What would you do?

[Joanna]

I was prepping a Sensation Comic for ebay that, despite some problems, is a gorgeous issue to my eyes because of its extraordinarily deep colors. They look almost liquid. Although it was sold to me as guaranteed unrestored several years ago, I checked with a black light and a magnifying glass -- couldn't find any color touch. There's no acid smell, and I'm 99% certain it wasn't cleaned or pressed. But while doing my normal 'inspect those staples' check, I realized that the bottom staple had been replaced with a non-vintage staple. I don't know why -- there's no rust on the other staple, nor any evidence of rust on the paper. But the bottom staple is thin and shiny, like a modern staple. Obviously, the seller lied to me, and it's something I didn't catch when I bought it (I wasn't as staple savvy back then).

 

Here's my question:

 

 

 

Obviously, I'm not going lie about it, or try to cover it up, so that's not an option. I just want to know if it will get more money with a replaced staple or a missing staple. And if you can think of something else, I'd love to hear that as well.

 

-- Joanna

[THE_BEYONDER]

You should send the staple back to the original seller, with a note that reads: "I KNOW"

[blowout]

Obviously, I'm not going lie about it, or try to cover it up, so that's not an option. I just want to know if it will get more money with a replaced staple or a missing staple.

 

The fact that the bottom staple has been replaced would lead me to be suspicious about other possible restoration done to the book. You may want to consider getting the book checked out for other restoration before selling it, if that is what your concience dictates.

The book would probably get more with a missing staple than a replaced one, although either scenario would be a restoration red flag.

[Joanna]

Obviously, I'm not going lie about it, or try to cover it up, so that's not an option. I just want to know if it will get more money with a replaced staple or a missing staple.

 

The fact that the bottom staple has been replaced would lead me to be suspicious about other possible restoration done to the book. You may want to consider getting the book checked out for other restoration before selling it, if that is what your concience dictates.

The book would probably get more with a missing staple than a replaced one, although either scenario would be a restoration red flag.

 

Although that would be a good idea, I don't have the money to do it, nor do I want to sink more cash into a book that I obviously overpaid for. I don't think the book was restored professionally -- this looks like someone took a stapler to it because the old staple broke or something. It's very amateur.

 

I've decided to just disclose the staple and take my lumps. If it doesn't sell, I'll keep it (what a hardship!!!). Since I hate selling my Sensations anyway, that feels like the best compromise.

 

Here's the book:

 

 

The colors are outstanding, but it has a printer's crease down the middle and is miswrapped.

[DiceX]

Is CGC hard on a printer's crease?

There is a beautiful Detective #380 that I can get, but it has the printer's crease.

Without the crease, it is at least a 9.2 to 9.4.

The crease is horizontal and goes all the way across the book through the front and back covers. Through Batman's face.

 

It's still a nice book and I may grab it if I can get a good price on it.

Those old DC books have the most beautiful covers of any comics ever.

The colors just smack you in the puss.

 

Thats a very nice Sensation, btw.

If it was mine, it wouldn't hurt my feelings to have to keep it.

Good luck with the sale.

I think you made the right choice.

[Joanna]

Is CGC hard on a printer's crease?

 

I think they're slightly less hard on them than on handling-caused defects.

 

 

Those old DC books have the most beautiful covers of any comics ever.

The colors just smack you in the puss.

 

Thats a very nice Sensation, btw.

If it was mine, it wouldn't hurt my feelings to have to keep it.

Good luck with the sale.

I think you made the right choice.

 

And the scan doesn't even do the richness of the colors justice, believe it or not. This one is just blow you away beautiful when it comes to color/gloss. It has some problems (that staple being the big one) but it's so overwhelmingly "pretty" that it almost doesn't matter.

 

I put it up tonight and already have 3 bids. The reserve is low, so someone probably will get it from me. I hadn't expected 3 bids on listing night with no links on the forum. Those ultr-rich colors just blind people into ignoring the staple (happened to me. I never even saw that staple until tonight, and I've owned this book for 10 years).

 

Part of me is already regretting the listing. Then again, I always feel that way with Sensations.

 

-- Joanna

[Elvis]

Joanna,

 

That is definitly a good looking book. I voted earlier to disclose the staple and sell anyway. Now that i have seen the book, I would probably just keep it in my collection. Staple and all. That is a great cover.

[Joanna]

Joanna,

 

That is definitly a good looking book. I voted earlier to disclose the staple and sell anyway. Now that i have seen the book, I would probably just keep it in my collection. Staple and all. That is a great cover.

 

Yeah, in a perfect world, that's what I'd do. But I'm basically selling off my GA books because I need the money. I can always rebuy them later, I figure. I'll probably never find a copy like that one, but I might find another issue with similar attributes. That's the fun of collecting.

 

My reserve is really low, so I probably won't get to keep this one (I have a silent rule that any Sensation that doesn't hit reserve, I keep). So far, they've all sold.

 

The staple doesn't bug me a bit. Staples are never why I buy comics. But there are a lot of people who care about that kind thing. Still, there have to be people like me who react primarily to color (I'm like that in lots of things, not just comics. I just love rich colors). I'm guessing one of them will buy it.

 

-- Joanna

[COI]

The staple doesn't bug me a bit. Staples are never why I buy comics. But there are a lot of people who care about that kind thing. Still, there have to be people like me who react primarily to color (I'm like that in lots of things, not just comics. I just love rich colors). I'm guessing one of them will buy it.

 

Joanna, rich colors are very important to me as well. If I were collecting Sensations, I would jump on this book regardless of the staple. The reason it seems that many of us are so picky is because a lot of the pickiness starts with Silver age collectors. And the reason is S.A is not scarce, especially Marvels. So for the money spent, being picky is a smart, prudent thing. But if I were collecting uncommon G.A books like this, I would be more than satisfied with this specimen. It looks very sharp.

[Joanna]

Apparently, the replaced staple didn't detract from this book's appeal. The final price was $222.50 which is way more than I expected. I wonder if it would have done anywhere near that in a PLoD slab? Probably not. For one thing, that price is close to the VF guide, and the book is a VG at best, not even counting the staple. I'm assuming the rich colors seduced bidders, just as they seduced me originally. Personally, I'd rather have a book with ultra-rich colors more than any other feature. I'd put up with a lot of other defects for that. We all have our things we hate (like some people hating date stamps, subsription folds, or restoration) but we also have our things we love. For me, I hate missing story pages, and I love deep, rich colors.

 

-- Joanna

[DiceX]

Congrats on the sell.