to be over-grading discrepencies.

 

Fast forward to the new Ritchie Muchin (meet the new boss, same as the old boss). He's still the same guy, but he's evolved in such a way that it makes third party grading services appear to have come around to his POV. Purely from a tactical perspective, Ritchie's change of heart is a win/win. It allows him to take the high ground, claiming victory for changing the rules of the game, while joining the established grading community. I'm all in favor of that; kudos to RM's cleverness.

 

Bottom line, I congratulate Ritchie and wish him all the best. How often in the real world or our collecting community does the hen house come around to the fox's POV?

 

Interesting perspective on him . . .

 

Pragmatism has it's virtues (the CGC's grading service evolved providing Ritchie a golden opportunity to shift gears).

 

Richie uses the other grading company.

 

Yep, that irony is self-apparent. Of course, the other company's label doesn't differentiate conserved from unrestored by label color which may be his rationale for going that route. That said, the CGC's Conserved label provides tacit vindication of his POV (i.e. cover), allowing him another option should he choose to submit repaired books that fall under the Conserved label's guidelines.

 

In short, both labels are probably a win/win from Ritchie's perspective.

 

Actually, it all boiled down to dollars and sense. His expensive books just sat around too long without selling. Certification has changed that somewhat for him.

 

Alas, truth usually comes in various shades dependent upon one's POV. In this day and age, facts rarely matter (I could make a political analogy, but I don't want the thread to get *spoon*-canned).

 

BTW, I actually wrote out spoon rather than rely on CGC's profanity filter.

 

Regardless of Ritchie's rationale, the Conserved label came along at just the right time, allowing him ideal cover to take both sides of his stubbornly held position on slabbing without conceding any of his declared principles.

 

Yeah, no doubt long standing inventory probably played a role in his thinking, but I'd rather you pose that question to him directly.

 

I'll just watch from ring-side.

[mrmyst]

I had a very civil conversation with Ritchie at Chicago Wizard. He was courteous and went out of his way to be helpful when I inquired about a book for a boardie who wasn't able to make the show. Personally, I like the guy even though I still have mixed feelings about his approach to indulging in amateur repairs on raw books labeled as conservation.

 

In criticizing his earlier policy ...that stood in vehement opposition to third party grading... I felt it disingenuous to repair raw books while dismissing grading services (as it appeared to be a self-serving policy designed solely to bolster his eBay listings). But in fairness to Ritchie, the repair work he's done has been stated up front in his listings. The biggest arguments against Ritchie these days appear to be over-grading discrepencies.

 

Fast forward to the new Ritchie Muchin (meet the new boss, same as the old boss). He's still the same guy, but he's evolved in such a way that it makes third party grading services appear to have come around to his POV. Purely from a tactical perspective, Ritchie's change of heart is a win/win. It allows him to take the high ground, claiming victory for changing the rules of the game, while joining the established grading community. I'm all in favor of that; kudos to RM's cleverness.

 

Bottom line, I congratulate Ritchie and wish him all the best. How often in the real world or our collecting community does the hen house come around to the fox's POV?

 

Interesting perspective on him . . .

 

Pragmatism has it's virtues (the CGC's grading service evolved providing Ritchie a golden opportunity to shift gears).

 

Richie uses the other grading company.

 

Yep, that irony is self-apparent. Of course, the other company's label doesn't differentiate conserved from unrestored by label color which may be his rationale for going that route. That said, the CGC's Conserved label provides tacit vindication of his POV (i.e. cover), allowing him another option should he choose to submit repaired books that fall under the Conserved label's guidelines.

 

In short, both labels are probably a win/win from Ritchie's perspective.

 

Actually, it all boiled down to dollars and sense. His expensive books just sat around too long without selling. Certification has changed that somewhat for him.

 

Alas, truth usually comes in various shades dependent upon one's POV. In this day and age, facts rarely matter (I could make a political analogy, but I don't want the thread to get *spoon*-canned).

 

BTW, I actually wrote out spoon rather than rely on CGC's profanity filter.

 

Regardless of Ritchie's rationale, the Conserved label came along at just the right time, allowing him ideal cover to take both sides of his stubbornly held position on slabbing without admitting to the defeat of his declared principles.

 

Yeah, no doubt long standing inventory probably played a role in his thinking, but I'd rather you pose that question to him directly.

 

I'd rather just watch from ring-side.

 

I actually had a long conversation with him about it last summer.

[Cat-Man_America]

I actually had a long conversation with him about it last summer.

 

...And?

 

Seriously, I'm curious about your perspective on Ritchie's reasoning. So far, his slab-dissing eBay ads haven't undergone a similar conversion to his kinder-gentler stance on third-party grading. Just sayin'.

[mrmyst]

I actually had a long conversation with him about it last summer.

 

...And?

 

Seriously, I'm curious about your perspective on Ritchie's reasoning. So far, his slab-dissing eBay ads haven't undergone a similar conversion to his kinder-gentler stance on third-party grading. Just sayin'.

 

Maybe you should give him a ring - my perspective ain't worth a dang. My only 'perspective' from my conversation with him is what I'd previously posted above, that it makes financial sense for him to certify certain books in his stock. That's it. He has his own motivations and by noooooooo stretch does he need anyone to speak for him.

[Cat-Man_America]

I actually had a long conversation with him about it last summer.

 

...And?

 

Seriously, I'm curious about your perspective on Ritchie's reasoning. So far, his slab-dissing eBay ads haven't undergone a similar conversion to his kinder-gentler stance on third-party grading. Just sayin'.

 

Maybe you should give him a ring - my perspective ain't worth a dang. My only 'perspective' from my conversation with him is what I'd previously posted above, that it makes financial sense for him to certify certain books in his stock. That's it. He has his own motivations and by noooooooo stretch does he need anyone to speak for him.

 

 

Who needs perspective? You should be a politician (I mean that as a compliment, even though that's getting a bum rap these days).

 

...And I can't give Ritchie a ring, I'm already married!

[WalkinWillie]

I talked with him at Heroes-Con last weekend and asked him about the turnabout concerning slabs. Basically it boiled down to his perception that comics are more of a commodity for newer collectors/dealers than a comic book. As older comic collectors/dealers become fewer and younger collectors/dealers enter the hobby, Richie figured out that if he was to maintain profitability, then he would have to change his tune. I remember him buying slabs from me years ago and breaking them open immediately after handing over the cash.

 

I asked him why he went with the other company and he said that the other company's founder was the one that established the grading system for CGC so why not go with the standard bearer.

 

His perception is that whether you go with company A or company B to get your books slabbed, 25% will be graded lower than you thought, 25% higher and 50% right on the money. He said he could live with that.

 

My take is that it is just hard to sell a raw book that GPAs over four figures over the internet. I think Richie is also going to cut down the number of shows he does a year and rely on the internet more than in the past.