• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Power Records
4 4

93 posts in this topic

Number 6,

Looking at various combinations of Power Record sets, I see what we used to call a "cut out" in which the album had an edge or two clipped off ; or in the case of Power Records the area punched price out and/or the cut edge.  I'm guessing this was in order to prevent returning for full credit/refund? 

Having fun so far with my mini-horror set.  (Frank, Drac, Man-Thing so far). 

Grabbed this image off to note the punch out/cut edge I'm referring to. 

Paul~

FF PR.jpg

Edited by picon3
Clarification
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As always, great info.  Just wanted to clarify that that is not my personal copy, but an image that I grabbed off of eBay to illustrate the edge clipping and hole punching.  Sorry about that:foryou:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, thanks both for this info, very illuminating, a couple of mine have price punched out and one clipped, good to know this is part of the distribution process and not some kid mutilating them.

On the downside until this thread started I thought I had all the Marvel ones, I now know there are $1.49 issues, blank price issues, punched issues, $1.99 stickered issues, clipped issues, Peter Pan re-issues and on top of that one of my Spider-Man LPs is lost. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Loved these as a kid and playing records on my cheesy turntable as I followed along. Good times!

I've read post's here, and saw some discussion about CGC and noting "Record not Included". That being said, perhaps I missed it, but will CGC grade book WITH the record?

Regards

Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, TheBigJ said:

Loved these as a kid and playing records on my cheesy turntable as I followed along. Good times!

I've read post's here, and saw some discussion about CGC and noting "Record not Included". That being said, perhaps I missed it, but will CGC grade book WITH the record?

Regards

You could ask CGC if they will, but while there hasn’t been a huge amount of PR graded, there is enough that I’m sure someone has attempted to send both the book and record.  I doubt the notation is due to a lack of trying or asking. I think I may have even asked years ago just to make sure. 

I don’t know for a fact, but I suspect that if someone sent both CGC will probably send the record back in the bag/board that the book was sent in along with the graded book.  Worse case scenario is that the record somehow gets separated, lost and doesn’t accompany the book back. 
 

I don’t think the notation really that much to be concerned about. It’s not as though the book is receiving a green label for being incomplete.  They’re just noting for historical purposes that originally the book came with a record but the record isn’t inside the CGC holder. Probably also serves as a heads-up to prospective buyers that they should be looking for a record to be accompanying the CGC book.  
 

This is my inelegant solution (which will probably upset some that I would desecrate a slab this way):  I put the record in a BCW poly-lined sleeve, put that inside a Golden Age poly bag, and tape that to the back of the slab with Magic Tape (which isn’t as sticky as the Mylar clear tape). This works well with the new slabs as the back is recessed. 
 

517E03A3-00B2-4DB7-9740-9BFB3EE202CA.thumb.jpeg.f22d624d555b634a1c6a075bf3d68a8c.jpeg
 

Of course, you could always keep the records in bags/boards filed in a separate box, but there’s a number record label variations and I like to make sure I keep the exact record with the exact book. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, picon3 said:

I went to SC ComicCon this past weekend in Greenville, SC.  At the 2nd to the last booth, they had this propped up for sale.  It is so nice that I'm considering sending it to CGC. 


A couple of questions Number Six.

I agree, sending the 45 is probably a bad idea, so I won't, but was curious about cleaning/pressing.  Have you sent PR in for slabbing that they were able to clean/press?  I've become a believer in that if you are going to submit, you should pay the extra tariff and get it done before grading.

Also, have you been able to sort out what they might be looking for with grading.  Note in the close up here, the stress at the spine.  I'm guessing this is going to knock it down considerably?

Thanks,

Paul~

IMG_20210419_0001.jpg

IMG_20210419_0001 (2).jpg

IMG_20210419_0001 (3).jpg

First of all, congratulations on the score.  That is a nice looking copy.

As far as grading, I don't know that I have enough experience say that I have expert advice on what to send for grading or give an estimation on what a book might grade.  I can only provide my limited experience so far.

Of the PR books I have graded, I sent four in myself:  PR-25, -26, -27, and -29 (-30 was purchased already graded)  None of the books I submitted were pressed or cleaned by me, they were just straight submissions.   As far as I can see, -25, -26 and -29 don't have any stress marks that I can see.  The -25 got a 9.6 and it does have a hint of wear to the bottom of the spine.  I know the -26 has about a 1/4" bend to the bottom right corner and even with a press I think the evidence of the bend would still be there.  The -29 is the one I can't figure out.  To my eyes it actually looks a bit nicer than the 9.6 PR-25, and there's no grader notes.  Considering the QC issues CGC's been having I almost wonder if it's a labeling mistake, but I don't feel like spending the money for shipping and re-grading only to have CGC say "yeah, we didn't make a mistake".  The only thing I can think of is that storing the record in the back cover sleeve can cause a crescent-shaped bend to form and I wonder if that may be what's going on with the -26 and -29.  

