Cracking cases, raising grades & flipping on ebay

[AlphaOmega]

I was just browsing on ebay and I ran across two books that I just sold a few weeks ago to Aardvarkps. These books caught my eye because I recognized the name and thought it was strange that this buyer is selling the same two books that he just purchased from me. Now I've had buyers flip my books before but these were CGC encapsulted books when I sold them and now they are being sold as raw books. Also, the books have gained a point or two. The two books in question are Fantastic Four #24 and Fantastic Four #26. The CGC grades on these were 7.0 and 6.5 respectively. Aardvarkps has them listed as 8.5 and 7.5 respectively.

 

I know these are the same books because of the distinctive tanning around the edges. These books are structurally VF/NM but CGC gave them lower grades because of the tanning on the inside of the cover. I have scans for comparison purposes in case anyone is interested. So a FYI in case anyone is planning on bidding.... do so accordingly.

 

Oh yeah, I did a little history search on this seller and it seems that this is m.o. (flipping books with a higher grade). To his credit though he seems to be easy to deal with on returns.

 

Link to auctions

[sfilosa]

Since what lowered the grade was tanning on the interior covers, I would bet that most buyers would be pleased with the purchase (even at a higher grade). Many collectors rarely take page quality or tanning into their grading criteria.

 

In other words if the EYE APPEAL looks to be the correct grade, the book will be acceptable.

[DKB]

addictedtoasm is another ebay seller that does that. Buys them slabbed, cracks em out, ups the grade (sometimes as much as 4.0!) and resells to fund his grandfathers heart surgery...or something along those lines. Absolute scumbag.

[Inhuman Fiend]

the addictedtoasm guy really cracks me up...all his listings for the past year or so start with "forced to sell to pay medical bills" , yet take a look at his feedback and you see even more buying activity than selling...and he's not buying cheap stuff.

But maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt and just ask him to change his auction description to say "forced to buy slabbed comics, crack them open and re-sell raw as a much higher grade in order to pay for medical bills"

[chrisco37]

Yep. That is what he does. I bought my Hulk #181 from him on eBay 3 years ago. Overgraded.

 

Used to think he was allright, but it's happened too many times.

[The Black Hand ®]

Since what lowered the grade was tanning on the interior covers, I would bet that most buyers would be pleased with the purchase (even at a higher grade). Many collectors rarely take page quality or tanning into their grading criteria.

 

In other words if the EYE APPEAL looks to be the correct grade, the book will be acceptable.

Page quality and tanning is one my biggest concerns when grading or buying, since is has very much to do with the overall quality and life expectancy of the book. Tanning on the front cover is a turn off to me, especially if the book is graded high.

[sfilosa]

Quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Since what lowered the grade was tanning on the interior covers, I would bet that most buyers would be pleased with the purchase (even at a higher grade). Many collectors rarely take page quality or tanning into their grading criteria.

 

In other words if the EYE APPEAL looks to be the correct grade, the book will be acceptable.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Page quality and tanning is one my biggest concerns when grading or buying, since is has very much to do with the overall quality and life expectancy of the book. Tanning on the front cover is a turn off to me, especially if the book is graded high.

 

 

Which is why I almost never buy raw books. Even fairly accurate graders won't deduct much (if any) for tanning. And unless they specify the page quality, you can almost assume on a high grade accurately graded book, the reason it wasn't certified was that the page quality would come back Cream to Off-White or worse.

[uclapeterg]

Since what lowered the grade was tanning on the interior covers, I would bet that most buyers would be pleased with the purchase (even at a higher grade). Many collectors rarely take page quality or tanning into their grading criteria.

 

In other words if the EYE APPEAL looks to be the correct grade, the book will be acceptable.

 

I consider tanning and page quality of a book to be a VERY IMPORTANT factor in a book's eye appeal.

[october]

That guy SUCKS at grading. He sent me a "VF/NM" King Size Hulk 1 that was a F+ at best. I guess three 1" back cover tears and a 1/2" spine split are allowed in 9.0. Does not surprise me that he is cracking slabs and selling them raw. I guess there is nothing technically wrong with that practice, but it still seems pretty shady to me.

 

[jbud73]

That guy SUCKS at grading. He sent me a "VF/NM" King Size Hulk 1 that was a F+ at best. I guess three 1" back cover tears and a 1/2" spine split are allowed in 9.0. Does not surprise me that he is cracking slabs and selling them raw. I guess there is nothing technically wrong with that practice, but it still seems pretty shady to me.

 

How can NOT disclosing the Industry standard in terms of grading opinion NOT be dishonest.

