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Parting out low grade key book. How do you feel about it?

Started by drotto,

24 posts in this topic

drotto

drotto

Posted
Posted

This little bit of a debate started over in the PGM section, but I wanted to bring it over here and see how other people feel about this practice. A "favorite" eBay seller recently bought a low grade copy of AF 15. It was a blue label 0.5 where about 1/3 of the cover had been cleanly cut off removing the title of the book. The book was otherwise complete. After buying the book, the new owner parted the book completely. Then sent the individual pages to both PGX and CGC to get a NG blue label for each page as well as for the now empty cover. They then relisted each of these parts on eBay separately, and made a healthy profit selling them.

 

 

Original sale.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-CGC-0-5-C-OW-Pages-1st-Appearance-Spider-Man-3-4-Cover-/351883959324?hash=item51edeb1c1c:g:C-4AAOSwo4pYCRmS

 

empty cover.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-PGX-Cover-Only-1st-App-of-Spider-Man-1962-Original-/201740361831?hash=item2ef8a9a067:g:ZuwAAOSwj85YRjr-

 

some pages

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-PGX-Page-2-Only-1st-App-of-Spider-Man-1962-Original-/252689487709?hash=item3ad577975d:g:8LgAAOSwux5YRFyS

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-PGX-Page-4-Only-1st-App-of-Spider-Man-1962-Original-/401246502941?hash=item5d6c27c01d:g:rWkAAOSw4GVYRGWQ

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-CGC-Page-5-Only-1st-App-of-Spider-Man-1962-Original-/201773053698?hash=item2efa9c7702:g:cmAAAOSwImRYbW4T

 

 

 

 

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catman76

catman76

Posted
Posted

I personally don't like the idea of taking a comic apart if it already isn't apart, but if it was in pieces already I'd part it out in a heartbeat to make more money and get tons of comics I actually want. Amazing Fantasy is all about the money and it's also just a comic to have so people can say they have it and feel great having it because it's some popular thing everyone else wants. That's all it is, just money, status, like owning some other thing that's considered some "classic" or whatever that people just have to have because it's this fad and popular or "classic".

I am surprised it doesn't happen more often actually, especially with amazing fantasy that has thousands of copies in existence and I am sure lots of beaters to part out, then lots of people can have a piece of it and feel special they have it, even if it's only one page. I don't blame that seller at all, it's all about money with that comic.

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shadroch

shadroch

Posted
Posted

I have no problem with doing this to real beater books.

I'd hate to see someone do this to a nice book, although in the 90s, I split up many copies of a Superman book that had iconic covers and posters and sold them individually.

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comix4fun

comix4fun

Posted
Posted
This little bit of a debate started over in the PGM section, but I wanted to bring it over here and see how other people feel about this practice. A "favorite" eBay seller recently bought a low grade copy of AF 15. It was a blue label 0.5 where about 1/3 of the cover had been cleanly cut off removing the title of the book. The book was otherwise complete. After buying the book, the new owner parted the book completely. Then sent the individual pages to both PGX and CGC to get a NG blue label for each page as well as for the now empty cover. They then relisted each of these parts on eBay separately, and made a healthy profit selling them.

 

 

Original sale.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-CGC-0-5-C-OW-Pages-1st-Appearance-Spider-Man-3-4-Cover-/351883959324?hash=item51edeb1c1c:g:C-4AAOSwo4pYCRmS

 

empty cover.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-PGX-Cover-Only-1st-App-of-Spider-Man-1962-Original-/201740361831?hash=item2ef8a9a067:g:ZuwAAOSwj85YRjr-

 

some pages

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-PGX-Page-2-Only-1st-App-of-Spider-Man-1962-Original-/252689487709?hash=item3ad577975d:g:8LgAAOSwux5YRFyS

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-PGX-Page-4-Only-1st-App-of-Spider-Man-1962-Original-/401246502941?hash=item5d6c27c01d:g:rWkAAOSw4GVYRGWQ

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Fantasy-15-CGC-Page-5-Only-1st-App-of-Spider-Man-1962-Original-/201773053698?hash=item2efa9c7702:g:cmAAAOSwImRYbW4T

 

 

 

 

 

I'm against the practice of destruction of key comics.

 

One thing though. I am not seeing the "healthy profit", especially from an AF 15 where the spidey story is so short.

 

He bought the book for $5900 plus the cost of slabbing all those pages.