On the PR-27 there looks like there's maybe a couple of tiny spine stresses but the thing that's really holding this one back is there is a small moisture stain on the bottom left corner of the back cover.  I don't remember this being there when I submitted it, and I've heard rumors that Neal will eat and drink while signing and sketching but I don't know for a fact that's what happened and it's been a long time, I may have just missed it.  

A couple things I've learned from submitting these:  if I have any asperation of hitting the 9 grades it has to be a really sharp copy.  CGC doesn't cut any slack for the fact that these were originally shrink wrapped.  And in the future, I will be taking detailed pictures of the outside and inside of the book to get a better understanding of how they are arriving at the grade on these.

To give a counter-point to my copies, there was a CGC copy of PR-12 that sold a couple of months ago on Clink (I'll post pictures in a minute).  Clink acknowledged it was the highest graded copy.  Considering that the stain (which CGC deducts heavily for) brought my PR-27 down to a 7.5 I'm thinking there must be some issues with the back cover (I wish I had had the presence of mind to ask for a back cover scan).  As you can see from the auction results, being the highest graded copy didn't help it much, it went for $26 (although, honestly, I don't think Clink may have been the best venue for this judging from completed sales of raw copies on eBay).

99A5D6E9-B20E-47B7-9E41-5D349E3C1922.thumb.jpeg.abd5453300aab3a0dbda7813d37d0704.jpeg

5114AC1A-61E1-4FC4-A89A-9D10C0839ADF.thumb.jpeg.1fbe0d457aa80c549b26ecc6c42aeb21.jpeg

As for pressing:  I'm not an expert on that either.  I don't have my books pressed by CCS, I send them to someone else who I personally think takes much greater care.  The problem with PR is the cardstock cover, which isn't going to give as much as a paper cover.  There was a member here who posted in another thread pictures of his PR books that he pressed himself and the stress marks were all still clearly visible.  The danger I would think is that if a presser gets too aggressive trying to get movement out of the cover, it could end up damaging the book.  I think the best a press is going to do is that if the book is curved or bowed from being shrink wrapped over the years a press may get the book flat, but that's probably about it.   If it has the crescent-shaped bend on the inside back cover flap, it might help with that, but there you're trying to get movement on a double-thick layer of cardstock.  That's one of the challenges but also one of the things I kind of like about PR:  if you're going to get a high grade on submission you have to have a pretty high-grade copy to begin with, they can't  just be easily manufactured with pressing.

That's not to take anything away from your copy.  I see spine stresses and some wear to the top and bottom of the spine, but I've seen factory-sealed copies that have as much wear as that.  The outside corner tips are nice.  I'm concerned about the stray blue marks in the price circle, whether they're printing artifacts (they look to be about the same color as the banner) or if they're something else.  Still, I think the monster books are hard to find in really nice shape, so this is a nice pick-up.  If I saw this in the wild, I wouldn't pass it up either.

Out of curiosity, are the inside covers blank, or do they have the line drawings of the Marvel and PotA characters?

 

Edited by Number 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

#6,

Sorry for the delay in responding.

The inside of the covers are yellow with line drawings of the marvel characters plus POTA. 

After some soul searching, I've decided not to submit PR-17 to CGC.  Going over it with a loop, I see too much that could definitely impact the grade (and although I bought these 4 Monster Power Records for myself PR14  Frankenstein, PR15  Dracula, PR16  Man-Thing, PR17  Wolf-Man (Werewolf by Night) one always has to have an eye down the road when eventually it will be sold by me or one of my kids).  So, I'm just going to enjoy the set of 4, put them in mylar and call it good. 

Many thanks for all the info and illustrations.  Great thread!  (thumbsu

Paul~

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The PR 12 Captain America book that was graded 6.5 by CGC and sold on ComicLink a couple of months ago for $26 has now been listed for sale on eBay for $239.95

I added it to my watch list as I was curious to see if there was a difference in the market for this on eBay as opposed to Clink. Since it was on my watch list, the seller sent me an offer of $40 off his listed price.  So apparently he has some wiggle room. 
 

Anyway, I’m not posting this to take shots at the seller. It’s his book, he can  ask whatever he wants. At the time of the Clink auction there were only 2 copies on the census and this was the highest and with all the crazy money being thrown around who knows. 
 

I thought I would post this up because the seller’s photos highlight some defects that weren’t apparent in the Clink listing. I thought they might provide some insight into what CGC considers a mid-grade copy of these books. 
 