 

I would consider it similar to undisclosed restoration. Think about it, HE KNOWS THE book was slabbed at Grade X -- I'm not saying CGC is the final arbitrator, but c'mon, if he really thought it was undergraded, why not send it in a get it regraded?? Especially if he's saying its ONE FULL GRADE OF MORE BETTER That's a glaring contradiction that I cannot excuse. At least the crack and resub guys are putting their money where their mouth is and taking the time and cost to resub.... Of course often they are "working" or having things done to the book in the interim.

 

Even with CGC the lack of disclosure in this hobby is still simply staggering.

[Shadow]

I'm always grateful to be informed of garbage like this, but it still bums me out nonetheless. I guess expecting fairness and honesty is too much to ask for. Naive me.

[sfilosa]

Even with CGC the lack of disclosure in this hobby is still simply staggering.

 

If you get pass the PRESSING issue, CGC gives full disclosure.

 

Raw books have been and ALWAYS will be a GAMBLE.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Since what lowered the grade was tanning on the interior covers, I would bet that most buyers would be pleased with the purchase (even at a higher grade). Many collectors rarely take page quality or tanning into their grading criteria.

 

In other words if the EYE APPEAL looks to be the correct grade, the book will be acceptable.

 

I consider tanning and page quality of a book to be a VERY IMPORTANT factor in a book's eye appeal.

 

If you want to see some funky tanning take a look at this FF 26 PGX 8.5 and the other FFs the seller is offering. "Cream to Off-White pages"? Yeah right. The Mannarino books that CGC labeled as "Light Tan to Off-White" are ten times nicer.

[Shadow]

Should I be happy my X-Men #58 came back as a 9.0 with White pages?

[october]

That guy SUCKS at grading. He sent me a "VF/NM" King Size Hulk 1 that was a F+ at best. I guess three 1" back cover tears and a 1/2" spine split are allowed in 9.0. Does not surprise me that he is cracking slabs and selling them raw. I guess there is nothing technically wrong with that practice, but it still seems pretty shady to me.

 

How can NOT disclosing the Industry standard in terms of grading opinion NOT be dishonest.

 

I would consider it similar to undisclosed restoration. Think about it, HE KNOWS THE book was slabbed at Grade X -- I'm not saying CGC is the final arbitrator, but c'mon, if he really thought it was undergraded, why not send it in a get it regraded?? Especially if he's saying its ONE FULL GRADE OF MORE BETTER That's a glaring contradiction that I cannot excuse. At least the crack and resub guys are putting their money where their mouth is and taking the time and cost to resub.... Of course often they are "working" or having things done to the book in the interim.

 

Even with CGC the lack of disclosure in this hobby is still simply staggering.

 

Would I do it? Hell no. Would I be mad if someone else did and sold me an unslabbed copy? Hell yes. In the end though, CGC's grade is just an opinion and disagreeing with it isn't fraudulent. That's why I used the word "technically".

[Rip]

Wow the tanning on that book is crazy. 8.0 looks generous

[uclapeterg]

Since what lowered the grade was tanning on the interior covers, I would bet that most buyers would be pleased with the purchase (even at a higher grade). Many collectors rarely take page quality or tanning into their grading criteria.

 

In other words if the EYE APPEAL looks to be the correct grade, the book will be acceptable.

 

I consider tanning and page quality of a book to be a VERY IMPORTANT factor in a book's eye appeal.

 

If you want to see some funky tanning take a look at this FF 26 PGX 8.5 and the other FFs the seller is offering. "Cream to Off-White pages"? Yeah right. The Mannarino books that CGC labeled as "Light Tan to Off-White" are ten times nicer.

 

ARGH! My eyes!!! Yea, those pages should be listed as "DARK TAN TO OFF-WHITE"

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Look at the guy's FF 28 PGX 9.0. If possible, the top edge is even worse than the # 26, yet its a 9.0 with Cream to Off-White pages?!? WTF!?!

 

If ever I needed a reason to never buy a PGX graded book, I just found it...

[drbanner]

...books that I just sold a few weeks ago to Aardvarkps...The CGC grades on these were 7.0 and 6.5 respectively. Aardvarkps has them listed as 8.5 and 7.5 respectively.

 

That's his business model...the kicker is whether or not he does this with restored books? I've had to return books to him for overgrading, and have avoided his auctions ever since!

[AlphaOmega]

You may want to put on your peril sensative sunglasses before viewing this one. Here's a scan of the FF #26 in the CGC case before aardvarps liberated it (and bumped grade from a 6.5 to a 7.5);

 

FF #26 scan

 

The FF #24 had the same tanning around the edges but got a slightly higher 7.0 grade.