 

Cover and 11 pages (most front-back pages) have spidey.

 

He sold the loose cover, page 3-4, ,page 7, page 8-9 for $3400 total

 

His starting bid (raised most likely due to the sale prices on the above lots) for the rest of the Spidey AF 15 pages totals $1700.

 

If he sells them all he's looking at $5100 and a bunch of unwanted Ditko backup non-superhero story pages. He'll be lucky to break even. Most likely it's a loss and I can't say it breaks my heart. lol Hopefully it will drive the idea from his head.

 

 

One additional point....he's done this more than once. He's sold a page 7 and he has an entirely different page 7 up for auction. :eek:

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kav

kav

Posted
Posted

I was wondering where the profit was also in this. Looks like a loss to me.

$5100 minus ebay paypal fees, shipping, cost to slab and ship to CGC, packing materials....I see loss loss loss and work

I see $5900 turning into $4300 after extensive effort.

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rjpb

rjpb

Posted
Posted

I'm surprised someone paid 2K for an AF15 cover wrap in which a third or more of the top was gone. The seller looks like he has sold or is offering pages from several copies, with the centerfolds and the Spidey pages being the easier sale. I don't understand the appeal of owning a single page of a key, but to each their own, and I really don't get why anyone would want a non-spidey page, unless they had a copy missing it. everything has a value, I suppose, but I don't know how profitable chopping up that particular copy was for the effort, The buyer paid 5900, and it looks like the aggregate value parted out is around 8K at most, minus ebay fees, paypal fees,, and slabbing costs. Sure it's a few hundred dollars profit, but for the time and original investment, I can't see it catching on.

 

For a book as common as AF15 I see little issue with dismantling a very low grade copy. For a GA key that's basically complete, it's a bit more of a shame, as it takes a comparatively affordable copy out of the pool, but arguably it makes owning a piece possible for those who can't afford even a .5 copy. For a coverless copy missing the centerfold or even more, it doesn't bother me, though I'm not sold on the notion it ultimately makes economic sense.

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gino2paulus2

gino2paulus2

Posted
Posted

I am most concerned that All_Things_Comics is a favorite seller??? Anything sold through them IMO has something back alley shady going on. This is simply my opinion but they have something going on with PGX and i have called them out in the past. They bought a known incomplete book from me and had it "sent" to PGX where it came back complete. They listed it and I Called them out on the dishonest listing and have never seen the book again. This and all the trimming they do to tons of keys it is absolutely ludicrous. This doesn't surprise me one bit. They should change their handle to Destruction_Of_All_Things_Comics

 

edited to add link for those not in the know...kind of off topic but worth reading

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=8383364&fpart=4

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miraclemet

miraclemet

Posted
Posted

I think it's a bad move, and just encourages others to do it, and will lead to people destroying good books because someone thinks the parts are worth more than the whole when the whole is perfecty good.

 

In this case I think remaindered copies have a bit of nostalgia to them over their .5 grade since remaindering was part of the hobby for a long time...

 

I bet there are plenty of buyers who would prefer a nice remaindered copy over a complete but truely beat to death "complete"copy that was graded .5

 

now if you have a GA copy of Superman 1 that's falling apart or already mostly separated (or has such brittle pages that you cant handle it like a book) I understand separating those pages...

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Michelangelo

Michelangelo

Posted
Posted

that is sacrilege; I hope he loses money... if others see that this may make money, it will happen more frequently.

 

I get that people want to make money off the hobby and there's nothing wrong with that... but when you intentionally deface books, you defile the hobby

 

no better than running a chop shop

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Red_Hood

Red_Hood

Posted
Posted

That's not even the same cover as the original one that sold.

Not even close to the same.

Unless PGX has started a magically color and marker removal service.

Look again at Spider-Man's costume and under Spider-Man's hand holding

the web.

 

Are you sure you aren't jumping to conclusions and not

doing all your fact checking?

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Michelangelo

Michelangelo

Posted
Posted
That's not even the same cover as the original one that sold.

Not even close to the same.

Unless PGX has started a magically color and marker removal service.

Look again at Spider-Man's costume and under Spider-Man's hand holding

the web.

 

Are you sure you aren't jumping to conclusions and not

doing all your fact checking?

 

you're right... not the same.

 

Also the CGC 0.5 has some writing along the right edge near spidey's hand

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