0839DF59-570B-4B1E-A207-90498796764D.thumb.jpeg.cb92cb11b16b0bd2f88969f3def4abb8.jpeg

46E725C3-A833-4AF5-B8D2-CCC46A878607.jpeg.947a8fa02409373dc2e3bd14d16f9859.jpeg

F9453855-5D78-4E74-8F92-5C13F9C96621.jpeg.030199be54d6707030794c620a0c8fd1.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last couple of weeks haven’t been great for acquisitions, always something to turn a “win” into a “meh”

Case in point:  this seems to prove what I’ve said before - that 90% of the people selling these Power Record books have absolutely no clue how to pack and ship comics, or anything of value for that matter. 
 

I spotted this pair of PR-25s, I was especially interested in the first issue as it has the Peter Pan sticker and I rarely see those with an unclipped corner and in decent shape. Decided I’d like to have an example of this variant in my collection. 
 

The seller had “free shipping” which automatically made a red flag go up so I asked him how he planned on packing these. He responded that they would be put between two pieces of cardboard and shipped in a bubble mailer. Ok, if done right that could do the job and I didn’t want to be obnoxious by pressing the issue and bought the pair. 
 

So when they arrive I find that he packed the books with them floating between two pieces of flimsy cup-up Priority Mail box cardboard which was open on both ends. As a result, both books ended up with an impact crunch to the top edge:

AC3AB5D2-6B1E-4CE1-8926-F9D0E7300887.thumb.jpeg.32d7b8dd4790400b96ec8fe484929737.jpeg

I sent a terse message with pics and stating this is exactly WHY I asked about how these would be packed. The seller made it right and I still have the book. It was never “high-grade” to begin with but just a shame that it could have been in nicer shape than it is now. 
 

E7AC5E18-8892-4858-9A23-4A4E582EB773.thumb.jpeg.cc56d37b1631c66ab1e0edaeb50edc52.jpeg

Edited by Number 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a shame when this happens. Collectibles somehow managed to stay in great shape, against all the odds, for forty plus years. Then, just as they are about to be united with a loving, careful owner, some wally puts them in a jiffy bag and tosses them into the unloving, uncareful hands of the post office. Forty five years of unlikely preservation gone in an instant. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/16/2021 at 1:09 PM, Number 6 said:

Last couple of weeks haven’t been great for acquisitions, always something to turn a “win” into a “meh”

Case in point:  this seems to prove what I’ve said before - that 90% of the people selling these Power Record books have absolutely no clue how to pack and ship comics, or anything of value for that matter. 
 

I spotted this pair of PR-25s, I was especially interested in the first issue as it has the Peter Pan sticker and I rarely see those with an unclipped corner and in decent shape. Decided I’d like to have an example of this variant in my collection. 
 

The seller had “free shipping” which automatically made a red flag go up so I asked him how he planned on packing these. He responded that they would be put between two pieces of cardboard and shipped in a bubble mailer. Ok, if done right that could do the job and I didn’t want to be obnoxious by pressing the issue and bought the pair. 
 

So when they arrive I find that he packed the books with them floating between two pieces of flimsy cup-up Priority Mail box cardboard which was open on both ends. As a result, both books ended up with an impact crunch to the top edge:

AC3AB5D2-6B1E-4CE1-8926-F9D0E7300887.thumb.jpeg.32d7b8dd4790400b96ec8fe484929737.jpeg

I sent a terse message with pics and stating this is exactly WHY I asked about how these would be packed. The seller made it right and I still have the book. It was never “high-grade” to begin with but just a shame that it could have been in nicer shape than it is now. 
 

E7AC5E18-8892-4858-9A23-4A4E582EB773.thumb.jpeg.cc56d37b1631c66ab1e0edaeb50edc52.jpeg

Had this happen in the past. I always offer to pay a bit more if needed when asking for in a box sandwiched between 2 pieces of cardboard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/19/2021 at 6:31 AM, BigLeagueCHEW said:

Had this happen in the past. I always offer to pay a bit more if needed when asking for in a box sandwiched between 2 pieces of cardboard.

In the past, when I thought I might be in for shoddy packing, I have tried offering more money for secure shipping. And the thought did cross my mind here. 
 

But my experience has been - and maybe it’s just me - generally when someone doesn’t get, they just don’t get it.  
 

So when I’ve sent more money in the past, I didn’t get secure shipping, I got the same garbage packing…just more of it.

 

That’s what makes pursuing these kind of frustrating:  I’ve I steered clear of every seller my gut told me didn’t know how to pack, I’d probably never pick up any Power Records at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
4 4